Pistis Sophia

“It came to pass then thereafter that I ascended to the veils of the thirteenth æon. It came to pass then, when I had arrived at their veils, that they drew apart of their own accord and opened themselves for me. I entered in into the thirteenth æon and found Pistis Sophia below the thirteenth æon all alone and no one of them with her.”

and it came out of the last mystery,

“He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all lords and will raise himself above them all.”

Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: Rejoice in great joy and exult most exceedingly. If ye question concerning all with precision, then shall I exult most exceedingly, because ye question concerning all with precision and question in the manner in which it beseemeth to question.

“And I answered and said unto her: 'If thou seest the gate of the Treasury of the Great Light which is opened after the thirteenth æon, and that is the left [one],--when that gate is opened,”

But she sealeth it with a higher seal and letteth it be cast down into the body | into the æons of righteousness,--that body which will be good to find the signs of the mysteries of the Light and inherit the Light-kingdom for ever.

Now, therefore, my Lord, be not wroth with me if I question thee concerning all with precision and certainty. For my brethren will herald it among the race of men, so that they may hear and repent and be saved from the violent judgments of the evil rulers and go to the Height and inherit the Light-kingdom; because, my Lord, we are compassionate not only towards ourselves,

“21. But do thou, O Lord God, be gracious unto me; for thy name's sake”

“They on the other hand who receive all the mysteries of the second space, that is of the space of the First Mystery,”

And it is those demons which stand under Ariouth the Æthiopian, that enter into strife-seekers until they stir up wars and murders arise, and they harden their heart and seduce it to wrath in order that murders may arise.

“It forgave her sin, in that she had left her region and gone down into the darkness. She uttered the sixth repentance, saying thus: “1. I have sung praises | unto thee, O Light, in the darkness below. 2. Hearken unto my repentance, and may thy light give heed to the voice of my supplication. 3. O Light, if thou thinkest on my sin,”

--if it then hath not found it, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth the soul to the Virgin of Light, the judge;

“5. Save me then now, O Light, for I lacked my light, which they have taken away, and I needed my power, which they have taken from me.”

“and why the angels of the Midst have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the light-land hath arisen”

“Now, therefore, hearken: Is the babe born, the power is feeble in it, and the soul is feeble in it, and also the counterfeiting spirit is feeble in it; in a word, the three together are feeble, without any one of them sensing anything, whether good or evil, because of the load of forgetfulness which is very heavy.”

“And the souls which this authority will carry off in ravishment, pass one-hundred-and-thirteen years in her regions, while she tormenteth them through her dark smoke and her wicked fire, so that they come nigh unto destruction.”

be not wroth with me, but pardon me, that I may once more speak the solution of these words. 'Grace and truth met together,'--it is I, Mary, thy mother, and Elizabeth, mother of John, whom I have met. |

And she sat in that region grieving and mourning, because she had not been admitted into the thirteenth æon, her higher region.

“but if she is not fit, then hast thou [to] cut her off from the Light-kingdom.”

and the judge, the Virgin of Light, proveth the soul and findeth | that it hath sinned and, as she also hath not found the mysteries of the Light with it, she handeth it over to one of her receivers,

“and why the great receiver of the light hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the guards of the region of the Right have arisen”

“The Law hath moreover said: Every one who shall remain without the Saviour and all his mysteries, his parents, will not only die the death but go to ruin in destruction.”

in a word, the receivers of Melchisedec | will snatch it away out of all the regions in which it is, and will lead it into the region of the Midst before the Virgin of Light, and the Virgin of Light proveth it and seeth the sign of the kingdom of the Ineffable which is on that soul.

“Thereafter | they lead it into fire-rivers and boiling fire-seas, to take vengeance on it therein another eleven months and twenty-and-one days.”

“the region of chaos and extermination, in order that all the matters in it which are in that region, might be unloosed and all my powers be renewed in thy light, and thy light be in them all. 11. Thou hast deposited the light of thy stream in me and I am become purified light.”

And I took the third of their power, in order that they should not be able to accomplish their evil deeds.

“Thou then, O Light, thou art my saviour, and thou art my deliverer, O Light. Save me quickly out of this chaos.”

will again abide in the light of my kingdom, expanded according to the glory of every one of them, and every one of them being in the mystery up to which he hath received. And those who receive the higher mysteries, will also abide in the higher regions, and those who receive the lower mysteries, will abide in the lower regions in the light of my kingdom.

“I shall not be able to stand before thee, and thou wilt abandon me, 4. For thou, O Light, art my saviour; because of the light of thy name”

“but compassionate towards the whole race of men, so that they may be saved from all the violent judgments. Now, therefore, my Lord, on this account we question concerning all with certainty; for my brethren herald it to the whole race of men, | in order that they may escape the violent rulers of the darkness and be saved out of the hands of the violent receivers of the outer-most darkness.” It came to pass, when Jesus had heard Mary say these words, that the Saviour answered in great compassion towards her”

“Now, therefore, question concerning what thou wouldst question, | and I will reveal it unto thee with joy.”

“If on the contrary he hath sinned once or twice or thrice, then will he be cast back into the world again according to the type of the sins which he hath committed, the type of which I will tell you when I shall have told you the expansion of the universe.”

“save me. “22. For I am poor and I am wretched; my heart is tumult within me. | “23. I am carried away in the midst as a shadow which hath sunk down, and I am shaken out as grass-hoppers. 24. My knees have become weak from fasting, and my flesh is altered from [lack of] oil. 25. But I have become a mock unto them;”

“then are the three times completed.' Pistis Sophia again answered and said: 'O Light, by what shall I know,--for I am in this region,--that that gate is opened?”

“He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all gods and will raise himself above them all.”

which is the four-and-twentieth | mystery, from within without,

“13. But when they molested me, I clothed me in a sack and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer will return into my breast. 14. I was pleasing unto thee, as unto my neighbour and as unto my brother; and I humbled myself as one in mourning and as one who is sad. 15. They have rejoiced over me, and they are put to shame. Scourges have gathered themselves together against me and I knew not; they were cut off and were troubled.”

--those which are in the orders of the second space of the First Mystery.

“I have had faith in thee, O Light. 5. And my power hath had faith in thy mystery; and moreover my power hath trusted in the Light when it was among those of the height; and it hath trusted in it when it was in the chaos below. 6. Let all the powers in me trust in the Light when I am in the darkness below,”

When then Mary had said this, Salome started forward to Mary and embraced her anew.

“And I answered and said unto her: 'When that gate is opened,”

“and said unto her: Question concerning what thou desirest to question, and I will reveal it unto thee with precision and certainty and without similitude.”

“But amēn, amēn, I say unto you: Even if a righteous man hath committed no sins at all, he cannot possibly be brought into the Light-kingdom, because the sign of the kingdom of the mysteries is not with him. In a word, it is impossible to bring souls into the Light without the mysteries of the Light-kingdom.”

Grace' then is the power of Sabaōth in me,

And she was moreover grieving because of the torments which Self-willed, who is one of the three triple-powers, had inflicted on her.

“16. They have brought me to trial and mocked me with mocking;”

“And thereafter they carry it on to the way of the midst, and every one of the rulers on the way of the midst chastizeth it in his chastisements another eleven months and twenty-and-one days.”

“He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all light-givers and will raise himself above them all.”

Moreover the body also is feeble. And the babe eateth of the delights of the world of the rulers;

“It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she rejoiced in great joy and exulted most exceedingly and said unto Jesus: My Lord and Saviour,”

“And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, saying: This is the third repentance of Pistis Sophia,”

“This again is the second song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered.”

“When then Peter had said this, the Saviour knew that Peter was compassionate as he and forgiving. When then all this was said, the Saviour said unto his disciples: Have ye understood all these words and the type | of this woman?”

“and why the leaders of them have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the gate of life hath arisen and why Sabaōth, the Good, hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the region of the Right hath arisen”

“And if it hath not yet completed its number of circuits in the changes of the soul, or [in the changes] of the body,”

“This is the allotment of the second king for those who receive the mystery of the second space of the First Mystery.”

“they saw me and wagged their heads. 26. Help, O Lord God, and save me according to thy grace.”

“And the Fate and the sphere, over which they rule, I have changed, and set them facing the left six months and accomplishing their influences, and I have set them turned another six months to the right and accomplishing their influences.”

“And thereafter, when the sphere turneth itself, and the little Sabaōth, the Good, who is called in the world Zeus, cometh, and he cometh to the fourth æon of the sphere, that is the Crab, and Boubastis, who is called in the world Aphroditē, cometh into the tenth æon of the sphere which is called the | Goat, at that time the veils which are between those of the Left and those of the Right, draw themselves aside,”

and her receiver leadeth it and casteth it into the body, and it cometh not out of the changes of the body before it hath yielded its last circuit,'

“the Virgin of Light sealeth it with an excellent seal and hasteth to have it cast down in any month into a righteous body which shall find the mysteries of the Light, be good and go on high into the Light-kingdom. And if that soul hath had its number of the circuits,”

and the power draweth into itself from the portion of the power which | is in the delights;

“Those on the other hand who receive the mysteries of the third space, that is of the first space from without, those again will abide behind the second king, expanded in the light of my kingdom, according to the glory of every one of them, every one abiding in the region up to which he hath received mysteries, so that those who receive the higher mysteries, will abide in the higher regions, and those who receive the lower mysteries, will abide in the lower regions.”

“Mary answered and said: My Lord, I have understood the mysteries of the things which have fallen to this woman's lot. Concerning the things then which have fallen to her lot, thou hast spoken unto us aforetime in similitude, saying: 'A man owned a fig-tree in his vineyard; and he came to look for its fruit, and he found not a single one on it.”

“and may they again trust in the Light if they come into the region of the height. “7. For it is [the Light] which hath compassion on us and delivereth us; and a great saving mystery is in it. 8. And it will save all powers out of the chaos because of my transgression. For I have left my region and am come down into the chaos.' Now, therefore, whose mind is exalted, let him understand.”

And that light-power came down over Jesus and surrounded him entirely,

“of what manner then are the four-and-twenty invisibles and of what type, or rather of what quality are they, or of what quality is then their light?”

“27. May they know that this is thy hand, and that thou, O Lord, hast fashioned them.”

“and Yew looketh forth to the right; the whole world becometh alarmed and is agitated together with all the æons of the sphere. And he looketh on the dwellings of Ariouth the Ethiopian, so that her regions are dissolved and ruined, and all the souls which are in her chastisements are carried off and cast back into the sphere anew, because they are ruined through her dark smoke and her wicked fire.”

“--concerning this word, then, my Lord, thou hast said unto us aforetime: 'Be reconciled with thy foe as long as thou art on the way with him, lest perchance thy foe hand thee over to the judge and the judge hand thee over to the servant and the servant cast thee into prison, and thou shalt not come forth out of that region till thou hast yielded the last farthing.' Because of this manifestly is thy word: Every soul which cometh forth out of the body and travelleth on the way with the counterfeiting spirit”

“Salome said: The Saviour hath power to make me understanding like thyself.” It came to pass, when the Saviour had heard the words of Mary, that he called her most exceedingly blessed.”

which went forth out of me, which thou art. Thou hast had mercy on the whole race of men.

“they have ground | their teeth against me. 17. O Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? Restore again my soul from their evil works and save my only one from the hands of the lions. 18. I will confess to thee, O Lord, in the great assembly, and I will sing praises to thee in the midst of a countless people.”

they who are in all the æons will know because of the Great Light which will obtain in all their regions.

“It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that John came forward and said: My Lord, suppose a sinning and a law-breaking man is replete in all iniquities,”

“Thereafter they carry it to the Virgin of Light, who judgeth the righteous and the sinners, that she may judge it.”

“and why the light-land, which is the treasury of the light, hath arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the emanations of the light have arisen and why the twelve saviours have arisen. And that mystery knoweth why the three gates of the treasury of the light have arisen”

“He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all pure [ones] and will raise himself above them all.”

“Who then hath understood this repentance, let him come forward and speak it.”

“It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she rejoiced with great joy and exulted exceedingly and said unto Jesus: My Lord, by how much greatness then is the second Helper greater than the first Helper? By how much distance”

“When then he had said this to his disciples, he said unto them: Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

“But this,--when I shall come to speak with you respecting their expansion, | I will tell you the mystery, how this befell her. It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia saw me shining most exceedingly and with no measure for the light which was about me,”

“that he said unto them: Let him in whom a sensitive spirit hath arisen, come forward and speak the thought of the repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered.”

“The Saviour answered and said unto Mary in the midst of his disciples: Hearken, therefore, Mary, who it is who compelleth the man until he sinneth.”

Truth' on the other hand is the power in Elizabeth, which is John, who did come and hath made proclamation concerning the way of Truth, which thou art,--who hath made proclamation before thee. And again, 'Grace and truth met together,'--that is thou, my Lord, thou who didst meet John on the day when thou hadst to receive the baptism.

“is he distant from him, or rather how many times more does he shine than the latter?”

then the Virgin of Light proveth it, and doth not have it chastized, because it hath had its number of circuits, but handeth it over to the seven virgins of the Light.

“It came to pass then, when the First Mystery had finished saying these words, that Matthew came forward and said: I have understood the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered. Now, therefore, give commandment unto me, that I speak it in openness.”

It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she gazed fixedly into the air for the space of an hour.

“These are the three allotments of the Light-kingdom. The mysteries of these three allotments of the Light are exceedingly numerous. Ye shall find them in the two great Books of Yew.”

“This is then the solution of the twelfth repentance which Pistis Sophia uttered, when she was in the chaos.”

“It came to pass then, before Jesus had finished speaking, that Martha came forward, fell down at his feet, kissed them, cried aloud and wept with lamentation and in humbleness, saying: My Lord, have mercy upon me and have compassion with me, and let me speak the solution of the repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered.”

But see, I have now settled that they shall venture no ill against thee, until the three times are completed.

“19. Let not them who unjustly treat me as a foe, rejoice over me,”

“He continued further in his discourse and said: The third order is called Triple-faced Hekatē, and there are under her authority seven-and-twenty [arch]demons, and it is they which enter into men and seduce them to perjuries and lies and to covet that which doth not belong to them. The souls then which Hekatē beareth hence in ravishment, she handeth over to her demons which stand under her, in order that they may torment them through her dark smoke and her wicked fire, they being exceedingly afflicted through the demons.”

“that she was in great agitation and gazed at the light of my vesture. She saw the mystery of her name on my vesture and the whole glory of its mystery, for formerly she was in the region of the height, in the thirteenth æon,--but she was wont to sing praises to the higher light, which she had seen in the veil of the Treasury of the Light. It came to pass then, when she persisted in singing praises to the higher light,”

He said to the vine-dresser: Lo, three years do I come to look for fruit on this fig-tree, and I have not any produce at all from it. Cut it down then; why doth it make the ground also good for nothing?

while he was seated removed from his disciples,

“He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all triple-powers and will raise himself above them all.”

and the soul draweth into itself from the portion of the soul which is in the delights;