Joy and Redemption The Gospel of Truth

The Gospel of Truth

Ode 8:8 Hear the word of truth, and receive the knowledge of the Most High.

In some texts the first sentence contains the total substance of the work in a nutshell. this is certainly true of the prologue to the gospel of truth where we find the great central concepts which will subsequently be elaborated 

The gospel of truth is joy to those who have received from the Father of truth the gift of knowing him by the power of the Logos, who has come from the Pleroma and who is in the thought and the mind of the Father; he it is who is called "the Savior," since that is the name of the work which he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the Father. For the name of the gospel is the manifestation of hope, since that is the discovery of those who seek him, because the All sought him from whom it had come forth. You see, the All had been inside of him, that illimitable, inconceivable one, who is better than every thought.

those of the middle

The "all" is used collectively of the body of Christ the church, here in the Gospel of Truth I think the term is first used for the nation of Israel and secondly for the believers 

In the "All" there is a group called "those of the middle" it is the same group of people described as "those who have not known the Father" it is this group which can be deceived and taken captive which needs redemption. 

Joy

He was nailed to a tree.  He became a fruit of the knowledge of the father. He did not, however, destroy them because they ate of it. He rather caused those who ate of it to be joyful because of this discovery.

This fruit eternally will be at hand, providing insight, reunion and joy for those who eat it.

the fruit that brought joy is the crucified Jesus

those who eat the fruit that Jesus became are filled with joy.

Truth's good news generates joy in those who have received from the father the gift of knowing him.

1. To the blessed ones the joy is from their heart, and light from Him who dwells in them;
2. And the Word of truth who is self-originate,
3. Because He has been strengthened by the Holy Power of the Most High; and He is unshaken for ever and ever.
   Hallelujah.

Redemption 

Redemption is a Jewish and Christian technical team meaning to buy back it is linked to the word ransom

In modern usage, if you are ransomed it means that you have been captured and imprisoned as a hostage and that someone has paid to have you released.

In the gospel of truth the words "captive" " in chains" or "in bonds" is used to describe "those of the middle" who can be enticed and beguiled. These people are captured by Error into ignorance by means of fears and forgetfulnesses:

(The Gospel of Truth) She was preparing works and forgetfulnesses and fears in order, by these means, to beguile those of the middle  and to make them captive.

(The Gospel of Truth) Having made punishments and tortures cease - for it was they which were leading astray from his face some who were in need of mercy, in error and in bonds - he both destroyed them with power and confounded them with knowledge. 

Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1, 2, applying it to himself as sent by the Father “to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind.” (Lu 4:16-21) 

Eph 4:8;  Wherefore he says: “When he ascended on high he carried away captives; he gave gifts [in] men

Christ led a host of captives out of the bondage of spiritual Egypt

2Cor 10:5 For we are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; and we are bringing every thought into captivity to make it obedient to the Christ

“If anyone is meant for captivity, he goes away into captivity.”—Re 13:10

captivity is a state of bondage to mental confusion


The release or the ransom to escape the captive of Error is knowledge people are redeemed by knowledge

Redemption means the transformation of ignorance into knowledge this is what the gospel is about  

Col 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

The inner, spiritual man is redeemed through knowledge, and it suffices to have knowledge of all things: this is the true redemption

Therefore knowledge is the redemption of the inner man. 

knowledge is the means of achieving redemption 

discovery of those who seek him

The last words of the prologue speak about discovery and seeking or searching "since it is the discovery for those who are searching for him"

Who is Lucifer Isaiah 14:12-14

Isaiah 14:12-14 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’.


These verse is used to prove that Satan is a fallen angel.

The words “devil” , “satan” and “angel” never occur in this chapter. This is the only place in Scripture where the word “Lucifer” occurs.

There is no evidence that Isaiah 14 is describing anything that happened in the garden of Eden; if it is, then why are we left 3,000 years from the time of Genesis before being told what really happened there?

Lucifer is identified in the chapter, but not with a rebel angel. It is clearly stated: "Take up this proverb2 against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased!" (vs. 4). (The preceding chapter is a prophecy against Babylon itself, but now the prophecy is directed against the king of Babylon). This is fullfilled in daniel chapter 4 with Nabuzzar going mad and daniel 5 with the writing on the wall A secondary fulfillment would be the overthrow of Gog or the Antichrist at Armageddon

Why is Lucifer punished for saying, “I will ascend into heaven” (v. 13), if he was already there?

5. Lucifer is to rot in the grave: “your splendour is brought down to the grave...and the worms cover you” (v. 11). Seeing angels cannot die (Lk. 20:35-36), Lucifer therefore cannot be an angel; the language is more suited to a man.

"Ascending to heaven" is symbol for increase in pride or exaltation, and "falling from heaven", symbolic complete humiliation. See Jer. 51:53 (refers to Babylon); Lam. 2:1; Matt. 11:23 (refers to Capernaum).

The meaning of Lucifer: day-star (mbd) "light-bearer" 1) shining one, morning star,

The passage in Isaiah regarding the day-star, or Lucifer (A.V.), is believed by many to refer to the fall from heaven of angels who had sinned against God; Lucifer, their leader, is supposed to be Satan. In so far as the literal understanding is concerned, this is a mistake; the text has no such implications. It refers to the fall of the king of Babylon, who had ruled in such brilliance and greatness, in such pomp and splendor, that Isaiah likened him to the morning star (Isa. 14:12; II Pet. 1:19).

The text in Isaiah, "O Lucifer, son of the morning!" signifies man's uplifting of the ruling ego (represented here by the king of Babylon), and attributing to the outward senses those qualities of light, understanding, and greatness that belong only to God. This is unfavourable and comes from the carnal mind in the individual; it must be overthrown, cast down and out of consciousness

Lucifer the thinking of the flesh or carnal mind in man that has fixed ideas in opposition to Truth. Lucifer assumes various forms in man's consciousness, among which may be mentioned egotism, a puffing up of the personality; self deception. This "self deception" makes man believe that he is genetically good.

The Coptic Church

The Coptic Church

Vast number of Jews spoke the Coptic language. It is claimed that about 40% of the population of the city of Alexandria, on the Egyptian coast, were Jews. It was in this country that Joseph and Mary sought refuge with their young child, Jesus (Mat. 2:13

The first Christian on record to preach in Africa was himself an African, the Ethiopian eunuch mentioned in the Bible at Acts chapter 8. A Jewish proselyte, he was on his way home from worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem when Philip converted him to Christianity. Without doubt, in keeping with the zeal of early Christians, this Ethiopian afterward actively preached the good news he had heard, becoming a missionary in his own land.

Historians fail to agree, however, on whether or not this was the way Christianity became established in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church appears to date back to the fourth century, when a Syrian student of philosophy named Frumentius was ordained as a bishop to Ethiopian “Christians” by Athanasius, a bishop of the Coptic Church of Alexandria.

The Coptic Church—Copt is derived from the Greek word for “Egyptian”—claims that its founder and first patriarch was Mark the Evangelist. According to tradition, he preached in Egypt just before the middle of the first century. At any rate, “Christianity” spread to North Africa at an early date, with men like Origen and Augustine rising to prominence. A catechetical school in Alexandria, Egypt, became a noted center of “Christian” scholarship with Pantaenus as its first president. But by the time of Pantaenus’ successor, Clement of Alexandria, apostasy had evidently already taken its toll. The Encyclopedia of Religion reveals that Clement “advocated the reconciliation of Christian doctrine and the Bible with Greek philosophy.”

The Coptic Church carried on an intensive missionary campaign, particularly in eastern Libya. Archaeological excavations in Nubia and lower Sudan also reveal Coptic influence

Gnostic Apostolic Succession

Gnostic apostolic succession

Clement of Alexandria records that Valentinus was instructed by Theudas, and that Theudas in turn was taught by Paul (Clement of Alexandria Stromata 7:17)

According to Hippolytus, the Naassenes, or serpent-worshippers, received secret matter through Mariamne—presumably Mary Magdalene—from James, the brother of the Lord.3 This claim fits very well with titles of several extant Gnostic works (two Apocalypses of James, the Pistis Sophia, and the Gospel of Mary, for example).

the valentinians possess the true apostolic succession

No one could’ve been revealed among those who’d been entrusted with salvation unless the book had appeared.(The Gospel of Truth)

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. (Gospel of Philip)

These words I have received from the generosity of my lord, Jesus the Christ. I have taught you and your brothers and sisters, who are my children, about them, and have omitted nothing that may strengthen you. If there is anything among these written words that is obscure, ask and I will explain. (The Treatise on the Resurrection)

For, if God permit, you will later learn about their origin and generation, when you are judged worthy of the apostolic tradition which we too have received by succession. We too are able to prove all our points by the teaching of the Savior. (Ptolemy's Letter to Flora)

https://www.gnosticdoctrine.com/2020/08/gnostic-saints-or-fathers-of-christian.html

Fog and Error in the Gospel of Truth

Fog and Error in the Gospel of Truth

The Fog and Origin of "Error"

A Reading from the Gospel of Truth:

The gospel of truth is joy to those who have received from the Father of truth the gift of knowing him by the power of the Logos, who has come from the Pleroma and who is in the thought and the mind of the Father; he it is who is called "the Savior," since that is the name of the work which he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the Father. For the name of the gospel is the manifestation of hope, since that is the discovery of those who seek him, because the All sought him from whom it had come forth. You see, the All had been inside of him, that illimitable, inconceivable one, who is better than every thought.

This ignorance of the Father brought about terror and fear. And terror became dense like a fog, that no one was able to see. Because of this, error became strong. But it worked on its hylic substance vainly, because it did not know the truth. It was in a fashioned form while it was preparing, in power and in beauty, the equivalent of truth. This then, was not a humiliation for him, that illimitable, inconceivable one. For they were as nothing, this terror and this forgetfulness and this figure of falsehood, whereas this established truth is unchanging, unperturbed and completely beautiful.

For this reason, do not take error too seriously. Thus, since it had no root, it was in a fog as regards the Father, engaged in preparing works and forgetfulnesses and fears in order, by these means, to beguile those of the middle and to make them captive. The forgetfulness of error was not revealed. It did not become light beside the Father. Forgetfulness did not exist with the Father, although it existed because of him. What exists in him is knowledge, which was revealed so that forgetfulness might be destroyed and that they might know the Father, Since forgetfulness existed because they did not know the Father, if they then come to know the Father, from that moment on forgetfulness will cease to exist. (the Gospel of Truth)

Introduction

First we must not read preconceived ideas into the Gospel of Truth we must read it with a open bible and a open mind 

Many scholars have cast doubt on claims that any mythological figures can be read into the text

Bentley Layton agrees that the Gospel of Truth "makes no specific reference to the Gnostic myth" (Layton 1987, p 250).

The first paragraph of the Gospel of Truth introduces the Father, the Savior, and the All, and then from there talks about the concept of fear terror and error being introduced into the world

The All

"because the All sought him (the Father) from whom it had come forth. You see, the All had been inside of him, that illimitable, inconceivable one, who is better than every thought." (the Gospel of Truth)

For more information on the Gnostic term the All see Panta En Pasin The All in All

The "All" comes from the Geek word pasin 3956. πᾶς pas pas; is an Adjective 
Definition: all, every 
Usage: all, the whole, every kind of.

AV-all 748,

1) individually
1a) each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything
2) collectively
2a) some of all types

The "all" is used collectively of the body of Christ the church, here in the Gospel of Truth I think the term is first used for the nation of Israel and secondly for the believers 

The all is in a state of ignorance this is also a description of the nation of Israel at the time of Christ's first coming 

As a result Error gained dominion and in futility produced a substitute for the Truth.

this would be describing the Pharisees hiding the keys to the kingdom of Heaven

the All errs in a fog of fear and anguish and cannot see the Father.

Ignorance

 This is the one who is called the savior, since that is the name of the work that he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the father.

They call him “Savior.” That’s the name of the work he’ll do to redeem those who had become
ignorant of the Father.

The word Ignorance (Greek G52 ἄγνοια agnoia [ag-no-eh’-o which comes from the root 50 ἀγνοέω agnoeo [ag-no-eh’-o) means not to know, lack of knowledge, moral blindness [{Ac 3:17 } 3) to err or sin through mistake, to be wrong, spoken mildly of those who are not high handed or wilful transgressors [{Heb 5:2 }

Acts 17:30  True, God has overlooked the times of such ignorance, yet now he is telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent

Ignorance alienates from eternal life, and makes death the certain and irretrievable lot of the subject to it. Ephesians 4:18; Psalm 49:19-20 (Robert Roberts Christendom Astray)

Fog

"And terror became dense like a fog, that no one was able to see. Because of this, error became strong." (the Gospel of Truth)

Here there is no trace of a fall of an individual aeon but the process of the fall is set in motion by introducing a personification Plane or Error

Romans 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God nor did they thank him, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their unintelligent heart became darkened. 

Those who were wise among the Greeks and the barbarians have advanced to the powers which have come into being by way of imagination and vain thought. Those who have come from these, in accord with the mutual conflict and rebellious manner active in them, also spoke in a likely, arrogant and imaginary way concerning the things which they thought of as wisdom, although the likeness deceived them, since they thought that they had attained the truth, when they had (only) attained error. (The Tripartite Tractate)

2cor 3:14  But their mental powers were dulled. For to this present day the same veil remains unlifted at the reading of the old covenant, because it is done away with by means of Christ. 


Ignorance produces negative emotional states such as "forgetfulness", "fear" and " terror"  these emotional states became solidified into matter when "the terror grew dense like a fog, so that no one could see"

but what is fog?

Particles of water floating in the air; they resemble very light rain. When warm humid air rises from the earth and cools to what is called the dew point, moisture condenses because cool air cannot hold as much water as warm air. If this occurs near the ground, it is called fog; if it takes place higher in the sky, it forms what is called a cloud. (Ps 135:7; Pr 25:14; Jer 10:13; 51:16) Moisture that condenses on cool objects, such as the ground or vegetation (usually at night), is described as dew. (Ex 16:13, 14; Jg 6:36-40; ) Mist, on the other hand, is composed of airborne particles of moisture that are somewhat larger in size than fog particles, but smaller than raindrops. 

Note: Fog is denser than mist and tends to last longer.

From the start the Gospel of Truth is using figurative language it is therefore clear to see that the Gospel of Truth is not speaking about natural "fog" but is using the word "fog" as a analogy from the natural world.

The fog was that which beclouded the minds of the All which arose from the vain imaginations and traditions of their evil hearts

Fog--Lack of clear understanding between the carnal mind and the true spiritual understanding of the Father that is spiritual blindness. (Act 13:11 2Peter 1:9 2Peter 2:17)

Fog is therefore a symbol of the "fog" of false teaching and false religion.

A description of fog from the Gospel of Truth: 

It’s something in a soul-endowed delusion (psychical form), like cold water sunk into loose earth. Those who see it think that it’s just earth. Afterwards, it dissolves again. If a breath draws it, it becomes warm.  Afterward, it evaporates if a breath of wind draws it, and it becomes warm. The cold aromas, then, are from division. For this reason, faith came and destroyed division and brought the warm fullness of love, so that the cold may not return, but the unity of perfect thought may prevail.

the term psychical form comes from the word psuchè (“soul, breath”), when it is related to psychros (“cold”), reminds us of a well-known etymological pun: the verb psuchô means “to blow” as much as “to breathe,” “to cool down” or “to get cold.”

In the Odes of Solomon fog is connected to thinking ability:

Ode 5:6. And they shall have no light to see that they may not take me.
7. May their thought become a thick-fog, and whatever they have planned-wisely [as they suppose] let it return upon their own heads

In Ode 5:7 "May their thought become a thick-fog" the Coptic has "power/ess"

The poet may mean "an earthborn mist" of pride, "swelling up" to obscure the sight of the oppressor. The Coptic perhaps substituted commonplace prose " [ulcerated and therefore] powerless." (Light on the Gospel: From an Ancient Poet by Edwin An. Abbott)

The role of the fog in the Gospel of Truth (Fog Coptic , Greek  ὅμιλος 3658) is used collectively as a collective noun (Note A collective noun is a noun that is singular in form but refers to a group of people or things) and this is how the Greek word is used in Revelation 18:17

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company <3658> in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

ὅμιλος, ὁμιλου, ὁ (ὁμός, ὁμοῦ, and ἴλη a crowd, band (Curtius, § 660; Vanicek, p. 897; but Fick iii. 723 from root mil 'to be associated,' 'to love')), from Homer down, a multitude of men gathered together, a crowd, throng: Revelation 18:17 Rec.

STRONGS NT 3658a: ὁμίχλη ὁμίχλη, ὁμίχλης, ἡ (in Homer ὀιχλη), from ὀμιχέω to make water), a mist, fog: 2 Peter 2:17 G L T Tr WH. (Amos 4:13; Joel 2:2; Sir. 24:3; Wis. 2:4.)

Waters, Clouds peoples, and multitudes, and nations

Paul speaks about a great a cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 In Revelation John hears a voice as the sound of many waters Rev 1:15 we are told in Rev 17:15 that the waters are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And in Rev 19:6, we are told the voice which had the sound of many waters is a great multitude of the Redeemed 

Re 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.


Re 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Here we have two groups of waters the Redeemed cloud of witnesses Heb 12:1 Rev 1:15 19:6 and the Nations Rev 17:15 this will help us to understand the use of Fog in the Gospel of Truth

cloud of witnesses  3509. νέφος nephos [nef’-os]; apparently a primary word; a cloud: —  cloud. 1) a cloud, a large dense multitude, a throng

There are some scriptural uses of mist/fog, blindness and forgetfulnesses:   

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

2Peter 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

(Note the things lacking are faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godly devotion, brotherly affection, and love see vss 5-8)

"He that lacketh these things is blind" — Greek. tuphlos 5185, literally "smoky, misty, darkened." (Cp. Rev. 3:17, where same word occurs.) His vision is clouded, he is shortsighted and cannot see the grand objective before him, nor the purpose of the knowledge of God. Thus he cannot see afar off. and "where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov. 29:18).

5185. τυφλός tuphlos [toof-los’]; from, 5187; opaque (as if smoky), i.e. (by analogy) blind (physically or mentally): —  blind. 
5187. τυφόω tuphoo [toof-o’-o]; from a derivative of 5188; to envelop with smoke, i.e. (figuratively) to inflate with self-conceit: —  high-minded, be lifted up with pride, be proud.

"Hath forgotten" — [Greek,] "contracted forgetfulness," wilful and culpable obliviousness. Where there is no conscious striving to develop "the new man,"  a person soon forgets the privileged status that he has enjoyed in Christ. 

Forgetfulness is linked to ignorance 3024. λήθη lethe [lay’-thay]; from 2990; forgetfulness: —  + forget.
2990 λανθάνω lanthano [lan-than’-o]   — be hid, to be hidden, to be hidden from one, be ignorant of, unawares.  without knowing

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

2 Peter 2:17

These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.

The false teachers are like the damp mists that blot out visibility (Mai. 4:2) without providing rain (cp. Deut. 32:2), and which are swept along by the tempest into the "blackness of darkness" (R.V.) for ever.

the mist of darkness or black darkness is the spiritual darkness of the mind (Psa. 69:23). Psa. 69:23

2217. ζόφος zophos [dzof’-os]; akin to the base of 3509; gloom (as shrouding like a cloud): —  blackness, darkness, mist.
3509. νέφος nephos [nef’-os]; apparently a primary word; a cloud: —  cloud. 
1) a cloud, a large dense multitude, a throng

Fog a Summary

Fog is an image for ignorance, forgetfulness and oblivion.- It is similar to sleep, blindness and darkness.
Fog a mental state of delusion resulting in spiritual blindness

the "fog" of false teaching and false religion.

Fog use as a collective of a group or community 

And the ignorance of the Father brought anguish and terror, and the anguish grew dense like a fog so that no one could see. (the Gospel of Truth)

This "fog" results in the appearance of error or perhaps is error.

Error

"Where did it (the error) come from?" or "Where did the words of deception, which all the powers have failed to discover, come from?" (the apocalypse of adam)

the word Error is used in the Bible 2The 2:11  1John

. 1John 4:6 We are of God. He that knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error

Those who were out of step with the teaching of spirit-filled teachers like John were thereby discernible as of "the spirit of error". "Error" is more 'deceit' in the Greek, the same word used of the spirit of deceit which the Lord would send upon the Jewish world 

2The 2:11 So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie

 just as God can work within the minds of believers according to His energeia by His Spirit (Eph. 1:19; 3:16-20), so those who refuse to believe have another spirit sent to work within them, deluding them into believing the lie. "The lie" refers to the "delusion"; and in the first century context, that delusion was the words of the Judaizers, framed as they are as the serpent in Eden and Cain who told the first lies (the same Greek word for "delusion" is used about the Judaizers who sought to delude the believers in Eph. 4:14; 2 Pet. 3:17; Jude 11 cp. Jn. 8:44). 

John contrasts a love of the truth (cp. :10) with "the spirit of error [s.w. "delusion"]", which operated through the false Judaist prophets / teachers infiltrating the churches (1 Jn. 4:1,6). 

Psychological confirmation of disbelievers is a feature of God's working with men (Is. 6:9,10; Rom. 1:24-28), and God even sends false prophets or teachers as part of this process (1 Kings 22:22,23; Ez. 14:9; Job 12:16). This is what will particularly happen in the last days (1 Tim. 4:1), just as it did in the collapse of Christian faith which was seen in the run up to the events of AD70

The word Error is also used in the Old Testament pseudepigrapha text of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 

Reuben 1:1 The Testament of Reuben Concerning Thoughts (Roberts-Donaldson Translation)

2:1. And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit (Error), when 2 I repented. Seven spirits therefore are appointed against man, and they are the leaders in the works 3 of youth. [And seven other spirits are given to him at his creation, that through them should be 4 done every work of man. The first is the spirit of life, with which the constitution (of man) is 5 created. The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire. The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching. The fourth is the sense of smell, with which tastes are given 6, 7 to draw air and breath. The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge. The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is 8 produced, for in food is the foundation of strength. The seventh is the power of procreation and 9 sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in. Wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit, and as a beast to a precipice. (R. H. Charles Translation)

3. Besides all these, there is an eighth (8) spirit of sleep, with which is created entrancement of man's nature, and the image of death. With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error. The first (1), the spirit of fornication, dwelleth in the nature and in the senses; the second (2) spirit of insatiateness in the belly; the third (3) spirit of fighting in the liver and the gall. The fourth (4) is the spirit of fawning and trickery, that through over-officiousness a man may be fair in seeming. The fifth (5) is the spirit of arrogance, that a man may be stirred up and become high-minded. The sixth (6) is the spirit of lying, in perdition and in jealousy to feign words, and to conceal words from kindred and friends. The seventh (7) is the spirit of injustice, with which are theft and pilferings, that a man may work the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by means of craft. Besides all these, the spirit of sleep, the eighth (8) spirit, is conjoined with error and fantasy. And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.

The theme of the Testament of Reuben is about human thoughts (1:1) these thoughts and the mind in which they reside generate the decisions that result in sin and righteous conduct (See Reuben 3:12 4:6,8,11; 5:3,6,7; 6:1,2)

2:1 And seven other spirits are given to him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man.

the seven other spirits given to human beings these spirits listed in Ruben 2:3-9 are said to be other spirits than the the seven spirits of error/deceit. except for the seventh one the power of procreation and sexual intercourse these other spirits are evaluated as beneficent powers working for human beingsthe seven other spirits seem to refer to the human senses

Because of this, error  became strong. But she worked on her material substance vainly, because she did not know the truth. She assumed a fashioned figure while she was preparing, in power and in beauty, the substitute for truth.

The words "material substance" "hylic substance" or "its own matter" should be understood as a reference to Error equivalent of truth or substitute for truth which has a fashioned figure

The substance of Error is fog, fog or mist which is physically insubstantial has no real corporeal substance the fashioned figure it produces is an illusion a substitute for truth


1peter 1:14 As obedient children, quit being fashioned according to the desires YOU formerly had in YOUR ignorance, 

the word "fashioned figure" or "fashioned form" refers to our mental atitiute to conform one’s self (i.e. one’s mind and character) to another’s pattern, (fashion one’s self according to) 

12:2 And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making YOUR mind over, that YOU may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For this reason, do not take error too seriously. Thus, since it had no root, it was in a fog as regards the Father, engaged in preparing works and forgetfulnesses and fears in order, by these means, to beguile those of the middle and to make them captive. (the Gospel of Truth)

Error happens, or exists, by terrifying and beguiling a group of people that is called ‘those of the middle

Error exists as long as it can beguile those of the middle. Error was, and still is, the cause and result of a false knowledge of the Father

‘those of the middle’ is a term that refers to people who have not yet come to knowledge, but who have the capacity for it.

This darkness of ignorance and error what is often called sin in the Orthodox Christianity 

Error came into being in a fog, and that basically is a product of ignorance

Error and Fog exist together they may form a syzygy 

Acquaintance is gnosis Un-acquaintance is a lack of gnosis or "deficiency" lack is destroyed by the advent of gnosis.

the terms "error" and "lack" are used interchangeably in the Gospel of Truth

error seems to be used in the Gospel of Truth as a synonym for the familiar Valentinian concept of "lack" or "deficiency" ( Greek: hysterema).

ignorance (Un-acquaintance) of the Father brought about Error through anxiety and fear
Error is not Sophia For example, later in the text error is linked to the crucifixion of Jesus (18:21-31). The text also speaks of error's destruction (26:15-32). This is at odds with any known Gnostic myth of Sophia, particularly a Valentinian one.

Error in the Gospel of Truth is not set in the primordial past, as for instance in the Apocryphon of John, but in the time of Jesus’ earthly mission and in the present time of the community

The personification of error represents the "state of consciousness of the Jewish Sanhedrin and the Roman authorities " For this reason error was angry with him, so she persecuted him. She was distressed by him, and she was made powerless. He was nailed to a tree."(Gospel of Truth 18:16-18).

Error is simultaneously a symbolic designation for the group of people that persecuted Jesus and a description of their mental state.

Error has a mental condition That which is untrue. Error thoughts represent belief in thoughts and beliefs not of God. Error thoughts have no foundation in Truth. They originate in the intellect. They are eliminated by one's denying their reality and power, and affirming the Truth of Being.

Error was, and still is, the cause and result of a false knowledge of the Father.

Speak of the truth with those who search for it, and (of) knowledge to those who have committed sin in their error.


You may want to see our study on The Figure of Error in the Odes of Solomon

For more information on the Gospel of Truth see  Rethinking the Gospel of Truth Book by Jörgen Magnusson