Apocryphon of John
The Apocryphon of John is a Gnostic , pseudepigraphic gospel of dialogue . It can be found in three versions among the Nag Hammadi writings . The shorter version is also in the since the 19th century known and from the 5th century coming Codex Berolinensis Gnosticus 8502 included (BG 8502.2). Irenaeus of Lyon gives a lecture on the Barbelo-Gnostics (Adv. Haer. I 29), the content of which corresponds to the middle part of John's Apocryphon.
classification
The pseudepigraphic text belongs to the tradition that made the apostle John the recipient of secret revelations. It can be divided into three parts. The first part is a revelation speech about the highest deity and about cosmogony , the second part a dialogue between John and Jesus about soteriological and anthropological questions, whereby the interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis plays a role. A typical protest exegesis can be found here, which rejects conventional interpretations of the texts. The third part consists of a hymn of the Gnostic redeemer Pronoia.
The Apocryphon of John is considered to be the core script of the Setian Gnosis .
content
The content of the Johannes apocryphon can be roughly structured as follows (based on the texts submitted by Lüdemann and Janßen (hereinafter abbreviated as "LJ") and Dietzfelbinger (hereinafter abbreviated as "D")):
introduction
(LJ 103-105, D 72-74)
Prompted by the doubts of a Pharisee, John asks himself questions about the background of Jesus' mission. This then appears to him in many forms in a vision with the task of passing on what he will now teach him to his companions from the steadfast sex.
The one immeasurable spirit
(LJ 105-107, D 74-76)
Attempt to describe the One, Original Spirit, the Father of All, immeasurable, unlimited, neither spatially nor temporally.
The First Thought - the Barbelo (the Pronoia of Space)
(LJ 107-108, D 76-78)
From the thinking of the Father emerges the First Thought , the Pronoia of the Universe. This is also called Barbelo - the glory of the virgin spirit, the image of the Father, the First Man. The first thought, the barbelo, asks the invisible spirit for first knowledge , immortality , eternal life and truth . These four enter into revelation and together they form the fivefold aeon, again called the First Man and also the Father .
Christ the only child
(LJ 108, D 78-79)
From the unmistakable spirit a spark of light is generated in the Barbelo, the native of the mother-father , the only birth , the pure light . He is anointed to perfection with goodness by the invisible Spirit (Christ the Anointed). The anointed one asks for a co-worker, the reason that comes into revelation.
The universe, the four lights, the twelve aeons
(LJ 108–110, D 79–82)
The reason wants to accomplish the work, and by the word of the universe is created, whose head is Christ. The three will , thought , and life come to him. The four lights or illuminators form the basis of the universe
- Armozel, the grace with the three eons of grace , truth , form ,
- Oriael, the perception with the three eons of perception , insight / reflection (= Epinoia ), memory ,
- Daveithai, understanding with the three eons Understanding , love , idea / image ,
- Eleleth, the wisdom with the three eons of wisdom (= Sophia ), perfection , peace ,
together the 12 aeons that belong to Christ the Son.
Above the four great illuminators are set:
- Pigera-Adamas , the perfect man (again!), The first revelation, the truth,
- his (Pigera-Adamas') son Seth ,
- the descendants of Seth and the souls of the saints,
- the souls of those who did not know the pleroma (= fullness).
The Sophia and Jaldabaoth
(LJ 110–114, D 82–88)
The Sophia wants to submit an image of itself appear, without the consent of the mind. But since she has the power, an imperfect work with a lion face is created. She calls it Yaldabaoth . He is the first archon (= ruler). Sophia pushes him away, but Yaldabaoth has great strength from his mother.
Yaldabaoth creates twelve archons (rulers) for himself. These create seven forces and the forces create angels. Yaldabaoth distributes his fire among them, is lord over them and calls himself "God" - an envious god besides whom there is no other god.
He names the seven forces
- Athoth - goodness
- Eloaio - prophecy
- Astraphaio - divinity
- Jao - rule
- Sabaoth - Kingdom
- Adonein - desire
- Sabbateon - wisdom
His order corresponds to the image of the first eons, not because he can see immortality, but because of the strength of his mother (Sophia) who is in him.
When Sophia sees the mistake she has made (she acted without the consent of the spirit and without the consent of her couple mate), she regrets. She is overwhelmed by darkness and ignorance, and is ashamed and weeping. The pleroma (= fullness) hears their penance and asks the spirit. So her couple mate is sent to her so that she can correct her mistake.
Creation of man
(LJ 114–119, D 88–93)
From the heights of the sublime aeons an impulse - voice and image of man - penetrates into the sphere of Yaldabaoth. This causes Yaldabaoth: "Let's create a man ...", "let's call him Adam".
Now follows a long list of creative forces or angels and their works:
- Seven forces (see above) create seven souls.
- Dozens of named angels create individual organs, whereby it is noticeable that internal organs are also enumerated in detail, and that creation is androgynous, i.e. contains both sexual characteristics.
- Seven rulers are set over the previous ones.
- 30 angels are named as being effective in the organs and members.
- Again seven rule over these.
- Five named forces oversee the functions of consciousness: sensory perception, absorption, imagination, harmony, movement.
- The source of the demons (= forces) that are in the body is heat, cold, wetness, dryness, four forces or principles are named that are masters of these four.
- The mother of all is matter, unlimited and true.
- Four leading demons are named, which are psychic in nature: lust, desire, sadness, fear, as well as several passions derived from each.
- The number of angels is 365.
- The list ends with a reference to the book of Zoroaster , in which the forces or angels should also be named that were not listed here.
The animation of Adam
(LJ 119–120, D 93–96)
Adam is motionless for a long time. At Sophia's request to the Mother-Father of the Universe to get her strength back from the First Archon (Yaldabaoth), the latter is given the advice to breath something of his spirit into Adam's face. He does not know that it is his mother's strength and he follows the advice. Then Adam moves, gets strength and glows.
At that moment, the archons and angels of the hierarchy of creation of Yaldabaoth become jealous because they realize that Adam's thinking is beyond their own. So they throw it down into the region at the bottom of matter.
The mother-father of the universe sends Adam an epinoia of light called life to help him . She instructs him about his coming down and the way back in order to correct the mistake of his mother (Sophia).
The paradise
(LJ 120–121, D 96–97)
The Archons (of Yaldabaoth) look down and see that Adam's thinking is higher than their own. You take the four elements , mix them together and bring Adam into the shadow of death. This is the fetter of oblivion. Adam becomes a mortal person. But the epinoia of light in him awakens his thinking.
The archons put him in paradise and order him to eat. The following is a list of the attributes of paradise and its trees, especially the tree of life ( their life), which are contrary to the commonly accepted view: deception , godlessness , poison , death , bitterness , hatred , wickedness , darkness .
Dialogue between Jesus and John: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the Epinoia of light. By means of the snake, Jaldabaoth tries to induce Adam to arbitrarily-creatively / sexually (depending on the translation) abuse of this property.
The creation of woman
(LJ 121–122, D 97–99)
Yaldabaoth wants to get his strength and especially the Epinoia of light out of Adam's rib. But the Epinoia of light cannot be grasped and Yaldabaoth brings out only part of his (own) power. After the image of Epinoia he creates a woman and brings the part of the power from Adam into the structure. When Adam sees the woman next to him, the light Epinoia appears so that Adam (again) recognizes.
Sophia came down to correct her mistake, therefore she is called life or mother of the living (= Zoe, Eva). Christ appears as an eagle on the tree of knowledge to awaken both of them from the depths of sleep and to straighten their thoughts.
When Yaldabaoth notices that they are moving away from him, he exposes himself to his angels in his ignorance and throws Adam and the woman out of paradise and dresses them in dark darkness.
Cain, Abel and Seth
(LJ 122–123, D 99–100)
The First Archon (Jaldabaoth) sees that the Epinoia of Light lets life appear in women and wants to defile them. The pronoia of the universe causes life to be taken from Eve beforehand. Two sons emerge from the defilement: Eloim and Jave (list of attributes). Jaldabaoth calls them Cain and Abel with a specific intention (these are the names of the sixth and seventh of the twelve archons that Jadabaoth created at the beginning - see above The Sophia and Jaldabaoth ).
With regard to cohabitation and sexual desire, there is a significant difference in the German-language translations:
- "To this day, sexual intercourse by the First Archon continues. And he planted sexual desire in those who belong to Adam." (Lüdemann & Janßen).
- "To this day, the establishment of cohabitation, which the First Ruler had established, has been preserved. He had placed the desire to procreate [in Adam]." (Dietzfelbinger).
The images of the bodies are awakened by cohabitation . Eloim and Jave or Cain and Abel are set over powers so that they rule over the cave / grave.
Adam creates the image of the Son of Man and calls him Seth (name in connection with the second of the four great illuminators of the universe - see above The universe, the four lights, the 12 aeons ).
The First Archon (Yaldabaoth) made them drink water of oblivion so that they would not know where they came from. But when the Spirit comes down from the sacred eons, they arise.
The ways of the souls
(LJ 123–124, D 100–103)
Dialogue between Jesus and John on the ways of souls:
- Those whose center of life corresponds to the spirit of life will complete good and inherit eternal life.
- Those in whom the spirit of life works but who do not do the works will be saved to the rest of the aeons, even if they were previously led astray by the despised spirit. Regarding the wrong ways, the conditions and relationships of the reincarnation sequence are discussed.
- Those who have realized and yet turned away go to a place where the angels of poverty go, a place of no repentance. Those who have blasphemed the Holy Spirit will be punished there with eternal punishment.
Fate, Noah, fornication, despised spirit
(LJ 124–126, D 103–106)
Explanation of Jesus to John's question about the despised spirit / spirit of rebellion (depending on the translation):
The First Archon (Yaldabaoth) wants to control the minds of people, but does not know that this is not possible. He and his powers break the marriage with Sophia and a bitter fate ( Heimarmene ) is fathered by them. From that fate all sins , injustice , blasphemy , the fetters of oblivion , ignorance , every difficult arrangement / every wrong order (depending on the translation), the great fear arise . Fate captivates with measures , times and points in time .
Yaldabaoth regrets everything and wants to destroy it with a flood. This is communicated to Noah from on high, who hides himself in a cloud of light with many other people of the unwavering sex.
Yaldabaoth sends his angels to the daughters of men to beget offspring for their pleasure. They fail and therefore create a despised spirit that imitates the spirit that descended. The angels change their appearance according to the couple's mates to fill them with the spirit of darkness. They bring gold, silver, gifts, metals and shapes and mislead the people who follow them.
People grow old without leisure, die without having found the truth, without having known God, and so the whole of creation is enslaved. The angels take women and father children through the darkness in the image of their spirit.
Triple descent of the Pronoia of the Universe, awakening and redemption
(LJ 126–127, D 106–107)
The perfect pronoia of the universe speaks in first person form in these last paragraphs:
- The pronoia of the universe extends into the size of darkness to the center of the prison.
- Again the Pronoia of the universe goes into the middle of darkness and into the inside of the underworld.
- For the third time the Pronoia of the universe goes into the middle of the darkness and the inside of the underworld, into the middle of the prison, which is the prison of the body, and speaks to the human being. He is very moved, hears but does not yet see. The Pronoia impulse declares itself and appeals to people: "Stand up and remember (...) beware of the angels of poverty (...) beware of deep sleep and the narrowing of the inside of the underworld!" and finally seals him with five seals to free him from the power of death.
graduation
(LJ 128, D 108)
The order to maintain confidentiality and to pass it on to like-minded people is repeated. A curse is being cast on those who give this teaching in return for something in return. John testifies to the fulfillment of his mission.
literature
expenditure
- Original texts and translations were published in the Nag Hammadi Studies (NHS) series.
- See bibliography ( Memento from April 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- James M. Robinson: The Nag Hammadi Library in English . Harper & Row, San Francisco 1988, ISBN 978-0-06-066935-5 (English translation).
- Gerd Lüdemann , Martina Janßen: The Bible of the heretics . Radius, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-87173-128-5 (German translation of the Nag Hammadi texts).
- Konrad Dietzfelbinger (Ed.): Creation reports from Nag Hammadi . Edition Argo, Dingfelder, Andechs 1989, 2nd edition 1996, ISBN 3-926253-17-7 (uses several translations, texts and comments).
See also editions and literature of the Wikipedia article Nag Hammadi Writings .
Secondary literature
- Karen L. King: The Secret Revelation of John. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 2006, ISBN 0-674-01903-2
Web links
- The Apocryphon of John Collection in the Gnostic Society Library . There are also several English translations there.
- The Apocryphon of Johannes ( Memento from September 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) German translation by Gerd Lüdemann and Martina Janßen.
Individual evidence
Lüdemann and Janßen or Dietzfelbinger refers to the German translations given in the literature list.
- ↑ Lüdemann and Janßen. Pp. 102-128.
- ↑ Dietzfelbinger. Pp. 39-108.
- ↑ Lüdemann and Janßen. P. 122.
- ↑ Dietzfelbinger. P. 100.
MP Steiner (Ed.): Interrogatio Iohannis and Apokryphon des Johannes (The secret book of Johannes). With an introduction: The Birth of Christianity and Its Significance in the 21st Century. Illustrated. Basel, Edition Oriflamme, 2019.