Testimony of Truth

Testimony of Truth

But I will address those who know how to pay heed, not with the ears of the body, but with the ears of the heart. Many have sought the truth and could not find it, because the old leaven of the Pharisees and the scribes of the law has overpowered them. The leaven is the erring desire of the angels, the demons, and the stars.

The Pharisees and the scribes belong to the rulers who exercise authority over them. No one who lives under obligation to the law can look upward toward the truth, for no one can serve two masters. The pollution of the law is manifest, but to the light belongs freedom from pollution.

The law commands a man to take a wife, and a woman to take a husband, and to beget and multiply like the sand of the sea. But passion, which is their delight, rules over the souls of those begotten in this place, those who pollute and are polluted, so that they may fulfil the law. They show that they assist the world and turn away from the light, unable to pass the ruler of darkness before paying the last coin.

The Son of Man came from incorruptibility, a stranger to pollution. He came into the world at the Jordan, and the Jordan turned back. John bore witness to the descent of Jesus, for he saw the power that descended upon the Jordan. He understood that the dominion of fleshly generation had come to an end.

The Jordan is the power of the body, the senses of pleasure. The water of the Jordan is the desire for intercourse. John is the ruler of the womb. But what the Son of Man reveals to us is this: all of you must receive the Word of truth, if anyone will receive it wholly.

For one who dwells in ignorance it is almost impossible to diminish the works of darkness that he has done. But those who have come to understand incorruptibility have become able to resist the passions.

[Text missing] I said to you: Do not build up or gather treasures for yourselves where thieves break in. Instead, bear fruit for the Father.

The foolish imagine in their hearts that they will live if they confess, “We are Christians,” in word only and not in power. They surrender themselves in ignorance to human death, being in error and not knowing where they are going or who Christ is. They rush toward the principalities and authorities.

They fall into their hands because of the ignorance dwelling in them. For if confession in words alone were sufficient for salvation, the whole world would confess and be saved. But in this way they have drawn error upon themselves. [Text damaged] They do not understand that they destroy themselves.

If the Father desired human sacrifice, he would be arrogant. But the Son of Man put on their firstfruits. He descended to Hades and performed many mighty works.

There he raised the dead, and the rulers of the darkness of the world became jealous of him, because they found no sin in him. He destroyed their works among humanity. Healing was given to the lame, the blind, the paralysed, the mute, and those possessed by demons, and he walked upon the waters of the sea. [Text damaged] His flesh [Text missing] salvation [Text missing] his death [Text missing].

How many they are! They are blind guides, like the disciples. They entered the boat, and after about thirty stadia they saw Jesus walking on the sea.

These are empty martyrs, for they bear witness only to themselves. Yet they are sick and cannot raise themselves. When they are made complete through suffering, they say in themselves, “If we hand ourselves over to death for the sake of the name, we shall be saved.” But these matters are not settled in this way.

Under the influence of wandering stars they claim that they have completed their empty course. [Text damaged] They have handed themselves over to death.

[Text damaged] They do not possess the Word that gives life. Some say, “On the last day we shall surely rise in the resurrection.” They do not know what they are saying. For the last day is when those who belong to Christ [Text damaged]. When the time was fulfilled, he destroyed their ruler of darkness [Text damaged] souls [Text damaged].

They asked how they had been bound and how they might free themselves. They obtained self-knowledge: who they are, where they now are, and in what place they will find rest from their foolishness and obtain knowledge. These are the ones whom Christ will carry to heaven, because they have renounced ignorance and advanced toward knowledge. Those who possess knowledge [Text missing].

[Text damaged] the great [Text missing] the resurrection. He has attained knowledge of the Son of Man, that is, he has attained self-knowledge. This is perfect life: that humanity should know itself through the All.

Do not await the resurrection of the flesh, which is destruction. Those who wander by awaiting an empty resurrection are not even stripped of it. They do not know the power of God, nor do they understand the meaning of the scriptures, because of their divided mind.

[Text damaged] the mystery that the Son of Man spoke [Text missing] so that [Text missing] destroy [Text missing]. The Son of Man [Text damaged] wrote a book [Text missing]. Blessed are those who have it within themselves and live before God beneath the yoke of light. But those who do not have the Word that gives life within their hearts will die. In their thought they are revealed to the Son of Man according to their deeds and their error.

[Text damaged] They do not understand that the Son of Man came from him. But when they approach sacrifice, they die like humans and hand themselves over to death.

Those who [Text damaged] are many. They corrupt their minds for gain. But those who receive him with righteousness, power, and all knowledge are those whom he will carry to the heights, to eternal life. Those who receive him in ignorance will be overcome by polluted pleasures.

These people said, “God created the members of the body for us to use, so that we might increase in pollution and enjoy ourselves.” They make God a partner in such deeds. They are not firmly established on earth, nor will they attain heaven. [Text damaged] unquenchable fire [Text missing].

[Text damaged] the Word [Text missing] at the Jordan when he approached John and was baptised. The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. [Text damaged] We acknowledge that he was born from a virgin and took flesh, dwelling among us and receiving power.

Were we also born from virginity, or begotten by the Word? Rather, we have been born again by the Word. Let us therefore strengthen ourselves as virgins with male [Text damaged]. The males dwell [Text damaged] the virgin [Text damaged] through the Word. The Word [Text damaged] and spirit [Text damaged] is the Father [Text damaged].

[Text damaged] like Isaiah, who was sawn in two. The Son of Man also cuts us in two with the Word of the cross. It separates day from night, light from darkness, what is destructible from incorruptibility, and the males from the females. Isaiah is a figure of the body, and the saw is the Word of the Son of Man, which separates us from the error of the angels.

No one knows the God of truth except the one who abandons everything of the world, renounces the whole place, and grasps the fringe of his garment. He has made himself a power. He has subdued desire within himself in every place. He has made himself male and returned to himself by examining himself. [Text damaged]

How [Text damaged] the flesh [Text missing]?

How [Text damaged] out of it, and how many powers does he possess?

Who bound him, and who will loose him?

What is light, and what is darkness?

Who created the earth, and who is God?

Who are the angels, and what is the soul?

What is the spirit, and where is the voice? Who speaks, and who hears?

Who causes pain, and who suffers?

Who begot the destructible flesh, and what is the plan?

Why are some lame, others blind, others mute, and others deaf? Why are some rich and others poor? Why are some without rights and others rebellious?

[Text damaged] He fought against the thoughts of the rulers, authorities, and demons. He gave them no place of rest, but struggled against their passions and condemned their error.

He purified his soul from the transgressions he had committed through an alien power. He stood upright within himself, because he exists within everyone and possesses death and life within himself, being between them both.

When he had received power, he turned toward the right and entered the truth, forsaking everything belonging to the left. He was filled with wisdom, counsel, understanding, insight, and eternal power, and he broke open his fetters. He judged those who had formed the whole place. They found nothing hidden in him, and he commanded himself by power.

He began to know himself and to speak with his mind, which is the Father of Truth, concerning the unbegotten ages and the virgin who gave birth to the light. He contemplated the power flowing over the whole place and embracing it. He became a disciple of his male mind.

He began to keep silence within himself until the day when he should be worthy to be received above. He refused verbosity and contention. He endured everything, bore evil, remained longsuffering toward every person, made himself equal to all, and separated himself from them. Whatever anyone desired, he gave, so that he might become perfect and holy. [Text damaged]

He was filled with wisdom and bore witness to the truth. He will receive his power and ascend to incorruptibility, the place from which he came, leaving the world, which resembles night, and those within it who revolve with the stars.

This, therefore, is the true testimony: when a person knows himself and God, who is above the truth. He will be saved and crowned with an unfading crown.

John was begotten by a woman who spoke, Elizabeth, and Christ was begotten by a virgin who spoke, Mary. What is this mystery? John was born from an old and worn-out womb, but Christ passed through the womb of a young virgin. After she conceived, she gave birth to the Saviour, and she was found still to be a virgin. Why then do you err and not search these mysteries, which were foreshadowed for our sake?

In the law it is written that God commanded Adam: “From every tree you may eat, but from the tree in the middle of paradise do not eat, for on the day you eat from it you will surely die.” But the serpent was wiser than all the animals in paradise, and he persuaded Eve, saying, “On the day you eat from the tree in the middle of paradise, the eyes of your mind will be opened.” Eve obeyed, stretched out her hand, took from the tree, and ate.

She also gave to her husband who was with her, and immediately they knew that they were naked. They took fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. But God came in the evening, walking in the midst of paradise.

When Adam saw him, he hid. God asked, “Adam, where are you?”

He answered, “I have gone beneath the fig tree.” Then God knew that he had eaten from the tree of which he had commanded him, “Do not eat,” and he asked, “Who instructed you?”

Adam answered, “The woman whom you gave me.” The woman said, “The serpent instructed me.” He cursed the serpent and called him devil. Then he said, “Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”

Then he said, “Let us cast him out of paradise, lest he take from the tree of life, eat, and live for ever.” What kind of God is this? First, he was jealous because Adam ate from the tree of knowledge. Second, he asked, “Adam, where are you?” Therefore he lacked foreknowledge, for he did not know from the beginning. Afterwards he said, “Let us cast him out, lest he eat from the tree of life and live for ever.”

He has shown himself to be maliciously jealous. What kind of God is this? Great is the blindness of those who read and do not understand. He said, “I am a jealous God, bringing the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.” He also said, “I will thicken their heart and blind their mind, so that they may not understand or grasp what is said.” These things he speaks to those who believe in him and worship him.

In one place Moses writes: “[He] turned the devil into a serpent for those who are his offspring.” In another book, called Exodus, it is written: “He contended with the magicians. When the place was filled with serpents through their wickedness, the rod in Moses’ hand became a serpent and swallowed the serpents of the magicians.”

Again it is written: “He made a bronze serpent and hung it upon a pole. [Text damaged] Whoever looked upon the bronze serpent escaped destruction, and whoever believed in the bronze serpent was saved.” For this is Christ. Those who believed in him received life; those who did not believe died.

What then is this faith? [Text damaged] You do not understand Christ spiritually when you say, “We believe in Christ,” for this is how Moses writes in every book.

The Book of the Generation of Adam is written for those who belong to the generation of Adam. They observe the law and obey it. [Text missing]

[Pages 51-53 are too fragmentary to restore. Page 54 is blank.]

[Text damaged] the Ogdoad, the Eighth, and that we might obtain that place of salvation. But they do not understand what salvation is. Rather, they fall into misfortune and into death in the waters. This is the baptism of death that they practise. [Text damaged]

He completed the course of Valentinus. He himself speaks concerning the Ogdoad, but his disciples are like the disciples of Valentinus. Their portion is error and the abandonment of what is good, while they favour the worship of idols. He uttered many speeches and composed many books. [Text damaged]

They are revealed for what they are by the confusion in which they dwell, in worldly deceit. That is the place to which they go, carrying their empty knowledge.

Isidore also, his son, resembled Basilides. He too wrote much, but he failed to [Text damaged]. His disciples also [Text damaged] blind [Text damaged] pleasures.

They do not agree with one another. The Simonians marry and beget children, but the [Text damaged] abstain from [Text damaged] nature [Text damaged] passion [Text damaged] droplets [Text damaged] anoint themselves [Text damaged].

[Text severely damaged]

It is difficult to find [Text damaged], even one among a thousand and two among ten thousand, because the Saviour said to his disciples: “[Text missing] one in [Text missing].”

[Text damaged] He possesses great wisdom, discretion, insight, understanding, knowledge, power, and truth. [Text damaged]

[Pages 63 and 64 are missing.]

[Text damaged] in a dream [Text missing] silver [Text missing] the wealthy [Text missing] among the authorities [Text missing] gold [Text missing].

They think, “[Text damaged] we have been freed from the flesh.” [Text damaged] The ones who come from unpolluted incorruptibility [Text damaged] no pleasure or desire or anything else restrains them.

It is fitting that they become undefiled, so that they may show everyone that they come from the generation of the Son of Man. The Saviour bore witness concerning them. But those who are from the seed of Adam are revealed by their deeds and actions. They have not ceased from sinful desire. [Text damaged]

Others unknowingly become involved in death. They are drawn in every direction, taking pleasure in unrighteous mammon. They lend money at interest and pass their time without working. The father of mammon is the father of intercourse.

The one who can renounce these things shows that he belongs to the generation of the Son of Man. He has power to accuse them. He is not restrained in these regions by evil. He makes the outside like the inside. He resembles an angel. [Text damaged] He withdrew and became silent, refusing verbosity and contention.

The one who has found the Word that gives life and has come to the knowledge of the Father of Truth has found rest. He has finished seeking because he has found. When he found, he became silent. He says only a few things to those who [Text damaged] in their discerning heart.

Some enter the faith by receiving baptism, supposing that they possess it as a hope of salvation, which they call the seal. They do not know that the fathers of the world appear in that place. He who understands knows that he is sealed, because the Son of Man baptised none of his disciples. If those who are baptised were destined for life, the world would be empty, and the fathers of baptism would be defiled. But the true baptism is another matter.

It is found through renouncing the world. Those who say only with their mouths that they renounce it are liars, and they will come to a fearful place and be humiliated there. They will be condemned and will possess their evil deeds.

Some of them apostatise through idol worship. Others dwell with demons, as did King David. He laid the foundation of Jerusalem, and his son Solomon, whom he begot in adultery, built Jerusalem with the help of demons, because he received power. When he had completed the building, he imprisoned the demons in seven water jars. They remained there for a long time, abandoned in the jars.

When the Romans went up to Jerusalem, they found the jars, and immediately the demons fled from them like prisoners escaping from confinement. Afterwards the jars remained pure. From those days the demons have dwelt with ignorant people and remained upon the earth.

Who, then, is David?

Who is Solomon?

What is the foundation?

What is the wall surrounding Jerusalem?

Who are the demons?

What are the water jars?

Who are the Romans?

These are mysteries. [Text missing]

[Text severely damaged] triumphant over [Text missing] the Son of Man [Text missing] undefiled [Text missing]. They resemble a salamander entering a blazing furnace. It slips into the furnace. [Text damaged]

[Text damaged] the sacrifice is great [Text missing] the Son of Man [Text damaged] has been revealed through the bubbling fountain of incorruptibility.

[Text damaged] He is pure and free, and he is not envious. He is separated from everyone, from every kind of insolence and envy, whose power is great. He is a disciple [Text damaged] pattern of the law [Text damaged].

[Text damaged] They placed him beneath a doctrine, saying, “Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches to you beyond what we preached to you, let him be accursed.” They do not permit the freedom of the soul, because they are still immature. They cannot observe this law that operates through these heresies. It is not they, but the powers of Sabaoth.

Through [Text damaged] the doctrines [Text missing] they envied some [Text missing] the law in Christ. But those who possess power will pass through all bodies. [Text damaged] the twelve judges [Text missing] the fountain of incorruptibility [Text missing] the enemies there.

He was baptised and [Text damaged] he was made divine. He flew upward, and they did not seize him. [Text damaged] the enemies [Text missing] because it was impossible for them to bring him down again.

If anyone [Text damaged] seizes him in ignorance, devoted to those who teach at the street corners with props and clever tricks, they will be unable [Text missing].

[The ending is lost.]