Pistis Sophia

CHAPTER 1

I. But it happened that after Jesus had risen from the dead he spent eleven years speaking with his disciples, and he taught them only as far as the places of the first ordinance and as far as the places of the First Mystery, which is within the veil which is within the first ordinance, which is the 24^th mystery outside and below , these which are in the second space of the First Mystery, which is before all mysteries the Father in the form of a dove . And Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come forth from that
First Mystery which is the last mystery, namely the 24^th".
And the disciples did not know and understand that there was anything within that mystery. But they thought that that mystery was the head of the All , and the head of all the things that exist . And they thought that it was the completion of all completions, because Jesus had said to them concerning
the mystery, that it surrounded the first ordinance and the five incisions and the great light and the five helpers (parastatai) and the whole Treasury of Light. And moreover Jesus had not spoken
to his disciples of the whole extent of the places of the great invisible one and the three triple powers and the 24 invisible ones and all their places and their aeons and all their ranks, how they extend - these
which are the emanations of the great invisible one - and their unbegotten ones and their self-begotten ones and their begotten ones and their luminaries and their unpaired ones and their archons and their powers (exousiai) and their lords and their archangels and their angels and their
decans and their ministers and all the houses of their spheres and all the ranks of each one of them.

And Jesus had not told his disciples of the whole extent of the emanations of the treasury, nor their ranks how they extend, nor had he told them of their saviours, according to the rank of each one, how they are. Nor had he told them which watcher is over each of the doors of the Treasury of Light.
Nor had he told them of the place of the twin saviour who is the child of the child.
Nor had he told themof the place of the three amens, in which places they extend,
and he had not told them in which places the five trees are spread, nor of the seven other amens, namely the seven voices, which their place is and how they extend.
And Jesus had not told his disciples of what type are the five helpers (Parastatai).
Or into which places they are brought. Nor had he told them in what manner the great light extends, or into which places it is brought- Nor had he told them of the five incisions, nor concerning the first ordinance, into which places they are brought.
But he had only spoken to them in general, teaching them that they existed.
But he had not told them their extent and the rank of their places according to how they exist. Because of this they also did not know that other places existed within that mystery. And he had not said to his disciples : "I came forth from such and such places until I entered that mystery, until I came forth from it." But he had said to them as he taught them : "I came forth from that mystery".

Because of this they thought now of that mystery that it was the completion of all completions,
and that it was the head of the All, and that it was (the) whole pleroma, since Jesus had said to his disciples: "That mystery surrounds the totalities of which I have told you all from the day on which I met you until today". Because of this the disciples thought now that there was nothing existing within that mystery.

CHAPTER 2.

It happened as the disciples were sitting with one another upon the Mount of Olives, as they spoke these
words they rejoiced with great joy, and they were very jubilant, and they said to one another: "We are blessed beyond all men who are on earth because the Saviour has revealed these things to us, and we have received the pleroma and the whole completion". As they were saying these things to one another, Jesus was sitting at a short distance from them.

It happened, however, on the 1sth of the moon in the month of Tôbe, which is the day on which the moon
becomes full, now on that day when the sun had risen on its path , there came forth after it a great power of light, giving a very great light, and there was no measure to its accompanying light , for it came forth from the Light of Lights, exceedingly, with (a) light to which there was no measure.
And the disciples gazed after him, and not one of them spoke until he had reached heaven, but they all kept a great silence. Now these things happened on the 15^th of the moon, on the day on which it is full in the month of Tôbe.
Now it happened when Jesus went up to heaven, after three hours all the powers of the heavens were disturbed, and they all shook against one another, they and all their aeons, and all their places and all their ranks and the whole earth moved with all who dwelt upon it. And all the men in the world were agitated, and also the disciples. And they all thought : "Perhaps the world will be rolled up". And all
the powers which are in the heavens did not cease from their agitation, they and the whole world, and they all moved against one another from the third hour of the 15^th of the moon in (the month of) Tôbe until the ninth hour of the following day. And all the angels and their archangels and
all the powers of the height all sang praises to the innermost of the inner , so that the whole world heard their voices, and they did not cease until the ninth hour of the following day.

CHAPTER 3.

Now it happened when the light-power had come down upon Jesus, it gradually surrounded him completely.
Then Jesus rose or ascended to the height, giving light exceedingly, with (a) light to which there was no measure.
And the disciples gazed after him, and not one of them spoke until he had reached heaven, but they all kept a great silence. Now these things happened on the 1sth of the moon, on the day on which it is full in the month of Tôbe.
Now it happened when Jesus went up to heaven, after three hours all the powers of the heavens were disturbed, and they all shook against one another , they and all their aeons, and all their places and all their ranks and the whole earth moved with all who dwelt upon it. And all the men in the world were agitated, and also the disciples. And they all thought : "Perhaps the world will be rolled up". And all
the powers which are in the heavens did not cease from their agitation, they and the whole world, and they all moved against one another from the third hour of the 1sth of the moon in (the month on Tôbe until the ninth hour of the following day. And all the angels and their archangels and all the powers of the height all sang praises to the innermost of the inner , so that the whole world heard their voices, and they did not cease until the ninth hour of the following day.

CHAPTER 4.

The disciples, however, sat with one another in fear, and were greatly agitated. ( They were afraid, however, on account of the great earthquake which happened, and they wept together, saying: "What will happen now? Perhaps the Saviour will destroy all the places".
As they were saying these things and were weeping to one another, on the ninth hour of the following day the heavens opened, and they saw Jesus coming down, giving light exceedingly, and there was no measure to the light in which he was. For he gave more light than in the hour -that he went up to heaven, so that the men in the world were not able to speak of the light which was his, and it cast forth very many rays of light, and there was no measure to its rays. And his light was not equal throughout, but it was of different kinds, and it was of different types, so that some were many times superior to others, and the whole light together was in three forms, and the one was many times superior to the other; the second which was in the middle was superior to the first which was below; and the third which was above them all was superior to the second which was below. And the first ray which was below them all was similar to the light which had come down upon Jesus before he went up to heaven, and it was quite equal to it in its light. And the three light-forms were of different kinds of light and they were of different types. And some were many times superior to others.

CHAPTER 5.

It happened, however, when the disciples saw these they were greatly afraid and agitated. Now Jesus, the
compassionate and tender-hearted, when he saw that his disciples were in great agitation, he spoke to them saying: "Be courageous. It is I, do not fear".

CHAPTER 6.

Now it happened when the disciples heard these words, they said : "Lord, if it be thou, draw thy light-glory to thyself so that we can stand, otherwise our eyes are darkened and we are agitated, and also the whole world is agitated , because of the great light which is thine".
Then Jesus drew to himself the glory of his light. And when this had happened all the disciples took courage, they came before Jesus, they all prostrated themselves at the same time, they worshipped him, rejoicing with great joy. They said to him : "Rabbi, where didst thou go, or what was thy service in which thou didst go, or for what reason were all these disturbances and all these earthquakes which happened ?"
Then Jesus, the compassionate, said to them : "Rejoice and be glad from this hour because I have been to the places from whence I came forth. From today onwards now I will speak with you openly from the beginning of the truth until its completion. And I will speak with you face to face, without parable . I will not conceal from you, from this hour onwards, anything of the things of the height and of the place of the truth. For I have been given authority, through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all the mysteries, that I should speak with you from the beginning until the pleroma, and from within outwards, and from without inwards. Hear now, so that I tell you all things.
It happened as I was sitting at a short distance from you upon the Mount of Olives, I was thinking of the rank of the service for which I was sent, that it should be completed, and that my garment was not yet sent to me by the First Mystery, which is the 24^th mystery from within outwards.
These (24 mysteries) are in the second space of the First Mystery in the rank of that space. It happened now when I knew that the rank of the service for which I had been sent was completed, and that that mystery had not yet sent me the garment, which I had left behind within it until the time was completed - as I thought of these things, I was sitting upon the Mount of Olives at a short distance from you.

CHAPTER 7

It happened when the sun rose in the East now after-
wards, through the First Mystery which had existed from
the beginning, because of which (the All existed, from
which I myself have come just now - not prior to my
crucifixion , but now - it happened through the command
of that mystery, it sent me my garment of light, which it
had given to me from the beginning, which I had left behind
in the last mystery which is the 24^th mystery from within
outwards, these (24 mysteries) which are in the ranks of the
second space of the First Mystery. That garment (of light)
now I had left behind in the last mystery until the time
was completed that I should put it on me, and that I should
begin to speak with the race of mankind, and reveal to them
all things from the beginning of the truth until its completion,
and speak to them from the innermost of the inner to the
outermost of the outer, and from the outermost of the outer
to the innermost of the inner. Rejoice and be glad , and
rejoice still more, that it is given to you that I should speak
with you first from the beginning of the truth until its com-
pletion. Because of this indeed I have chosen you from the
beginning ( through the First Mystery. Rejoice now and
be glad , because when I entered the world I brought the
twelve powers with me, as I told you from the beginning,
which I took from the twelve saviours of the Treasury
of Light, according to the command of the First Mystery.
These now I cast into the wombs of your mothers when
I came into the world, and it is these which are in your
bodies today. For these powers have been given to you above
the whole world, for you are those who are able to save
the whole world, so that you should be able to withstand
the threat of the archons of the world, and the sufferings
of the world and their dangers, and all their persecutions
which the archons of the height will bring upon you. For
I have said to you many times that the power which is
within you I have brought from the twelve saviours, which
are in the Treasury of Light. For this reason I have indeed
said to you from the beginning that you are not from the
world; I also am not from it . For all men who are in the
world have received souls from (the power) of the arclions
of the aeons. The power, however, which is in you, is from
me but your souls belong to the height. I have brought
twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of
the Light, taking them from the part of my power, which
I received at first. And when I entered the world I came
to the midst of the archons of the sphere, and I took the
likeness of Gabriel, the Angel of the aeons, and the archers
of the aeons did not recognise me . But they thought that
I was the Angel Gabriel. Now it happened that when I came
into the midst of the archons of the aeons, I looked down at
the world of mankind, at the command of the First Mystery.
I found Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist , before
she had conceived him and I cast into her a power which
I had received from the Little Jao , the Good, who is in the
Midst, so that he should be able to preach before me, and
prepare my way and baptise with water of forgiveness .
Now that power was in the body of John. And again, in
place of the soul of the archons which he was due to receive,
I found the soul of the prophet Elias in the aeons of the
sphere; and I took it in and I took his soul again; I brought
it to the Virgin of the Light, and she gave it to her
paralemptors . They brought it to the sphere of the archons,
and they cast it into the womb of Elisabeth. But the power
of the Little Jao, he of the Midst, and the soul of the
prophet Elias were bound in the body of John the Baptist.
You doubted now at the time when I spoke to you because
John said : ‘I am not the Christ’ and you said to me :
‘lt is written in the scripture : when the Christ shall come,
there will come Elias before him and he will prepare his
way’. But when you said this to me, I said to you : ‘Elias
has indeed come and he has prepared all things, as it is
written : And they did to him as they pleased. And when
I knew that you did not understand what I said to you
concerning the soul of Elias, which was bound in John the
Baptist, I answered you openly in speech, face to face, saying :
‘lf it pleases you to accept John the Baptist, he is Elias of
whom I have said that he will come’".

CHAPTER 8.

Jesus continued again speaking and said: "Now it
happened after this, through the command of the First
Mystery, I looked down again upon the world of mankind,
I found Mary, who is called my mother according to the
material body. I spoke to her in the type of Gabriel , and
when she turned to the height towards me, I cast into her
the first power which I had received from the Barbelo,
which is the body which I wore in the height. And in place
of the soul, I cast into her the power which I received
from the great Sabaoth, the Good , who is in the place
of the right. And the twelve powers of the twelve saviours
of the Treasury of the Light, which I received from the twelve
servers which are in the Midst, I cast into the sphere of the
archons. And the decans of the archons and their ministers
thought that they were souls of the archons, and the ministers
brought them, they bound them in the bodies of your
mothers. And when your times were completed, they bore
you into the world without there being souls of the archons
in you. And you have received your parts from the power
which the last helper (parastates) had breathed into the
mixture, this (power) which is mixed with all the invisible
ones and all the archons and all the aeons. In a word, it is
mixed with the world of destruction, namely the mixture.
This (power) which, from the beginning, I brought out of
myself, I cast into the first ordinance. And the first ordinance
cast a part of it into the great light. And the great light cast
a part of what it received into the five helpers (parastatai),
and the last helper (parastates) took a part from what it
received and cast it into the mixture. And (the part) has
come to be in all who are in the mixture, as I have just
said to you."

Now Jesus was saying these things to his disciples upon
the Mount of Olives. Jesus now continued again in the
discourse with his disciples: "Rejoice and be glad , and
add joy to your joy, because the times are completed that
I should put on my garment which was prepared for me
from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery
until the time of its completion. But the time of its com-
pletion is the time when I am commanded by the First
Mystery to speak to you from the beginning of the truth
to its fulfilment, and from the innermost of the inner (to
the outermost of the outer), because the world will be saved
by you. Rejoice and be glad because you are blessed
beyond all men upon earth, because it is you who will save
the whole world."

CHAPTER 9

It happened now when Jesus finished saying these
words to his disciples, he continued again with the discourse,
and he said to them : "Behold, I have put on my garment
and all authority is given to me through the First Mystery.
Yet a little time, and I will tell you ( the mystery of the
All and the pleroma of the All, and I will not hide anything
from you from this hour, but in completion I will complete
you in every pleroma and in every completion and in every
mystery ; these are the completion of all completions and the
Pleroma of all Pleromas and the gnosis of all gnosis, these
which are in my garment. I will tell you all the mysteries
from the outermost of the outer to the innermost of the
inner. Hear, nevertheless, and I will tell you everything
which has happened to me.

CHAPTER 10.

It happened now when the sun rose in the East,
a great power of light came down, in which was my garment
which I had left in the 24^th mystery, as I have just been
telling you. And I found a mystery in my garment, written
in the manner of writing of those of the height :<lacuna untranslatable>
whose interpretation is : ‘O Mystery which art outside the world ,
because of which the All exists - this is the whole coming forth
and the whole ascent which has emanated all emanations and all
that is within them, and because of which all mysteries and all
their places exist - come forth to us because we are thy
fellow-members.

But we all with thee alone, we and thou are one and the
same. Thou art the First Mystery which has existed from
the beginning in the Ineffable One, before he went forth,
and the name of that one is all of us. Now all together we
will approach thee at the last boundary , which is the last
mystery from within, itself a part of us. Now we have sent
thee thy garment which has belonged to thee from the
beginning, which thou didst leave in the last boundary,
which is the last mystery from within, until its time was
completed according to the command of the First Mystery.

Behold, the time is completed. Put it on, come to us, that
we all approach thee to put on thee the First Mystery
with all his glory, through his own command; as the First
Mystery, having two garments , has given it to us that we
should put it on thee, apart from this which we have sent
thee because thou art worthy, since thou art first among us
and thou didst exist before us . Because of this the First
Mystery has sent to thee through us the mystery of his
whole glory, having two garments. That is, in the first is
all the glory of all the names of all the mysteries and all
the emanations and the ranks of the spaces of the Ineffable
One. And in the second garment is the whole glory of the
name of all the mysteries and all the emanations which are
in the ranks of the two spaces of the First Mystery. And
in this garment which we have now sent thee is the glory
of the name of the mystery of the informer, which is the
first ordinance, and the mystery of the five incisions, and
the mystery of the great messenger of the Ineffable, who is
the great light, and the mystery of the five leaders who are
the five helpers (parastatai). And furthermore, there is in
that garment the glory of the name of the mystery of all the
ranks of the emanations of the Treasury of the Light, and
their saviours, and (the mystery on the ranks of the ranks,
which are the seven amens and the seven voices and the
five trees and the three amens and the twin saviour, namely
the child of the child, and the mystery of the nine watchers
of the three gates of the Treasury of the Light . And further-
more there is in it the whole glory of the name (of all
those) who are on the right, and all those who are in the
Midst. And furthermore there is in it the whole glory of the
name of the great invisible one, who is the great forefather ,
and the mystery of the triple power, and the mystery, of their
whole place, and the mystery, of all their invisible ones and
of all those who are in the thirteenth aeon , and the name
of the twelve aeons and of all their archons and all their
archangels and all their angels, and of all those which are
in the twelve aeons, and the whole mystery, of the names of
all those which are in the Heimarmene and all the heavens.
And the whole mystery of the name of all those in the sphere,
and their firmaments and all those which are in them, and
all their places. Behold now, we have sent thee that garment
which no one knew, from the first ordinance downwards,
because the glory of its light was hidden within it. And the
spheres and all the places from the first ordinance down-
wards (did not know it). Behold now, put on this garment
quickly.

Come to us that we approach thee to put on thee
thy two garments, through the command of the First Mystery
they having been for thee with the First Mystery since the
beginning until the time appointed by the Ineffable One
which contained their name. They were exceedingly afraid
and all their bonds in which they were bound were loosened,
and each one abandoned his rank. And they all prostrated
themselves in my presence, they worshipped, saying : ‘How
has the Lord of the All passed through us without our
knowing?’ And they all sang praises at once to the inner-
most of the inner. However they did not see me, but they
saw the light alone and they were in great fear . And they
were greatly agitated, and they sang praises to the innermost
of the inner.