Tuesday 22 October 2019

Preaching Gospel of Thomas saying 50

49 Jesus said: Blessed are the solitary and the elect, for you will find the kingdom, for you came forth from it, (and) you will return to it again. 50 Jesus said, "If they say to you (plur.), 'Where are you from?' say to them, 'It is from light that we have come - from the place where light, of its own accord alone, came into existence and [stood at rest]. And it has been shown forth in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say 'We are its offspring, and we are the chosen of the living father.' If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your father within you?' say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"

This saying should by read with saying 49

Here Jesus is teaching his disciples about what to say if they are ask questions on missionary work. 

But Who are “they”? they are people outside of the community who are asking the missionaries who they are, so Jesus is telling them how to answer their questions. Or they could be the Pharisees or leaders of synagogues in Gaille or Juedea. 

“say to them, we came from the light” This part of the saying continues the thought of Saying 24. The subject-matter of this saying is much the same as that of Saying 49; for the place of light cf. Sayings 24, 77. Jesus is speaking about himself here as the light of the world and The disciples are the light of the world (Matthew 7:14) because Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). 

They are from above, from the place where the light shines in the darkness (John 1:5). They are sons of the light (saying 24), and the elect. If men ask for a sign, as they asked Jesus (Mark 8:11-12; Matthew 16:1-4; Luke 11:16, 29-30), no startling miracle can be shown them, but only 'a movement and a rest.' The 'rest' must be the rest characteristic of the kingdom (Sayings 1 [Greek], 52, 90); the 'movement' is
for the place of light cf. Sayings 24, 77. 

God is light and he is the pre-existent one for there was never a time when God did not exist and Theos was the logos that is deity was the plan and in this plan was life and the life was the light of men. that is spiritual life, which is produced by the light of God's word -- not natural life! And thereby setting the parameters of "beginning" and "creation": the "beginning" of God's revelation of His Son to the world, and the new, spiritual "creation" of believers in him. The word (plan) became flesh at Jesus’ baptism and the text of the Diatessaron confirms this see section III. 46: 

This man came to bear witness, that he might bear witness to the light, that every man might believe through his mediation. He was not the light, bat that he might bear witness to the light, which was the light of truth, that giveth light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. And those who received him, to them gave he the power that they might be sons of God,--those which believe in his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and took up his abode among us; and we saw his glory as the glory of the only Son from the Father, which is full of grace and equity. John bare witness of him, and cried, and said, This is he that I said cometh after me and was before me, because he was before me. And of his fullness received we all grace for grace. For the law was given through the mediation of Moses, but truth and grace were through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:16 

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he allowed him. 
16 When Jesus was immersed a bright light played upon the water, so that all who had come there were afraid. After his immersion, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. 
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." In Luke 3:22 Instead of “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight,” one Greek ms and several Latin mss and church fathers (D it Ju [Cl] Meth Hil Aug) quote Ps 2:7 outright with “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” 

here than the place where the light came into being was at Jesus’ baptism when the word was made flesh although the became flesh at his birth however at his baptism the word truly became flesh when Jesus was anointed with the holy spirit he became the Messiah the promised seed of the woman and son of God and after his resurrection Jesus was born once more 
Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: so Jesus was born 3 times the 1st by the holy spirit and Mary and this made him son of man and son of God and the second at his baptism and the 3rd after his resurrection so we have light at his baptism and at the transfiguring and after his resurrection from the dead he became light and this is the place where light came into being by its self in the Lord Jesus 
Mt 4:16 Mt 17:2Lu 1:79Lu 11:35 Lu 11:36 Lu 16:8 Ac 9:3 Ac 12:7 Ac 22:6 Ac 22:9Ac 22:11 Ac 26:13 Ac 26:18 Eph 5:8 Col 1:12 1Th 5:5 1Ti 6:16 1Jo 1:5 1Jo 1:7 1Jo 1Jo 2:9 1Jo 2:10 Re 21:11 Re 21:23 Re 21:24 Re 22:5 

The relationship to the living Father has been mentioned in Saying 3 (cf. Saying 37). 
For the 'image' the light dwells in our image the image is a reference to being the twin bother of Jesus for our image should be the same as the son of God and being the same as the Son of God we are sons of God see Saying 83. 

The 'rest' must be the rest characteristic of the kingdom (Sayings 1 [Greek], 52, 90);
The 'movement' may 

50) Jesus said, "If they [religious leaders] say to you [the Elect], 'Where did you come from?', say to them, 'We came from the light [we were born of holy spirit], the place where the light came into being on its own accord ["the holy spirit blows where it will and we do not know it" - i.e. we have no part in the calling that takes place among the Elect] and established [itself] and became manifest through their image [their forms of worship, in their ordinances, traditions and festivals etc.. all lower/outward {fleshly} forms and rituals) which were designed to point them to the advent of Messiah].' If they say to you, 'Is it [the light] you?', say, 'We are its children [born again in spirit], we are the elect [sons] of the Living Father.' If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your father in you [how can we believe you? Show us proof]?', say to them, 'It is movement [being drawn out of the world and into the Kingdom - i.e. from darkness to light, from the letter to the spirit, from unrighteousness to righteousness, etc..] and repose [true rest in Him knowing He is working a work in you - i..e you "cease from your own works].'" (Mt 7:14; Jn 8:12; Jn 1:5; Mk 8:11-12; Mt 16:1-4; Lk 11:16, 29-30; compare Sayings 84; 83; 24; 77; 3; 37; 51; 52; 53)

what is forgiveness


XV. The Saviour showed to the believing apostles prayer to be stronger than faith in the case of a demoniac, whom they could not cleanse, when He said, Such things are accomplished by prayer. He who has believed has obtained forgiveness of sins from the Lord; but he who has attained knowledge, inasmuch as he no longer sins, obtains from himself the forgiveness of the rest

The meaning of forgiveness 

Num 14:18 ‘Yahweh is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving error and transgression;

 Matt 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

John 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

2 Corinthians 2:1010 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,


Inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, forgive you

Pray for forgiveness

: “Yes, nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.” (Heb 9:22) However, the blood of animal sacrifices could not take away sins and give the individual a perfectly clean conscience. (Heb 10:1-4; 9:9, 13, 14) 

By contrast, the foretold new covenant made possible true forgiveness, based on Jesus Christ’s ransom sacrifice. (Jer 31:33, 34; Mt 26:28; 1Co 11:25; Eph 1:7) Even while on earth, Jesus, by healing a paralytic, demonstrated that he had authority to forgive sins.—Mt 9:2-7

forgiveness is a process of giving up the false for the true; erasing sin and error from the mind and heart. It is closely related to repentance, which is a turning from belief in sin to belief in God and righteousness. A sin is forgiven when one ceases to sin, and true forgiveness is only established through the renewing of the mind and heart with thoughts and words of Truth.

The Greek word translated Forgiveness literally means “let go of. When you repent, you cease doing the things that you should not do. Jesus said that the son of man has power to forgive sin. Sin is the falling short of divine law, and repentance and forgiveness are the only means that man has of getting out of sin and its effect and coming into harmony with the God.

It is through forgiveness that true spiritual healing is accomplished. Forgiveness removes the errors of the mind, and harmony results in accordance with divine law. therefore, we must forgive all men their transgressions. Through the divine law of forgiveness we cleanse our mind so that the Father can forgive us

The Son of Man in the Book of Enoch

In the book of Enoch, Enoch relates his heavenly visions when he is permitted to see the very Last times. in the divine court he beholds the son of man. (The Passover Plot)

46.1 And there I saw one who had a 'Head of Days' and his head was white like wool.  And with him there was another whose face had the appearance of a man and his face was full of grace like one of the Holy Angels.
46.2 And I asked one of the Holy Angels, who went with me and showed me all the secrets, about that Son of Man, who he was, and from where he was, and why he went with the Head of Days.


Enoch describes Christ at various points, employing the titles of Messiah (48:10; 52:4), the Righteous One (38:2; 53:6), the Elect One (40:5; 45:3–4; 49:2, 4; 51:3), the Lamb (90:38), and the Son of Man (46:3; 48:2; 62:9, 14). 

Christ is to judge the world in righteousness and will reveal all things: “This is the Son of Man who has righteousness, with whom dwells righteousness, and who revealed all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits has chosen him.” (46:3.)

In a passage in which God speaks of the resurrection, it is clear that Christ will play a key role in that event:

“And in those days shall the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it, and Sheol also shall give back that which it has received, and destruction shall give back that which it owes. For in those days the Elect One shall arise; and he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: for the day has come near that they should be saved. And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne, and his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel.” (51:1–3.) 

The visions Enoch saw in this book are going to take place in the last days he did not see the Son of Man in is own time but in the latter generations the second coming of the son of man when he will return at the end time. This is not a reference to mean that the Son of Man had pre-existence before he was born.

The principle of the idea is expressed in the words of Paul (Romans 4:17) "God who quickens the dead, and calls those things which be not (but are to be) AS THOUGH THEY WERE."

So the Father knew what sort of person the Son would be before he was actually born and began to exist as a person. He could plan what He would eventually accomplish through him. He could "glorify" and "love" in advance His own Son, "the only-begotten of the Father". 

As the Apostle Peter put it: 

"Christ was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake" (1 Peter 1:20, R.V.). 

So too the saying of Jesus to the Jews: 
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad . . . Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56-58). 

Abraham, having received the promises, looked forward to the coming of the One in whom "all families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Jesus knew that he was that One, having priority even over Abraham in God's purpose.


The son of man is presented in the mind of God and chosen before the creation, and from time to time revealed to the righteous but the son of man is neither divine nor actually pre-existent. the son of man is named and hidden from the beginning in the secret thoughts (logos) of God, finally to be revealed in the last times as the ideal man who will justify god's creation of the world. (The Passover Plot)

In this sense he is the second Adam, the heavenly man answering to the light Adam. The son of man is an image of Enoch's own righteous self so that we are not required to go beyond the idea that when the Messiah would be manifested he would embody that perfect righteousness which God from the beginning designed for mankind and which was present in the holy saints of all ages. (The Passover Plot)

By virtue of that perfection of holiness man in the Christ is exalted to the right hand of God and is chosen to be God's representative in the reborn and redeemed world from which all sin has been banished. The son of man is so to speak the essential Messiah embodied in all the anointed ones the eternal principle of righteousness personified and manifested in all the just ones (The Passover Plot)

In Daniel the people of the saints of the Most High are likened to a son of man compare Daniel 7:9 13, 14, 26, 27

The Saints who are to possess the kingdom are the son of man.

Thus the son of man is a collective or the son is a Corporate Being the multitudinous Christ

The Book of Tobit




The book of Tobit has all the outer trappings of a historical account however the book is best understood as an allegorical story. The story is intended to edify and to inspire faith in God

the author of Tobit uses Job as a model for Tobit  the two persons are both men of outstandingly good deeds and rightousness who thought they suffered and were tested job 1:6-2:10 Tobit 12:14 did not loss their faith job 31:37 Tobit 3:2-6  and ultimately were rewarded with even greater blessings job 42:10-16 Tobit 14:1-2

the moral sense of the book of tobit is that God answers our prayers

Tobit is a symbol of Israel's blindness 1enoch 93:8
Tobias is a symbol of redeemed Israel
Raphael is a symbol of God redeeming Israel
Sarah is a symbol of the nation of Israel in exile
Asmodeus – ruler of lust,the demon is an aspect of the misfortunes of Israel in exile in a gentile land
the demon is also a symbol of the fallen priesthood

Tobiah's marriage to Sarah can be taken as an allegory of Christ's mystical marriage to His Bride the Church. 


Just as Tobiah's marriage was made possible by the exorcism of a demon, Christ's marriage to the Church was made possible through the defeat of the Devil.

 Just as Christ's resurrection from the dead took place at the conclusion of the seventh day of the week-i.e., the ``eighth'' day-so Tobiah was the eighth husband of Sarah.

Christians who were used to symbolising Jesus as a fish would naturally see the fish of the Book of Tobit as a type of Christ. Just as Christ healed the sick and cast out demons, so it was the miraculous medicinal powers of the fish's organs that made possible the exorcism of Asmodeus and the healing of Tobit's blindness. 

The blindness and poverty of Tobit would represent Adam's bondage to sin and death, so Tobiah's healing of his father is like Christ's spiritual healing of Adam's sin. 

Hannah's grief at the departure of her only son Tobiah also reminds us of Mary's grief at the suffering and death of her son Jesus (Luke 2:34-35).

Again, the Sadducees' rhetorical example of a woman with seven husbands (Matt. 22:23-28) might be an oblique reference to Sarah,

the demon was "bound up by the angel" (ch.8:3)
neither the liver nor the heart or the bile of the fish per se were the objects that cured and drove out the demon, but were merely SYMBOLIC means, through which God performed the miraculous cure of Tobit, and the expulsion of the demon.  

Psychology the Science of the Soul



"Psychology, the Science of the Soul, of the Conscious Self or Ego.

Modern Psychology has regrettably lot its raison d'etre and direct contact with its true origin and meaning, to the extent that, nowadays, it is not only impossible to clearly define the word 'Psychology' but, in addition, scholars are really ignorant of the fundamental subjects it studies

The word psychology derives from Greek roots meaning study of the psyche, or soul (ψυχή psychē, "breath, spirit, soul" and -λογία -logia, "study of" or "research").[8] The Latin word psychologia was first used by the Croatian humanist and Latinist Marko Marulić in his book, Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae in the late 15th century or early 16th century.[9] The earliest known reference to the word psychology in English was by Steven Blankaart in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary which refers to "Anatomy, which treats the Body, and Psychology, which treats of the Soul.

there was no separation between psychology and faith

an understanding of psychology and does not stop with an analysis of the mind but goes on to the highest phase of mind's possibilities, unity with Spirit.





observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath The Gospel of Thomas saying 27

observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath
The Gospel of Thomas saying 27




32 [27]. "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the Kingdom. If you do not make the Sabbath the <true> Sabbath, you will not see the Father."

Jesus says, 'If you do not fast with respect to the world, you will not find the Kingdom of God“. But another saying in that gospel (Saying 14) seems to reject external acts of piety, including fasting, as things that can lead to sin, possibly because of pride or hypocrisy.


The fasting 'with respect to the world' in saying 27 could therefore be intended as a metaphor for general 'Fasting to the world' must mean withdrawal from a worldly; it is an abstention from the world (which itself implies other forms of ascetic denial), that involves becoming a 'solitary' (which itself implies other forms of ascetic denial). It is not fasting which is rejected in saying 14 but only hypocritical or empty fasting, which does not reflect a genuine indifference to the world."  

"If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the Father."

Here the finding of the Kingdom and the seeing the Father are the same term If you do not Draw near to God than you will not see the Kingdom this is done by the studying the bible the spirit-word, with prayer and meditation, everyday!

“observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath”

Here Jesus is not telling us to observe the Sabbath under the law of Moses but to observe the true Sabbath The Greek expression occurs in the LXX at Lv 23:32; 2 Chr 36:21. It does not simply mean 'to observe the (weekly) Sabbath'. In Lv 23:32 it refers to the Day of Atonement, which is to be kept as a real Sabbath. Hence, it is likely that we should understand the expression in this saying in a metaphorical or a spiritual sense. Cf. Heb 4:9 and Justin (Dial. w. Trypho 12, 3; PG 6, 500), who uses sabbatizein in the sense of a spiritual Sabbath opposed to the formal Jewish observance; for him it consisted in abstention from sin."

If the answer be made that sacrifice was superseded by the death of Christ, it has to be rejoined that the same is also true of the Sabbath; "the body (or substance) of which is of Christ", as Paul says in the words already quoted. We have the true Sabbath in Christ, who said "I will give you rest", or Sabbath. Under the law, a man laboured in his own works to establish his own righteousness with a sense of burden that was grievous to be borne, feeling it a yoke, as Peter says, which they were not able to bear (Acts 15:10). The "strength of sin", as a destroyer, lay "in the law", as Paul testifies (1Cor 15:56). It condemned sinners to death, and all were sinners, who "through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb 2:14).

On the first day of the creation-week God said, "Let there be light, and there was light;" so on the first day of the week "THE TRUE LIGHT" came forth from the darkness of the tomb "like dew from the womb of the morning." This event constituted the day after the Sabbath, or eighth day, the day of the Lord's resurrection; and therefore styled by His disciples "THE LORD'S DAY." It is a day to be much remembered by them, because it assures them of their justification "in Him," of their own resurrection to life, and of the certainty of His ruling or "judging the world in righteousness" as Yahweh's king, when they also shall reign with Him as kings and priests of God (Acts 17:31; Rom 4:25, 8:11; 1Cor 15:14-20; Rev 5:9-10).

This day is also notable on account of the special interviews which occurred between Jesus and His disciples after His resurrection (John 20:19-26). He ascended to heaven on this day, even the forty-third from His crucifixion; and seven days after, that is the fiftieth, being that Lord's day styled "the day of Pentecost," the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the apostles, and the gospel of the kingdom preached for the first time in His name.

The observance of the seventh day was obligatory only upon the Israelites so long as the Mosaic code was in force, being "a sign" between God and them. The Sabbaths belong to the land and people of Israel, and can be only kept according to the law while they reside in the country. This will appear from the fact that the law requires that "two lambs of the first year without spot" should be offered with other things "as the burnt-offering of every Sabbath;" an offering which, like all the offerings, & c., must be offered in a temple in Jerusalem where the Lord has placed His name, and not in the dwelling places of Jacob. Israel must therefore be restored to their own country before even they can keep Sabbath. Then, when "the throne is established in mercy; and He (the Lord Jesus) shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness" (Isa 16:5), then I say, "shall the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: and they shall hallow my Sabbaths" (Ezek 44:15-24).

But these Sabbaths will be no longer celebrated on the seventh day. They will be changed from the seventh to the eighth or first day of the week, which are the same. The "dispensation of the fullness of times" (Eph 1:10), popularly styled the Millennium, will be the antitype, or substance, of the Mosaic feast of tabernacles which was "a shadow of things to come." In this type, or pattern, Israel were to rejoice before the Lord for seven days, beginning "on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when they had gathered the fruit of the land." In relation to the first day of the seven, the law says, "it shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein." This was what we call Sunday. The statute then continues, "on the eighth day," also Sunday, "shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein." Again, "on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath" (Lev 23:34-43). Thus, in this "pattern of things in the heavens" the first and eighth days are constituted holy days in which no work was to be done. It also represents the palm-bearing or victorious ingathering of the twelve tribes of Israel from their present dispersion to the land of their fathers, "when the Lord shall set His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people" (Isa 11:11). Three times in four verses does Zechariah style the yearly going up of the Gentiles to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of Hosts, there, the "keeping of the feast of tabernacles" (Zech 14:16-19); an event which is consequent upon the destruction of the dominion represented by Nebuchadnezzar's image, and the re-establishment of the kingdom and throne of David. This national confluence of the Gentiles to Jerusalem is characteristic of Messiah's times; and of the true or real festival of tabernacles, when He will "confess to God among the Gentiles, and sing unto His name," and "they shall rejoice with His people," Israel (Rom 15:9-10). Referring to this time, the Lord says, "the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and My holy name shall the House of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings, far from Me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever" (Ezek 43:7-9). This is clearly a prophecy of what shall be hereafter, because the House of Israel still continues to defile God's holy name by their abominations; but when this comes to pass they shall defile it "no more."

After the declaration of these things, Ezekiel is commanded to show them the description of the temple which is destined to be "the house of prayer for all nations," with the ordinances, forms, and laws thereof. The Lord God then declares, "the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it," and when the Levites of the seed of Zadok shall approach unto Him. The "cleansing of the altar," and the consecration of the priests, is then effected by the offerings of seven days. "And when these days are expired it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and SO FORWARD, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, O Israel, saith the Lord" (verse 27). Thus the Lord's day, the day of His resurrection from His seventh day incarceration in the tomb, becomes the Sabbath day of the future age which shall be hallowed by the priests of Israel, and be observed by all nations as a day of holy convocation in which they shall rejoice, and do no manner of servile work at all.

This change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the eighth, or first day of the week, is also a type of the final rest to come when Jesus hands over the Kingdom to the Father. For before that time Christ and the holy ones will have been reigning over the nations on the earth and they shall rejoice for a thousand years. Then after the thousand years the constitution of the kingdom will be changed at that epoch; and the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings; for sin being taken away from among men, and death its punishment abolished the element of priesthood must be removed. Then the end will come when my son the Messiah shall deliver up the kingdom to me so that I may be all in all. And after seven days the world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish. From this end, the Ages of the Ages takes their rise, and things on earth are changed no more.


In the 2Enoch 33:1 Enoch is told by the Deity that the eighth day is the beginning of the Ages of the Ages: 1”On eighth day I likewise appointed, so that the eighth day might be the 1st, the first-created after my week, and that it should revolve in the revolution of seven thousand, so that at the beginning of the eighth thousand there should be a time of not-counting, endless, with neither years nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours.


27)# <Jesus said,> "If you do not fast [if you do not stop eating the falsehoods and deceptions of prophets that "He did not send" and religious leaders "He did not anoint or commission"] as regards the world [we are not to have any part with the world], you will not find the Kingdom [one must take leave of his worldly ways in order to find himself (where the Kingdom truly is - one cannot serve two masters)]. If you do not observe [see with your spiritual eyes] the [true] Sabbath [His rest] as a [spiritual] Sabbath [once you become His you cease from doing your own works (this is the beginning of your rest in Him) this is why when the Jews asked him about the sabbath; "Yet Jesus answers them, "My Father is working hitherto, and I am working."" for it is not a physical sabbath but a spiritual one for your soul], you will not see the Father [unless you observe His sabbath BY ceasing from your own works (sacrifices, offerings, customs, traditions, ordinances, etc..lower/outward {fleshly} forms) for these are all types and images of what you should already understand from a spiritual perspective to be fulfilled in Christ and you eventually]."


Panta En Pasin The All in All

Ta Panta en pasin




"All" Or "the all", is a technical gnostic term, for the entirety, the universe. "All" may refer to the totality of the divine realm, the pleroma. 


The "All" comes from the Geek word pasin 3956. πᾶς pas pas; is an Adjective Definitionall, every Usageall, the whole, every kind of.


AV-all 748, all things 170, every 117, all men 41, whosoever 31, everyone 28, whole 12, all manner of 11, every man 11, no + 3756 9, every thing 7, any 7, whatsoever 6, whosoever + 3739 + 302 3, always + 1223 3, daily + 2250 2, any thing 2, no + 3361 2, not tr 7, misc 26; 1243


1) individually

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

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;


Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.


Here in 
Colossians chapter 1:19 and 2:9 the Greek words  Pasin and Pleroma are used in the same verses.  In these verses the words "all" "fulness" "Father/Godhead" are are connected to each other


The "All" is one of the many descriptions of what the Gnostics called the Monad (The One) and the "pleroma," 


- The One is ‘Father of the All’: “...the seed which flowed forth from the Father of the All.” (Melchizedek), “

This is the crown which the Father of the All gave to the indivisible one (...) and they shine and fill the All with imperishable and inextinguishable light. ” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)


The ONE that is without beginning or end is the ALL within it's self. Everything that has come from the One is the ALL.

infinite--That which embraces all. The totality of Being including all knowledge, all space, all life; the complete all. That which was from the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Without end or limitation. It is that which is boundless, immeasurable, inexhaustible. God is infinite and eternal.

The Pleroma (the "Fullness" in Greek). the spiritual heavens. Sometimes the word Pleroma is used in the plural Pleromas .

All the emanations from the Father, therefore, are Pleromas, and all his emanations have their roots in the one who caused them all to grow from himself. (The Gospel of Truth)

The aeons have brought themselves forth in accord with the third fruit by the freedom of the will and by the wisdom with which he favored them for their thought. They do not wish to give honor with that which is from an agreement, though it was produced for words of praise for each of the Pleromas. (The Tripartite Tractate)

- The All are contained within the Father -“He is an incomprehensible one, but it is he who comprehends All. He receives them to himself. And nothing exists outside of him. But All exist within him. And he is boundary to them all, as he encloses them all, and they are all within him. It is he who is Father of the aeons, existing before them all. There is no place outside of him.” (Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex)

- “It is through me alone (Protennoia) that the All stands firm. I am the Womb that gives shape to the All by giving birth to the Light that shines in splendor.” (Trimorphic Protennoia)


In the Valentinian system the ogdoad, decad and dodecad constitute three Pleromas.

Perhaps "the All" is all Pleromas, perhaps also including our material plane, Hell/Tartarus, Sheol and similar.




The All includes, in particular, the Elect.

The "all" is used collectively of the body of Christ the church


Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

who filleth all things with all things. For Christ is the creator of all things, and he fills them with whatever powers and privileges they possess.


 — Christ as the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the world, constituted by God (#Col 1:16-19), fills all the universe of things with all things. "Fills all creation with whatever it possesses" . The Greek is, "filleth for Himself." 

Eph. 4:6, 'there is one Deity and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all'."

all intermediation between them and the Father will have been done away, and he will be epi panton, kai dia panton, kai en pasin, "over all, and through all, and in all," or ta panta en pasin, "the all things in all" (Eph. iv. 6; 1 Cor. xv. 28); so that this "all" will be a DIVINE UNITY, 

Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.


How is the universal nature of the Christ mind described? It is described as a mind “where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.”

Where is Christ “all, and in all”? In the mind and soul of the “new man” who has been transformed by ideal goals created by compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and other Godlike qualities of Truth.


 — Christ absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike, 

 — who believe and are renewed, without distinction of person; the sole distinction now is, how much each draws from Christ. The unity of the divine life shared in by all believers,

Since we are all one, we should preserve the “unity of the Spirit” in all that we do.


Pasin and Panentheism

“In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). “One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6). “…Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). Theses verses hint us toward panentheism (not pantheism), the doctrine that the universe is in God and God is in every part of the universe, that God interpenetrates every part of nature, yet is distinct from it.


Dr John Thomas on Panentheism

I pretend not to define the primitive essence of God's nature, for he has not revealed it, but his character only. I used the phrase " condensed lightning" illustratively. Lightning, which we also style electricity, I take to be the Spirit of God in physical manifestation. It is omnipotent, light, and a consuming fire, which are qualities predicable absolutely of God alone, and applied to him in the Scriptures. The atoms of all bodies, from the sun to a grain of sand, and from the highest intelligence in the universe to the minutest insect, are electrical in some sense; therefore God, by his Spirit, pervades every thing. Now God is Spirit? and from him this omnipotent principle proceeds. It may be said to irradiate from his substance as light from the sun. He is " a consuming fire, dwelling in unapproachable light." This is Paul's statement. Hence, the most tangible idea i can form of his physical constitution is, that it is the focal condensation of Spirit which, having length, breadth and thickness impenetrability we call matter or substance as distinct from radiant matter or free spirit. This is what I mean by " every atom, as it were, being condensed lightning." The Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come - 1852



 Pasin and Apokatastasis

The word Pasin gives a strong doctrinal support for the teaching of restoration (apokatastasis) this can be seen from both the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels:

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:


The Gospel of Thomas saying 77

Jesus says: "I am the light which is on them all. I am the All, and the All has gone out from me and the All has come back to me. Cleave the wood: I am there; lift the stone and thou shalt find me there!"
Jesus says: "I am the light which is on them all. I am the All,
the same reference is found in Colossians 311: 'Christ is all and in all.'"

One might also compare the Acts of Peter, Chapter XXXIX: 'Thou art the All, and the All is in thee, and thou art! And there is nothing else that exists, except thou alone!

The Gospel of Truth

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

He revealed himself as a Pleroma, i.e., the finding of the light of truth which has shined towards him, because he is unchangeable. For this reason, they who have been troubled speak about Christ in their midst so that they may receive a return and he may anoint them with the ointment. The ointment is the pity of the Father, who will have mercy on them.


The Gospel of Philip


There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration (apokatastasis). Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but have produced them for you. If one does not acquire them, the name ("Christian") will also be taken from him


Comparing together Ephesians 1:10 and the Gospel of Thomas saying 77 we can see the teaching of the Apokatastasis – the restoration of all things in Christ those who are one in Christ the son of man would lead to the restoration of the Pleroma


the redemption of the true believers is;"'the apokatastasis being a return to the initial oneness.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

The Carnal Mind?



THE CARNAL MIND.
"The thinking of the flesh is enmity against God."

When the Lord God bestowed the faculty of speech upon the serpent, He enabled it to give utterance to its thoughts. The possession of this power did not, however, confer upon it moral accountability. This depends on a different constitution of "the flesh." Where no "moral sentiments" exist as a part of "the flesh," or brain, there is no ability in the creature to render an account for its aberrations from the requirements of moral, or spiritual institutions. Speech only enabled it to utter the thinkings of its unsentimentalized intellect. It spoke like Balaam's ass, under the impulse of the sensations excited by what it had seen and heard. The thinkings of its flesh could not ascend to faith, being destitute of the organic ability to believe; therefore its speech could express only fleshly thoughts. Faith was too high an attainment for it. The light of God's law could not shine into it. Like all the inferior animals, it was a creature of mere sensation, and could utter only sentences formed of combinations resulting from the impressions of sensible objects transmitted to its sensorium by the five senses; it transcended them, however, in being more observant and reasoning than they.
The carnal mind is an expression used by Paul; or rather, it is the translation of words used by him, in his epistle to the Romans. It is not so explicit as the original. The words he wrote are to fronhma thV sarkoV the thinking of the flesh. In this phrase, he intimates to us, that the flesh is the thinking substance, that is, the brain; which, in another place, he terms "the fleshly tablet of the heart." The kind of thinking, therefore, depends upon the conformation of this organ. Hence, the more elaborate and perfect its mechanism, the more precise and comprehensive the thought; and vice versa. It is upon this principle such a diversity of mental manifestation is observable among men and other animals; but after all, how diverse soever they may be, they are all referable to one and the same thing -- the thinking of the flesh, whose elaborations are excited by the propensities, and the sensible phenomena of the world.

Now, the law of God is given, that the thinking of the flesh, instead of being excited by the propensities within, and the world without, may be conducted according to its direction. So long as Adam and Eve yielded to its guidance, they were happy and contented. Their thoughts were the result of right thinking, and obedience was the consequence. But when they adopted the serpent's reasonings as their own, these, being at variance with the truth, caused an "enmity" against it in their thinkings, which is equivalent to "enmity against God." When their sin was perfected, the propensities, or lusts, having been inflamed, became "a law in their members;" and because it was implanted in their flesh by transgression, it is styled "the law of sin;" and death being the wages of sin, it is also termed, "the law of sin and death;" but by philosophy, "the law of nature."

Whom are Your disciples like gospel of thomas saying 21




"Whom are Your disciples like?" is the equivalent of “what are those who correctly understand like?” or it could be the opposite:  Whom are they who claim to be your disciples like? So here the disciples may represent illegitimate claimants to Christian understanding, and the field they stand in may possibly be the church as Thomas understands it.

Those who have settled in a field and sown the Word, anger those who plant their own outside the Father on the fields they proclaim to be theirs! Be prepared, and stand the ground that is yours to tend, for they will come asking you to repent to them and leave, thus rob you of your harvest, a place in the light as children of God.

The motif of nakedness is introduced here and plays an important role in other sayings in the GTh. In the Bible nakedness conveys different things. In this context it signifies either innocence or integrity, depending on how those terms are defined.

2Sa 13:18 Jos 7:21 Jos 7:24 2Sa 13:19 2Sa 20:8 2Ki 9:13 1Ki 11:29 1Ki 11:30 Zec 13:4


21) Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are Your disciples like?" He said, "They are like children who have settled in a field [in the world] which is not theirs [they are not of the world]. When the owners [the Pharisees and scribes/Christo-pagen leaders] of the field [the world] come [these are worldly (stately) in nature - merchants of the earth who serve the god of mammon], they will say, 'Let us have back our field [the world of religion - excommunicates the Elect from within].' They [the disciples] (will) undress in their presence [remove their "religious" clothing/affiliations] in order to let them have back their field and give it back to them [this is a wearing down of the saints that occurs in all organized religion for they who love the darkness cannot tolerate the light within their midst - effectively influencing them the Elect to; "come out from her my people"]. ##Therefore I say to you, if the owner [Jesus] of a house [one Covenanted to Him] knows that the thief [the Christo-pagen leaders] is coming [to steal God's Word and hide the Keys of Knowledge - v.39], he will begin his vigil [as High Priest he both enlightens (reveals His plan to) and prays for His disciples that they might discern the coup attempt over their spirits] before he [the thief] comes and will not let him into his house [the body of His Elect who are now His] of his domain [the Kingdom of God] to carry away his goods [any fruit gained from those of spiritual insight]. You [this is for any who read this], then, be on your guard against the world [for those of the world will never stop persecuting and killing any who lift up a candle of truth]. Arm yourselves with great strength [un-quenching faith in God and HIs Christ] lest the robbers [spiritual thieves who control the religions of the world] find a way to come to you [snare you in one of the many devices they have for appealing to you physical and emotional senses], for the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize [this is part of the refining fire that all of the Elect must suffer]. Let there be among you a man of understanding [a discerning spirit of both the higher/inward and the lower/outward meanings of the Word]. #When the grain ripened [the end of the season came], he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it [called His Elect into His barn]. Whoever has ears [two ears giving depth of hearing both higher/inward (spiritual) sounds and lower/outward (physical) sounds] to hear, let him hear."

Monday 23 September 2019

When Eve Was in Adam The Gospel of Philip

When Eve Was in Adam



When Eve was in Adam, there was no death. When she was separated from him, death came. If <she> enters into him again and he embraces <her>, death will cease to be. The Gospel of Philip


And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; Genesis 2:21

"And He took one of his ribs" — The word tsela, from tsala "to incline," is nowhere else used for "rib," but is translated "side" (e.g. Exod. 25:12). Exactly what part, or how much, of Adam's side was taken from him is not revealed. But whatever part it was, it transferred the feminine qualities of the man to Eve, his wife (Eph. 5:22). She became his counterpart; and she, complementing him, made him complete.


Likewise I became very small, so that through my humility I might take you up to the great height, whence you had fallen. You were taken to this pit. If now you believe in me, it is I who shall take you above, through this shape that you see. It is I who shall bear you upon my shoulders. Enter through the rib whence you came and hide yourself from the beasts. The Interpretation of Knowledge


In the The Interpretation of Knowledge Christ exhorts the believers: “Enter in through the rib, the place from which you came forth and hide yourself from the beasts.”

The flesh of the crucified Christ is connected with the veil of the Jerusalem Temple, Christ’s spear-wound is also being understood here as the mystical portal to the heavenly holy of holies, the concepts of the Edenic Paradise and the holy of holies were by no means mutually exclusive in antiquity

Jubilees 8.19: “And [Noah] knew that the garden of Eden was the holy of holies and

the dwelling of the Lord”; cf. 4.23–26; the Tree of Life) also appears alongside temple imagery (e.g. the throne of God) in John of Patmos’s vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:1–5; in the New Testament (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7), “all of the texts seem to reflect the equation of the heavenly paradise with the heavenly temple”.

According to Gos. Phil., the living sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross obviated the earthly sacrificial cult that worshipped the beasts: “Indeed, the beasts (xNchrion) were the ones to whom they sacrificed. They were indeed offering them up alive, but when they offered them up, they died. As for man, they offered him up to God dead, and he lived.”


Similarly, “God is a man-eater. For this reason, men are sacrificed to him. Before men were sacrificed, beasts (xNchrion) were being sacrificed, since those to whom they were sacrificed were not gods


In these two passages, the beasts (chrion; Gk. θήριον; pl. θηρία) are identified with both the things being sacrificed, and the things being sacrificed to, suggesting that the earthly Temple cult is performed in the service of the beasts, the demiurge and his archons, by those who come from them and are consubstantial with them. 


Hence, Gos. Phil. says of the true heavenly Temple cult, “A bridal chamber is not for the beasts (Nchrion), nor is it for the slaves, nor for defiled women; but it is for free men and virgins.”95 Again the bridal chamber is identified as one of the “buildings for sacrifice” (Nhei Mma N+prosvora; Gos. Phil. 69.14–15) in the Temple, a place in which men and virgins can enter, but beasts cannot.

This corresponds well with the present interpretation of the imagery in Interp. Know. 10.34b–37a, namely, that once the Valentinian soul has entered through the veil of Christ’s flesh, it can hide itself from the beasts in the temple of his body, having ceased to be a slave (14.34–38). In the Excerpts of Theodotus, it is likewise clear that these “

the “rib” or “side” (speir) of Christ in 10.35 may be an allusion to Jesus’s assertion, “I am the gate for the sheep ... Whoever enters by me will be saved”


Exc. Theod. 26.2–3: “Wherefore whenever he would say, ‘I am the door’, he means that you, who are of the superior seed, shall come as far as the Limit where I am. And whenever he enters in, the superior seed also enters into the Pleroma with him, brought together and brought in through the door”


By a show of faith, the soul can re-enter the divine realm through the “rib” (speir) of the crucified Christ, hide itself from its adversaries, and have the burden of the flesh alleviated. 


This entry into the body of the crucified Christ is thought to facilitate a heavenly ascent. This soteriology is unpacked further in Interp. Know. 11–14, which as was mentioned above, has been called a “complex Midrash” on the sayings of 9.28–10.38.42

Moreover, when the great Son was sent after his small brothers, he spread abroad the edict of the Father and proclaimed it, opposing the All. And he removed the old bond of debt, the one of condemnation. And this is the edict that was: Those who made themselves enslaved have become condemned in Adam. They have been brought from death, received forgiveness for their sins, and been redeemed The Interpretation of Knowledge

Firstly, in being crucified, Christ inaugurated a new covenant, or “edict,” to replace the old Adamic one,which is here described as a “bond of condemnation.”50 That which was

inaugurated by Adam brought about slavery, death, and sin. Christ came to reverse this by means of his self-sacrifice. It is clear from the imagery in 10.34–36 that the evil Adamic covenant was not the result of his transgression of God’s will, but rather the separation of Eve from Adam’s side, which apparently brought death into the world.51 Hence we see in our saying, Christ, in his role as the Second Adam, exhorting the soul to return whence it came (his rib), and thereby restore the primal androgyne, overcome death, and receive redemption, being “reborn in the flesh and blood of (the Saviour)”

When Eve [the 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]