Translation and Comments on Gospel of Judas - Chapter 14

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(P.147) Chapters 10-14 of the 'Gospel of Judas' contain the core of Jesus's

teaching. Many things Jesus has only hinted at before are presented here more

systematically. [17] We can best understand the thinking underlying the 'Gospel

of Judas' by grasping some of the core presuppositions the author assumes. The

author of the 'Gospel of Judas', like other early Christians, turned first to

the biblical book of 'Genesis' to answer questions about human nature, moral

order, and their relationship to God. But even as people today read their sacred

stories in terms of what they know about science, so too ancient Christians

interpreted 'Genesis' in the light of ancient philosophical and scientific

thinking, especially astronomy, as well as Jewish interpretations of Scripture.

Ideas from all these sources appear in the 'Gospel of Judas', as we will see.

Another presupposition is that the world we live in was patterned after a

higher, perfect realm of God above. These Christians read 'Genesis' knowing that

the account of the creation of the lower world would contain hints about that

heavenly realm, since this world is patterned upon it. They therefore not only

read 'Genesis' to learn about the nature of this world but also sought clues in

it about the nature of the transcendent realm of God above. In chapters 10-11,

Jesus describes that realm to Judas.

 

Reading Judas - The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity,

('Comments on the Translation' Pg. 147)

 

 

 

 

A./ 'English Translation of the Gospel of Judas'

 

Chapter 14:

 

(P.120) [1] [Then] Judas said to Jesus, " What, then, will those races do? "

 

[2] Jesus said, " Truly I say to you (pl.), it is the stars that bring completion

upon all things. [3] For when Saklas has completed his times which are fixed for

him, [4] their first star will be about to come along with the races, [5] and

those things which were spoken will be completed. [6] Then they will fornicate

in my name, [7] and they will kill their children, [8] and...

 

 

[[9-10] 'about eight and a half lines are untranslatable']

 

 

....i]n my name, [11] and your star will r[ule] over the [thi]rteenth realm. "

 

[12] But afterward, Jesus [lau]ghed.

 

[13] [Judas sai]d, " Teacher, [why are you laughing at us?] "

 

[14] [Jesus] re[pli]ed. [He said,] " It is not [yo]u (pl.) I am lau[gh]ing [at,

bu]t at the error of the stars, [15] because these six stars go astray with

these five warriors, [16] and all of them will be destroyed along with their

creations. "

 

(P.121) [17] Then Judas said to Jesus, " What will those who are baptized in your

name do? "

 

[18] Jesus said, " Truly I say [to you], This baptism [..........] my name ...

 

 

['about eight lines are untranslatable']

 

....die [........] to me. "

 

('English Translation of the Gospel of Judas' - Pg. 120-121)

 

 

 

 

B./ 'Comments on the Translation' (Gospel of Judas) - Chapter 14

 

[1]-[18] of Chapter 14

 

(P.120) [Then] Judas said to Jesus, " What, then, will those races do? "

 

Jesus said, " Truly I say to you (pl.), it is the stars that bring completion

upon all things. For when Saklas has completed his times which are fixed for

him, their first star will be about to come along with the races, and those

things which were spoken will be completed. Then they will fornicate in my name,

and they will kill their children, and...

 

 

['about eight and a half lines are untranslatable']

 

 

....i]n my name, and your star will r[ule] over the [thi]rteenth realm. "

 

But afterward, Jesus [lau]ghed.

 

[Judas sai]d, " Teacher, [why are you laughing at us?] "

 

[Jesus] re[pli]ed. [He said,] " It is not [yo]u (pl.) I am lau[gh]ing [at, bu]t

at the error of the stars, because these six stars go astray with these five

warriors, and all of them will be destroyed along with their creations. "

 

(P.121) Then Judas said to Jesus, " What will those who are baptized in your name

do? "

 

Jesus said, " Truly I say [to you], This baptism [..........] my name ...

 

Comments:

 

(P.161) When the appointed time comes, Jesus tells him, the erring stars and

planetary rulers will be destroyed, along with everything they have created, as

has been prophesied. All the people who follow them will collapse into moral

chaos, killing their own children and engaging in violence and sexual

transgression ('Judas' 14:2-7, 14-16). These are signs of the end (cf. also

'Judas' 5:8-16).

 

Many other Christians then as now shared the conviction that the end time would

be an era of violent destruction. According to the 'Gospel of Mark', the signs

of the end appear when people see the order of creation reversed: " The sun will

be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling

from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken " ('Mark' 13:24-25). '1

John' claims that " the whole world lies under the power of the evil one " (5:19),

and the longest apocalyptic prophecy in the New Testament, in the 'Book of

Revelation', predicts a great war in heaven before the final destruction of the

world. Satan and his angels temporarily rule over the world, and it is they who

inspire rulers to kill Jesus and to make war upon his followers. John, the

prophet of 'Revelation', also takes astrological signs as omens of God's divine

plan. [28] The 'Book of Revelation', like the 'Gospel of Judas', depicts Jesus

teaching that the present world is about to be destroyed, along with all who

worship the demonic powers that now hold power. All of these " books of

revelation " claim that in the end, only believers will be saved. The 'Gospel of

Mark' writes that the Son of Man will " send out the angels, and gather his elect

from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven " ('Mark'

13:27). '1 John' insists that " the Son of God has come and has given us

understanding so that we may know him who is true, " leading believers from

idolatry to eternal life ('1 John' 5:20-21). In 'Revelation', only believers

gain eternal life in the new creation, a heavenly Jerusalem descended from

heaven ('Revelation' 21), while unbelievers are condemned to eternal punishment

in the lake of fire ('Revelation' 20:15).

 

(P.162) The 'Gospel of Judas' expresses the same conviction, teaching that this

world will not long endure and that all those on earth who ignore Jesus's

teaching will die. When Jesus laughs again, we learn that the stars and planets

that rule the heavens and the lower realm of chaos will all be destroyed, along

with everything they have created ('Judas' 14:16).

 

Judas asks about those who are baptized in his name, but unfortunately Jesus's

answer is lost in a hole in the text. We can speculate, however, that his answer

might have resembled what we hear in the 'Testimony of Truth': " There are some,

who upon entering the faith, receive a baptism on the ground that they have [it]

as a hope of salvation...(but) the Son of Man did not baptize any of his

disciples. For [...if those who] are baptized were headed for life, the world

would become empty.... But the baptism of truth is something else; it is by

renunciation of the world that it is found. [but those who] say [only] with the

tongue [that they] are renouncing it [are lying], and they are coming to [the

place] of fear " ('Testimony of Truth' 69:7-29). No pious act brings salvation;

only turning away from " the world " and its rulers to God above.

 

Jesus explains to Judas, " Your star will rule over the thirteenth realm "

('Judas' 14:11). Some scholars have taken this to mean that Judas will surpass

the lower twelve rulers of the world, and come to dwell in a realm above them,

but still be outside the realm of the heavenly temple above. Clearly, the number

thirteen signals Judas and those who follow his star will ascend above the

domination of the world's rulers and escape destruction. It does not seem,

however, that this thirteenth realm is the final resting place of Judas, since

Jesus clearly teaches that those who are of the immortal holy race will dwell in

the divine realms above. (P.163) The key passage is above in 'Judas' 15:2-13.

 

[Here is the passage being referred to]:

 

(P.121) [[2]'about three lines are untranslatable'] ... everything [for they are

w]icked. [3] As for you, you will surpass them all. [4] For you will sacrifice

the human being who bears me. [5] Already your horn is raised up, [6] your anger

is full, [7] your star has passed by, [8] and your heart has [preva]iled.

 

[9] " Tr[uly I say to you,] 'Your end ...'

 

[[10-11] 'about five and a half lines are untranslatable']

 

....the ru[ler] who is destroyed. [12] [An]d then the pl[a]ce of the great race

of Adam will be exalted, [13] because prior to heaven and earth and the angels,

through the realms that race exists.

 

Reading Judas - The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity,

'Comments on the Translation' Pg.147; 161-163

Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King

Penguin Group - London, England

ISBN 978-0-713-99984-6

 

Notes:

 

[17] Many elements of the theology and cosmology of the 'Gospel of Judas' are

similar to a set of newly discovered writings found in Egypt that scholars

classify as " Sethian Gnosticism " or simply " Sethianism. " One of these is 'The

Secret Revelation of John', with which several scholars have compared the

'Gospel of Judas', notably Marvin Meyer ( " Judas and the Gnostic Connection " in

Kasser, Meyer, and Wurst, editors, 'The Gospel of Judas', op. cit. Not only are

there important similarities, crucial differences also appear. For example, in

'The Secret Revelation of John', the true God is not responsible for appointing

the lower beings who shape the material world, but rather against God's will,

the world comes into being at the hand of an ignorant and arrogant pretender

god. An extensive episode tells of how this happens when a divine being, named

Sophia ( " Wisdom " ) acts without the permission of the Invisible Spirit and her

male consort, thus setting in motion the creation of the lower world and the

enslavement of humanity to its wicked rulers. For more on these topics, see

Karen L. King, 'The Secret Revelation of John', op.cit., for more on Sethianism,

see Karen L. King, 'What is Gnosticism'?, pp.154-169.

 

[28] See the extended discussion of Bruce J. Malina, 'On the Genre and Message

of Revelation: Star Visions and Sky Journeys' (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson

Publishers, 1995).