The Lamb The Gospel of Philip

The Lamb

Do not despise the lamb, for without it no one could see the king. No one can meet the king while naked.

The sacrificial Lamb is Jesus who went to His cross death in order that the knowledge, left by Him, save people from eternal death.

Being naked is to be without the lamb the lamb is symbolic of puting on Christ

The Lamb, also, was typically slain at the foundation of the world when coats of skins were provided Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness. This was the "foundation of the world,"

"Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one watching and keeping his garments, so that he should not walk naked and they might see his shame."

nakedness is symbolic of a state of sin 

This was impressed upon Adam and Eve, when God stripped them of their fig-leaf device, and covered them with the skin of a slain lamb (Gen. 3:21). This pointed forward to the offering of Christ (Gal. 3:26-28; Rev. 13:8).

It teaches that we must be figuratively covered with the "garment of salvation" (Isa 61:10), which we "nut on" in baptism (Gal. 3:27).

The Gospel of Philip and Revelation 16: Both reveal the possibility of spiritual nakedness

2 Cor. 5:4 refers to eternal life as a covering of nakedness: "being clothed upon, that mortality be swallowed up of life." 

Do not despise the lamb [do not become offended by this process of sonship], for without it [the “sacrifice” of the lamb (“deny thyself”) for “precious in the eyes of Yahweh (the Father) is the death of His Saints”], it is not possible to see the king [the Father]. No one will be able to go in to the king [“in to the king” is the “crown” of our spiritual journey to sonship that we might be “in HIM and He in us” that we might be “All in All”] if he is naked [does not have on a “wedding garment” i.e. a righteous heart or “does not have love” for many have knowledge but without love you will be bound and “cast into outer darkness” (the lusts of the flesh still are lord over these)] (Philip 20).

Don't despise the Lamb of the Elohim, Yahweh’s Suffering Slave, for unless you enter into his passion, you will never be able to enter the heirship of the Ruler. It is impossible to enter the Ruler's presence if you remain naked. Only if you are clothed in the Garments which have been whitened in the blood of the Lamb will you be able to join the Ruler's Family in the Divine Realm.

Jesus Tricked Everyone The Gospel of Philip

Jesus Tricked Everyone

Jesus tricked everyone, for he did not appear as he was, but he appeared so that he could be seen. He appeared to everyone. He [appeared] to the great as great, he [appeared] to the small as small, he [appeared [58] to the] angels as an angel and to humans as a human. For this reason his word was hidden from everyone. Some looked at him and thought they saw themselves. But when he appeared to his disciples in glory upon the mountain, he was not small. He became great. Or rather, he made the disciples great, so they could see him in his greatness.

This saying maybe a referance to the transfigation

In this saying of Jesus there is a “play on words”. Its meaning is: “Do so that disciples became, at last, to look like angels!”. Behind these words of Jesus there is a regret that even some of His closest disciples could not comprehend Him.




Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not appear as he was [an exact representation of the Father - only by the set-apart spirit was this discernible], but in the manner in which they would be able to see him [He was sown in a physical body - wearing flesh]. He appeared to them all. He appeared to the great [kings] as great [as a king (they felt threatened by this)]. He appeared to the small [humble] as small [humble]. He appeared to the angels [men of Elohim] as an angel [man of Elohim], and to men [of the world] as a man [speaking only in parables]. Because of this, his word hid itself from everyone [“Truth” is something that can only come to those who are willing to seek righteousness first so His true nature and what He represented could not be revealed to anyone whose heart was not ready to receive it.  Because of this, His overarching mission was a mystery to both men and angels (even prophets) alike at the time of His coming]. Some indeed saw him, thinking that they were seeing themselves [they saw him as a natural man], but when he appeared to his disciples in glory on the mount, he was not small [they saw a glimpse of His "glory" and heard a voice out of heaven say; “This is My Son, the Beloved in whom I am well pleased. Here Him”]. He became great [was transfigured], but he made the disciples great [transfigured them], that they might be able to see him in his greatness (Philip 19) [one cannot see Him as He really is (in His glory) unless one becomes like Him].

Jesus accommodated himself to each one he met; he didn't show himself as he was, but in an appearance with which they could identify. To those centered in Light, he appeared in Light. To those centered in physical existence, he appeared as their fellowman. To the angels, he appeared as an angel, but to mortals, he appeared as a mortal. Those who saw him were actually seeing themselves. In this way, his reality was hidden from everyone to one degree or another, unless they were transformed into the nature of that reality. When he appeared to his disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, he appeared in the fullness of his radiant Light, but he filled them with that Light which enabled them to perceive the Real Christ. When they had returned to their normal condition, Jesus led them in offering thanks and prayer. "You who perfect us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit so that we are filled with Light," he prayed, "unite us with the angels and Gods while we are in this mortal sphere, so that we can return to that realm from which we came."

Prayer of Thanksgiving The Gospel of Philip

Prayer of Thanksgiving

He said on that day in the prayer of thanksgiving,
You who have united perfect light with holy spirit,
unite the angels also with us, as images.

We learn from Theodotus: Excerpta ex Theodoto it is the Christ-aeon above who prays the light is the savior jesus who is united with the mother or spirit



He said on that day in the thanksgiving, "You who have joined the perfect light [having received the knowledge of the truth i.e. conceived to the son by having “Christ in you”] with the Holy Spirit, unite the angels with us also [the veil is now rent within our hearts and we can see that we are one with “elohim” having the “power to become sons”], as being the images [of our heavenly Father and not of the world “in His image”].

The Precious in the Worthless Gospel of Philip

The Precious in the Worthless

No one would hide something valuable and precious in a valuable container, but countless sums are commonly kept in a container worth only a cent. So it is with the soul. It is something precious, and it has come to be in a worthless body.

The Gospel of Thomas Saying [29]. Jesus says: "If the flesh was produced for the sake of the spirit, it is a miracle. But if the spirit <was produced> for the sake of the body, it is a miracle of a miracle. But as for me, I wonder at this, how this great wealth made its home in this poverty.

treasures in earthen vessels 2 cor 4:7

The Gospel of Thomas uses the word spirit the gospel of Philip uses the word soul sometimes there is a difference between the word soul and spirit but not here a Spirit or a Soul is a character, a personality. It is 'you'.

the large valuable object is hidden in a worthless container to disguise its value

Both the words soul and spirit refers to a person's mind or character compare the soul [the spirit, the character of a person, very large value].

The soul that is mind or character is a precious thing and it came to be in a contemptible body [human body with default sinful tendencies, very small value]

If you want to hide something valuable, to make it as inconspicuous as possible, you conceal it in the most valueless surroundings you can find. This is like your soul; your spirit is precious, but it is hidden in your body, which appears to have no true value. However, this too is an illusion, because the fact that it contains your spirit imparts inestimable value to your body, if it nurtures your spirit, rather than smothering it.

The point is that a body is a “factory” for transformation of energy. In it, the energy extracted from ordinary food, first of all, can become the energy of the consciousness, of the soul. It is thanks to this that the process of qualitative and quantitative growth of the consciousness can take place.

No one will hide a large valuable object in something large [a nation of people], but many a time one has tossed countless thousands [heavenly treasures of knowledge and wisdom] into a thing worth a penny [a simple man - to the “world”, the true “out-called ones” in Christ are considered worthless]. Compare the soul [the individual spirit consciousness in the body]. It is a precious thing and it came to be in a contemptible body [the “dust of the earth” which is food for the serpent (carnal and false reasoning born of intellect and free will having power over the spirit within most of the time] (Philip 16).

Christ Has Everything The Gospel of Philip

Christ Has Everything

Christ has everything within himself, whether human or angel or mystery, and the father

First compare colossians 1:25 John 10:30 see  also the gospel of philip  He appeared to the angels as an angel, and to men as a man. 

Jesus revealed himself to the angels as an angel and to men as a man 

For mystery cp the Gospel of Truth which brings the words hidden mystery and the name of Jesus Christ together 

How did the lord proclaim things while he was in flesh and after he had revealed himself to be the son of god? He lived in this world that you live in, speaking about the law of nature, which I call death. And more, Rheginos, the son of god became a human son. He embraced both qualities, possessing humanity and divinity so he could, by being the son of god, conquer death, and, by being the human son, restore the pleroma.  At the beginning he was above as a seed of truth, which was before the cosmos came into being.  In the cosmic structure many dominions and divinities have come into being. The Treatise on the Resurrection

The Treatise on the Resurrection says the son of God was also son of man possessing both manhood and deity and that restoration into the pleroma might take place through the son of man

In the Gospel of John, there is a statement of Jesus where He compared Himself with a vine: its trunk is above the surface of the Earth, and the root is stretched from the Abode of the Father. Since He is present as the Consciousness everywhere, He can veraciously tell people about the highest eons and represent the Father in the material world.

Christ has everything in himself, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father [which is what all of the sons will receive when they ascend the spiritual ladder of comprehension by their love of the truth and for their brothers](Philip 14).

The True Christ embodies everything; he is mortal, angel, and God, although the reality of this remains a mystery until you are truly enlightened.

Baptism in the Gospel of Philip

Baptism in the Gospel of Philip

What is baptism?

A ritual immersion in water, used to initiate a Proselyte. The immersion in water is the essential act of baptism.

According to Irenaeus (Haer. 1.21.3–4), some (1) “prepare a bridal chamber,” while three other groups (2, 3 and 4) baptize in water, each of them using different invocations and ritual formulae; the last of these groups also anoints the candidates with balsam after the water baptism.

Baptism in Sethian Gnosticism is also understood as a ‘seal’: There are some, who upon entering the faith, receive a baptism on the ground that they have it as a hope of salvation, which they call the "seal",” (Testimony of Truth)

Clement of Alexandria once refers to baptism as “the seal and the redemption” (Quis dives 49).

There are five Valentinian ritual practices which can be compared to the five seals in Sethianism

gnosis is necessary for baptism to be efficient, as Exc. 78.2 states.  Until baptism, they say, Fate is real, but after it the astrologists are no longer right. But it is not only the washing that is liberating, but the knowledge of/who we were, and what we have become, where we were or where we were placed, whither we hasten, from what we are redeemed, what birth is and what rebirth

A symbol

GPh 67:27–30:“The Lord did everything like a mystery: baptism, chrism, Eucharist, redemption and bridal chamber.”

It is clear, however, that this text does not speak about “mysteries” in the sense of sacraments, but about the hidden, symbolic meaning of the Saviour’s deeds in the world.(Einar Thomassen)

Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world cannot receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is necessary to be born again truly through the image. How is it with the resurrection and the image? Through the image it must rise. The bridal chamber and the image? Through the image one must enter the truth: this is the restoration.

GPh 57:22–28: “By water and fire this whole realm is purified, the visible by the visible, the hidden by the hidden. Some things are hidden by the visible. There is water within water, there is fire within the oil of anointing.”




Jesus at the Jordan

Jesus revealed himself [at the] Jordan River as the fullness of heaven’s kingdom. The one [conceived] before all [71] was conceived again; the one anointed before was anointed again; the one redeemed redeemed others.

Valentinians regarded the baptismal rite as a re-enactment of, and an assimilation into, the redemption that had been prototypically received by the Saviour himself, specifically at his baptism in the Jordan. The Tripartite Tractate explains this relationship as follows:

Even the Son, who constitutes the type of the redemption of the All, [needed] the redemption, having become human and having submitted himself to all that was needed by us, who are his Church in the flesh. After he, then, had received the redemption first, by means of the logos that came down upon him, all the rest who had received him could then receive the redemption through him.For those who have received the one who received have also received that which is in him. (124:32–125:11)

Chrism Is Superior to Baptism

Chrism is superior to baptism. We are called Christians from the word “chrism,” not from the word “baptism.” Christ also has his name from chrism, for the father anointed the son, the son anointed the apostles, and the apostles anointed us. Whoever is anointed has everything: resurrection, light, cross, holy spirit. The father gave all this to the person in the bridal chamber, and the person accepted it. The father was in the son and the son was in the father. This is heaven’s kingdom.

The word Chrism meaning anointing

the practice of anointing comes after baptism but both are certainly necessary:

We are born again through the holy spirit, and we are conceived through Christ in baptism with two elements. We are anointed through the spirit, and when we were conceived, we were united.

None can see himself either in water or in a mirror without light. Nor again can you (sg.) see in light without water or mirror. For this reason it is fitting to baptize in the two, in the light and the water. Now the light is the chrism. (69:8–14)

67:2–7: “The soul and the spirit came into being from water and fire. The son of the bridal chamber came into being from water and fire and light. The fire is the chrism, the light is the fire”; and 57:22–28

Nonetheless, anointing is the culmination of the ritual:

It is fitting for those who not only acquire the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but who acquire these themselves. If one does not acquire them, the name too will be taken away. A person receives them in the chrism with the oil of the power of the cross. The apostles called this power the right and the left. This person is no longer a Christian but is Christ.This power the apostles called “the right and the left.” For this person is no longer a Christian, but a Christ. (67:19–27)

The superiority of anointing is here expressed by means of a distinction between the “name” and the reality to which the name refers. Baptism provides the name (presumably because the names are pronounced during the act), but anointing gives access to the reality itself.

The fundamental idea taught by the Scriptures is not mere washing of the body but the spiritual cleansing of the mind. The believer must undergo a change, a change not merely of conduct but of the heart and mind as well.


So water baptism symbolizes a cleansing process, the letting go of error.

Orthodox Church Service vs Valentinian Church Service

Orthodox Church Service vs Valentinian Church Service

The Biblical view: 

“All you are brothers,” Jesus had said to his disciples. “Your Leader is one, the Christ.” (Matt. 23:8, 10) So there was no clergy class within Christian congregations of the first century.  As to organization, each congregation was supervised by a body of overseers, or spiritual elders. All the elders had equal authority, and not one of them was authorized to ‘lord it over’ the flock in their care. (Acts 20:17; Phil. 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:2, 3) However, as the apostasy unfolded, things began to change—quickly.

Clergy and Laity

Among the earliest deviations was a separation between the terms “overseer” (Gr., episkopos sometimes translated Bishop) and “elder” (Gr., presbyteros ), so that they were no longer used to refer to the same position of responsibility. Just a decade or so after the death of the apostle John, Ignatius, “bishop” of Antioch, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, wrote: “See that you all follow the bishop [overseer], as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery [body of elders] as if it were the Apostles.” Ignatius thus advocated that each congregation be supervised by one bishop, or overseer, who was to be recognized as distinct from, and having greater authority than, the presbyters.

The English word “priest” derives from presbyteros (“elder”) as follows: from Middle English pre(e)st, from Old English preost, from Vulgar Latin prester, contracted from Late Latin presbyter, from Greek pre·sby´te·ros.
So the orthodox Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, defines the church in terms of the bishop, who represents that system:

Let no one do anything pertaining to the church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by the person whom he appoints . . . Wherever the bishop offers [the eucharist], let the congregation be present, just as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church. Ignatius, Smyrneans 8.1-2.

Lest any "heretic" suggest that Christ may be present even when the bishop is absent, Ignatius sets him straight:

It is not legitimate either to baptize or to hold an agape [eucharist, breaking or bread a meal] without the bishop . . . To join with the bishop is to join the church; to separate oneself from the bishop is to separate oneself not only from the church, but from God himself. Ignatius, Smyrneans 8.1-2.

Apart from the church hierarchy, he insists, "there is nothing that can be called a church."Trallians 3.1.

The groundwork was thus laid for a clergy class gradually to emerge. About a century later, Cyprian, “bishop” of Carthage, North Africa, was a strong advocate of authority of the bishops—as a group separate from the presbyters (later known as priests), the deacons, and the laity. But he did not favor the primacy of one bishop over the others.


As bishops and presbyters ascended the hierarchical ladder, they left below it the rest of the believers in the congregation. This resulted in a separation between clergy (those taking the lead) and laity (the passive body of believers). 

In time the bishop of Rome, claiming to be a successor of Peter, was thought of as the supreme bishop and pope

Valentinian Church Service

The community would meet on Sundays (whether before sunrise or in the evening—or both—we do not know). 

Valentinian initiates took turns performing the various liturgical tasks ensuring a high degree of participation by the membership. According to Tertullian, "Today one man is bishop and tomorrow another; the person who is a deacon today, tomorrow is a reader; the one who is a priest is a layman tomorrow. For even on the laity they impose the functions of priesthood." ( Tertullian Against the Valentinians 1) He goes on to relate that even women could take the role of bishop, much to his horror.

Only the elementary Valentinian teachings were available at such public meetings. Initiates were expected to discern the newcomer's level of spiritual development and act accordingly. This discussed in the parable of appropriate diets in the Gospel of Philip: "Bodily forms will not deceive them, rather they consider the condition of each person's soul and they speak to that person accordingly. In the world there are many animals that have human form. If the disciples of God recognize that they are hogs, they feed them acorns; if cattle, barley chaff and fodder; if dogs, bones; if slaves, a first course; if children, a complete meal" (Gospel of Philip 81:3-13 cf. Hebrews 5:12-14). If a person was considered to be at a material level of development (i.e. "an animal") they received the nothing more than the teaching available at the public meeting ("acorns", "chaff" and "bones").

If the person was considered to be at an animate level (i.e. "a slave") they would be invited to private classes. In these classes they recived elementary teachings ( "a first course") in order to determine if were worthy of further instruction. Valentinians saw most Christians as fitting into this category. Pupils assigned to this category had the potential to move on to the next level. If the person had progressed to the highest spiritual level and become a "child," they were invited to join an advanced class where they would receive the complete teaching. According to Tertullian, complete instruction could last as long as five years and involved rigorous self-discipline. It should be noted that all who received the private instruction were bound by the "duty of Silence" not to disclose it to non-initiates (cf. Tertullian Against the Valentinians 1).

Full initiates acted as the person's spiritual guide towards the ultimate goal of gnosis. Eventual initiation was dependent on evidence of gnosis. To become an initiate one had to "no longer believe from human testimony but from the Truth itself." (Fragments of Herakleon 39). To this end, much of the training at the advanced stage of instruction would have likely focused on meditation techniques. One the person had completed the training and demonstrated evidence of gnosis, they would be initiated by receiving the Valentinian baptism. 

Spirituals and psychics worshipped together for the first part of the service, which comprised a confession, a collection and the singing of a “hymn of the humble,” and praying for redemption. Perhaps both groups listened together to a sermon. Baptism of new members may have taken place at this point. The second part of the service was for the spirituals only, i.e., the baptized. It included the singing of psalms from Valentinus’ psalm-book. The congregation sang in an enthusiastic mode, seeking communion with the transcendent aeons.

After that, a senior member of the congregation delivered a sermon. Then followed a Eucharistic meal, with bread and wine mixed with water, or just water. The elements were consecrated by means of an invocation for the presence of spiritual power and eaten as a prefiguration of the eschatological wedding feast of the bridal chamber. During the meal, individual church members stood up to prophesy, conveying messages from the aeonic world, perhaps speaking in tongues.

The ritual sequence as a whole shows a certain family resemblance to second century Christian Sunday worship as described in Justin, 1 Apology 67, though the enthusiastic aspects are clearly more prominent than in Justin’s account. Our general knowledge about the structure of Christian services during this period is in any case very scant. In a broad perspective, the Valentinian version of regular Christian worship, with its communal style of psalm singing and its general character as a service of the word, seems to owe more to Jewish and Christian traditions of congregation ritual than to the conventional forms of Greco-Roman cult.

Eucharist in the Gospel of Philip

Eucharist in the Gospel of Philip

The Eucharist and Jesus

The eucharist is Jesus. In Syriac it is called pharisatha, which means, “that which is spread out.” For Jesus came to crucify the world.

Eucharist and Baptism

The cup of prayer contains wine and water, for it represents the blood for which thanksgiving is offered. It is full of the holy spirit, and it belongs to the completely perfect human. When we drink it, we take to ourselves the perfect human.

The living water is a body, and we must put on the living human. Thus, when one is about to go down into the water, one strips in order to put on the living human.

The Holy Person
The holy person is completely holy, including the person’s body. The holy person who takes up bread consecrates it, and does the same with the cup or anything else the person takes up and consecrates. So how would the person not consecrate the body also? 

The Breaking of Bread (Acts 2:42) is also known as “the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, and the communion meal.

From the Gospel of Philip it can be gathered that the meal consisted of bread and wine mixed with water.

82 And the bread and the oil are sanctified by the power of the Name, and they are not the same as they appeared to be when they were received, but they have been transformed by power into spiritual power. Thus, the water, also, both in exorcism and baptism, not only keeps off evil, but gives sanctification as well (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus 82)

According to the Extracts from the Works of Theodotus 82.1, the bread was “sanctified by the power of the Name.”

The same applies to “the bread and the oil”: they are transformed into a spiritual power by the power of the Name of God

The Valentinians celebrated the Eucharist with bread and a cup.  The Gospel of Philip in particular shows that Valentinians could speak without difficulty about partaking of the flesh and the blood of the Savior in the Eucharist, because they gave a symbolic meaning to these words: thus, for instance, the “flesh” is the Logos and the “blood” is the Holy Spirit. 

The author of the Gospel of Philip manages to find allusions in the Eucharistic bread both to the crucifixion (the “spreading out”: 63:21–24) and to the incarnation (“bread from heaven”: 55:6–14), and that the Eucharistic prayer in 58:10–14 is an invocation of the union with the angels, in other words of the bridal chamber.In the latter case it seems that the reference to the union with the angels served to stage the Eucharist as an image of the wedding feast associated with the bridal chamber

As a meal, the significance of the Eucharist was, as we have seen, exclusively symbolic; the enjoyment of food and drink was hardly a goal in itself.

bread The substance of the omnipresent Christ body. There is substance in words of Truth, and this substance is appropriated by prayer and meditation on Truth.

wine/blood the sustenance for spirit, mind, 

So it is also [75] with bread, the cup, and oil, though there are mysteries higher than these. (The Gospel of Philip)

What is Evil? Isaiah 45:7

What is Evil? 

Come to hate hypocrisy and the evil thought; for it is the thought that gives birth to hypocrisy; but hypocrisy is far from truth." (The Apocryphon Gospel of James)

evil--That which is not of the Deity; unreality; error thought; a product of the fallen human consciousness; negation.

'Evil' in the New Testament can denote three things-misleading standards (stoichiea) like henos anthropos; wrong disposition in the sense of a materialistic world-view; and dehumanizing acts. For Paul, evil is not associated with demons in the sense of supernatural beings. He clearly supports this in Gal 4:8-9 when he says, "stoichieas [daemons] are not gods."

Isaiah 45:7 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace [national well-being] and I create [physical] evil (calamity); I am the Lord, Who does all these things.

Moral evil proceeds from the will of men, but physical evil proceeds from the will of God

.

Sin and evil are as cause and effect. God is the author of evil, but not of sin; for the evil is the punishment of sin. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, Yahweh, do all these things." (Isa. 45:7) "Shall there be evil in a city, and Yahweh has not done it?" (Amos 3:6) The evil then to which man is subjected is Yahweh's doing. War, famine, pestilence, flood, earthquake, disease, and death, are the terrible evils which God inflicts upon mankind for their transgressions. Nations cannot go to war when they please, any more than they can shake the earth at their will and pleasure; neither can they preserve peace, when He proclaims war. Evil is the artillery with which He combats the enemies of His law, and of His the holy ones; consequently, there will be neither peace nor blessedness for the nations, until sin is put down, His people avenged, and truth and righteousness be established in the earth. 

Apparent evil is the result of ignorance, and when Truth is presented the error disappears.

Evil appears in the world because man is not in spiritual understanding.

evil, overcoming--Evil must be overcome with good. We must dwell in the good so wholly that all the substance of our thoughts and our being is given over to the promotion of the good. This is a mental process in which all negation (evil) is denied, and creative, fearless affirmation of God's perfect good is steadfastly adhered to.

A hymn to Sol Invictus

A hymn to Sol Invictus

Thine is the glory, risen, unconqu'ring Sun;
endless is the vict'ry Thou o’er winter hast won.

The time is with the month of winter solstice
When the change is due to come
Thunder in the other course of heaven
Things cannot be destroyed once and for all

Thine is the glory, risen, unconqu'ring Sun;
endless is the vict'ry Thou o’er winter hast won

I dont identify with any religion.We did always celebrate Christmas,complete with nativity,but the date/season itself was definitely hijacked. We still celebrate,but for me,I am celebrating the fact it will start getting light again.Bring on the Solstice!

Heretic of the week: Valentinus

  Valentinus (second century), a Greek poet and the most prominent Gnostic of all time

 Heretic of the week: Valentinus 
article from the catholic herald:

Valentinus (100-160), was born in a small town in northern Egypt, and moved to Alexandria as a child. There he received a Greek education and became a disciple of Theudas, who himself had been a student of St Paul the Apostle.

He went to Rome about 136, and became a popular teacher – so much so that when the papal chair became vacant in 157, he was a favoured contender – and certainly himself expected to win the position. When St Anicetus won instead, Valentinus left Rome in a huff for Cyprus.

Once ensconced in that island, he began to spread teachings that he claimed were secret doctrines of St Paul, passed on to Theudas. These were something of a riff on Gnosticism and Neoplatonism – a good deity named Bythos emanating spiritual beings, the Aeons, in a higher realm. Owing to a cosmic mishap, the lowest of these beings created the physical world, in which we find our souls entrapped. Christ came to liberate us from this trap.

There was much more along the same lines, and the result was a body of doctrines called Valentinianism. Among other things, the Valentinians believed that mankind was divided into three varieties; the truly spiritual, who received the divine knowledge (or Gnosis) that allowed them to return to the Godhead; the ordinary Christians, who would go to a sort of cut-rate paradise; and the rest who would simply be destroyed after death. Although Valentinianism was one among many Gnostic sects in the first few centuries after Christ, it was particularly popular because of its interesting ritual [services]. Among these were a relatively orthodox-appearing baptismal rite, and the mysterious “Mystery of the Bedchamber” – a sort of spiritualisation of marriage, which did not, however, necessarily require consummation. Extinct relatively early, it attracted new interest after the discovery in 1945 of the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt, which contained important works of the Valentinian school.

Heretic of the week: Valentinus

Comments 

In that period there were many Christianities. Most would only later be thought heretical. Valentinus at the time was not a heretic, only declared so in hindsight.


The tenacity the Roman Catholic Church to call Valentinian a heretic when he was in the church he saw things that did not seem right to him. From what St. Paul actually taught to what the church plagiarized his writings and letters even adding several letters St. Paul never even wrote. St. Paul in my mind was an inner seeker who taught Christ Consciousness. He was a Gnostic writer his original letters price it.

the beginning gospel of thomas saying 18

saying 18

18 The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will come to pass." Jesus said, "Then have you laid bare the beginning, so that you are seeking the end? For the end will be where the beginning is. Blessed is the person who stands at rest in the beginning. And that person will be acquainted with the end and will not taste death.

BEGINNING: "Archee"; signifying "first in order",

it is the beginning of a new, or spiritual "creation" in Christ. As there was a Sun, created or ordained in the heavens by God, in the Genesis-beginning when He decreed, "Let there be light", so likewise… "In the (new, spiritual) beginning" God testified of Christ: "Let there be light" (cp Gen 1:3 with 2Co 4:6; Mat 4:17; Mar 1:1; Luk 1:1,2; Act 10:37), and this time a new spiritual Light came into the world. And so God made and ordained His Son Jesus Christ the "beginning" and the first cause of His new spiritual creation (Rev 3:14).

It is instructive and significant that each gospel begins with a "beginning": cp Mat 1:1 (genesis); Mar 1:1 (archee); Luk 1:3 (anothen). And that the four gospel accounts are placed at the head of the New Testament. Here, in the coming of His Son, God has begun the work of His new, spiritual, "creation" -- the corner piece, the foundation stone of which is His Son.

Tell us about our end? What I see in this and other verses is that his disciples were usually thinking naturally while Jesus was usually answering spiritually. Like many naturally minded souls today, the disciples were worried about their death or their end or the end of the age. Jesus was basically saying: “what! You think you have found the beginning in other words have you then found Christ? Well if you have found Christ then you have also met the end of your old self. Now your new true self lives”. Thus we become a new creature in Christ this is a new beginning when we are born again as I have already said about being begotten from above, this is a twofold birth: first, from water which is the word, add v., and secondly, from the grave by the spirit the first begettal is putting on the Christ, than you become a new man this is becoming a new creature in Christ.

When you have done this you shall enter the Kingdom of the son of his love than the kingdom of God will be within you as hope in the heart as the one hope of the true with that the kingdom of God will be manifested on the earth. However, the second begettal you will still have the Kingdom within you but no longer as hope in the heart but fully manifest in you and upon the earth as it is in heaven the below become like the above, for this to happen the saints must become “spiritual bodies” or “spiritual flesh” as Paul says (add from bible) there are different type of flesh and as the Gospel of Philip says “the Lord rose from the dead, but he did not come into being as he was. Rather, his body was completely perfect. It was of flesh, and this flesh was true flesh. Our flesh is not true flesh, but only an image of the true” Gospel of Philip Nag Hammadi Scriptures p. 174. Thus after becoming spiritual flesh or true flesh only than can they “see” so as to possess the Kingdom of God

18) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be." Jesus said, "Have you discovered, then, the beginning [how the first Adam was in the life before he put his trust in the arm of flesh (doctrines of the serpent)], that you look for the end [the finishing of your faith in that fleshly mind]? For where the beginning is, there will the end be [of your spiritual journey (you must crucify "the old man")]. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning ["in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (all in all)]; he will know the end and will not experience death [for this one has gained everlasting life]."

"For even as, in Adam [flesh], all are dying [eventually for mankind's very nature which is carnal requires it], thus also, in Christ [spirit], shall all be vivified [eventually for angelic nature which is and means "strength" requires it]."  This is what we must come to understand and have rectified through our Savior "who is the author and finisher of our faith".  We must own our sins, repent of them and be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.  We must become as the last man Adam (who was in the beginning) perfected in spirit while still in the earth; and then we shall be transformed in the wink of an eye into Christ's (we will become as He is).