Pistis Sophia

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished saying these words,

“and said unto Thomas: Amēn, I say: This sin is more heinous than all sins and iniquities.”

And amēn, | I say unto you: If that man repenteth, no mystery can forgive him his sins, nor can his repentance be received, nor can he at all be hearkened to through any mystery, save through the first mystery of the First Mystery and through the mysteries of the Ineffable.

It was of threefold kind, and the one [kind] was more excellent than the other. . . .

And moreover it is impossible to know the one and only word of the gnosis, unless a man first receive the mystery of the Ineffable. But all the men who shall receive mysteries in the Light,--every one will go and inherit up to the region up to which he hath received mysteries.

“On this account I have said unto you aforetime: 'He who hath faith in a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward, and he who hath faith in a righteous [man] will receive a righteous [man's] reward,'--that is: Every one will go to the region up to which he hath received mysteries. He who receiveth a lesser mystery, will inherit the lesser mystery, and he who receiveth a higher mystery, will inherit the higher regions.”

“that Mary continued again and said: My Lord, will not then the horoscope-casters and consulters from now on declare unto men what will come to pass for them?”

“It is these alone which will receive the repentance of that man and forgive his sins; for those mysteries in sooth are compassionate and merciful-minded and forgiving at every time.”

Such men will straightway be taken into the outer darkness and not be cast back anew into the sphere, but they shall perish, be destroyed in the outer darkness in a region where there is neither pity nor light,

The second, that in the midst, was more excellent than the first which was below, and the third, which was above them all, was more excellent than the two which were below.

“When then the Saviour had said this, John continued again and said to the Saviour: My Lord, suppose an exceedingly sinful brother who hath renounced the whole world and the whole matter therein and all its sins and all its cares, and we shall prove him and know that he is not in deceit and play-acting but that in uprightness and in truth he longeth [after God],”

And every one will abide in his region in the light of my kingdom,

And the first glory, which was placed below them all,

but howling and grinding of teeth.

“And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: If the horoscope-casters find the Fate and the sphere turned towards the left, according to their first extension, their words will come to pass, and they will say what is to take place.”

But if they chance on the Fate or the sphere turned to the right, they are bound to say nothing true, for I have changed their influences and their squares and their triangles and their octagons;

was like to the light which had come over Jesus before he had ascended | into the heavens, and was like only itself in its light.

“And all the souls which shall be brought into the outer darkness, will not be cast back anew, but will be destroyed and dissolved.”

and we know that he hath become worthy of the mysteries of the second space or of the third,

and every one will have power over the orders which are below him, but he will not have the power to go to the orders which are above him;

And the three light-modes were of divers light-kinds, and they were of divers type, one being more excellent than the other. . . .

seeing that their influences from the beginning onwards were continuously turned to the left and their squares and their triangles and their octagons.

but he will abide in the region of the Inheritance of the Light |

“John answered [and said]: A man who hath committed no sin, but done good persistently, but hath not found the mysteries to pass through the rulers, when he cometh out of the body, what will happen unto him?”

“--desirest thou that we give him of the mysteries of the second space and of the third, before he hath at all received mysteries of the Inheritance of the Light or not? Desirest thou that we give or not?”

“And the Saviour answered and said unto John in the midst of the disciples: If ye know with certainty that that man | hath renounced the whole world and all its cares and all its associations and all its sins, and if ye know in truth that he is not in deceit, neither that he was play-acting nor that he was curious to know the mysteries, how they are brought to pass, but that he longeth after God in truth,”

And it came to pass then, when the disciples saw this, that they feared exceedingly, and were in agitation.

“Jesus said: If the time of such an one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Bainchōōōch, who is one of the triple-powered gods, come after his soul and lead his soul with joy and exultation and spend three days circling round with it and instructing it concerning the creations of the world with joy and exultation. Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente and instruct it concerning the instruments of chastisement in the Amente;”

But now I have made them spend six months turned to the left and six months turned to the right.

hide them not from such an one,

He who then shall find their reckoning from the time when I changed them, setting them so as to spend six months facing towards their left and six months facing their right paths,

“Then Jesus, the compassionate and tender-hearted, when he saw his disciples, that they were in great agitation, spake with them, saying: Take courage. It is I, be not afraid.”

--he who then shall observe them in this wise, | will know their influences surely and will declare all things which they will do.

“It came to pass then, when the disciples had heard this word, that they said: Lord, if it be thou, withdraw thy light-glory into thyself that we may be able to stand;”

but give him of the mysteries of the second and third space and try even of what mystery he is worthy;

In like manner also the consulters, if they invoke the names of the rulers and chance on them facing the left, will tell [men] with accuracy all things concerning which they shall ask their decans.

“otherwise our eyes are darkened, and we are agitated, and the whole world also is in agitation because of the great light which is about thee.”

and that of which he is worthy, give him and hide it not from him,

for if ye hide it from him, ye may be guilty of a great condemnation.

Then Jesus drew to himself the glory of his light;

On the contrary, if the consulters invoke their names when they face to the right,

they will not give ear unto them, because they are facing in another form compared with their former position in which Yew had established them; seeing that other are their names when they are turned to the left and other their names when they are turned to the right.

“If ye give him once [of the mysteries] of the second space or of the third and he turneth again and sinneth, ye are to continue again the second time up to the third time.”

and when this was done, all the disciples took courage, stepped forward to Jesus, fell down all together, adored him, rejoicing in great joy,

“and said unto him: Rabbi, whither hast thou gone, or what was thy ministry on which thou hast gone, or wherefor rather were all these confusions and all the earth-quakings which have taken place?”

If he still sinneth, ye shall not continue to give him, for those three mysteries will be witnesses unto him for his last repentance.

And if they invoke them when they are turned to the right, they will not tell them the truth, but they will con-found them with confusion and threaten them with threatening.

“Then Jesus, the compassionate, said unto them: Rejoice and exult from this hour on, for I have gone to the regions out of which I had come forth.”

Those then who do not know their path, when they are turned to the right,

And amēn, I say unto you: He who shall give that man anew mysteries of the second space or of the third, is guilty of a great condemnation.

“But let him be for you as a transgressor and as a stumbling-block. Amēn, I say unto you: The soul of that man cannot be cast back into the world | from this moment onwards; but his habitation is in the midst of the jaws of the dragon of the outer darkness, the region of howling and grinding of teeth. And at the dissolution of the world his soul will be frozen up [?] and perish in the violent cold and exceedingly violent fire and will be non-existent eternally.”

From this day on then will I discourse with you in openness, | from the beginning of the Truth unto its completion;

and their triangles and their squares and all their figures, will find nothing true,

but will be confounded in great confusion and will find themselves in great delusion,

and I will discourse with you face to face without similitude.

“Even if he yet again turneth and renounceth the whole world and all its cares and all its sins,”

because I have now changed the works which they effected aforetime in their squares, when turned to the left,

and he is in great citizenship and great repentance, no mystery can receive from him his repentance; nor can it hearken unto him, to have mercy upon him and receive his repentance and forgive his sins, save the mystery of the First Mystery and the mystery of the Ineffable.

From this hour on will I not hide anything from you of the [mystery] of the height and of that of the region of Truth.

It is these alone which will receive the repentance of that man and forgive his sins;

For authority hath been given me through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all mysteries to speak with you, from the Beginning right up to the Fulness,. both from within without and from without within. Hearken, therefore, that I may tell you all things.

and in their triangles and in their octagons, in which they were busied continuously turned to the left;

“It came to pass, when I sat a little removed from you on the Mount of Olives, that I thought on the order of the ministry for the sake of which I was sent, that it was completed, and that the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery from within without,”

and I have made them spend six months forming all their configurations turned to the right,

“for in sooth those mysteries are compassionate and merciful-minded and forgiving of sins at every time.”

in order that they may be confounded in confusion in their whole range. |

--those which are in the second space of the First Mystery, in the orders of that space,--had not yet sent me my Vesture. It came to pass then, when I had known that the order of the ministry for the sake of which I had come, was completed, and that that mystery had not yet sent me my Vesture, which I had left behind in it, until its time was completed,

thinking then this, I sat on the Mount of Olives a little removed from you.

And moreover I have made them spend six months turned to the left and accomplishing the works of their influences and all their configurations,

in order that the rulers who are in the æons and in their spheres and in their heavens and in all their regions,

“It came to pass, when the sun rose in the east, thereafter then through the First Mystery, which existed from the beginning, on account of which the universe hath arisen, | out of which also I am myself now come, not in the time before my crucifixion, but now,”

--it came to pass, through the command of that mystery, that there should be sent me my Light-vesture, which it had given me from the beginning, and which I had left behind in the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery from within without,--those which are in the orders of the second space of the First Mystery.

“may be confounded in confusion and deluded in delusion, so that they may not understand their own paths.”

That Vesture then I left behind in the last mystery, until the time should be completed to put it on, and I should begin to discourse with the race of men and reveal unto them all from the beginning of the Truth to its completion, and discourse with them from the interiors of the interiors to the exteriors of the exteriors and from the exteriors of the exteriors to the interiors of the interiors.

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

Rejoice then and exult and rejoice more and more greatly, for to you it is given that I speak first with you from the beginning of the Truth to its completion.

--thereafter then it came to pass that Philip came forward, fell down and adored the feet of Jesus,

“For this cause have I chosen you verily from the beginning through the First Mystery. Rejoice then and exult, for when I set out for the world, | I brought from the beginning with me twelve powers, as I have told you from the beginning,”

“saying: My Lord and Saviour, grant me authority to discourse before thee and to question thee on this word, before thou discoursest with us concerning the regions whither thou didst go because of thy ministry.”

And the compassionate Saviour answered

which I have taken from the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, according to the command of the First Mystery.

“and said unto Philip: Authority is given thee to bring forward the word which thou willest.”

These then I cast into the womb of your mothers, when I came into the world, that is those which are in your bodies to-day.

“And Philip answered and said unto Jesus: My Lord, on account of what mystery hast thou changed the binding of the rulers and their æons and their Fate and their sphere and all their regions,”

For these powers have been given unto you before the whole world, because ye are they who will save the whole world, and that ye may be able to endure the threat of the rulers of the world and the pains of the world and its dangers and all its persecutions, which the rulers of the height will bring upon you.

and made them confounded in confusion on their path and deluded in their course?

For many times have I said unto you that I have brought the power in you out of the twelve saviours who are in the Treasury of the Light.

For which cause I have said unto you indeed from the beginning that ye are not of the world. I also am not of it.

“Hast thou then done this unto them for the salvation of the world or hast thou not?”

And Jesus answered and said unto Philip and to all the disciples together:

For all men who are in the world have gotten their souls out of [the power of] the rulers of the æons.

“I have | changed”

But the power which is in you is from me;

your souls belong to the height.

I have brought twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, taking them out of the portion of my power which | I did first receive.

And when I had set forth for the world, I came into the midst of the rulers of the sphere

and had the form of Gabriēl the angel of the æons; and the rulers of the æons did not know me,

but they thought that I was the angel Gabriēl.