(2) The prophetic sayings we shall not at present advert to, as we are to avail ourselves of the Scriptures subsequently at the proper places. But we shall point out summarily the points indicated by them, in our delineation of Christianity, so that by taking the Scriptures at once (especially as they do not yet comprehend their utterances), we may not interrupt the continuity of the discourse. But after pointing out the things indicated, proofs shall be shown in abundance to those who have believed.

(3) This then Jesus said to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus continued again in the discourse with his disciples [and said]: "Rejoice and exult and add joy to your joy, for the times are completed for me to put on my Vesture, which hath been prepared for me from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery until the time of its completion. Now the time of its completion is the time when I shall be commanded through the First Mystery to discourse with you from the beginning of the Truth to the completion thereof, and from the interiors of the interiors [to the exteriors of the exteriors], for the world will be saved through you. Rejoice then and exult, for ye are blessed before all men who are on the earth. It is ye who will save the whole world."

(0) These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words to his disciples, that he continued again in the discourse, and said unto them: "Lo, I have then put on my Vesture, and all authority hath been given me through the First Mystery. Yet a little while and I will tell you the mystery of the universe and the fulness of the universe; and I will hide nothing from you from this hour on, but in fulness will I perfect you in all fulness and in all perfection and in all mysteries, which are the perfection of all perfections and the fulness of all fulnesses and the gnosis of all gnoses,--those which are in my Vesture. I will tell you all mysteries from the exteriors of the exteriors to the interiors of the interiors. But hearken that I may tell you all things which have befallen me.

(78) Though indeed here we shall be as one that is dumb to the World, yet we have written it for ourselves, for we understand it very well; and it is plain enough to the Tree of the Lily. But that the Person of Christ, with his Deeds and Essence, might be rightly demonstrated to the Reader, that he might apprehend it right, I therefore direct him to the Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness after his Baptism; whereat thou shouldst open thine Eyes, and not speak like the Spirit in Babel, which says, we know not what his Temptation was, and lay the Fault upon the Devil, that he was so impudent to presume to tempt Christ; saying moreover, we ought not to dive into it, [nor be so inquisitive about it,] we will let that alone till we come thither, [into the other Life,] and then we shall see what it is. Besides, they forbid him that has Eyes to see, none must search into it, [if they do,] they are called Enthusiasts, and are cried out upon for Novellists [such as broach new Opinions and pretend to new Lights] and for Heretics.

(38) Jesus said, "Many times have you desired to hear these words which I am saying to you, and you have no one else to hear them from. There will be days when you look for Me and will not find Me."

(1) THE true story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth has never been unfolded to the world, either in the accepted Gospels or in the Apocrypha, although a few stray hints may be found in some of the commentaries written by the ante-Nicene Fathers. The facts concerning His identity and mission are among the priceless mysteries preserved to this day in the secret vaults beneath the "Houses of the Brethren." To a few of the Knights Templars, who were initiated into the arcana of the Druses, Nazarenes, Essenes, Johannites, and other sects still inhabiting the remote and inaccessible fastnesses of the Holy Land, part of the strange story was told. The knowledge of the Templars concerning the early history of Christianity was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for their persecution and final annihilation. The discrepancies in the writings of the early Church Fathers not only are irreconcilable, but demonstrate beyond question that even during the first five centuries after Christ these learned men had for the basis of their writings little more substantial than folklore and hearsay. To the easy believer everything is possible and there are no problems. The unemotional person in search of facts, however, is confronted by a host of problems with uncertain factors, of which the following are typical:

(12) Does the mutilated condition of the Holy Bible--in part accidental--represent none the less a definite effort to confuse the uninitiated reader and thus better conceal the secrets of the Jewish Tannaim? Never has the Christian world been in possession of those hidden scrolls which contain the secret doctrine of Israel, and if the Qabbalists were correct in their assumption that the lost books of the Mosaic Mysteries have been woven into the fabric of the Torah, then the Scriptures are veritably books within books. In rabbinical circles the opinion is prevalent that Christendom never has understood the Old Testament and probably never will. In fact, the feeling exists--in some quarters, at least--that the Old Testament is the exclusive possession of the Jewish faith; also that Christianity, after its unrelenting persecution of the Jew, takes unwarranted liberties when it includes strictly Jewish writings in its sacred canon. But, as noted by one rabbi, if Christianity must use the Jewish Scriptures, it should at least strive to do so with some degree of intelligence!

(2) It came to pass then, when the disciples had heard this word, that they said: "Lord, if it be thou, withdraw thy light-glory into thyself that we may be able to stand; otherwise our eyes are darkened, and we are agitated, and the whole world also is in agitation because of the great light which is about thee." Then Jesus, the compassionate, said unto them: "Rejoice and exult from this hour on, for I have gone to the regions out of which I had come forth. From this day on then will I discourse with you in openness, from the beginning of the Truth unto its completion; and I will discourse with you face to face without similitude. From this hour on will I not hide anything from you of the [mystery] of the height and of that of the region of Truth. For authority hath been given me through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all mysteries to speak with you, from the Beginning right up to the Fulness,. both from within without and from without within. Hearken, therefore, that I may tell you all things. "It came to pass, when I sat a little removed from you on the Mount of Olives, that I thought on the order of the ministry for the sake of which I was sent, that it was completed, and that the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery from within without,--those which are in the second space of the First Mystery, in the orders of that space,--had not yet sent me my Vesture. It came to pass then, when I had known that the order of the ministry for the sake of which I had come, was completed, and that that mystery had not yet sent me my Vesture, which I had left behind in it, until its time was completed, thinking then this, I sat on the Mount of Olives a little removed from you.

(1) And Jesus continued again and said unto his disciples: "Still further, O my disciples, be sober and let every one of you bring hither the power of sensing the Light before him, that ye may sense with sureness. For from now on I will discourse with you concerning the whole region in truth of the Ineffable and concerning the manner, how it is." It came to pass then, when the disciples had heard Jesus utter these words, that they gave way and let go entirely. Then Mary Magdalene came forward, threw herself at the feet of Jesus, kissed them and wept aloud and said: "Have mercy upon me, my Lord, for my brethren have heard and let go of the words which thou saidest unto them. Now, therefore, my Lord, concerning the gnosis of all the things which thou hast said, that they are in the mystery of the Ineffable; but I have heard thee say unto me: 'From now on I will begin to discourse with you concerning the total gnosis of the mystery of the Ineffable,'--this word, therefore, which thou saidest, thou hast not gone forward to complete the word. For this cause, therefore, my brethren have heard and have let go and ceased to sense in what manner thou discoursest with them. Concerning the word which thou saidest unto them, now, therefore, my Lord, if the gnosis of all this is in that mystery, where is the man who is in the world, who hath the ability to understand that mystery with all its gnoses and the type of all these words which thou hast spoken concerning it?"

(6) Thou sayest, Christ is ascended into Heaven, how then can he be in this World? And when thou reachest furthest, thou thinkest that he is present only with his holy Spirit, here in his Testaments, and that the Testaments are only Signs of his Merits. What sayest thou then of thy new Man? When indeed the Soul is fed with the Holy Ghost, what [Food] has thy new Man then? For each Life feeds upon its Mother.

(68) Come hither, ye contentious Shepherds of Babel, open your Eyes, and consider what his Testaments of the Baptism and his Last Supper are: I shall show you well enough, if you be but worthy; however, we write for the Children of the Lily; therefore let every one see where he harbours; it is in Earnest. We slight not the Understanding of the Ancients. It may be, it was purely generated in the Beginning, but we find how Antichrist has set up himself upon it, and made Gods of the Creature.

(19) Let no one suppose, that we may attain to this true light and perfect knowledge, or life of Christ, by much questioning, or by hearsay, or by reading and study, nor yet by high skill and great learning. Yea, so long as a man taketh account of anything which is this or that, whether it be himself, or any other creature; or doeth anything, or frameth a purpose, for the sake of his own likings or desires, or opinions, or ends, he cometh not unto the life of Christ. This hath Christ Himself declared, for He saith: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”23 “He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.”24 And if he “hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”25 He meaneth it thus: “He who doth not forsake and part with everything, can never know My eternal truth, nor attain unto My life.” And though this had never been declared unto us, yet the truth herself sayeth it, for it is so of a truth. But so long as a man clingeth unto the elements and fragments of this world (and above all to himself), and holdeth converse with them, and maketh great account of them, he is deceived and blinded, and perceiveth what is good no further than as it is most convenient and pleasant to himself and profitable to his own ends. These he holdeth to be the highest good and loveth above all. Thus he never cometh to the truth.

(34) Lest that knowledge be lost, however, it was concealed in allegories and myths which were meaningless to the profane but self-evident to those acquainted with that theory of personal redemption which was the foundation of philosophical theology. Christianity itself may be cited as an example. The entire New Testament is in fact an ingeniously concealed exposition of the secret processes of human regeneration. The characters so long considered as historical men and women are really the personification of certain processes which take place in the human body when man begins the task of consciously liberating himself from the bondage of ignorance and death.

(3) But if the assertions made by us appear to certain of the multitude to be different from the Scriptures of the Lord, let it be known that it is from that source that they have breath and life; and taking their rise from them, they profess to adduce the sense only, not the words. For further treatment, not being seasonable, will rightly appear superfluous. Thus, not to look at what is urgent would be excessively indolent and defective; and "blessed, in truth, are they who, investigating the testimonies of the Lord, shall seek Him with their whole heart." And the law and the prophets witness of the Lord.

(7) Expressly then respecting all our Scripture, as if spoken in a parable, it is written in the Psalms, "Hear, O My people, My law: incline your ear to the words of My mouth. I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter My problems from the beginning." Similarly speaks the noble apostle to the following effect: "Howbeit we speak wisdom among those that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought. But we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery; which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that they rejoiced in great joy and exulted when they heard Jesus say these words. And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto them: "Hearken, therefore, now still further, O my disciples, so that I discourse with you concerning the whole gnosis of the mystery of the Ineffable. "That mystery of the Ineffable knoweth why unmercifulness hath arisen and why mercifulness hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why ruin hath arisen and why everlasting eternity hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the reptiles have arisen and why they will be destroyed. "And that mystery knoweth why the wild beasts have arisen and why they will be destroyed. "And that mystery knoweth why the cattle have arisen and why the birds have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the mountains have arisen and why the precious stones therein have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of gold hath arisen and why the matter of silver hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of copper hath arisen and why the matter of iron and of stone hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of lead hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of glass hath arisen and why the matter of wax hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why herbs, that is the vegetables, have arisen and why all matters have arisen. "And the mystery knoweth why the waters of the earth and all things in them have arisen and why also the earth hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the seas and the waters have arisen and why the wild beasts in the seas have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of the world hath arisen and why it [the world] will be utterly destroyed."

(21) The writing of these memoranda of mine, I well know, is weak when compared with that spirit, full of grace, which I was privileged to hear. But it will be an image to recall the archetype to him who was struck with the thyrsus. For "speak," it is said, "to a wise man, and he will grow wiser; and to him that hath, and there shall be added to him." And we profess not to explain secret things sufficiently - far from it - but only to recall them to memory, whether we have forgot aught, or whether for the purpose of not forgetting. Many things, I well know, have escaped us, through length of time, that have dropped away unwritten. Whence, to aid the weakness of my memory, and provide for myself a salutary help to my recollection in a systematic arrangement of chapters, I necessarily make use of this form. There are then some things of which we have no recollection; for the power that was in the blessed men was great. There are also some things which remained unnoted long, which have now escaped; and others which are effaced, having faded away in the mind itself, since such a task is not easy to those not experienced; these I revive in my commentaries. Some things I purposely omit, in the exercise of a wise selection, afraid to write what I guarded against speaking: not grudging - for that were wrong - but fearing for my readers, lest they should stumble by taking them in a wrong sense; and, as the proverb says, we should be found "reaching a sword to a child." For it is impossible that what has been written should not escape, although remaining unpublished by me. But being always revolved, using the one only voice, that of writing, they answer nothing to him that makes inquiries beyond what is written; for they require of necessity the aid of some one, either of him who wrote, or of some one else who has walked in his footsteps.

(3) For scarcely could anything which they could hear be more ludicrous than these to the multitude; nor any subjects on the other hand more admirable or more inspiring to those of noble nature. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him." But the wise do not utter with their mouth what they reason in council. "But what ye hear in the ear," says the Lord, "proclaim upon the houses;" bidding them receive the secret traditions of the true knowledge, and expound them aloft and conspicuously; and as we have heard in the ear, so to deliver them to whom it is requisite; but not enjoining us to communicate to all without distinction, what is said to them in parables. But there is only a delineation in the memoranda, which have the truth sowed sparse and broadcast, that it may escape the notice of those who pick up seeds like jackdaws; but when they find a good husbandman, each one of them will germinate and produce corn.

(6) Right well hast thou said, for the love of JESUS. For in the love of JESUS; there shall be thine help. Love is such a power, that it maketh all thing common. Love therefore JESUS; and all thing that He hath, it is thine. He by His Godhead is maker and giver of time. He by His manhood is the very keeper of time. And He by His Godhead and His manhood together, is the truest Doomsman, and the asker of account of dispensing of time. Knit thee therefore to Him, by love and by belief, and then by virtue of that knot thou shalt be common perceiver with Him, and with all that by love so be knitted unto Him: that is to say, with our Lady Saint Mary that full was of all grace in keeping of time, with all the angels of heaven that never may lose time, and with all the saints in heaven and in earth, that by the grace of JESUS heed time full justly in virtue of love. Lo! here lieth comfort; construe thou clearly, and pick thee some profit. But of one thing I warn thee amongst all other. I cannot see who may truly challenge community thus with JESUS and His just Mother, His high angels and also with His saints; but if he be such an one, that doth that in him is with helping of grace in keeping of time. So that he be seen to be a profiter on his part, so little as is, unto the community; as each one of them doth on his.