The Sophia of Jesus the Christ

recorded by an unnamed hand

After Jesus the Christ rose from the dead, his twelve disciples and seven women continued to be his followers and went to Galilee onto the mountain called "Divination and Joy." When they gathered together and were perplexed about the underlying reality of the universe and the plan and the holy providence and the power of the authorities and about everything that Jesus was doing with them in secret of the holy plan, Jesus appeared, not in his previous form, but in the invisible spirit, and he said, "Peace be to you! My peace I give to you!" And they all marveled and were afraid.

Jesus laughed and said to them, "What are you thinking about? Why are you perplexed? What are you searching for?"

Philip said, "For the underlying reality of the universe and the plan."

And Jesus explained it to them:

"I want you to know that all men born from the foundation of the world until now are dust. While they have inquired about God, who he is and what he is like, they have not found him. The wisest among them have speculated about the truth from the ordering of the world, and the speculation has not reached the truth, for the ordering is spoken of in three different opinions by all the philosophers, and hence they do not agree. Some of them say about the world that it was directed by itself. Others, that it is providence that directs it. Others, that it is fate. But it is none of these. Again, of the three voices I have just mentioned, none is true, for whatever is from itself is an empty life, it is self-made. Providence is foolish, and fate is an undiscerning thing. Whoever, then, is able to get free of these three voices I have just mentioned, and can come by means of another voice to confess the God of truth and agree in everything concerning him, he is immortal, dwelling in the midst of mortal men.

"He Who Is is ineffable. No principle knew him, no authority, no subjection, nor any creature from the foundation of the world, except he alone, for he is immortal and eternal, having no birth, for everyone who has birth will perish. He is unbegotten, having no beginning, for everyone who has a beginning has an end. No one rules over him. He has no name, for whoever has a name is the creation of another. He has his own semblance, not like the semblance we have received and seen, but a strange semblance that surpasses all things and is better than the totalities. It looks to every side and sees itself from itself. He is infinite and incomprehensible. he is ever imperishable and has no likeness to anything. He in unchanging good. He is faultless. He is everlasting. He is blessed. He is unknowable, while he nonetheless knows himself. He is immeasurable. He is untraceable. He is perfect, having no defect. He is imperishably blessed. He is called "Father of the Universe."

"Before anything is visible among those that are visible, the majesty and authorities that are in him, he embraces the totalities of the totalities, and nothing embraces him, for he is all mind, thought and reflecting, considering, rationality and power. They are all equal powers. They are the sources of the totalities, and their whole race, from first to last, is in the foreknowledge of the Unbegotten, for they had not yet come to visibility. Now a difference existed among the imperishable aeons. Let us, then, consider this way. Everything that came from the perishable will perish, since it came from the perishable. Whatever came from imperishableness will not perish but will become imperishable, since it came from imperishableness. So, many men went astray because they had not known the difference, that is, they died.

"But this much is enough, since it is impossible for anyone to dispute the nature of the words I have just spoken about the blessed, imperishable, true God. Now, if anyone wants to believe the words set down here, let him go from what is hidden to the end of what is visible, and this Thought will instruct him how faith in those things that are not visible was found in what is visible.

"The Lord of the Universe is not rightly called "Father," but "Forefather," for the Father is the beginning, or principle, of what is visible, and the Lord is the beginningless Forefather. He sees himself within himself, like a mirror, having appeared in his likeness as Self-Father, that is, Self-Begetter, and as Confronter, since he confronted Unbegotten First Existent. He is indeed of equal age with the one who is before him, but he is not equal to him in power.

"Afterward he revealed many confronting, self-begotten ones, equal in age and power, being in glory and without number, who are called "The Generation Over Whom There Is No Kingdom Among The Kingdoms That Exist." And the whole multitude of the place over which there is no kingdom is called "Sons Of Unbegotten Father."

"Now the Unknowable is ever full of imperishableness and ineffable joy. They all are at rest in him, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy over the unchanging glory and the measureless jubilation that was never heard or known among all the aeons and their worlds. But this much is enough, lest we go on endlessly. This is another knowledge principle from Self-Begotten.

"The first who appeared before the universe in infinity is Self-Grown, Self-Constructed Father, and is full of shining, ineffable light. In the beginning he decided to have his likeness become a great power. Immediately the principle, or beginning, of that Light appeared as Immortal Androgynous Man. His male name is "Begetter Perfect Mind," and his female name is "All-Wise Begettress Sophia." It is also said that she resembles her brother and her consort. She is uncontested truth, for here below, error, which exists with truth, contests it.

"Through Immortal Man appeared the first designation , namely, divinity and kingdom, for the Father (who is called "Self-Father Man") revealed this. He created a great aeon for his own majesty. he gave him great authority, and he ruled over all creations. He created gods and archangels and angels, myriads without number for retinue. Now through that Man originated divinity and kingdom, therefore he was called "God of gods" and "King of kings."

"First Man is "Faith" for those who will come afterward. He has, within, a unique mind and thought and reflecting and considering, rationality and power. All the attributes that exist are perfect and immortal. In respect to imperishableness, they are indeed equal. But in respect to power, there is a difference, like the difference between father and son, and son and thought, and the thought and the remainder.

"As I said earlier, among the things that were created the monad is first, the dyad follows, and the triad up to the tenths. Now the tenths rule the hundredths, the hundredths rule the thousandths, the thousandths rule the ten-thousandths. This is the pattern among the immortals: the monad and the thought are those things that belong to First Man. The thinkings are for the tenths, and the hundredths are the teachings, and the thousandths are the counsels, and the ten-thousandths are the powers. In the beginning, thought and thinkings appeared from the mind, then teachings from thinkings, then counsels from teachings, and power from counsels. And after all the attributes, all that was revealed appeared from his powers, and from what was created, what was fashioned appeared. And what was formed appeared from what was fashioned. What was named appeared from what was formed, while the difference among begotten things appeared from what was named, from beginning to end, by power of all the aeons.

"Now Immortal Man is full of every imperishable glory and ineffable joy. His whole kingdom rejoices in everlasting rejoicing, those who have never been heard of or known in any aeon that came after them and its worlds. Afterward another principle came from Immortal Man who is called "Self-Perfected Begetter." When he received the consent of his consort, Great Sophia, he revealed that first-begotten androgyne who is called "First-Begotten Man, Son of God." His female aspect is "First-Begotten Sophia, Mother of the Universe," whom some call "Love."

"Now First Man, since he has his authority from his father, created angels, myriads without number, for retinue. The whole multitude of those angels are called, "Assembly of the Holy Ones, the Shadowless Lights." Now when these greet each other, their embraces become angels like themselves.

"First-Begetter Father is called "Adam of the Light," and the kingdom of Son of Man is full of ineffable joy and unchanging jubilation, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy over their imperishable glory, which has never been heard nor has it been revealed to all the aeons that came to be and their worlds.

"Then Son of Man consented with Sophia, his consort, and revealed a great androgynous light. His masculine name is designated, "Savior, Begetter of All Things." His feminine name is designated, "Pistis, All Begettress."

"Then Savior consented with Pistis, his consort, and revealed six androgynous spiritual beings who are the type of those who preceded them. Their male names are these: first, "Unbegotten," second, "Self-Begotten," third, "Begetter," fourth, "First Begetter," fifth, "All-Begetter," and sixth "Arch-Begetter." Also the names of the females are these: first, "All Wise Sophia," second, "All-Mother Sophia," third, "All-Begettress Sophia," fourth, "First Begettress Sophia," fifth, "Love Sophia," and sixth, "Pistis Sophia."

"From the consenting of those I have just mentioned, thoughts appeared in the aeons that exist. From thoughts, reflectings, from reflectings, considerings, from considerings, rationalities, from rationalities, wills, and from wills, words.

"The twelve powers whom I have just discussed consented with each other. Six males and six females were revealed so that there are seventy-two powers. Each one of the seventy-two powers revealed five spiritual powers, which together are three hundred and sixty powers. The union of them all is the will.

"Therefore our aeon came to be as the type of Immortal Man. Time came to be as the type of First Man, his son. The year came to be as the type of Savior. The twelve months came to be as the type of the twelve powers. The three hundred and sixty days of the years came to be as the type of the three hundred and sixty powers who appeared from Savior. Their hours and moments came to be as the type of the angels who are without number and who came from the three hundred and sixty powers.

"And when those whom I have discussed appeared, All-Begetter, their father, very soon created twelve aeons for retinue of the twelve angels. And in each aeon their were six heavens, so that there are seventy-two heavens of the seventy-two powers who appeared from him. And in each of the heavens there were five firmaments, so there are all together three hundred and sixty firmaments of the three hundred and sixty powers that appeared from them. When the firmaments were complete, they were called "The Three Hundred and Sixty Heavens," according to the name of the heavens that were before them, and all of these are perfect and good, and in this way the defect of femaleness appears.

"The first aeon, then, is that of Immortal man. The second aeon is that of Son of Man, who is called "First Begetter. The third is that of son of Son of Man who is called "Savior." That which embraces these is the aeon over which there is no kingdom, the aeon of the Eternal Infinite God, the aeon of the aeons of the immortals who are in it, the aeon above the Eighth that appeared in chaos.

"Now Immortal Man revealed aeons and powers and kingdoms and gave authority to everyone who appeared from him to make whatever they desire until the days that are above chaos, for these consented with each other and revealed every magnificence, even from spirit, multitudinous lights that are glorious and without number. These received names in the beginning, that is, the first, the middle, and the perfect, which is to say, the first aeon and the second and the third. The first was called "Unity and Rest." Since each aeon has its own name, the third was designated "Assembly" from the great multitude that appeared in the multitudinous one. Therefore, when the multitude gathers and comes to a unity, they are called "Assembly," from the Assembly that surpassed heaven. Therefore, the Assembly of the Eighth was revealed as androgynous and was named partly as male and partly as female. The male was called "Assembly," the female, "Life," that it might be shown that from a female came life in all the aeons. Every name was received, starting from the beginning.

"From this concurrence with his thought, the powers appeared who were called "gods," and the gods, from their considerings, revealed divine gods and lords, and the lords of the lords from their words revealed lords, and the lords from their powers revealed archangels, the archangels revealed angels, and from them the semblance appeared with structure and form for naming all the aeons and their worlds.

"All the immortals whom I have just described have authority from the power of Immortal Man and Sophia, his consort, who was called "Silence," and was named "Silence" because by reflecting without speech she perfected her own majesty. Since the imperishabilities had the authority, each provided great kingdoms in all the immortal heavens and their firmaments, thrones, and temples, for their own majesty.

"Some, indeed, who are in dwellings and in chariots, being in ineffable glory, and not able to be sent into any creature, provided for themselves hosts of angels, myriads without number for retinue and glory, even virgin spirits, the ineffable lights. They have no sickness nor weakness, but it is only will: it comes to be in an instant. Thus were completed the aeons with their heavens and firmaments for the glory of Immortal Man and Sophia, his consort: the area which contained the pattern of every aeon and their worlds and those that came afterward, in order to provide the types from there, their likenesses in the heavens of chaos and their worlds.

"And all natures from the Immortal One, from Unbegotten to the revelation of chaos, are in the light that shines without shadow and in ineffable joy and unutterable jubilation. They ever delight themselves on account of their glory that does not change and the rest that is not measured, which cannot be described or conceived among all the aeons that came to be and their powers. But this much is enough.

"All I have just said to you, I said in the way you might accept, until the one who need not be taught appears among you, and he will speak all these things to you joyously and in pure knowledge. I have taught you about Immortal Man and have loosed the bonds of the robbers from him. I have broken the gates of the pitiless ones in their presence. I have humiliated their malicious intent, and they have all been shamed have arisen from their ignorance. Because of this, then, I came here, that they might be joined with that Spirit and Breath, and might from two become one, just as from the First, that you might yield much fruit and go up to Him Who Is From The Beginning, in ineffable glory and honor and grace of the Father of the Universe.

"Whoever, then, knows the Father in pure knowledge will depart to the Father and repose in the Unbegotten Father. But whoever knows him defectively will depart to the defect and the rest of the Eighth. Whoever knows Immortal Spirit of Light in silence, through reflecting and consent in the truth, let him brings me signs of the Invisible One, and he will become a light in the Spirit of Silence. Whoever knows Son of Man in knowledge and love, let him bring me a sign of Son of Man, that he might depart to the dwelling places with those in the Eighth.

"I came to you that I might reveal to you Him Who Is From The Beginning, because of the arrogance of the Arch-Begetter and his angels, since they say about themselves that they are gods. And I came to remove them from their blindness that I might tell everyone about the God who is above the universe. Therefore, tread upon their graves, humiliate their malicious intent, and break their yoke and arouse my own. I have given you authority over all things as Sons of Light, that you might tread upon their power with your feet."

Continuance of the Sophia