Pistis Sophia

“I fulfilled thy will, as the invisibles who are in my region, and as my pair. And I mourned, looking unceasingly and searching for the Light. 15. Now, therefore, have all the emanations of Self-willed surrounded me”

“It came to pass then, when all those who are in the twelve æons saw the great light which was about me,”

For this cause then the disciples thought there is nothing within that mystery.

“And Andrew came forward and said: “My Lord and Saviour, thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David concerning this repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, and said in the one-hundred-and-eighth Psalm: 1. God, keep not silent at my praise-singing. 2. For the mouths of the sinner and crafty”

“Hearken, therefore, my Lord, that I may say it clearly. The word in Booth which David hath spoken: 'Give ye thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his grace is eternal,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, for thou art a saviour and thou art a deliverer for all time.' And the word which hath David spoken: | 'Let the delivered of the Lord say this, for he hath delivered them out of the hand of their foes,”

Peace' on the other hand is the power which hath sojourned in thy material body according to the world, which hath baptized the race of men, until it should make it stranger unto sin and make it at peace with thy spirit, so that they may be at peace with the emanations of the Light; that is, 'Grace and truth kissed each other.' As it saith: 'Truth sprouted forth out of the earth,'

“Jesus,--that is Aberamenthō,--said: Since indeed the father of my father,--that is Yew,--is the fore-minder of all the rulers, gods and powers who have arisen out of the matter of the Light of the Treasury, and Zorokothora Melchisedec”

“for it is because of sinfulness that I have brought the mysteries into the world, that I may forgive all their sins which they have committed from the beginning on. For this cause have I said unto you aforetime: 'I am not come to call the righteous.' Now, | therefore, I have brought the mysteries that [their] sins may be forgiven for every one and they be received into the Light-kingdom. For the mysteries are the gift of the First Mystery, that he may wipe out the sins and iniquities of all sinners.”

“she cried out and wept, she and all the disciples together, and said: Woe unto sinners, for their chastisements are exceedingly numerous!” Mary came forward, she fell down at the feet of Jesus, kissed them and said: “My Lord, bear with me if I question thee, and be not wroth with me, that I trouble thee oft; for from now on I will begin to question thee on all things with determination.”

and had I not shortened their periods, they would not have let any soul come into the world, because of the matter of their refuse | which they devoured, and they would have destroyed many souls. For this cause I said unto you aforetime: 'I have shortened the times because of my elect; otherwise no soul would have been able to be saved.' And I have shortened the times and the periods because of the perfect number of the souls who shall receive the mysteries, that is to say, the 'elect'; and had I not shortened their periods, no material soul would have been saved, but they would have perished in the fire which is in the flesh of the rulers.

“and why the firmament with all its veils hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the rulers of the spheres have arisen and why the sphere with all its regions hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the rulers of the æons have arisen”

“When then the Saviour had said this, the disciples came forward, cried out all together and said: O Saviour, thou hath made us very exceedingly frenzied because of the great deeds of which thou tellest us; and because thou hast borne up our souls, they have pressed to go forth out of us | unto thee,”

“On this account, therefore, my Lord, hast thou said unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,'--that is thou desirest to know whether we | comprehend every word which thou speakest. This, therefore, is the word, my Lord.” It came to pass then, when Mary had finished saying these words, that the Saviour was greatly astonished at the definitions of the words which she spake, for she had become pure spirit utterly.”

“2. Save me in thy righteousness and set me free;”

“This song then Pistis Sophia uttered, rejoicing that she had been led up out of the chaos and brought to regions which are below the thirteenth æon. Now, therefore, let him whom his mind stirreth, so that he understandeth the solution of the thought of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, come forward and say it.” Andrew came forward and said: “My Lord,”

give no answers in that region, nor give they apologies, nor give they tokens, for they are without tokens and they have no receivers, but they pass through all the regions, until they come to the region of the kingdom of the mystery which they have received.

and speak | unto them, saying: Keep watch over yourselves and sin not, lest ye heap evil on evil and go out of the body without having repented

“and the rest also I turned into righteous bodies, which will find the mysteries | of the Light, go on high and inherit the Light-kingdom. Unto Abraham on the other hand and Isaac and Jacob I have forgiven all their sins and their iniquities and have given them the mysteries of the Light in the æons”

“And if one sayeth that name to the receivers of the wicked chastisements and their authorities and all their powers and also to Barbēlō and the invisible god and the three triple-powered gods,”

And the portion of that power remaineth within the soul, so that the soul can stand. And they put | the counterfeiting spirit outside the soul, watching it and assigned to it;

--when, therefore, the retributive receivers free the soul which hath received this one and only mystery of the Ineffable, which I have just told you, then will it straightway, if it be set free from the body of matter, become a great light-stream in the midst of those receivers,

--'truth' is thy material body | which sprouted forth out of me according to the world of men, and hath made proclamation concerning the region of Truth. And again as it saith: 'Righteousness [looked down] from heaven'

is the envoy to all the lights which are purified in the rulers, leading them into the Treasury of the Light,

and the rulers bind it to the soul with their seals and their bonds and seal it to it, that it may compel it always, so that it continually doeth its mischiefs and all its iniquities, in order that it may be their slave always and remain under their sway always in the changes of the body;

“Jesus answered again and said unto her: Well said, spiritual and pure Mary. This is the solution of the word.”

“and why the æons with their veils have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the tyrant rulers of the æons have arisen and why the rulers who have repented have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the servitors have arisen”

“and I gave them commandment moreover to guide her in the regions of the chaos, out of which she was to be led. It came to pass then, when the angels had come down into the chaos, they and the light-stream, and moreover [when] all the emanations of Self-willed and the emanations of Adamas had seen the light-stream, how it shone very exceedingly and there was no measure for the light about it,”

It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples,

--it is the type thereof, that in it [sc. the soul] is the power of the Light, which is the refined silver, and that in it is the counterfeiting spirit, which is the material copper. This, my Lord, is the first thought.

“incline thine ear unto me and save me. “3. Be unto me a strong God and a firm place to save me; for thou art my strength and my refuge. 4. My God, save me from the hand of the sinner and from the hand of the transgressor and from the impious [one]. 5. For thou art my endurance, O Lord, thou art my hope from my youth up.”

“--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'Thy power shone on my right and on my left and surrounded me on all sides of me, so that no part of me was without light.' And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'Thou hast overshadowed me with the shadow of thy grace,'--it is again the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'And thou hast covered me with the light of the stream.' And the word which thy power hath spoken: I was relieved of the coats of skin,”

“straightway if one will say this name in those regions, they will all fall one on another, will be undone and destroyed and cry out: 'O Light of all lights, which is in the boundless lights, remember us and purify us.”

It came to pass then, when the disciples were sitting together on the Mount of Olives, speaking of these words and rejoicing in great joy, and exulting exceedingly

“The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: Question concerning all things on which thou desirest to question, and I will reveal them unto thee in openness without similitude.” Mary answered and said: “My Lord, if a good man hath accomplished all the mysteries and he hath a kinsman, in a word he hath a man,”

--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I will utter this song to the Light, for it hath saved me and saved me out of the hand of the rulers, my foes.' And the rest of the Psalm.

“This then is the word on which thou dost question me with precision.”

and the receivers will be exceedingly afraid of the light of that soul,

“In like manner also those who shall receive mysteries in the second space, they have no answers nor apologies, for they are without tokens in that world,”

“and become strangers to the Light-kingdom for ever.”

“this is concerning what thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David: “1. In patience I tarried for the Lord; he hath given heed unto me and ear unto my weeping. 2. He hath led up my soul out of the pit of misery and out of the filthy mire; he hath set my feet on a rock and made straight my steps. 3. He hath put in my mouth a new song, a song of praise for our God. Many will see and be afraid and hope in the Lord.”

“have opened their chops against me and with crafty deceitful tongue have talked behind me. 3. And they have surrounded me with words of hate and have fought against me without a cause. 4. Instead of loving me they have slandered me.”

“and rejoiced over me and sore oppressed me without my knowing [them]. And they have fled away and ceased from me but have had no pity upon me. 16. They have returned again and made trial of me and they have oppressed me in great oppression”

for we issue from thee.

that they were all thrown into agitation one over against the other, and ran hither and thither in the æons. And all æons and all heavens and their whole ordering were agitated one over against the other on | account of the great fear which was on them, for they knew not the mystery which had taken place.

“my life hath drawn nigh to the world below. “4. I am counted among them who have gone down into the pit; I am become as a man who hath no helper. “5. The free among the dead are as the slain who are thrown away and sleep in tombs, whom thou no more rememberest, and they are destroyed through thy hands. “6. They have set me in a pit below, in darkness and shadow of death. 7. Thy wrath hath settled down upon me and all thy cares have come upon me. (Selah.) 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination for them.”

and placed them in the region of Yabraōth and of all the rulers who have repented. And when I go into the Height and am on the point of going into the Light, I will carry their souls with me into the Light. But, amēn, I say unto you, Mary: They will not go into the Light before I have carried thy soul and those of all thy brethren into the Light.

And when Jesus had finished saying these words, all his disciples cried out, wept with loud sobbing, saying: . . . . . . . . . [LACUNA OF EIGHT LEAVES.] . . . . . .

They have abandoned me, and I cannot go forth.

“which is the space of the first mystery of the First Mystery. And those of the third space, which is without, which is the third space from without [? within],--every region in that space hath | its receivers and its explanations and its apologies and its tokens, which I will one day tell you when I come to speak of that mystery, that is when I shall have told you of the expansion of the universe.”

“When the Saviour had said this, Mary answered and said: My Lord,”

and that man is an impious [one] who hath committed all sins and is deserving of the outer darkness, and he hath not repented, or he hath completed his number of circuits in the changes of the body, and that man hath done nothing useful, and he hath come out of. the body,

“--it is again the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'And they have purified me of all my evil matters, and I raised myself above them in thy light.' And the word which thy power hath spoken through Solomon: 'It is thy right hand which hath raised me up, and hath taken the sickness from me,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'And it is thy light-stream which hath raised me up in thy light and hath taken from me the emanations of Self-willed which constrained me.' | And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'I have become powerful in thy truth and purified in thy righteousness,”

“The second thought is on the other hand that which thou hast just said unto us concerning the soul which receiveth the mysteries: 'If it cometh into the region of the rulers of the way of the midst, they come forth to meet it in exceedingly great fear and they are afraid of it.”

“The rest of the patriarchs and of the righteous from the time of Adam unto now, who are in the æons and all the orders of the rulers,”

“It came to pass then, when Andrew had set forth the thought of Pistis Sophia, that the First Mystery said unto him: Well said, Andrew, blessed one.”

“that they became terror-stricken and quitted Pistis Sophia. And the great light-stream surrounded Pistis Sophia on all sides of her, on her left and on her right and on all her sides, and it became a light-wreath round her head. It came to pass then, when the light-stream had surrounded Pistis Sophia, that she took great courage, and it ceased not to surround her on all her sides; and she was no longer in fear of the emanations of Self-willed which are in the chaos,”

But I prayed.

“righteousness' is the power which looked out of the height, which will give the mysteries of the Light to the race of men, so that they will become righteous and good, and inherit the Light-kingdom.”

“and ground their teeth against me, desiring to take away my light from me utterly. 17. How long, therefore, O Light, dost thou suffer them, that they oppress me?”

“and why the decans have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the angels have arisen”

And Adamas, the great Tyrant, and all the tyrants in all the æons began to fight in vain against the light, and they knew not against whom they fought, because they saw nothing but the overmastering light.

“Now, therefore, because of these great deeds of which thou tellest us, our souls have become frenzied and they have pressed very exceedingly, yearning to go forth out of us on high to the region of thy kingdom.”

--these two alone are the great Lights, and their ordinance is that they down go to the rulers and purify them, and that Zorokothora Melchisedec carrieth away the purification of the lights which they have purified in the rulers and leadeth them into the Treasury of the Light,--when the cipher and the time of their ordinance cometh, that they go down to the rulers and oppress and constrain them, carrying away the purification from the rulers.

“6. I have trusted myself to thee from my mother's womb; thou hast brought me out of my mother's womb. My remembrance is ever in thee. 7. I have become as the crazy for many; |”

“It came to pass then again after all these words, that Jesus continued in the discourse and said unto his disciples: Hearken, that I may discourse with you concerning the glory of those of the Height, how they are, according to the manner in which I discoursed with you unto this day.”

“that Mary came forward and said to the Saviour: My Lord, will then a righteous man who is perfected in all righteousness, and that man who hath no sin at all,”

“This then, my Lord, is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered in the midst of the four-and-twenty invisibles, desiring that they should know all the wondrous works which thou hast done for her, and desiring that they should know that thou hast given thy mysteries to the race of men.” It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Philip say these words,”

and they seal it to it that it may be in all the sin and all the desires of the world.

It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that they fell down all together,

“and saying one to another: Blessed are we before all men who are on the earth,”

and the receivers will be made powerless and fall down and desist altogether for fear of the great light which they have seen.

“and why the archangels have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the lords have arisen and why the gods have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the jealousy in the height hath arisen”

“when I came to the region of the æons, I have through the Virgin of Light made to turn into bodies which will all be righteous,--those which will find the mysteries of the Light, enter in and inherit the Light-kingdom.”

. . . . . . . . . [and lead them forth to the fire-rivers and fire-seas] and take vengeance on it therein for another six months and eight days.

“Albeit at the dissolution of the universe, that is when the number of the perfect souls is completed and the mystery [through] which the universe altogether hath risen, is completed, I will pass a thousand years according to the years of the Light, being king over all the emanations of the Light and over the whole number of the perfect souls who have received all mysteries.”

because the Saviour hath revealed this unto us,

“thou art my help and my strength, thou art my deliverer, O Lord. “8. My mouth was filled with glorifying, that I may praise the glory of thy splendour the whole day long. “9. Cast me not away in the time of age; if my soul fades, forsake me not. “10. For mine enemies have spoken evil against me and they who lay in wait for my soul, have taken counsel against my soul, “11. Saying together: God hath forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is no saviour. 12. God, give heed to my help. 13. Let them be ashamed and destroyed who calumniate my soul.”

It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words which his mother Mary spake,

“Save my power from their evil thoughts and save me from the hand of the lion-faced power; for I alone of the invisibles am in this region. 18. I will sing praises unto thee, O Light, | in the midst of all who are gathered together against me, and I will cry unto thee in the midst of all who oppress me.”

“But straightway when they shall cease from the oppressing and constraining and return to the regions of the Treasury of the Light, it cometh to pass that, if they reach the regions of the Midst, Zorokothora”

“and we have known certainly of him, that he hath sinned | and is deserving of the outer darkness,--what are we to do with him, to save him from the chastisements of the dragon of the outer darkness, and that he may be removed into a righteous body which shall find the mysteries of the Light-kingdom, in order that it may be good and go on high and inherit the Light-kingdom?”

“--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I have become powerful in thy light and purified light in thy stream.' And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'My adversaries have withdrawn themselves from me,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'The emanations of Self-willed which constrained me, have withdrawn themselves from me.' And the word which thy power hath spoken through Solomon: 'And I am justified in thy goodness, for thy rest endureth unto all eternity,”

“great is the compassion of those mysteries which forgive sins at every time.”

“It came to pass then, when they fought against the light, that they were weakened all together one with another, were dashed down in the æons and became as the inhabitants of the earth, dead and without breath of life.”

“And the soul which receiveth the mystery of the Ineffable, will soar into the height, being a great light-stream,”

“9. My eye hath become dim in my misery;”

“For this cause, therefore, have I in this manner brought the mysteries into this world which undo all the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit and all the seals which are bound to the soul,--those which make the soul free and free it from its parents the rulers, and make it into refined light and lead it up into the kingdom of its father, the first Issue, the First Mystery, for ever.”

“And he continued again in the discourse and said unto the disciples: These are all adventures which have befallen Pistis Sophia. | It came to pass then, when I had led her to the region which is below the thirteenth æon,”

And the soul giveth the mystery of the fear unto them and they are afraid before it. And it giveth the destiny to its region,

nor was she any more in fear of the other new power of Self-willed which he had cast down into the chaos | as a flying arrow,

“adored him and said to him: Blessed are we before all men, for unto us thou hast revealed these great exploits.”

“When then the disciples had said this, the Saviour continued again and said unto his disciples: If ye go into cities or kingdoms or countries, proclaim first unto them, saying: Search ever”

“5. They showed evil against me for good and hate for my love. 6. Set a sinner over him, and let the slanderer stand at his right hand.”

“that he said: Well said, blessed Philip. This is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered.”

“Now, therefore, if I lead you into the region of the last Helper, who surroundeth the Treasury of the Light, and if I lead you into the region of that last Helper and ye see the glory in which he is,”

“will such an one be tormented in the chastisements and judgments or not? Or will rather that man be brought into the kingdom of heaven or not?”

“and we have received the Fulness and the total completion,”

“And the Saviour answered and said unto Mary: A righteous man who is perfected in all righteousness”

“then will the region of the Inheritance of the Light count for you only for the size of a city of the world, because of the greatness in which the last Helper is, and because of the great light in which he is. And thereafter I will discourse with you also concerning the glory of the Helper who is above the little Helper. But I shall not be able to discourse with you concerning the regions of those who are above all Helpers; |”

“and why concord hath arisen. “And that mystery knoweth why hate hath arisen and why love hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why discord hath arisen and why concord hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why avarice | hath arisen”