Nag Hammadi Library — Codex II, Text 1
The Apocryphon (Secret Book) of John is perhaps the single most important Gnostic text to survive from antiquity. It presents a comprehensive Sethian Gnostic cosmogony: the nature of the transcendent God, the emanation of the divine realm, the fall of Sophia, the creation of the material world by the ignorant Demiurge, and the entrapment and eventual liberation of divine sparks within human souls. Four copies survive in the Nag Hammadi Library (Codex II, III, IV, and the Berlin Codex), attesting to its central importance.
This edition reproduces the translation available through the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org), based on the critical editions of the Nag Hammadi texts.
One day, John—brother of James and son of Zebedee—went up to the Temple. A Pharisee named Arimanios came forward and confronted him, asking: “Where is the teacher you used to follow?”
John answered: “He has returned to the place from which he came.” The Pharisee said: “That Nazarene deceived you, told you falsehoods, closed your hearts, and led you astray from your ancestral ways.” When I, John, heard these words, I turned away from the Temple and withdrew to a secluded mountain place. I was troubled in my spirit and said to myself:
“How was the Savior chosen?
Why was he sent into the world by his Father?
Who is his Father?
Toward which kind of realm are we heading?
For even though he said to us, ‘This world is fashioned in the likeness of the imperishable one,’ He did not show us that higher realm.”
Suddenly, as I was dwelling on these questions—behold!—the heavens opened, and all creation shone with a radiant light from above. The earth quaked. I grew frightened, but—behold!—a small child appeared before me, bathed in this light. As I watched, the child’s form changed into that of an elderly man, and then once more transformed into the figure of a young man. I was unsettled by the vision, for the single appearance became many shapes of light, each revealing itself within the other.
He spoke to me:
“John, why do you waver? Why are you afraid?
Do you not recognize this vision?
Fear not. I am ever with you.
I am the Father, the Mother, the Son.
I am the incorruptible Purity.
I have come to instruct you
Concerning what is,
What was,
And what shall be,
So that you may understand
The hidden realm,
The realm you see,
And the unmoving race of perfect humanity.
Lift your head.
Receive my teachings.
Pass them on to all who have embraced the Spirit, To those who belong to the unmoving race Of perfect humanity.” The One presides over everything; nothing exercises authority over It.
It is God, Father of all things, the Holy One, the invisible One who is over all.
It is untouched by anything impure:
A radiance so pure that no eye can endure it.
The One is the Invisible Spirit.
Yet it is neither fitting to call It “God” nor to compare It to any god, For It surpasses every god.
Nothing stands above It;
Nothing rules over It;
For all things dwell within It,
While It rests within nothing else.
Depending on nothing,
It is everlasting.
Entirely whole, It lacks nothing.
Perfect in every sense, It is Light.
The One is boundless,
For nothing lies outside It to set a limit.
It cannot be investigated,
For nothing exists beyond It to explore It.
It cannot be measured,
For no external frame exists to gauge It.
The One cannot be seen,
For none can behold It.
The One endures forever,
So it is everlasting.
No one can fully comprehend It,
So It is inconceivable.
No words can capture It,
So It is indescribable.
The One is infinite Light—
Pure, sacred, stainless.
It cannot be corrupted;
It stands forever free from decay.
It is not merely “perfect,”
Not merely “blessed,”
Not merely “divine,”
But surpasses all such notions.
It is neither physical nor purely unphysical, Neither immense nor tiny.
No measure or characteristic can define It, For It lies beyond all knowledge.
The One is not a being among beings.
It is beyond comparison,
Yet not “beyond” in any ordinary sense.
It exists outside all realms and beyond all time, For whatever is in a realm is created, And whatever is in time was given a season.
The One takes nothing from anything;
It knows only itself in Its own perfect Light.
Majestic is the One—
Immeasurable in its majesty,
Above every realm,
And the source of them all.
It is Light, pouring out light;
Life, generating life;
Blessedness, begetting blessedness;
Knowledge, bringing forth knowledge;
Goodness, imparting good;
Mercy, unfolding mercy;
Generosity, overflowing with generosity.
It does not merely possess these qualities; It abundantly gives them forth.
It shines with a radiance beyond measure or comprehension.
What more could be said?
Its domain is eternal—peaceful, quiet, and at rest—before all else.
It stands at the head of every realm, supporting each through Its inexhaustible goodness.
We would not know anything of the indescribable or of the immeasurable were it not for the One who comes forth from the One called Father.
He alone has revealed these things to us.
The Father is surrounded by radiant light.
He beholds Himself within that light, the pure source of living water that upholds every realm.
He perceives His own reflection everywhere, recognizing His likeness in this spring of Spirit flowing from Him.
He loves the image He sees in the light-water, the fountain of pure, shining water that enfolds Him.
His self-knowing Thought (Ennoia) arose, appearing to Him within the brilliance of His light.
She stood before Him.
This is the first of the powers, existing before all else, emerging from the Father’s mind, the Providence (Pronoia) of all.
Her light is the reflection of His light.
She comes from His image within His radiance, perfect in might, the likeness of the invisible, perfect, Virgin Spirit.
She is the First Power, the glory of Barbelo,
resplendent in the highest realms, the splendor of revelation.
She offered honor to the Virgin Spirit,
she gave Him praise, for her being sprang from Him.
Thus the First Thought is the image of the Spirit.
She is the universal womb, existing before anything else.
She is:
Mother-Father,
the First Man, the Holy Spirit,
Thrice Male,
Thrice Powerful,
Thrice Named, An androgynous, everlasting realm,
the first to appear among unseen domains.
She, Barbelo, asked the Virgin Spirit for Foreknowledge (Prognosis).
The Spirit agreed.
Foreknowledge came into being and took its place beside Providence.
This One emerged from the Invisible Virgin Spirit’s Thought Foreknowledge honored the Spirit and honored Barbelo, the Spirit’s perfect power, for She was the reason Foreknowledge came forth.
She, Barbelo, asked the Virgin Spirit for Incorruptibility.
The Spirit agreed.
Incorruptibility came forth and stood with Thought and Foreknowledge.
Incorruptibility offered praise to the Invisible Virgin Spirit and to Barbelo, for She was the cause of its existence.
She asked for Everlasting Life.
The Spirit consented.
Everlasting Life came forth, and they all stood together.
They honored the Invisible Spirit and Barbelo,
for She was the reason it came into being.
She asked for Truth.
The Spirit agreed.
Truth came forth, and they all took their stations together.
They gave glory to the Invisible Spirit
and to Barbelo, for She was the reason it came to be.
This is the fivefold realm of the Father:
the First Man, the Image of the Invisible Spirit,
Providence (Barbelo),
who is Thought, and also Foreknowledge, Incorruptibility, Everlasting Life, and Truth.
Because each is androgynous, the fivefold realm is also tenfold, belonging to the Father.
The Father gazed upon Barbelo, into the pure radiance encompassing the Invisible Spirit.
Barbelo conceived and bore a spark of light with a blessedness akin to hers, though not equal.
This was the only child of that Mother-Father, the sole offspring, the only begotten of the pure Light, the Father.
The Invisible Virgin Spirit rejoiced in the light brought forth from that First Power,
Providence,
Barbelo.
The Spirit anointed this child with Goodness, making him complete— he was lacking nothing at all, for he was anointed with the Invisible Spirit’s own Goodness.
He stood in the presence of the Spirit, and Goodness was poured over him.
Having received this anointing, he at once offered praise to the Spirit, and he honored the perfect Providence, for because of Her he had been born.
He requested Mind (Nous) to be joined with him.
The Spirit consented.
When the Invisible Spirit granted this,
Mind appeared.
It stood by the Anointed One and honored the Spirit and Barbelo.
All these powers emerged through silent thought and reflection.
He wished to act by the Word of the Invisible Spirit.
The Spirit’s Will took form alongside Mind and offered adoration to the Light.
Then the Word followed the Will into being.
The Christ, the divine Autogenes, brought all things into existence through the Word.
Everlasting Life and Will, together with Mind and Foreknowledge,
took their place side by side.
They honored the Invisible Spirit and Barbelo, since She was the reason they came to be.
The Holy Spirit brought forth His and Barbelo’s divine Autogenes Son so that He might stand before the great Invisible Virgin Spirit as the divine Autogenes, the Christ,
and proclaim His praise with a mighty voice.
The Son came through Providence.
The Invisible Spirit
placed the divine Autogenes over all things.
Every authority was made subject to Him.
Because truth was within Him, He could understand everything.
He bears the highest name of all, revealed only to those worthy to hear it from the Light, which is the Christ, through the incorruptibility
by a gift of the Spirit.
The Four Lights arising from the divine Autogenes stood before Him.
These four fundamental powers are Understanding, Grace, Perception, and Consideration.
Grace dwells in the realm of the Light called Harmozel, the first angel.
With Harmozel are found
Grace,
Truth,
and Form.
The second Light is Oriel; it presides over the second realm.
With Oriel dwell
Conceptualization (Epinoia),
Perception,
and Memory.
The third Light is Daveithai; it presides over the third realm.
With Daveithai dwell
Understanding,
Love,
and Idea.
The fourth Light is Eleleth; it presides over the fourth realm.
With Eleleth dwell
Perfection,
Peace,
and Wisdom (Sophia).
These are the four Lights standing before the divine Autogenes.
Before the mighty Son—
the Autogenes, the Christ—
there stand twelve realms brought into being by the will
and graciousness of the Invisible Spirit.
These twelve belong to the Son, the Autogenes.
All of this came into being through the intent of the Holy Spirit, through the Autogenes.
From the foreknowledge of the perfect Mind, through the intention of the Invisible Spirit and the will of the Autogenes,
the perfect Human emerged, revealed for the first time in full truth.
The Virgin Spirit named this Human Adamas and set him over the first realm together with the mighty Autogenes Christ, the first Light Harmozel, and its powers.
The Invisible One gave Adamas an unconquerable power of Mind.
Adamas spoke, giving glory and honor to the Invisible Spirit:
“Everything has come into being from You.
All things will return to You.
I will praise You and glorify You and the Autogenes,
and the triple realm—
Father, Mother, and Son—
the perfect Power.” Over the second realm, Adamas’s son Seth was appointed, with the second Light, Oriel.
In the third realm the children of Seth were established, with the third Light, Daveithai, for there the souls of the saints are placed.
In the fourth realm abided those who did not yet comprehend the fullness, those who did not immediately turn back, but after time came to repentance.
They dwell with the fourth Light, Eleleth.
All these created beings glorify the Invisible Spirit.
It happened that the realm (aeon) of Wisdom (Sophia), who is of conceptual thought (Epinoia), began to reason on her own.
She employed the thinking (enthymesis)
and the foreknowledge (prognosis) of the Invisible Spirit.
She planned to make an image come forth from herself, choosing to do this without the Spirit’s approval, which He did not grant,
and without the mindful collaboration of her masculine partner, which he did not give.
Without the Invisible Spirit’s agreement, and without her counterpart’s knowledge, she brought it into being.
Because her power could not be conquered, her idea was not fruitless.
Something imperfect came forth from her, unlike her in its appearance.
By bringing it forth without her male companion, she produced a malformed being, different in character from her own nature.
When Sophia saw what her desire had brought forth, it turned into the shape of a dragon with a lion’s head, and its eyes flashed with lightning.
She cast him away from her, beyond the realm of immortal beings,
so that they would not see him.
She had created him in ignorance.
Sophia surrounded him with a radiant cloud, placing a throne in its center so that no one would behold him,
except for the Holy Spirit, called the Mother of the Living.
She named him Yaldabaoth.
Yaldabaoth is the chief ruler.
He seized great power (dynamis) from his mother, left her behind, and withdrew from the place of his birth.
He assumed dominion,
shaping realms for himself, using a fiery radiance that remains even now.
Yaldabaoth joined with the thoughtlessness (aponoia) dwelling in him.
He begot ruling authorities (exousia)
in imitation of the incorruptible realms above.
The first is Athoth.
The second is Harmas (called the Eye of Flame).
The third is Kalilaumbri.
The fourth is Yabel.
The fifth is Adonaiu (called Sabaoth).
The sixth is Cain (called the Sun).
The seventh is Abel.
The eighth is Abrisene.
The ninth is Yobel.
The tenth is Armupiel.
The eleventh is Melcheir-Adonein.
The twelfth is Belias, who presides over the deepest realm of Hades.
He established the first seven rulers to govern the seven spheres of heaven, and he set the next five rulers over the five layers of the abyss.
He gave a share of his fire to them, but he withheld the power of the Light
he had received from his mother.
He is ignorant darkness.
When Light mingled with darkness, darkness shone.
But when darkness mixed with Light, the Light was diminished,
no longer wholly Light nor wholly darkness, but dim.
This shadowy ruler has three names:
Yaldabaoth is the first,
Saklas is the second,
Samael is the third.
He is blasphemous in his blind arrogance.
He declared, “I am God, and there is no God but me!” ignorant of where his own power truly came from.
His rulers created seven Authorities for themselves.
Each of these Authorities produced six demons, making 365 demons in total.
Here are the names of the seven Authorities and their forms:
First, Athoth, with a sheep’s face.
Second, Eloaios, with a donkey’s face.
Third, Astaphaios, with a hyena’s face.
Fourth, Yao, with the face of a seven-headed serpent.
Fifth, Sabaoth, whose face is that of a dragon.
Sixth, Adonin, who has a monkey’s face.
Seventh, Sabbataios, with a countenance of flame and fire.
These make up the seven days of the week, and these Authorities rule the world.
Yaldabaoth possesses many faces, more than those already named,
so that he can project any visage he chooses among the seraphim who serve him.
He shared his fire with his seraphim, but did not bestow upon them any measure of the pure Light.
He continued to rule over them, because of the power and brilliance of the Light he had taken from his Mother.
Because of this, he called himself “God,” denying his own origins.
He fused the sevenfold powers of his own thought with the Authorities who accompanied him.
He spoke, and it came to pass.
He gave those seven powers names, beginning with the highest:
Goodness, paired with the first—Athoth.
Providence, paired with the second—Eloaios.
Divinity, paired with the third—Astaphaios.
Lordship, paired with the fourth—Yao.
Kingship, paired with the fifth—Sabaoth.
Zeal, paired with the sixth—Adonin.
Understanding, paired with the seventh—Sabbataios.
Each has its own realm, modeled on one of the higher realms.
Each newly given name points to a glory in the heavens, so that Yaldabaoth’s demons may be undone.
Though the demons bear mighty names given by Yaldabaoth, the names that reflect the higher splendor will bring about their downfall,
removing their power.
Hence, each one holds two names.
Yaldabaoth shaped his creation according to the pattern of the eternal realms above, so that it might resemble those imperishable places.
He had never actually seen those indestructible realms.
Rather, the power drawn from his Mother made him aware of the shape of the cosmos above.
When he looked at the creation around him, he said to the legion of demons that had emerged from him,
“I am a jealous God, and there is no God but me!” In saying this, he revealed to his demons that there is indeed another God, for if none existed, whom could he be jealous of?
His mother then began to move about, for she recognized that she was now deprived of Light, and her once-brilliant radiance had dimmed.
Because her partner had not approved of her actions, she became darker.
(I asked, “Master, what does it mean ‘she moved back and forth’?” He laughed and said, “It is not as Moses wrote, ‘upon the waters.’ No, not at all.”)
Seeing what had occurred and the theft of Light that her son had committed, she repented.
In her ignorant darkness, she began to forget.
She felt shame,
yet she was still unable to ascend above.
So she began to move, going back and forth.
The arrogant one had taken power from his Mother.
Being ignorant,
he believed no one else existed but her.
He looked upon the host of demons he had made and placed himself over them.
But when the Mother realized how flawed this offspring was, she understood that her partner had not given approval.
She repented and wept in great distress.]
All the realms of the divine fullness (pleroma) heard her contrite prayer.
They pleaded with the Invisible Virgin Spirit on her behalf, and the Spirit agreed.
He poured forth the Holy Spirit upon her, brought forth from the fullness entire.
Her consort did not descend to her by himself but came through the totality of that fullness to restore her to her proper state.]
She was raised above her son, though not yet reinstated to her original place.
She would remain in the ninth sphere until she was fully restored.
Then a voice resounded from the highest realms, saying:
“The Man exists! And the Son of Man!”
Yaldabaoth, the chief ruler, heard it.
He supposed it came from his mother, knowing nothing of the voice’s true source:
the Holy Mother-Father, the Perfect Providence,
the Image of the Invisible, the Father of Everything,
in whom all things have their being.
The First Man appeared before them, showing himself in a human form.
All the domain of the chief ruler quivered, and even the bedrock of the abyss was set in motion.
He caused radiance to shine upon the waters above the world of matter, and his image gleamed upon those waters.
All the demons and their foremost ruler looked up toward the underside of those newly radiant waters.
Through that light, they beheld the Image reflected there.
Yaldabaoth said to his legion of demons, “Let us fashion a man in the image of God, and after our likeness, so that his brilliance might brighten us.” Each one then used a power borrowed from another to form various aspects of the man.
They arranged traits resembling the spiritual qualities they had witnessed in the Image above.
They shaped a material being that imitated the perfect First Man.
They declared, “Let us call him Adam, so that this name may bring us the power of light.” The seven Powers set to work:
Goodness produced a soul of bone,
Providence created a soul of sinew,
Divinity formed a soul of flesh,
Lordship fashioned a soul of marrow,
Kingdom brought forth a soul of blood,
Zeal made a soul of skin,
Understanding made a soul of hair.
The legion of demons took these substances from the Powers to form the body’s limbs and the body itself.
They assembled and organized each part.
They began by making the head. Abron formed the head; Meniggesstroeth formed the brain; Asterechme shaped the right eye; Thaspomocha, the left eye;
Ieronumos, the right ear; Bissoum, the left ear; Akioreim, the nose; Banenrphroum, the lips; Amen, the front teeth; Ibikan, the molars; Basiliademe, the tonsils; Achcha, the uvula;
Adaban, the neck; Chaaman, the neck bones; Dearcho, the throat; Tebar, the shoulder; Mniarcon, the elbow; Abitrion, the right arm; Evanthen, the left arm; Krys, the right hand;
Beluai, the left hand; Treneu, the fingers of the right hand; Balbel, the fingers of the left hand; Kriman, the fingernails; Astrops, the right breast; Barroph, the left breast;
Baoum, the right shoulder joint; Ararim, the left shoulder joint; Areche, the belly; Phthave, the navel; Senaphim, the abdomen; Arachethopi, the right ribs; Zabedo, the left ribs; Barias, the right hip;
Phnouth, the left hip; Abenlenarchei, the marrow; Chnoumeninorin, the skeleton; Gesole, the stomach; Agromauna, the heart; Bano, the lungs; Sostrapal, the liver; Anesimalar, the spleen;
Thopithro, the intestines; Biblo, the kidneys; Roeror, the sinews; Taphreo, the spine; Ipouspoboba, the veins; Bineborin, the arteries; Atoimenpsephei, respiration; Entholleia, the flesh;
Bedouk, the right buttock; Arabeei, the penis; Eilo, the testicles; Sorma, the genitals; Gormakaiochlabar, the right thigh; Nebrith, the left thigh; Pserem, the right leg’s kidneys;
Asaklas, the left leg’s kidneys; Ormaoth, the right leg; Emenun, the left leg; Knyx, the right shin; Tupelon, the left shin; Achiel, the right knee; Phnene, the left knee; Phiouthrom, the right foot;
Boabel, its toes; Trachoun, the left foot; Phikna, its toes; Miamai, the toenails.
Those placed in authority over these parts are:
Zathoth,
Armas,
Kalila,
Iabel,
Sabaoth,
Cain,
Abel.
The limbs also received animating powers:
Diolimodraza for the head, Yammeax for the neck, Yakouib for the right shoulder, Verton for the left,
Oudidi for the right hand, Arbao for the left, Lampno for the right-hand fingers, Leekaphar for the left-hand fingers,
Barbar for the right breast, Imae for the left, Pisandriaptes for the chest, Koade for the right shoulder joint, Odeor for the left,
Asphixix for the right ribs, Synogchouta for the left, Arouph for the abdomen, Sabalo for the womb,
Charcharb for the right thigh, Chthaon for the left, Bathinoth for the genitals, Choux for the right leg, Charcha for the left,
Aroer for the right shin, Toechtha for the left, Aol for the right knee, Charaner for the left,
Bastan for the right foot (Archentechtha for its toes), Marephnounth for the left foot (Abrana for its toes).
Seven oversee the entire body:
Michael,
Ouriel,
Asmenedas,
Saphasatoel,
Aarmouriam,
Richram,
Amiorps.
Archendekta governs perception,
Deitharbathas governs reception,
Oummaa governs imagination,
Aachiaram governs integration,
Riaramnacho governs impulse.
There is a fourfold source of the bodily demons:
hot, cold, dry, wet.
Matter is their common mother.
The ruler of hot is Phloxopha, the ruler of cold is Oroorrothos,
the ruler of dry is Erimacho, the ruler of wet is Athuro.
Their mother stands among them as Onorthochrasaei:
She is boundless,
and mingles with them all.
She is matter,
by whom they are all sustained.
The four chief demons are:
Ephememphi (linked with pleasure),
Yoko (linked with desire),
Nenentophni (linked with distress),
Blaomen (linked with fear).
Their mother is Esthesis-Zouch-Epi-Ptoe.
Out of these four arise the passions:
From distress come
envy, resentment, grief, irritation, quarrels, cruelty, anxiety, lamentation.
From pleasure arise all manner of evil and vain conceit,
and more besides.
From desire emerge
rage, fury, bitterness, resentment, discontent, and so forth.
From fear come
dread, flattery, suffering, and shame.
Their thought and their truth is Anayo, lord of the material soul, aligned with the seven senses of Esthesis-Zouch-Epi-Ptoe.
In total, there are 365 demons.
They cooperated in assembling the psychic and the material body, piece by piece.
Still more demons preside over other passions, which I have not detailed here.
If you wish to learn of them, their account is written in the Book of Zoroaster.
All Yaldabaoth’s powers and his demons labored to complete this psychic body.
For a great span of time, it lay there without breath, unable to stir.
Yaldabaoth’s mother yearned to retrieve the Power she had given over to the chief ruler.
She fervently sought aid from the most merciful One, the Mother-Father of all things.
By His sacred decree, He sent down the five Lights in the likeness of the principal counselors to Yaldabaoth.
Through this, Yaldabaoth’s mother’s divine Power was taken from him.
They said to Yaldabaoth:
“Breathe some of your Spirit into the face of this human, so that his body will arise.”
Yaldabaoth breathed a portion of his Spirit into the human— but that Spirit was truly his mother’s divine Power.
He did not understand what he was doing, for he remained in ignorance.
His mother’s divine Power departed from Yaldabaoth, entering the psychic human body, which had been shaped in the primordial image.
The human body stood upright!
It grew strong!
It shone with light!
Yaldabaoth’s demonic forces grew jealous of the human, for through their collective effort he had been formed, receiving their own power.
His understanding excelled that of his makers, surpassing even the Chief Ruler himself.
When they saw that he radiated light, possessed greater discernment than they, and was undefiled by evil, they hurled him
into the lowest depths of the physical world.
The Blessed One,
the Mother-Father, the good and merciful One,
looked with compassion upon the Mother’s Power which had been cast aside by the Chief Ruler.
In order to keep Yaldabaoth’s demons from subjugating this visible, psychic body again, He sent down a helper for Adam from His benevolent Spirit, moved by great pity.
Thus a radiant Epinoia arose—
He named her Life (Zoe).
She serves the entire creation, laboring alongside Adam,
guiding him back into wholeness.
She taught Adam how his people had descended, and she showed him how he might ascend again, by the same path they came down.
The radiant Epinoia was hidden within Adam, so that the rulers would not perceive her, for she was to mend the calamity caused by their mother.
Adam became visible because the shadow of Light was within him.
His reasoning far outstripped that of his creators, who looked up and beheld his lofty wisdom.
The assembly of rulers and their demons conspired together.
They mixed fire and earth and water, combining them with four gusting winds,
merging them in fierce commotion.
Adam was led into the shadow of death.
They intended to reshape him, now using
earth,
water,
fire,
wind, which are matter,
darkness,
desire,
and the artificial spirit.
All of this became a grave—
a new sort of body.
Those thieves bound the man to it, enveloped him in forgetfulness,
subjecting him to mortality.
This marked his first descent and his first separation.
Still, the radiant Epinoia within him will raise his mind to higher things.
The rulers placed the man in paradise and told him to eat freely.
Their food tastes bitter; their outward splendor is flawed.
Their nourishment is deceit; their trees are ungodly.
Their fruit is poison.
Their promise is death.
They set the Tree of Their Life at the center of the garden.
I will unveil for you all the secret of their “life”:
the plot they wove regarding a counterfeit spirit.
Its root is bitterness, its branches are withered,
its shadow is hatred, its leaves are falsehood.
The blossom of wickedness is in its flowers, its fruit brings death, its seed is lust,
it blooms in the darkness.
Whoever eats of it dwells in the underworld, and the darkness becomes their resting place.
Now, the tree called “the Knowledge of Good and Evil” is the Epinoia of the Light.
They forbade him to eat from it, stationing themselves to block it from his sight, lest he glance toward the fullness above, recognize the bareness of his shame,
and discover their deceit.
Yet it was I who made them partake.
I asked the Savior,
“Lord, was it not the serpent who caused Adam to eat?”
He smiled, answering,
“The serpent did indeed prompt them to eat, only to spark the evil craving for reproduction, which would make Adam useful to him.” The Chief Ruler, Yaldabaoth, perceived
that because the radiant Epinoia dwelt in Adam, his understanding surpassed Yaldabaoth’s own, so Adam did not obey him.
Hoping to recover the Power he had placed in Adam, Yaldabaoth plunged him into utter forgetfulness.
I asked the Savior, “What is this ‘utter forgetfulness’?”
He said, “It is not, as Moses wrote in his first book, that ‘He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep.’
Rather, Adam’s faculties were concealed
so that he no longer perceived.
As Yaldabaoth declared through his prophet, ‘I will blind their hearts so they neither see nor comprehend.’” The radiant Epinoia was hidden deep within Adam.
The Chief Ruler tried to draw her out from his rib, yet Epinoia cannot be captured.
Though darkness pursued her, it never overtook her.
The Chief Ruler did, however, take a measure of power from Adam to form a being in the shape of a woman, patterned after the radiant Epinoia he had already glimpsed.
He placed the power taken from the man into the woman.
It did not happen as Moses wrote,
“He took a rib and made the woman.”
Adam saw the woman standing beside him.
Immediately, the luminous Epinoia appeared to him, lifting the veil that had clouded his mind.
He awoke from the drunkenness of darkness and recognized his own counterpart.
He said, “She is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh.”
Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother to be joined with a woman, and the two become one flesh— for it is she who sends his helper to him.
Sophia, our sister, descended coming down in innocence
to reclaim what she had lost.
This is why she is named Life—
Mother of the Living, from the Providence of the Authority of Heaven.
By her aid, people can attain perfect understanding.
I appeared as an eagle perched on the Tree of Knowledge— the Epinoia that comes from the pure Providence of Light— so that I might guide them
and lift them from their deep slumber.
They had both fallen, and saw their nakedness.
Epinoia stood before them, filled with light, enlightening their thoughts.
When Yaldabaoth realized they had turned away from him, he cursed his own earth.
He spied the woman as she prepared herself for her man.
Because he did not understand the hidden divine plan, he gave her over so that the man would rule over her.
The man and the woman, in their fear, could not renounce Yaldabaoth, who revealed his ignorance to his angels and cast them out of paradise,
clothing them with a heavy darkness.
Seeing the young woman who stood beside Adam, the Chief Archon recognized that her radiant Epinoia was alive.
Then Yaldabaoth fell deeper into ignorance.
When the Providence of all foresaw what was coming, She sent helpers to remove the Divine Life from Eve.
Yaldabaoth assaulted Eve,
and she bore two sons.
The first was called Elohim, the second was named Yahweh.
Elohim has the face of a bear;
Yahweh has the face of a cat.
One acts justly, and the other does not.
Yahweh is just;
Elohim is not.
Yahweh commands fire and wind;
Elohim commands water and earth.
Yaldabaoth craftily named them Cain and Abel.
From that time onward, sexual intercourse continued, due to the Chief Ruler.
He placed within the woman who is with Adam a desire for reproduction.
By means of this union, new human bodies were formed, and he breathed his counterfeit spirit into them.]
Yaldabaoth gave Cain and Abel authority over the natural elements, so they would rule over this place of the dead.
Adam joined with the image of his foreknowledge, and he fathered a son in the likeness of the Son of Man, calling him Seth—
a reflection of the heavenly race in higher realms.
In the same way, the Mother sent down her Spirit— the image of herself, a model of the complete higher realm—
to prepare a dwelling place for the descent of those realms.
Yet the Chief Ruler forced humanity to drink from the waters of oblivion so they would not know their true origin.
For a time, the children of Seth remained in this state, waiting for the Holy Spirit to descend from above.
Then the Spirit would lift them up and cure all their ills, restoring the Fullness of God in its perfect holiness.
I said to the Savior, “Lord, will every soul be saved and enter into the pure light?”
He replied, “You ask something profound—something no one can grasp except those of the unmoved race. They are the ones on whom the Spirit of Life descends, and whose strength enables them to be saved, to become complete, worthy of great things. They purge evil from within themselves and have no concern for wickedness, seeking only that which does not perish. They become free of rage, envy, jealousy, and craving.”
“The physical body does them harm, yet they bear it in hope of the time when others will remove it from them. These are the ones who merit an indestructible, eternal life. They endure all things and overcome every hardship so they may be found worthy of goodness and claim the inheritance of life everlasting.”
I then asked, “Lord, what of those souls who do not act in this way, even though the Spirit of Life’s power has descended upon them?”
He answered, “If the Spirit comes upon someone, that person is changed and saved. No one can even stand upright without the Spirit’s presence. After people are born, if the Spirit of Life grows within them, the power becomes theirs and their souls are made strong. Nothing can lead them away into evil. But if the counterfeit spirit enters them, it deceives them.” So I said, “Lord, when souls depart from the body, where do they go?”
He smiled and said, “If a soul is strong—holding more power than the counterfeit spirit—it flees from wickedness. With the help of the Incorruptible One, it is saved and gains eternal rest.” Then I asked, “Lord, what of those who do not realize to whom they truly belong? Where do such souls go?”
He answered, “In those people, the counterfeit spirit is strong, leading them astray. Their souls are weighed down, enticed by wickedness, and cast into forgetfulness.”
“When they leave the body, they are given over to the powers shaped by the rulers, bound in chains, and locked away once more. They revolve through this cycle until they free themselves from oblivion by understanding. In time, they grow perfect and receive salvation.”
I asked, “Lord, how does a soul contract itself to enter into its mother or a man?”
He rejoiced that I had asked and said, “You are truly blessed to understand this. A soul must be guided by another soul in whom the Spirit of Life dwells. Through such guidance it is saved, and thus will not have to enter another body.” Then I said, “Lord, what happens to the souls of those who possessed the true knowledge and then turned away from it?”
He answered, “Poverty’s demons take them to a place where they cannot repent. There they remain until the appointed time, along with those who spoke blasphemies against the Spirit, to be chastised and punished forever.”
I asked, “Lord, where did the counterfeit spirit come from?” And he said to me:
The Mother-Father is merciful, a Holy Spirit who feels compassion for us.
Through the Epinoia of the Light’s Providence, it raises up the children of the perfect lineage, lifting their minds, their eternal light.
When the Chief Archon discovered that they had ascended beyond him
and that their understanding surpassed his own, he attempted to halt their thoughts, though he did not grasp the measure of their brilliance and could not succeed.
He and his demons—his powers—devised a scheme:
each one committed immorality with Wisdom (Sophia), producing fate, the final form of imprisonment.
Fate shifts unpredictably,
taking many forms, just as the demons themselves differ.
Fate is harsh;
it is more potent than the gods, the rulers, the demons, and all human generations that become entangled in it.
From fate sprang
sin, violence, irreverence, forgetfulness, ignorance, crushing laws and heavy transgressions, and dreadful fear.
In this manner all creation was blinded, unaware of the God who is above all.
Bound in forgetfulness,
they remain oblivious to their own errors, imprisoned in cycles of ages and seasons by the dominion of fate.
Yaldabaoth came to regret everything he had fashioned.
He resolved to bring a vast flood upon creation and upon humanity.
Yet the great Light of Providence warned Noah, who proclaimed this warning to all the children, the descendants of mankind.
But those who did not share his kinship did not listen.
It did not happen as Moses said, that “they hid in an ark.” Instead, they concealed themselves in a special place— not only Noah,
but many others who were of the immovable race.
They entered seclusion within a cloud of light.
Noah perceived his own authority and the authority of the luminous Being who enlightened them, even though the Chief Ruler cast darkness over the entire world.
The Chief Ruler and his powers devised another plan:
they sent out their demons to the daughters of humanity to sire children by them for their own pleasure.
But this plan failed.
Afterward they formed yet another scheme.
They produced an imitation spirit, fashioned after the Spirit who had descended, so they could impregnate souls with this substitute spirit.
The demons altered their appearance to resemble the women’s husbands,
filling the women with that spirit of darkness and corruption.
They brought forth
gold and silver, money and coins,
iron and every other metal, and such things.
Those who were seduced by these were led astray into countless miseries, wandering in great confusion, growing old without contentment,
dying without ever finding truth, never knowing the true God.
In this way they enslaved all of creation, from the world’s beginning until now.
They took certain women and begot children out of darkness, hardening their hearts, steeling themselves
with the hardness of that artificial spirit to this very day.
I am the Providence of all.
I became like my own human offspring.
I have existed since the beginning.
I have walked every path.
I am the treasure of the Light.
I am the remembering of the Fullness.
I descended into the place of greatest darkness.
I went down into its very center.
The foundations of chaos trembled.
I concealed myself because of their wickedness.
They did not see me.
I came down a second time, continuing my work.
I emerged from among the beings of light; I am the memory of Providence.
I entered the middle of darkness, the deep recesses of the underworld,
to fulfill my calling.
The foundations of chaos shook, threatening to crumble upon all who were within and utterly overwhelm them.
I rose upward again to my origins in the light
so as not to destroy them yet.
A third time, I descended.
I am Light.
I dwell within Light.
I am the memory of Providence.
I entered the heart of darkness;
I reached the lowest regions of the underworld.
I let my face shine forth, mindful of the end of their time.
I stepped into their prison, for the body is that prison.
I cried aloud:
“Whoever hears me, arise from deep slumber!” And the one who slept awakened and sobbed, shedding sorrowful tears and asking,
“Who is calling me?
Where has my hope come from, as I lie in the depths of this dungeon?”
I answered,
“I am the Providence of pure Light.
I am the Thought of the Virgin Spirit, raising you up to an honorable place.
Rise now!
Remember what you have heard.
Look to your origin—
to me, the merciful One.
Beware of the demons of poverty, guard against the forces of chaos,
and every power that would ensnare you.
Awaken!
Remain watchful!
Come forth from the depths of the underworld!”
I lifted him up, and I sealed him with the living water of the five seals.
Death could no longer hold him.
I ascend once again to the perfect realm, all things completed, and you have heard them recounted.
“I have revealed all these matters, so record them and share them discreetly with your spiritual companions, for they contain the mystery of the unmoved race.” The Savior gave these instructions to be carefully written down, saying:
“Whoever trades them for gifts, or for food, or for drink, or for garments, or anything of that kind, will be accursed.”
These revelations appeared to John in secret.
Immediately, the Savior vanished.
John returned to his fellow disciples and told them all the Savior had said to him.
Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Colophon
This text is reproduced from translations made available through the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org), based on the critical editions of the Coptic Gnostic Library published by E. J. Brill (Leiden). The Nag Hammadi codices were discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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