(5) "But if that man hath received no mysteries and is not sharing in the words of truth,--if he who accomplisheth that mystery, speaketh that mystery over the head of a man who cometh forth out of the body and who hath received no mysteries of the Light, and shareth not in the words of truth,--amēn, I say unto you: That man, if he cometh forth out of the body, will be judged in no region of the rulers, nor can he be chastized in any region at all, nor will the fire touch him, because of the great mystery of the Ineffable which is with him. "And they will hasten quickly and hand him over one to another in turn and lead him from region to region and from order to order, until they bring him before the Virgin of Light, while all the regions are in fear of the mystery and the sign of the kingdom of the Ineffable which is with him. "And if they bring him before the Virgin of Light, then the Virgin of Light will see the sign of the mystery of the kingdom of the Ineffable which is with him; the Virgin of Light marvelleth and proveth him, but suffereth them not to bring him to the Light, until he accomplisheth the total citizenship of the light of that mystery, that is the purities of the renunciation of the world and also of the total matter therein. "The Virgin of Light sealeth him with a higher seal, which is this [ . . .? ], and letteth him in that month in which he hath come out of the body of matter, light down into a body which will be righteous and find the godhead in truth and the higher mysteries, so that he may inherit them and inherit the Light eternal, which is the gift of the second mystery of the First Mystery of the Ineffable.

(4) "Those souls then will knock at the gates of the Light, saying: Lord, open unto us! And I will answer unto them: I know you not, whence ye are. And they will say unto me: We have received of thy mysteries and fulfilled thy whole teaching and thou hast taught us on the high ways. And I will answer and say unto them: I know you not, who ye are, ye who are doers of iniquity and of evil even unto now. Wherefor go into the outer darkness. And from that hour they will go into the outer darkness, there where is howling and grinding of teeth. "For this cause then, herald unto the whole world and say unto them: 'Strive thereafter, to renounce the whole world and the whole matter therein, that ye may receive the mysteries of the Light before the number of the perfect souls is completed, in order that they may not make you stop before the gates of the Light and. lead you away into the outer darkness.' "Now, therefore, who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

(3) "At that time then the faith will reveal itself still more and the mysteries in those days. And many souls will come by means of the circuits of the changes of the body, and coming back into the world are some of those in this present time who have hearkened unto me, how I taught, who at the completion of the number of the perfect souls will find the mysteries of the Light and receive them and come to the gates of the Light and find that the number of the perfect souls is complete, which is the completion of the First Mystery and the gnosis of the universe. And they will find that I have shut the gates of the Light and that it is impossible that any one should enter in or that any one should go forth from this hour.

(5) "O my dear Guide, who more than seven times Hast rendered me security, and drawn me From imminent peril that before me stood, Do not desert me," said I, "thus undone; And if the going farther be denied us, Let us retrace our steps together swiftly." And that Lord, who had led me thitherward, Said unto me: "Fear not; because our passage None can take from us, it by Such is given. But here await me, and thy weary spirit Comfort and nourish with a better hope; For in this nether world I will not leave thee." So onward goes and there abandons me My Father sweet, and I remain in doubt, For No and Yes within my head contend. I could not hear what he proposed to them; But with them there he did not linger long, Ere each within in rivalry ran back. They closed the portals, those our adversaries, On my Lord's breast, who had remained without And turned to me with footsteps far between.

(3) "'1. On thee, O Light, have I hoped. Leave me not in the chaos; deliver me and save me according to thy gnosis. "'2. Give heed unto me and save me. Be unto me a saviour, O Light, and save me and lead me unto thy light. "'3. For thou art my saviour and wilt lead me unto thee. And because of the mystery of thy name lead me and give me thy mystery. "'4. And thou wilt save me from this lion-faced power, which they have laid as a snare for me, for thou art my saviour. "'5. And in thy hands will I lay the purification of my light; thou hast saved me, O Light, according to thy gnosis. "'6. Thou art become wroth with them who keep watch over me and will not be able to lay hold of me utterly. But I have had faith in the Light. "'7. I will rejoice and will sing praises that thou hast had mercy upon me and hast heeded and saved me from the oppression in which I was. And thou wilt set free my power out of the chaos. "'8. And thou hast not left me in the hand of the lion-faced power; but thou hast led me into a region which is not oppressed.'"

(2) "Now, therefore, all men, sinners or better who are no sinners, not only if ye desire that they be taken out of the judgments and violent chastisements, but that they be removed into a righteous body which will find the mysteries of the godhead, so that it goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom,--then perform the third mystery of the Ineffable and say: Carry ye the soul of this and this man of whom we think in our hearts, carry him out of all the chastisements of the rulers and haste ye quickly to lead him before the Virgin of Light; and in every month let the Virgin of Light seal him with a higher seal, and in every month let the Virgin of Light cast him into a body which will be righteous and good, so that it goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom. "And if ye say this, amēn, I say unto you: All who serve in all the orders of the judgments of the rulers, hasten to hand over that soul from one to the other, until they lead it before the Virgin of Light. And the Virgin of Light sealeth it with the sign of the kingdom of the Ineffable and handeth it over unto her receivers, and the receivers will cast it into a body which will be righteous and find the mysteries of the Light, so that it will be good and goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom. Lo, this is it on which ye question me."

(2) "'1. I have sung praises unto thee, O Light, in the darkness below. "'2. Hearken unto my repentance, and may thy light give heed to the voice of my supplication. "'3. O Light, if thou thinkest on my sin, I shall not be able to stand before thee, and thou wilt abandon me, "'4. For thou, O Light, art my saviour; because of the light of thy name I have had faith in thee, O Light. "'5. And my power hath had faith in thy mystery; and moreover my power hath trusted in the Light when it was among those of the height; and it hath trusted in it when it was in the chaos below. "'6. Let all the powers in me trust in the Light when I am in the darkness below, and may they again trust in the Light if they come into the region of the height. "'7. For it is [the Light] which hath compassion on us and delivereth us; and a great saving mystery is in it. "'8. And it will save all powers out of the chaos because of my transgression. For I have left my region and am come down into the chaos.' "Now, therefore, whose mind is exalted, let him understand."

(7) "[The souls] will all come, every one at the time when he will receive the mysteries; and all the rulers who have repented, will pass through and come into the region of the Midst. And those of the Midst will baptize them and give unto them the spiritual unction and seal them with the seals of their mysteries. And they will pass through those of all the regions of the Midst, and they will pass through the region of the Right and the interior of the region of the nine guards and the interior of the region of the Twin-saviours and the interior of the region of the three Amens and of the twelve saviours and the interior of the five Trees and of the seven Voices. Every one giveth unto them his seal of his mystery, and they pass into the interior of them all and go to the region of the inheritances of the Light; and every one bideth in the region up to which he hath received mysteries in the inheritances of the Light.

(7) "When, therefore, the time of the chastisements of that soul in the judgments of the rulers of the midst shall be completed, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth the soul up out of all the regions of the rulers of the midst and bringeth it before the light of the sun according to the commandment of the First Man, Yew, and bringeth it before the judge, the Virgin of Light. And she proveth that soul and findeth that it is a sinning soul, and ceaseth her light-power into it for its standing-upright and because of the body and the community of sense,--the type of which I will tell you at the expansion of the universe. And the Virgin of Light sealeth that soul and handeth it over to one of her receivers and will have it cast into a body which is suitable to the sins which it hath committed. "And amēn, I say unto you: They will not discharge that soul from the changes of the body until it hath yielded its last circuit according to its merit. Of all these then will I tell you their type and the type of the bodies into which it will be cast according to the sins of each soul. All this will I tell you when I shall have told you the expansion of the universe."

(45) With veils drawn over their faces, and asleep; But when the morn shall burst forth and the sun arise Every creature will raise its head from its couch; To the unconscious God will restore consciousness; They will stand in rings as slaves with rings in ears; Dancing and clapping hands with songs of praise, Singing with joy, "Our Lord hath restored us to life!" Shedding their old skins and bones, All pressing on from Not-being to Being, On the last day, as well the thankful as the unthankful.

(2) "'1. I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, for thou art a saviour; thou art a deliverer for all time. "'2. I will utter this song to the Light, for it hath saved me and saved me out of the hand of the rulers, my foes. "'3. And thou hast preserved me in all the regions, thou hast saved me out of the height and the depth of the chaos and out of the æons of the rulers of the sphere. "'4. And when I was come out of the Height, I wandered round in regions in which is no light, and I could not return to the thirteenth æon, my dwelling-place. "'5. For there was no light in me nor power. My power was utterly weakened (?). "'6. And the Light saved me in all my afflictions. I sang praises unto the Light, and it hearkened unto me, when I was constrained. "'7. It guided me in the creation of the æons to lead me up into the thirteenth æon, my dwelling-place. "'8. I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, that thou hast saved me, and for thy wondrous works unto the race of men. "'9. When I failed of my power, thou hast given me power; and when I failed of my light, thou didst fill me with purified light. "'10. I was in the darkness and in the shadow of the chaos, bound with the mighty fetters of the chaos, and no light was in me. "'11. For I have provoked the commandment of the Light and have transgressed, and I have made wroth the commandment of the Light, because I had gone out of my region. "'12. And when I had gone down, I failed of my light and became without light, and no one had helped me. "'13. And in my affliction I sang praises unto the Light, and it saved me out of my afflictions. "'14. And it hath also broken asunder all my bonds and led me up out of the darkness and the affliction of the chaos. "'15. I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, that thou hast saved me and that thy wondrous works have been wrought in the race of men. "'16. And thou hast shattered the upper gates of the darkness and the mighty bolts of the chaos. "'17. And thou didst let me depart out of the region in which I had transgressed, and my light was taken, because I have transgressed. "'18. And I ceased from my mysteries and went down to the gates of the chaos. "'19. And when I was constrained, I sang praises to the Light. It saved me out of all my afflictions. "'20. Thou sentest thy stream; it gave me power and saved me out of all my afflictions. "'21. I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, that thou hast saved me, and for thy wondrous works in the race of men.' "This then is the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered in the midst of the four-and-twenty invisibles, desiring that they should know all the wondrous works which I had done for her, and desiring that they should know that I have gone to the world of men and have given them the mysteries of the Height. Now, therefore, who is exalted in his thought, let him come forward and say the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered."

But I said, “Sir, am I also from their matter?” “You, together with your offspring, are from the primeval father. Their souls come from above, out of the incorruptible light. Therefore, the authorities cannot approach them, since the spirit of truth resides in them, and all who have known this way exist deathless in the midst of dying people. Still, the offspring will not become known now. Instead, after three generations it will come to be known and free them from the bondage of the authorities’ error.” Then I said, “Sir, how much longer?” He said to me, “Until the moment when the true human, within a modeled form, reveals the existence of the spirit of truth that the father has sent. “Then he will teach them about everything. And he will anoint them with the unction of life eternal, given him from the generation without a king. “Then they will be free of blind thought. And they will trample on death, which comes from the authorities. And they will ascend into the limitless light where this offspring belongs. “Then the authorities will relinquish their ages. And their angels will weep over their destruction, and their demons will lament their death. “Then all the children of the light will truly know the truth and their root and the father of all and the holy spirit. They will all say with a single voice, ‘The father’s truth is just, and the child presides over all.’ And from everyone, till the ages of ages, ‘Holy, holy, holy! Amen!’”

(4) "He then, who shall receive the one and only word of that mystery, which I have told you, if he cometh forth out of the body of the matters of the rulers, and if the retributive receivers come and free him from the body of matter of the rulers,--that is those [receivers] who free from the body all out-going souls,--when, therefore, the retributive receivers free the soul which hath received this one and only mystery of the Ineffable, which I have just told you, then will it straightway, if it be set free from the body of matter, become a great light-stream in the midst of those receivers, and the receivers will be exceedingly afraid of the light of that soul, and the receivers will be made powerless and fall down and desist altogether for fear of the great light which they have seen. "And the soul which receiveth the mystery of the Ineffable, will soar into the height, being a great light-stream, and the receivers will not be able to seize it and will not know how the way is fashioned upon which it will go. For it becometh a great light-stream and soareth into the height, and no power is able to hold it down at all, nor will they be able to come nigh it at all. "But it will pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light, and it will not give answers in any region, nor giveth it any apologies, nor giveth it any tokens; neither will any power of the rulers nor any power of the emanations of the Light be able to come nigh that soul. But all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light,--every one singeth unto it praises in their regions, in fear of the light of the stream which envelopeth that soul, until it passeth through them all, and goeth to the region of the inheritance of the mystery which it hath received,--that is to the mystery of the One and Only, the Ineffable,--and until it becometh one with its Limbs. Amēn, I say unto you: It will be in all the regions in the time a man shooteth an arrow.

(1) The Saviour answered and said unto his disciples: "Herald unto the whole world and say unto men: Strive thereafter that ye may receive the mysteries of the Light in this time of affliction and enter into the Light-kingdom. Join not one day to another, or one circuit to another, hoping that ye may succeed in receiving the mysteries if ye come into the world in another circuit. "And these know not when the number of the perfect souls will be at hand; for if the number of the perfect souls shall be at hand, I will now shut the gates of the Light, and no one from this hour onwards will enter in, nor will any one hereafter go forth, for the number of the perfect souls is completed and the mystery of the First Mystery is completed, for the sake of which the universe hath arisen,--that is: I am that Mystery.

(3) "Ye then in particular are the refuse of the Treasury and ye are the refuse of the region of the Right and ye are the refuse of the region of those of the Midst and ye are the refuse of all the invisibles and of all the rulers; in a word, ye are the refuse of all these. And ye are in great sufferings and great afflictions in your being poured from one into another of different kinds of bodies of the world. And after all these sufferings ye have struggled of your-selves and fought, having renounced the whole world and all the matter therein; and ye have not left off seeking, until ye found all the mysteries of the kingdom of the Light, which have purified you and made you into refined light, exceedingly purified, and ye have become purified light. "For this cause have I said unto you aforetime: 'Seek, that ye may find.' I have, therefore, said unto you: Ye are to seek after the mysteries of the Light, which purify the body of matter and make it. into refined light exceedingly purified.

(1) Let us gather an assembly together. Let us visit that creation of his. Let us send someone forth in it, so that he may visit the thoughts in the regions below. And I said these things to the whole multitude of the great assembly of the rejoicing majesty. The whole house of the father of truth rejoiced that I am the one who is from them. I reflected upon the thoughts that came out of the undefiled spirit about the descent upon the water, that is, the regions below. And they all had a single mind, since it is from one source. They ordered me, and because I was willing, I came forth to reveal the glory to my kindred and my fellow spirits.

(2) "'1. I will sing praises unto thee, O Light, for I desired to come unto thee. I will sing thee praises, O Light, for thou art my deliverer. "'2. Leave me not in the chaos. Save me, O Light of the Height, for it is thou that I have praised. "'3. Thou has sent me thy light through thyself and hast saved me. Thou hast led me to the higher regions of the chaos. "'4. May the emanations of Self-willed which pursue me, sink down into the lower regions of the chaos, and let them not come to the higher regions to see me. "'5. And may great darkness cover them and darker gloom come over them. And let them not see me in the light of thy power, which thou hast sent unto me to save me, so that they may not again get dominion over me. "'6. And let not their resolution which they have formed, to take away my power, take effect for them. And as they have spoken against me, to take from me my light, take rather from them theirs instead of mine. "'7. And they have proposed to take away my whole light and have not been able to take it, for thy light-power was with me. "'8. Because they have taken counsel without thy commandment, O Light, therefore have they not been able to take away my light. "'9. Because I have had faith in the Light, I shall not be afraid; and the Light is my deliverer and I shall not fear.' "Now, therefore, let him whose power is exalted, speak the solution of the words which Pistis Sophia hath uttered." And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that Salome came forward and said: "My Lord, my power constraineth me to speak the solution of the words which Pistis Sophia hath uttered. Thy power hath prophesied aforetime through Solomon, saying:

(5) it out of the æons of the Fate and lead it up into all the æons [above], it giving to every region its apology and the apology of all the regions and the seals to the tyrants of the king, the Adamas. And it giveth the apology of all the rulers of all the regions of the Left,--whose collective apologies and seals I will one day tell you when I shall tell you the expansion of the universe. "And moreover those receivers lead that soul to the Virgin of Light and that soul giveth the Virgin of Light the seals and the glory of the songs of praise. And the Virgin of Light and also the seven other virgins of the Light together prove that soul and find together their signs in it and their seals and their baptisms and their chrism. And the Virgin of Light sealeth that soul and the receivers of the Light baptize that soul and give it the spiritual chrism; and every one of the virgins of the Light sealeth it with her seals. "And moreover the receivers of the Light hand it over to the great Sabaōth, the Good, who is at the gate of the Life in the region of those of the Right, who is called 'Father.' And that soul giveth him the glory of his songs of praise and his seals and his apologies. And Sabaōth, the Great and Good, sealeth it with his seals. And the soul giveth its science and the glory of the songs of praise and the seals to the whole region of those of the Right. They all seal it with their seals; and Melchisedec, the great Receiver of the Light who is in the region of those of the Right, sealeth that soul and all the receivers of Melchisedec seal that soul and lead it into the Treasury of the Light. "And it giveth the glory and the honour and the laud of the songs of praise and. all the seals of all the regions of the Light. And all those of the region of the Treasury of the Light seal it with their seals and it goeth unto the region of the Inheritance."

(58) And after this it shall be said to the holy in heaven That they should seek out the secrets of righteousness, the heritage of faith: For it has become bright as the sun upon earth, And the darkness is past.

(47) "Whoever, then, knows the Father in pure knowledge will depart to the Father and repose in Unbegotten Father. But whoever knows him defectively will depart to the defect and the rest of the Eighth. Now whoever knows Immortal Spirit of Light in silence, through reflecting and consent in the truth, let him bring me signs of the Invisible One, and he will become a light in the Spirit of Silence. Whoever knows Son of Man in knowledge and love, let him bring me a sign of Son of Man, that he might depart to the dwelling-places with those in the Eighth.