Clovis Star https://clovisstar.com Gnostic Library Fri, 30 Jan 2026 07:25:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://clovisstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cropped-clovisstar-favicon-32x32.png Clovis Star https://clovisstar.com 32 32 Secret Gospel of Mark https://clovisstar.com/secret-gospel-of-mark/ https://clovisstar.com/secret-gospel-of-mark/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:14 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/secret-gospel-of-mark/ Secret Gospel of Mark: Essential Insights for Best Understanding ]]> https://clovisstar.com/secret-gospel-of-mark/feed/ 0 The Stranger’s Book https://clovisstar.com/the-strangers-book/ https://clovisstar.com/the-strangers-book/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:14 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/the-strangers-book/ Stranger’s Book: Essential Insights for Unforgettable Wisdom

Chapter 1

My son, lets pray to God to the Father of all the ages, to send us a spirit of knowledge to reveal the mysteries, so that we may know ourselves; specifically, where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and what we need to do to live. And they left and went up on a mountain called Tabor. And they knelt down and prayed, O Lord God, the One above all the great realms, the One who has no beginning and no end, give us a spirit of knowledge to reveal your mysteries, so that we may know ourselves; specifically, where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and what we need to do to live.

Chapter 2

After Stranger had said these words, Satan appeared on the earth, since he binds the world. He said, while you’re walking up on this mountain, because although you seek, you won’t find anything. But come to me, and take for yourself what’s in my world. Eat my good things. Take for yourself silver, gold, and clothes. In response Stranger said, Depart from me, Satan, because I don’t seek you but my Father, who is above all the great realms; because I’ve been called Stranger, since I’m from another race. I’m not from your race. Then the one who binds the world told him, We ourselves are in my world. Then Stranger said to him, Depart from me, Satan! Go away, because I don’t belong to you. Then Satan departed from him, after having angered him many times; and he wasn’t able to deceive him. And when he had been defeated, he went away to his place in great shame.

Chapter 3

Then Stranger cried out in a loud voice, O God, you who are in the great realms, hear my voice, have mercy on me, and save me from every evil! Look on me and hear me in this deserted place. Now let your indescribable light shine on me, your light. Yes, Lord, help me, because I don’t know forever and ever. And while I said these things, look! A bright cloud surrounded me. Because of the way it was shining, I couldn’t gaze into the light around it. And I heard something from the cloud and the light. It shone on me and said, O Stranger, the sound of your prayer has been heard, and I’ve been sent here to tell you the gospel before you leave this place, so that you may know, reveal, body, dissolve the spirit above. But when you go, you’ll come to the first Power, which is the power of Desire. And it will bind you and ask you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. And it will release you.

Then you’ll come to the second Power, which is the power of Darkness. And it will bind you and ask you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. Then it will release you. And you’ll come to the third Power, which is called Ignorance. It will bind you and say to you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say to it, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. Then it will release you. And you’ll come to the fourth Power, which is Death. It will say to you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. And it will release you.

And you’ll come to the fifth Power, which is the Kingdom of the Flesh. And it will say to you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. Now then, I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. And it will release you. And you’ll come to the sixth Power, which is the Foolish Wisdom of Flesh. And it will say to you, Where are you going, O Stranger? But say to it, What bound me has been killed, and I’ve been released. I’ll go up to my Father, the One above all the great realms. And it will release you. In and you’ll go up over these angels, myriads of holy angels. Don’t be faint of heart. Be strong, O Stranger, because you. Don’t be afraid.

Last Page Stranger he sent so that they might the judgment. Peace to the one who wrote them down and to those who will preserve them.

]]> https://clovisstar.com/the-strangers-book/feed/ 0 Secret Book of James https://clovisstar.com/secret-book-of-james/ https://clovisstar.com/secret-book-of-james/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:14 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/secret-book-of-james/ The Secret Book of James by Mark M. Mattison The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of Nag Hammadi Codex I, 2. For information about the surviving manuscript of The Secret Book of James, see the Manuscript Information page. For additional information about the translation, see the introduction to the PDF version . For some reflections on the meaning and significance of The Secret Book of James for us today, see my books, The Secret Book of James: How to be Whole and The Books of Jesus Brother James . Note that Luminescence, L.L.C. earns commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Symbols 1 Page Number [ ] Gap in the text ( ) Editorial insertion Salutation 1 [James writes] to []: Peace [to you from] peace, [love from] love, [grace] from grace, [faith] from faith, life from holy life! Prologue Since you asked me to send you a secret book revealed to Peter and me by the Lord, and I could neither turn you down nor talk to you (directly), [Ive written] it in Hebrew letters and have sent it to you and to you alone. But as a minister of the salvation of the saints, take care not to tell too many people about this book, which the Savior didnt want to tell all twelve of us, the disciples. But blessed are those who will be saved through the faith of this message. Ten months ago, I sent you another secret book that the Savior revealed to me. But think of that one as revealed 2 to me, James. And this one [] The Savior Appears Now all twelve disciples [were] sitting together [at the same time] recalling what the Savior had told each of them, whether privately or publicly, and organizing it in books. [But I] was writing what went into [my book]. Look! The Savior appeared, [after] he had left [us, while we were watching] for him. Five hundred and fifty days after he had risen from the dead, we told him, You went away and left us! But Jesus said, No, but Ill return to the place from which I came. If you want to come with me, come on! They all replied and said, Well come if you tell us to. He said, Truly I tell you, no one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven because I ordered it, but because you yourselves are full. Leave James and Peter to me so that I may fill them. After he called these two, he took them aside and told the rest to keep doing what they were doing. Being Filled The Savior said, Youve received mercy. 3 [] they [havent] understood. Dont you want to be filled? Your hearts are drunk. Dont you, then, want to be sober? Then be ashamed! From now on, awake or asleep, remember that youve seen the Son of Humanity, and have talked to him in person, and have heard him in person. Woe to those whove seen the Son of Humanity! Blessed are those who havent seen that man, mingled with him, spoken to him, or heard a thing hes said. Yours is life! Know, then, that he healed you when you were sick, so that you might reign. Woe to those whove found relief from their sickness, because theyll relapse into sickness. Blessed are those who havent been sick and have found relief before getting sick. Yours is the kingdom of God! So I tell you, be full and leave no space within you empty, because the one who is coming will be able to mock you. Then Peter replied, Three times youve told us 4 to be [full, but] we are full. In [response the Savior] said, Thats why I [told] you [be full] so that you wont [be lacking. Those who are lacking] wont [be saved]. Its good to be full [and] bad [to be lacking]. So just as its good for you to be lacking and bad for you to be full, whoever is full is also lacking. One whos lacking isnt filled the same way that someone whos lacking is filled, and anyone whos full gets everything they need. So its right to be lacking while its possible to fill you, and to be filled while its possible to be lacking, so that you can [fill] yourselves more. So [be] full of the Spirit but lacking in reason, because reason is of the soul in fact, it is soul. The Cross and Death In response I told him, Lord, we can obey you if you want us to, because weve abandoned our fathers, our mothers, and our villages, and have followed you. So help us not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one. In response the Lord said, What good is it to you if you do the will of the Father, and he doesnt give it to you as a gift when youre tempted by Satan? But if youre oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do (Gods) 5 will, I [say] that hell love you, make you my equal, and regard [you] as having become beloved through his forethought by your own choice. So wont you stop loving the flesh and being afraid of sufferings? Or dont you know that you havent yet been abused, unjustly accused, locked up in prison, illegally condemned, crucified by reason, nor buried in the sand as I myself was by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the Spirit is a surrounding wall? If you consider how long the world existed before you, and how long it will exist after you, youll find that your life is a single day and your sufferings a single hour. For the good wont come into the world. So scorn death and take thought for life! Remember my cross and my death, and youll live! But in response I told him, Lord, dont teach us about the cross and death, because theyre far 6 from you. In response the Lord said, Truly I tell you, no one will be saved unless they [believe] in my cross, [because] the kingdom of God belongs to those whove believed in my cross. So become those who seek death, like the dead who seek life; because what they seek is revealed to them. So what do they have to worry about? When you turn to the subject of death, it will teach you about election. Truly I tell you, no one whos afraid of death will be saved, because the kingdom of God belongs to those who are put to death. Become better than I; be like the child of the Holy Spirit. Prophecies and Parables Then I asked him, Lord, how can we prophesy to those who ask us to prophesy to them? Because there are many who ask us, and who look to us to hear a message from us. In response the Lord said, Dont you know that the head of prophecy was cut off with John? But I said, Lord, is it possible to remove the head of prophecy? The Lord told me, When you realize what head means, and that prophecy comes from the head, understand what its head was removed means. 7 At first I spoke to you in parables, and you didnt understand. Now I speak to you openly, and you still dont perceive. But to me you were a parable among parables and something visible out in the open. Be eager to be saved without being urged. Rather, be ready on your own and, if possible, get there before me, because the Father will love you. Come to hate hypocrisy and evil intention, because intention is what produces hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is far from the truth. Dont let the kingdom of heaven wither, because its like a date palm shoot whose fruit has poured down around it. It sent out some leaves, and after they sprouted, they made their productivity dry up. This is also what happened with the fruit that came from this single root; when it was picked, many acquired fruit. Wouldnt it truly be good if you could produce the new plants now? You would find it. Since Ive already been glorified like this, why do you hold me back in my eagerness to go? 8 For after the [labor], youve made me stay with you another eighteen days 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. Be eager about the message! The first stage of the message is faith, the second is love, and the third is works, because from these comes life. The message is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, they believed in it, and when it sprouted, they loved it, because they saw many grains in place of one. And after they worked, they were saved because they prepared it as food, then kept enough left over to be sown. This is also how you yourselves can receive the kingdom of heaven. Unless you receive it through knowledge, you wont be able to find it. Be Saved So I tell you, be sober! Dont be deceived. And many times I told you all together and also to you alone, James, Ive said Be saved! And Ive commanded you to follow me, and Ive taught you what to do in the face of the rulers. See that Ive come down, spoken, been torn, and taken my crown 9 when I saved you, because I came down to dwell with you so that youll dwell with me. And when I found your houses without ceilings, I lived in the houses that could receive me at the time I came down. Trust me about this, my brothers (i.e., Peter and James). Understand what the great light is. The Father doesnt need me, because a father doesnt need a son, but its the son who needs the father. Im going to him, because the Father of the Son doesnt need you. Listen to the message, understand knowledge, love life, and no one will persecute or oppress you other than you yourselves. You wretches! You poor devils! You hypocrites of the truth! You falsifiers of knowledge! You sinners against the Spirit! Can you still bear to listen, when you shouldve been speaking from the beginning? Can you still bear to sleep, when you shouldve been awake from the beginning so that the kingdom of heaven might receive you? 10 Truly I tell you, its easier for a holy person to fall into defilement, and for an enlightened person to fall into darkness, than for you to reign or not reign. Ive remembered your tears, your grief, and your pain. Theyre far from us. But now, you who are outside of the Fathers inheritance, weep where its necessary, grieve, and proclaim whats good as the Son is ascending as he should. Truly I tell you, if I had been sent (only) to those who would listen to me and had spoken to them (alone), I wouldnt ever have gone up from the earth. Now, then, be ashamed for these things! Look, Ill leave you and go away. I dont want to continue with you anymore, just as you yourselves dont want that. Now, then, follow me eagerly. Thats why I tell you that I came down for you. Youre beloved; youll bring life for many. Call on the Father. Pray to God often, and (God) will be generous with you. Blessed is the one who has seen you with (God) when (God) was proclaimed among the angels and given glory among the holy ones; yours is life. Rejoice and be glad as 11 children of God. Keep (Gods) will so that you may be saved. Accept my warning and save yourselves. Im pleading for you with the Father, who will forgive you much. Few Have Found the Kingdom And when we heard these things, we were delighted, because we had been depressed about the things we mentioned before. But when he saw us rejoicing, he said, Woe to you who need an advocate! Woe to you who need grace! Blessed will be those whove spoken out and acquired grace for themselves! Be like foreigners. How are they viewed in your city? Why are you disturbed when you cast yourselves out on your own and separate yourselves from your city? Why do you leave your dwelling on your own and make it available for those who want to live in it? You outcasts and runaways! Woe to you, because youll be caught! Or do you think that the Father is a lover of humanity, or is persuaded by prayers, or grants grace to one on behalf of another, or puts up with one who seeks? (God) knows about desire and what the flesh needs. Its not this (flesh) which desires the soul, because without the soul, the body doesnt sin, just as 12 the soul isnt saved without the spirit. But if the soul is saved without evil, and the spirit is also saved, then the body becomes sinless. For its the spirit that raises the soul, but the body that kills it; that is, (the soul) kills itself. Truly I tell you, (God) wont ever forgive the sin of the soul or the guilt of the flesh, because no one whos worn the flesh will be saved. Do you think that many have found the kingdom of heaven? Blessed is the one whos seen oneself (at) the fourth (stage) in heaven. Know Yourselves When we heard these things, we felt depressed. But when he saw that we were depressed, he said, Im telling you this so that you may know yourselves. For the kingdom of heaven is like an ear of grain after it had sprouted in a field. And when it had ripened, it scattered its fruit, and again it filled the field with ears of grain for another year. You, too, be eager to reap an ear of the grain of life for yourselves so that you may be filled with the kingdom! And as long as Im with you, pay attention to me and trust in me, but when I leave you, remember me. And remember me because when I was with you, you didnt know me. Blessed are those whove known me. Woe to those whove heard and havent believed! Blessed will be those who 13 havent seen, [but ]! And once again I [appeal to] you, because Im revealed to you building a house very valuable to you when you take shelter under it, just as it will be able to support your neighbors house when it threatens to fall. Truly I tell you, woe to those for whom I was sent down to this place! Blessed will be those who go up to the Father. Again I warn you, you who are. Be like those who are not so that you may be with those who are not. Dont let the kingdom of heaven become a desert within you. Dont be haughty because of the light that enlightens, but behave toward yourselves the way that Ive behaved toward you. Ive put myself under the curse for you, so that you may be saved. Final Words But in response to these comments Peter said, Sometimes you urge us on to the kingdom of heaven, and again at other times you turn us away, Lord. Sometimes you persuade and draw us to faith and promise us life, and again at other times you cast us out of the kingdom of heaven. But in response the Lord told us, Ive given you faith many times. Moreover, Ive revealed myself to you, 14 James, and you havent known me. Now again, I see you rejoicing often. And when youre delighted about the promise of life, nevertheless youre sad and depressed when youre taught about the kingdom. But through faith and knowledge, youve received life. Despise rejection when you hear it, but when you hear the promise, rejoice all the more. Truly I tell you, whoever will receive life and believe the kingdom will never leave it not even if the Father wants to banish them! This is all Im going to tell you up to this point, but now Ill go up to the place from which I came. But when I was eager to go, you cast me out, and instead of accompanying me, youve chased me away. But be attentive to the glory that awaits me, and when youve opened your hearts, listen to the hymns that await me up in heaven, because today I need to sit at the right hand of the Father. Now Ive spoken (my) last word to you, and Ill leave you, because a chariot of the Spirit has taken me up, and from now on Ill strip myself so that I may clothe myself. But pay attention: Blessed are those whove proclaimed the Son before his coming down so that when Ive come, I might go up. Blessed three 15 times over are those who [were] proclaimed by the Son before they came to be, so that you may have a portion with them. Heavenly Ascent When he said these things, he left. But 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 cacophony of wars and a trumpet blare and a great commotion. And when we passed beyond that place, we sent our minds up higher and heard with our ears hymns and angelic praises and angelic rejoicing. And heavenly majesties were singing hymns, and we rejoiced too. After this again, we wanted to send our spirit up to the Majesty. And after we went up, we werent allowed to see or hear anything, because the other disciples called us and asked us, What did you hear from the Teacher? And, What did he tell you? And, Where did he go? But we responded, He went up. And, Hes given us his right hand and promised us all life, and he revealed to us children who are to come after us, after telling 16 [us] to love them, as wed be [saved] because of them. Conclusion And when they heard, they believed the revelation indeed, but were angry about those to be born. So, not wanting to give them a scandal, I sent each of them to a different place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying to acquire a portion with the beloved ones who will be revealed. And I pray that the beginning may come from you, because this is how I can be saved, since theyll be enlightened through me, by my faith and through another (faith) thats even better than mine, because I want mine to be the lesser. So do your best to be like them, and pray that you acquire a portion with them. Apart from what Ive said, the Savior didnt disclose a revelation to us for them. We do indeed proclaim a portion with those for whom the proclamation was made those whom the Lord has (accepted as) children. Notes on Translation Particular thanks are due to my colleague Samuel Zinner for the following insights. Page 2: No. Possibly an asseverative particle. Page 5: crucified by reason (logos). Other translators propose emending the text to crucified without reason, but the emendation is unnecessary. Reason ( logos ) is of the soul according to page 4, not of the Spirit. Cf. Wis. Sol. 9:14,15: For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and our designs are likely to fail; for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind (NRSV). Page 6: the kingdom of God. Literally, the kingdom of death, but cf. J. Van Der Vliet, Spirit and Prophecy in the Epistula Iacobi Apocrypha (NHC I,2), Vigiliae Christianae 44 (1990), 48, n. 53, and Frances E. William in James M. Robinson, ed., The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices, Volume I. Brill, 2000, 17. This proposed emendation involves adding back in the last two letters of the word for God and backing out a scribal revision. Page 10: I wouldnt ever have gone up from the earth. Alternatively, I wouldnt ever have come down to the earth. The former reading, which seems to fit the context well, would indicate frustration with the disciples lack of understanding (cp. pages 7 and 8: why do you hold me back in my eagerness to go? youve made me stay with you another eighteen days because of the parables). The latter reading would indicate the purpose of his coming to earth in the first place. Blessed is the one who has seen you with (God) when (God) was proclaimed among the angels and given glory among the holy ones. The parenthetical insertions replace the pronoun he. April DeConick renders this differently: So important is the ascent of the disciples that Jesus blesses the believer who has seen the disciples in Gods presence when the believer is proclaimed among the angels and glorified among the saints. Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 152. Page 11: Persuaded by prayers. Alternatively, not persuaded by prayers. Page 12: (at) the fourth (stage). Arguably, the first three stages (or parts) are described on page 8: Faith, love, and works. Cf. Hans-Martin Schenke, Der Jakobusbrief aus dem Codex Jung, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 66, 1971, 129.

]]> https://clovisstar.com/secret-book-of-james/feed/ 0 Gospel of Q https://clovisstar.com/gospel-of-q/ https://clovisstar.com/gospel-of-q/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:14 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/gospel-of-q/ The Gospel of Q by Mark M. Mattison The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. Q is the designation given to a hypothetical sayings source that many scholars believe was incorporated into the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Though some notable scholars have questioned the theory, others have proposed reconstructions of Q based on a careful comparison of New Testament Gospels. Since no manuscripts of Q have survived from antiquity , the translation is based on the Greek text printed in The Critical Edition of Q . The versification follows that of Luke and Matthew. For additional information, see the introduction to the PDF version . For some reflections on the meaning and significance of Q for us today, see my book, The Gospel of Q: Jesus’ Prophetic Wisdom . Note that Luminescence, L.L.C. earns commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Symbols [ ] Gap in the text ( ) Editorial insertion (QLk 3:2) John [ . . . ] (3) [ . . . ] the entire region around the Jordan [ . . . ] (7) He told the crowds who went out to be baptized, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the fury to come? (8) So bear fruit worthy of change! Don’t start to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our ancestor,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. (9) “Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees! So every tree that doesn’t bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (16) “I baptize you in water, but one who’s greater than I will come, the thong of whose sandals I’m not worthy to loosen. He’ll baptize you in holy Spirit and fire. (17) His pitchfork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn; but he’ll burn up the chaff with a fire that can’t be put out.” (21) [] Jesus [] baptized [] heaven opened (22) and [] the Spirit [] on him [] Son [] (4:1) Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert (2) to be tested by the devil. He didn’t eat anything for forty days [] he was hungry. (3) And the devil told him, “If you’re God’s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.” (4) And Jesus replied, “It’s written, ‘A person shouldn’t live on bread alone.'” (9) The devil led him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said, “If you’re God’s Son, throw yourself down, (10) because it’s written, ‘God will put God’s angels in charge of you,’ (11) and ‘On their hands they’ll bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.'” (12) And in reply Jesus told him, “It’s been said, ‘Don’t test the Lord, your God.'” (5) Then the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the empires of the world and their glory and told him, (6) “I’ll give you all these, (7) if you’ll bow to me.” (8) And in reply Jesus told him, “It’s written: ‘Bow to the Lord your God, and serve God only.'” (13) And the devil left him. (16) [] Nazareth [] (6:20) He looked up at his disciples and said: Blessed are you who are poor, because yours is God’s reign. (21) Blessed are you who are hungry, because you’ll be full. Blessed are you who mourn, because you’ll be comforted. (22) “Blessed are you when they criticize you, persecute you, and spread lies about you because of the Son of Humanity. (23) Rejoice and be glad, because your heavenly reward is great; for that’s how they persecuted the prophets before you. (27) “Love your enemies, (28) and pray for those who persecute you. (35) You’ll become children of your Father, who makes the sun rise on those who are evil and those who are good, and sends rain on those who are just and those who are unjust. (29) “When someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one too. When someone sues you for your shirt, give them your coat too. (QMt 5:41) When someone makes you go one mile, go an extra mile. (QLk 6:30) Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone borrows your things, don’t ask for them back. (31) “Treat people how you want them to treat you. (32) If you love those who love you, why should you be rewarded? Don’t even toll collectors do that? (34) And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be rewarded? Don’t even gentiles do that? (36) Be merciful, just like your Father. (37) “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged; (QMt 7:2) because you’ll be judged the way that you judge. (QLk 6:38) And you’ll be measured the way that you measure. (39) “Can someone who can’t see guide another person who can’t see? Won’t they both fall into a pit? (40) A disciple isn’t greater than their teacher. It’s enough for the disciple to become like their teacher. (41) “Why do you see the speck that’s in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that’s in your own eye? (42) How can you tell your brother, ‘Let me get that speck out of your eye,’ when you don’t see the beam that’s in your own eye? You hypocrite! First get the beam out of your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly to get the speck out of your brother’s eye. (43) “No good tree bears rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. (44) Every tree is known by its own fruit. Are figs gathered from thorns, or grapes from thistles? (45) The person who’s good brings good things out of their good treasure, and the person who’s evil brings evil things out of evil treasure, because one’s mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. (46) “Why do you call me, ‘Master, Master,’ and don’t do what I say? (47) Everyone who hears my words and acts on them (48) can be compared to someone building a house on bedrock. When the rain poured, and the floods came, and the winds blew and pounded that house, it didn’t collapse, because it was founded on bedrock. (49) But everyone who hears my words and doesn’t act on them is like someone who built a house on the sand. When the rain poured, and the floods came, and the winds blew and pounded that house, it collapsed immediately. How great was its fall!” (7:1) And so when it happened that he had finished saying these things, he went to Capernaum. (3) A centurion approached and begged him and said, “My boy is sick.” And Jesus told him, “I’ll go heal him.” (6) And the centurion replied, “Master, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. (7) Just say the word, and my boy will be healed. (8) I’m also in a chain of command, with soldiers under me. I tell one, ‘Go,’ and they go; I tell another, ‘Come,’ and they come; I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and they do it.” (9) Jesus was amazed when he heard this. He told his followers, “I’m telling you the truth: I haven’t found such trust even in Israel.” (18) When John heard all these things, he sent his disciples (19) to ask him, “Are you the coming one, or should we look for someone else?” (22) And he replied to them, “Go and tell John what you’ve heard and seen. Those who: are blind, regain their sight; have challenges of mobility, walk; have leprosy, are cured; are deaf, hear; are dead, are raised up; are poor, have good news announced to them. (23) “Blessed is the one who isn’t scandalized by me.” (24) And when they had left, he started to talk to the crowds about John. “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? (25) Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes live in palaces. (26) Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I’m telling you, and much more than a prophet, (27) because it’s written about him: Look, I’m sending my messenger ahead of you, who’ll prepare your path for you. (28) “I’m telling you that John is greater than anyone who’s been born, but whoever is least in God’s reign is still greater than he, (29) because John came to you [] the toll collectors and [] (30) but [] him. (31) “To what, then, can I compare this generation? What’s it like? (32) It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces calling to each other: We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance. We mourned, But you didn’t weep. (33) “John didn’t come eating or drinking, and you say, ‘He’s demonized!’ (34) The Son of Humanity has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of toll collectors and outsiders!’ (35) But Wisdom is vindicated by her children.” (9:57) And someone told him, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.” (58) And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Humanity has nowhere to rest his head.” (59) But someone else told him, “Master, let me go and bury my father first.” (60) But he told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (10:2) He told his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the fields. (3) Go! Look, I send you out like lambs among wolves. (4) Don’t carry a purse, bag, sandals, or staff. Don’t greet anyone on the road. (5) Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ (6) If a peaceful person is there, let your blessing rest on them; but if not, take back your blessing. (7) Stay in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because the worker is worthy of their wages. Don’t move around from house to house. (8) If they welcome you in whatever town you enter, eat whatever is set before you. (9) Heal those who are sick there and tell them, ‘God’s reign is at hand!’ (10) But if they don’t welcome you in whatever town you enter, when you’re leaving that town, (11) shake the dust from your feet. (12) I’m telling you that on that day, it’ll be better for Sodom than for that town! (13) “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the great deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed a long time ago in sackcloth and ashes. (14) But it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you in the judgment! (15) And you, Capernaum, you don’t think you’ll be exalted to heaven, do you? You’ll fall down to Hades! (16) “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” (21) Then he said, “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and learned and revealing them to children. Yes, Father, this was what you wanted. (22) My Father has given me everything. No one knows who the son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the son, and the one to whom the son wants to reveal him. (23) “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. (24) I’m telling you that many prophets and rulers wanted to see what you see, but didn’t see it; and to hear what you hear, but didn’t hear it. (11:2) “When you pray, say: Father, We honor your holy name. Let your reign come. (3) Give us our daily bread today. (4) Forgive us our debts, because we too forgive everyone who’s indebted to us. Don’t put us in harm’s way. (9) “I’m telling you, ask and you’ll receive. Look and you’ll find. Knock and it’ll be opened for you, (10) because everyone who asks receives. The one who looks finds. To one who knocks it’ll be opened. (11) Which of you would give your child a stone if they ask for bread? (12) Or who would give them a snake if they ask for fish? (13) So if you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give good things to those who ask!” (14) He was casting out a demon that couldn’t speak. And when the demon came out, the person who couldn’t speak started talking. And the crowds were amazed. (15) But some said, “He casts out demons with the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!” (17) Knowing what they were thinking, he told them, “Every divided empire is devastated, and a divided house will fall. (18) If the Enemy is divided, how will its empire endure? (19) But if Beelzebul gives me power to cast out demons, who gives your people power to cast them out? So they prove you wrong. (20) But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then God’s reign has come to you! (23) “Whoever isn’t with me is against me, and whoever doesn’t gather with me, scatters. (24) When the impure spirit leaves someone, it journeys through arid places looking for rest, but doesn’t find it. Then it says, ‘I’ll return to the home I left’; (25) and when it comes back, it finds it swept and organized. (26) Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits that are even more evil, and they move in and live there. That person ends up even worse off than before.” (16) Some demanded him to show a sign. (29) But he said, “This is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be provided except the sign of Jonah! (30) As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Humanity will be a sign to this generation. (31) The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom; and look, something greater than Solomon is here. (32) The people of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they changed in response to Jonah’s announcement, and look, something greater than Jonah is here. (33) “No one lights a lamp and hides it, but puts it on a lampstand, and it enlightens everyone in the house. (34) Your eye is the body’s lamp. If your eye is single, your whole body is full of light. If your eye is evil, your whole body is dark. (35) So if the light within you is dark, how dark it is! (42) “Woe to you, Pharisees! You tithe your mint, dill, and cumin, but you ignore justice, mercy, and trust. You should’ve done these without ignoring the others. (39) “Woe to you, Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they’re full of greed and decadence. (41) Clean the inside of the cup, and its outside will be clean too. (43) “Woe to you, Pharisees! You love the place of honor at banquets, the front seat in the synagogues, and accolades in the marketplaces. (44) Woe to you, because you’re like unmarked graves that people walk on without knowing it. (46) “And woe to you, lawyers! You load people with burdens that are hard to bear, but you yourselves won’t even lift a finger to help them. (52) “Woe to you, lawyers! You shut people out of God’s reign. You didn’t enter, and didn’t let those enter who are trying to do so. (47) “Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. (48) You prove that you’re the descendants of your ancestors. (49) So Wisdom said, ‘I’ll send prophets and sages. Some of them they’ll kill and persecute.’ (50) So this generation will be guilty of the blood of all the prophets shed from the beginning of the world, (51) from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I’m telling you that this generation will be held responsible. (12:2) “Nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, nor hidden that won’t be made known. (3) Whatever I tell you in the dark, say in the light; and whatever you hear whispered in your ear, announce from the housetops. (4) “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. (5) Instead, fear the one who can kill both the soul and the body in Gehenna. (6) “Don’t five sparrows cost two pennies? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. (7) Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid, because you’re more valuable than many sparrows. (8) “Everyone who publicly acknowledges me, the Son of Humanity will acknowledge in front of the angels. (9) But whoever publicly denies me will be denied in front of the angels. (10) Whoever speaks out against the Son of Humanity will be forgiven, but whoever speaks out against the holy Spirit won’t be forgiven. (11) When they bring you before the synagogues, don’t worry about how or what you should say, (12) because the holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. (33) “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth, where moth and rust destroy and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where robbers don’t break in or steal. (34) Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be too. (22) “So I’m telling you not to worry about your life, about what you’ll eat; or about your body, what you’ll wear. (23) Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (24) Think about how the ravens don’t sow, reap, or gather into barns, yet God feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than the birds? (25) “Which of you can grow any taller by worrying? (26) And why worry about clothes? (27) Look at how the lilies grow. They don’t work or spin, yet I’m telling you that even Solomon in all his glory wasn’t dressed like one of these. (28) But if God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, won’t God clothe you even more, you who have little trust? (29) So don’t worry. Don’t ask, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ (30) The gentiles look for all these things, but your Father knows that you need all of them. (31) Instead, look for God’s reign, and all these things will be given to you too. (39) “But know this: If the master of the house had known at what time the robber was coming, he wouldn’t have let his house be broken into. (40) You too should be ready, because the Son of Humanity is coming when you don’t expect it. (42) “Then who is the trustworthy and wise servant who was entrusted by their master to hand out rations to the household at the right time? (43) Blessed is that servant whose master finds them doing so when he comes. (44) I’m telling you the truth: he’ll put them in charge of all that he owns. (45) But if that servant says in their heart, ‘My master is late,’ and starts to beat the other servants and to eat and drink with those who are addicted to alcohol, (46) the master of that servant will come when they don’t expect it, at a time that they don’t know, and will rip them to shreds and throw them out with those who are untrustworthy. (49) “I came to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (51) Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword! (53) Because I’ve come: To pit son against father, daughter against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (54) He told them, “When it’s evening, you say, ‘There’ll be good weather, because the sky is red.’ (55) In the morning, ‘There’ll be wintry weather today, because the sky is red and threatening.’ (56) You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the time? (58) “When you’re going with your adversary, do your best to settle the case on the way there, or else your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison. (59) I’m telling you that you won’t get out of there until you’ve paid the very last penny! (13:18) “What is God’s reign like, and to what should I compare it? (19) It can be compared to a mustard seed which someone sowed in their garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.” (20) “And again: To what should I compare God’s reign? (21) It can be compared to yeast which a woman hid in fifty pounds of flour until it was all fermented. (24) “Enter through the narrow door, because many will try to enter, though only a few will succeed. (25) When the master of the house gets up and locks the door, you’ll be standing outside and knocking on it, saying, ‘Master, open up for us!’ “But he’ll reply, ‘I don’t know you.’ (26) “Then you’ll start saying, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ (27) “But he’ll tell you, ‘I don’t know you. Get away from me, you criminals!’ (29) “Many will come from east and west and dine (28) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in God’s reign, but you’ll be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there’ll be weeping and grinding of teeth. (30) Those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last. (34) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would’ve gathered your children together, like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you wouldn’t let me! (35) Look, your house is left abandoned. I’m telling you that you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (14:11) “Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, and whoever humbles themselves will be exalted. (16) “Someone planning a great dinner invited many guests. (17) When dinner was ready, they sent their servant to tell the invited guests, ‘Come, because it’s ready now!’ (18) “One excused himself because of his farm. (19) Another excused himself because of his business. (21) The servant went back and told their master all this. Then the master of the house became angry and told the servant, (23) ‘Go out to the highways and urge people to come in so that my house may be filled.’ (26) “Whoever doesn’t hate father and mother can’t be my disciple, and whoever doesn’t hate son and daughter can’t be my disciple. (27) Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me can’t be my disciple. (17:33) “Whoever tries to find their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (14:34) “Salt is good, but if it’s lost its flavor, how can you get it back? (35) It’s no good for the soil or the manure pile. It’s thrown away. (16:13) “No one can follow two masters, because they’ll either hate one and love the other, or they’ll be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. (16) “The Torah and the prophets were announced until John. Since then, God’s reign has been violated, and the violent plunder it. (17) But it’s easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke to drop out of the Torah. (18) “Everyone who divorces his wife and remarries is unfaithful to her, and whoever marries someone who’s divorced is unfaithful too. (17:1) “There’s no way that people won’t be tripped up, but woe to the one who causes it! (2) It’d be better for them if a millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea, than for them to trip up one of these little ones. (15:4) “Which of you, if you had a hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go after the one that got lost? (5) When they find it, (7) I’m telling you that they’ll rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander off. (8) “Or what woman with ten silver coins, if she loses one, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and look everywhere until she found it? (9) When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I’ve found the coin that I’d lost!’ (10) In the same way, I’m telling you, the angels rejoice over one wrongdoer who changes. (17:3) “If your brother offends you, correct him. If he changes, forgive him. (4) Even if he offends you seven times a day, then forgive him seven times. (5) “If you had trust as big as a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (20) When he was asked when God’s reign would come, he replied to them, “The coming of God’s reign can’t be observed. (21) Nor will they say, ‘Look over here!’ or ‘Look over there!’ Because look, God’s reign is among you. (23) “If they tell you, ‘Look, he’s in the desert!’ don’t go out; or ‘Look, he’s inside,’ don’t follow, (24) because as the lightning flashes in the east and is seen in the west, so will the Son of Humanity be in his day. (37) Where there’s a corpse, there the vultures will gather. (26) “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the day of the Son of Humanity. (27) In those days they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and swept all of them away. (30) That’s what it will be like on the day the Son of Humanity is revealed. (34) “I’m telling you, there’ll be two men in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left. (35) There’ll be two women grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other will be left. (19:12) “A certain person went on a trip. (13) He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Do business with this until I return.’ (15) “After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. (16) The first one came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made ten more minas.’ (17) “He told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Since you’ve been trustworthy with a little, I’ll put you in charge of much.’ (18) “The second came and said, ‘Master, Your mina has made five minas.’ (19) “He told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Since you’ve been trustworthy with a little, I’ll put you in charge of much.’ (20) “The other came and said, ‘Master, (21) I know you’re a strict man, reaping where you didn’t sow and gathering where you didn’t scatter. I went out and hid your mina in the ground. Look, here’s what belongs to you!’ (22) “He told him, ‘You evil servant! You knew that I reap what I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? (23) So why didn’t you invest my money with the bankers? Then when I returned, I would’ve gotten it back, with interest. (24) So take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas, (26) because everyone who has will be given more, but whoever doesn’t have will lose even what little they do have.’ (22:28) “You who’ve followed me (30) will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

]]> https://clovisstar.com/gospel-of-q/feed/ 0 Unknown Gospel: Egerton Papyrus 2 https://clovisstar.com/unknown-gospel-egerton-papyrus-2/ https://clovisstar.com/unknown-gospel-egerton-papyrus-2/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:14 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/unknown-gospel-egerton-papyrus-2/ Unknown Gospel: Essential Insights into Egerton Papyrus 2

Fragment 1, verso

1 to the lawyers […all] the wrongdoers […] and not me […] how does he do it? [Then he turned] to [the] rulers of the people and made this statement: Search [the] scriptures; [you think] you have life in them. They [testify] about me. Don’t [think] I’ve come to accuse [you] before my Father. [The one who accuses] you is Moses, in whom [you] hope. But they [said,] We know [well] God [spoke] to Moses, but you — we don’t know [where you’re from.] Jesus [told them] in reply, Now [you] stand accused because [you don’t believe those who’ve been approved] by him; because if [you believed Moses,] you’d believe [me, for] he [wrote] about me to your ancestors […].

Fragment 1, recto

1 stones together [so they could stone him.] And the [rulers] laid their [hands] on him [so that] they might seize him and [deliver him] to the crowd. But they [could] not seize him, because the hour of his arrest [had] not yet [come.] So the Lord escaped [from their hands] and withdrew from [them.] And look, someone with leprosy approached [him] and said, Teacher Jesus, while I was [traveling] with [others] who had [leprosy] and eating at the inn [with them,] I [contracted leprosy] myself. But if [you want to,] you can cure me. Now the Lord [told him, I want to:] be cured. [And immediately] the leprosy left him. Then Jesus [told] him, [Go] and show [yourself] to the [priests] and offer [what Moses ordered for] your cure, and don’t sin anymore […].

Fragment 2, recto

1 to him, examining him to test him: Teacher Jesus, we know that you’ve come [from God,] because the things you do [testify] above and beyond all the prophets. [So tell] us: is it right [to give] kings what belongs to them? [Should we pay] them, or [not?] But since Jesus knew what [they] were thinking, [he scolded them] and asked [them,] Why do you pay me lip service as a Teacher but [don’t do] what [I say? Isaiah] accurately prophesied [about] you when he said: [These people honor] me with their [lips,] [but] their [heart] is [far] from [me.] [They worship me pointlessly,] [… rules …]

Fragment 2, verso

1 enclosed in the [place …] being subjected uncertainly […] its weight unweighed […] but [while] they were puzzled [as] to [his] strange question, Jesus walked and stood [on the] bank of the Jordan [river.] And reaching out with [his] right hand […] and he sowed [on] the […] and then […] water […] the […] and […] he produced […] fruit […].

]]> https://clovisstar.com/unknown-gospel-egerton-papyrus-2/feed/ 0 Sayings of Jesus https://clovisstar.com/sayings-of-jesus/ https://clovisstar.com/sayings-of-jesus/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:07 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/sayings-of-jesus/ Sayings of Jesus: Essential Insights for a Powerful Life

Chapter 1

1 [the rich man] died. [I tell you, don’t] be anxious about [your life], what you’ll eat, [nor the] body, what [you’ll wear], because I tell you, [unless] you fast from [the world], you’ll never find [the kingdom], and unless you [see] the world, [you’ll never] find the Father. [Look at] the birds, how [they] fly, and [your] heavenly Father [feeds them]. [Are you] not worth much [more] than they? [And which of you by being] anxious can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how [they] grow; they neither toil nor spin. Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not [worry], saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things (Incomplete: content_filter)

]]> https://clovisstar.com/sayings-of-jesus/feed/ 0 Zostrianos https://clovisstar.com/zostrianos/ https://clovisstar.com/zostrianos/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:07 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/zostrianos/ [ 1 ] Page number of the Coptic codex (hyperlinked) Introduction [ 1 ] [The glorious book] of the sayings that live forever [that] I, Zos[trianos, wrote ] and Yolaos as I entered the world for those belonging to my generation and [those] (who will come) after me, the elect who live. The God [of] truth lives in actual truth and understanding and light eternal. Zostrianos Fortified by a Holy Spirit When I in my mind forsook my interior bodily darkness, soulish chaos, and gloomy, lustful femaleness about which I was unconcerned, and when I had found the limitlessness of my materiality and rebuked the dead creation inside me, including the sensory divine ruler of the world, I mightily declared completion to those with disparate parts. Even though I had explored their ways for a brief period, inasmuch as inexorable birth bestowed visibility on me, I never felt contented with them. Rather, I was accustomed to separate myself continually from them since, despite my [birth] through procreation, my coming into being had been holy. When I had bettered my sinless soul, I then fortified [ 2 ] the [spirit] of reason [inside me] and I [could then wake from] the [gloomy slumber and discover] my [fatherly] God [. . .]. Despite my having [labored on this in every way], I was fortified by a holy Spirit that surpasses even God. [It rested] on me alone while I was bettering myself, and I beheld the Perfect Child, [who he is], and what [he possesses]. Frequently and [in varied (forms)] he appeared to me as a willing [oneness] while I was searching for the [male] All-Father, of [those] things intellectual and sensorial, specific and general, [partial] and entire, encompassing and encompassed, physical and non-physical, spiritual and material, and [matters] relevant to all of these, and the (state of) existence mixed with them and with the god of this Perfect Child, the ungenerated Kalyptos, the power [inside] them all. Zostrianos Questions Regarding Existence Regarding existence, given that they originate from the aeon of those who come from an unseen and undivided self-generated spirit in the form of triadic ungenerated images, how can existent beings possess an origin that excels existence and also pre-exist all [of these], yet nevertheless have come to exist in the [world]? How is it that those who are in its presence together with all these [ 3 ] [spring from the lofty] Good? What kind [of power] and [source does it possess, and] what place does [it] hold? What is its (originative) principle? How is it that what it produces belongs to it as well as to all of these (others)? Given that [it is a] singular [oneness], how is it self-different, given that it exists in the modes of existence, form, and blessedness and bestows power by being alive in a living way? How has existence that is non-being appeared in a power that possesses being? Searching for the understanding of these questions, according to the tradition of my people, each day I would offer them up to the god of my fathers. I would praise all of them, given that my forefathers and forebears who sought found. Regarding myself, I did not cease looking for a place of repose that my spirit deserved, where I would be unbound in the sensorial world. The Angel of Knowledge Appears to Zostrianos Then, while I was greatly distressed and depressed on account of the weakmindedness that enfolded me, I had the courage to act and to give myself to cruel death by the wild desert beasts. In front of me stood the angel of the knowledge of light eternal, and he said to me: Zostrianos, why have you gone insane, as if you were ignorant of the [ 4 ] mighty eternal lofty beings? [Are you not aware that you are an elect person], and that you were consequently notified concerning [what you are to do], so that you could now be rescued? Do not ever [be] harmful or [pay heed] to those who are familiar to you so that you do rescue none but those [whom] the Father on high would choose (for rescue). [Do you think] that you are the father of [your people], or that Yolaos is your father? [You have] a godly angel [who has shown] you [the path] by means of saints. Come and surpass these [(lowly) aeons], to which you will return at some other [time] to declare a living [nation] in order to rescue those who deserve it and to strengthen the elect, because the struggle of this age is long, but the time [of] this world is brief. Zostrianos Ascends through the Aeons After he had told [me] this, I was very eager and happy to embark with him on a large shining cloud, and I [departed from] the shape of my molded body on the earth, protected by glories. [We] fled the entire world and the thirteen aeons therein, together with their angelic host. We were not seen, but their chief was upset by [our journey], because [our] shining cloud, [ 5 ] whose [essence] excelled [the entire world], was indescribable. Its beauty glowed intensely. It has a power to [guide] pure spirits, because it is a life-giving spirit and an intelligible mind, [un]like worldly entities [constructed] of malleable matter and swayable reason. I realized then that my inward strength had conquered the darkness, because it consisted entirely of light. The Baptisms of Zostrianos I was baptized there, even receiving the image of the glories, and I was transformed into one like them. I journeyed through the atmosphere of the [earth], even passing by the aeonic simulacra after baptizing myself seven times [there in] living [water], once for each [of the] aeons. I did not stop before [I had passed] simultaneously [through] all of them. I ascended to the sojourn that [truly] exists. [I] was baptized, and [I forsook the world]. I ascended to the repentance that truly exists, [and] there [I was] baptized [six] times. I journeyed through the [ 6 ] sixth one [and I was strengthened by the same]. I ascended to the [self-generated] aeons, and there I stood after seeing a true light that truly exists. It existed truly from its self-generated root, [together with] tall angels and glories [beyond] stature. I was baptized [by] those powers that oversee [the] living water, Michar and Mi[cheus]. I was baptized in the [name of] the divine Self-Generated One. I was cleansed by the mighty Barpharanges. I was [glorified] and inscribed in glory. I was sealed by those who oversee these powers, [Michar], Micheus, Seldao, Ele[nos], and Zogenethlos. I [became] a [contemplating] angel and stood together with the souls on the first aeon, which is the fourth. I blessed the divine Self-Generated One and the forefather Pigeradamas, [(who is) an eye of] the Self-Generated One, the perfect Primal [Human], and Seth Emm[acha Seth], the son of [A]damas, the [father of] the [unshakeable race], and the [Four] Lights, [Armozel and Oroiael, Daveithe and Eleleth], and Mirothea, the mother [of Adamas], and Prophania, [the mother] of the lights, and Ple[sithea], the [mother of the angels]. [ 7 ] I was [baptized the] second time by these same powers in the name of God, the Self-Generated One. I was transformed into a masculine angel. I stood on the second aeon, which is the third one, together with the children of Seth, and I blessed these same ones. And I was baptized for the third time by these same powers in the name of God, the Self-Generated One. [I] was transformed into a holy angel and stood upon the third [aeon], which is the second one, and [blessed] these same ones. And I was baptized for the fourth time by these [same] powers. I was transformed into a perfect [angel and stood on] the fourth aeon, [which is the first] aeon, and [I blessed these same ones]. Zostianos Questions Regarding Singularity and Duality I then looked for [a single power among them]. I spoke [these words]: I [. . .] of [. . .]. And I [asked] him [about how to understand them]: In light of the variations of human hearing, why [are there variations] in the ability [to hear] them? [ 8 ] [Are these same things] their abilities, or are they the same things, just with varying names? Does one soul differ from another soul? Why do human beings differ from each another? In what mode and to what degree are they human? The mighty primacy, Authrounios, said to me: Do you ask about those things through which you have journeyed? Or why this atmosphere of the earth exhibits this worldly model? Or how many aeonic simulacra there are? Or why they are [un]moved? Or about the sojourn and repentance, and about the [aeonic] creation and the world that [does not really exist? I will teach] you [plainly] about [all these things you ask] me. [No revelation] or [commandment] will be visible to you, not [even from the] Unseen [Spirit, until after you understand these things], and the [teaching that . . . Eleleth . . . that] will become apparent to you. [And we two joined with the aeons through] which I had [journeyed]. Authrounios Describes the Creation And [ 9 ] the [mighty] primacy, Authrounios, said [to me]: The atmosphere of the earth came into being through a principle of reason, and in an imperishable mode it manifests things generated and perishable for the sake of the coming of the mighty judges. This is (so that they do not experience sensory) perception and become confined in the creation. When they, however, encountered it and by this perceived the works of the world, they sentenced its ruler to a perishability that typifies the world, because that gloomy, perishable [production] is an [essence] and principle of matter. When Sophia gazed [downward], she beheld darkness, [illuminating it] while she retained [her own station], being a paradigm for [worldly] things, [a principle] for the essence [without essence and the] form [without] form [. . .] a shape [without shape]. [It accommodates every worldly entity . . .] the All [. . . the perishable production, because it is a principle of reason that sways] the darkness. [He sows from his] reason, because [the ruler] of [creation] can[not] see any of the eternal entities. [ 10 ] He beheld a reflection, and from a reflection that he [beheld] in (the reflection), he created the world. Using a reflection of a reflection, he moved on the world, and then even the reflection of (the reflection that) had appeared (to him) was taken away from him. Sophia, however, was granted a place of repose that rectified her repentance. The result was that because no pure, original image dwelt inside her, neither pre-existing inside him, nor previously coming to be through him, he exercised his imagination and formed what remained, since the image Sophia possesses is ever perishable and deceitful. The archon, however, looked downward, [because he simulates] and incorporates by means of [chasing after the image] owing to the overflow [that tended downward]. When [I heard and] saw these [things, I could comprehend] the mind of [these who concentrated their mind] on the things they do not [understand]. Because he has concentrated [his mind on the] aeons [. . .] mightier than [. . .] And [again he said: Sophia became] perfect by [the will of the leader] through whom [the atmosphere of the earth endures], having [ 11 ] [unchangeably averted] the destruction of the world. Now the aeonic simulacra exist in the following manner: They have failed to obtain an equally powerful form, [instead] possessing eternal glories, and they exist as judgment seats for each of the powers. When souls, however, are illuminated by the light inside these simulacra, and by the model that frequently develops [effortlessly] inside them, then the soul believes that she witnesses [the truth] and the eternal [source inside] the blessed [idea that exists] as the only singularity. [. . .] each of [. . .] light that [. . .] all, and she [. . .] entirely, and she and a [. . .]. And she [. . .] she who [. . .] she [. . .] of [the sojourn, and the evidence] for the repentance [dwells with the souls] [ 12 ] in accord with the power [inside them, so that] they could stand. And inferior [souls] are prepared by the aeonic simulacra, which receive a simulacrum of their souls while they still dwell in the world. After the aeons emerge one by one, they come into being and one by one are conveyed from the simulacrum of the sojourn to the sojourn that truly exists, from the simulacrum of the repentance to the repentance that truly exists, [and from the] simulacrum of the self-generated aeons [to the self-generated aeons] that truly exist, and so on [. . .]. The souls [. . .] exist inside a [light . . .] them all [by means of the] aeonic [simulacra]. [On the one hand, they] see, [but whenever . . .] and certain [. . .] out [. . .] the [. . .] outside [. . .] light [. . .] of [. . . all] those [who] are [. . . as they] [ 13 ] [bless the God] over the [mighty] aeons, and the [ungenerated] Kalyptos, the mighty male Protophanes, the Perfect [Child] who is more exalted than God, and his eye, Pigeradamas. Zostrianos Asks Ephesech About the Waters I invoked the Child of the Child Ephesech. He stood in front of me and said: O messenger of God, Child of the Father, [you are] the Perfect Human. [Why] do you invoke me and ask concerning the things you know, as if you were [unaware] of them? [I, however, said]: I ask concerning the water, [how then does] it bestow perfection and convey [its power]? What are [its] powers? [Are they the names] in which we are baptized? [Why do] these names [differ from those], and why [do the waters differ] from each [other? And are they whole] in the [. . . from] others [. . .] humans [. . .]? [Why do they differ in this way from each other]? [The Child of the Child Ephesech, the Savior, answered]: [ 14 ] [Zost]trianos, listen concerning [all] these matters! The number of the pre-[existent] principles is three, despite their appearance from a unitary principle [of] the aeon Barbelo. This is not an indeterminate number of principles and powers, nor are they productions of any arbitrary source and power. To the contrary, they have brought every principle into manifestation and have granted power to every power, and have appeared in what by far excels them, these being existence, blessedness, and life. [These have appeared] with each [other and they have appeared] from a [unique singularity], and so [. . .] they were named [on account of their] greater [glory . . . unique . . .] and [certain . . .] a perfect [. . .] from [a unique principle, and it is] a [unitary singularity . . .] ever [. . .]. [ 15 ] And [there exists] a water for [each one] of them. They are consequently [three] perfect waters. It is the water of life that pertains to life, in which now you have been baptized in the Self-Generated One. It is the [water] of blessedness that [pertains] to understanding, in which you will be [baptized] in the Protophanes. It is the water of existence [that] pertains to divinity, that is, to Kalyptos. And the water of life [exists with regard to] power, that of [blessedness] with regard to essence, and that of [divinity] with regard to [existence]. All [these], however, [are likenesses and forms of the] Triple-Powered One. They are the ones that [flow from the] pure water [. . . they] are also [the model . . . water] in accord with . . . [as they] depart . . . [male . . . there . . .] [ 16 ] existence [as it] is. [They] not only [dwelt] in thought, but he [accommodated] them, because he is [(the power of) becoming] in the following manner. He enforced a [limit] on being, so that it would not become infinite and formless. Becoming was instead truly delimited while it was still but a new entity so that [it] could become an entity possessing a proper [dwelling], existence and [being] together, standing together with it, existing together with it, enclosing it, [and being like it] in every aspect. It departed] from the [living water so that it could] obtain the [pre]-existent [firmness] of [. . .] action [. . .] visible [. . .] and his word [. . .] these after [. . .] they became [. . . accommodating] for a [. . .]. [ 17 ] And the power exists together with essence and existence of being, whereas this water exists, and the name in which one is baptized is a spoken utterance of this water. Kalyptos and the Path of Ascent Consequently, the first perfect water of the Triple-Powered One, that of the Self-Generated One, [is] life for perfect souls, because it is a mental utterance pertaining to the coming into being of both the perfect [mind and of] that [(other) one]. This is because the source of all [those] is the Unseen Spirit, whereas the others originate [from understanding], given that they are his likenesses. He who, [however], simultaneously knows [in what mode he exists] and what [the living water is, one like that] lives by [understanding. What pertains to understanding] is the [water of life], and in [becoming, life] becomes [infinite, so that it can attain to] its [own (proper) being . . . and] the name [. . .]. [ 18 ] [. . .] he truly exists; this is the case because he limits himself. They [draw near to] this water in accord with this equality of power and position. The mighty male, the unseen Perfect Mind Protophanes possesses his own water, as you [will see] when you reach his dwelling. The ungenerated Kalyptos also (possesses his own water). Regarding each one there exists an incomplete and [preliminary] form, so that in this way they might reach completion. The self-generated aeons comprise four completed occurrences of the all-perfect ones [that pre-exist] the [perfect individual ones]. And the [fifth] aeon [encompasses] the [divine] Self-Generated One, because [they] all [originate from the perfect, divine triple]-male [Child], because [they are] entireties [. . .], perfect [divine . . . the triple-male . . . the perfect] individual ones [. . .] in the [. . .] [ 19 ] perfect, those who exist in species, genus, complete, and partial differentiation. In the same way, the path of ascent that surpasses what is perfect is with Kalyptos. The divine Self-Generated One is the chief ruler over his own aeons and angels, being portions of him, because those who one by one comprise the four, at the same time they comprise the fifth aeon, while the fifth exists in oneness. Considered one by one, the four [comprise] the fifth, but all of these are complete as individuals [because they] possess a [single principle]. In this way [the triple-male] is also a [perfect individual], because he is a [power] of the divine [Self-Generated One]. And the unseen [perfect] male mind [Protophanes is the dwelling-place] for those who [exist in harmony among the aeons]. A [. . . resembling] [ 20 ] living and perfect portions. Regarding the All, even the all-perfect race and that which surpasses the perfect and blessed: The self-generated Kalyptos is a pre-existent origin of the Self-Generated One, being God and Forefather, a source of Protophanes, a Father of his own portions. Being a fatherly God, he is foreknown, but not known. As he is a self-originated power, so is he self-fathered, so that he is without father. The unseen Triple-Powered One, who is all [of their] forethought and the Unseen Spirit, he is [the origin of all of them] and [an existence without substance prior to essence] and existence [and being. Existents precede] life, [because it is] the [source of] blessed[ness. And . . .] the [stature . . .] all [these the . . .] [ 21 ] [exist] among them. [They descended] among the others, yet they [are all] commingled in several places, any place that is attractive and pleasant. They exist everywhere and they exist nowhere. They encompass spirit, since they are bodiless, yet they surpass bodiless entities. They are undivided, possessing, together with those who are purer than they, living thoughts and the power of truth, because in this regard their spiritual purity is greater and does not resemble bodies that exist in only one place. Most importantly, there is no compulsion in them, not in whole and not in part, so that their path of ascent is pure, [since it is imperishable]. Each one [of their powers has] designated [for itself] its own [root]. And [. . .] them [. . .] its [ 22 ] own proper aeons, so [he] then [knows] how to obtain an eternal model. And the world intellect enters in, joining when the water of the Self-Generated One is completed. When someone knows both this and all of these, that one is dealing with the water of Protophanes. When someone joins with him and with all of these, that one is dealing with Kalyptos. Among the aeons a similar situation prevails. With respect to knowing these one by one along with their portions, they are [perfect]. Those who belong to the All, where knowledge dwells, and what they know, have [become separate], but they do share something in common with each other. The All and all [of these possess the] baptism in the [baptism of the Self-Generated One]. If the [. . .] perfect [. . .]. The [ 23 ] one who demonstrates that he has reached knowledge of how he belongs to him and feels a shared communion has washed in the baptism of Protophanes. And if someone understands their source, how all of them are manifested in but one principle, and how all who are joined become separated, and how those who were separated rejoin with each other again, and how the portions [join together with] the entireties and the species with the [genera], when someone has understood these matters, they have washed in the baptism of Kalyptos. For each place, one possesses a portion of the eternal ones, and ascends [to them. Just as] someone [becomes pure and] single, in this way they incessantly [draw near to] unity. Being [ever] pure and [singular], one is filled [with mentation], with existence [and spirit], even a holy Spirit. [ 24 ] Nothing of him exists outside of him. On the one hand, he [beholds] with a perfect psyche those who belong to the self-generated ones; with intellect those of the triple-male; with a holy Spirit, those who belong to the Protophanic ones. On the other hand, he hears concerning Kalyptos by the powers of the Spirit from whom they have emerged in a far more excellent revelation of the Unseen Spirit. And through the thought that presently exists in silence, even within the First Thought, he hears concerning the triple-powered Unseen Spirit. Furthermore, it is a hearing and a silent power cleansed with the perfect life-giving Spirit, the [primary] perfect and the all-perfect one. There are, consequently, glories assigned as [nurturers] to them. Those who in truth have been baptized in knowledge and those who are deserving are protected, but those who [do] not belong to this category [are ordinary entities], and they [will revert back] to [their original root. One who originates from] the fifth is [contended with those belonging to the aeonic] simulacra. [Each] of the aeons [has] a baptism [of this kind] assigned to it. Should [someone] strip themselves of the world [ 25 ] and put aside [nature], if someone is a homeless and powerless sojourner who acts as others do, or if someone sinless repents, being contented with knowledge, and is not worried about anything pertaining to the world, baptisms are assigned for each of these respectively: First is the path (leading) to the self-generated ones, the (path) in which on each occasion you have been baptized, being proper for beholding the [perfect] ones. It is a universal knowledge that originated from the powers of the self-generated ones. Then follows the (second) baptism you are to conduct when you relocate to the all-perfect aeons. The third baptism, after washing in it, you will [then] hear concerning those [that exist] in truth in [that] place. Next, regarding [these] names, they resemble the following: There exists a singularity, [even a singular genus], resembling [perfected things] on account of their [coming into being amidst] existing things, and [they have come into being because] a mental utterance of them exists, [and because] [ 26 ] there is a name that exists in truth, [as] they do. On the one hand, existents subsist in an idea that resembles them, even its generic resemblance that is its natural quality. On the other hand, one sees, knows, arrives, and becomes like his genus through auditory speech and hearing. By hearing alone, however, they remain powerless, being sensorial and physical, so that they only appropriate things insofar as they can receive them. This is a [distant] image of the sensorial or rational category, and although it excels material nature, it is lower than intellectual essence. Differences Between Souls Wonder not at the differences between souls. When someone believes that they are different (from other souls), they consequently do [not] (believe they are) similar (to them), despite their [participation] in things that [perdure (in existence)]. [Next], if someone [appears] with a [soul] and then [utterly] perishes, then their [souls have become disin]carnate. Someone else [who exists during] his (life)time, and [(continues) existing] for a period (of time), [ 27 ] their soul has become [in]carnate. Next, those who have utterly [perished] are (of) four (categories), while those [(existing) within] time are (of) nine, each possessing its (own proper) quality and tendency. Despite their being similar, they are nevertheless different. Despite their individual distinctiveness, they are nevertheless at least stable. And other immortal souls join together with all of these souls on account of Sophia who gazed downward, because there are three species of immortal souls: Those who have sent down roots in sojourn possess no self-generated power. (Instead), they follow the ways (generated by) others (who are) a single [self-contained] species. Second are those who stand [on] repentance. They [were not undecided about] transgression, because knowledge sufficed [for] them, (but) because they are neophytes, [they still sin]. This category, nevertheless, also possesses differentiations. Some of [these] have sinned, (while) others [also] [ 28 ] have repented, and yet others [merely plan to repent]. Consequently, there are [three] categories of these latter ones: Those who have committed every sin, but have repented, those who have sinned in part, and those who planned to sin, (but did not). For this reason, their aeons are even six, in accord with the place reached by each one of their souls. The third category belongs to the souls of the self-generated ones, possessing an indescribable but knowable, rational narration of the truth, in addition to self-generated [power] and eternal [life. And] they possess four differentiations in the same mode: Angelic forms, those who love truth, those who hope, and those who are faithful. [In fact], they [also] have [consorts], and they dwell [inside them as four places of] the self-generated ones: [The first] is that of [perfect life]. The [second] is [that of mentation]. The [third is that of eternal] knowledge. The fourth is that which [pertains to] deathless [souls]. The Four Lights and the Ascent of the Soul [ 29 ] The Four Lights dwell [there] in the same mode: [Arm]ozel [is assigned] to the first aeon, (being) a longing for God and truth, one who joins souls (together). Oroiael, a seer of truth, is assigned to the second. Daveithe, a seeing of knowledge, is assigned to the third. Eleleth, a fervent desire and eagerness for truth, is assigned to the fourth. The four exist as intellectual utterances of truth and knowledge. They exist, despite their not belonging to Protophanes, but to the Mother. A thought of the perfectly illuminated mind causes deathless souls to attain knowledge. [He who is sufficient] for them is [the God] Arse[n]oas, the Self-Generated One, a revelation [from the power] of all of them, [because] he is an [intelligible], unspeakable mental utterance [of the] truth who [proclaims plainly] concerning the [Perfect Mind], which is that it is a loftier [principle inseparably] [ 30 ] [united] in a communion between itself and an [intelligible] light and thought inside its own (proper) aeon. Even Adam is the [Perfect] Human, an eye of the Self-Generated One. His knowledge is aware of the divine Self-Generated One as a mental utterance of the truthful Perfect Mind. The son of Adam, Seth, approaches each soul as sufficient knowledge for them, which is why the [seed] of life originated from him. Mirothea is [she in whom] the divine Self-Generated One [appeared] together with [Adamas]. She is a thought of the Perfect Mind pertaining to her own existence, to what she is, to [how] she existed in the past, and to how she exists in the present. God, the Self-Generated One, therefore, is a mental principle and is knowledge, a knowledge [that originates from a mental power]. Congruent with this, [the soul of] Adamas [is singular, being the power] of the [singular ones to whom] it appeared. [It is a] transfiguration of souls. It is also [a power of the] Perfect [Mind]. For the sake of [those who are perfect and] the angelic host [ 31 ] [it has frequently appeared]. Consequently, [if the cosmic] soul [exists that makes them and pre-exists even the sensorial world], the aeonic simulacra [that] in truth [exist, and the sojourn] that [in truth exists, and] repentance, [(these) are the ascent] to this place, up [to the self-generated] aeons that exist [in truth]. Should [the soul discover] and love [the truth], she will stand on [the fourth] aeon, [obtaining] Eleleth the light, [which will] become a meditative [thought]. [And if] it hopes and senses, it will become a [masculine] gendered [angel] that has stood on [the third, obtaining Daveithe the light]. [ 32 ] [If] it is united [to the truth, it will then] stand [on the] first [aeon, obtaining] Ar[mozel the light]. [If you turn into] an [angel of the intelligible world, and if you ascend] to [that (angelic) power], you [will] stand on [the first aeon], the light that [is above all of them]. That aeon is beyond measuring [and is great]. [If you reach] just those, [you will plummet] from the perfect [aeons and] from that power, [(regardless of) whether] or [not] one can [strengthen] all the [forms] of his [deathless] soul, (including) not [just] the sensorial and [measurable one, but] also the un[utterable] single [perfect] one. [. . .] [ 33 ] [. . .] Adamas, and [. . . God], the Self-Gen[erated One], and he ascends [to Protophanes, the great Perfect] Mind. The [ungenerated] god Kalyptos [who fore]knows [. . .] [ 34 ] [. . .] [ 35 ] [she stands. And should] a soul [. . . it again turns into an angel], and [if the angels and the other godly entities turn into] worldly entities, the holy [soul will be] superior. The Aeons, the Triple-Male Child, and Barbelo With regard to the aeons that are [inferior to the self-generated] ones, [they also] possess [other] waters, (namely), the [water of the holy soul, and also those (waters) of] the archons. [These waters, however], possess [yet other differentiations], concerning which it is in[appropriate for] the soul to speak. [The unseen] male [stands in front of] it and [in front of] God, the [Self-Generated O]ne [. . .] who exists [. . .] hear [. . .] the Self-Generated One [. . .] of [. . . any] [ 36 ] [model whatsoever. He] possesses [a mental utterance] of existence [so that he could become] life [for all those who] exist for the sake of [a lucid] mental utterance [of the truth]. The [perfect triple]-male Child [is] a model [of] God, the Self-Generated One], a power of the Unseen] Spirit, [and a thought inside] the Perfect [Mind, as well as a] harmony of [a primary principle] with a principle [and of a primary] source with [a source. He is a power] of Barbel[o, and he is a revelation] and a [thought inside] the Perfect Mind. [The] secondary principles are those of [awareness of the] thought [that originated] from the [light that dwells] in Barbel[o. . .]. And Kalyptos [. . .] [ 37 ] in that one [originates either from] the power [of] that one, [or she] originates from [its aeon], yet she originates from the power of that one, [the one who exists in truth], because she [exists] as his [image. He is the one who pre-exists]. Despite their being pre-[existent, they are offshoots] of that pre-existence [which belongs to him alone]. And he is the [the unchanging one]. Only he [can be] self-sufficient, [because he possesses no] deficiency. [. . .] [ 38 ] [The triple-male Child is] a [thought] of the Perfect [Mind, because he is awareness] and (because) he [is a triple-powered] perfect spirit. [He is a] perfect [male], eternally living [because he is an unseen god]. And [he exists because] this one pre-existed [before him. He is the mental utterance] of the [Perfect Mind, because] he is [a mental utterance] from [. . .] which is in [. . .]. [. . . they possess] all of these eternally [. . . existing in] the triple-[powered . . .] is in the [. . . they are like] those that [are joined together, being] perfect [. . .] the [Perfect] Mind Protopha[nes], but [. . .]. [ 39 ] [. . . him] as though he [alone] exists, and as though [he is] different [from existing things], that is, [what possesses] privation. [. . .] [ 40 ] [ Protophanes, the unseen male Perfect Mind, is] the knowledge of [the triple-male Child, and] he possesses [his own (proper) existence] inside the ungenerated [Kalyptos. He possesses the] third [of those aeons, because he] possesses [mentation]. And he [encompasses those who] dwell with one another [so that they become] completely perfect [and blessed], because there is no [. . .] [ 41 ] [ The male Perfect Mind Pr]oto[phanes possesses every] power [that dwells] completely [united] inside [him], and he [dwells inside them]. And his knowledge [is a mighty God], the Self-Generated [One], and [God, the Self-Generated One, is a principle] pertaining to the [perfect] triple-male Child. And this male [is a model and species pertaining to the] Perfect [Mind], even though it does not encompass [these] inside a [singular] knowledge resembling that one. [And he is] a measure for the individuals and a singular knowledge for the individuals, [both] the corporately [and individually] perfect ones. And the male [Perfect] Mind [is] a [knowledge of] the Kalyptos, and the divine [ungenerated] Kalyptos [is a principle and a reason] and a power [and an existence] for all of them [. . .] in truth [. . .] [Pro]to[phanes . . .] Pro-[ 42 ] to[phanes . . .] one another [. . .] mind [. . .] they [exist with one another . . . corporately . . . the] ungenerated [Kalyptos . . .]. Categories of Humans [. . .] human [. . .] because they [belong to all those who are to be saved], and to the one who [is to save them]. The [one who repents and] the one who sojourns [and the one who inhabits] the sensorial [world] (all) live (together) with what is dead. All [of them . . . resemble a singular entity who] reaches salvation [apart from] the dead. At the beginning, [not one] of them was in need of salvation, yet salvation is now more necessary because they have become degraded. Regarding the category of person who is dead, their soul, [their mind], and their body [are] all [dead]. [(With) imperceptible] sufferings, (these) fathers of [material men are demons] whom the fire [devours. They are worldly . . .] [ 43 ] which is transformed. The second category of person is the deathless soul that dwells in dead entities, preoccupying themselves with them. [This is because] they then [set out on] a search for certain benefits, [and they] undergo bodily suffering. (The soul) [is handled bodily], and they [forget they possess] an eternal God, (while) they associate with demons. If the humanity in the sojourn interiorly possesses a discovery of truth, it becomes distant from the actions of others who live [maliciously] and [stumble]. Regarding the category of person who repents, if they renounce dead entities and long for real entities (that are alive, namely), deathless mind and deathless soul, [they will] become fervent for them, initially by starting a self-inquiry not only into acts, but also into effects. This causes them to [assume a different manner of thinking, (so that) the whole place] and [complete] success [will be theirs]. [ 44 ] The category of person who can be saved are those who search for themselves and their minds and who find each one of these, and what great power this category possesses! The person who has been saved is someone who has become aware of these things [not just] as they appear to exist, but someone who is directly engaged with the intellectual faculty as it (actually) exists [in him]. He has grasped their [varying image] in all situations, as if they had become singular and unique, because this category can then be saved. They are able to pass through all of [them], (and) [he becomes] all of them. Whenever he [wants], he once more separates from all these things and withdraws into himself, because he becomes divine, withdrawing into God. [Now] this is what [I have] heard. And I offered up praise: to the living and ungenerated God [who is] truly (God), and to the ungenerated [Kalyptos], to the unseen male Perfect Mind Protophanes, to the unseen triple-male Child, and to God, the Self-Generated One. [ 45 ] I said to the Child of the Child Ephesech, who was with me: Is your wisdom able to teach me concerning the degenerate condition of the category of persons who are saved? Which things are commingled with them, and what things separate them, in order that the living elect can understand? Escaping the Cycle of Reincarnation Then the Child of the Child Ephesech, [speaking] plainly, said to me: When this category habitually withdraws into itself alone, and meditates on the knowledge of other matters, because the mind and deathless [soul] do [not] cognize, at this point it undergoes deficiency, because even this strays, possesses nothing, and divides from the mind, standing [apart] and undergoing a foreign [inclination] rather than becoming a singularity. Consequently, that category of persons is similar to several forms, and when they go astray, they come into being, seeking non-existent entities. As it descends to them in thought, it is not able to comprehend them in any way other than [ 46 ] being illuminated. And the result is that it becomes just a physical entity. This category of person congruently falls into being generated, and grows speechless on account of the hardships and indeterminate nature of matter. Even though it possesses eternal, deathless power, this category is fettered in the grips of the body, [taken away], and [continuously] fettered in strong fetters, being slashed by all the evil spirits until it once more [remakes itself], and begins once more to abide in it. For their salvation, consequently, particular powers have been assigned, and these very ones dwell in this world. And among the self-generated ones, particular glories stand there at each [aeon], in order that one who dwells in the [world] could be saved near [them]. The glories are perfect living thoughts, it being [im]possible for them to perish, because [they are] models for salvation, which is to say that anyone who receives them will be helped on account of them. One will be strengthened by being modeled. Possessing even that glory as a helper, in this way one will pass through the world [and all the aeons]. And these [ 47 ] are the Watchers of the deathless soul: Gamaliel and Strempsouchos; Akramas and Loel, and Mnesinous, [they are] deathless spirits; Yesseus [M]azareu[s] Ye[s]sedekeus is [the leader] [who] belongs to the Child, [the Savior], the Child of the Child, even [the one who knows you]; and Ormos [sets boundaries] for the living seed; and Kam[ali]el bestows spirit; The escorts are Isauel and Audael and [A]brasax; the myriads (are) Phaleris, Phalses, and Eurios; the glorious Watchers (are) Stetheus, Theo[pe]mptos, Eurumeneus, and Olsen. The assistants [in] all things are Ba[thor]mos, [I]son, Eir[o]n, Lalameus, Eidomeneus, and Authrou[n]ios; the judges are Sumphthar, Eukrebos, and Keilar; the inheritor is Samblo; the angels who guide the foggy clouds are Sappho and Thouro. Zostrianos Praises the Self-Generated Aeons After saying these things, he informed me concerning all those in the self-generated aeons, that all of them are [ 48 ] eternal and perfect lights, each one being complete. In each of the aeons I saw a living earth, a living sea, radiant [air], and a fire [that did not devour]. Because all of [these] are singular, they are also unchangeable and singular [eternal living beings] who possess a diversity [of] beauty, several kinds of imperishable trees, and plants of the same kind as all of these, imperishable fruit, living human beings of all species, deathless souls, all shapes and species of mind, true gods, angels abiding in great glory with an indestructible body and ungenerated offspring and immutable perception. Additionally, there was something that emotionlessly feels passion, because it was a power of a power [. . .] [ 49 ] [. . .] [ 50 ] [. . .] [ 51 ] [ . . .] we were blessing: [the Self-Generated One], and Pigeradamas, [and Mirothea], mother of [the one glorified by] her who glorifies [him who begets divinity], [and Prophania], the Mother [of the Lights], and Plesithea, [the Mother] of the Angels, and [the son] of Adam, Se[th Emma]cha Seth, father of the immovable [race], and [those who belong to the] Four Lights, Arm[ozel, Oroia]el, Daveithe, Eleleth. [These] we blessed name-by-name: [the self]-seer, the glorious ruler, the triple-[powered, even the] triple-male Child. Majest[ically] we said: You are one, you are [one], you are one, O Child [ 52 ] of [. . .], Yato[menos . . .] exist [. . .] you [. . .]. You are one, you [are one . . .], Semelel [. . .] Telmachae[l . . .] Omothem [. . .], Male [. . .] who begets [glory, the glorious] ruler, [the] adorable one, he [of] all the completely all-perfect ones, Akron [. . .], O triple-male: AA[AAA] BI TREIS E[IS]! You are spirit from spirit; you are light from light; you are [silence] from silence; [you are] thought from thought, O [Perfect] Child of the God [. . .]. Let us say [. . .] [ 53 ] [. . . let us say] [. . . let us say] [. . . let us say . . .] [. . .] word [. . .] the great [. . .] even the [great . . . God . . .]. [All of us together], we [blessed . . . the] unseen [aeon of B]arbelo [. . .] the un-[. . .] the [triple]-male prones, and the all-glorious one, Youel. [After being] baptized the fifth [time] by these same powers in the name of the Self-Generated One, I achieved divinity. [I] stood at the [fifth] aeon, a dwelling for [them] all. I saw all of those who belong to the Self-Generated One, [those] who truly exist. All the Aeons I was in fact immersed five [ 54 ] times [by Audael] and I[saouel, the Watchers] of the [mighty Yesseus Ma]zareu[s Yessedekeus, the one] from [. . .] that one and [. . .] perfect [. . .] and the mighty [virginal] glory, [the All-Glorious One, she who is of the mighty divine male gender], the [mother who] manifested [all] the twice-perfect [aeons, even] the one who belongs to all of the male species, the glorious [ruler], the mother of the glories Youel, and the [Four] Lights of Protophanes [the male] mind, (and) Selmen [and the one] together with him, the [ones who reveal] God, (namely), Zachth[os] and Yachthos, Sethe[us] and Antiphan[te]s, [Sel]dao and Ele[n]os. [ 55 ] [. . .] In [each one] of the aeons exists a living [earth] and a [living] sea, air consisting of light, and a roaring fire that does not [devour], and living creatures and [trees]; souls and minds and humans, and all those who live [together with them], gods [or] powers, or even angels, because all of these [ 56 ] [. . .] and those [who originate from] the Self-Generated [One. And I] was formed by them, and the aeons [of the] Self-Generated One opened. From the [glorified perfect] male aeons an [intense light] emerged (and shined on [me]. The four aeons were stretched [forth] inside a [single] aeon in the shape of a single [aeon] existing [by itself]. Youel Instructs and Baptizes Zostrianos Then the Child of the Child, E[phesech], [conveyed me . . .]. [ 57 ] [. . .] [there was standing there Yesseus] Maza[reus Yessede]keus [together with those who bestow the radiant crown with seals] on it, [namely, Gamaliel] and Gabrie[l, who are beneath the Great Lights. And] there were four types of seals. The glorious male and [virginal] Yoel approached me. [I] pondered about the crowns, and she [said] to me: Why [does] your spirit ponder [about] the crowns and the [seals] on them? [They] are the crowns that strengthen all [spirits] and all souls, and there are three types of seals [on] them, and they [belong to] the Unseen Spirit. [ 58 ] [. . .] And [these] types of seals belong to [the Self-Generated One] and to Protophanes and to Kalyptos. The [Unseen] Spirit [is] a soulish and mental power, a cognizer and a pre-cognizer. He is therefore contemplated by [Ga]briel the spirit-bestower, [in order that] when he bestows a holy Spirit he could seal one with the crown, even crowning him, as if [he possesses] gods and () [ 59 ] [. . . The individuals are] spirits [existing and knowing him so that they can] be [perfected. They exist alone], even without being [commingled], so that they can [become] singular and [cannot] be replicated [to] any degree. [These] are singular, perfect individuals. [The All] and all of these, [the aeons] of aeons, [perfect] him [and] all of those who are corporately all-perfect. Great [labor] is required to behold them, because [the unseen] [ 60 ] Protophanes, the great male mind [. . .] perfect [. . .] in the [existence . . .] all [powers . . . truly] exist, [because a great matter it was that all of those] heard him [plainly]. And [they were existing] in cognition and in pre-cognition, [because] it is powerful and perfect. It is appropriate, [however], that you [preach] concerning everything (that exists) here, and [concerning] the things you will come to hear through a thought from those who surpass perfection, (namely), the things you will [understand] by means of a soul [of] the perfect ones. [After] saying these things, she [baptized me] [ 61 ] [in living water . . .] from [the great male unseen Perfect Mind Protophanes-Armedon . . .] the first [. . .]. I obtained strength [from her], and [she manifested herself to me and I] obtained image [and likeness]. I obtained [a light] beyond my power of [measuring, and I] obtained a holy Spirit. [I] obtained [true] existence. Then she conveyed me into the great [aeon] where dwells the perfect triple-male. I beheld the unseen Child inside an unseen light. [She] then baptized me once more in [ 62 ] [living water . . .]. I could [see before] the great and perfect [self-generated ones], and the all-[glorious] Yoel said to me: You have [received] every [baptism] in which it is appropriate to [be] baptized, and you have been [perfected in order to] hear all [of these matters]. So now [invoke] Salamex and S[emen] and the all-perfect Ar[me], the Lights of the [aeon] Barbelo, the inestimable knowledge. [They] will unveil [to you] [ 63 ] [those of the great] unseen [perfect male, Protophanes, and the ungenerated Kalyptos, and they will then instruct you concerning the virginal aeon Barbelo and] the [triple]-powered Unseen Spirit. [After] the all-[glorious] Youel [had said this] to me, she [seated me] and departed and stood before Proto[phan]es. I then [remained still] in my spirit, passionately praying in thought to the Great Lights, invoking Salamex and Se[m]en and the all-perfect [Ar]me. Zostrianos is Anointed And I saw [glories] that were greater than powers. Even they anointed me, and I was empowered, [ 64 ] and I [. . .] in [this one . . .]. And the all-[perfect male virginal Youel then departed, having] concealed [them] all. [And I beheld] Salamex [and Semen, those] who unveiled all things, saying [to me]: Zostrianos, [hear] concerning the things you sought. [He] was a [singularity] and a single one, existing before [everyone] that truly exists, a spirit beyond measure, utterly undetectable by any other entity that [exists] inside him and [outside] him, and that [remains] after him. Only he is self-delimiting, [ 65 ] without [parts], without [form], without [attribute], without [color], without [specie], without [likeness] (in contrast) to them [all]. [He exists before] all of them. [He is the principle that exists before all principles], the pre-[cognition of] all acts of cognition, [the strength] of all powers. [He is quicker] than [his movement], he is stabler than [stability], he [excels] compactness [in addition to] reduction. And he is more distant than any inscrutability, and he is more [well-defined] than any bodily entity, he is purer than any non-bodily entity, he is more piercing than any thought and than any body. Because he is] more powerful than all of them, than any genus or species, he is their totality, [ 66 ] the entirety of [the true] existence [of those who exist in truth]. [He is] all [of these], [because he is greater than the whole], [both bodily and non-bodily]. [He is more] individual [than all the (individual)] parts. Because he exists from a [pure in]scrutable [power], [he (is the one)] from whom everything that truly exists [originates], that originates from the only [truly] existent Spirit. This is because they are [triadic] energies of his [singularity], [absolute] existence, life, and blessedness. As for existence, he exists [as] a unitary singularity, as his own [mental utterance] and idea. Whomever he finds, he brings them into being. [And as for] life, he lives and [ 67 ] [continues to be]. [As for blessedness, he obtains mentation], [even] knowing [that] all of these [become] uniquely him. This is because a god [is concerned with nothing] but [what belongs to him] alone. And he [is a singularity] inside himself [and from himself], the singular, [the perfect Spirit], because he abides [in] what (properly) pertains to him, which [exists in the mode of] an idea of an idea, as a singularity of the [henad]. He exists as [the Spirit], abiding in it (in the mode of) intellect, and it abides in him. He does not prepare to enter any place, because he [is] a single perfect, unitary Spirit. He comprises his own place, and he himself abides therein. In fact, he is everything. On the other hand, [there] is also the one who [ 68 ] [comes into being in mentation] and [life], even the one who abides in [him]. And life is a movement of [existence] without substance. What exists in [them] [exists] in him, and on account of [him] [they exist in the mode of] blessed[ness] and perfect[ion]. And [life is the power] that exists in [all of those] who exist in truth. Salvation for the Entirety Blessed is the [idea] (behind) the movement that exists! By obtaining existence it obtains the possibility [of] perfection. Because it never (self-)divides, it is accordingly perfect, being perfect on account of its self-indivisibility. This is because nothing pre-exists it but [the perfect] singularity [] ( pages 69-72 are blank in the codex ) [ 73 ] [that is its] existence, [because] it is salvation [for the entirety]. And if for his own sake someone [acknowledges] him [of whom] it is even [im]possible or [inappropriate to speak], all of these kinds of things [will come to pass], because he [who abides] in the existence [of] this one [exists] in life in every mode. By blessedness he knows, and if he partakes of the [entities that are whole], he becomes perfect. If he, however, partakes in (only) [two] or one, he will be of the kind of which he has only partaken of: [This] is why those who have a soul and those who do not have a soul exist. This is why those who will be saved (will be saved). This is why those will [perish] if they had no [portion] in him. [This] is why matter and bodies exist. This is why [ 74 ] in[corporeality is desirable]. Consequently, [they are products of a whole]. For all [these causes] he is the one who [pre]exists and who [is pure], because he is a [singular] oneness, a singular Spirit who cannot be named, (a Spirit who is) even his own [(proper) existence], idea, and [being], both [in agreement with the] movement that is [his] life, and in agreement with the perfection that [is] radiant mental power. And moving with each other, the three stand together with each other. Everywhere and nowhere he [bestows power] and actuates all of them. The unspeakable one who cannot be named, from himself he [truly] exists, reposing himself [in] his (own) perfection. He has [not] partaken of [any] likeness. [ 75 ] Consequently, [he is unseen by all] of them. [He has received no model for himself], [nor does his existence have anything in the least in common with that of any of those who exist among the perfect ones] and [the singular ones]. The one [who belongs to the All] exists in existence, [and he] abides in the [life] of life, and in perfection and [mentation] and blessedness. All [of these] were existing [in the] inseparability of the Spirit, and it is on account of mentation [that there] is [divinity] and intangi[bility], and blessedness and life, and mentation and goodness. And he is a henad possessing singularity, and (possessing) all things without exception, the ungenerated purity, thanks to whom they pre-exist, all these, in addition to the [. . .]. Barbelo [ 76 ] [. . .] his [] inside the [. . . like an aroma it arrives at the] light [in front of their] aeon. It is a [power that] dwells in a [portion of the] nature of the ungenerated, because it exists continually. It [looked] for him, seeing him [there], and existing as a singular [oneness]. Because he is blessedness perfectly, he [was] a perfect and [blessed] oneness. She is deficient of his oneness because she was deficient of him, because he would augment her with knowledge, and his knowledge dwells outside of him with what meditates on him in an inward way. A reflection and an [image] [ 77 ] deficient of [. . .] and [. . .] it would [have collapsed]. She, therefore, [came into existence outside his] fullness. It was not for her own sake that she desired this attribute of hers (and) that she [was established] outside [perfection]. She became separate because she is an all-perfect instantiation [of] perfection existing in the mode of meditation. Regarding that one, [she] is an offspring that augments him, even what originates from his unspeakable power. She has an anticipatory potentiality, even the primary nature of the ungenerated that succeeds that one, because regarding all the rest [she is] a primary aeon. [ 78 ] [. . . all those who are pure, on account of the existence without substance. It is she who] bestows [repose. It is she who cognizes] and [who pre-cognizes] herself, [existing in truth] in the mode of a [single] aeon in act and potentiality and [existence]. She did not originate [in] time. Instead [she appeared] in eternity, having stood eternally in his presence. She was overshadowed by the majesty of his [beneficence]. She stood gazing at him and rejoicing. Being filled with compassion, [she did not become separate], but when she was [filled . . .] [ 79 ] [. . . of the glories, and she is an existence without substance and a power] that [exists truly. She is the] first existence [without substance after] that one, [and from] the inseparable One the [mental] perfection and mental life that were blessedness and divinity move toward existence in movement. The [complete] Spirit, perfect, singular and unseen, [has] become a oneness in existence and movement, even a singular Triple-[Powered] One, an Unseen Spirit, an image of the one that exists in truth, the one [. . .] [ 80 ] [To grasp] true [existence is not possible], because it is her [source], whereas she is an image (of the source). [She started to] strive, because it was [not] possible (otherwise for her) to join with his [image]. She saw its [deficiency] when it was [beside] his all-perfection, because he pre-exists and is positioned above all of these, pre-existing, being known as triple-powered. There was never a time when the Unseen Spirit [was] not cognizing. [He did not merely] perform an act of knowing, but instead he was [abiding in] perfection and blessedness. [Now] when [she] [ 81 ] stopped cognizing [. . .] and she [. . .] body after [. . . in] a different mode [. . . il]luminate [. . .] she [was] existing [individually as reason] for [the movement downward]. So that she would stop coming forth or growing more distant from perfection, she knew herself and him. And she stood at rest and spread outward for his [sake], in order to know herself and the one who preexists. Because she was [from] authentic existence, she was from what exists authentically together with all things. Having augmented him, they came into existence and they manifested from those [ 82 ] [who are pre]-existent, and [. . .] from the [. . .], because they had appeared [as a] second [mentation]. And they appeared [from the one] who pre-cognizes him, being a space in eternity and a secondary appearance of his knowledge, even the multiplication of his cognition, the ungenerated Kalyptos. And also the truly existent ones stood at rest on Kalyptos, because she congruently knew him so that those following her could come into being possessing a place, and so that those who come forth would not come before her but would become sacred and singular. She is the contemplation [ 83 ] of the pre-[existent] God. [She] spread [outward . . .] to the singular [. . .] salvation [. . .] salvation [. . .]. And he [. . .], the pre-[cognized] light. She was called Barbelo on account of thought, being the perfect virginal male of three categories. And so that [she] would not [be drawn] downward and come forth anymore by those who exist in her and by those who follow her, it was by means of her own knowledge that she originated. She is, instead, singular, so that she could know the pre-existent God, because when she [manifested her production] [ 84 ] [without] generating, she grew superior to those, [and she became a] third [aeon]. [There are] two [differentiations in appearance] between [aeons, and they differ] in this mode: On the one hand [she is a primary aeon] with the [secondary] ungenerated [nature], a secondary [image]. She stood at rest [as the] first instantiation of [what] truly exists. In [a different mode she is] in truth the blessedness of the Unseen [Spirit], the knowledge of the primary existence inside the singularity of the pure and form[less] Unseen Spirit, inside the henad resembling inside the oneness. [. . .] [ 85 ] [. . .] and the [mentation] and the [perfection] moved on it and [it rested], the primary [divine] Kalyptos, all of them: existence and movement, divinity, category, and species, and the powers comprise a oneness. Now, how is he a oneness, that is, not as an individual thing, but as a whole? What is the oneness that is the henad? [. . .] [ 86 ] [. . . existence]. An insight [of the] truth of [that] all-perfect one said [in the form of praise]: You are great, Aphr[edon]! You are perfect, Neph[redon]! To his existence she says: You are great, Deipha[neus]! She [is] his movement and life and divinity! You are great, Harmedo[n], the [all]-glorious one, Epiph[aneus], his blessedness and the perfection [of] the oneness! Everything [that belongs to a single one] is joined [. . .]. [ 87 ] [. . .] eternal [. . .] mental [. . . the perfect virginal Barbelo] by means of the singularity of the blessedness of the triple-powered Unseen Spirit. She who has known that one has known herself, and that one, being one and inseparable everywhere, [took her to] himself, [so that] she could know [herself as] his movement. [He] who knows not [himself is one] who is known [while existing] inside a different [ 88 ] [one . . .]. [I] bless [you . . .], O Be[ritheus, Erigenaor], Or[imeni]os, Ar[amen], Alphl[eges], Elilio[upheus], Lalameus, Noetheus! Great and Strong is your name. He who knows [you] knows everything. You are one, you are one, Sious, Ei[ron], Aphredon! You are the [aeon] of the aeons of the perfect great one, the primary Kalyptos of the [tertiary] movement! [] ( pages 89-112 are unrecoverable ) Kalyptos [ 113 ] (. . .) and angels, daimons, minds, souls, living creatures, trees, and bodies, and those who exist before them: those belonging to the simple elements belonging to simple principles, and those that are in [what is mixed] and those that are unmixed: air and water, earth and numeration, coupling and movement, [delimitation] and order, and breath, and all the remaining things. Fourth powers exist [in] the fourth aeon, those [that] exist in the [totalities] and perfections of all of these, the powers [belonging to] powers, [wholes] belonging to [the wholes], [genera] belonging to [the genera], [angels belonging to the] angels, souls [belonging to the] souls, living creatures [belonging to the] living creatures, trees [belonging to the trees], bodies [belonging to the bodies]. And [. . .] [ 114 ] belonging to him. [Those] who are as though they were generated exist, and those who are in an ungenerated generation exist, and those who are holy and eternal exist. Those who are without change inside change and those in perishability inside imperishability exist. And those who are wholes exist; those [that are generic] and those that inhabit an order and a rank exist; those in [imperishability] exist, and the primary ones [who stand] at rest with the secondary ones [among] all of them exist, [all] those [that originate] from them and [those that] exist [among] them, and [from] these that [follow] them, [and from them . . .]. These [. . .]. And [they] stood at rest [on the] fourth aeon [. . .] they abide [. . .] they abide [. . .] the entire [. . .] [ 115 ] inside them, because it is scattered around. They do not contradict each other, though they are also alive. Among themselves they exist and agree with each other as those who originate from a single principle. They abide in harmony because they all abide in a single aeon belonging to Kalyptos, [despite] their becoming different in ability, because they abide aeon by aeon, standing at rest as is fitting for them. Kalyptos, [however], is a singular aeon [that] encompasses four different aeons. Each one of the aeons possesses abilities, not like the ones who are primary and secondary. 16 This is because all of them [are] eternal, and they differ only [in] rank and glory. [And the others] who are [inside the] fourth aeon, and [inside the aeons] that pre-exist it, [are] divine [. . .] they are [. . .]. [ 116 ] All of them exist in oneness, joined together (as a whole) and individually, perfected in communion, and filled with the aeon that exists in truth. Among them are those who have come to stand as though they existed in essence, and there are those who are [essence]-like actively or [passively]. They exist secondarily, because it is the nature of the ungenerated of the truly existent ungenerated entities that inhabits them. When the ungenerated ones have come into being, their power stands at rest. A non-bodily essence exists there with an indestructible [body]. In [that place] exists the [truly] existent [unchangeable one], [even] what changes [with] change. [Together with all of them] stands [the in]destructible fire [that devours not]. And [. . .] [ 117 ] he stands. All living creatures exist there, existing individually, despite being joined together. The knowledge of the knowledge exists there, in addition to a foundation for ignorance. Chaos exists there, in addition to a [place] for all of them, it being [complete], whereas they are incomplete. True light exists there, in addition to illuminated darkness, together with what is truly nonexistent, [what] is not truly existent, [in addition to] the nonexistent ones that do not in the least exist. But he is the [Good] from which originates what is good and pleasing, even the God from [whom] originates what is divine, in addition to that which [surpasses what is divine], that which is (truly) great. This is because [nothing] partial [exists. There is no] shape together with [that ones] God or with [what is superior to] God. [. . .] all these [. . .] without guile [. . .] [ 118 ] and genus. He has not mixed himself together with anything. He instead abides solitary inside himself, even resting himself inside his infinite finitude. He is the God of those who exist in truth, one who [sees] himself and one who reveals God. The Four Lights After strengthening him who [knows], the aeon Barbelo, the knowledge of the triple-powered perfect Unseen Spirit, [glorified] herself, saying: He [is alive with] life. I am alive with [oneness]. O Oneness, you are alive! He is alive, [he] who is three. You are the [triad] who [is replicated three times: AAA] EEE! [They are] the primary seven [vowels]. The third [(group of) seven and] the second [(group of) seven are EEE]EEEE AAAAAAA [. . .]. And this [possesses four . . .] knowledge [. . .] [ 119 ] portion. What intellect! What insight! What knowledge! What teaching! His Lights are assigned names: The first [is Aphre]don, and his companion is [Arme]. The second is Diphane[us, and] his companion is Deiph[anea]. The third is [Marsed]on, and his companion is [. . .]. The fourth is [Solmi]s, and his companion is Olmis. And Kalyptos exists, having [united] with his idea. And [he is] unseen by all these, so that they all could be strengthened by him, because [he is a god] abiding in the all-perfect [aeon]. Fourths exist who abide [next to Kalyptos] and the First. [And the fourths] abide in a [harmony appropriate] for him alone [and B]arbelo. [He comes next after her because she is their totality]. [The First] Light [. . . he who] [ 120 ] knows him, and the one who is positioned as second. The first of the aeons is the fatherly glory Harmedon. The Second Light is one that [does (in fact) know] him, but all the [individuals] are an insight [of him who] lives in the fourth [aeon], which has revealed [him], as well as all of the glories. [The Third] Light is one [who] does not [see] him, being the mental utterance of all [the forms] as well as of the [glory. He is] the understanding [that abides] in the third [aeon]. Four inhabit him: Malsedon and M[. . .]nios. The Fourth Light is the one who sees [him, he] of all the forms [that are] joined together, abiding [in] a teaching and a glory and a truth of the [four aeons] O[l]mis, [. . .] and the [. . .] the [ 121 ] fifth. The first, which is the second, is the all-perfect Kalyptos, because the Four Lights are there. Kalyptos is the one who has separated once more. They are joined together, and these knowing ones are all of those who are glories. They are all perfect. He is the one [who] knows everything about all of them, because he is all-perfect. From him comes every power, and each one of all of them accompanies its whole aeon. To him and from him all of them come, the power of all of them, the principle of all of them. When he knows [himself], he becomes a [second] aeon and a [second] nature of the ungenerated. [They possess] further aeons [inside] them [. . .]. [If he] [ 122 ] becomes a Barbelo, he becomes a first aeon on account of the eternity of the Unseen Spirit, given that Kalyptos is the second nature of the ungenerated. The Glories These are all the glories: the infinite Aphredons, the unspeakable ones, the ones who reveal, the unchanging ones, all of the [. . .], the ones who reveal glory; the dually manifested Marsedons, the infinite Solmises, the ones who reveal themselves, the ones who are [full] of glory, the ones who [serve the] glories, the ones who bless, the M[alse]dons, the concealed ones who [are revealed], the limits [who] exceed the limits, [and the thoughts] who [surpass the thoughts]. [And he establishes them on . . . possessing] [ 123 ] ten thousand glories inside them. It is, consequently, a complete glory, in order that whenever it can couple and control, it can become complete. In this way, even were it to enter a body and a material change, they would not obtain greater honor for their all-perfection, which comes from him. All these and their companions are perfect. Each aeon in this way also contains ten thousand aeons inside itself, in order that it can corporately become a complete aeon, and each abides in the [blessedness] of the perfect triple-powered Unseen [Spirit before] the silence [of the] fore[known] God, even the knowledge [. . .]. Protophanes [ 124 ] [. . .] a silence belonging to the second knowledge, the first thought inside a harmony of the Triple-Powered One, because he commanded her to know him, in order that he could become all-perfect, and he is in himself perfect. He is known by singularity and blessedness. [He obtained] goodness through that successor of the aeon Barbelo who bestows being on him, but not by the power of the former, but that of the latter. The aeons that exist in truth dwell in silence. Stillness was existence, and unspeakable was the knowledge of the self-established Kalyptos. Having originated [from the] fourth, the [thought from his] thought, the Proto[phanes], the great male Perfect [Mind, . . . Arme]do[n . . .]. [ 125 ] He is his image that equals him in glory and power, excelling him in rank, but not in aeonic degree. He, like him, possesses all of them, alive, abiding with each other in oneness with the aeon inside the aeons. He participates in a fourfold differentiation, like all the rest of those who exist there, and Kalyptos exists truly, and together with him is found Youel, the all-glorious one, the male virginal glory, through whom the all-perfect ones are beheld. Those that stand before him are the three: [The divine] Child, the triple-[male], and the [divine] Self-Generated One. He possesses [three] inside one, which [produces four. The one who] even rules the [. . .] residing on [ 126 ] ten thousand-fold. The first aeon dwelling in him is, from whom originates the First Light Solmis and the god-revealer, infinite in accord with the model in the aeons Kalyptos and Doxomedon. The second aeon is Akremon the unspeakable, encompassing the Second Light Zachthos and Yachthos. The third aeon is Ambrosios the virgin, encompassing the Third Light Setheus and Antiphantes. The fourth aeon is the [triple]-gendered one who blesses, encompassing the Fourth Light [Seldao] and Elenos. He is [ruled] by [the Perfect Mind Protophanes] Arm[edon . . .]: [ 127 ] PHO ZO ZO Z[O] ZSI ZSI ZAO ZOOO ZSEN ZSEN! Those who are individual and the four who are eightfold are alive! OOOO A ! You are before them, you are in all of them! They are inside Armedon-Protophanes, the perfect male, the actuality of all of these who abide with each other. The Self-Generated One Because all of those individuals existed as complete ones, the movement of all the individuals manifested once more. Regarding God, the Self-Generated One, he stands inside an aeon that encompasses four differentiated self-generated aeons. The first aeon of the First Light inside him is [Harmozel], Orneos, Euthrounios, also called [. . .]. The second [aeon of the Second Light is] [Oroiael, Yo]udas[i]os, Ap[. . .], [ 128 ] Arros[iel]. The third aeon of the Third Light is Daveithe, Laraneus, Epiphanios, Eideos. The fourth aeon of the Fourth Light is Eleleth, Kodere, Epiphanios, Allogenios. All of the others who dwell in matter were all perduring. On account of their knowledge of majesty, their boldness and strength, they came into existence and beatified themselves. Because they knew not God, they shall perish. Behold, Zostrianos, you have heard all of these things the gods know not and that are unclear to the angels. Conclusion: The Crowned Zostrianos Descends and Awakens the Straying Ones Regarding myself, I grew bold, even saying: I wonder [still] about the triple-powered perfect Unseen Spirit. How does it self-exist, [even as the cause] of all of them [and of] those who exist truly? [. . .] what is [that ones place], and [what kind is it? And having] said [these things, I was] [ 129 ] greatly [glorified]. And they set [me] down, and (then) departed. Apophantes and Aphropais the virgin-light approached in front of me and escorted me to Protophanes, the great male Perfect Mind. There I saw all of them, how they abide in oneness. I commingled with all of them and blessed the aeon Kalyptos, the virginal Barbelo, and the Unseen Spirit. I became all-perfect and was strengthened. I was inscribed in glory and sealed. There I obtained a perfect crown. I went out to the perfect individuals. All of them inquired of me, listening to the majesty of the knowledge, rejoicing and obtaining strength. When I once more descended to the self-generated aeons, I obtained an authentic image, pure, deserving of insight. I descended to the aeonic simulacra, and descended from there [ 130 ] to the atmosphere of the [earth]. I inscribed three wooden tablets and left them behind for knowledge to those who would come after me, the living elect ones. Then I descended to the sensorial world and donned my image. Because it was untaught, I strengthened it and went around proclaiming the truth to everyone. Neither the worlds angelic beings nor its archons saw me, because I canceled a host of [disgraces] that almost killed me. But I awakened a host of straying ones by saying: Understand, you living ones, the sacred seed of Seth! Do not disobey me. [Awaken] as divine your divine element, and strengthen your sinless elect soul. Take notice of the passing away of this world, and search for the unchangeable nature of what is ungenerated. The [Father] of all of these bids you come while he awaits you. And even when you are treated badly, [ 131 ] he will not forsake you. Do not baptize yourselves with death, nor deliver yourselves to things that are inferior to you as though they were things superior to you. Run from the insanity and the slavery of what is feminine, and choose for yourselves the salvation of what is masculine. You are not here to suffer. Instead, you are here to escape your slavery. Free yourselves, and what has fettered you will be canceled. Save yourselves, so that someone (else) might be saved. The compassionate Father has sent to you the Savior and strengthened you. Why are you hesitating? Seek when you are sought for. Pay head when you are bidden, because the time is short. Do not be led astray, (because) great is the aeon of the aeons of the living ones, and the [judgment] for those who are undecided. Many fetters and chastisers surround you. [ 132 ] Run away quickly before ruin reaches you. Behold the light! Flee the darkness! May you not be led astray to ruin. Zostrianos Words of Truth of Zostrianos. God of Truth. Words of Zoroaster SUPPORT FAQs CONTACT mark.m.mattisonluminescence-llc.net (616) 259-0196 LUMINESCENCE, L.L.C. 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]]> https://clovisstar.com/zostrianos/feed/ 0 Letter from Vienna and Lyons https://clovisstar.com/letter-from-vienna-and-lyons/ https://clovisstar.com/letter-from-vienna-and-lyons/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:07 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/letter-from-vienna-and-lyons/ Letter from Vienna and Lyons: Powerful Insights on Martyrdom

1 Eccl. 5,1,1-2,8), is one of the most interesting documents of the persecutions. It does not conceal the apostasy of some members of the community. Among the courageous martyrs we see Bishop Photinus; being over ninety years of age and very sick in body, scarcely breathing from the sickness, but strengthened by zeal of the spirit from his vehement desire for martyrdom; the admirable Blandina, a frail and delicate female slave, who upheld the courage of her companions by her example and words; Maturus, a neophyte of amazing fortitude; Sanctus, a deacon of Vienne; Alexander, the physician; and Ponticus, a boy of fifteen years of age.

]]> https://clovisstar.com/letter-from-vienna-and-lyons/feed/ 0 Victorinus of Pettau https://clovisstar.com/victorinus-of-pettau/ https://clovisstar.com/victorinus-of-pettau/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:07 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/victorinus-of-pettau/ Victorinus of Pettau: Essential Insights for Unforgettable Study ]]> https://clovisstar.com/victorinus-of-pettau/feed/ 0 Victor I https://clovisstar.com/victor-i/ https://clovisstar.com/victor-i/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:52:07 +0000 https://clovisstar.com/index.php/2026/01/29/victor-i/ Victor I: Essential Insights on a Powerful Figure

Eccl. 5,23-25. St. Jerome seems to refer to these letters when he states that Victor composed super quaestione paschae et alia quaedam opuscula. There must have been another document by Victor because, according to Eusebius, Victor excommunicated Theodotus, the currier from Byzantium, who taught that Jesus, except for his miraculous birth, was a man like all other men, and that he became God only after his resurrection. It remains very doubtful whether Victor was the first ecclesiastical author to write in Latin, as Jerome suggests.

Some Contemporary Texts: Clement of Alexandria (182-202 A.D.), Maximus of Jerusalem (185-195 A.D.), Polycrates of Ephesus (185-195 A.D.), Talmud (188-217 A.D.), Victor I (189-199 A.D.), Pantaenus (190-210 A.D.), Second Discourse of Great Seth (190-230 A.D.), Anonymous Anti-Montanist (193 A.D.), Inscription of Abercius (193-216 A.D.).

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