(20) And in one place, Moses writes, "He made the devil a serpent those whom he has in his generation." Also, in the book which is called "Exodus," it is written thus: "He contended against the magicians, when the place was full of serpents according to their wickedness; and the rod which was in the hand of Moses became a serpent, (and) it swallowed the serpents of the magicians."

(7) Mary continued again and said: "My Lord, doth the dragon of the outer darkness come into this world or doth he not come?" "For this cause, therefore, have I in this manner brought the mysteries into this world which undo all the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit and all the seals which are bound to the soul,--those which make the soul free and free it from its parents the rulers, and make it into refined light and lead it up into the kingdom of its father, the first Issue, the First Mystery, for ever. "For this cause therefore, have I said unto you aforetime: 'He who doth not abandon father and mother and come and follow after me, is not worthy of me.' I have, therefore, said at that time: Ye are to abandon your parents the rulers, that I may make you sons of the First Mystery for ever."

(1) THE learned, and almost all writers, have very much encumbered and mightily troubled their heads, to search, contrive and conceive in nature (and have brought forth many and sundry opinions) concerning how and of what the holy angels were created: And on the other side, what was that horrible fall of the great prince Lucifer, or how he became so base a wicked and fierce wrathful devil, from whence that evil quality should spring, or what drove him to it.

(91) But when Lucifer exalted himself, and kindled his qualifying or fountain spirits, then the animated or soulish spirit went forth in the tone out of or from all the bodies of Lucifer's angels into the Salitter of God, as a fiery serpent or dragon, and imaged and framed all manner of fiery and poisonous forms and images, like to wild, cruel and evil beasts.

(2) "And the dragon of the outer darkness hath twelve authentic names on his doors, a name on every one of the doors of the dungeons. And these twelve names are different one from another; but the twelve are one in the other, so that he who speaketh one name, speaketh all. These then will I tell you at the expansion of the universe. Thus then is fashioned the outer darkness,--that is the dragon." When then the Saviour had said this, Mary answered and said unto the Saviour: "My Lord, are then the chastisements of that dragon far more terrible compared with all the chastisements of the judgments?"

(2) "And all men who shall find the mystery of one of the twelve names of that dragon of the outer darkness, and all men even if they are very great sinners, and they have first received the mysteries of the Light and thereafter have transgressed, or they have performed no mystery at all, then if they have completed their circuits in the changes, and if such men go forth out of the body without having repented anew, and if they are led into the chastisements which [are] in the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness, and remain in the circuits and remain in the chastisements in the midst of the dragon,--these, if they know the mystery of one of the twelve names of the angels while they are in life and are in the world, and if they speak one of their names while they are in the midst of the chastisements of the dragon,--then, at the hour when they shall speak it, the whole dragon will be tossed about and most exceedingly convulsed, and the door of the dungeon in which the souls of those men are, openeth itself upward, and the ruler of the dungeon in which those men are, casteth the souls of those men out of the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness, because they have found the mystery of the name of the dragon.

(3) "And when I had put them to shame, I arose with my garment in the power—which is above the beast, which is a light—in order that I might make nature desolate. The mind that had appeared in the nature of darkness, and that was the eye of darkness, at my wish reigned over the winds and the demons. And I gave him a likeness of fire, light, and attentiveness, and a share of guileless reason. Therefore he was given of the greatness in order to be strong in his power, independent of the power, independent of the light of the spirit and intercourse of darkness, in order that, at the end of time, when nature will be destroyed, he may rest in the honored place. For he will be found faithful, since he has loathed the unchastity of nature with the darkness. The strong power of the mind came into being from the mind and the unconceived spirit. But the winds, which are demons from water and fire and darkness and light, had intercourse unto perdition. And through this intercourse the winds received in their womb foam from the penis of the demons. They conceived a power in their womb. From the breathing, the wombs of the winds girded each other until the times of the birth came. They went down to the water. And the power was delivered, through the breathing that causes the birth, in the midst of the rubbing. And every form of the birth received shape in it. When the times of the birth were near, all the winds were gathered from the water that is near the earth. They gave birth to all kinds of unchastity. And the place where the wind alone went was permeated with unchastity. Barren wives came from it and sterile husbands. For just as they are born, so they bear.

(42) But God created and made him a king of light, and when he became disobedient, and would be above the whole or total God, then God spewed him out of his seat, and in the midst or centre of our time created another king out of the same Deity out of which lord Lucifer was created; (understand it aright, out of the Salitter, which was without, distinct from the body of king Lucifer), and set him on the royal throne of Lucifer, and gave him might, authority and power, as Lucifer had before his fall.

(5) Here we must again take in hand the highest depth of the Deity, and see out of what king Lucifer became a creature, or what was the first source or fountain of evil or malice in him.

(6) Thus the Devil is the Fault, and guilty of his own Fall, for he suffered himself to be moved by the Matrix of the Sternness, [Fierceness, Sourness, or Wrath,] whereas he yet had his own Will to take hold of Light or Darkness. And Lucifer was a Throne (that is, a Source [or Fountain] of a great Essence) from whence went forth all his Servants [or Ministers,] and they did like him; and also they were thrust back into the Darkness, for the Light of God goes not into the [Grimness, Wrath or] Fierceness.

(8) The noble elect substance which is in him was more exalted. It created and it did not wound them. Therefore they issued a command, making a threat and bringing upon him a great danger, which is death. Only the enjoyment of the things which are evil did he allow him to taste, and from the other tree with the double (fruit) he did not allow him to eat, much less from the tree of life, so that they would not acquire honor [...] them, and so that they would not be [...] by the evil power which is called "the serpent." And he is more cunning than all the evil powers. He led man astray through the determination of those things which belong to the thought and the desires. made him transgress the command, so that he would die. And he was expelled from every enjoyment of that place.

(2) "And so that the sin of nature might be filled, I made the womb, which was disturbed, pleasant—the blind wisdom—that I might be able to bring it to naught. And at my wish, he plotted with the water of darkness and also the darkness, that they might wound every form of your heart. For by the will of the light of the spirit they surrounded you; they bound you in faith. And so that his mind might become idle, he sent a demon, that the plan of her wickedness might be proclaimed. And he caused a flood, and he destroyed your race, to take the light and to take away from faith. But I proclaimed quickly by the mouth of the demon that a tower come to be up to the particle of light, which was left in the demons and their race—which was water—that the demon might be protected from the turbulent chaos. And the womb planned these things according to my will, that she might pour forth completely. A tower came to be through the demons. The darkness was disturbed by his loss. He loosened the muscles of the womb. And the demon who was going to enter the tower was protected so that the races might continue and might acquire coherence through him. For he possesses power from every form.

Let us come back to the rulers of whom we spoke, that we might present an explanation of them. For when the seven rulers were cast from their heavens down upon the earth, they created for themselves angels, many demonic angels, to serve them. But these demons taught humankind many errors with magic and potions and idolatry, and shedding of blood, and altars, and temples, and sacrifices, and libations to all the demons of the earth, having as their co-worker fate, who came into being according to the agreement by the gods of injustice and justice. And thus when the world came into being, it wandered astray in distraction throughout all time. For all the people who are on the earth served the demons from the creation until the consummation of the age—both the angels of justice and the people of injustice. Thus the world came to be in distraction and ignorance and stupor. They all erred, until the appearance of the true human. Enough for you to this point. Next we shall consider our world so that we might complete the discussion of its structure and its government in a precise manner. Then it will be clear how belief in hidden things, which have been apparent from the foundation to the consummation of the age, came about.

(96) Now, whether this fiery tone or dragon-spirit in Lucifer and in his angels be right, and whether God has thus created him, let the advocates of Lucifer, who make God to be as a devil, justify it here by their answer, and prove it in nature, if they can, whether God be such a God as willeth the evil, and has created the evil.

(20) Then the appointed time came and drew near. And he changed the commands. Then the time came until the child had grown up. When he had come to his maturity, then the archons sent the imitator to that man in order that they might know our great Power. And they were expecting from him that he would perform for them a sign. And he bore great signs. And he reigned over the whole earth and all those who are under heaven. He placed his throne upon the end of the earth, for "I shall make you god of the world". He will perform signs and wonders. Then they will turn from me, and they will go astray.

(89) This is a short introduction, that the Reader might the better understand the divine Mystery; when I write concerning the fall of the devil, and concerning the creation of this world, you will find all more at large, particularly described. Therefore I would have the Reader admonished, that he read all in order, and so he will come to the true ground.

(2) "For this cause have I chosen you verily from the beginning through the First Mystery. Rejoice then and exult, for when I set out for the world, I brought from the beginning with me twelve powers, as I have told you from the beginning, which I have taken from the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, according to the command of the First Mystery. These then I cast into the womb of your mothers, when I came into the world, that is those which are in your bodies to-day. For these powers have been given unto you before the whole world, because ye are they who will save the whole world, and that ye may be able to endure the threat of the rulers of the world and the pains of the world and its dangers and all its persecutions, which the rulers of the height will bring upon you. For many times have I said unto you that I have brought the power in you out of the twelve saviours who are in the Treasury of the Light. For which cause I have said unto you indeed from the beginning that ye are not of the world. I also am not of it. For all men who are in the world have gotten their souls out of [the power of] the rulers of the æons. But the power which is in you is from me; your souls belong to the height. I have brought twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, taking them out of the portion of my power which I did first receive. And when I had set forth for the world, I came into the midst of the rulers of the sphere and had the form of Gabriēl the angel of the æons; and the rulers of the æons did not know me, but they thought that I was the angel Gabriēl.

(99) But when the mighty, potent prince and king Lucifer was created, he would not do so, but elevated and swelled himself, and would alone be God, and kindled the wrath-fire in himself, and so did all his angels also.

(152) Thus you have here the true description of an expulsed angel or of a devil, as also the cause thereof, and that not written in a similitude only, but in the spirit, through that power out of which all things are come to be.

(25) Now when God had created great potent princely Angels, and that in the Place of the fourth Form in the Matrix, where the Source of Fire has its Original, they stood not, neither did they cast their Imaginations forward into the fifth Form, wherein the sprouting forth of Paradise consists; but they cast their Imaginations back into themselves, and formed [or created] the Light of God and Paradise. For the fiery Matrix (viz. the Abyss of Hell) moved itself in the Creation so hard, that Lucifer (that great Prince) has formed his Will out of it, and is continued therein, supposing that so he should be a great and terrible Lord in his whole Place [of Dominion.]