New discovery of a lost gospel

by Leolaia 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

Leolaia

The reference to Allogenes is quite an enigmatic one in the Gospel of Judas. In the Nag Hammadi corpus, there is a tractate entitled Allogenes which relates the story of how "Allogenes" gradually attained true gnosis (particularly relating to the Triple Power of Being, Vitality, and Mind, a concept influenced by Neo-Platonism) and divinity and how he has returned to instruct a neophyte named Mesus to follow his own example. Porphyry (Vita Plotinus, 16) in the third century also mentions the use of "the revelations bearing the names of Zoroaster, Zostrianus, Nicotheus, Allogenus, Mesus, and others" by heretical Christians. The character of Allogenes in the Gospel of Judas raises the question of relation between Judas and these other Sethian treatises (including the Apocryphon of James, which Allogenes is dependent on, and Zostrianus, which was included alongside Allogenes in the Nag Hammadi library), and it raises the question of who Allogenes was supposed to be in the plot of Jesus' betrayal. The pages are out of context, so I have no idea whether Allogenes is a name used of Christ, or Judas, or someone else entirely.
The extant story here seems to start with the humiliation of Allogenes; if there is continuity in pronominal reference, Allogenes would seem to no longer "have the power to enslave them", whoever "they" are, they are now "victorious" over him. In connection with the passion, this language sounds suggestive of Christ's humiliation of the archons (cf. Colossians 2:14-15; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8; Ascension of Isaiah 10:7-12; compare also John 12:31-32, 14:30, 16:11, 33 in which Jesus has condemned the "prince of the world" and "conquered the world"), and is reminiscent too of Irenaeus' (Adversus Haereses, 1.31.1) statement about throwing heavenly things into confusion. Could this mean that Allogenes is an archon? Then Allogenes prays to God for deliverance, and the prayer is reminiscent of Jesus' prayer to his Father on Mount Olives just prior to his betrayal (cf. Luke 22:42, "If you are willing, take this cup away from me"). Then we read that a cloud of light surrounds Allogenes (curiously, there is a shift to the first person here), and a voice addresses him: "O Allogenes, the voice of your prayer was heard and I was sent to you into this place to tell you the good news". But he recognizes that this is not the God of the "highest aeon" and Allogenes declares him to be Satan and commands him to flee from him, for "it is not you I seek but my Father". That sounds a lot like Jesus, but could it have been spoken by an archon, or by Judas? Considering Allogenes' role in the Sethian corpus as a revealer of true gnosis, it is hard to picture him on the side of the archons, and yet he appears to have been humiliated and lost power. As to his own identity and name, Allogenes declares to Satan, the "one who rules the world": "I am from a different race (genos). I am not of your race". This adds to the mystery. Is Allogenes different because he is man? Is he different because he is not an archon? Is Allogenes Judas? I guess time will tell.
rick_here

Leolaia,

As you say, time will tell what the Gospel of Judas may have to say.

I just read Allogenes (from the Nag Hammadi Library) for the first time yesterday after having gone through the (above, available & tentative) translations of sections from the Gospel of Judas, while trying to make some sense of it as it stands (in the available evidence). Speculation is obvious at this point, which goes without saying.

Before going further, both the name of Allogenes (Gk, "of another race" [or] "a stranger") and the actual saying by the Allogenes character here, "I am from a different race" are striking. Leaving this here for now, I was immediateluy reminded of something I had seen in the Odes of Solomon:

Ode 41 (James Charlesworth translation)

1. Let all the Lord's babes praise Him, and let us receive the truth of His faith.
2. And His children shall be acknowledged by Him, therefore let us sing by His love.
3. We live in the Lord by His grace, and life we receive by His Messiah.
4. For a great day has shined upon us, and wonderful is He who has given to us of His glory.
5. Let us, therefore, all of us agree in the name of the Lord, and let us honor Him in His goodness.
6. And let our faces shine in His light, and let our hearts meditate in His love, by night and by day.
7. Let us exult with the exultation of the Lord.
8. All those who see me will be amazed, because I am from another race.
9. For the Father of Truth remembered me; he who possessed me from the beginning.
10. For His riches begat me, and the thought of His heart.
11. And His Word is with us in all our way, the Savior who gives life and does not reject ourselves.
12. The Man who humbled Himself, but was exalted because of His own righteousness.
13. The Son of the Most High appeared in the perfection of His Father.
14. And light dawned from the Word that was before time in Him.
15. The Messiah in truth is one. And He was known before the foundations of the world, that He might give life to persons for ever by the truth of His name.
16. A new chant is for the Lord from them that love Him.
Hallelujah.

[cont'd]
rick_here

Notice that Odes of Solomon 41:8-10 appear as a (first person, singular) "quotation" of someone who the surrounding text identifies as the Savior, the Man who humbled himself [kenosis], the Messiah, and the Son of the Most High.

compare and contrast

Odes of Solomon 28:

13. Because I continually did good to every man I was hated.
14. And they surrounded me like mad dogs, those who in stupidity attack their masters.
15. Because their thought is depraved, and their mind is perverted.
16. But I was carrying water in my right hand, and their bitterness I endured by my sweetness.
17. And I did not perish, because I was not their brother, nor was my birth like theirs.
18. And they sought my death but did not find it possible, because I was older than their memory; and in vain did they cast lots against me.
19. And those who were after me sought in vain to destroy the memorial of Him who was before them.
20. Because the thought of the Most High cannot be prepossessed; and His heart is superior to all wisdom.
Hallelujah.

Here, I'd like to point back to 1 Enoch and bring up the theme of humanic "ascensions into heavenly realms," (or into The Divine Courtroom or Heavenly Council).

"Allogenes" in the NHL corpus comes to us as an indiviual, we might say. However, his character (or persona) is thematically compatible with persons who are divinely-driven and appear to us as as "quasi-divine persons" if you will. (See, the Son of Man in 1 Enoch).

It appears to me, by way of speculation (and guess-work), that the "Allogenes" in the Gospel of Judas is none other than the person of Jesus echoing back to when he was making his descent "toward the earth."

Another way of stating this would be that the "Allogenes" character is Jesus in the Gospel of Judas. What GJudas may say to us is a recapitulation of the current existential dilemma that Jesus faced, as the culminating result of his "descension [kenosis]" and just before his (existential) death. In short, I think the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane represent a kind of "earthly equivalent" of what was really happening -- in the higher spiritual realms....where the "real ontology exists", imo.

Did I just call myself a gnostic?
(LoL)

This may not make much sense, I know....
Biblical and non-canonical (or extra-biblical) literature are quite mystical and remotely removed from our present world and worldview. We re limited in our understanding.

I'll leave it here, for now.
rick

\o/
Leolaia

rick_here....Thanks for that very illuminating observation! Indeed, Odes of Solomon 41:8 is strikingly similar to Gospel of Judas 3:14-15, and the translation by Charlesworth indicates that Greek genos occurs in the Syriac just as the same word occurs in the Coptic of Judas. The statement about "all who see me will be amazed" reminds me of the logion in Gospel of Thomas 2:1 ("When one finds, one will be astonished (thambéthésetai), and having been astonished one will reign") which also occurs in the Gospel of the Hebrews, as well as the use of the same word in the secondary redaction of Mark (including Secret Mark) as a recurring reaction to Jesus. Eusebius (Historia Eccl., 2.13.7) also commented on the "secret rites" of the proto-gnostic Simon Magus and his wife Helena, "at which they say that he who first hears them will be astonished, and according to a scripture current among them 'will be thrown into marvel' (thambóthésesthai)". Another relevant text is Odes of Solomon 17:
"And all who saw me were amazed and I seemed to them like a stranger. And he who knew and exalted me is the Most High in all his perfection. And he glorified me by his kindness and raised my understanding to the height of truth. And from there he gave me the way of his paths, and I opened the doors which were closed. And I shattered the bars of iron, for my own irons had grown hot and melted before me, and nothing appeared closed to me, because I was the opening for everything. And I went toward all my bondsmen in order to loose them; that I might not abandon anyone bound or binding. And I gave my knowledge generously, and my resurrection through my love. And I sowed my fruits in their hearts, and transformed them through myself. Then they received my blessing and lived, and they were gathered to me and were saved; because they became my members and I was their head" (Odes of Solomon 17:6-16).
Verse 6 is an obvious parallel to 41:8, and associates the "amazement" with the exaltation and glorification of the Lord Messiah. Mark 16:5-6, 8 presents Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome as "amazed" at the sight of the "young man" at the Empty Tomb, whereas the Johannine episode involving Mary Magdalene has her not "recognizing" the man she encountered as Jesus (John 20:14-15), mistaking him for a gardner. Two separate accounts of the epiphany to Mary, one emphasizing the "amazed" reaction and the other emphasizing how Jesus appeared "like a stranger". JD Crossan interprets 17:9-10 as an allusion to the descensus ad inferos myth, involving a communial resurrection alluded to in the Ascension of Isaiah and possibly in the Gospel of Peter (cf. the talking cross). The rest of the passage, v. 13-16 is an interesting depiction of realized, inaugurated resurrection and redemption in the church, of the church as gathered into the Lord Messiah, with language reminiscent of Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 6:15, 11:3, Colossians 1:15-20, 2:10, and Ephesians 3:16, 4:15. There is also an interesting Petrine tradition about the church itself as being a "different race," of Christianity as the "third way" (neither Jew nor Gentile), cf. Kerygmata Petrou, Rec. 5.34, Preaching of Peter (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 6.5), the "chosen race (genos)" of 1 Peter 2:9, and the "true race" identified as "the seed of the Son of Man" in the Gospel of Philip 102:2.
All of this would be consistent with Allogenes being the Christ. The only problem, as I observed in my earlier post, is that Allogenes seemingly prays because some group "became victorious over him" and "he did not have the power to enslave them". Since this was the Son's hour of triumph over the powers of the world who themselves were emslaving the world, it is somewhat difficult to see how he is cast in the role of Allogenes.
Narkissos

On the other hand, in the NH text (http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/allogene.html) Allogenes (in contrast to Autogenes) does not seem to be the heavenly Revealer, rather a disciple who gradually came to gnôsis through a series of trials and then teaches another.
In the extant GJudas it is difficult to tell whether Allogenes or someone else is (temporarily?) defeated and unable to enslave (the archontes?). But this could suit a disciple character too. This reminds me of the increasingly difficult miracles in GMark, culminating with the story of the "unclean spirit" which the disciples are unable to cast out, and that Jesus himself exorcises with difficulty. Just another idea fwiw, everything is tentative at this stage.
rick_here

Narkissos adds:

....everything is tentative at this stage.

How true.

One simple solution to any speculations on our part would be to wait till the (extant) Gospel of Judas gets translated. And to proceed from there. But the tentative text is so significant and my curiotity is aroused. Iow, I can't wait!

I'm at a stage in my biblical and extra-biblical studies to where I can't let any "nuggets" (of information) simply pass me by. Another way of saying this is that the Gospel of Judas (in what we have, above) -- coupled with my reading Allogenes (in Nag Hammadi) -- has come to me as a kind of really good "case-scenario" to where I can put these things in some kind of general order. In other words, I'm just now getting a very basic understanding of what 'Gnostic Texts' mean (or meant) in their own historical context.

So my posting here (on this thread) is something of an exegetical experiment. A "testing of my (hermeneutical) methodology"...if you will. So please bear with me....
rick_here

Leolaia,
There is also an interesting Petrine tradition about the church itself as being a "different race," of Christianity as the "third way" (neither Jew nor Gentile)...

This "different race" theme was what attracted me to this thread (I went, wow)! However, what I have in mind is not specifically related to the 'inclusion of Gentiles' into the older Jewish fold (or covenant) in terms of what the NT has to say about these things, as in Romans and Galatians.

(Using our sytem of 'quoting' from the extant text of GJudas)

GJudas 3:
13. ...For I
14. was called Allogenes
15. because I am from
16. a different race....

compare & contrast

Odes of Solomon 28
17. And I did not perish, because I was not their brother, nor was my birth like theirs.

Odes of Solomon 41
8. All those who see me will be amazed, because I am from another race.

(and echoing back to an earlier text)
1 Enoch 39
1. And it shall come to pass in those days that elect and holy children will descend from the
2. high heaven, and their seed will become one with the children of men.

Odes of Solomon 31
4. Then He lifted his voice towards the Most High, and offered to Him those that had become sons through Him.

John 1 (NKJV)
10. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13. who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

This "from a different race" theme is continuing to appear to me as highly significant from even within the canonical Gospels (themselves) and presents a challenge to orthodox Christianity --- while using "their" texts. I'd like some feedback on this if "anyone" has time.

rick
\o/
aniron

If the rumors are correct that the gospel is akin to the one reported by Irenaeus, this would be the first gospel ascribed to the great villain of Christianity -- Judas Iscariot.
Why should it be Judas Iscariot? What evidence is there that it is?
There was more than one Judas mentioned.
Luke 6:13-16
"And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes. And Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor."
or
Matt 13:55
"Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"
Just as James, Jesus brother became a follower, why couldn't his other brother Judas also have done so, and written an account of what he saw and heard?
rick_here

Leolaia,

(backing up a bit, in reply)
One mystery in interpreting the fragment is this: "Although you are wicked in this place, you are the disciple of Jesus" (Gospel of Judas 6:13-14). What did Judas do that was wicked? Was he judged as wicked because he was a follower of Jesus (and they viewed Jesus as wicked), or did he do something else that was "wicked"?

Judas Iscariot's "surname" gives us clues here. Some scholars see a possiblity for Judas as having been from the tribe of Issachar (by lineage). If such may have been the case, Judas Iscariot's ancestry was from a region just south of the Galillee. However, by NT times we don't see a precedence of "surnames" based on tribal ancestry. (I know of none).

It seems more likely that Judas' "surname" stems from his political allegiances. Sicarri (Latin, transliterated into the Greek, sikairion) has etiology back to the Latin "sicae" -- meaning "a dagger." In fact, our English word "sickle" has the same root.

Josephus speaks of the Sicarri as a militant sub-sect who advocated not only the overthrowing of Rome, but of the apostate Temple authorities (due to their "submission to" or cooperation with to Rome). The Sicarri were the 1st century (Jewish) equivalent of the "Al Queda" that we see today in Islam. In other words, they were terrorists.

Judas would have been "wicked in this place" (in the Temple, or its precincts) in that he was not only a militant enemy of Rome; but of the Temple authorities themselves, who were "PC with them." He was also betraying his master (rabbi/teacher) which called into question his moral fortitude. Judas' agenda
was one of compromize; buddy-ing up with the enemy (= no respect, no trust).

However with that being said, this has no other relevance for what GJudas may mean, in terms of what its authors intended.

\o/
Midget-Sasquatch

The idea that Allogenes is a disciple nicely explains the initial failure to overcome the powers. If that disciple is Judas (he does after all have knowledge on how the struggle should be played out) could that bit about being of "a different race" be explained by the gnostic concept that there are 3 sorts of humans - hylic, psychic, and pneumatic. Didn't the Cainites have the same belief?
Maybe Allogenes was even the human Jesus, that some gnostics thought of as having a psychic body, to act as vessel for the Saviour from above. Maybe the defeat was before his merging with the Saviour (then he'd have the power and knowledge to do so). All wait and see....hopefully sometime in 2006.

New discovery of a lost gospel

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