The Grace Consciousness John 1-17

The Grace Consciousness John 1-17

'Grace', from the Greek word literally means "highly favoured", not an act of benevolence of God toward man. When Paul uses the word 'grace', he uses it in appreciation of God for allowing Jesus to teach us the principles of his/God's logos/mind. In effect, grace implies God giving us the right to comprehend and participate in his will (logos/logic).

"Wisdom can also be considered grace."

"Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17); that is, the real saving, redeeming, transforming power came to man through the work that Jesus did in establishing for the mankind a new Consciousness of Righteousness. We can enter into this consciousness by faith in Him and by means of the inner spirit of the law that He taught and practiced.

It is when we wake up to this truth that we are able to move out of a consciousness of sin and instead move into a consciousness of righteousness.

The grace of God extends to all people, not alone to one sect or creed. All men are equal in favour with God.

I have Faith: "Through the grace of God I am forgiven and healed."

Samaritan carrying a lamb Gospel of Thomas Saying 60

Saying 60 <They saw> a Samaritan carrying a lamb, who was going to Judaea. He said to his disciples: (What will) this man (do) with the lamb? They said to him: Kill it and eat it. He said to them: While it is alive he will not eat it, but (only) when he kills it (and) it becomes a corpse. They said to him: Otherwise he cannot do it. He said to them: You also, seek a place for yourselves in rest, that you may not become a corpse and be eaten.

Saying 60 is usually translated “They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his (i.e., the Samaritan’s) way to Judaea.’ But the text should certainly be restored to provide the following translation: 'He (i.e., Jesus) saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb, when he (i.e., Jesus) was on his way to Judaea.'"
The background for this saying may be Lu 17:11 “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.” then He (i.e., Jesus) saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb, when he (i.e., Jesus) was on his way to Judaea.'"

This saying is similar to 2Clem 5:1-5: Wherefore, brethren, let us forsake our sojourn in this world and do the will of Him that called us, and let us not be afraid to depart out of this world. 5:2 For the Lord saith, Ye shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves. 5:3 But Peter answered and said unto Him, What then, if the wolves should tear the lambs? 5:4 Jesus said unto Peter, Let not the lambs fear the wolves after they are dead; and ye also, fear ye not them that kill you and are not able to do anything to you; but fear Him that after ye are dead hath power over soul and body, to cast them into the Gehenna of fire. 5:5 And ye know, brethren, that the sojourn of this flesh in this world is mean and for a short time, but the promise of Christ is great and marvellous, even the rest of the kingdom that shall be and of life eternal.

The saying as a whole is reminiscent of Saying 7. The lamb is Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and the Samaritan is the world-rulers who killed Jesus, the Samaritan is both the rulers of the Jews and the Roman overseer both Jewish and Gentile for this is what the Samaritans were Jewish-Gentiles or Gentiles who say they are Jews but are not.

“While it is alive” Even a Samaritan must slaughter an animal properly, making sure the soul-blood Lev 17:10,11 has been purred out or drained from the animal, that it is a carcass and this is quite similar to that of the Jerusalem Church Acts 15:19,20,29 Paul 1Cor 8:8-13 10:25-29. In addition, 'alive' (v. 4) is a key word linking it to Logion 59, 60 and Logion 61.

“Corpse” as I have said above here and in Saying 7 the lion or lamb can be eaten only if it is killed and becomes a corpse. (Compare 7, 11.) So the disciples are only in danger of becoming a corpse only after eating the lamb or lion, after becoming alive by living from the Living One and being dead from their sins only than are they in danger of dieing cp. 51 111. Thus, the Carcass means that we have become dead in our sins.

Also the word “Corpse” links this saying with saying 56 'carcass' and that knowing the world is equivalent to finding a corpse (56) - the world is not worthy of those who find such a corpse. Add some thing here The Gnostic who has eaten what is dead has made it living (Saying 11). Therefore, by eating the dead lion, which may be the hostile world (cf., 1Peter 5:8: ‘Your adversary the devil, like a raging lion . . .’), you can overcome the world by assimilating it to yourself. If the true inner man is consumed by the lion, and the lion becomes the man, the world has overcome the true believer (Extracts from the Works of Theodotus, 84)."

But how does a person avoid death and the cruel fate of being eaten by worms ? Matt 6:19=20 by seeking the place of rest cp. Saying 50, 51 Note that the 'place' of rest is 'within,' as in Saying 24 90." A place within for rest and this rest is a regeneration or reaction within us and this is the perfect peace of the kingdom of heaven not merely in the age to come but right here right now in the present life. Seek the Christ centre within and living the way of holiness. It is this that brings the realization of eternal life on earth.

Jesus adds that they should seek a place to rest (hide) or they too will be sacrificed. So we should understand that it wasn’t necessarily fear that kept the disciples in hiding after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is likely that Jesus warned them to lay low for a while. This divine wisdom from the mouth of Jesus may have saved their life for the sake of the gospel. Many passages in the New Testament refer to even Jesus hiding himself from those who would do him harm before his appointed time.

60) <They saw> a Samaritan [a worldly spiritual leader still bound in the types and images of the Old Covenant trying to heal others with physical (carnal) understandings of the "letter"] carrying a lamb [the teachings of Messiah - the New Covenant] on his way to Judea ["celebrated" - he is going to slaughter the lamb (the Word) in an attempt to gain life by his own works of righteousness] . He said to his disciples, "(Why does) that man (carry) the lamb around [why does he pretend to understand what it is for]?" They said to him, "So that he may kill it [with his own traditions and carnal teachings from the Old Testament] and eat it [consume it as truth]." He said to them, "While it is alive [the unleavened Word (Truth) - which is able to make them alive], he will not eat it [won't accept it for it hits too close to the bone for his liking and he will lose all of his worldly power and status if he accepts it as is], but only when he has killed it [leavens it with his own carnal interpretation\teachings] and it has become a corpse [part of the "corpus" of scriptures only - lacking spirit and life]." They said to him, "He cannot do so otherwise [being carnal in nature he cannot possibly discern the spiritual (Living Word) and find life in the scriptures no matter how hard he looks]." He said to them, "You too, look for a place for yourself within the Repose [His rest - i.e. remain fast in His teachings and doctrine - learn from Him and no one else], lest you become a corpse [stripped of your understanding of higher/inward (spiritual) substance of things] and be eaten [accepted by others of the world on the level of their lifeless understanding]." 

Apocryphal Gospels

Apocryphal Gospels

In the most recent decades, there has an astonishing rebirth of scholarly interest in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. The renewed interest has been and continues to be stimulated in part by new manuscript discoveries. One thinks of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library. These have provided access to much more extensive knowledge of Judaism and Christianity in the period immediately following the close of the Old and New Testaments. 

Apocrypha (Apocrypha a Greek word meaning hidden or concealed) 

2. WRITING GOSPELS

- Each of the disciples wrote his own gospel, recounting what the saviour said to him ‘in secret or in the open: James (after the crucifixion): “...the twelve disciples were all sitting together and recalling what the Savior had said to each one of them, whether in secret or openly, and putting it in books - But I was writing that which was in [my book] - lo, the Savior appeared...” (Apocryphon of James 2:8)

- The disciples wrote down his words ‘according to their desire’: “Then many will follow him (the saviour), and they will labor in their birthplaces. They will go about; they will write down his words according to (their) desire.” (Concept of Our Great Power 42:31)

- There are no canonical books. Rather, each may write through ‘grace’ and ‘the gift of prophecy’, without fear of provoking jealousy: “By having a brother who regards us as he also is, one glorifies the one who gives us grace. Moreover, it is fitting for each of us to enjoy the gift that he has received from God, and that we not be jealous, since we know that he who is jealous is an obstacle in his (own) path, since he destroys only himself with the gift and he is ignorant of God. He ought to rejoice and be glad and partake of grace and bounty. Does someone have a prophetic gift? Share it without hesitation. Neither approach your brother jealously nor ... (8 lines missing). Now your brother also has his grace: Do not belittle yourself, but rejoice and give thanks spiritually, and pray for that one, in order that you might share the grace that dwells within him. So do not consider him foreign to you, rather, (as) one who is yours, whom each of your fellow members received. By loving the Head who possesses them, you also possess the one from whom it is that these outpourings of gifts exist among your brethren.” (Interpretation of Knowledge)
- This explains the appearance of many Gnostic Gospels, attributed to different disciples, with divergent points of view.

3. READING GOSPELS
- Just as divine prophecy allows the Gnostic to write a gospel, it also inspires his reading of the gospel, allowing him ‘to discern the Word’: “But is someone making progress in the Word? Do not be hindered by this; do not say: ''Why does he speak while I do not?", for what he says is (also) yours, and that which discerns the Word and that which speaks is the same power.” (Interpretation of Knowledge)

4. TESTIMONY OF VISION
- Some Gnostic texts are the testimony of a vision: “... and he said to me, ‘Write down the things that I shall tell you, and of which I shall remind you, for the sake of those who will be worthy after you. And you will leave this book upon a mountain and you will adjure the guardian: "Come Dreadful One"’. And after he said these (things), he separated from me. But I was full of joy, and I wrote this book which was appointed for me, my son Messos, in order that I might disclose to you the (things) that were proclaimed before me in my presence. And at first I received them in great silence, and I stood by myself, preparing myself. These are the things that were disclosed to me, O my son Messos ... (13 lines missing)... proclaim them, O my son Messos, as the seal for all the books of Allogenes.” (Allogenes)

4. DIVINE INSPIRATION
- The Gospel of the Egyptians is called a ‘God-written book’. See GOD-WRITTEN BOOK.
- The Gospel of the Egyptians is also attributed to the saviour-figure Seth. It will be placed ‘in a high mountain’ until its message is revealed ‘at the end of times’ for the salvation of ‘the holy race’: “This is the book which the great Seth wrote, and placed in high mountains on which the sun has not risen, nor is it possible (that it should do so). And since the days of the prophets and the apostles and the preachers, the name has not at all risen upon their hearts, nor is it possible (that it should do so). And their ear has not heard it. The great Seth wrote this book with letters in one hundred and thirty years. He placed it in the mountain that is called 'Charaxio,' in order that, at the end of the times and the eras, by the will of the divine Autogenes and the whole pleroma, through the gift of the untraceable, unthinkable, fatherly love, it may come forth and reveal this incorruptible, holy race of the great savior, and those who dwell with them in love, and the great, invisible, eternal Spirit, and his only-begotten Son, and the eternal light, and his great, incorruptible consort, and the incorruptible Sophia, and the Barbelon, and the whole pleroma in eternity. Amen.” (Gospel of the Egyptians)


Canonicity of a book therefore does not rest in whole or in part on whether some council, committee, or community accepts or rejects it. The voice of such no inspired men is valuable only as witness to what God has already done through his accredited representatives. 

the Living One Gospel of Thomas Saying 59

Saying 59

(59) Jesus said: Look upon the Living One so long as you live, that you may not die and seek to see him, and be unable to see him.

Sayings 59 and 60 deny the Pagan-Pseudo-Christian doctrine that one’s encounter with God and one’s divine rest occur after death in heaven. “You must find the knowledge of the living one” this has a double meaning first It applys to God and therefore individuals are called “Sons of the living Father” as in Saying 3 and it is also applys to the Lord Jesus. Jesus and the father are one so here the Living one is both Jesus and the Father (saying 0, 3 cp. Jn 17:3).

By knowing the living father and the living Jesus we become sons of the living one (cp. 24 37 38 50 59) and this must happen before death you must do it before you die for when you die you will not be able to see him. So we must look upon the Living One before we die in order not to be left in the grave forever but whither you die a second death this again is up to you whither you be a good servant or a wicked one. Thus in saying 60 at the conclusion of the dialogue, we hear that unless you seek and find a place of rest you will become a corpse. This is a very similar observation to that in this saying telling us that unless you find the living one while you live for when you die you will be unable to do so.

For death is death and not another journey in life death is unconsciousness and the dead know nothing so “The dead are not alive” Saying 11, Cp. 15, 51, 52, 59, 85 Ecc 9:5, 10 Ps 115:16,17 146:3, 4.

And death is compared to sleep in the bible "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:1-2). Jesus also agreed with Daniel, who had declared that "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake" (12:21). This is how John's Gospel records his saying:
". . . The hour is coming, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his (Jesus') voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29). (Jesus' "all" is the same as Daniel's "many": it is all who during their lifetime have "heard the voice of the Son of God", v.25.)

Look where the dead are: "in the tombs" ("sleep in the dust of the earth", Daniel); they "come forth" by resurrection ("they awake", Daniel); they come forth either to life or to judgement. The harmony between Jesus and Daniel is complete; the Lord is endorsing the teaching of the Old Testament on this important matter of the place, the state, and the fate of the dead.

59)## Jesus said, "Take heed of [listen to and obey] the Living One while you are alive [while you have the Keys to the mystery within you - before you are robbed of them], lest you die [go back under subjection to the false teachings of a dead religion] and seek to see Him and be unable to do so [see v-44]."

The Pleroma a City Revelation 21

The Pleroma a City 

First read Revelation 21:9-27

Original text

Paul revealed that there is a “Jerusalem above,” which he speaks of as the “mother” of all believers. (Ga 4:25, 26) This places the “Jerusalem above” in the position of a wife to the great Father and Life-Giver.

In the Book of Revelation, we find the Lamb in the centre of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” can be seen only from a high place in consciousness (“a mountain great and high.)

In their highest significance, the "cities of Judah" (2 Sam 2:1) represent spiritual centers of life in consciousness.

"The city which hath the foundations whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10) is the spiritual body, the body of Christ.

So in revelation 21 we are not dealing with a real city but a city which is made up of the true Believers this is the Heavenly Jerusalem which is the mother of us all

The Pleroma

The Pleroma is also compare to a city in the Untitled Text from the Bruce Codex

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

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

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

The Pleroma has two different meanings the first the dwellings place of the Aeons the abode of and the essential nature of the True Ultimate Deity or Bythos. The second an elevated state of consciousness)

The city; the First Father of the All; the self-originated place: the deep; silence: the first space; the first sound. And it is the house of the Father, and the garment of the Son, and the power of the Mother, and the image of the Pleroma. (The Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

Similarly in the prophetic visions of God's Old Testament spokesmen the eternal kingdom-city is characterized by pleroma

Daniel 2:35 and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

the wife of  the lamb shares with God in his identity as the cosmic temple city Rev 21:9-12,22 compare 1 cor 31 2 cor 6:1 eph 2:20-22 the two simultaneously filling the cosmos

Jesus Christ who is God manifestation is than mediator of a union of the human pleroma with he divine pleroma. this wondrous oneness is the fulfilling of the

Revelation 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Twelve is the number of orderly government

The patriarch Jacob had 12 sons, who became the foundations of the 12 tribes of Israel. 

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

1. Reuben - behold a vision of a son; meta. understanding through seeing.
2. Simeon - harkening, obeying; meta. understanding through hearing.
3. Levi - joining, clinging; meta. the love faculty in human consciousness.
4. Judah - praise Jehovah; meta. prayer and praise faculty.
5. Issachar - he will bring reward, he who brings recompense; meta. activated zeal.
6. Zebulum - habitation, dwelling; meta. order faculty.
7. Joseph - Jehovah shall bring increase; meta. imagination. Joseph is the only one of this list of 12 who starts out on the mountain. He is the only clear cut symbolism in this first presentation and naturally be becomes the main character of the story because he really does symbolize a formulated awareness of one of the twelve powers, the one that almost all human beings first have an awareness of.
8. Benjamin - son of good fortune; meta. active accomplishing faith.
9. Dan - a judge; meta. judgment.
10. Naphtah - wrestling; meta. elimination or renunciation.
11. Gad - pertaining to good fortune; meta. power on.the physical plane.
12. Ashar - straight forward; faculty of understanding.
    

The Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex

This is he [Monogenes] who dwells in the monad which is in the Setheus. It is this which came forth from the place of which it is not possible to say where it is, which came forth from that which is before the All. This is the Only One. This is he from whom the monad came, like a ship laden with all good things, or like a city filled with every race of man and every king`s image.

Setheus” is a name for God, meaning “creator.”

The Monogenes meaning the only begotten God that is the Son of God.

This is the manner in which they are all within the monad : there are twelve monads making a crown upon its head ; each one makes twelve. And there are ten decads surrounding its shoulders. And there are nine enneads surrounding its belly. And there are seven hebdomads at its feet, and each one makes a hebdomad. And to the veil which surrounds it like a tower, there are twelve gates. There are twelve myriad powers at each gate, and they are called archangels and also angels.

This is the mother-city of the only-begotten one. This is the only-begotten of whom Phosilampes spoke : "He exists before the All" It is he who came forth from the endless, characterless, patternless and self-begotten aeon who has begotten himself, who came forth from the ineffable and immeasurable one, who exists verily and truly. It is he in whom exists the truly existent one; that is to say, the incomprehensible Father exists in his only-begotten Son. The All rests in the ineffable and unutterable, unruled and untroubled one, of whose godhood which is itself no godhood, no one is able to speak. And when Phosilampes understood, he said : "Those things which verily and truly exist and those which do not exist are for his sake. This is he for whose sake are those that truly exist which are secret, and those that do not truly exist which are manifest."

This truly is the only-begotten God. This is he whom the All knew. They became God, and they raised up his name : God. This is he of whom John spoke: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. This one without whom nothing exist, and that which has come into existence in him is life"<John 1.1,3,4>

This is the only-begotten one in the monad,. Dwelling in it like a city.  And this is the monad which is in Setheus like a concept. This is Setheus who dwells in the sanctuary like a king, and he is as God. This is the creative Word which commands the All that they should work. This is the creative Mind, according to the command of God the Father. This is he to whom the creation prays as God, and as Lord, and as Saviour, and as one to whom they have submitted themselves. This is he at whom the All marvels because of his beauty and comeliness. This is he whom the All - those within being a crown upon his head, and those outside at his feet, and those of the midst surrounding him - bless, saying ; "Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, Thou art living within those that live, thou art holy within the holy ones, thou dost exist within those that exist, and thou art the father within the fathers, and thou art God within the gods, and thou art Lord within the lords, and thou art a place within all the places"This is the only-begotten one in the monad,. Dwelling in it like a city. 

The comparison of the Monad with to city corresponds to the idea of the temple and the new Jerusalem

Also, the Monad is crowned see Rev 14:14

the Monad is feminine like the bride of christ

The Son of God, God made manifest or God manifestation dwells in the temple or heart. In the Book of Revelation, we find the Lamb in the centre of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

And in our Coptic text we are told that Setheus dwells in the innermost and holiest recesses of the Pleroma, a city with four gates or aeons

In each gate there is a Monad.

four gates with four monads within it, one monad to each gate and six helpers (parastatai) to each gate, and twelve dodecads to each gate, and five pentads of powers to each gate, making 24 helpers (parastatai) ; and 24 myriad powers to each gate, and nine enneads to each gate, and ten decads to each gate, and twelve dodecads to each gate, and five pentads of power to each gate, and an overseer who has three aspects - an unbegotten aspect, a true aspect and an unutterable aspect - to each gate. 

equivalent to the 144,000, by a city lying four-square, and 144 cubits -- that is, these numbers are symbolical of the saints

The limbs of the Anthropos born of the Autogenes (= Monogenes) correspond to the four gates of the city.

An invocation runs: “Thou art the House and the Dweller in the House.”

The Monogenes stands on a table or platform with four pillars corresponding to the quaternion of the four evangelists.

Adam and Cain The Gospel of Philip

Adam and Cain

[The one] created was [noble, and you would] expect his children to be [61] noble. If he had not been created but rather had been conceived, you would expect his offspring to be noble. But in fact he was created, and then he produced offspring.

And what nobility this is! First came adultery, then murder. One was born of adultery, for he was the son of the serpent. He became a murderer, like his father, and he killed his brother. Every act of sexual intercourse between those unlike each other is adultery.

He who has been created is beautiful [Adam was created in the image and likeness of the Father – in harmony with the will of the Father], but you would <not> find his sons noble creations [his sons are created in the image and likeness of their parents, i.e. they acquire the traits of their parents at the time of conception which in this case was a deranged fallen state of adultery]. If he [Adam] were not created, but begotten [as Messiah was], you would find that his seed was noble [he would be able to pass on righteous seed]. But now he was created (and) he begot [he was never perfected in righteousness before he begot]. What nobility is this? First, adultery came into being [through the “serpent” (a fallen man of God who beguiled Eve into intercourse with him], afterward murder [both physical and spiritual for when Adam who was not deceived took of the same fruit he and all his descendants were sentenced to death i.e. cut off from the tree of life]. And he [Cain] was begotten in adultery, for he was the child of the Serpent [Literally it appears that Eve had twins in her womb as a result of what happened in the garden and Cain was of the seed of misplaced desire]. So he became a murderer/manslayer, just like his father, and he killed his brother [Abel the seed of hope]. Indeed, every act of sexual intercourse which has occurred between those unlike one another is adultery' [the term "unlike one another" must apply to the difference between single eyed i.e. spiritual man and double eyed which would be the natural man i.e. spirit consorting with flesh – we are all suffering from this today as our feminine elohim spirit is in a death battle with the serpent (sarx) who is the lust of the flesh in this physical body]. (Philip 30)

Note: we do not yet fully apprehend all of the deeper spiritual meanings of this and did not venture into it here as this particular passage did not seem to indicate for us to do so.  Suffice to say that Daniel made it clear that that in what we believe to be this time (of the end) “knowledge should increase” so a little light here may help us comprehend.  Adam represents the “body”; Eve the “spirit”; the serpent represents the confusion of thoughts that comes from the flesh and its desires.  The tree of knowledge of good and evil represents the thoughts and feelings we get in our heart when considering or doing an act that might be beneficial or detrimental to our selves or others; Cain represents the causality resulting from evil thoughts and actions (his offering) while Abel represents the causality that results from good thoughts and actions (his offering) these are demonstrated in our “outward manifestations” of acts. Now the body simply benefits or suffers from either of these.  Now the spirit is constantly at odds with the flesh (which is demonstrated quite well in the story of Jacob and Esau with regard the bowl of soup).  And Cain’s only goal is to destroy Abel that he not be reproved by his conscious which is done with ease until Seth comes along which you can probably guess what he represents by now!


You are the descendants of the Elohim, and their beauty radiates from you. This was not true of Cain, for his father was the serpent. The serpent adulterated the race of the Elohim, and from his adultery proceeded murder, for the enmity of darkness versus Light was reproduced in Cain's enmity toward his brother Abel. This same enmity caused Judas, Cain's son, to betray the Son of the Elohim. When the children of darkness engage in sexual intercourse with the children of Light, it is an adulterous act which produces death. 

The Wedding Chamber The Gospel of Philip

The Wedding Chamber: A Mystery of Transformation and Union

The Gospel of Philip opens a profound mystery when it states:

“Animals do not have a wedding chamber, nor do slaves or defiled women. The wedding chamber is for free men and virgins.” (Gospel of Philip, 59)

This declaration is not to be taken in a literal or biological sense, but in a spiritual, moral, and eschatological one. The wedding chamber, in Valentinian and related Christian traditions, represents the ultimate union between the saved person and the divine — a transformative event marking the passage from the realm of decay and ignorance to incorruptibility and knowledge.

The Nature of Those Outside the Chamber

The exclusion of animals, slaves, and defiled women is deeply symbolic. In Gospel of Philip 119.22ff., Adam is said to have "begotten beasts," indicating a lower state of being, unformed and irrational, unable to partake in the higher mystery. In 126.25ff., it is said that one might become an animal — a stark warning that degeneration is possible. Further, 129.7-8 refers to “beasts which bear the form of men,” underscoring that even those who look human may lack the inner qualities required for entry into the spiritual wedding.

Slavery, in this context, is equated with ignorance and moral bondage. “Ignorance is slavery, knowledge is freedom” (Gospel of Philip 132.10). This idea is echoed in multiple passages, such as 100.2, which contrasts a slave and a son; 102.29ff., which describes the transfer from bondage to sonship; and 133.24ff., where wickedness is contrasted with righteousness. Slaves are those who have not yet come into the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), still dominated by the “elementary principles of the world.”

As for defiled women, these symbolize apostasy or corruption. In the allegorical framework, they may represent those who once possessed gnosis — saving knowledge — but have fallen away. These are not literal women, but persons whose inward selves have been corrupted by ignorance, passion, or worldly desire. The wedding chamber is thus not for the unclean, but for those who are pure — spiritually virginal.

Transformation and Entry into the Chamber

The Excerpts of Theodotus illuminate what must happen for a person to enter the wedding chamber. In section 27, we read:

“The priest on entering within the second veil... entered himself in silence with the Name engraved upon his heart, indicating the laying aside of the body which has become pure... the soul, stripped by the power of him who has knowledge... passes into the spiritual realm and becomes now truly rational and high priestly...”

This describes the soul’s shedding of its lower identity, its formation through purification, and its entrance into a new mode of existence. It is not merely that the soul is saved; it becomes Logos-like, transformed to the likeness of the Bridegroom. The person no longer relates to God through intermediaries (such as Scripture or angels) but directly — “face to face.”

This is echoed in Excerpts of Theodotus 64:

“The spiritual elements having put off their souls, together with the Mother who leads the bridegroom, also lead bridegrooms, their angels, and pass into the bride chamber within the Limit and attain to the vision of the Father…”

Here, the spirituals are portrayed as bridegrooms themselves, entering into divine union beyond the cosmic veil, reaching the Pleroma, the realm of fullness. The imagery is deeply relational and communal — marriages of the syzygies, or paired beings, expressing the fullness and restoration of creation.

In section 65, the “best man” stands joyfully at the threshold of this mystery:

“The ‘master’ of the feast... rejoices greatly. This is ‘the fullness of his joy’ and his repose.”

Participation in the wedding chamber is the culmination of joy — pleroma realized in the person.

From Abortions to Sons of the Bridegroom

Earlier, Theodotus describes our condition before formation:

“As long as we were children of the female only... we were children of the woman, but when we have received form from the Saviour, we have become children of a husband and a bride chamber.” (Excerpts, 68)

The initial state is one of formlessness — “abortions,” to use the brutal image of Valentinian language. Yet once the Saviour gives form — once gnosis and spiritual structure are granted — the person becomes a son of the bridegroom. Section 79 continues:

“As long as the seed is yet unformed, it is the offspring of the female, but when it was formed, it was changed to a man and becomes a son of the bridegroom... having been made masculine, it becomes a male fruit.”

The feminine here represents the earthly, the unstructured, the incomplete. Masculinity symbolizes formation, completion, power — not in a gendered sense, but as spiritual maturity. The bride is virginal because she is undefiled by the world; the son is masculine because he is formed by the Logos.

The Fulfillment in Revelation

This mystical union is finally celebrated in Revelation 19:6-9:

“‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’... ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”

Here is the eschatological wedding chamber — the final union of Christ and his perfected community. The wife is clothed in fine linen, “the righteous acts of the saints.” These are the “free men” and “virgins” of Gospel of Philip, those who overcame the world, who matured in Christ, and who left behind the lusts of the world to be clothed in immortality.

As Gospel of Philip 59 says:

“It is for free men... and virgins [the ‘overcomers’ who have matured in Christ enough to have been ‘given white robes’... and are ‘unspotted from the world’].”

The wedding chamber is not a place in space, but a transformation of being — the culmination of purity, knowledge, and love. Those who are invited are not merely saved but transfigured — no longer brides only, but become one with the Logos, bearing the Name, crowned in joy, joined to the Bridegroom forever.

The Wedding Chamber

Animals do not have a wedding chamber, nor do slaves or defiled women. The wedding chamber is for free men and virgins.

 27 The priest on entering within the second veil removed the plate at the altar of incense, and entered himself in silence with the Name engraved upon his heart, indicating the laying aside of the body which has become pure like the golden plate and bright through purification. . . the putting away as it were of the soul's body on which was stamped the lustre of piety, by which he was recognized by the Principalities and Powers as, having put on the Name. Now he discards this body, the plate which had become light, within the second veil, that is, in the rational sphere the second complete veil of the universe, at the altar of incense, that is, with the angels who are the ministers of prayers carried aloft. Now the soul, stripped by the power of him who has knowledge, as if it had become a body of the power, passes into the spiritual realm and becomes now truly rational and high priestly, so that it might now be animated, so to speak, directly by the Logos, just as the archangels became the high-priests of the angels, and the First-Created the high- priests of the archangels. But where is there a right judgment of Scripture and doctrine for that soul which has become pure, and where is it granted to see God “face to face”? Thus, having transcended the angelic teaching and the Name taught in Scripture, it comes to the knowledge and comprehension of the facts. It is no longer a bride but has become a Logos and rests with the bridegroom together with the First-Called and First- Created, who are friends by love, sons by instruction and obedience, and brothers by community of origin. So that it belonged to the dispensation to wear the plate and to continue the pursuit of knowledge, but the work of power was that man becomes the bearer of God, being controlled directly by the Lord and becoming, as it were, his body.

64 Henceforth the spiritual elements having put off their souls, together with the Mother who leads the bridegroom, also lead bridegrooms, their angels, and pass into the bride chamber within the Limit and attain to the vision of the Father, – having become intellectual Aeons, – in the intellectual and eternal marriages of the Syzyge.

65 And the “master” of the feast, who is the “best man” of the marriage, “and friend of the bridegroom, standing before the bride chamber and hearing the voice of the bridegroom, rejoices greatly.” This is “the fullness of his joy” and his repos

68 For as long as we were children of the female only, as if of a base intercourse, incomplete and infants and senseless and weak and without form, brought forth like abortions, we were children of the woman, but when we have received form from the Saviour, we have become children of a husband and a bride chamber.e.

79 So long, then, they say, as the seed is yet unformed, it is the offspring of the female, but when it was formed, it was changed to a man and becomes a son of the bridegroom. It is no longer weak and subject to the cosmic forces, both visible and invisible, but having been made masculine, it becomes a male fruit.

but 119. 22ff. (if the restoration is correct)

speaks of Adam begetting beasts, 126. 25ff. envisages the possibility of becoming an animal and thus cut off from the world above, and 129. 7-8 speaks of 'beasts which bear the form of men.' For 'slaves' c£ 100. 2 with its contrast of slave and son, 102. 29ff., 127. 14ff. According to 132. 10£, 'Ignorance is slavery, knowledge is freedom.' C£ also 120. r7ff., 125. 15ff., 133. 24ff., in all of which slavery, ignorance, sin and wickedness are contrasted with freedom and with knowledge.

An allegorical interpretation here would therefore seem fully justified; but Grant suggests no equivalent for the women.

Since in the Valentinian theory the 'spirituals' are destined to become the brides of the angels, these 'defiled women' are possibly to be understood as apostates, those who have on

A bridal chamber is not for the animals [faithless and unreasoning ones], nor is it for the slaves [those with faith but have not been set-apart i.e. they are still slaves to sin in the world], nor for defiled women [those who have been set apart but have not yet gotten mastery over their flesh]; but it is for free men [those who have “Christ in them” and holy spirit anointing who “coming to the accurate knowledge of truth” have left the “beggarly things of the world and the lusts thereof behind”] and virgins [the “overcomers” who have matured in Christ enough to have been “given white robes” and are “unspotted from the world”]. (Philip 59) 

Wearing the Light

Wearing the Light

The powers cannot see those who have put on the perfect light, and they cannot seize them. One puts on the light in the mystery of union.

The powers [spiritually sick who occupy high places – powerful “natural men” in the world] do not see those who are clothed in the perfect light [sealed in holy spirit], and consequently are not able to detain them [cannot keep them from going in (keep the truth from them anymore)]. One will clothe himself in this light baptismally in the union [by doing according to the will of the Father as Christ]. (Philip 62)

The dark lords cannot see those who wear a Garment of Light, so they cannot control them. They are free to go wherever they choose to perform the good deeds of their Divine Parents. You receive the image of the Garment of Light to help you prepare to enter the Holy of Holies, but when you enter that sacred place, you will receive the true Garment of Light.

Union in the Bridal Chamber

**Union in the Bridal Chamber: The Restoration of Oneness**

The concept of union in the bridal chamber, as described in the *Gospel of Philip*, reveals a profound theological understanding of the nature of creation, fall, and redemption. The idea is presented clearly in this Gnostic text: "If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male would not have died. The separation of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the beginning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through separation and unite them." (*Gospel of Philip*, 56). This idea is rooted in the belief that death entered the world through the separation of the masculine and feminine principles, a separation that began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


The *Gospel of Philip* further elaborates on this union: "A woman is united with her husband in the bridal chamber, and those united in the bridal chamber will not be separated again. That is why Eve became separated from Adam, because she had not united with him in the bridal chamber" (*Gospel of Philip*, 56). This union in the bridal chamber signifies a return to the original state of oneness that Adam and Eve shared before the fall, a state where death did not exist. In the mystical and esoteric context of Gnostic thought, this union represents a spiritual reconciliation, an understanding of the primordial unity between masculine and feminine aspects of the divine.


The concept of this separation and its consequences is seen in Genesis 3:16: "Unto the woman, he said, I will increase thy pain of pregnancy; in pain shalt thou bear children; yet unto thy husband shall be thy longing, though he rule over thee." This passage is crucial in understanding the separation that caused the entry of death into the world. The Hebrew word *teshuwqah*, translated as "desire," is key to understanding the relationship between Eve and Adam. It is not a desire "for" her husband, but "to" him—indicating a longing for the restoration of the oneness they once shared. This longing represents Eve's desire to return to her original state of unity with Adam, a unity that was lost through her separation from him.


The restoration of this unity is central to the Gnostic understanding of salvation. In this context, *teshuwqah* can also be translated as "return," highlighting the idea of a return to the original unity. The Concordant translation reflects this with: "By your husband is your restoration, and he shall rule over you." This is not a mere statement about marital hierarchy but a symbolic expression of the spiritual restoration of the Bride (the Church) to Christ, her Husband.


The *Song of Songs* also speaks of this longing in a similar way: "I am my beloved’s, and unto me is his longing" (Song 7:10). Here, the desire of the Bride for her Beloved (Christ) is reciprocated, signaling the restoration of the intimate union that was lost in Eden.


Eve’s separation from Adam, as described in the *Gospel of Philip*, has profound implications for understanding death. It is suggested that when Adam and Eve were still united, death did not exist, as "God does not die, hence His image and likeness would not die as long as it continued in Oneness with the Father." (*Gospel of Philip*). However, upon their separation, death came into being. It was through their disobedience, their departure from the will of the Father, that they introduced death into the world. This separation was not only physical but spiritual, as it represented the fragmentation of the divine unity.


The *Gospel of Philip* teaches that Christ's mission was to restore this primal unity: "When he enters again [into harmony with the will of the Father] and attains his former self [brings body, soul, and spirit back together as One], death will be no more" (*Gospel of Philip*, 56). Christ’s role in reuniting the masculine and feminine, symbolized in the union of the Bride and the Groom, brings about the victory over death.


In this understanding, the phrase "When Adam and Eve had not been separated, death did not exist. When they were separated, death commenced among them. When they regain their primal unity, death itself will die" encapsulates the core of this esoteric Gnostic teaching. It reflects the belief that death is not a natural part of creation but a result of disunity, both between humanity and God and between the masculine and feminine principles. Through the reconciliation of these elements, death is overcome.


In John 17:21, Christ prayed for this restoration of oneness: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me, through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us." This union, which was lost in Eden, is the fulfillment of Christ's prayer—a restoration of the divine unity between God and humanity, a unity that will be realized fully in the marriage of the Lamb.


Paul, too, affirms this union in Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." This passage emphasizes the spiritual oneness that transcends physical distinctions, pointing to the ultimate union in Christ that will occur when the Bride is fully united with the Groom.


Thus, the union in the bridal chamber is not merely a metaphorical concept but a deep spiritual truth about the reconciliation of all things in Christ. It is through the reunion of the masculine and feminine principles in the divine order that death will be overcome, and life will be restored to its fullest. The *Gospel of Philip* presents this union as the ultimate goal of salvation, where death will no longer have any hold on those who are united with Christ, the Bridegroom.

Union in the Bridal Chamber

If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male would not have died. The separation of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the beginning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through separation and unite them.

A woman is united with her husband in the bridal chamber, and those united in the bridal chamber will not be separated again. That is why Eve became separated from Adam, because she had not united with him in the bridal chamber.

gen 3:16 ¶   Unto the woman, he said, I will, increase, thy pain of pregnancy, In pain, shalt thou bear children,--Yet, unto thy husband, shall be thy longing, Though, he, rule over thee.

Song 7:10 ¶  I, am my beloved’s, and, unto me, is his longing.

"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt
bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule
overthee" (Gen. 3:16).

The word "desire", Hebrew teshuwqah, is the connecting link between the covenant to Eve, and the declaration of the Bride in Song 7:10.

But what is the "desire"? With regard to Eve, it was not "for" her husband, but "to" him. It was for something she had lost, but hoped to regain through him. In this context, it obviously referred to the restoration of former privileges that she had enjoyed when there was complete "oneness" between the two. Adam had regarded her as "the woman whom Thou (God) gavest to be with me" (Gen. 3:12). They associated as one, on grounds of equality; but the presumption of Eve had destroyed that. Eve's desire was for a resumption of the previous state.

Instead of teshuwqah, desire, some read teshewbah, return. Thus the Concordant translation renders: "By your husband is your restoration, and he shall rule over you." The LXX and the Syriac also render it as "return." the LXX has the word apostrophee, "a turning of oneself", "an escape of place of refuge from evil", "a resource against the want of water, and a means of getting it" (see Liddel & Scott, Greek Lexicon).

All these meanings are most significant. Eve was reminded that her restoration, return, place of refuge, help in need, was subject to her husband, and that he must exercise the rule over her. Eve, however, was typical of the Bride of Christ, and these words spoken to her have an added significance when related to the Bride. The restoration of the Bride is subject to her husband (Christ), and he must bear rule over her, if she would attain unto it.

That unity for which Christ prayed the Father when he declared: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me, through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us" (John 17:21). This expresses the complete union of marriage; that oneness that shall only be experienced when the marriage of the Lamb hath come. For the moment, the Bride is espoused as a "chaste virgin" to Christ, and in this relationship, there is partial restoration. Thus Paul wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).

When Eve [holy spirit (mother of everyone living)] was still with Adam [still in the creative thoughts of the Father], death did not exist [God does not die, hence His image and likeness would not die as long as it continued in Oneness with the Father]. When she was separated from him [when she was manifest in creation as individual spirit consciousness (i.e. was able to make independent choices)], death came into being [by making the wrong choice to follow a path contrary to Gods Law causing double mindedness – it is the separation of the will of the Father from the will of individual spirit]. If he enters again [into harmony with the will of the Father] and attains his former self [brings body, soul and spirit back together as One], death will be no more [this is victory over death] (Philip 56)

When Adam and Eve had not been separated, death did not exist. When they were separated, death commenced among them. When they regain their primal unity, death itself will die.

Fall and Return to Fullness

Fall and Return to Fullness

Before Christ some came from a realm they could not reenter, and they went to a place they could not yet leave. Then Christ came. Those who went in he brought out, and those who went out he brought in.

Before Christ, some came from a place they were no longer able to enter [their Father who formed them in the womb], and they went where they were no longer able to come out [the world, born in a physical, decaying body]. Then Christ came [in this same manner]. Those who went in [to the world – the first death], he brought out [redeemed them], and those who went out [of the world (and conformed to Messiah)], he brought in [to the heavenly Kingdom]. (Philip 55)

Before Christ came, many descended from the heavenly plane, but they could not return there, for the power of resurrection had not yet been generated. After Christ generated that power, those who descended could also ascend.

Adam’s Soul The Gospel of Philip

Adam’s Soul

Adam’s soul came from a breath. The soul’s companion is spirit, and the spirit given to him is his mother. His soul was [taken] from him and replaced with [spirit]. When he was united with spirit, [he] uttered words superior to the powers, and the powers envied him. They [separated him from his] spiritual companion…hidden…bridal chamber….

The soul of Adam came into being by means of a breath [the infusion of the feminine Elohim spirit from Yahweh]. The partner of his soul is the spirit [the Universal spirit of the Father as they were as One in the beginning]. His mother is the thing that was given to him [as a part of “Elohim” i.e. the holy spirit “the mother of everyone living” (Eve) which was clarified by Jesus when He said; “my mother and my brothers”]. His soul was taken from him and replaced by a spirit [This is when the Father removed the “Oneness” he had with Adam and gave him a will of his own, i.e. made him an individual spirit consciousness which is represented by the Father removing from his side that portion and closing up the veil of flesh.  Eve represents that individual spirit consciousness that was formed as a result]. When he [Adam before the separation] was united [in thought with the Father], he spoke words incomprehensible to the powers [one more indication that there were other (non-adamic) men on the earth at the time of Adam]. They envied him [...] spiritual partner [...] hidden [...] opportunity [...] for themselves alone [...] bridal chamber, so that [...]. (Philip 64)

 The Aadamah became living souls when the breath of life was blown into their nostrils. Breath is a synonym for spirit, for when they breathed in the breath of life, they breathed in their spirits. The soul is body and spirit; it is unity that creates the soul. The spirit is male; the body is female. When they are united in the Divine image, we become living souls. If they are not united, we have the appearance of life, but true life is not ours.

Gnostics and Politics

Gnostics and Politics

Rethinking Gnosticism Kurt Rudolph refers to an “individualism, or solipsism,” borrowing a term from Hans Jonas, and appealing to Jonas’s assertion that this solipsism resulted in “a soteriological ethic of brotherhood which is far removed from the this-worldly social ethic of antiquity” (252; see Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, 264–65). Barbara Aland, “Wasist Gnosis?” 56–57, defines “Gnosis” as a position in which the world is now “of no consequence” (belanglos), since one has a true home elsewhere. Therefore, there can be for the gnostic no interest in the world in a practical-political or social sense.

you know we really can't change the world in fact the concept of trying to change the world is actually a very non spiritual concept that's that's not who it doesn't work when we try to change things outside of ourselves but paradoxically when we transform our own consciousness when we're coming from a deeper place then what we bring to the world is very different right and the paradox is that that does give other people the opportunity to have a different experience and in that funny way that does change the world not because we're out there trying to change it which is futile and not very spiritual because that's thinking you are God and the only God and you have all the answers ok but when you come from that inner place what happens is that it transforms gives other people they have opportunity and we're bringing something different to the party as I like to say and so when we come from that inner place when we have that commitment to prayer and meditation