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creatio ex deo vs creatio ex nihilo

**Creatio ex Deo vs. Creatio ex Nihilo**

*Creation Out of God's Own Substance vs. Creation From Nothing*

The doctrine of *creatio ex nihilo*, or creation out of nothing, has long dominated Christian theology. It proposes that when God created the heavens and the earth, He did not use any pre-existing material but brought everything into being from non-being—pure nothingness. While this might seem like a theological safeguard of God’s omnipotence and transcendence, it is a position that lacks biblical foundation and philosophical coherence.

The Scriptures are largely silent on *how* God created. They tell us *what* God created—"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), and "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God" (Hebrews 11:3)—but they do not specify the medium or substance through which this act of creation occurred. *Creatio ex nihilo*, then, is not a biblical doctrine, but one constructed later in response to competing cosmologies—particularly Gnostic dualism and various Platonic philosophies. As such, it became a reactionary doctrine rather than one organically derived from revelation.

If not out of nothing, then what? The alternative—often dismissed as heretical—is *creatio ex deo*: creation out of the very being, the corporeal spirit-substance, of God Himself. This does not mean that creation is God, nor that the universe is identical to God (pantheism), but that God emanated the world from His own essence—thus allowing for a distinction between Creator and creation while affirming their ontological connection. This view is better classified as panentheism: all things exist *in* God, though God is not reducible to them.

Scriptural testimony supports this. In Genesis 2:7, we read that “the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” The breath of God—the *ruach* or Spirit—is what animated man. This divine breath is not a metaphor for oxygen; it is God’s own emanation. Jesus reenacts this process in John 20:22: “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” This parallel is not coincidental—it is revelatory. The Spirit comes from within God’s own being and enters into humanity.

Further support comes from the Apostle Paul. In Acts 17:28, Paul proclaims, “In him we live and move and have our being,” quoting a Greek poet yet affirming it as true theology. Ephesians 4:6 declares that there is “One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Colossians 3:11 states of Christ that he “is all, and in all.” These are not vague spiritual generalities; they are ontological claims. They affirm the immanence of God in creation and creation’s ongoing dependence upon Him.

If *creatio ex deo* is true, it means that creation was not an act of sheer externalization but of internal emanation—God drawing forth from Himself, forming creation out of His own spiritual-corporeal substance. This fits more coherently with how Genesis depicts creation: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” But what is the word of God? According to John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… Through him all things were made.” This Word is not some detached command—it is the mind, intention, and substance of God Himself, later “made flesh” in Jesus (John 1:14). The Word, then, is the divine pattern or blueprint emanating from within the being of God.

This concept helps us explain not only spiritual truths but physical ones. The first atoms of creation were not conjured from void, but issued from God’s own spirit-matter, giving rise to all subsequent matter. The Genesis narrative affirms that humanity was formed from *pre-existing* material: “the dust of the ground.” This is not insignificant. It reinforces that mankind is not created *ex nihilo*, but from created elements, which themselves ultimately came from the divine.

Scientifically, we understand that matter cannot be created from nothing. Even the Big Bang theory presupposes an initial singularity—something. The principle of conservation of energy asserts that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transformed. If that is the case, and if God is the primal source of all that is, then the universe is a transformation, an emanation of God's own power and being into ordered complexity. The divine substance became the matrix from which time, space, matter, and life emerged.

Colossians 1:17 says of Christ, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The Word is the binding agent of reality—not just spiritually, but materially. God's presence is what sustains atomic cohesion, gravitational laws, and biological processes. The visible world is a continuous emanation of divine force, a structured outflow of God's own corporeal reality. Creation, then, is not something God *once* did but is something God continually upholds.

To summarize: *creatio ex deo* challenges the abstraction of *creatio ex nihilo* by grounding creation in the corporeal, spirit-substance of God. It finds stronger support in Scripture, aligns more closely with the scientific understanding of matter and energy, and deepens our sense of reverence for the material world—not as a detached other, but as something birthed from within God Himself. This worldview affirms the holiness of creation without collapsing Creator and creation into one and the same. It invites us to see the universe as sacred space—matter suffused with Spirit, atoms born from glory.

Valentinian Cosmology in the Tripartite Tractate

The text known as the Tripartite Tractate presents one of the most systematic surviving descriptions of Valentinian cosmology. It outlines a complete theological vision beginning with the ultimate source of reality, describing the emanation of the aeons, the disruption that occurred within the divine order, and the restoration that ultimately reunites all things. The tractate describes a structured divine order centered on the Father, the Son (Logos), and the Church, from whom the aeons emerge and through whom the final restoration of the cosmos takes place.

The Father: The Absolute Source

At the beginning of all things stands the Father, the ultimate source and foundation of existence. The tractate describes the Father as the one who exists before all things and who contains within himself the potential of all reality. He is beyond limitation, beyond form as understood in created beings, and beyond complete comprehension by those who proceed from him.

The Father is described as the perfect fullness from which everything originates. Nothing exists outside his will or beyond the reach of his thought. All realities that later appear in the cosmos first exist within the Father’s intention and knowledge.

The text emphasizes that the Father is the origin of the entire pleromic order. All the aeons, all divine attributes, and the entire spiritual community come forth from him. His nature is characterized by goodness, completeness, and generosity, since he brings forth beings capable of knowing him and sharing in his fullness.

Within the Father’s thought the aeons initially exist in potential form. They are not separate or independent realities but exist within the Father as thoughts that will later emerge into distinct existence.

The Son: The Revealer and Perfect Image

The first and most perfect manifestation of the Father is the Son, often identified with the Logos. The Son is the direct expression of the Father’s nature and serves as the image through which the Father becomes known.

The tractate portrays the Son as the one who reveals the Father to the other aeons. Through him the hidden depth of the Father becomes intelligible to those who originate from him. The Son possesses fullness, completeness, and perfect harmony with the Father.

Because the Father is ultimately beyond comprehension, the Son functions as the mediator of knowledge. The aeons perceive the Father through the Son and glorify him through the Son’s revelation.

The Son therefore occupies a central place in the cosmological order. He stands at the boundary between the unknowable depth of the Father and the multiplicity of beings that arise from him. Through the Son the divine nature becomes communicable, and through him the aeons gain awareness of their source.

The Church: The Collective of the Aeons

A distinctive feature of the Tripartite Tractate is the role of the Church as a divine reality within the highest order of existence. The Church is not merely a historical institution but a primordial spiritual community composed of the aeons themselves.

The Church represents the unity and harmony of the pleromic realm. It is the collective life of the aeons as they exist in relationship with the Father and the Son. The aeons together form a living community whose purpose is to know the Father and express praise toward him.

Within this community each aeon possesses its own characteristics and functions, yet all remain united within the shared life of the Church. Their harmony reflects the perfection of the Father from whom they originate.

The Church therefore represents the structure of divine society within the pleroma. It is the environment in which the aeons exist and the framework that preserves their unity.

The Emanation of the Aeons

The aeons originate through a process often described as emanation. Rather than being created out of nothing, they proceed from the Father’s inner thought and gradually come into manifest existence.

The tractate describes this process using biological imagery. The aeons initially exist within the Father like seeds or embryos. They are present in potential form until the Father grants them distinct existence.

As the aeons come into being they gain awareness of the Father and learn to recognize him as their source. The Father reveals himself to them gradually so that they may grow in knowledge and understanding.

Each aeon reflects an aspect of the Father’s character. Some express wisdom, others truth, others life, and others various virtues. Together they constitute the fullness of divine attributes.

Despite their individuality, the aeons remain united in harmony. Their existence is cooperative rather than competitive. They exist within the shared life of the Church and continually glorify the Father.

This harmonious order constitutes the pleroma, the realm of fullness where divine knowledge and unity prevail.

The Fall of the Logos

The cosmological drama begins when the Logos moves beyond the established harmony of the pleroma. Motivated by a desire to comprehend the depth of the Father fully, the Logos attempts to reach beyond the limits assigned within the divine order.

This attempt results in disturbance within the cosmic structure. The Logos becomes separated from the perfect harmony of the aeons and enters a state of confusion.

The tractate describes how the Logos, unable to grasp the Father’s infinite depth, becomes divided in thought and action. This internal conflict produces a series of imperfect emanations.

These emanations lack the clarity and harmony that characterize the beings of the pleroma. They emerge as shadows or images rather than true reflections of divine reality.

From these flawed emanations arise the lower cosmic powers that eventually form the visible universe. The Logos’ error therefore becomes the origin of the imperfect world that exists outside the pleroma.

The Formation of the Lower Cosmos

Once separated from the harmony of the aeons, the Logos generates a series of beings that lack full knowledge of the Father. These beings form the lower hierarchy of cosmic rulers.

The tractate describes them as copies or imitations of the higher realities. They possess power and authority but do not possess the fullness of knowledge found in the pleroma.

These powers organize the material cosmos and govern the visible world. Their actions give rise to the structure of the heavens, the earth, and the human condition.

Human beings emerge within this lower order as composite beings containing multiple elements. They possess bodily existence within the material world, yet they also possess higher elements that originate from the divine realm.

This mixed nature creates the human struggle between ignorance and knowledge, between earthly limitations and the potential for spiritual understanding.

The Descent of the Savior

Seeing the confusion and suffering produced by the fall of the Logos, the aeons act to restore the cosmic order. The Son descends into the lower realms as the Savior.

The mission of the Savior is to bring knowledge to those who are capable of receiving it. Through revelation he reminds them of their origin in the Father and their connection to the pleroma.

The Savior awakens the spiritual element within humanity. Those who receive his message gain understanding of the true structure of the cosmos and their place within it.

This knowledge enables them to overcome ignorance and align themselves once again with the divine order.

The Restoration of the Cosmos

The final goal of the cosmological process is restoration. The Savior’s work gradually reverses the effects of the Logos’ fall.

Those who attain knowledge become reintegrated with the divine community represented by the Church. They return to the pleroma and participate once again in the life of the aeons.

The Logos himself is also restored through repentance and reconciliation with the higher realms. The disturbance that once divided the cosmos is ultimately healed.

In the final restoration the entire structure of existence returns to harmony. The pleroma is completed, and all beings capable of receiving the divine knowledge participate in the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Church.

Conclusion

The cosmology of the Tripartite Tractate presents a complex vision of the universe as a living system of emanations originating from the Father. The Son reveals the Father to the aeons, while the Church represents the collective unity of these divine beings.

The fall of the Logos introduces division and imperfection into the cosmic structure, giving rise to the lower world and its governing powers. Yet the descent of the Savior initiates a process of restoration that ultimately reunites the fragmented cosmos.

Through knowledge and reconciliation the aeons and humanity are restored to their original harmony within the fullness of the divine realm. This vision of emanation, fall, and restoration forms one of the most detailed expressions of Valentinian cosmology preserved in the writings of the Nag Hammadi library.

Original article 

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# The Cosmology of the Tripartite Tractate

The cosmology presented in the Tripartite Tractate is one of the most sophisticated and distinctive theological systems preserved in the Nag Hammadi texts. Although it belongs broadly to the Valentinian tradition, its cosmology differs in several important respects from other Valentinian writings. Most notably, it lacks the familiar doctrine of the emanation of thirty aeons and replaces the traditional fall of Sophia with the fall of the Logos.

The cosmology presented in the text is deeply influenced by the prologue of the Gospel of John and builds its metaphysical framework around the relationship between the Father and the Logos. The aeons are described not merely as divine beings but as emanations of the divine mind itself. Creation unfolds as a process occurring within the thought of the Father and becomes manifest through successive levels of expression and embodiment.

## The Head of Days: The Father

At the summit of reality stands the Father, the ultimate and unbegotten source of all existence. In the *Tripartite Tractate*, the Father is described in language emphasizing absolute unity, transcendence, and incomprehensibility. The text declares:

> “He existed before anything other than himself came into being. The Father is a single one, like a number, for he is the first one and the one who is only himself. Yet he is not like a solitary individual. Otherwise, how could he be a father? For whenever there is a ‘father,’ the name ‘son’ follows. But the single one, who alone is the Father, is like a root, with tree, branches and fruit. It is said of him that he is a father in the proper sense, since he is inimitable and immutable. Because of this, he is single in the proper sense, and is a god, because no one is a god for him nor is anyone a father to him.”

The Father is therefore not merely the beginning of the cosmos but the foundation of all being and thought. The text describes his nature in profoundly apophatic terms:

> “This is the nature of the unbegotten one, which does not touch anything else; nor is it joined (to anything) in the manner of something which is limited. Rather, he possesses this constitution, without having a face or a form, things which are understood through perception… If he is incomprehensible, then it follows that he is unknowable, that he is the one who is inconceivable by any thought, invisible by any thing, ineffable by any word, untouchable by any hand.”

The Father alone knows himself completely:

> “He alone is the one who knows himself as he is, along with his form and his greatness and his magnitude.”

In this sense the Father is described as **the Head of Days**, the ultimate source and head of the cosmic body.

## The Son: The Mind of the Father

Immediately following the Father is the Son, who functions as the manifestation of the Father’s inner thought. The *Tripartite Tractate* states:

> “Just as the Father exists in the proper sense, the one before whom there was no one else… so too the Son exists in the proper sense, the one before whom there was no other, and after whom no other son exists.”

The Son is therefore the **firstborn expression of the Father’s thought**. He is described as:

> “firstborn because no one exists before him and only Son because no one is after him.”

The Son functions as the **mind of the Father**, the form through which the Father becomes intelligible. The text poetically describes the Son as:

> “the sole first one, the man of the Father…

> the form of the formless,

> the body of the bodiless,

> the face of the invisible,

> the word of the unutterable,

> the mind of the inconceivable.”

This identification of the Son with the divine mind resonates strongly with the theology of the Gospel of John, particularly the declaration that **“Theos was the Logos.”**

In this framework, the Logos is both the thought and expression of God. As later explained by the theologian John Thomas:

> “Theos is the Brain, Logos is the Mind or thought.”

The *Tripartite Tractate* therefore interprets the Johannine Logos as the **mental activity of the Father**, the outward expression of divine reason.

The Son is also the source of all later emanations. As another Valentinian text explains:

> “God came forth: the Son, Mind of the All, that is, it is from the Root of the All that even his Thought stems, since he had this one (the Son) in Mind.”

## The Church and the Aeons

One of the most distinctive elements of the *Tripartite Tractate* is its conception of the Church as a primordial spiritual reality that exists before the aeons. The text states:

> “Those which exist have come forth from the Son and the Father like kisses, because of the multitude of some who kiss one another with a good, insatiable thought… This is to say, it is the Church consisting of many men that existed before the aeons, which is called, in the proper sense, ‘the aeons of the aeons.’”

The aeons are not simply divine beings but expressions of the Father’s attributes:

> “For each of the aeons is a name corresponding to each of the Father's qualities and powers.”

In this cosmology, the aeons exist first within the thought of the Father before they become distinct realities:

> “They were forever in thought, for the Father was like a thought and a place for them.”

Before their manifestation they existed only as potentialities:

> “They only had existence in the manner of a seed… it has been discovered that they existed like a fetus.”

Thus the aeons are **emanations of the divine mind as well as divine beings**.

The Father brings them into existence through thought:

> “Sowed a thought like a spermatic seed.”

This metaphor illustrates that the entire cosmos originates within the **mind of the Father**.

## Creation in the Divine Mind

The cosmology of the *Tripartite Tractate* closely follows the prologue of the Gospel of John. The text interprets John 1:4 in a symbolic manner:

> “But furthermore (he says), ‘That which came into being in it was Life.’ [Jn 1:4] Here he discloses a pair… ‘and Life was the light of human beings’… For from the Word and Life, the Human Being and the Church came into being.”

Thus the primordial pairs of Word and Life produce Humanity and the Church.

The entire structure of creation unfolds within the divine intellect. The cosmos is therefore not initially material but mental or spiritual in nature.

## The Fall of the Logos

In most Valentinian systems, the disruption of the cosmic order occurs through the fall of Sophia. However, the *Tripartite Tractate* presents a different narrative. Here it is **the Logos himself who falls**.

Of all the aeons, only the first pair fully comprehended the Father. The Logos, however, sought to produce a perfect being independently:

> “The intent, then, of this one who is the Logos, was good… since he had wanted to bring forth one who is perfect… without having the command.”

Acting without the knowledge of his counterpart Sophia, the Logos produced an imperfect emanation.

This flawed creation gave rise to inferior beings, lacking the clarity of the higher aeons:

> “mere shadows and phantoms… lacking reason and light, dwelling in ignorance.”

These beings multiply and generate further defective creatures.

Thus the fall of the Logos becomes the origin of the lower cosmos.

## The Demiurge and the Archons

From the Logos’ defective emanations arises a hierarchy of cosmic rulers. The highest among them is the Demiurge.

The text describes him as:

> “the lord of all of them… the countenance which the Logos brought forth in his thought as a representation of the Father of the Totalities.”

He therefore reflects the divine image imperfectly.

The Logos governs creation through him:

> “The Logos uses him as a hand, to beautify and work on the things below, and he uses him as a mouth, to say the things which will be prophesied.”

Thus the Demiurge becomes the **agent of creation**, forming the physical universe and governing the archons.

The Demiurge possesses many titles:

> “father… god… demiurge… king… judge… place… dwelling… law.”

Yet he remains subordinate to the Logos who produced him.

## The Body as Cosmic Expression

An important concept in the cosmology of the *Tripartite Tractate* is the idea that higher beings interact with lower levels of reality through bodies.

A body is defined as:

> “The outward expression of consciousness; the manifestation of the thinking part of man.”

This concept extends upward through the cosmic hierarchy.

Bodies are not limited to material existence:

> “Bodies are not exclusively connected to the material world at the lowest level. The Father and the Son at the uppermost level of depth above the Pleroma can have bodies.”

Each level of reality serves as the **body of a higher level**.

Thus the Logos uses the Demiurge as his body in order to interact with the material cosmos.

## The Cosmic Body Politic

The interaction between the Father, Son, Logos, Demiurge, and archons can be understood as a hierarchical system resembling a cosmic organism or political structure.

Each level acts as the body through which the higher level expresses its will.

The *Tripartite Tractate* therefore describes a form of divine administration or corporate structure.

This idea resembles the concept of the body politic described by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his work Leviathan.

Just as Hobbes described the state as a unified organism composed of many members, the *Tripartite Tractate* presents the cosmos as a structured hierarchy of divine agents.

The Father is the head, the Son the mind, the Logos the reasoning activity, the Demiurge the operative body, and the archons the subordinate powers governing the material realm.

## Restoration

Despite the fall of the Logos and the flawed nature of the material cosmos, the system ultimately moves toward restoration.

The higher Logos within the pleroma intercedes on behalf of the fallen Logos and guides the cosmic order toward reconciliation.

Through revelation and knowledge the spiritual elements within humanity can return to their original unity with the divine realm.

Thus the cosmology of the *Tripartite Tractate* presents a grand vision of the universe as an unfolding process within the mind of God: emanation, error, manifestation, and ultimately restoration.

The tenth heaven

The tenth heaven

In the tenth Heaven, Aravoth, I saw the vision of the face of the Lord, like iron burnt in the fire, and brought forth and emitting sparks, and it burns. So I saw the face of the Lord; but the face of the Lord cannot be told. It is wonderful and awful, and very terrible.

- 2 Enoch, Chapter XXII

This passage was translated into English from the Slavonic "Book of Enoch" in 1892. The word Aravoth is from the hebrew word "ערבות", which can be transliterated as "oraboth". This struck me as similiar to "Boraoth", one of the hidden names on the circumference of the Sigillum Dei, the letter B is in the middle of the word instead of the beginning. The enochian names have weird things around the use of the letter "B".

Aravoth is the 10th heaven were the throne of God resides, the Seraphim and Cherubim do serve the Almighty Lord shouting great praises to Him. They sing Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the world is full of His grace.

There is alot more need to know what happens on the 9th, 8th,7th up to the 1st heavens. 

Each level of heaven is designed for a purpose and it speaks God's glory.

And then the <seventh> heaven opened and we went up to the Ogdoad. And I saw the twelve apostles. They greeted me, and we went up to the ninth heaven. I greeted all those who were in the ninth heaven, and we went up to the tenth heaven. And I greeted my fellow spirits. The Nag Hammadi Library The Apocalypse of Paul

there are 14 levels, and Paul reached the tenth according to Apocalypse of Paul. Jesus/Osiris will be the 13th, and the 14th is the Father himself. Horemheb was he who built the tenth pylon/pillar at the Tempel of Karnak. It is still missing the 11th-13th pillar there.

I can before that time give you the information about the 1st to the 14th as a quote from NHL :)

The Apocalypse of Paul should be read as well to see what he thought abouth the 10th.

Now, the first kingdom says of the illuminator that he came from . . . a spirit . . . to heaven. He was nourished in the heavens. He received the glory of that one and the power. He came to the bosom of his mother, and in this way he came to the water.

And the second kingdom says of him that he came from a great prophet. And a bird came, took the child who was born, and brought him onto a high mountain. And he was nourished by the bird of heaven. An angel came forth there. He said to him, “Rise! God has given you glory.” He received glory and strength, and in this way he came to the water

The third kingdom says of him that he came from a virgin womb. He was cast out of his city, he and his mother; he was brought to a desert place. He was nourished there. He came and received glory and power, and in this way he came to the water.

The fourth kingdom says of him that he came from a virgin. . . . Solomon sought her, he and Phersalo and Sauel and his armies, which had been sent out. Solomon himself sent his army of demons to seek out the virgin. And they did not find the one whom they sought, but the virgin who was given to them. It was she whom they fetched. Solomon took her. The virgin became pregnant and gave birth to the child there. She nourished him on a border of the desert. When he was nourished, he received glory and power from the seed from which he was conceived, and in this way he came to the water.

And the fifth kingdom says of him that he came from a drop from heaven. He was thrown into the sea. The abyss received him, gave birth to him, and brought him to heaven. He received glory and power, and in this way he came to the water.

And the sixth kingdom says that one . . . came down to the realm that is below in order to gather flowers. She became pregnant from the desire of the flowers. She gave birth to him in that place. The angels of the flower garden nourished him. He received glory and power there, and in this way he came to the water.

And the seventh kingdom says of him that he is a drop and came from heaven to earth. Dragons brought him down to caves, and he became a child. A spirit came over him and raised him to the place from where the drop had come. He received glory and power there, and in this way he came to the water.

And the eighth kingdom says of him that a cloud came over the earth and enveloped a rock. He came from it. The angels above the cloud nourished him. He received glory and power there, and in this way he came to the water.

And the ninth kingdom says of him that from the nine muses one separated. She came to a high mountain and spent some time seated there, so that she desired her own body in order to become androgynous. She fulfilled her desire and became pregnant from her desire. He was born. The angels who were over the desire nourished him. And he received glory there and power, and in this way he came to the water.

The tenth kingdom says of him that his god loved a cloud of desire. He fathered him in his hand and cast upon the cloud above him some of the drop, and he was born. He received glory and power there, and in this way he came to the water.

And the eleventh kingdom says of him that the father desired his own daughter. She was pregnant from her father. She cast her child . . . tomb out in the desert. The angel nourished him there, and in this way he came to the water.

The twelfth kingdom says of him that he came from two luminaries. He was nourished there. He received glory and power, and in this way he came to the water.

And the thirteenth kingdom says of him that every birth of their ruler is a word. And this word received a mandate there. He received glory and power, and in this way he came to the water, that the desire of those powers might be satisfied.

But the generation without a king says that god chose him from all the eternal realms. He caused knowledge of the one of truth, who is undefiled, to reside in him. He said, “Out of a foreign air, from a huge eternal realm, the great illuminator appeared. And he made the generation of those people whom he had chosen for himself shine, so that they should shine on the whole eternal realm

The 12 Aeons Revelation 7

The 12 Aeons Revelation 7

7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were [a]sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.




Then look at verse four. He says, “And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000 sealed.” Some religious groups have picked up on this 144,000 and have attempted to say that this is the exact number that are going to be saved and going to be living in the kingdom of God and so forth, and folks, it just doesn’t make any sense. It isn’t logical. That’s what happens when you take things literally out of the scripture.

The 144,000 is simply symbolic. It means a wide number of people. It’s going to refer to both Jews and gentiles. Both Jewish Christians and gentile Christians. “A great multitude from every nation,” is what he says down here in verse nine. Go down to verse nine. “After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.”

Peoples from all tribes and peoples and tongues. This includes the 144,000 as a reference to all the faithful who are going to be saved. And the symbology has to do with 12 times 12. The 12 tribes and the 12 apostles. 12 carries with it the idea of spiritual completeness. Spiritual completeness. The number of seven sort of carries the same idea; spiritual fulfillment or completion. But the number 12 really means completion in a broader sense, I suppose. Spiritual completion. And it’s simply a symbolic number.

If you take it literally, then we’re all in a lot of trouble, because there are a lot of souls running around on this plain and on other plains. If we say only 144,000 are going to make it, then that’s not very encouraging, is it? When we say that, we miss the whole point. He’s dealing with symbology here. The elect; the 144,000, okay? We see here a form of divine recognition for both the Jews and the gentiles.
The Aions are a symbol of the 12 followers of Jesus and the 12 tribes of Israel a symbol of the 12 Aions which emanated from the Deity Hebrews 11:1-4 cp 2tim 3:16 god breathed the Aions into existence from his substance heb 1:3 emanating forth from him

The Twelve Aions or 12 spiritual attributes of Consciousness

The names of the twelve sons of Jacob form a sentence, conveying an important message. Throughout the Scriptures they are set forth in various orders, changing the message of the names as this is done

The names of the tribes (vv. 5-8) form a sentence as follows:

Judah — Praise; praise Jehovah; meta. prayer and praise faculty.

Reuben — See a son; behold a vision of a son; meta. understanding through seeing.

Gad — Company pertaining to good fortune; meta. power on.the physical plane.

Asher — Blessed; straight forward; faculty of understanding.

Naphthali — Wrestling; wrestling; meta. elimination or renunciation.

Manasseh — Forgetting; out of the forgotten;

Simeon —Hearing; harkening, obeying; meta. understanding through hearing.

Levi — Joining; joining, clinging; meta. the love faculty in human consciousness.

Issachar —Reward; he will bring reward, he who brings recompense; meta. activated zeal.

Zebulun — Dwelling; habitation, dwelling; meta. order faculty.

Joseph —Adding; Joseph - Jehovah shall bring increase; meta. imagination.

Benjamin — Son of the right hand. son of good fortune; meta. active accomplishing faith.

The Pleroma the Waters Above the Heavens Genesis 1:7

The Pleroma the Waters Above the Heavens

An Opening reading from The Dialogue of the Savior

The Lord said, "When the Father established the cosmos, he [collected] water from it, and his Word came forth from it, and it experienced many [troubles]. It was more exalted than the path [of the starts] surrounds the entire earth.

[He continued] the collected water [above] is beyond the stars and beyond the water is  a great fire encircling them like a wall. [Periods of ] time began to be measured once many beings that were within had separated from the rest. When the [word] was established, he looked [down], and The Father said to him, 'Go, and [send something] from yourself, in order that [the earth] may not be in want from generation to generation, and from age to age.' 

The Hebrew shamayim (always in the plural), which is rendered “heaven(s),” seems to have the basic sense of that which is high or lofty. (Ps 103:11; Pr 25:3; Isa 55:9)

Genesis Verse 1  In the beginning God created the heavens (Heb. hushomayim – plural) and the earth. (Genesis 1)

If we read the history of the creation as a revelation to inhabitants of Earth we find it informs us of the order in which the things narrated would have developed themselves to our view if we had been placed on some projecting rock and observed the events revealed. We must remember this. The Mosaic account is not a revelation of the formation of the boundless universe to inhabitants on other planets removed from the Earth. Rather, it was given to humans as inhabitants of this terrestrial system. (1)

God existed before he created the Heavens and the earth. God exists outside of time and space in the Bythos or depth. 

First of all the Pleroma did not always exist it was produced and formed by the Eternal Spirit this we call the emanation.

(He created the holy Pleroma in this way The Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

The word Pleroma means "fullness". It refers to all existence beyond visible universe. In other words it is the world of the Aeons, the heavens or spiritual universe. Bythos is the spiritual source of everything which emanates the pleroma,

The Pleroma is both the abode of and the essential nature of the True Ultimate Deity or Bythos.
The Pleroma as well as being the dwellings place of the Aeons is also a state of consciousness.

What does it mean by "in the beginning" you see some can argue that he means beginning as in God forever and eternal past but if that's the case there really is no beginning with God others might argue well beginning in the sense that when God conceived of creating the perfect sons and daughters of God the human beings whatever other beings he might have created in the universe that was the beginning

When this "beginning" was we are not told. But we are taught that wisdom was revealed in the acts of creation from the beginning. John states that "in the beginning" was the Word or Logos (John 1:1). Logos signifies the outward expression of inward thought or reason. It represents more than a mere word, for it incorporates the thought behind the word expressed. Elsewhere, we learn that wisdom was with God in the beginning, and was manifested in His acts of creation (Prov. 8:22). Hence, all that was done, was done with His ultimate purpose in mind, and not as the result of blind force or chance

atmospheric region or sky

Mat 6: 26 Observe intently the birds of heaven, because they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses; still YOUR heavenly Father feeds them. Are YOU not worth more than they are?

Heavens of earth’s atmosphere. . “The sky” is sometimes meant, that is, the apparent or visual dome or vault arching over the earth.—Mt 16:1-3; Ac 1:10, 11.

After the very first verse of the Bible we are told that there is a body of ‘deep’ water presumably in or around the earth:

Genesis Verse 2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1)

This scripture also seems to be making a lot of play of the word ‘face’ or surface.

A little further on, God then made a firmament which divided the body of water into two bodies of water, one below and one above it: (2)

Genesis Verse 7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. (Genesis 1)

This atmospheric region corresponds generally to the “firmament [Heb., raqia`]” formed during the second creative period, described at Genesis 1:6-8. It is evidently to this ‘heaven’ that Genesis 2:4; Exodus 20:11; 31:17 refer in speaking of the creation of ““the sky and the dry land. (3)

A typical dictionary definition of the word firmament is ‘expanse’ so this firmament would appear to be an expanse of space or sky surrounding the earth with a body of water on the earth and the other body of water sitting above the expanse of space.

Now it starts to get interesting. In verse 8 God now called the firmament ‘Heaven’. Whilst the word for heaven in verse 8 is also the plural ‘shomayim’ it does not contain the definite article as does the heavens in verse 1. OT Hebrew nouns without the definite article attached are likely to indicate a proper name, the ‘Sky’ or  atmospheric region it is the element of the heavens that mankind can see.

 The waters below the firmament are what formed the seas and the water in the earth’s atmosphere in the form of clouds and rainfall. So  the firmament is both the extent of the Earth’s atmosphere or sky and the visible universe therefore the firmament is intended to comprise both of these expanses: (4)

8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. (Genesis 1)

The firmament may have seemed like a glass dome.

“Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, the middle layer of water solidified,and the nether heavens and the uppermost heavens were formed. Rab said: [God's] handiwork [the heavens] was in fluid form, and on the second day it congealed; thus Let there be a firmament means ‘Let the firmament be made strong*. R. Judah b. R. Simon said: Let a lining be made for the firmament, as you read, And they did beat the gold into thin plates…R. Simon said: The fire came forth from above and burnished the face of the firmament.” Gen. Rab. 4:2

“R. Phinehas said in R. Oshaya’s name: As there is a void between the earth and the firmament, so is there a void between the firmament and the upper waters, as it is written, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, meaning, midway between them. R. Tanhuma said: I will state the proof. If it said, And God made the firmament, and He divided between the waters . . . which are upon the firmament, I would say that the water lies directly upon the firmament itself.” Gen. Rab. 4:3

“But after that he makes the firmament, that is, the corporeal heaven. For every corporeal object is, without doubt, firm and solid; and it is this which “divides the water which is above heaven from the water which is below heaven.” Origen. Homily on Genesis

The firmament is the limit, the middle or boundary between the Physical Heavens and the spiritual heavens called the pleroma

Outer space. 

The physical “heavens” extend through earth’s atmosphere and beyond to the regions of outer space with their stellar bodies, “all the army of the heavens”—sun, moon, stars, and constellations. (De 4:19; Isa 13:10; 1Co 15:40, 41; Heb 11:12 These heavens show forth God’s glory, even as does the expanse of atmosphere, being the work of God’s “fingers.” (Ps 8:3; 19:1-6)
The divinely appointed “statutes of the heavens” control all such celestial bodies. Astronomers, despite their modern equipment and advanced mathematical knowledge, are still unable to comprehend these statutes fully. (Job 38:33; Jer 33:25) Their findings, however, confirm the impossibility of man’s placing a measurement upon such heavens or of counting the stellar bodies. (Jer 31:37; 33:22;
Yet they are numbered and named by God.—Ps 147:4; Isa 40:26.

“Heavens of the heavens.

” The expression “heavens of the heavens” is considered to refer to the highest heavens and would embrace the complete extent of the physical heavens, however vast, since the heavens extend out from the earth in all directions.—De 10:14; Ne 9:6.

Solomon, the constructor of the temple at Jerusalem, stated that the “heavens, yes, the heaven of the heavens” cannot contain God. (1Ki 8:27)

27 “But will God truly dwell upon the earth? Look! The heavens, yes, the heaven of the heavens, themselves cannot contain you; how much less, then, this house that I have built!

Yahweh measures the physical heavens as easily as a man would measure an object by spreading his fingers so that the object lies between the tips of the thumb and the little finger. (Isa 40:12) Solomon’s statement does not mean that God has no specific place of residence.

Nor does it mean that he is omnipresent in the sense of being literally everywhere and in everything. This can be seen from the fact that Solomon also spoke of Yahweh as hearing “from the heavens, your established place of dwelling,” that is, the heavens of the pleroma the eternal realm.—1Ki 8:30, 39

. 30 And you must listen to the request for favor on the part of your servant and of your people Israel with which they pray toward this place; and may you yourself hear at the place of your dwelling, in the heavens, and you must hear and forgive.

, 39 then may you yourself hear from the heavens, your established place of dwelling, and you must forgive and act and give to each one according to all his ways, because you know his heart (for you yourself alone well know the heart of all the sons of mankind)

In Deuteronomy 10, we find the strongest evidence possible that there is more than one heaven. Verse 14 refers to the heavens in the plural but also references the heaven of the heavens. Whilst concordances and lexicons routinely consider the Hebrew word ‘shamay’ as an unused singular noun, this very rare form of the word for heaven in the OT scriptures does appear in this verse. This to my mind draws this specific word out with the special meaning of God’s home being singularly supreme and above the other heavens:

14 Behold,the heavens (Heb. Shamayim) and the heaven (Heb. Shamay – singular?) of heavens (Heb. Shamayim) is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. (Deuteronomy 10)

To further emphasise these points 1Kings Chapter 8 contains the same phraseology and Hebrew grammar:

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1Kings 8)

Nehemiah Chapter 9 but with one added ingredient. Here each heaven comes with its own host. This could be referring to the stars in the sky as well as the sons of God beyond the stars.

6 Thou, even thou, art Yahweh alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Nehemiah 9)

Psalm 33 paints a similar picture:

6 By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. (Psalms 33)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Genesis 2)

Spiritual Heavens.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the [celestial] lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow.

the Father of the [celestial] lights, "Father of spirits" (Heb 12:9); "Father of the heavenly lights" (Jam 1:17

 The same original-language words used for the physical heavens are also applied to the spiritual heavens. As has been seen, Yahweh Elohim does not reside in the physical heavens, being a Spirit. However, since he is “the High and Lofty One” who resides in “the height” (Isa 57:15), the basic sense of that which is “lifted up” or “lofty” expressed in the Hebrew-language word makes it appropriate to describe God’s “lofty abode of holiness and beauty.” (Isa 63:15; Ps 33:13, 14; 115:3)

“army of the heavens,” often applied to the stellar creation, sometimes describes these angelic sons of God. (1Ki 22:19; compare Ps 103:20, 21; Da 7:10; Lu 2:13; Re 19:14.) So, too, “the heavens” are personified as representing this angelic organization, “the congregation of the holy ones.”—Ps 89:5-7; compare Lu 15:7, 10; Re 12:12.

12 Is not God in the height of heaven? (Heb. plural Shamayim) and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. (Job 22)

Job Chapter 22 teaches that God’s heaven is above the stars but that He can see through the darkness that covers Him from our sight.

4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. (Psalms 148)

Now while ‘waters’ refers to God’s heavenly hosts or dwelling pleace that is the Pleroma in the symbolic meaning, the literal meaning would be the waters of the flood:

Ge 7:11 ¶ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. (Psalms 148)

The allusion here is to the waters which are above the lower heaven, that is, the air or sky and outer space, this higher region where the waters are is a higher heaven called the upper waters or the Pleroma. (5)

Note the Pleroma and the Aeons are called the deep

The Pleroma is also called the ‘emanations of the Father’, the ‘treasuries of light’ and the ‘immeasurable deep’.

As the ‘immeasurable deep’: “After these things there is another place which is broad, having hidden within it a great wealth which supplies the All. This is the immeasurable deep.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

The Upper Aeons are spiritual, invisible, immobile and are filled with light. They are described as ‘the Silence’ or a ‘watery light’ and contain archetypal images or reflections of the One. The Lower Aeons are material, visible, mutable and filled with darkness. They are described as ‘fiery’ and contain shadows, copies or images.

- Called ‘Watery light and life’, ‘water-light’, ‘light-water’, ‘Luminous Waters’, ‘Living Waters’, ‘the Silence’, ‘the silent Silence’, ‘the living Silence’, ‘the Treasure-House’, ‘the Store-House’, ‘the Dwelling-Place’, ‘crown’, ‘the kingless realm’.

- As water: “...the waters which are above.” (Melchizedek), “...the waters which are above matter.” (Apocryphon of John)

- As Living Water: “...the Aeons in the Living Water.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)

- As a watery light and life: “For it is he who looks at himself in his light which surrounds him, namely the spring of the water of life. And it is he who gives to all the aeons and in every way, (and) who gazes upon his image which he sees in the spring of the Spirit. It is he who puts his desire in his water-light which is in the spring of the pure light-water which surrounds him.” (Apocryphon of John)

They will receive you into aeonian dwellings (Luke 16: 9). We have a building from God, an aeonian house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Cor 5: 1). I am going to prepare a place for you, so that you also may be where I am (John 14: 3). Ps 104:3  (103:3) Who covers his chambers with waters; who makes the clouds his chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind. LXX

3  Who frameth of the waters the beams of his upper-chambers; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh along upon the wings of the wind:

Ps 104:3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

     Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters The word here rendered “layeth” — from hrq — means properly to meet; then, in Hiphil, to cause to meet, or to fit into each other, as beams or joists do in a dwelling. It is a word which would be properly applied to the construction of a house, and to the right adjustment of the different materials employed in building it. The word rendered “beams” — hYli — means “an upper chamber, a loft,” such as rises, in Oriental houses, above the flat roof; in the New Testament, the υπερωον, rendered “upper room,” #Ac 1:13 9:37,39 20:8. It refers here to the chamber — the exalted abode of God — as if raised above all other heavens, or above the universe.

The house which covers, frameth and layeth in the upper waters is the Pleroma 

The word “waters” here refers to the description of the creation in #Ge 1:6,7 — the waters “above the firmament,” and the waters “below the firmament.” The allusion here is to the waters above the firmament; and the meaning is, that God had constructed the place of his own abode — the room where he dwells — in those waters; that is, in the most exalted place the Pleroma outside of our universe.

 It does not mean that he made it of the waters, but that his home — his dwelling-place — was in or above those waters, as if he had built his dwelling not on solid earth or rock, but in the waters, giving stability to that which seems to have no stability, and making the very waters a foundation for the structure of his abode. 

1. The earth is at the centre of the model;

2. The lower waters are upon and below the surface of the Earth in the form of its seas;

3. The outer surface of the sky (i.e. the outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere) being above the lower waters which were contained within Earth’s atmosphere either as clouds in the sky or on and below the Earth’s surface as the seas;

4. The heavenly bodies (stars, sun and moon) contained within the visible universe of outer space (the firmament) being above the outer surface of the Earth’s atmosphere; The waters below the firmament are what formed the seas and the water in the earth’s atmosphere in the form of clouds and rainfall

5. The upper waters being above the visible universe. On this basis we must reach the inescapable conclusion that the upper waters are the invisible heavens of God’s domain the Pleroma, outside of the physical universe.

The word Pleroma means "fullness". It refers to all existence beyond visible universe. In other words it is the world of the Aeons, the heavens or spiritual universe. 
Bythos is the spiritual source of everything which emanates the pleroma. 
The Pleroma is both the abode of and the essential nature of the True Ultimate God.