Sophia of Jesus Christ

Sophia of Jesus Christ

After he had risen from among the dead, his twelve disciples and seven women continued as his followers and went to Galilee, to the mountain called Harvesting Place and Joy. When they had gathered, they were perplexed concerning the nature of the universe, the plan, divine providence, the power of the authorities, and the manner in which the Savior acts with them in the mystery of the plan.

The Savior appeared, not in his former visible form, but as the invisible Spirit. His likeness was like that of a great radiant angel, yet what he resembled cannot be described, for no mortal can endure it. It was wholly pure and perfect flesh, like that which he had taught them about on the mountain called the Mount of Olives in Galilee.

He said, “Peace be with you. My peace I give you.” And they were all astonished and afraid.

The Savior laughed and said to them, “What are you thinking about? Why are you troubled? What are you seeking?”

Philip said, “We seek the nature of the universe and its plan.”

The Savior said to them, “I want you to understand that all who have been born upon the earth from the foundation of the world until now, though they have sought God—who he is and what he is like—have not found him. The wisest among them have speculated from the ordering and movement of the world, but their speculation has not reached the truth.

“The philosophers say that the order of the world is governed in three ways, and they disagree. Some say that the world governs itself. Others say that providence governs it. Others say that fate governs it. None of these is true.

“None of these three opinions comes near the truth, for they arise from human beings. But I came from the Infinite Light, for I know him, and I am here to tell you the truth exactly. What originates from itself is impure, for it made itself. Providence possesses no wisdom, and fate possesses no discernment.

“But to you it has been given to know. Whoever is worthy of knowledge will receive it—whoever was not begotten through the sowing of impure intercourse, but by the First One who was sent, for he is immortal among mortals.”

Matthew said to him, “Lord, no one can discover the truth except through you. Teach us the truth.”

The Savior said, “He Who Is is ineffable. No power knew him, nor authority, nor anything contingent, nor anything created from the foundation of the world until now, except he himself and anyone to whom he chooses to reveal himself through the one who came from the First Light. I am the Great Savior.

“He is immortal and eternal. He is eternal and unborn, for whatever is born will perish. He is unbegotten and without beginning, for whatever has a beginning has an end. Since no one rules over him, he has no name, for whoever has a name was made by another.

“He possesses an appearance that belongs to him alone, unlike anything you have seen or understood. It is an incomprehensible appearance that surpasses all things and is greater than the universe. It looks in every direction and beholds itself from itself.

“Because he is infinite, he cannot be comprehended. He is forever imperishable, and nothing resembles him. He is the unchanging Good. He is without defect. He is eternal. He is blessed. He cannot be known, yet he knows himself. He is immeasurable and unsearchable. He is perfect and without deficiency. His blessedness is imperishable. He is called the Father of the Universe.”

Philip said, “Lord, how did he appear to the perfect ones?”

The perfect Savior said, “Before anything visible appeared, majesty and authority existed in him, for he embraces the totality, while nothing embraces him. He is all mind, thought, reflection, consideration, reason, and power. These are equal powers and the sources of the totality. Their entire race, from first to last, was in the foreknowledge of the infinite, unbegotten Father.”

Thomas said, “Lord and Savior, why did these come into being, and why were they revealed?”

The perfect Savior said, “I came from the Infinite to tell you everything. The Spirit Who Is begot, possessing the power of a begetter and the nature of one who gives form, so that the great wealth hidden within him might be revealed.

“Because of his mercy and love, he desired to bring forth fruit from himself, so that he would not enjoy his goodness alone, but so that other spirits of the immovable generation might bring forth bodies and spirits, glory and honor in imperishability, and his infinite gift. Thus his treasure might be revealed through the self-begotten God, the Father of all imperishability and of those who would afterward come into being, though they had not yet appeared.

“There is a great distinction among the imperishable ones. Let whoever has ears to hear concerning the infinite ones hear. I have spoken to those who are awake.

“Whatever came from what is perishable will perish, for it came from what is perishable. But what came from what is imperishable will not perish, but will be imperishable. Many went astray because they did not know this distinction, and they died.”

Mary said, “Lord, how can we know this?”

The perfect Savior said, “Begin with hidden things and proceed to the end of visible things, and the emanation of Thought will reveal to you how faith in invisible things is found in visible things—those things that belong to the unbegotten Father. Let whoever has ears to hear hear.

“The Lord of the Universe is not called Father but Forefather, for the Father is the source of those who will become visible, while he is the Forefather without beginning. He beholds himself within himself as in a mirror and appeared in his own likeness as the divine Self-Father, the one reflected among the reflected ones, the First Existent, the unbegotten Father. He is as ancient as the Light that is before him, though he is not equal to it in power.

“Afterward he revealed many self-reflecting, self-begotten ones, equal in age and power, existing in glory without number. Their race is called the Generation over Which There Is No Kingdom, from the one among whom you yourselves appeared. That whole multitude over which there is no kingdom is called the Children of the Unbegotten Father, God, Savior, and Son of God, whose likeness dwells with you.

“He is the Unknowable, filled with every imperishable glory and ineffable joy. They all rest in him, continually rejoicing with unspeakable joy in his unchanging glory and immeasurable gladness. This had never before been heard or known among all the aeons and their worlds.”

Matthew said, “Lord and Savior, how was the Human revealed?”

The perfect Savior said, “I want you to know the one who appeared before the universe. In the beginning, the infinite, self-grown, self-made Father, full of radiant and ineffable light, willed that his likeness should become a great power. At once the source of that light appeared as the immortal androgynous Human, so that through that immortal Human they might receive salvation and awaken from forgetfulness through the one sent as interpreter, who dwells with you until the end of the poverty of the robbers.

“His consort is the Great Sophia, who from the beginning was appointed in him for union by the self-begotten Father. From the Immortal Human who first appeared came divinity and kingdom, for this was revealed by the Father, who is called the Human and the Self-Father. For his own majesty he created a mighty aeon named the Ogdoad, and it received great authority, even authority over the impoverished creation.

“From that light and the threefold male Spirit belonging to Sophia his consort, he created gods, angels, and archangels—countless myriads for service. Because this God created divinity and kingdom, he was called God of gods and King of kings. Within him the Primal Human possesses his unique mind and thought, reflection, contemplation, reason, and power. All the qualities that exist are perfect and immortal.

“With respect to imperishability they are equal, but with respect to power there is a distinction, like the distinction between father and son, son and thought, and thought and what follows. As I said before, among the things that came into being, the monad is first. After all these, whatever appeared was revealed from his power. From the things that came into being came everything fashioned; from what was fashioned came what was formed; and from what was formed came what was named. In this way the distinction arose among the unbegotten ones from beginning to end.”

Bartholomew said, “How is he named the Human and the Son of Man in the Gospel? Which of them belongs to the Son?”

The Holy One said to him, “I want you to know that the Primal Human is called the Begetter and the Self-Perfect Mind. He reflected with his consort, Great Sophia, and revealed his first-begotten androgynous son. His male name is First-Begotten Son of God, and his female name is First-Begotten Sophia, Mother of the Universe; some call her Love. The First-Begotten, who is called Christ, created from the Spirit and the Light a multitude of countless angels for service, because he possesses authority from his Father.”

His disciples said to him, “Lord, reveal to us the one called the Human so that we may know his glory precisely.”

The perfect Savior said, “Let whoever has ears to hear hear. Because he came from radiant light, the First-Begotten Father is called Adam, the Eye of Light. His ineffable, shadowless holy angels continually rejoice over the reflections they received from their Father. The whole kingdom of the Son of Man, who is called the Son of God, is filled with ineffable and shadowless joy and unchanging gladness, rejoicing in his imperishable glory—something never before heard or revealed in the aeons and their worlds that came afterward. I came from the self-begotten and primal Infinite Light to reveal all things to you.”

His disciples said again, “Tell us plainly how the truly existing ones descended from the invisible realms, from immortality into the world of mortality.”

The perfect Savior said, “The Son of Man united with his companion Sophia and revealed a mighty androgynous light. Its male name is Savior, All-Begetter, and its female name is All-Begetting Sophia; some call her Pistis.

“Like a drop from the Light, everyone who enters the world is sent by him into the world of the Almighty, so that they may be guarded by him. By the will of Sophia, the bond of his forgetfulness bound the light, so that through this the matter might be revealed to the whole impoverished world: the pride and blindness of the Almighty, and the ignorance that gave him his name.

“But I, by the will of the Great Light, came from the places above. I loosed that bond and stopped the activity of the thieving tomb. I awakened the drop sent from Sophia, so that through me it might bear much fruit and become perfect, never again becoming defective. Through me, the Great Savior, its glory was revealed, so that Sophia might be corrected from that deficiency, and so that her children might never again become defective, but receive honor and glory, ascend to their Father, and understand the speech of the male Light.

“You were sent by the Son, who himself was sent, so that you might receive light and separate yourselves from the forgetfulness of the authorities, and so that it might never again appear because of you—the impure rubbing that arises from the envy issuing from their phallus. Trample their evil purpose.”

Thomas said, “Lord and Savior, how many aeons are above the heavens?”

The perfect Savior said, “I praise you for asking about the great aeons, for your roots are in the infinities. When those whom I described appeared, the self-begotten Father quickly created twelve aeons for the service of the twelve angels. All are perfect and good. In this way the deficiency of the female appeared.”

One of them said, “How many aeons of the immortals are there, beginning from the infinities?”

The perfect Savior said, “Let whoever has ears to hear hear. The first aeon is the Son of Man, called First-Begotten and Savior, the one who appeared. The second aeon is the Human, called Adam, the Eye of Light. Encompassing these is the aeon over which there is no kingdom, belonging to the eternal, infinite God: the self-begotten Aeon of the aeons dwelling within it, the immortals whom I described earlier. It is above the seventh aeon that appeared from Sophia, who is the first aeon.

“The Immortal Human revealed aeons, powers, and kingdoms, and granted authority to all who appeared in him, so that they might accomplish their desires as far as the last things above chaos. They united with one another and revealed every magnificence from the Spirit—multitudes of glorious and countless lights. In the beginning these were named the first aeon, the second, and the third.

“The first is called Unity and Repose. Each bears its proper name. The third aeon was called Assembly because of the great multitude that appeared, a multitude revealing itself as one. Because the multitudes gather and become one, they are called Assembly, after the Assembly that is above heaven. Thus the Assembly of the Ogdoad appeared as androgynous and was named partly male and partly female. The male is called Assembly, and the female is called Life, to show that the life of all the aeons came from a female.

“All names came from the source. From his harmony with his thought, powers quickly appeared and were called gods. From their contemplation the gods of gods revealed divine gods; from their wisdom the gods revealed lords of lords; from their acts of thought the lords of lords revealed lords; from their power the lords revealed archangels; and from their words the archangels revealed angels. From them appeared images possessing structure, form, and name for all the aeons and their worlds.

“All the immortals whom I have described possess authority from the Immortal Human, who is called Silence, because by silent contemplation his majesty was completed. Since the imperishable ones possessed authority, each created a great kingdom in his Ogdoad, with firmaments, thrones, and temples for their majesties, for all arose through the will of the Mother of the Universe.”

The holy apostles said to him, “Lord and Savior, reveal those who dwell in the aeons, for we must inquire concerning them.”

The perfect Savior said, “Ask whatever you wish, and I will answer you. They created angelic hosts, countless myriads for service and glory. They created virgin spirits, ineffable and unwavering lights, for they suffer neither weakness nor sickness, but possess will.

“In this way the aeons were quickly completed, together with the heavens and firmaments, in the glory of the Immortal Human and his consort Sophia. From them all later aeons and worlds received the patterns by which they created their likenesses, both in the heavens of chaos and in their worlds. Every nature, from the appearing of chaos onward, dwells in shadowless light, indescribable joy, and unspeakable gladness. They continually rejoice in their unfading glory and infinite repose, which cannot be described among all the aeons and all their powers that came afterward. I have told you all this so that you may shine in the light even more than they.”

Mary said, “Holy Lord, from where did your disciples come, where are they going, and how should they live here?”

The perfect Savior said, “I want you to know concerning Sophia, the Mother of the Totality. Together with his mercy and unfathomable nature, the Father revealed his goodness by creating the veil between the immortals and those who came afterward, so that what followed might occur in every aeon and in chaos, that the deficiency of the female might appear and that Error might struggle with her. These became the veil of the Spirit.

“As I said earlier, from the aeons above the emanations of Light, a drop from the Light and Spirit descended into the lower regions of chaos belonging to the Almighty, so that from that drop their formed shapes might appear. This was a judgment upon the arch-begetter called Yaldabaoth. That drop revealed their forms through breath, acting as a living soul. It withered and slept in the ignorance of the soul.

“Then it became warm through the breath of the great male Light and came to understanding. When the breath blew into the immortal one, everyone in the world of chaos and everything in it received names from that immortal one.

“This happened through the will of Mother Sophia, so that in that place the Immortal Human might weave garments as a judgment against the robbers. Afterward he received the exhalation of that breath. Yet because he was psychic, he could not obtain that power for himself until the number belonging to chaos was completed and until the time appointed by the great angel was fulfilled.

“I have now taught you concerning the Immortal Human and have loosed him from the bonds of the robbers. Before them I shattered the gates of the merciless, shamed their evil purpose, and disgraced them all; yet they did not rise from their ignorance.

“For this reason I came to this place, so that they might be joined with that Spirit and breath and become one from two, as they were at the beginning, so that you might bear much fruit and ascend to He Who Is from the beginning, in unspeakable joy, glory, honor, and the gift of the Father of the Universe.

“Whoever knows the Father with perfect knowledge will go to the Father and rest in the unbegotten Father. But whoever knows him imperfectly will remain in the deficiency and rest in the Ogdoad.

“Whoever knows the immortal Spirit of Light in silence, through reflection and agreement with the truth, and gives me the signs of the Invisible One, will become a light in the silent Spirit. Whoever knows the Son of Man in knowledge and love, and gives me the sign of the Son of Man, will go to dwell with those in the Ogdoad.

“Behold, I have taught you the name of the Perfect One, the whole will of the holy angels and of the Mother, so that the male multitude may be brought to completion, and so that in all the aeons they may appear—from the infinities to those who came into being in the unfathomable riches of the Great Invisible Spirit—so that all may share in his goodness and in the riches of their resting place, over which there is no kingdom.

“I came from the First One sent, so that I might reveal to you He Who Is from the beginning, because of the pride of the arch-begetter and his angels, who boast of themselves and say that they are gods. I came to free them from their blindness and to proclaim to everyone the God who dwells above the universe.

“Therefore trample their graves. Shame their evil purpose. Break their yoke. Awaken those who are mine. I have given you authority over all things as Sons of Light, so that with your feet you may trample their power.”

These are the things the blessed Savior spoke. Then he vanished from their midst. From that day onward they were filled with great and unspeakable joy in the Spirit, and his disciples began to proclaim the divine gospel of the eternal Father, who is imperishable forever. Amen.