Pistis Sophia

For it pursueth the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny and separateth them off from the power and from the soul and putteth them on the side of the body, so that it separateth off the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny and the body into one portion;

“--and I sat with you in this region, that is on the Mount of Olives,--that she sang praises to the Light, saying: 1. O Light of lights, I have had faith in thee. Save me from all these rulers who pursue after me, and help me, 2. That in sooth they may never take from me my light,”

For this cause it hath said also: 'Ye shall then know not of what the lord Sabaōth will do ';

and saw there a light. thinking: I will go to that region,

“6. Give heed that thou save me, O Light, for thy mercy endureth for ever. “7. As to my transgression, which I have committed from the beginning in my ignorance, put it not to my account, O Light, but rather save me through thy great mystery of the forgiveness of sins because of thy goodness, O Light. “8. For good and sincere is the Light. For this cause will it grant me my way, to be saved out of my transgression; “9. And for my powers, which are diminished through the fear of the material emanations of Self-willed, will it draw near after its commandment, and will teach my powers, which are diminished because of the merciless, its gnosis. “10. For all gnoses of the Light are saving means and are mysteries for all who seek the regions of its Inheritance and its mysteries. “11. For the sake of the mystery of thy name, O Light, forgive my transgression, for it is great. 12. To every one who trusteth in the Light it will give the mystery which suiteth him; 13. And his soul will abide in the regions of the Light and his power will inherit | the Treasury of the Light.”

I will tell you the type of their chastisements at the expansion of the universe.

the soul and power on the other hand it separateth into another.

then turn ye anew, forgive him, let him pass on through and give him the second mystery in the second | space of the First Mystery.

as the lion-faced power [did]. For thy light is not with me and thy light-stream to save me.

your thrones shall be joined to mine in my kingdom.

And all the powers in the heavens ceased not from their agitation, they and the whole world, and all were moved one against the other, from the third hour of the fifteenth day of the moon of Tybi until the ninth hour of the morrow.

“Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente before Ariēl; and he taketh vengeance on it with his chastisements twenty months. Thereafter they lead it into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons; and he and his demons, one by one, take vengeance on it another twenty months.”

“The mystery of baptism on the contrary remaineth in the midst of the two, continually separating them from one another, so that it maketh them clean and purifieth them, in order that they may not be stained by matter. Now, therefore, Mary, this is the way in which the mysteries of the baptisms forgive sins and all iniquities.”

“When, therefore, the time of the chastisements of that soul in the judgments of the rulers of the midst shall be completed, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth the soul up out of all the regions of the rulers of the midst and bringeth it before the light of the sun according to the commandment of the First Man, Yew,”

“On this account I have said unto you aforetime: 'Where I shall be, there will be also my twelve ministers.”

Perchance ye win the soul of that brother and he inheriteth the Light-kingdom.

And all the angels and their archangels and all the powers of the height, all sang praises to the interiors of the | interiors,

Nay,

that is, none of the rulers will know what thou wilt do from now on,--for they are 'Egypt,'

“Thereafter they carry it on to the way of the midst; and every one of the rulers of the way of the midst taketh vengeance on it another twenty months.”

so that the whole world heard their voices, without their ceasing till the ninth hour of the morrow.

“Adamas is the more enraged against me, saying unto me: Thou hast imprisoned my power in the chaos. 3. Now, therefore, O Light of lights, if I have done this and have imprisoned it, if I have done any injustice at all to that power, 4. Or if I have constrained it, as it hath constrained me,”

But Mary Magdalene and John, the virgin, will tower over all my disciples

and bringeth it before the judge, the Virgin of Light. And she proveth that soul and findeth that it is a sinning soul, and ceaseth her light-power into it for its standing-upright and because of the body and the community of sense,--the type of which I will tell you at the expansion of the universe.

because they are matter. The power then which was in Isaiah, prophesied concerning thee aforetime, saying: 'From now on ye shall then know not what the lord Sabaōth will do.' Because of the light-power which thou didst receive from Sabaōth, the Good, who is in the region of the Right, and which is in thy material body to-day,

“And thereafter they lead it unto the Virgin of Light, that she may judge it. And when the sphere turneth itself, she handeth it over to her receivers, that they may cast it into the æons of the sphere.”

“And again if he hath not done what is worthy of the mysteries, but hath been in transgression and divers sins,”

“then let all these rulers who pursue after me, take my light from me and leave me empty; “5. And let foe Adamas pursue after my power and seize upon it and take my light from me and cast it into his dark power which is in the chaos, and keep my power in the chaos. 6. Now, therefore, O Light, lay hold on me in thy wrath and lift up thy power above my foes who have lifted themselves up against me to the very end. 7. Quicken me quickly, as thou hast said unto me: I will help thee.”

But the disciples sat together in fear

and thereafter again hath turned and been in great repentance and hath renounced the whole world and the whole matter therein and ceased from the sins of the world,

And the servitors of the sphere | lead it into a water which is below the sphere; and it becometh a seething fire and eateth into it until it purifieth it.

And the Virgin of Light sealeth that soul and handeth it over to one of her receivers | and will have it cast into a body which is suitable to the sins which it hath committed.

“for this cause then, my Lord Jesus, thou hast said unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,'--in order that thou mightest know whose heart is ardently raised to the kingdom of heaven.”

“and over all men who shall receive the mysteries in the Ineffable. And they will be on my right and on my left. And I am they, and they are I. And they will be like unto you in all things”

It came to pass then, when the First Mystery had finished saying these words unto the disciples,

“And Yaluham, the receiver of Sabaōth, the Adamas, cometh and bringeth the cup with the water of forgetfulness and handeth it to the soul; and it drinketh and forgetteth all things and all the regions to which it had gone. And they cast it up into a lame and deformed body,”

and were in exceedingly great agitation

save that your thrones will tower over theirs, and my throne | will tower over yours.

“And amēn, I say unto you: They will not discharge that soul from the changes of the body until it hath yielded its last circuit according to its merit.”

so that ye know truly that he is not play-acting but longeth truly after God, then turn ye anew, forgive him and receive his repentance, because the First Mystery is compassionate and merciful-minded;

“It came to pass then, when Mary had finished saying these words, that he said: Well said, Mary, for thou art blessed before all women on the earth, | because thou shalt be the fulness of all fulnesses and the perfection of all perfections.”

“Of all these then will I tell you their type and the type of the bodies into which it will be cast according to the sins of each soul. All this will I tell you when I shall have told you the expansion of the universe.”

Now when Mary had heard the Saviour speak these words,

“that he said: Who hath understood the words which I have spoken, let him come forward and set forth their solution.” James came forward and said: “My Lord, concerning this song which Pistis Sophia hath sung, thus thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David in the seventh Psalm: 1. O Lord, my God, in thee have I hoped.”

“so that all despise it persistently. This is the chastisement of the arrogant and overweening man.”

“and were afraid because of the great earthquake which took place, and they wept together, saying: What will then be?”

let also that man pass through and give him the three mysteries together which are in the second space of the First Mystery.

“And all men who will find the word of the Ineffable,”

“Free me from my pursuers and save me, “2. That in sooth he may never steal away my soul as a lion, without any one to deliver and save. “3. O Lord, my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands, “4. If I have requited those who requite me with evil, then let me fall down empty through my foes. 5. And let the foe pursue after my soul and seize it, and trample my life to the ground and lay my honour in the dust. (Selah.) 6. Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath, raise thyself up for the end of my foes.”

“Thomas said: A persistent blasphemer, what is his chastisement?”

she exulted greatly, and she came before Jesus, fell down before him,

--amēn, I say unto you: The men who shall know that word, will know the gnosis of all these words which I have spoken unto you, both those of the depth and those of the height, those of the length and those of the breadth; in a word, they will know the gnosis of all these words which I have spoken unto you and which I have not yet spoken unto you, which I will speak unto you, region by region and order by order, at the expansion of the universe.

“If that man [then] transgresseth and is in divers sins, from that moment onwards ye are not to forgive him nor to receive his repentance; but let him be among you as a stumbling-block and as a transgressor.”

“Peradventure the Saviour will destroy all regions?”

“For, amēn, I say unto you: Those three mysteries will be witnesses for his last repentance, and he hath not repentance from this moment onwards.”

“And amēn, I say unto you: They will know in what manner the world is established,”

adored his feet

Thus saying, they wept together.

“7. Arise according to the commandment which thou hast commanded.'” |”

“Jesus said: If the time of such an one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Yaldabaōth come after him and bind him by his tongue to a great demon with a horse's face; they spend three days travelling round with him in the world, and take vengeance on him.”

While they then said this and wept together, then, on the ninth hour of the morrow, the heavens opened, and they saw Jesus descend, shining most exceedingly,

“Thereafter they lead him into the region of the cold and of the snow, and take vengeance on him there eleven years.”

and they will know in what type all those of the height are established,

For, amēn, I say unto you: The soul of that man will not | be cast back into the world above from this moment onwards, but will be in the abodes of the dragon of the outer darkness.

“and said unto him: My Lord,”

“hearken unto me, that I may question thee on this word, before that thou discoursest with us about the regions whither thou didst go.”

“and they will know out of what ground the universe hath arisen.”

“For regarding the souls of such men I have spoken unto you aforetime in a similitude, saying: 'If thy brother sinneth against thee, bring him over between thee alone and him. If he hearkeneth unto thee, thou wilt win thy brother; if he hearkeneth not unto thee, take with thee yet another.”

“Thereafter they lead him down into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons, and every one of his demons taketh vengeance on him another eleven years. Thereafter they lead him into the outer darkness until the day when the great ruler with the dragon's face | who encircleth the darkness, shall be judged. And that soul becometh frozen up [?] and destroyed and dissolved.”

and there was no measure for his light in which he was.

For he shone more [radiantly] than at the hour when he had ascended to the heavens,

“This is the judgment of the blasphemer.”

“When then the Saviour had said this, Mary Magdalene started forward and said: My Lord, bear with me and be not wroth with me, if I question on all things with precision and certainty. Now, therefore, my Lord, is then another the word of the mystery of the Ineffable and another the word of the whole gnosis?”

If he hearkeneth not unto thee and the other,

“Jesus answered and said unto Mary: Discourse in openness and fear not; all things on which thou questionest, I will reveal unto thee.”

bring him to the assembly. If he hearken not unto the others,

“Bartholomew said: A man who hath intercourse with a male, what is his vengeance?”

so that men in the world cannot describe the light which was on him;

“She said: My Lord,”

“The Saviour answered and said: Yea, another is the mystery of the Ineffable and another the word of the whole gnosis.”

“Jesus said: The measure of the man who hath intercourse with males and of the man with whom he lieth, is the same as that of the blasphemer.”

will all the men who know the mystery of the magic of all the rulers of all the æons

“And Mary answered again and said unto the Saviour: My Lord, bear with me, if I question thee, and be not wroth with me. Now, therefore, my Lord, unless we live and know the gnosis of the whole word of the Ineffable, shall we not be able to inherit the Light-kingdom?”

let him be for you as a transgressor and as a stumbling-block.'--That is: If he is not usable in the first mystery, give him the second;

and it shot forth light-rays in great abundance, and there was no measure for its rays,

“When then the time is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Yaldabaōth come after their soul, and he with his forty-and-nine demons taketh vengeance on it eleven years.”

and if he is not usable in the second give him the three, assembled together, which is 'the assembly';

“of the Fate and of those of the sphere, in the way in which the angels who transgressed have taught them, if they invoke them in their mysteries, that is in their evil magic, to the hindering of good deeds,--will they accomplish them henceforth from now on or not?”

“And the Saviour answered | and said unto Mary: Surely;”

and its light was not alike together,

but it was of divers kind and of divers type, some [rays] being more excellent than others . . .;

for every one who shall receive a mystery of the Light-kingdom, will go and inherit up to the region up to which he hath received mysteries. But he will not know the gnosis of the universe, wherefor all this hath arisen, unless he knoweth the one and only word of the Ineffable, which is the gnosis of the universe.

“Jesus answered and said unto Mary: They will not accomplish them as they accomplished them from the beginning, because I have taken away a third of their power; but they will raise a loan from those who know the mysteries of the magic of the thirteenth æon. And if they invoke the mysteries of the magic of those who are in the thirteenth æon, |”

and if he is not usable in the third mystery, let him be for you as a stumbling-block and as a transgressor.

“Thereafter they carry it to the fire-rivers and seething pitch-seas, which are full of demons with pigs' faces. They eat into them and take vengeance on [?] them in the fire-rivers another eleven years. Thereafter they carry them into the outer darkness until the day of judgment when the great darkness is judged; and then they will be dissolved and destroyed.”

“Thomas said: We have heard that there are some on the earth who take the male seed and the female monthly blood, and make it into a lentil porridge and eat it, | saying: 'We have faith in Esau and Jacob.' Is this then seemly or not?” Jesus was wroth with the world in that hour”

“they will accomplish them well and surely, because I have not taken away power from that region, according to the command of the First Mystery.”

and the whole light consisted together.

And again in openness: I am the gnosis of the universe.

“And the word which I have spoken unto you aforetime: 'So that through two to three witnesses every word may be established,'--it is this: Those three mysteries will witness for his last repentance.”