Members of the Gnostic community have no need of an intermediary to obtain salvation, while the members of the great church are grounded in an ecclesial structure that they need if they are to be saved....

[Guest guest]

Dear Jagbir and all,

 

i have started with an excerpt of Madeleine Scopello's Introduction on 'The

Secret Book of James' where she says that the Gnostic community have no need of

an intermediary to obtain salvation, while the members of the Great Church are

grounded in ecclesial structures which they need for their salvation. Following

that, is James's Letter about Jesus's secret teachings to himself and Peter.

 

When we read what knowledge Jesus secretly taught his two disciples, it is all

about the knowledge that is within. This knowledge within is intimately

connected with the holy Spirit, who is God the Mother. As Shri Mataji taught us,

it is absurd to think that one can have God the Father, God the Son, and not

have God the Mother!

 

Jesus secretly taught about God the Mother. He said:

 

" Become better than I. Be like the child of the holy Spirit. " [19] [see the

appended 'Believe in My Cross' from (4,22-6,21)]

 

And Footnote 19 tells us that:

 

[19] Here the holy Spirit may be understood to be God the Mother. Cf. 'Gospel of

Thomas' 101; 'Gospel of Philip' 55.

 

So, all that Jesus taught secretly but not openly, was concerned with the

connection to the holy Spirit, who is " God the Mother! "

 

People therefore cannot leave out the equation of " God the Mother " and still

have the best spiritual understanding possible. God the Mother is actually the

power of God the Father. And God the Father witnesses the Work of Creation that

God the Mother--as the holy Spirit, does. Jesus knew that, and that is why he

said to " be like the child of the holy Spirit " . We have the holy Spirit within

us, who is our Individual Mother. She is our Mother, and we are Her child. And

through the connection to the Divine Mother within, we are all connected. That

is how it works. Jesus knew that, but he couldn't talk about it openly, then. It

was not the right Time. That Time is now. We can speak openly about it now.

 

regards to all,

 

violet

 

 

 

MEMBERS OF THE GNOSTIC COMMUNITY HAVE NO NEED OF AN INTERMEDIARY TO OBTAIN

SALVATION, WHILE MEMBERS OF THE GREAT CHURCH ARE GROUNDED IN AN ECCLESIAL

STRUCTURE THAT THEY NEED IF THEY ARE TO BE SAVED....

 

(p.19) The 'Secret Book of James' follows the ancient epistolary style for the

opening of a letter (name of the sender, name of the addressee, salutation, and

greeting of peace) as well as its conclusion. The letter has been sent by James,

it is said, at the request of the addressee, and it contains an account of a

secret revelation the Savior gave to James and Peter. James recalls that he

wrote the letter, which is esoteric in content, in Hebrew letters, and he asks

his addressee not to share this writing with many: even the Savior did not want

to deliver his message to the twelve disciples, but only to two of them

(1,15-25). Doubtless the addressee is worthy of receiving this secret teaching,

as is shown by the title James gives him: " a minister of the salvation of the

saints " (the saints can be the members of a Gnostic community or, more

generally, the elect believers who are deserving of salvation). And faith given

through this discourse ('logos') will automatically confer salvation upon them.

 

In the literary fiction of the 'Secret Book of James', the events depicted

happen 550 days after the Savior's resurrection, at a time when the twelve

disciples, all sitting together, are writing down in books what they remember of

the words Christ told to each of them during his earthly life (2,7-15). This

constitutes an important piece of information about how the disciples shaped

Christ's 'logia' [early sayings], a process also recorded elsewhere in early

Christian literature (e.g., in '1 Clement' 13.1-2). (p.20) The gap of 550 days

between the resurrection and the second coming of the Savior can be compared

with a tradition recorded in the 'Ascension of Isaiah', a Jewish apocryphal

[secret] text with Christian interpolations, which speaks of a period of 18

months, or 540 days. [1]

 

The intention of the Savior is to draw James and Peter apart from the other

disciples and help them to " be filled " --a technical phrase in Gnostic thought

linked to Pleroma and " fullness " --through his revelation. James is receptive to

the words of the Savior, but Peter shows no understanding. The two figures have

been interpreted as opposing symbols of the Gnostic community and the emerging

orthodox church: members of the Gnostic community have no need of an

intermediary to obtain salvation, while the members of the great church are

grounded in an ecclesial structure that they need if they are to be saved. [2]

Such ideas are advanced in 'Secret Book of James' 2, 23-33. The Savior's

teachings are expressed through a series of opposing Gnostic metaphors:

drunkenness and sobriety, waking and sleeping, being healed and being sick,

emptiness and fullness. These metaphors belong to the common heritage of late

antiquity, yet, taken together, they express themes typical of Gnostic teaching.

The Savior utters teachings consisting of sayings, parables, and prophecies

organized into a dialogue in which James asks questions of the Savior. As for

Peter, he plays a small role in this dialogue, and he limits himself to a

polemical [disputatious] statement showing his lack of comprehension (13,

26-36).

 

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (The International Edition)

Edited by Marvin Meyer; Advisory Board: Wolf-Peter Funk, Paul-Hubert Poirier,

James M. Robinson; Introduction by Elaine H. Pagels

Excerpt of Introduction of the 'Secret Book of James' by Madeleine Scopello,

translated by Marvin Myer, NHC I,('superscript 2'), p.19-20

HarperCollins Publishers - New York

ISBN:978-0-06-052378-7

ISBN-10: 0-06-052378-6

 

Notes:

 

[1] Donald Rouleau, L'Epitre apocryphe de Jacques, 99; W.C. van Unnik, " The

Origin of the Recently Discovered 'Apocryphon Jacobi.' "

 

[2] Rouleau, L'Epitre apocryphe de Jacques, 25-27.

 

 

 

THE SECRET BOOK OF JAMES [1]

 

(p.23) The Letter of James (1,1-8)

 

[James] [2] writes to ....[3]

Peace be [with you from] peace,

[love] from love,

[grace] from grace,

[faith] from faith,

life from holy life.

 

 

 

Secret Books (1,8-2,7)

 

(p.23) You have asked me to send you a secret book revealed to me and Peter by

the master, [4] and I could not turn you down, nor could I speak to you, so [i

have written] it in Hebrew [5] and have sent it to you, and to you alone. But

since you are a minister of the salvation of the saints, do your best to be

careful not to communicate to many people this book that the Savior did not want

to communicate even to all of us, his twelve disciples. Nonetheless, blessed

will they be who will be saved through the faith of this treatise.

 

(p.24) Ten months ago I sent you another secret book [6] that the Savior

revealed to me. Think of that book as revealed to me, James. But as for this

book, I [have not yet fully understood it, and it was also] revealed [for you

and] those who are yours, so [try] to comprehend [its meaning]. This is how [you

can be] saved, and [then] you should [also make it known.] [7]

 

 

 

Jesus Appears to Peter and James (2,7-3,38)

 

(p.24) The twelve disciples were all sitting together, recalling what the Savior

had said to each of them, whether in a hidden or an open manner, and organizing

it in books. [8] I was writing what is in [my book]. Look, the Savior appeared,

after he had left [us, while we] were watching for him.

 

Five hundred fifty days [9] after he rose from the dead, we said to him, " Did

you depart and leave us? "

 

Jesus said, " No, but I shall return to the place from which I came. If you want

to come with me, come. "

 

They all answered and said, " If you order us, we'll come. "

 

He said, " I tell you the truth, no one will ever enter heaven's kingdom because

I ordered it, but rather because you yourselves are filled. Leave James and

Peter to me that I may fill them. "

 

When he called the two of them, he took them aside and commanded the rest to

keep doing what they were doing.

 

The Savior said, " You have been favored [through the Father to receive my

sayings. The other disciples also] have written [my sayings in their] books as

if [they have understood, but be careful. they have done their] work without

[really understanding]. They have listened like [foolish people], and ...they

have not understood. [10]

 

" Do you not want to be filled?

 

" Your hearts are drunk.

 

" Do you not want to be sober?

 

" You ought to be ashamed.

 

" From now on, awake or asleep, remember that you have seen the Son of Humanity

[11] and have spoken with him and have listened to him.

 

" Woe to those who have seen the Son of Humanity.

 

" Blessed will you be who have not seen the human, or associated with him, or

spoken with him, or listened to anything from him. Yours is life. [12]

 

" Understand that he healed you when you were sick, that you might reign.

 

" Woe to those who have found relief from their sickness, for they will relapse

into sickness.

 

" Blessed are you who have not been sick, and have known relief before getting

sick. God's kingdom is yours.

 

" So I tell you, be filled and leave no space within you empty, or he who is

coming will mock you. "

 

 

 

Being Filled and Lacking (3,38-4,22)

 

(p.25) Then Peter answered, " Look, three times you have told us, 'Be [filled,'

but] we are filled. "

 

The [savior answered] and said, " For [this reason I have told] you, '[be

filled],' that you may not [lack. Those who lack] will not [be saved]. To be

filled is good and to lack is bad. Yet since it is also good for you to lack but

bad for you to be filled, whoever is filled also lacks. One who lacks is not

filled in the way another who lacks is filled, but whoever is filled is brought

to an appropriate end. So you should lack when you can fill yourselves and be

filled when you lack that you may be able to [fill] yourselves more. Be filled

with spirit but lack in reason, for reason is of the soul. It is soul. " [13]

 

 

 

Believe in My Cross (4,22-6,21)

 

(p.25) I answered and said to him, " Master, we can obey you if you wish, for we

have forsaken our fathers and our mothers and our villages and have followed

you. Give us the means not to be tempted by the evil devil. "

 

The master answered and said, " What good is it to you if you do the Father's

will, but you are not given your part of his bounty when you are tempted by

Satan? But if you are oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do the Father's

will, I [say] he will love you, make you my equal, and consider you beloved

through his forethought, [14] and by your own choice. Won't you stop loving the

flesh and fearing suffering? Don't you know that you have not yet been abused,

unjustly accused, locked up in prison, unlawfully condemned, crucified <without>

reason, [15] or buried in the sand [16] as I myself was by the evil one? Do you

dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the spirit is a wall surrounding you? If

you consider how long the world has existed before you and how long it will

exist after you, you will see that your life is but a day and your sufferings

but an hour. The good will not enter the world. Disdain death, then, and care

about life. Remember my cross and my death, and you will live. "

 

I answered and said to him, " Master, do not mention to us the cross and death,

for they are far from you. "

 

(p.26) The master answered and said, " I tell you the truth, none will be saved

unless they believe in my cross, for God's kingdom belongs to those who have

believed in my cross. Be seekers of death, then, like the dead who seek life,

for what they seek becomes apparent to them. And what is there to cause them

concern? As for you, when you search out death, it will teach you about being

chosen. I tell you the truth, no one afraid of death will be saved, for the

kingdom of death [17] belongs to those who are put to death.[18] Become better

than I. Be like the child of the holy Spirit. " [19]

 

 

 

The Head of Prophecy (6,21-8,27)

 

(p.26) Then I asked him, " Master, how can we prophesy to those who ask us to

prophesy to them? There are many who bring a request to us and look to us to

hear our pronouncement. "

 

The master answered and said, " Don't you know that the head of prophecy was cut

off with John? " [20]

 

I said, " Master, it is impossible to remove the head of prophecy, isn't it? "

 

The master said to me, " When you realize what " head " means, and that prophecy

comes from the head, then understand the meaning of 'its head was removed.'

 

" First I spoke with you in parables, and you did not understand. Now I am

speaking with you openly, and you do not grasp it. Nevertheless, you were for me

a parable among parables and a disclosure among things revealed.

 

" Be eager to be saved without being urged. Rather, be fervent on your own and,

if possible, outdo even me, for this is how the Father will love you.

 

" Come to hate hypocrisy and evil intention. Intention produces hypocrisy, and

hypocrisy is far from truth.

 

" Do not let heaven's kingdom wither away. It is like a palm shoot whose dates

dropped around it. It produced buds, and after they grew, its productivity dried

up. This is also what happened with fruit that came from this single root. After

it was harvested, fruit was obtained by many. It certainly would be good if you

could produce new growth now. You would find it. [21]

 

" Since I was glorified like this once before, why do you hold me back when I am

eager to go? After my labor [22] you have made me stay with you another eighteen

days [23] because of the parables. For some people it was enough to listen to

the teaching and understand 'The Shepherds,' 'The Seed,' 'The Building,' 'The

Lamps of the Young Women,' 'The Wage of the Workers,' and 'The Silver Coins and

the Woman.'[24]

 

(p.27) " Be eager for the word. The first aspect of the word is faith, the second

is love, the third is works, and from these come life.

 

" The word is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, he had faith in it,

and when it sprouted, he loved it, because he saw many grains instead of just

one. And after he worked, he was saved because he prepared it as food and he

still kept some out to sow.

 

" This is also how you can acquire heaven's kingdom for yourselves. Unless you

acquire it through knowledge [Gnosis], [25] you will not be able to find it. "

 

 

 

Be Sober, Be Saved (8,27-9,23)

 

(p.27) " So I say to you, be sober. Do not go astray. And often have I said to

you all together, and also to you alone, James, be saved. I have commanded you

to follow me, and I have taught you how to speak before the rulers.

 

" See that I have come down and have spoken and have exerted myself and have won

my crown when I saved you. I came down to live with you that you might also live

with me. And when I found that your houses had no roofs, I lived in houses that

could receive me when I came down.

 

" Trust in me, my brothers. Understand what the great light is. The Father does

not need me. A father does not need a son, but it is the son who needs the

father. To him I am going, for the Father of the Son is not in need of you.

 

" Listen to the word, understand knowledge [Gnosis], [26] love life, and no one

will persecute you and no one will oppress you other than you yourselves. "

 

 

 

Woe to You, Blessed Are You (9,24-11,6)

 

(p.27) " You wretches! You poor devils! You pretenders to truth! You falsifiers

of knowledge! You sinners against the spirit! Do you still dare to listen when

from the beginning you should have been speaking? Do you still dare to sleep

when from the beginning you should have been awake so that heaven's kingdom

might receive you? I tell you the truth, it is easier for a holy person to sink

into defilement and for an enlightened person to sink into darkness than for you

to reign--or not reign. [27]

 

" I have remembered your tears, your mourning, and your grief. They are far from

us. You who are outside the Father's inheritance, weep when you should, mourn,

and preach what is good. The Son is ascending, as is proper.

 

" I tell you the truth, if I had been sent to those who would listen to me and

had spoken with them, I would never have come down to earth. [28] Now be

ashamed.

 

" Look, I shall be leaving you and go away, and I do not want to stay with you

any longer, just as you yourselves have not wanted this. Follow me quickly. This

is why I tell you, for you I came down. You are loved ones. You are the ones who

will bring life to many people. Invoke the Father, pray to God frequently, and

he will be generous with you.

 

" Blessed is one who has seen you with him when he is proclaimed among the angels

and glorified among the saints. Yours is life. Rejoice and be glad as children

of God. Observe his will that you may be saved. Accept correction from me and

save yourselves. I am mediating for you with the Father, and he will forgive you

many things. "

 

 

 

Few Find Heaven's Kingdom (11,6-12,17)

 

(p.28) When we heard this, we were delighted. We had become gloomy because of

what we [29] said earlier. But when he saw us happy, he said:

 

" Woe to you who are in need of an advocate.

 

" Woe to you who stand in need of grace.

 

" Blessed will they be who have spoken out and acquired grace for themselves.

 

" Compare yourselves to foreigners. How are they viewed in your city? Why are you

anxious to banish yourselves on your own and distance yourselves from your city?

Why abandon your dwelling on your own and make it available for those who want

to live in it? You exiles and runaways, woe to you, for you will be captured.

 

" Or maybe you think that the Father is a lover of humanity, or that he is won

over by prayers, or that he is gracious to one because of another, or that he

tolerates whoever is seeking?

 

" He [30] knows about desire and what the flesh needs. Doesn't it desire the

soul? The body does not sin apart from the soul just as the soul is not saved

apart from the spirit. But if the soul is saved from evil and the spirit too is

saved, the body becomes sinless. The spirit animates the soul but the body kills

it. The soul kills itself. [31]

 

" I tell you the truth, he certainly will not forgive the sin of the soul or the

guilt of the flesh, for none of those who have worn the flesh will be saved. Do

you think that many have found heaven's kingdom?

 

" Blessed is one who has seen oneself as a fourth one in heaven. " [32]

 

 

 

Know Yourselves (12,17-13,25)

 

(p.28) When we heard this, we became sad. But when he saw that we were sad, he

said, " I say this to you that you may know yourselves. [33]

 

" Heaven's kingdom is like a head of grain that sprouted in a field. (p.29) And

when it was ripe, it scattered its seed, and again it filled the field with

heads of grain for another year. So with you, be eager to harvest for yourselves

a head of the grain of life that you may be filled with the kingdom.

 

" And as long as I am with you, pay attention to me and trust in me, but when I

am far from you, remember me. And remember me because I was with you and you did

not know me.

 

" Blessed will they be who have known me.

 

" Woe to those who have heard and have not believed.

 

" Blessed will they be who have not seen but yet have [believed]. [34]

 

" Once again I appeal to you. I am disclosed to you as I am building a house

useful to you when you find shelter in it, and it will support [35] your

neighbors' house when theirs threatens to collapse.

 

" I tell you the truth, woe to those for whom I was sent down here.

 

" Blessed will they be who are going up to the Father.

 

" Again I warn you, you who exist. Be like those who do not exist that you may

dwell with those who do not exist. [36]

 

" Do not let heaven's kingdom become a desert within you. Do not be proud because

of the light that enlightens. Rather, act toward yourselves as I myself have

toward you. I have put myself under a curse for you that you might be saved. "

 

 

 

The Last Word (13,26-15,5)

 

(p.29) Peter responded to these comments and said, " Sometimes you urge us on

toward heaven's kingdom, but at other times you turn us away, master. Sometimes

you encourage us, draw us toward faith, and promise us life, but at other times

you drive us away from heaven's kingdom. "

 

The master answered and said to us, " I have offered you faith many times--and

have revealed myself to you, James--and you have not known me. Now I see you

often rejoicing. And although you are delighted about the promise of life, you

are sad and gloomy when you are taught about the kingdom.

 

" Nevertheless, you, through faith and knowledge, have received life. So

disregard rejection when you hear it, but when you hear about the promise, be

joyful all the more.

 

" I tell you the truth, whoever will receive life and believe in the kingdom will

never leave it, not even if the Father wants to banish him.

 

" This is all I shall tell you at this time. Now I shall ascend to the place from

which I have come. When I was eager to go, you have driven me off, and instead

of accompanying me, you have chased me away.

 

" Be attentive to the glory that awaits me, and when you have opened your hearts,

listen to the hymns that await me up in heaven. Today I must take my place at

the right hand of my Father.

 

(p.30) " I have spoken my last word to you; I shall depart from you, for a

chariot of spirit [37] has carried me up, and from now on I shall strip myself

that I may clothe myself. [38]

 

" So pay attention: blessed are those who have proclaimed the Son before he came

down, so that, when I did come, I might ascend.

 

" Blessed three times over are those who were proclaimed by the Son before they

came into being, so that you might share with them. "

 

 

 

Apocalyptic Ascent (15,5-16,11)

 

(p.30) When he said this, he left. Peter and I knelt down, gave thanks, and sent

our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our ears and saw with our eyes the noise

of wars, a trumpet blast, and great turmoil. [39]

 

When we passed beyond that place, we sent our minds up further. We saw with our

eyes and heard with our ears hymns, angelic praises, and angelic rejoicing.

Heavenly majesties were singing hymns, and we rejoiced too.

 

Again after this we wished to send our spirits up to the Majesty. When we

ascended, we were not allowed to see or hear anything. For the other disciples

called to us and asked us, " What did you hear from the teacher? What did he tell

you? Where did he go? "

 

We answered them, " He ascended. He gave us his right hand, and promised all of

us life. He showed us children coming after us and commanded [us] to love them,

since we are to be [saved] for their sakes. "

 

When they heard this, they believed the revelation, but they were angry about

those who would be born. Not wishing to give them reason to take offense, I sent

each of them to a different location. I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying

that I might acquire a share with the loved ones who are to appear. [40]

 

 

 

Final Advice (16,12-30)

 

(p.30) I pray that the beginning may come from you. This is how I can be saved.

They will be enlightened through me, by my faith, and through another's that is

better than mine. I wish mine to be the lesser.

 

Do your best to be like them, and pray that you may acquire a share with them.

Beyond what I have said, the Savior did not disclose any revelation to us on

their behalf. We proclaim a share with those for whom the message was

proclaimed, those whom the lord has made his children.

 

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (The International Edition)

Edited by Marvin Meyer; Advisory Board: Wolf-Peter Funk, Paul-Hubert Poirier,

James M. Robinson; Introduction by Elaine H. Pagels

The Secret Book of James, p.23-30

HarperCollins Publishers - New York

ISBN:978-0-06-052378-7

ISBN-10: 0-06-052378-6

 

Notes:

 

[1] Coptic text: NHC I,2: 1,1-16,30. Editions: 'The Facsimile Edition of the Nag

Hammadi Codices: Codex I, 5-20; Harold W. Attridge, ed., 'Nag Hammadi Codex 1',

1.13-53, 2.7-37 (Francis E. Williams); Dankwart Kirchner, 'Epistula Jacobi

Apocrypha'; Donald Rouleau, L'Epitre apocryphe de Jacques'; Hans-Martin Schenke,

Hans-Gebhard Bethge, and Ursula Ulrike Kaiser, eds., 'Nag Hammadi Deutsch',

1.11-26 (Judith Hartenstein and Uwe-Karsten Plisch). The title is construed from

the contents of the text; the text may also be entitled the 'Apocryphon of

James', the 'Letter of James', or the 'Apocryphal Letter of James'.

 

[2] Probably thought to be James the Just, brother of Jesus and leader of the

Jerusalem church (cf. 'Gospel of Thomas' 12; 'First and Second Revelations of

James').

 

[3] The restoration of the name or description of the recipient or recipients of

the letter remains uncertain. The best suggestion is probably " the [student

(lit., " son " or " child " ) Cerin]thos " (Coptic ('e superscript')m[psere

kerin]thos. Cf. Hartenstein and Plisch, in 'Nag Hammadi Deutsch', 1.18. A person

named Cerinthos was a well-known second-century Christian teacher who was

considered one of the first Gnostics by the heresiologists. The existing Coptic

letters -'thos' could also be from such words as 'pathos', 'sumpathos', or

'agathos', and the restoration could indicate that the letter was written " to

[one who embraces suffering], " " to [his companion in suffering], " " to [one who

is good], " or the like.

 

[4] Or, " Lord, " here and below.

 

[5] Coptic (from Greek, preserving the Greek dative plural ending) h('e

superscript')n hensheei mm('e superscript')nthebraiois, lit., " in Hebrew

letters. " No such Hebrew text is known.

 

[6] No additional secret book of James is known.

 

[7] The restoration of these lines remains tentative [done provisionally,

experimentally]. Cf. Hartenstein and Plisch, in 'Nag Hammadi Deutsch', 1.18.

 

[8] Cf. 'Gospel of Thomas' Prologue; 'Book of Thomas', 138.

 

[9] Other texts, including Gnostic texts, also suggest long periods of time for

appearances of Jesus, e.g., 18 months (540 days), 545 days (18 months plus five

intercalary [inserted between other] days?), or even 12 years. On 18 days (or

months), cf. 'Secret Book of James' 8.

 

[10] The restoration of these lines remains tentative. Cf. Hartenstein and

Plisch, in 'Nag Hammadi Deutsch', 1.19. The remaining lacuna has been restored,

with hesitation, to read " [like deaf people] " ('Nag Hammadi Deutsch', 1.19, n.

36).

 

[11] Or " Son of Man, " here and below.

 

[12] Cf. 'Secret Book of James' 12-13; 'John' 20:29.

 

[13] This paragraph is difficult to translate, but a significant distinction is

made here between spirit ('pneuma') and soul ('psukhe').

 

[14] Coptic 'pronoia'.

 

[15] The text is emended [corrected] here (h('e superscript')nn oum('e

superscript')nt<a>logos). The manuscript reads " with reason. "

 

[16] Coptic h('e superscript')nn ousou; burial in sand is characteristic of

Egypt. It is also possible to emend [correct] to read h('e superscript')nn

ous<os>, " in <shame>. "

 

[17] Coptic tm('e superscript')nt('e superscript')r[r]o...('e

superscript')mpmou. The text may well be emended to read tm('e

superscript')nt('e superscript')r[r]o...('e superscript')mp<n>ou<te>, " <God's>

kingdom. "

 

[18] Or " who put themselves to death, " as voluntary martyrs.

 

[19] Here the holy Spirit may be understood to be God the Mother. Cf. 'Gospel of

Thomas' 101; 'Gospel of Philip' 55.

 

[20] John the Baptizer; cf. 'Gospel of Thomas' 46.

 

[21] This parable of the date-palm shoot remains difficult to translate, and the

translation given here is somewhat tentative [done somewhat provisionally or

experimentally]. The reference to " it " in the last sentence apparently indicates

the kingdom.

 

[22] Coptic phi[is]e, which may also be translated " my suffering. "

 

[23] Or perhaps emend to read " eighteen months " (cf. 'Secret Book of James' 2).

 

[24] These are titles of or references to parables.

 

[25] Gnosis.

 

[26] Gnosis, here and below.

 

[27] Coptic e at('e superscript')meire, lit., " or not to do so. "

 

[28] Or " I would never ascend from the earth. "

 

[29] Perhaps emend [correct] to read " he. "

 

[30] I.e., " The Father. "

 

[31] Or " herself " ; " soul, " psukhe, is feminine in gender. Here it is assumed

that a person is composed of a body of flesh, an animating soul, and a vivifying

spirit, as in Valentinian thought. Cf. also '1 Thessalonians' 5:23.

 

[32] This seems to be a way of saying that few are saved, and it may indicate

one who is alone as a fourth one with God the Father, Mother, and Son, and thus

is as close as one can get to the divine.

 

[33] " Know yourself " was a maxim from the oracular center at Delphi, Greece.

 

[34] Cf. 'Secret Book of James' 3; 'John' 20:29.

 

[35] Or " will be able to stand alongside " (Coptic nas ohe aret('e

superscript')f.)

 

[36] On existing and not existing, cf. 'Secret Book of John' II, 2-4; 'Three

Steles of Seth' 121-24; 'Allogenes the Stranger' 61-64.

 

[37] On Jesus riding a chariot into heaven, cf. accounts of Elijah and Enoch

traveling into heaven (2 'Kings' 2; 1 'Enoch' 70) as well as figures ascending

to heaven in chariots on Roman commemorative coins.

 

[38] Stripping and clothing refers to shedding the flesh as a garment and

sometimes, as here, putting on a new heavenly garment.

 

[39] Apocalyptic images.

 

[40] This paragraph describes the dispersal of the apostles to preach throughout

the world; cf. 'Letter of Peter to Philip' 140. James stays in Jerusalem to lead

the church there. The " loved ones who are to appear " are future believers, like

the readers of the 'Secret Book of James'.

 

/message/11365