Muddy Waters,
I'm so glad to find a duscussion on these writings. I am very comfortable with integrating their explanations in my own continueing research. I do find a lot of it not only comforting to know, but all logical to accept as fact with many of the texts. MY core beliefs stem from ealy age being taught in Catholic Chruch and schools. As a teenager I had issues with some of the early Catholic Church teachings, always wanted to understand the Bible and so began studying with JW woman. Was baptized within 8 months . Met my husband, we fell in love during that time, married and had 4 children. Life experience in the WT world proved to be more than stressful over the 25 years we were in the cult. Faded quickly and after being one of those families that were hurt by WT mistreatment of Sexual Abuse accusers. A lot of pain and disillusions and serious bullying from the elders towards our family, and disfellowshipping me and my husband, proved to be too much. I came out with PTSD and my therapist told me I had a normal reaction to an abnormal event enabled by this spiritually abusive authorataian religion. It was very freeing to leave, and reinvent myself and felt glad our family was able to get out together. My husband and I tried to visit another bible based church, but it just brought up to many negative feelings in our hearts that were left over from WT abuse. So now we're comfortable not belonging to any church community. Just recently I began reading the Gnostic Books of Apocrypha. I spent a lot of time looking up many terms in dictionery, words I didn't quite understand. But these writings seem to answer many questions I had as a JW, and I find them very enlightening and comforting. Upon reading I've learned so far that there is the Great ineffable Unnameable, Pure, True, Good God the TRue God, who is the True Great Invisible Light and Supreme Father, the All. Residing alone in the fullness of the Pleroma the highest of the heavenly Aeons. This Spirt of immeasurable Light looked in the spring of life and by the power of his thought he brought forth an emanation of his light and power was like his, the feminine aspect of himself. Being Androngenous, his feminine courterpart the forethought of all and the perfect Aeon, she was known as Barbelo. She emminated the first thought, his image, she became the womb of everything. For it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother Father , to the first man, the Holy Spirt, the thrice male, the thrice powerful, the thrice named Powerful , thrice androngenous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones and the first to come forth of the Father of Light.
And From the pure light that emanated from her and surrounding The Father, a spark ignited from him and she conceived another pure light – the "Only-Begotten Child" of His, or the divine Autogenes as the text called him. The divine Autogenes was the aeon Christ - the "Anointed One". Like his father and mother, Autogenes (Christ) was pure and holy. Everything the Son (Autogenes/Christ) have done, he work for the glories of his Father (Spirit) and Mother (Barbelo). Here are the Gnostic holy Trinity – Father, Mother and Son, like the Orthodox concept of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the three perfect aeons.
From the Spirit and the Christ, they produced four helpers for Autogenes (Christ), known as the Luminaries or the Light Aeons. Under each light-aeon, there were three aeons, making a total of twelve aeons.
- The light-aeon Armozel (or Harmozel) was the first angel, and with him, was three aeons – grace, truth and form.
- The second light-aeon was Oriel (or Oroiael; possibly the archangel Uriel), with three other aeons – conception, perception and memory.
- The third light was Daveithai, who was in company of understanding, love and idea.
- The fourth light aeon was Eleleth, and with him – perfection, peace and wisdom (Sophia).
All four light aeons and twelve aeons served Autogenes (Christ). Christ works on the Spirit's will, while the Spirit works through Christ. Four other beings dwelled with four Luminaries. Pigera-Adamas or Adamas, the perfect human being (Cosmic Man), lived with Armozel. Seth, the son of Adamas, dwelled with Oriel. The Posterity of Seth, or the souls of holy people, lived with Daveithai. Finally, the last aeon known as the Souls, those who are not acquainted with the truth or gnosis until later, dwelled with Eleleth.
It is at this point that the text shifted its focus away from the Triad, to the lowest and the youngest of the twelve aeons – Sophia (the aeon of Wisdom).
MW I really think these stories are facinating. This small piece of writing is from the Apocryphon of John, as told be John the son fo Zebeddee whe Jesus appeared to him after his resurrection, he told John about all of the differnt abodes of he heavenly Pleroma, goes on to explain how the evil creator god is emminated in lower heavely aeons, uses the light and power from the aeon Sofia to create his own creations alone in universe of his created matter in shadow. In the shadow of his world he ignorantly believes he's the only one and creates myiads of angels and archons, who are defective as he is. He creates heavens and thrones for these angels and archons, proclaims to be the only god, there is no other, he will not share his worship because he is a jealous god. His name is given by his Mother Sofia and she calls him Yaltobaoth, and proceeds to hide him in the shadow of dark matter. So he is unable to emminate light because the shadow has dimmed the light he got from his mother.
Sophia and the Demiurge
Most Gnostics see Sophia or "Wisdom" as the most important aeon, after the Autogenes (Christ). Sophia was important, because she set in motion the creation of the material world.
Sophia was a Greek name for wisdom. Another name frequently associated with Sophia, was Pistis or "Faith". Sometimes Pistis was seen as a separate being, where she was seen as the mother of Sophia, but often Pistis was just another name for Sophia. Frequently, various texts used the two name together, as Pistis Sophia, as in the The Hypostasis of the Archons.
Sophia as the mother, should not be confused with Barbelo, the perfect mother. Whereas Barbelo was known as "Forethought", Sophia was equated "Afterthought". Here we see the text is influenced with these names (Forethought/Afterthought),
Sophia, tried to emulate the invisible Spirit (Father) in producing Barbelo, by created an image of herself. Meaning that she wanted to produce an offspring, without either consort or the approval of her Father (Spirit). As an aeon, she did have the power to do so, but she wasn't perfect like the great Spirit, or like the other two perfect aeons, Barbelo and the Autogenes.
She was horrified when she spawned an ugly, imperfect creature – a lion-faced serpent with eyes of fire, whom she called Yaldabaoth.
Sophia cast her offspring out of pleroma, and hid her child within a thick cloud from the other aeons, because of her embarrassment and shame.
Yaldabaoth was the first of the archon ("ruler") and he stole his mother's power, so that she wasn't able to escape from the cloud. Despite gaining Sophia's aeonic power, he was weak, but he was ambitious and power hungry.
Since the archons, including Yaldabaoth, were androgynous beings, Yaldabaoth fathered twelve archons, giving each a bit of his power. They were named Athoth, Harmas, Kalila-Oumbri, Yabel, Adonaiou (or Sabaoth), Cain, Abel, Abrisene, Yobel, Armoupieel, Melceir-Adonein and Belias. Seven archons would rule seven heavens and fivein the abyss, which Yaldabaoth and the archons created. Each archon would rule a heaven (or the abyss), and created 365 angels to help them.
According to The Origin of the World, there is an interesting account about his children. Yaldabaoth created a realm, called matter. And from this matter, Yaldabaoth created seven androgynous offspring, like himself, to rule seven realms or heavens of chaos. Each offspring have masculine and feminine names.
His first son opened his eye for the first time, he said "Eee!", so Yaldabaoth called his son Eee-a-o, which is ‘Yao’. The second opened his eyes and said "Eh!", so his father called him ‘Eloai’, while the third said "Asss!" so he was called ‘Astaphaios’.
| | | Sambathas | Pronoia (Forethought) | | Yao | Lordship | | Sabaoth | Deity | | Adonaios | Kingship | | Elaios | Jealousy | | Oraios | Wealth | | Astaphaios | Sophia (Wisdom) |
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In his arrogance, Yaldabaoth boasted to the other archons that:
"I am God and there is no other God beside me!" – The Apocryphon of John (II 11:20)
Yaldabaoth was weak and ignorant, because he didn't realise that were any power greater than him. He thought he was the First. Yaldabaoth had sinned for saying these words, which was why he was called Samael – "the blind god". He has another name – Saklas, a name usually assigned to Satan.
According to The Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World, it was Sophia, who rebuked him and gave him this name, Samael.
"You are mistaken, Samael" – The Hypostasis of the Archons (II 87:2)
It was at this point that the voice of the invisible Spirit was heard, rebuking Yaldabaoth and the archons. They trembled in fear, and saw reflected on the water, the image of God (Spirit), in human form.
According to The Hypostasis of the Archons, after this boast, he challenged the voice:
"If any other thing exists before me, let it be shown forth to me!" – The Hypostasis of the Archons (II 94:25)
So Sophia stretch forth her finger and brought limitless light into matter and the region of chaos. The chief archon trembled in fear.
When Yaldabaoth and the other archons heard the voice. They sought this voice and traced the voice to the abyss, where the chief archon saw the reflection of his mother in the water. They want take hold of the image but could not. They were ignorant and weak, because they didn't understand that the image was reflected from above.
"I am a jealous God, and there is no other God beside me."
But by announcing this he indicated to the angels who attended him that there exists another God. For if there were no other one, of whom would he be jealous? – The Apocryphon of John (II 13:9-12)
If there are no other gods then why would he be jealous?
It was at this point that Sophia realised what she have done, and repented. She prayed to her Father for her deliverance, and the restoration of the power that her son (Yaldabaoth) had stolen from her. Her light was diminishing, since the theft of her power. She was moving about, back and forth.
It was at this point that the voice of the invisible Spirit was heard, rebuking Yaldabaoth and the archons. They trembled in fear, and saw reflected on the water, the image of God (Spirit), in human form.
Shana
