The Apocryphon of John (short version)

The Apocryphon of John (short version)

The Apocryphon of John is commonly referenced by two other names: The Secret Book of John and The Secret Revelation of John, each depending upon how the word "Apocryphon" is translated. The two surviving Coptic manuscripts of the shorter version of The Apocryphon of John, found in the Berlin Codex and Nag Hammadi Library Codex III, are very similar, but they are not identical. In this edition prepared for the Gnostic Society Library both manuscripts have been edited together. Where the reading of NHL Codex III,1 varies from the Berlin Codex BG 8502,2, the variant version of the passages from Codex III are shown with blue text enclosed in brackets {}.

Sectional numbering has been added following the system proposed by Karen King, for details, see Karen King, The Secret Revelation of John. In Dr. King's system, sectional numbers are based on the texts from all four existing manuscripts. In the two "Short Version" manuscripts combined here, Berlin Codex and NHC III, some sections found in the "Long Version" are absent. For example, the introductory text in section 1 appears only in the long versions, and not in the short version. Thus the short version manuscripts begin with section 2.

This internet resource has been edited and formatted by Lance Owens and is based on the Waldstein and Wisse translations: Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1; III,1; And IV,1 With BG 8502,2 (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies), Brill Academic Pub, 1995. Also see: Karen King, The Secret Revelation of John, Harvard University Press, 2006.

For purposes of academic citation, please always refer to the print editions of the texts.

Visit the Apocryphon of John Collection for more information on this text.

2

Now it happened one day when John the brother of James, the sons of Zebedee, was going up to the temple, a Pharisee named Arimanios approached him. And he said to him, "Where is your teacher, the one whom you used to follow?"

He said to him, "He returned to the place from which he came." The Pharisee said to me, "This Nazorene deceived you (pl.) with error. [He filled [your (pl.) ears with lies], and he shut [your hearts]. He turned you (pl.) [from] the traditions of your fathers." When I heard these things, I turned from the temple to the mountain which was a place of desert. And I grieved greatly in my heart, saying, "How was the Savior appointed? Why was he sent into the world by his father who sent him? Who is his father? And of what sort is that aeon to which we will go? He told us that the aeon is modeled on that indestructible aeon, but he did not teach us about what sort the latter is."

4

He said to me, "[The Unit]y is a monarchy [with nothing] ruling over it. [It is] the God and Father of the All, the [h]oly, the invisible, [who ex]ists over the All, the one who [. . .] incorruption, [exist­ing as] pure light, into which it is not possible for any light of the eye to gaze.

It is the Spirit.

It is not appropriate to think about It as god or that It is something similar. For It surpasses divinity. It is a dominion having nothing to rule over It. For there is nothing existing before It nor does It have need of them.

It does not need life. For It is eternal. It does not need anything. For It cannot be made perfect as though It were deficient and only required perfecting. Rather It is always totally perfect.

5

What shall I say to you about the immeasurable light?

What is incomprehensible (can only be expressed as) the likeness of the light. In this manner, I will speak to you as far as I will be able to know It, for who could know It infinitely?

His aeon is indestructible, being in a state of tranquility, at rest in silence. (It is) the one that exists before the All, for It is the head of all the aeons if another thing does exist with It.

For none of those among us understood the things which belong to the immeasurable one except the one who appeared in It. It is he who told these things to us.

6

(It is) the one who knows Itself alone in the light-water that surrounds It, which is the spring of living water, the light which is full of purity. The spring of the Spirit flowed from the living water of the light and it abundantly supplied all the aeons and the worlds.

And Its thinking become a thing. She appeared. She stood in Its presence in the brilliance of the light; she is the power which is before the All. It is she who appeared, she who is the perfect Pronoia of the All, the light, the likeness of the light, the image of the Invisible, she who is the perfect power, Barbelo, the perfect aeon of the glory.

She glorifies It because she appeared through It and she perceived It. She is the primal Thought (Protennoia), Its image.

She became a primal Human, which is the virginal Spirit, the triple male, the one belonging to the triple power, the triple named, the triple begotten one, the androgynous aeon which does not grow old, who came from Its Pronoia.

7

And Barbelo requested It to give to him Foreknowledge. It assented. When It had assented, Foreknowledge appeared. He stood with Thought, who is Pronoia.

She glorified the Invisible one and the perfect power, Barbelo, for they came into being through her.

Again, this power requested It to give her Incorruption. And It assented. When It had assented, Incorruption appeared and she stood with Thought and Foreknowledge, glorifying the Invisible one and Barbelo since she had come into being because of her.

She requested It to give her Eternal Life. It assented. When It had assented, Eternal Life appeared. And they stood, glorifying It and Barbelo for they had come into being because of her from the revelation of the invisible Spirit.

This is the pentad of the Aeons of the Father, who is the primal Human, the image of the Invisible one, namely: Barbelo, Thought, Foreknowledge, Incorruptibility, and Eternal Life. This is the androgynous pentad which is the decad of the Aeons, the Father from the unbegotten Father.

8

Barbelo gazed intently into It, the pure light. She turned herself toward It. She gave birth to a spark of blessed light, but it was not equal to her in greatness. This is the Only-begotten who appeared from the Father, the divine Autogenes, the first-born son of the All of the Spirit of pure light.

The invisible Spirit rejoiced over the light which had come into being, the one who was the first to appear from the primal power, which is Its Pronoia, Barbelo. And It anointed him with Its goodness/ Christhood so that he became perfect. There was no lack of good/ Christ within him because he was anointed in the invisible Spirit's goodness/Christhood which It poured out for him.

And he received the anointing through the virginal Spirit. He stood in Its presence, glorying the invisible Spirit and the perfect Pronoia, from whom he had appeared.

And he asked to be given one single thing, Mind. The invisible Spirit assented. Mind appeared. He stood with Christ, glorifying him and Barbelo, for all these had come into being in silence and thought.

The invisible Spirit willed to perform a work. Its will became a work. He appeared. He stood with Mind and Light, glorifying It. The Word followed the Will. For through the Word, Christ created everything. The divine Autogenes, Eternal Life and Will, Mind and Foreknowledge stood, glorifying the invisible Spirit and Barbelo since they had come into being through her.

9

Through the Spirit, he perfected the divine eternal Autogenes, the son of Barbelo, so that he stood before the eternal virginal invisible Spirit. It was the divine Autogenes Christ that It honored with great honor, namely he who had come into being from Its primal Ennoia. That one is the one whom the invisible Spirit appointed as god over the All, the true god. It gave to him all authority and It caused the truth which is in It to be subject to him in order that he might know the All.

For from the light, which is the Christ, and Immortality, through the divine Spirit, the four great Lights appeared from the divine Autogenes so that they might stand before him.

The three are Will and Thought and Life. And the four are: Grace, Understanding, Perception, and Prudence.

Grace belongs to the primal Light Harmozel, who is the angel of light in the primal Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Grace, Truth, Form. The second Light Oroiael is the one he placed over the second Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Pronoia, Perception, Memory. The third Light Daveithe is the one he placed over the third Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Understanding, Love, Likeness. The fourth Light Eleleth is the one he placed over the fourth Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Perfection, Peace, Wisdom.

10

Our fellow sister, Sophia, being an Aeon, thought a thought from within herself and in the thought of the Spirit and the Foreknowledge.

She freely willed the likeness to appear from within herself although the Spirit had not agreed with her nor had It consented nor had her partner approved, the male virginal Spirit.

Because of the audacity within her, her thought was not able to be idle and her product came forth, being imperfect, ugly in his appearance, because she had made it without her partner. And he did not resemble the likeness of the Mother, for he had another form.

As she deliberated, she saw that he had become modeled after a different likeness, having the face of a serpent and the face of a lion. His eyes were shining with fire. She cast him away from her outside of those places so that none of the immortals might see him, because she had given birth to him in ignorance.

She united a luminous cloud with him. She placed a throne in the midst of the cloud so that no one might see him except the holy Spirit who is called Life, the mother of everyone. And she named him Yaldabaoth. He is the Chief Ruler, the one who attained a great power from the Mother.

11

He removed himself from her. He abandoned the place in which he had been born. He seized another place. He created for himself an aeon, which blazes with a shining fire, in which he now dwells.

And he copulated with Madness, who is in him. He begat authorities who are under him, the twelve angels, each one of them to his own aeon following the model of the immortal Aeons. And he created for each one of them seven angels each and for the angels three powers, these are all under him, 360 angelic beings with his third power, following the likeness of the primal model which is prior to him.

Now when the authorities appeared from the chief begetter, the chief ruler of the darkness, these were their names from the ignorance of he who had begotten them:

12

The names of the glories who are over the seven heavens are these:

13

He allotted them portions out of his own fire, but he did not give them any of his power from the pure light of the power which he had drawn from the Mother.

14

He saw the creation below him and the multitude of angels which are below him who came into being from him.

15

A voice came to her, "The Human exists and the Child of the Human." The chief ruler Yaldabaoth heard, but he did not think that the voice had come from the exalted height above.

The holy, perfect Father, the first Human of human form, taught them about himself. The Blessed one revealed his likeness to them.

16

The election shares body and essence with the Savior, since it is like a bridal chamber because of its unity and its agreement with him.

17

And he blew into it from his spirit, which is the power from the Mother, out of the Chief Ruler into the body.

18

And it remained inactive a long time because neither the seven authorities nor the 360 angels who had forged the links of the chain were able to awaken it.

19

The human shone because of the shadow of the light which is in him.

20

The Chief Ruler took him and placed him in paradise, of which he said, "It is a delight for him" but really so that he might deceive him.

21

And he wanted to bring out the power which had been given to him. And he cast a trance upon Adam.

22

Yaldabaoth knew that they had withdrawn from him. He cursed them.

23

I said, "Christ, will the souls of everyone live in the pure light?"

24

I said, "Christ, where did the counterfeit spirit come from?"

25

He made a plan with his angels. Their angels were sent to the daughters of men so that they might raise offspring from them, to be a respite for them.

26

So again the blessed Mother Father, whose mercy is great, takes form in her seed.

27

First I went up to this perfect aeon. And it is to you, John, that I speak these things so that you might write them down and give them in secret to your fellow spirits.

The Secret Revelation of John.

Based on the translations in: Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1;III,1; And IV,1 With BG 8502,2, Brill Academic Pub, 1995.

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