GOSPEL OF THOMAS (new translation)

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

The place "where light came into being by itself" is the "bubble" in emptiness concept. "Established [itself]" is the stable part and "light" could definitely be described as the Holy Spirit ( or Mother).



Finally, the primordial split is Rest (or Void) and Motion ( or change of state of Void/potential). Transmission and Reception is like the manifest polarities or "separation" of the states. It is the beginning of light/form.

Welcome back.

I missed your comments.
I hope to see more of you.

and thanks for the comments.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

To me, the chosen part is important. As the best that one can do on their own is make the field fertile (or be ripe). The two become one and surrender and wait. No amount of "effort" or practices can ever bring one to the kingdom of God.

jonesboy,
Nice comment, as usual.

[BigJohn]

The Gospel of Thomas was never canonized.

GOSPEL OF THOMAS

  VERSE 50

(50) Jesus said,

      
             If they say to you:
       ‘Where do you come from?’

                 say to them:
     ‘We have come from the light,
  the place where the light has come
             into being by itself,
         has established itself and
       has appeared in their image.’

              If they say to you:
                   ‘Is it you?’

                       say:
            ‘We are its children,
         and we are the elect of
             the living Father.’

              If they ask you:
    ‘What is the sign of your Father
                among you?’

                say to them:
         ‘It is motion and rest.’"

            


The 50th verse of the Gospel of Thomas reveals the core beliefs of Gnosticism.

FIRST PART:
If they say to you:  ‘Where do you come from?’

say to them:  ‘We have come from the light, the place where the light has come into being by itself, has established itself and has appeared in their image.’

In the book The Secret Revelation of John, much has been said on this supernatural subject.

To reduce misunderstandings, I will let the reader draw their own conclusions as I quote from what was written:

"He is immeasurable light, which is pure, holy and immaculate. He is ineffable, being perfect in incorruptibility. He is not in perfection, nor in blessedness, nor in divinity, but he is far superior. He is not corporeal nor is he incorporeal. He is neither large nor is he small. There is no way to say, 'What is his quantity?' or, 'What is his quality?', for no one can know him. He is not someone among other beings, rather he is far superior. Not that he is simply superior, but his essence does not partake in the aeons nor in time. For he who partakes in an aeon was prepared beforehand. Time was not apportioned to him, since he does not receive anything from another, for it would be received on loan. For he who precedes someone does not lack, that he may receive from him. For rather, it is the latter that looks expectantly at him in his light."

"For the perfection is majestic. He is pure, immeasurable mind. He is an aeon-giving aeon. He is life-giving life. He is a blessedness-giving blessed one. He is knowledge-giving knowledge. He is goodness-giving goodness. He is mercy and redemption-giving mercy. He is grace-giving grace, not because he possesses it, but because he gives the immeasurable, incomprehensible light."

"How am I to speak with you about him? His aeon is indestructible, at rest and existing in silence, reposing (and) being prior to everything. For he is the head of all the aeons, and it is he who gives them strength in his goodness. For we know not the ineffable things, and we do not understand what is immeasurable, except for him who came forth from him, namely from the Father. For it is he who told it to us alone. For it is he who looks at himself in his light which surrounds him, namely the spring of the water of life. And it is he who gives to all the aeons and in every way, (and) who gazes upon his image which he sees in the spring of the Spirit. It is he who puts his desire in his water-light which is in the spring of the pure light-water which surrounds him."

"And his thought performed a deed and she came forth, namely she who had appeared before him in the shine of his light. This is the first power which was before all of them and which came forth from his mind, She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power which is the image of the invisible, virginal Spirit who is perfect. The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation, she glorified the virginal Spirit and it was she who praised him, because thanks to him she had come forth. This is the first thought, his image; she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man, the holy Spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice-powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones, and the first to come forth."

"She requested from the invisible, virginal Spirit - that is Barbelo - to give her foreknowledge. And the Spirit consented. And when he had consented, the foreknowledge came forth, and it stood by the forethought; it originates from the thought of the invisible, virginal Spirit. It glorified him and his perfect power, Barbelo, for it was for her sake that it had come into being."

"And she requested again to grant her indestructibility, and he consented. When he had consented, indestructibility came forth, and it stood by the thought and the foreknowledge. It glorified the invisible One and Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being."

"And Barbelo requested to grant her eternal life. And the invisible Spirit consented. And when he had consented, eternal life came forth, and they attended and glorified the invisible Spirit and Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being."

"And she requested again to grant her truth. And the invisible Spirit consented. And when he had consented, truth came forth, and they attended and glorified the invisible, excellent Spirit and his Barbelo, the one for whose sake they had come into being."

"This is the pentad of the aeons of the Father, which is the first man, the image of the invisible Spirit; it is the forethought, which Barbelo, and the thought, and the foreknowledge, and the indestructibility, and the eternal life, and the truth. This is the androgynous pentad of the aeons, which is the decad of the aeons, which is the Father."

"And he looked at Barbelo with the pure light which surrounds the invisible Spirit, and (with) his spark, and she conceived from him. He begot a spark of light with a light resembling blessedness. But it does not equal his greatness. This was an only-begotten child of the Mother-Father which had come forth; it is the only offspring, the only-begotten one of the Father, the pure Light."

[BigJohn]

The Gospel of Thomas was never canonized.

GOSPEL OF THOMAS

  VERSE 50

(50) Jesus said,

      
             If they say to you:
       ‘Where do you come from?’

                 say to them:
     ‘We have come from the light,
  the place where the light has come
             into being by itself,
         has established itself and
       has appeared in their image.’

              If they say to you:
                   ‘Is it you?’

                       say:
            ‘We are its children,
         and we are the elect of
             the living Father.’

              If they ask you:
    ‘What is the sign of your Father
                among you?’

                say to them:
         ‘It is motion and rest.’"

            


The 50th verse of the Gospel of Thomas reveals the core beliefs of Gnosticism.

SECOND PART:
If they say to you:  ‘Is it you?’ say: ‘We are its children, and we are the elect of the living Father.’


The elect is an interesting word. It has as many, if not more variations of meaning then the Hebrew word translated as God (Elohim).

The 'elect' are those who shine with light.

The promise is that the 'elect' will return to the Upper Aeons where they will become one with the One. The Upper Aeons, as also the Lower Aeons, differ to what they mean within the variations of Gnosticism. The Lower Aeons is where Hell is. It is also where the Psychic race and the Hylic race exist. According to the Gnostics, there is one more race which is what they belong to and is superior to the other two races.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

The promise is that the 'elect' will return to the Upper Aeons where they will become one with the One. The Upper Aeons, as also the Lower Aeons, differ to what they mean within the variations of Gnosticism. The Lower Aeons is where Hell is. It is also where the Psychic race and the Hylic race exist. According to the Gnostics, there is one more race which is what they belong to and is superior to the other two races.

Interesting information, John.
The ''Hylics'' were also called the Somatics, one of three humans:

Somatics were deemed completely bound to matter. Matter, the material world, was considered evil by the gnostics. The material world was created by a demiurge, in some instances a blind, mad God, in others an army of rebellious angels as a trap for the spiritual Ennoia. The duty of (spiritual) man was to escape the material world by the aid of the hidden knowledge (gnosis).

Those are some of the core beliefs of Gnosticism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylics

[sky]

Originally Posted by Altair

Interesting information, John.
The ''Hylics'' were also called the Somatics, one of three humans:



Those are some of the core beliefs of Gnosticism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylics

Gnosis - The Greek word Gnosis (γνῶσις) implies a type of knowledge that is derived from experience, not ' Hidden Knowledge '.

[django]

Originally Posted by sky123

Gnosis - The Greek word Gnosis (γνῶσις) implies a type of knowledge that is derived from experience, not ' Hidden Knowledge '.

The gospel of Thomas opens with the line, "These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke”. Sounds like hidden knowledge to me. Maybe the gnosis derived from experience is not on offer in the GOT.

[sky]

Originally Posted by django

The gospel of Thomas opens with the line, "These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke”. Sounds like hidden knowledge to me. Maybe the gnosis derived from experience is not on offer in the GOT.

I was referring to the meaning of the word Gnosis....

It is hidden until you experience it, we can read and study Scripture but without the personal experience it remains hidden in the ' Words '

That's how I understand it anyway but others will disagree and see it another way...

If they are ' Secret ' words they surely wouldn't have been written and stashed away.

[BigJohn]

If you look at Stephen Hoeller's book called A Gnostic Catechism, you will notice on page v he wrote "The catechism which follows is a manual of instructions in the Gnostic Mythos."

I was surprised that Stephen Hoeller acknowledged the mythos attributed to Gnosticism, but then, mythos and the supernatural seem to be rooted in all main stream religions.

[BigJohn]

If a person looks at The Gnostic's Prayer, you probably would conclude that it resonates very much with main stream Christianity. But then if you look at other Gnostic writings, they are very much polarized with what the prayer says.