By grace are ye saved Ephesians 2:8

Ephesians 2:8, 9 "By grace are ye saved . . . it is the gift of God . . . not of works, lest any man should boast.

This passage is used by some Christians to justify their doctrine of "eternal security" when "Jesus comes into the heart". This "eternal security" is said to be independent of subsequent works. 

Let it be said at the outset that one cannot obtain salvation as a return for works done. The law taught this lesson. (Gal. 2:21; Rom. 3:21; 5:21).

There are two sides to salvation. The divine side which is grace and the human side which is obedient faith. some Christians argue that if one "works" for salvation then the reward is paid as wages rather than a gift. This is an over-simplification. God gives us food, but we must work for it. God gave Joshua the city of Jericho, but he was still commanded to march around the walls for seven days. (Josh. 6:2, 4). Likewise salvation is the free gift of God, but man must comply with the conditions.

It is true to say that no man can ever be saved without the grace of God, but there are other characteristics required in the receiver of grace, for salvation. The following is a list:
"For we are saved by hope." (Rom. 8:24).
"Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God . . ." (Rom. 5:1).
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all men that obey him." (Heb. 5:9).
"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us . . ." (1 Peter 3:21).
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7).
". . . Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12).
"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:24).
"Save yourselves from this untoward generation." (Acts 2:40).
"By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you . . . " (1 Cor. 15:2).

Grace involves three things: a giver, a gift, and a receiver. From these passages it is clear that the receiver must demonstrate hope, faith, obedience, baptism, works, and that he also saves himself.

The question as to which single characteristic saves the man is an abstraction. An illustration is helpful. A man who has fallen into the river screams for help. A man on the bank runs with a rope and throws it to the man in the river. He catches hold and is pulled to safety. What saved him? Was it his scream? Was it the rope? Was it the man on the bank? Did he save himself? Or was it all of these working together?

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, Philippians 2:12

Ultimate salvation is not now a present possession. The following passages indicate this:
". . . he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matt. 10:22).
". . . the gospel . . . by which ye also are saved if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you . . ." (1 Cor. 15:1, 2).
". . . give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." (2 Peter 1:10).
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end." (Heb. 3:12-14).


The logic of Calvinism has a superficial impressiveness. When examples are cited of "saved" members who have fallen away (e.g. drunkards, who will be excluded from the kingdom, Gal. 5:19-21), these Christians reply by stating that such individuals never were really "saved". This is not logical since security has been purchased at the price of truth.

Almost without exception, those who are quick to stress Eph. 2:8 are the very ones who dismiss baptism as a mere outward sign of an inward change. When such occasions arise Gal. 3:27 ("For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ"), should be emphasized. It is also impressive to cite the baptism of Paul, since it can be shown that a man can be "converted" (Acts 22:10), but does not have his sins washed away until baptized. (Acts 22:16 cf. Acts 2:38, 41).

Conditional Grace

God’s grace has been offered to the entire human family. “For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men . . .” (Titus 2:11). This cannot mean that every soul will be saved. Such a conclusion would contradict numerous other passages.

What this does suggest is that God’s grace is potentially available to all who care to access it by means of the divine plan of redemption (cf. Romans 5:1; 6:3-4,17).

The receiving of God’s grace is conditional. Some Christians get this wrong asserts that grace is bestowed unconditionally by the sovereign will of God. The Bible negates this concept.

The principle is illustrated by the example of Noah, who “found grace in the eyes of Yahweh” (Genesis 6:8); and yet, as the writer of Hebrews shows, Noah and his family were saved by preparing an ark in obedience to God’s instruction (11:7; cf. Genesis 6:22). Yahweh proffered the grace. Noah, by faith, obeyed Yahweh, and so was blessed. While God extends grace, human beings must be willing to “receive” the favour (2 Corinthians 6:1).

Grace is conditional and requires something on our part: faith.

Justification– “A man is justified by faith” (Romans 3:28)
Sanctification– “sanctification by…faith in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Glorification– “[Jesus will] present you before Him (God) holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if you indeed continue in the faith.” (Colossians 1:22)

The Grace/Knowledge Connection

1 Corinthians 1:4-7

4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,
5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all discourse and all knowledge,
6 just as the witness about the Christ has been made firm among you,
7 so that YOU do not fall short in any gift at all, while YOU are eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ

Grace is expanded into "discourse and all knowledge,” v5 endowments with which the Corinthians were especially favoured

The access to God’s grace is by means of an objective body of revelation. Paul noted: “For the grace of God hath appeared . . . instructing us . . .” (Titus 2:11-12). Christianity is a taught religion. Isaiah, speaking of the kingdom age, proclaimed: “. . . he will teach us of his ways . . .” (2:3). Jesus himself declared: “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and has learned, comes unto me” (John 6:45).

God’s grace is not dispensed apart from an instruction that requires both understanding and obedience. In these days when there is a tendency to “stampede” folks into the church, with little  comprehension of what they are doing, this is a crucial matter to emphasise.

Grace Is Not Earned

Grace excludes merit. We must constantly remind ourselves that humanity is not deserving of salvation. No one can “earn” pardon by works of human merit. If such were the case, we could boast regarding our redemption; however, that is impossible (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Even if one were able to perform everything God commands, he still must regard himself as an “unprofitable servant” (Luke 17:10). Jesus taught that our sins have put us head-over-heels in debt, and no person has the ability to liquidate that obligation (cf. Matthew 18:24-27).

When this concept is truly comprehend, service to Almighty God will flow with a freshness and zeal that invigorates the soul. Doubtless a failure to comprehend fully the true significance of grace is the reason many church members are spiritually inactive.

"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 race a new and higher consciousness in the earth. 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.

infant baptism

Infant baptism

History

The origins of infant baptism are uncertain.

The first incontestable evidence for the practice of infant baptism comes in the writings of Tertullian. He asks,Why should innocent infancy be in such a hurry to come to the forgiveness of sins? Let them come while they are maturing, while they are learning, while they are being taught what it is they are coming to. Let them be made Christians when they have become able to know Christ. (On Baptism 18.5 quoted in Pelikan, 290)

Cathar teachings shared by the Waldensians became defining features of Protestant belief. Many of these teachings follow from the rejection of Roman Catholic "tradition" in favour of scripture. Examples include the rejection of a priesthood, the rejection of graven images and the idolatry associated with them, rejection of the cults of saints and relics, denial of Purgatory, and a rejection of the Roman Church's sacraments.

Protestants, like Cathars, rejected the medieval Roman doctrine of transubstantiation and infant baptism.

For the Cathars, infant baptism with water was not merely unscriptural, it was an appanage of the bad god Jehovah, and had been expressly rejected by Christ. (Taken from https://www.cathar.info/cathar_legacy.htm)

The doctrine of baptism

BAPTISM is an act of obedience required of all who believe the Gospel. It is a bodily immersion in, and not a face-sprinkling or head-pouring with, water. Its administration to infants, in any form, is unauthorized and useless;* it is only enjoined on those who have intelligence enough to believe the glad tidings of the kingdom of God and the things concerning the name of Jesus Christ. To such, it is the means of that present (legal) union with Christ, which is preparatory to perfect assimilation at the resurrection. It is, therefore, necessary to salvation.

If the reader of the New Testament will substitute for the words 'baptise' and baptism'wherever used, the words *pour' or ' sprinkle,' or their substantives, he cannot fail to perceive that such construction is frequently senseless and incongruous: but if he will use the words to immerse' or 'immersion,' he will readily perceive that they harmonise in every instance with the sense and figure


The evil effect of inquiring of God's word in order to sustain an adopted theory, is manifest in the pertinacity with which theologians wrest the scripture, in order to build up one of their imaginations—infant baptism. The Saviour says, Mat. xix. 14, " Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." If the kingdom of heaven be sinless, then little children are sinless, for such as they compose it the Lord himself hath declared. Paul asserts, Rom. iv. 15, "Where no law is, there is no transgression;" and John says, I. Epis. iii. 4, " Sin is the transgression of law." But the wildest theorist has never yet pretended that infants can transgress or be amenable to any law, human or divine. No transgression no sin, say the apostles, and thus with their Great Master bear testimony to the innocence of children. Baptism is instituted by the Lord for remission of sins. Surely nothing but a strong delusion could persuade mankind to take from the penitent believing sinner this gracious institution, this balm for all his fears, and confer it on those who can neither believe nor sin.

Infants are made the subjects of a religious ceremony to regenerate them because of original sin; on account of which, acoording to Geneva philosophy they are liable to the flames of hell for ever! If original sin, which is in fact sin in the flesh, were neutralized, then all "baptismally regenerated" babes ought to live for ever, as Adam would have done had he eaten of the Tree of Life after he had sinned. But they die; which is a proof that the "regeneration" does not "cure their souls"; and is, therefore, mere theological quackery. 

Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized  shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
-*Maarrkk xvi, 16, l<f.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.—/no. iii, 6. Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. * * * Then they that gladly received his word were baptized.
—Actt ii, 38, 41.

And when they (the people of Samaria) believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both MEN AND WOMEN.—Acts viii, 12.

And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and HE BAPTIZED HIM.—Actt viii, 39.

Paul (after his conversion) arose and WAS BXTTizvD.—Acts ix, 18.

Lydia was BAPTIZED, and her household.—Acts xvi, 15.

The keeper of the prison (at Philippi) * • * v a s BAPTIZED, he and all his straightway, * * * believing in God with all his house.—Acts zvi, 27, 33, 34.

When they (twelve men at Ephesus) heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.—Acts xix, o.

The like figure whereunto even BAPTISM DOTH ALSO NOW SAVE us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.—1 "Peter iii, 21.

At what age should one be immersed?

Preferably when one has reached the age of reason, however infant Baptisms or baby sprinkling, are meaningless and useless.

We reject that infant baptism or baby sprinkling is a doctrine of Scripture. [Baptism is only valid upon a confession of understanding the complete Will and purpose of God. It is the outward manifestation of an inner conviction — Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12.]

We reject that baptism is not necessary to salvation. [Baptism establishes a covenant-relationship, and is an act of obedience required for salvation — Acts 2:38.]

We reject that a knowledge of the Truth is not necessary to make baptism valid. [Baptism is only valid upon a knowledge of God’s revealed will and purpose, and an open declaration and confession thereof — Acts 8:12.]

The Soul is Temporary

The Soul is Temporary

Next the psychic aeon. It is a small one, which is mixed with bodies, by begetting in the souls (and) defiling (them). For the first defilement of the creation found strength. And it begot every work: many works of wrath, anger, envy, malice, hatred, slander, contempt and war, lying and evil counsels, sorrows and pleasures, basenesses and defilements, falsehoods and diseases, evil judgments that they decree according to their desires. (The Concept of Our Great Power)

This realm of things made, or consciousness of condition, is termed the soul. The body is the outer court of the soul, and an exact representative, in form, of the ideals that are revolving in the inner realms of its domain.

soul, duality of the--That phase of the soul named subconsciousness, which draws its life from both the earthly side of existence and the spiritual; it answers to both good and evil, light and darkness.

I believe both canonical and gnostic text support the teaching that the soul is temporary.

Ezekiel 18:4 & 20:

"Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die."

"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."

Matthew 10:29:

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Revelation 6:9:

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne."

The Treatise of the Resurrection:

"From the savior we radiate beams, and we are held in his arms until our own sunset, our death in this life. We are drawn to heaven by him, like beams, by the sun, and nothing holds us down. This is the resurrection of the spirit, which swallows up the soul and the flesh."

Tripartite Tractate:

"They became flesh and soul, that is, eternally which (things) hold them and with corruptible things they die. "

The Gospel of Philip:

"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]. "

Apocalypse of Peter:

"For evil cannot produce good fruit. For the place from which each of them is produces that which is like itself; for not every soul is of the truth, nor of immortality"

And when we heard these things, we became elated, for we had been depressed on account of what we had said earlier. Now when he saw our rejoicing, he said: "Woe to you who are in want of an advocate! Woe to you who are in need of grace! Blessed are those who have spoken freely and have produced grace for themselves. Make yourselves like strangers; of what sort are they in the estimation of your city? Why are you troubled when you oust yourselves of your own accord and depart from your city? Why do you abandon your dwelling place of your own accord, readying it for those who desire to dwell in it? O you exiles and fugitives! Woe to you, because you will be caught! Or perhaps you imagine that the Father is a lover of humanity? Or that he is persuaded by prayers? Or that he is gracious to one on behalf of another? Or that he bears with one who seeks? For he knows the desire and also that which the flesh needs. Because it is not the flesh which yearns for the soul. For without the soul the body does not sin, just as the soul is not saved without the Spirit. But if the soul is saved when it is without evil, and if the spirit also is saved, then the body becomes sinless. For it is the spirit which animates the soul, but it is the body which kills it - that is, it is the soul which kills itself.

The Apocryphon of James

Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John Fragment 40

Fragment 40, on John 4:46-53 (In John 4:46, “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose child was ill.) The official was the Craftsman, for he himself ruled like a king over those under him. Because his domain is small and transitory, he was called an “official,” like a petty princeling who is set over a small kingdom by the universal king. The “child” “in Capernaun” is one who is in the lower part of the Middle (i.e. of animate substance), which lies near the sea, that is, which is linked with matter. The child’s proper person was sick, that is, in a condition not in accordance with the child’s proper nature, in ignorance and sins. (In John 4:47, “When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his child , for it was at the point of death.”) The words “from Judea to Galilee” mean ‘from the Judea above.’. . . By the words “it was at the point of death,” the teaching of those who claim that the soul is immortal is refuted. In agreement with this is the statement that “the body and soul are destoyed in Hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The soul is not immortal, but is possessed only of a disposition towards salvation, for it is the perishable which puts on imperishability and the mortal which puts on immortality when “its death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54) Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John

14 The demons are said to be incorporeal, not because they have no bodies (for they have even shape and are, therefore, capable of feeling punishment), but they are said to be incorporeal because, in comparison with the spiritual bodies which are saved, they are a shade. And the angels are bodies; at any rate they are seen. Why even the soul is a body, for the Apostle says, “It is sown a body of soul, it is raised a body of spirit.” And how can the souls which are being punished be sensible of it, if they are not bodies? Certainly he says, “Fear him who, after death, is able to cast soul and body into hell.” Now that which is visible is not purged by fire, but is dissolved into dust. But, from the story of Lazarus and Dives, the soul is directly shown by its possession of bodily limbs to be a body.

The Scriptures give spirit, soul, and body as constituting all of man.

12 For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul [ ψυχή psykhḗ] and spirit [ πνεῦμα pneuma], and of joints and [their] marrow, and [is] able to discern thoughts and intentions of [the] heart (Hebrews 4). Compare Php 1:27; 1Th 5:23.

The “spirit” (Heb., ruach; Gr., pneuma) should not be confused with the “soul” (Heb., nephesh; Gr., psykhe´), for they refer to different things.

Paul the Apostle used ψυχή (psychē) and πνεῦμα (pneuma) specifically to distinguish between the Jewish notions of נפש (nephesh) and רוח ruah (spirit)

So the soul and the spirit are two different things, and the difference between them is explained by the bible.

7 And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground [he made the body] and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life [he put a spirit in the body], and the man came to be a living soul [body + spirit = living soul] (Genesis 2).


1 Corinthians 15:44  It is sown a body of the soul, it is raised a body of the spirit; if there is a body of the soul, there is also of the spirit:--
45  Thus, also, it is written--The first man, Adam, became, a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
46  Howbeit, not first, is the body of the spirit, but that, of the soul,--afterwards, that of the spirit. (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)

1 Corinthians 15:53  For this corruptible must needs clothe itself with incorruptibility, and this mortal, clothe itself, with immortality.

54  But, whensoever, this mortal, shall clothe itself with immortality, then, shall be brought to pass the saying that is written--Death hath been swallowed up, victoriously; (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)

Definition: A Body is a physical or spiritual vessel. In other words a human or angelic body.

Definition: A Soul is a human or angelic body.

Definition: A Dead Soul is a dead body

Definition: A Spirit is a character, a personality. It is 'you'.

Human Person = Spirit + Physical Body = Lining Soul (human)
Corpse = Physical Body with no Spirit = Dead Soul (human)
Angelic Person = Spirit + Angelic Body = Soul (angelic)
Second Dead angel = Spirit with Shared angelic Body = Spirit with no individual Soul (angelic).

Do the AEONS describe a path?

Do the AEONS describe a path?

Article by William Charnock taken from https://www.nockwoodcards.com/single-post/beyond-archetypes-do-the-aeons-describe-a-path


Beyond archetypes: Do the AEONS describe a path?

And then it struck me.

The origin mythos of the Gnostics describes the emanations of the Aeons that start with the ineffable being and roll out through the different aeons to the youngest of the Aeons Sophia. The bridge between the earthly and divine domains. This journey from the ineffable, via the knowable forces of the Aeons, to the chaos of our material world, is referenced in chapter 6 of the Pistis Sophia.

Then Jesus, the compassionate, said unto them: "Rejoice and exult from this hour on, for I have gone to the regions out of which I had come forth… From this hour on will I not hide anything from you of the [mystery] of the height and of that of the region of Truth. For authority hath been given me through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all mysteries to speak with you, from the Beginning right up to the Fulness, both from within without and from without within. Hearken, therefore, that I may tell you all things. Pistis Sophia.

Because the story was always told from the origin out, I had never really thought about the pathway “from the Beginning right up to the fullness”. The beginning in this instance being the repentance and rejection of the realm of darkness and created by the lion headed Demiurge.

While I had written much about the syzygies (link) of the decad and the dodecad. The 22 aeons (24 if you include Anthropos and Ecclesia) [Editor's note see Revelation 4:4]. I had not seen them as a pathway before with a beginning and an end. Where the journey of enlightenment starts and the fulfillment is realized.

Jesus said “Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death.” Book of Thomas, Saying 18.

In this direction it makes sense that the path of enlightenment starts with Sophia for she was the Aeon who transgressed the realm of the Aeons and in doing so created the chaos. (It also explains why the symbol of Sophia is on the cover of the AEON book).

I elaborate on all of these steps in the Syzygies of Aeon but not as a linear progression but here for anyone interested is the reversed path.

Starting from the Earthly realm:

Step 1: Sophia (Wisdom) and Theletus (Perfection): The desire of Gnosis and improvement. The realization that the material realm is imperfect and must be rejected.

Step 2: Ecclesiasticus (son of the church) and Macariotes (Utopia): To do what is right and true to ourselves so that we might be blessed. The power to give and receive. Communion

Step 3: Ainos (Praise) and Synesis (Understanding): To find the divine in ourselves so that we might know the divine in others. Rites and Sacraments.

Step 4: Metricos (Mother) and Agape (Love): To give of yourself, to create and bring forth love. The power to renew and fuel new life. Resurrection.

Step 5: Patricos (Father) and Elpis (Hope): Responsibility to protect and die for a legacy and future you believe in. Transcendence of self.

Step 6: Paracletus (Helper) and Pistis (Faith): To build reciprocity and trust. Faith in self and others comes before faith in God.


Moving into the realm of the divine:


Step 7: Monogenes (Originality) and Macaria (Happiness): The power to create what makes you happy. Explore your True nature. Build your inner compass.

Step 8: Acinetos (Immovable) and Syncrasis (Intercourse): The power to combine our true nature with others to find new potential. Revealing new understanding of our self in different combinations and contexts.

Step 9: Autophyes (Self-Made) and Hedone (Pleasure): The power to find self satisfaction and the satisfaction of others. What we bring forth is not only for ourselves but for others.

Step 10: Ageratos (Eternal) and Henosis (Union): The power of our intimacies. The secret of eternal life comes only from our togetherness.

Step 11: Bythos (Depth) and Mixis (Stir-up): The power of infinite growth comes from both the deeper understanding of your own being and the agitations and reactions with others of equal depth of knowledge.

Step 12: Anthropos (Mankind) and Ecclesia (Congregation): The two modes of being (personal and social) for which we must achieve cohesion and coherence. Personal wholeness reveals our true nature, body, mind and spirit. Integrated self-ness. Social and collective ‘ wholeness’ from which we find harmony and balance within our environment and society.

https://www.nockwoodcards.com/single-post/beyond-archetypes-do-the-aeons-describe-a-path

Who is Seth

Who is Seth

Seth: The third son of Adam and Eve, given to replace Abel after he had been murdered by Cain (Gen. 4:25). For certain Gnostic sects known as Sethians, who took their name from him, he was a savior figure and the paradigm of the Gnostic.

etymology

25 And Adam proceeded to have intercourse again with his wife and so she gave birth to a son and called his name Seth, because, as she said: God has appointed another seed underneath Abel, because Cain killed him. (Genesis 4 NWT).

The Hebrew word for 'appointed' (Isa. 22:7), TO PUT, TO SET, TO PLACE. (Gesenius).

His name signifies appointed. Eve's comment on the birth of this son reveals that she had a proper understanding of the purpose of God in him.

likeness and image

Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

The import of the phrase 'in the image, after the likeness' is suggested by the testimony that 'Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth.' In this respect, Seth stands related to Adam, as Adam did to the Elohim ... The very same thing is meant by Adam being in the image of the Elohim ... The resemblance therefore of Adam to the Elohim as their image was of bodily form ... In shape, Seth was like Adam, Adam like the Elohim, and the Elohim the image of the invisible Uncreated, the great and glorious Archetype of the intelligent universe."

Abel and Seth

The death of Abel is made good by the birth of Seth. Seth comes to make up for the loss of Abel, and this fact parallels how God’s law works for us. This particular law of God is the one which sees to it that a compensation comes to make up for what seems to have been taken out.

Seth the son of Adam and Eve born when Adam was 130 years old. Eve named him Seth because, as she said, “God has appointed another seed in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” Seth may not have been the third child of Adam and Eve. According to Genesis 5:4, Adam had “sons and daughters,” some of whom may have been born before Seth.

Seth is worthy of note because through him the present-day race of mankind, descended from him, not from the murderous Cain. At the age of 105 years Seth became father to Enosh. Seth died at the age of 912 years .—Gen 4:17, 25, 26; 5:3-8; 1Ch 1:1-4; Lu 3:38.


According to Eve's words, Seth's name means "set", "appointed" or "placed". Seth replaced the position previously held by Abel, and therefore his name was expressive of God's mercy. Seth kept alive the principles of faith and hope that were distorted and destroyed by the descendants of Cain, introduced to us in the previous chapter. Seth commenced the genealogy of true worshippers. In him it was demonstrated that Godliness was possible among men

as she said: God has appointed another seed underneath Abel, because Cain killed him. This shows remarkable perception on Eve's part: She realised that Abel, because of his upright and godly way of life, had been the beginning of the line which would descend through her "until the seed should come". Therefore, in the birth of Seth she recognised Yahweh's guarantee that the seed would be continued until the divine purpose had been brought to fruition.

The events of Abel's life foreshadow those of Christ.
The appointment of Seth typified the resurrection of the Lord;

In replacing Abel with Seth, God typically raised the former from the dead. Eve's words on the birth of this son suggest that she understood this. Evidently she had been given a revelation of the Divine purpose in replacing Abel with Seth

we are brought to Seth, in whom the murdered Abel comes to life. His name signifies "Watering," for the Mind waters the senses, as the Word of God waters the Virtues, which are symbolized by the four "heads" of the river going out of Eden. The word "heads" is used to indicate the sovereignty conferred by Virtues. The "River" is the Word of God, ever flowing for souls that love God.

And he begat sons and daughters" — Many other sons and daughters were born to Adam and Eve in addition to those named, and from these Cain and others obtained their wives. Hence the appointment of Seth to replace Abel means more than the mere birth of a son; it represented the appointment of this son to the position of privilege as legal "firstborn" with its office of priesthood and leadership within the family of Adam.

Of course the Cainites, driven from the presence of Yahweh, and the seat of worship, would not have recognised the appointment or privilege of Seth, any more than do their counterparts today recognise the status of the resurrected Christ.


"Abel became the type of Jesus, wounded in the heel;" while Seth typifies him in his reappearance among the sons of men to bruise sin underfoot, and to exterminate in the course of his reign , the Serpent's seed from the face of the earth (p. 117). This has been the hope of all God's faithful servants throughout the ages. "So the Christ also, having been once offered in sacrifice in order that he might bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, separated from sin, to those who are eagerly expecting him, to make their salvation complete.. . Amen. Come, Lord Jesus ..." (Heb. 9:28; Rev. 22:20. Wey.)

priesthood

Seth was appointed by God after the death of Abel in office of priesthood because both Abel and Seth were mediators of pre flood office of priesthood

"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos" — His name signifies weak, mortal man. It is a name applied to man in his weakness both physically and morally (see Psa. 9:20), and suggests a deterioration in the line of Seth at this time


So Seth begins to look for a higher power to express in his life--he calls upon the name of Yahweh. It is the activity of the awakening of the spiritual consciousness within him that causes him first to realise the pointlessness of his human efforts to better himself, and then to recognise the one Source of all Truth.

Thus he evolves, grows; and finally he shall come into a full consciousness of the divine mind or logos he grows into Christ-likeness which is accelerated greatly as he comes into a knowledge of the Truth that makes free, and thinks and acts consciously, voluntarily, in harmony with it.


Seth an emanation who has spoken through the prophets

Seth is the father of the incorruptible generation


The birth of Seth 'is by the providence of God's wisdom

Seth as born at the instigation of God's wisdom after Abel's death and was anointed with divine power.

the three classes of men, ‘material' or carnal, ‘soulful' or those who have not yet awakened to the higher consciousness, and 'spiritual' those who have entered into the Christ consciousness, correspond to Cain, Abel, and Seth.

Seth is therefore the symbolic Father and representative of ‘spiritual' believers,


The ‘Great Seth' is the heavenly son of Man,

The Apocryphon of john Seth is referred to as the 'image' of the Son of Man; the latter could, at first glance, be taken as a designation for the heavenly Seth.


He also plays a saviour role, for he is sent into the lower world to rescue the elect, ‘putting on' Jesus for that purpose.


The ‘Son of Man' terminology occurs in Eugnostos the Blessed (NHC 111,3; V,1) and The Sophia of Jesus Christ (NHC 111,4; BG 3).

 

The Role of Jesus in Valentinianism

Introduction

Valentinianism is a profoundly Christo-centric form of Christian mysticism. The entire mythology can be seen as Christology. In Valentinian thought, the decisive event in the history of the world was the ministry of Jesus. Prior to his coming, the true God was unknown ( Against Heresies 1:19:3-1:20:3). This is because "no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27 cf. Against Heresies 1:20:3). This is the point of the Sophia myth. Throughout the ages, human beings sought to find God, but in the absence of Christ, they succeeded only in producing a defective image of the divine i.e. the Craftsman (demiurge). In their error they worshipped an imperfect image of God as lawgiver and Craftsman of the material world instead of the true God.

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The Human Jesus and the Divine Christ

Valentinian tradition draws a sharp distinction between the human and the divine Jesus. By a special dispensation, the human Jesus was born (Against Heresies 1:15:3). Some Valentinians accepted the virgin birth (e.g Second Apocalypse of James 50:10f) while others believed Jesus was the true son of Mary and Joseph (Gospel of Philip 55:23-26). According to Valentinian theologians, Jesus derived his animate "body" or essence from the Craftsman. His spiritual essence is the entire "church of the superior seed" (Excerpts of Theodotus 17:1) deriving from Wisdom (Sophia). That is why the angel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit (i.e. Wisdom) will come upon you and the power of the Most High (i.e. the Craftsman) will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35 cf. Refutation of Heresies 6:35:3-4, also Excerpt of Theodotus 60, Against Heresies 1:15:3). According to Ptolemy, the contributions from Wisdom (Sophia) and the Craftsman pass through Mary into Jesus "like water through a pipe" (Against Heresies 1:7:2). This human being is the "lamb of God" (John 1:26 cf. Fragments of Herakleon 10), that is, the one the "Father of All chose to obtain knowledge of himself" ( Against Heresies 1:15:3).

Jesus became closely identified with humanity by taking on a human body. His human body is seen as consubstantial with the Church. Drawing on the metaphor from Saint Paul that the church is the body of Christ, Theodotus says, "The visible part of Jesus was Sophia (Wisdom) and the church of the superior seed which he put on through the body but the invisible part was the Name which is the only begotten Son" (Excerpts of Theodotus 26:1). The corresponding metaphor in the Gospel of Truth is the "living book" which contains the names of all the saved that the Son takes up (Gospel of Truth 20:10-14 cf. Revelation 20:15).

Valentinians divide the human personality into three distinct parts: chous (carnal), psyche (soul) and pneuma (spirit). The chous is closely linked the physical body and consists of the instinctual drives to self-gratification. It is said to directly derive from deficiency and suffering. By a special dispensation, Jesus was born without chous. For this reason, his physical body is sometimes said to be directly connected with psyche. Hence Ptolemy describes Jesus as having a "psychic" rather than a carnal (choic) body ( Against Heresies 1:6:1, 1:7:2).

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The Baptism of Jesus

When he was thirty years old, he went to John the Baptist to be baptized (Luke 3:23). As soon as he went down into the water, "he came out laughing at everything (of this world), not because he considers it a trifle, but because he is full of contempt for it" (Gospel of Philip 71:3-15). The divine Savior, referred to as the "Spirit of the Thought of the Father", descended on him in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16 and parallels cf. Against Heresies 1:7:2, 1:15:3, Excerpts of Theodotus 61:6, Refutation of Heresies 35:3) and the "Word became flesh" (John 1:14).

Jesus' baptism and the descent of the "Spirit" is his redemption (Gospel of Philip 70:34-36). Redemption was necessary even for Jesus so that "he might not be detained by the thought of the deficiency in which he was placed" (Excerpts of Theodotus 22:7 cf. also Tripartite Tractate 124:31-125:11). This is the true "virgin birth" and resurrection from the dead, for he was reborn of the virgin Spirit (cf. Gospel of Philip 70:34-71:7, Refutation of Heresies 35:5, Gospel of Philip 56:15-18). According to Theodotus, the Savior's angels were also baptized "through the redemption of the Name which came upon Jesus in the dove and redeemed him" (Excerpts of Theodotus 22:1-2). The angels are those who are "baptized for the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:29), that is, for human beings who are in ignorance of the true God (Excerpts of Theodotus 21:1-2).

The human Jesus is the "lamb of God", the Savior is the one "who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29 cf. Herakleon 10). He came to reveal knowledge (gnosis) of the Father (Gospel of Truth 20:15-24, Against Heresies 1:15:2, Interpretation of Knowledge 14:28-30). By knowledge (gnosis), the two elements which had been separated (i.e. the seeds and the angels) are rejoined (cf. Gospel of Philip 70:12-15 etc.) and restored to the Fullness (Treatise on the Resurrection 44:26-30). He also came to conquer death by means of the resurrection ( Against Heresies 1:15:3, Treatise on the Resurrection 44:26-30). He accomplished this by "sharing with the dispensational (i.e. human) Christ his power and his name" ( Against Heresies 3:16:1).

Valentinian Christology emphasizes that the human Jesus is redeemed by being joined with the Savior at his baptism. The Son is "the Name which came down upon Jesus in the dove and redeemed him" (Excerpts of Theodotus 22:6). The redemption of the human Jesus is seen by the Valentinians as applying to all who form part of the "church of the superior seed". The human Jesus is joined to the Savior. All who form part of the spiritual church which is identical with the human Jesus are also joined to the Savior. In the Interpretation of Knowledge, the human Jesus who represents the Church is called the "humiliated one"(12:18-22)and the "reproached one" (12:29-31). Again it is the Savior who redeems: "Who is it that redeemed the one that was reproached? It is the emanation of the Name (i.e. the Savior)" (Interpretation of Knowledge 12:29-31cf also 12:18-22). The descent of the Son into Jesus at his baptism is simultaneously the redemption of the human Jesus and the redemption of all who are joined with him.

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The Public Career of Jesus

Following his baptism, he taught for twelve months in order to "proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution" (Isaiah 61:2 cf. Against Heresies 2:22:1). In order to reveal his dual nature, the Acts of John reports that at times he was substantial like an ordinary human being, but that at other times he seemed insubstantial and did not even seem to leave footprints. (Acts of John 88-89). Everything he did was "a symbol and a dispensation for the conversion and salvation of humanity" (Acts of John 102 cf. also Against Heresies 1:8:2). He taught he disciples "first in a figurative and mystical way, then in parables and riddles and thirdly clearly and directly in private" (Excerpts of Theodotus 66 cf. John 16:25, Luke 8:9-10).

In the Gospel of Philip, Mary Magdalene is regarded as a full-fledged apostle. She was seen as having had a special relationship with Jesus and is said to be the apostle he loved more that the others (Gospel of Philip 64:1-2 cf. Gospel of Mary 18:14-15). She is sometimes interpreted as a symbol of Wisdom (Sophia). As such she is described as Jesus' consort and it is implied that they are married (Gospel of Philip 63:32-33, 56:6-10 cf. Gospel of Mary 10:2-3). His brother James also plays an important role in some Valentinian sources such as the First Apocalypse of James.

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The Crufixion

The forces of ignorance rose up against Jesus, and, not comprehending his true nature, attempted to destroy him (Gospel of Truth 18:21-26). His passion and death have a special symbolic value according to Ptolemy who says that Jesus "came to his suffering in the last times of the world for the purpose of revealing the suffering arising with the last of the Aeons and through its end to reveal for all to see the final aim of the events in the world of the Aeons" ( Against Heresies 1:8:2).

Valentinians interpreted Jesus' suffering and death in terms of his dual nature. Inasmuch as Jesus is a human being, he suffered pain and died on the cross (cf. Against Heresies 1:7:2). However, his divine nature (i.e. the Savior) transcends physical pain and death ( Against Heresies 1:6:3, 1 Apocalypse of James 131:17-19). Instead, his divine aspect endured only the emotional sufferings of grief, fear and confusion in order to bring them to nothing. This distinction is expressed by the risen Christ in the following words: "What they (i.e. ordinary Christians) say of me, I did not endure, but what they do not say, those things I did suffer" (Acts of John 101).

According to Ptolemy, the Savior expressed his grief with the words, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:38). When he says, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39) he shows fear. Similarly, his statement, "And what shall I say" (John 12:27) shows his confusion. ( Against Heresies 1:8:2). The reality of this suffering is affirmed in many places (Gospel of Truth 20:10-14, 20:28-30, Interpretation of Knowledge 5:30-35, Herakleon 12)

The identity of the Jesus' body with the Church lead some Valentinians to identify the suffering of Jesus with the suffering of the individual Christians that make up that body. In the Letter of Peter to Philip, it says "Our illuminator came down and was crucified..Jesus is a stranger to this suffering. But we are the ones who suffered through the transgression of the Mother. And because of this he did everything like us" (139:15-25).

According to the Apocalypse of Peter, Jesus was laughing on the cross at his persecutors: "He laughs at their lack of perception, knowing that they are born blind" (Apocalypse of Peter 83:1-3). They foolishly thought they were killing him but in reality they were setting him free from the flesh. Only the human Jesus was being put to death.

According to Theodotus, when Jesus said, "Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit" (Luke 23:4), he committed the lower Wisdom and her seed to the Father, having accomplished his work of redemption (Excerpts of Theodotus 1:1-2). The Savior then withdrew from Jesus and his human part died (Excerpts of Theodotus 61:6). That is why the human Jesus said with his dying breath, "My God, my God, why o Lord have you forsaken me" (Matthew 27:46), for "he was divided in that place" (Gospel of Philip 68:26-28 cf. also Interpretation of Knowledge 13:14-16).

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The Resurrection

When the human body died, his non-corporeal spiritual body rose up from it (Refutation of Heresies 10:7, Apocalypse of Peter 83:6-8, cf. also Treatise on the Resurrection 45:14-17). The Gospel of Truth puts it thus, "Having stripped himself of perishable rags, he put on imperishability" (Gospel of Truth 20:30-32 cf. also Treatise on the Resurrection 45:14-22).

According to a tradition preserved in the Acts of John, the risen Savior appeared immediately to the apostle John on the Mount of Olives while the multitude was still gathered around his human body nailed to the cross. The Savior revealed to him that the cross could be seen as a symbol of the Limit that separates the lower realm from the Fullness (Acts of John 97-100). When he told John that "those who are outside the mystery" (Acts of John 100) were saying that he had perished on the cross, John laughed at their foolishness (Acts of John 102).

On the third day after his human body died, the Savior sent forth a ray of power which destroyed death, and "he raised the mortal body after he scattered the sufferings (i.e. the physical and carnal natures)" (Excerpts of Theodotus 61:6). This body which he raised is not the material body, "for what is flesh and blood cannot share in God's kingdom" (1 Corinthians 15:50). Instead, it was a body of animate essence specially transformed so that it could be seen and felt (cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 59:4, Against Heresies 1:6:1, 1:7:1).

The risen Savior only took up those elements he wished to save, that is, the animate soul and the spiritual seed ( Against Heresies1:6:1). It is this animate and spiritual body of Christ which is consubstantial with the Church (Excerpts of Theodotus 42:3, 58:1, cf. Ephesians 4:15-16). Theodotus puts it in these words, "The visible part of Jesus was Wisdom (Sophia) and the Church of the superior seed which he put on through the body" (Excerpts of Theodotus 26:1).

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The Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

The risen Jesus appeared to different people in various forms, that is "in the manner in which they would be able to see him" (Gospel of Philip 57:28-35 cf. also Excerpts of Theodotus 23:4, Acts of Peter 21). That is why Mary did not recognize him at the tomb (John 20:15) and the disciples did not recognize him on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:16).

According to a tradition known to the Valentinians, Jesus remained for eighteen months after his crucifixion ( Against Heresies 1:3:2, Secret Book of James 2:19). During this time he instructed his disciples "plainly about the Father" (John 16:25 cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 66). Valentinians believed that the secret tradition passed on to them was revealed to the disciples during this period.

After giving final instructions to Peter and James (Secret Book of James), the Savior and Wisdom (Sophia) ascended to the eighth heaven. The animate Christ remained in the seventh heaven on the right hand of the Craftsman (Excerpts of Theodotus 62:1 cf. Psalm 110). He will remain there until the consummation so that "they may see him whom they pierced" (Revelation 1:7 cf. Excerpts of Theodotus 62:2).

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Conclusion

Jesus sows the spiritual seed in all who hear the message. He is the sower in the parable (Matthew 13:1-8 cf. Interpretation of Knowledge 5:16-19). The spiritual seed bears fruit in the Church, "therefore the signs of the Spirit - healing and prophesying - are accomplished through the Church" (Excerpts of Theodotus 24:1).

Jesus is absolutely central to Valentinian theology. Their understanding of his incarnation places great emphasis on both his human and divine nature. The human Jesus alone died on the cross since the divine transcends pain and death. This is distinctly different from "docetism". Valentinians never claimed that Jesus only appeared to suffer or that his body was an apparition.

 

 

Prophecy of the Ogdoad Sibylline Oracles 7

Prophecy of the Ogdoad Sibylline Oracles 7

or

the Lord's Day the Ogdoad Sibylline Oracles book 7

Sibylline Oracles 7

But they will endure extreme toil who, for gain,

will prophesy base things, augmenting an evil time;

who putting on the shaggy hides of sheep

135 will falsely claim to be Hebrews, which is not their race.

But speaking with words, making profit by woes,

they will not change their life and will not persuade the righteous

and those who propitiate God through the heart, most faithfully.

Restoration of the world

In the third lot of circling years,

140 of the first ogdoad, another world is seen again.

All will be night, long and unyielding,

and then a terrible smell of brimstone will extend

announcing murders, when those men perish

by night and famine. Then he will beget a pure mind

145 of men and will set up your race as it was before for you.

No longer will anyone cut a deep furrow with a crooked plow;

no oxen will plunge down the guiding iron.

There will be no vine branches or ear of corn, but all, at once,

will eat the dewy manna with white teeth

After the third “circling of years” when the first Ogdoad is seen, he will begat a “pure mind of men” and no one will plow a crooked row anymore (139-149).

Ogdoad is also a Gnostic concept relating to the aeons (Edwin Yamauchi, “The Gnostics and History” JETS 14 (1971): 29-40, 31). 

The word is used to describe a place in the Hermetic Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth:  “The Eighth or Ogdoad is described as the place or sphere where souls and angels continuously praise the Ninth with hymns; the Ninth is the dwelling place of Nous or Divine Mind” (Ruth Majerick, “Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth” in ABD 2:210-211). 

It is possible this reference refers to Jesus in some kind of numeric wordplay, since the name Jesus Christ is often rendered 888. Finally, all people in this restored world will “eat dewy manna with white teeth” (148-149, cf. Revelation 2:17).

63 Now the repose of the spiritual elements on the Lord's Day, that is, in the Ogdoad, which is called the Lord's Day, is with the Mother, who keeps their souls, the (wedding) garments, until the end; but the other faithful souls are with the Creator, but at the end they also go up in the Ogdoad. Then comes the marriage feast, common to all who are saved, until all are equal and know each other. (Extracts from the Works of Theodotu)

The Lord's day is the first day of the week, or day after the seventh, and therefore styled the eighth day. It is termed His day, because it is the week-day of His resurrection. Upon this day the disciples of Christ assembled to show forth His death, and to celebrate His resurrection;The fact that the Lord’s resurrection took place on a Sunday, the eighth day, is interpreted as a symbolic reference to this redemptive ascent of the spirituals at the end of the age.

God shows Enoch the age of this world, its existence of seven thousand years, and the eighth thousand is the end, neither years, nor months, nor weeks, nor days

2Enoch 33:1 And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first-created after my work, that it should revolve in the revolution of the seventh thousand, so that the eighth thousand might be in the beginning of a time not reckoned and unending with neither years nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours like the first day of the week, so also that the eighth day of the week might return continually.

2 And now, Enoch, all that I have told thee, all that thou hast understood, all that thou hast seen of heavenly things, all that thou hast seen on earth, and all that I have written in books by my great wisdom, all these things I have devised and created from the uppermost foundation to the lower and to the end, and there is no counsellor nor inheritor to my creations.

3 I am self-eternal, not made with hands, and without change.

4 My thought is my counsellor, my wisdom and my word are made, and my eyes observe all things how they stand here and tremble with terror.

The big find in Barnabas is chapter 15, concerning the sabbath, which says...

1 Furthermore it was written concerning the Sabbath in the ten words which he spake on Mount Sinai face to face to Moses. "Sanctify also the Sabbath of the Lord with pure hands and a pure heart."
2 And in another place he says, "If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I bestow my mercy upon them."
3 He speaks of the Sabbath at the beginning of the Creation, "And God made in 6x days the works of his hands and on the 7th day he made an end, and rested in it and sanctified it."
4 Notice, children, what is the meaning of "He made an end in 6 days"? He means this: that the Lord will make an end of everything in 6,000 years, for a day with him means a thousand years. And he himself is my witness when he says, "Lo, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years." So then, children, in 6 days, that is in 6 thousand years, everything will be completed.
5 "And he rested on the 7th day." This means, when his Son comes [at the start of that day] he will destroy the time of the wicked one, and will judge the godless, and will change the sun and the moon and the stars, and then he will truly rest on the 7th day [Amen].
6 Furthermore he says, "Thou shalt sanctify it with clean hands and a pure heart." If, then, anyone has at present the power to keep holy the day which God made holy, by being pure in heart, we are altogether deceived.
7 See that we shall indeed keep it holy at that time, when we enjoy true rest, when we shall be able to do so because we have been made righteous ourselves and have received the promise, when there is no more sin, but all things have been made new by the Lord  then we shall be able to keep it holy because we ourselves have first been made holy.
8 Furthermore he says to them, "Your new moons and the sabbaths I cannot away with." Do you see what he means? The present sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but that which I have made, in which I will give rest to all things and make the beginning of an eighth day, that is the beginning of another world.

9 Wherefore we also celebrate with gladness the eighth day in which Jesus also rose from the dead, and was made manifest, and ascended into Heaven (Chapter 15)

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 Yahweh 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 sacred assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein." This was what we call Sunday. The regulation then continues, "on the eighth day," also Sunday, "shall be a sacred assembly unto you, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh: 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).

This change of the sabbath from the seventh to the eighth, or first day of the week, is the full development and establishment of the observance of the Lord's day by the disciples of Jesus since the times of the apostles.

We Shall Become Gods John 10:34

Our destiny is to become Gods like Yahweh, the Elohim and Jesus

24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his lord
25 It is enough for the disciple to become as his teacher, and the slave as his lord (Matthew 10)

So we all are to becomes Gods like Jesus if he is our Lord and our Teacher.

John 20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus became a God like Yahweh both in nature and moral character, after he gave his life as a ransom. He was given the name that is above every other name named, which name is Yahweh.

20 with which he has operated in the case of the Christ when he raised him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above every government and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this system of things, but also in that to come (Ephesians 1).

How?

How are we to be come gods?
By becoming sharing in the divine nature. If we share God's divine nature therefore we will be divine and a god just like the Father

2 Peter 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Partakers"—A partaker is a sharer, and believers are called to share that same "divine nature" unto which the Lord attained through his resurrection from the dead (1 John 3:2; Phil. 3:21; John 1:12). What Christ is now, we can become.

"Divine nature"—This is immortality,a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:46), made like unto the angels (Luke 20:36), who are "made spirits" (Heb. 1:7). Notice the six transition-features of the coming resurrection, as outlined in 1 Cor. 15:42-54, all expressive of "divine nature:"

Glory

Paul said: 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3 NWT)

So the target that Paul set, that we fall short of, was the glory of God. One does not get the glory of God until one has become a God!

2Thel 2:14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 17:22 And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

John 17:24 ¶ Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Gods

34 Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your Law, I said: You are Gods? (John 10).

GODS: That is, God's appointed representatives, called "elohim" or "gods" in Psa 82:1-6. See Exo 7:1; 21:6; 22:8,28. Angels also may bear the Yahweh-name (Act 7:30).

Here are all the scriptures in the bible using the phrase God of Gods...

17 For Yahweh your Gods he [is] the Gods of Gods [these could all be polite plurals] and the Lord of lords, the God great, mighty and fear-inspiring, who treats none with partiality nor accepts a bribe, (Deuteronomy 10 NWT)

2 Give ye thanks to the Gods [polite plural] of Gods, For to the age {is} His kindness. (Psalms 136 YLT)

47 The king answered Daniel and said, Your Gods truly [is] a Gods of Gods [these could all be polite plurals] and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. (Daniel 2 GLT)

36 And the king will actually do according to his own will, and he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every God; and against the God of Gods he will speak marvellous things. And he will certainly prove successful until [the] denunciation will have come to a finish; because the thing decided upon must be done. (Daniel 11 NWT)

Nowhere in the bible is Elohim in the singular. This may be because God's wife is a composite God. So there have always been two Gods. She is divine, individuals in her cannot sin.

The Divine Name

God told Israel that His Name was YAHWEH, meaning "I am that I am" or, more correctly translated, 'I will be who I will be' (Ex.3:13-15). This name was then slightly extended: "God said moreover (i.e. in addition) unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD (Yahweh) God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob...this is My name for ever, and my memorial to all generations" (Ex.3:15).

God's full name is therefore "The LORD God".

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, and our English translation inevitably misses out a lot of detail when it comes to translating the Hebrew words for 'God'. One of the common Hebrew words translated 'God' is 'Elohim', meaning 'mighty ones'. God's "memorial", the Name by which He wants us to remember Him, is therefore

YAHWEH ELOHIM

meaning

HE WHO WILL BE REVEALED IN A GROUP OF MIGHTY ONES.

It is therefore God's purpose to reveal His character and His essential being in a large group of people. By obedience to His word we can develop some of God's characteristics in ourselves now, so that in a very limited sense God is revealing Himself in the true believers in this life. But God's Name is a prophecy of the time to come when the earth will be filled with people who are like Him, both in character and by nature (cp. 2 Pet.1:4). If we wish to be associated with the purpose of God and to become like God to die no more, living for ever in complete moral perfection, then we must associate ourselves with His Name. The way to do this is to be baptized into the Name - i.e. Yahweh Elohim (Matt.28:19). This also makes us the descendants ("seed") of Abraham (Gal.3:27-29) who were promised the eternal inheritance of the earth (Gen.17:8; Rom.4:13) - the group of 'mighty ones' ('Elohim') in whom the prophecy of God's Name will be fulfilled

Moroni 7:48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (The Book of Mormon)


This is echoed in the Gospel of Philip’s statement that where the Gnostic is described as no longer a Christian, but Christ.

People cannot see anything that really is without becoming like it. It is not so with people in the world, who see the sun without becoming the sun and see the sky and earth and everything else without becoming them.
Rather, in the realm of truth,
you have seen things there and have become those things,
you have seen the spirit and have become spirit,
you have seen Christ and have become Christ,
you have seen the [father] and will become father. (Gospel of Philip)

[Here] in the world you see everything but do not [see] yourself, but there in that realm you see yourself, and you will [become] what you see.
Those who receive the name of the father, son, and holy spirit and have accepted them must do this. If someone does not accept them, the name will also be taken from that person. A person receives them in the chrism with the oil of the power of the cross. The apostles called this power the right and the left. This person is no longer a Christian but is Christ. (Gospel of Philip)

In the first Apocalypse of James, Christ exhorts James to cast away the bond of flesh that encircles him, and continues:

Then you will reach The-One-who-is. And you will no longer be James; rather you are The-One-who-is

In the thirteenth book of the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes Trismegistus explains to his son Tat: Hermes: Even so it is my son, when a man is born from above; it is no longer a body of flesh and blood that he perceives but the incorruptible. Tat: Father, now that I know this, I see myself to be the All. I am in heaven and in earth, in water and in air; I am in beasts and plants. . .I am present everywhere. Hermes: Now, my son, you know what the rebirth is. (John 3:3) And also in the Gospel of Thomas, (saying 108) in which Jesus declares: whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me, I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to that one.

The ultimate object of gnosis is God/union with God and the direct reception of the wisdom of God through

experience of the divine. The event of gnosis within an individual transforms the knower of gnosis into a partaker and sharer in the divine essence. To know ones true self, the divine sp iritu a l element of ones being, is to know God. The sp iritu a l pneumatic element of ones true self is the linking, cohesive element, and the only - element, by which one is bound to the divine spiritual realm