Gnosticism - The Apocryphon of John - The Fall of Sophia and Origins of the Demiurge Ialdabaoth
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Gnosticism has produced some of the richest and most difficult spiritual texts of the ancient world. With the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library one is confronted with numerous, often obscure and difficult texts - where to begin? This episode of Esoterica argues that the best first text is the Apocryphon / Secret Writing of John, a text found two recensions (long and short) in four manuscripts from antiquity. Here we introduce, summarize and discuss this amazing gnostic text.
Recommended Readings:
Meyer - The Nag Hammadi Scriptures - 978-0061626005
Robinson - The Nag Hammadi Library - 978-0060669355
Davies - The Secret Book of John - 978-1594730825
King - The Secret Revelation of John - 978-0674030558
van den Broek - Gnostic Religion in Antiquity - 978-1107514799
Lambdin - Introduction to Sahidic Coptic - 978-0865540484
Williams - Rethinking "Gnosticism": An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category - 978-0691005423
#gnosticism #gnostic #apocryphon
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I love your works and your videos. We all appreciate it very much. Completely unrelated question I have though, what is the thumbnail icon for the channel?
@@27.versus.Entertainment Thanks so much - The symbol of the channel is a Maya glyph of a hand grasping a fish with the phonetic value being "Tzak," meaning "to conjure a mystical vision." The hand grasping the fish is also keen, the slippery fish isn't easily held so the grasp is always-already slipping away pointing to the concrete (grasping) and the illusive (the slipping away) aspect of mystical experiences. It's one of the most beautiful expressions for mysticism/gnosis I know of in any language.
If you are threatening me , when you die , we are gonna have such fun . 😡 I’ll be waiting UnJust in . Remember who I am ? The oRiGinal Boogeyman 🤨
I hope your on my side or your gonna wish you never existed
Is this the same book that was taking out of the bible if so I can see why this information is groundbreaking
I do not know if this is true this is a little bit of conspiracy theory don't virtually hit me"!!! It's said that high ranking freemasons practice what is called duelism/gnosticism and not the dualistic Chinese philosophical thought. Apparently they believe in not only Lucifer but Adonai and if I remember their so called great work is combining through actions Lucifer and Adonai to achieve synthesis a creation of a new. Talking about gnosticism do you know anything about this?
Since I was very young (I’m still "young" at 27), I’ve always thought the God of the OT and NT just couldn’t be the same. They were way too different, I could never make sense of it. Gnostic texts is making so much more sense, answering so many questions. Thanks for covering this topic.
Maybe you need to approach the OT without prejudice, otherwise you would end rejecting both Testaments and calling Jesus a liar.
@@damariowilson2350 what error? the real error i see is people believing in a foundation that is directly responsible for the crucifixion and hijacking of Christianity. the modern bible is utterly false and purposely edited in a very specific way. don't forget why your text is still around, it's because the Romans exterminated any other variation of Christianity with extreme violence, how ironic.
@@shoyupacket5572 ironic in the sense that the god of the Romans (i.e) Jupiter, Zeus, Sol Invictus, is the same god as of the old testament.
@@kilowhiskeyalpha6078 say something relevant because if you wanna talk about how christianity is just paganism i already know more than you
@@lorenzoc.b.9809 It is not necessarily prejudice..millions of people are reading the old testament and are horrified God is an advocate of slavery, rape, murder, human sacrifice etc there are so many texts that just does not make any sense of an all loving creator. This actually leads many people to abandon christianity completely. However, if you read gnostic Christianity then it makes more sense because the god of the OT is actually evil and is a fallen being/deity named Yaldaboath/Saklas who falls from the Realm of Light and believes he is the one true God but he is actually created from the real God known as the divine spirit from the realm of light. The OT god Saklas is an imperfect being that created an imperfect universe with death and suffering and is extremely jealous and vengeful and imprisons humanity within human bodies by trapping their souls in there and erases their minds that they are actually part of the the divine spirit and have a spark of divinity within them. It is Jesus that comes from the realm of light as an illuminator to teach humanity and free their minds from Saklas enslavement and remind them that to escape this fake world they have to embrace knowledge of the truth that they are actually part of the divine spirit and can return there only if they remember who they are and they can be free and live once again in the realm of light and not under the evil creator gods world on earth which is essentially hell with disease, death, and suffering and injustice. Many christians saw this blatant evil in the old testament and came to the conclusion that being is evil and cannot be worshipped and isn't the true God who is just and all loving..which is how gnostic christianity came about. There is much more to this story but these are some broad strokes..if you want to know more look up the gospel of Judas, the secret gospel of John, the gospel of Thomas and the apocalypse of Adam to name a few..if you are into pop culture the movie "the Matrix" is based upon Gnostic christianity..Neo is supposed to be Christ and is there to free humanity from a world of illusion where their minds and souls are being enslaved
Hearing this after 6 years of catholic school, and a life in proximity of traditional Christianity (Cath, Prot, Bapt), is extremely sobering. I am grateful to have heard it.
At first Gnosticism shook my faith a little but the more I researched it the more iron clad my faith became. Gnosticism is obviously traceable to outside of Jewish and Christian faiths. It has its roots in Greek philosophy that is forced onto and outside of Christianity.
@@lordofthered1257unfortunately for the tired old point of “Gnosticism is Greco-Christian fanfic” you’re still saying the same thing. Modern Christianity is New Age Greek Paganism with a coat of Constantine. The Greek “gods” are the Fallen Angels/Watchers and Enoch 1-3 makes that CRYSTAL PALACE CLEAR, hence it’s removal from “canon” scripture and the incessant gaslighting from Christian Apologists. The Greeks can and should always be referred back to as a credible source and authority when discussing Christianity because they came up with its literal entire foundation.
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The Dead Sea Scrolls were Coptic (post dynastic Egyptian/Greek) as Dr. Sledge pointed out and explained clearly roughly 5 minutes into this wonderful presentation. The Helios Biblios “The Book of The Sun/Son” or “Holy Bible” begins in Egypt, with its author Moses AKA Amenhotep IV. How far did Alexander make it, again? Or should I say Archangel Michael..? See; Euhemerus.
@@lordofthered1257 To me it just made me a neo gnostic tho
@@LanguageBLOX1_Alt Well not everyone can come to the truth. The world loves darkness. I do not see what Gnosticism even gives to anyone. It is an empty philosophy it gives nothing and takes all that it can. An empty husk of Christianity with all the meat sucked out and discarded.
Yes, it's so liberating! The lies told by the churches is extraordinary! 🙏🕊️🙏
This reading of the Garden of Eden makes sooo much more sense. Even back when I was a believing Christian, I couldn't reconcile that a loving God would command someone to remain ignorant and then punish them and banish them when they chose knowledge (not to mention the inherent misogyny that goes along with the story). Eden as a beautiful prison that they must escape by embracing knowledge makes infinitely more sense.
Plus the fact that it was the knowledge of good and evil, meaning they couldn't have known that the serpent was evil for saying something contrary to god or that disobeying was wrong
By that reading and logic, you could say it is allegory for mankind escaping the shackles of organized religion. I love it!!
Can’t know good and evil without committing some kind of evil. So it could be that there was nothing different about that tree than any other there, other than God said not to eat of it. So by disobeying God you sin and therefore have a contrast between good and evil. It’s a choice to know and they chose to know.
The most correct interpretation of the text is that people spend all their time moralizing and become threats to others through that. Instead they should just eat from the tree of life (pursue immortality). This world is the opposite of the garden of eden wherein every choice is a bad one except pursuing immortality. The first story refers to the importance of working hard at that goal.
I’ve always had a Connection to God, I have felt his presence and light&love my whole life… I’ve also always believed in Jesus but I couldn’t believe the Bible…
This is exactly how I’ve felt, that this world was run by a lesser Evil God and he was not Christs father. I believe this evil god is Yahweh the Jewish god that they worship
"Congratulations, the cursed flesh vessel is in fact escapable!" A refreshing aspect of the "usual" gnostic teachings. The plot thickens! I must add koptic to the list of languages to learn.
Sigh. This is how you turn into a hissing librarian cryptid, isn't it? ꙮ
;) It's when you start obsessing about dialects - "The text is Sahidic but betrays many Subakhmimic qualities!" At that point, there is no escape - the condition is terminal!
Made me LOL
The word you are looking for is "Coptic".
@@TheEsotericaChannel This is some shit I would do. As if I don't already do it with other academic subjects.
Sssssss **Hissing in librarian cryptid
Dr. Sledge, your gentle humor makes these complex subjects much more accessible.
I am absolutely flabbergasted by the amount of knowledge you share in this video. Definitely going to be watching your other videos and rewatching them to study.
All your flabbers have bin gasted?
😝
I know. Hee IS thorough and complete without being boring. Reminds me of a mentor in school
I'm a truck driver and listened to the Apocryphon of John and was fascinated could this text have influenced Marcion/Justin's replacement theology? Seems time-lines sort of line up.I Love this channel Thank You Dr Sledge for all You do Baruj Hashem!!!
Yes!!! It did
Hello fellow truck driver interested in theology!
This is not theology, this is science.
"So let's turn to the question of how to date the Apocryphon of John..."
me: 😍👀😍
This video is incredible! I feel like this text ties together everything between Sophia, the demiurge, Enki and Enlil, texts from the book of Enoch, etc. so the Old Testament God truly is not the God we currently know if is a God of love and compassion.
I kept thinking about Enki and Enlil during this presentation.
@@grittykitty50 I believe it's actually them in retrospect
Thank you Dr. Sledge for distilling a complicated subject like Gnosticism according to the Gospell of John, into a more readily "digestible form" for a lay person like me. That's why I follow you, Paul Anthony Wallace, Mauro Biglino, Gregg Braden, Dr. Billy Carson, Dr. Bruce Lipton, and many others. Blessings and Best Wishes! Shalom! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️💐
As someone converting to Catholicism, there’s something beautiful about this interpretation. I believe that every religion has an element of beauty to it, even if you aren’t a practitioner
greetings from orthodox christianity
I really love the poem "The Thunder, Perfect Mind" in the Nag Hammadi. Can't say I really understand it, but something about it is utterly beautiful, while being really mind-bending.
@@lyndawilliams6866 thanks for the recommendation. I’ve just looked up “the thunder, perfect mind” and you’re right, it’s quite beautiful
A truly under appreciated channel. Both in quality and quantity of all variables.
Out here on this content hustle ;)
Heck yea!!
The hermetic and Gnostic influences on my own Christianity is something I tend to have difficulty in relating to others with a more traditional American faith. The esoteric aspects of my beliefs are quite easy to relate to people who have no faith, however.
Sad.
So now. Tell me again just what it is you have faith in and just where this faith resides ?
@@TheRoyalBavarian I can’t tell you “again”, you have a pretentious way of writing.
I think I get it.
I had Catholicism shoved down my throat as a kid, stumbled through agnosticism as a teen, wandered into Hermetism, Buddhism, and New Age Christianity as a budding adult.
Now that I’m learning from Gnosticism, I feel my framework’s becoming more complete. I doubt I’ll achieve gnosis in this life, but I’m further along than I used to be, and that’s pretty satisfying.
Sorry to necro a comment two years later, but I am curious as to how you find it easier to relate to people who have no faith. Is it simply by virtue of the more popular sects of Christianity being unfriendly to those views, or are you somehow finding common ground with us atheists?
"gnostic literature, at least at first glance, is rather puzzling." That's a bit of an understatement. I've been trying to hack away at the Nag Hammadi Library for months and can barely get through the first few books without a headache. I'd love to see some videos breaking down the complex writing behind the texts and dissecting their actual meaning, either here or on some other channel. If anyone knows of such a source that already does that do let me know.
This reminds me of a storyline from the Mahabharata, Jesus and Shiva are parallels. It's beautiful that we all share the same stories all the more reason to unite in harmony.
just pointing out this is a very not standard story of Jesus.. similarities can be found in interpretation, creativity is boundless.. we are forced to read everything with the same concepts so stories about similar topics which are parallel, well, the parallels can be taken too far. And risk subordinating one form of knowledge to the other. As you learn from studying the thousands of equally profound cosmologies and philosophies of the world: each is a unique account of being (ontology) but we can only understand these texts (unfortunately as we do not have direct lineage teachers) through a sort of collective epistemology where all religions are forced to exist with one another historically.
There’s also the common notions which were borne from historically Orientalist or simply wide-ranging comparative studies of the Vedas and Buddhist texts alongside the Avesta and Talmud. Drawing links between Noah and Manu, and then some two legendary warriors (it can be any but also I don’t know this part so well) to prove that there was a sort of Theo-political and juridical necessity motivating the establishment of a brotherly link between the priest and the king, which is shown from Thai Buddhist ideas of the monarch as carkavartin (supreme monarch) and bodhisattva (supreme renouncer) to the similar Zoroastrian concepts of the priest-magician and warrior-king as brothers, certain scholars posit some conceptual link. (This figure also considered by some to be the shadow from which the rabbi inherits their magical powers, specifically from the Zoroastrian magush or fire priest).
So Jesus could be considered to inherit his salvation powers from Shiva, through a much less direct conceptual route. However this would ignore the ways in which other societies and cultures mediated and indeed transformed and represented in their own indigenous stories reflections of the dialectic of Shiva. Zoroastrianism as it evolved could be a good example of such a mediating agency.
However, I would suggest that there is also a void between these ideas. And similarly there is a void which skews parallels between Jesus and Shiva. One can only make elemental comparisons.
I was also touched by the similarities in Brahman mythology where Brahmā creates Daksha because Rudra sat at the bottom of the sea “too long” while creating the tapas by which to create life. When he was ready, he came up from the Sea to witness life already existing…so he destroyed it.
Daksha means Ritual Skill, which goes into this Gnostic theme.
I'm pretty sure it's Vishnu and Christ (not Jesus) that are the parallels, where as Shiva and the Holy Spirit are parallels. Christ being the light and wisdom in all matter in the Universe, where as the Holy Spirit is the creative energy that flows from Christ. Jesus, the Rabbi/Teacher/Master/King/Lord represents the word of God.
@@WilliamTheDestroyer. The Trimurti work together just like the Trinity so they are interchangeable in a sense. Whichever way works for you is equally as good
I do not find those two deities to be very similar.
They do, however, both have death and reserection stories. As so many Goods do.
But those two stories are also not very similar. Shiva achieves reserection by means of erection.
That is, the Goddess Kali evidently tramples him to death (longer story). Then, when she calms down, she notices that the dead body of Shiva has an erection. So she has intercourse with him and this brings him back to life.
So unless you see the cross as a Phallic symbol (which, in Ancient Egypt, it was) the stories are quite, um, different.
Holy Macro. Your explanation is way better than the one from Wikipedia for sure. Thank you so much for doing this. Just when I think your last video is my favorite you come up with a better one. Wow. Thank you . Thank you.
Hope it's a touch better than wikipedia ;) Glad you are liking the content!
Wikipedia is manipulated by the public.
Wikipedia is biased and full of inaccuracies, omissions and intentional lies, not to mention all the retconning and revisionist bs that goes on there. This was a great video, well presented, well spoken and, well read. Comparing it to Wikipedia is laughable, no offense to you ofc.
I absolutely love the retelling of creation in this
Thanks - such a cool text!
This explanation makes so much more sense than Genesis standing on its own. Thank you!
Perfect, great synchronicity here as I recently finished doing the audiobook for this coming out next week.
Oh great - which translation?
@@TheEsotericaChannel The Meyer translations, which are my go-to mainly just because I own the book. If you are interested, I have playlists of numerous other Gnostic and Alchemic audiobooks that I've also done.
@@AltrusianGraceMedia I've heard and appreciated them - thanks for making them!
@Sol Astus thank you much
I Love your passion. These ideas are important for us now. They need to be acknowledged and incorporated into our modern understanding. Perhaps even re-inserted and use them again in our current spirituality.
The more I learn the less I know
wow. this creation story makes so much sense to me. thank you for breaking it down as it has soooo much more spiritual value for me than the genesis creation story i’ve come to know since childhood.thank you thank you thank you you wonderful teacher .
You're doing God's work with your honest analysis of this text. Your analysis I also found to have no bias, not even the slightest hint of differentiating christian, jew, or otherwise. This is a perfect teaching you have done.
RALMAO! Stop kidding yourself, no he is not!
Love the illusturations used on this video. Really great way of using both visual storytelling and information.
Thanks - I'll take any excuse to gaze on some William Blake!
@@TheEsotericaChannel ever watch the movie Manhunter, based on the book Red Dragon? There's a lot of Blake in there. And an excellent long-play version of Inna-Gadda-da-Vida during the final scene. Intense movie!
Nooo, me no like . Blake's people are so stumpy. They usually have no necks and legs like logs.
Absolutely amazing! Subscribed! I searched so long for someone who has this level of insight! Congratulations!
You sell yourself short, your summary is an appetizer that makes me seek out the full text. So thanks!
Gnostism makes the most sense to me, this version anyway
Yeah, semen is full of protein. Wanna go for a drink sometime?
I’m 49 and I’ve been into occult and pagan ism and even been an atheist (no literal hell or heaven or anti-theist) almost all my life until I started studying up on this! It’s the real deal. I appreciate this content!
Same same... I'm 51... Guess they drove us into that when we were tween g girls. Seances etc into black magick by early 20s.. worked for Ms Cleo.. may 2022 flat on my back fighting death I have it up to Yeshua. I have a brand new body! Mind & my soul is filled with joy. Blessings
It does make more sense than "God left his kids alone with a very dangerous item, then got angry when they exercised their curiousity."
@@d.b.624 hahaha, yeah very weird how that all played out! I don’t like creation stories but this one kinda vibes. If we look at it from Egyptian lore it’s almost exact so technically the gods and goddesses are the sun, moon and stars.
@@d.b.624 "God" in the bible likes to make us look like toddlers hes trying to control, yet he has a temper himself. Then Jesus comes along and says....no, its all BS...you are all Gods yourselves.
@@annikajohansson9171 the NT could’ve just been “the kingdom of heaven is within you” case closed 🤣
My guy, you are a wealth of information! Been binge watching for days. Love your unapologetic extensive rhetoric. Very refreshing and informative.
The Great Awakening Is Upon Us.
Thank You For All Of The Time And Effort You Put Into These Videos.
This is literally the ONLY interpretation of Genesis that makes any sense to me. I never felt Yahweh was pure light and love, come on.
Yes brother, Yeshua came to remind us of this - and through His disciple - He revealed to us the truth of behind Genesis. It’s basically a tribute and call to praise through works, in its current version, to the demiurge.
God can either be complacent and watch wickedness flourish or deliver justice and snuff it out in our stead.
Sadly, he cannot do both in the limited scope of the human mind. He's called a monster for abdicating one for the other.
Yeah I think it’s deeper more esoteric meanings make it a more universal account of Creation, cosmogony, etc. I think it might be too metaphorical for some people compared to Genesis.
Even when I was a small child and heard the stories. My inner voice asked what kind of God is this? It is the false God.
I mean it’s all made up so
Really appreciate these videos on Gnosticism. They illuminate such a difficult and complex topic in a very accessible and enjoyable way. Thank you Dr. Justin Sledge for your thorough research. I recently got myself some of the recommended literature from this video ( the Steven Davies translation of the Gospel of John with commentary and Roelof van der Broek's short introduction) and they are both amazing. I find Steven Davies's notes especially insightful. Looking forward to more videos on topics related to Gnosticism on this channel.
Love your channel man! It’s so damn hard to find people seemingly trying hard to be objective and teach about these things in good faith
I want to thank you in other videos for discussing your southernness, because it can be frustrating as a Memphian living abroad to be seen through such a reductive lens, and I think that your presence online really adds depth to that image.
More importantly thank you for teaching information that can't be found many other places and with such professionalism
I'm proudly Southern....just not proud about those obviously horrible bits
@@TheEsotericaChannel exactly 😂
U are from the real Egypt, dont waste your time on channels not teaching the ancient Americans.. try UB news,432 drop, kurimeo,mind unveiled,Dr lango..
Thank you, Justin! You get smarter every time I watch you! I watch this video last year and it didn’t make sense, but now it does, because I understand who everyone is after reading the entire NH library and Bible from cover to cover and understanding that I was right all along when I Started getting into the occult which should not be occult back when I was 12 years old. Born a Gnostic. Die a Gnostic. I’m right back where I started but I guess I learned a lot on the detour that I had to take so that I can lead others down this rabbit hole and away from the false doctrines created by the church from the dark Ages, by the way, the gospel of Thomas is my favorite! I am writing a children’s book that is the gospel with every saying translated for children to understand.
Excellent as always!
I'm so bad about this. I sympathize with almost every villain that's complex enough to not be evil for evil's sake, and I think Yaldabaoth is one of those villains. Sympathy for Yaldabaoth; I especially sympathize because he was pretty much abandoned and evicted by his mother, Sophia. For an embodiment of wisdom, you'd think she'd have seen this coming, or at least thought about it in greater detail, but she didn't. She made this child, by accident, and because he was different, she cast him out. That child, probably because he remembers being close with his mother (and father and Jesus; the divine union of matter in the holy realm), became so heckin' lonely that he attempted to make his own realm where he could feel connected to other beings. And it was just all downhill from there. I lose a lot of sympathy when he rapes Eve in order to put her in her place, but even then, I see where his anger stems from. He's not really mad at Eve. He's not mad at Adam. He's mad at his * Parents *. It all goes back to his Parents. To the Father. To Sophia, especially. He has abandonment issues. And why else do I sympathize with him? Because * I * have abandonment issues! Mom didn't love me, either! I'd get a little pissy, too! Especially if my (divine in this case) parents kept meddling with my creations. Trying to help mankind with spiritual ascension is, in a way, making humans more like the actual gods and less like Yaldabaoth, himself. He wants creatures to look like him, act like him, and be like him. NOT like his Parents. So, I'd probably thwart their ascension, too, just because I'm pissed off that absolutely NONE OF THIS is going to plan! I'm sure if there was a way for Yaldabaoth to commit suicide, he would have done it already.
I know you typed this out a year ago but I am going through so much personal strife and it has been so difficult to continue ... this depiction of our reality and why it is the way it is, I feel so closely to my heart. I have villianized Yaldabaoth myself with deep resentment, only now to feel upon reading your comment, to feel some semblance of sympathy, relation and understanding to him. I too, have 'parent problems'.
So now we see what unbridled power in an unstable psyche produces: mirrored now in corporate America.
@@MsBizzyGurl what 😳
@@patrickbrumm4120 within the context of your statement, and I accept i could be wrong, I believe alchemy teaches us that we can transmute our own 2s into 3s through the spiritual works.
@@coletaylor9847 I think trying to make 1+1=3 is the error of the demiurge. Within existing physical laws, this would be considered a miracle, and Einstein said "God does not play dice with the universe". At an early age I determined that actual, real miracles, such as turning water into wine or bring someone back from the dead, would require such vast sources of energy that it would probably result in a local nuclear blast. And while alchemy gave us Chemistry, we've only just recently begun to start noodling with matter, and that requires a Large Hadron Collider. We can only fly in our dreams.
I agree this is a difficult read. I had to go through the creation stories several times. I think the A. Of John is the most thorough of the creation stories in the Nag Hammadi. I also prefer Christ coming down as an eagle at the tree of knowledge. I started with the Gospel of Phillip... that is if one does not consider the Book of Enoch as gnostic. The Gospel of Phillip made such an impact on me that it wasn't long before I'd gone through a lot of the Nag Hammadi and listened to many scholars about gnosticism and Christianity before Roman meddling. I renounced Orthodoxy not long thereafter. However, not just because of gnosticism, but on my 3rd Easter liturgy, the glaring vanity of the liturgy, the iconostasis, and all the other fluff of the church dawned on me so clearly. It was truly an epiphany. That day was my renunciation day from Orthodoxy.
I would like to know whether you were an Orthodox from birth, or converted from a different background ?
I believe more Orthodox or Catholics need to be exposed to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi literature, because they only knew Gnosticism from the "church fathers" who painted the Gnostics with a twisted/perverted image.
This is my third viewing of this lecture. It really takes repeated reading of the texts in translatin and viewing these lectures to form a mental structure of the relation all the gnostic texts. (Holding in mind, as you suggest, that the category is in question but still....). That's not to mention actually integrating the message. Thank you again, Dr. Sledge for your incredible devotion, scholarly attention and passion for the subject and material. and making it available to us.
Thank you so much! Amazing ... It is as if the scriptures and concepts are somehow possibly stored in some of us... so many ideas and complex philosophies that I have heard from you describing these texts are so familiar as if they are something deeper inside of me beyond what I was taught in the modern religion of which i was raised.. I have no idea how i know these things without reading texts, but they are there..maybe truth is more alive in us or inscribed in us far beyond what we as humans place on paper...often the paper simply affirms something deeper that does not recognize its validity until it sees itself both within and without...sometimes texts act simply like a mirror of ourselves awakening us to what we have aways been, not certain, but we will see where this takes us all :) ...thank you again for being that being who brought the mirror into the room for us to gaze into and reflect upon. You are a wonderful soul Thank You!
They are. All religions are birthed thanks to Gnosis.
Very Instructive, Bravo !
Phenomenal video, Dr.Sledge. Your pointing out that the Hebrew word for Eve is Havah, or Chavah, makes me think of the Hebrew letters on Eliphas Levi’s Tetragrammaton, which leads me to my question: would you please make a video on Eliphas Levi and his writings on magic? I know the basics of what he had to say, but some aspects of his thought remain baffling and shrouded in mystery, the kind of mystery someone such as yourself could likely help to lift. Anyways, thank you for a great video. More Gnosticism please! Take care.
@@abertj.7365 Havah is also "experiencing".
Fascinating! I knew of Ialdabaoth by way of “Revolt of the Angels,” but TIL its origin. Amazing episode.
Very well done!
Valentinus taught that the demiurge wasn't actually evil, more ignorant, while Sethianism drives home the point that the demiurge was an evil entity.
As I'm from the tribe of Benjamin I'd like to say... Thank you for your time and help with this information.
Barbelo and the pleroma - immense fun
I am approacing to Exoterism only recently after researching the bible(literally translated) for the last 5 years. I must admit, if you start to see all these entities as evil demons then what Yahweh did in the bible suddenly does not seems so Impossible. Great channel!
Brilliant, intriguing and inspiring, thank you very much for this work.
Gosh, this is such a plot twist! The text literally contradicts all beliefs so far! I’m amazed! I always wondered if the intentions of the being who supposedly created us were truly “good” or on our favor. This just ignited that again and I can only thank you, doctor, for such an analysis of this dense literature!
In-depth and insightful as always!
The culmination of Great Knowledge is Wisdom.
It's a lifetime search for wisdom.
Jesus's words fell on the ears of everyone, illiterate as well as educated. Their hearts reacted according to his words ; for good or evil.
Sometimes we don't have the education for a deep dive into these tomes of sayings. But, the words still have the power to refine our spiritual leanings. The heart desires and Spirit leads to understanding and appreciation of what the words teach us.
Who wrote it, or when, or under what circumstances can be a balm to curiosity but the words alone have power.
You, Sir, fulfill a needed place in the dissemination of knowledge. Your path has been long and arduous. However, I felt the need to encourage others like myself, who can get lost in the flood of facts, to just read the books you site for they are inspiring. So what if they've been cast aside as spurious? (Ie, book of Thomas or Mary,the Nag Hamadi etc.) Each of us will find what we need for spiritual growth and encouragement. Each can follow up on your teaching as we gather more Knowledge.
Thank you for your lifelong dedication. Thank you for sharing it with me.
My favorite channel by far! keep up the great work
"It is not published by Brill, so… it’s affordable": 😂🤣😂👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 simply lovely! Excellent video as all the videos on this channel are btw. Dr. Sledge is very a generous scholar (and also a calligrapher and home brewer! Can you immagine that??). And with the usual hints of light and delicious irony here and there. Really indispensable for anyone who wants to understand and start studying Gnosticism. Highly recommended! I really take my hat off to Dr. Sledge! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Many thanks for these kind words
I thank you for your research & insights...I find your lectures to be valuable in my studies of "The Holy Books" of antiquity...The allegorical sometimes gives great insight into knowledge gained by our ancestors...The Divine Trinity of SPIRITMINDBODY,,,,reflects the reality of our "electric universe" and how it works...Please consider that everything originates from the Quantum realms hence we have POTENTIALENERGYMASS,,, We are spirits having a human experience...Seeking knowledge & sharing it is the Universal Religion...God Bless...
You are simply amazing. Thank you. I'm progressing back through your entire collection 👍
>Now we turn to how to date the Apocryphon of John, which is...challenging
Yet another thing I have in common with ancient texts
Among communities that had a Marcionite presence, many of these ideas persisted in the common culture for a very long time.
In my readings, I have realized that there is not a clear distinction between early Christianity and Gnosticism. I was skimming the "Epistula Apostolorum" the other day, which seems to have been written to combat docetism (a notion among some gnostics that Jesus only appeared to be of flesh, but was only a spiritual being) which mentioned Jesus passing through the Ogdoad, and that he was able to basically fool the Archangels into thinking he was one of them so he could ascend to the right hand of the father, assuming the Angels would have tried to stop him if they knew he was Jesus. Two ideas we seem to lump together as "Gnosticism" in apparent opposition to each other. Christianity is *supposed* to be mystical!
Seems like The Pistis Sophia might be dependent on this work. I have also read the notion that the Pistis Sophia might have originally been dependent on "the questions of Mary," which may have been referring to Mary Magdalene, and coincidentally I've read that some believe that "the beloved desciple" in the gospel of John could've been Mary Magdalene and that fact became hidden so that people would respect the work more....
Love the book recommendations at the end! Thank you!
Sweet Sophia! This was another *awesome* episode. But alas, I can only hit the thumbs up button once...and share link on Twitter.
I'm super grateful you share my stuff, it means a ton to me!
Incredible! Thank you for summarizing this text. I bought two of the books you mentions and can't wait to start reading them. This subject of existence, cosciousness and humanity seems complex and intangible at times.
All I could see when this was being explained was the Tree of Life, each sefira lighting up in my brain as you introduced a new character (sorry, I don't know the correct words for explaining this haha). It almost seems like everybody around that time was pulling at the same thread but each putting their own spin on it. In many ways, I think I'm very lucky that I was not raised religious because it allowed me to seek my own path and figure out what speaks to my soul. Apparently, I keep going back to Kabbalah - or at the very least, dualism. But I'm certainly into this Gnostic 'brand' of Christianity!
lighting up in the brain?
@@jbaquinones in my mind's eye. Creating a mental map.
If Gnosticism is Christianity then Satanism which is about some gods is also Christianity !!!
@@33ketamine33 I mean gnostics still believe Jesus is the way truth and life which is all that is required to be a Christian. Very different from satanism…
I never get tired of listening this video.. so well explained.. thanks
A reliable interpretation, using beautiful production values, and seems impeccably sourced.
An excellent whistle stop ride through Gnosticism. It did feel like I had my head out of the car window doing 70, but I feel refreshed as a result.
Just as a slight pointer to your viewers, the action and experience of 'Divine' and 'Gnosis' are one and the same.
Subscribed!!! 👍
I love the way this guy talks. He comes through very well read and intelligent.
Interestingly, Ialdabaoth tells Moses to have the people worship Naas, the third maternal angel/demon who was a snake. This always made me wonder why would God most High ask Moses and the people to do that but when you read the Secret book of John it sure makes a lot more sense. Great video Justin.
That was Yahweh the false god in the Old Testament.
@@BrownieMiyamoto "false god" hahahahhaa
I don't know that the appetite for "secret knowledge" has ever left the Christian community. Books that claim to "decode" the biblical predictions for our future sure seem to sell well today.
I believe that there is a cosmic battle taking place, and that The Secret Book of John was not materialized out of the minds of men, but rather the influence of Luciferic entities. The level of manipulation detailed in The Secret Book of John, was impressive to such a degree that it’s actually quite concerning. Just goes to show the level of intelligence possessed by the deceiving beings we must navigate to get to the truth of things.
Very clear. Very helpful. Great job. Thank you.
Glad you thought so!
Fascinating. It's sad how much we've lost, - especially from the MesoAmericans. "The Thunder, Perfect Mind" is also a beautiful NH mystical text. I love all of the Blake imagery. He definitely held some _Gnostic_ views.
Got a whole episode about it
Gospel of truth video would be great follow up to this
This stuff is fascinating and one of the largest reasons I am going back to school to begin with. I am very thankful to find your channel!🎉
Some of this egyptian-line gnostic stuff feels remarkably sci-fi
Five stars. Had to listen twice.
Dr I’m a Christian believer never heard of this book now I’m so confused with this book… I will read it and study it but it’s a huge shift from my faith…
Knowing things is way over rated. Doing good things is very important. The best Christians have faith in doing and the way taught by Jesus. Needing to know everything and curiosity is a vice of smart people.
Gnostism and Christianity go hand and hand. You can be a Gnostic Christian
Seek knowledge and deal with the consequences or live in blissful ignorance.
The tree of knowledge in the garden. Eat the fruit and be free.
Dr. Sledge! You are the bomb! I have 3 Master’s Degrees & 1/2 of one PHD & 1/4 of another…I concur you are the Real Brilliant, Real, Full of a Pleroma of Academic Integrity del. Congratulations on your achievement! Cheers!
Sophia: I have made creation :)
God: You fucked up a perfectly good demiurge is what you did. Look at it, it has anxiety
It is a pleasure to have found this channel. Hope to open new discussions around this subject and it's implications for the of our nature of 'spiritual' reality.
So we got created by mistake. Major Monty Python vibes. No wonder the meaning of life is 42.
Thank you for your contributions to these topics, I appreciate your efforts.
Love this update Dr. Sledge! I noticed that you mentioned ancient Stoicism in this and in a few previous installments on your channel, and I was wondering if you had any interest in covering any Stoic philosophy in its own video?
I will actually - I've had a long lasting interest in Stoicism (my old online handle was actually chrysippvs!). Next week actually we will touch on Stoicism (though in a more whimsical way, so to speak) and eventually I'll cover how their hermeneutics are indispensable for the develop of esotericism.
Awesome!! Looking forward to it!
Thanks dr Sledge, you explain it at layman's terms.
Wonderful lecture! I don't know if you ever double-back to these comments, but I want to ask you this question. You presented several images created by the eclectic poet/engraver William Blake. He seemed to have a fantastic imagination. I think he created his own mythic cosmology, which featured beings like "Urizen" and "Los." Was he inspired by gnostic texts? I have also heard that Blake drew upon the writings of a Swedish Mystic named Immmanuel Swedenborg. Was Swedenborg aware of the concepts of 'gnosticism,' somehow?
Check out my recent episode on him!
When salvation occurs there is sometimes an overlap of the spirit and material worlds. A living masterpiece is experienced and observed and well understood. There is Good News along every step and around every corner from then on.
What are the names of the archons and/or the Aeons?
Thanks! Really fascinating.
My thanks !
Thank you so much for producing this content! One question about your interpretation of "ialdabaoth". Isn't it natural to think that this is an adaptation of "יה צבאות"? I don't know Coptic, but if it's anything like Arabic, it is likely that the hebrew "צ" vowel got changed to a guttural "d" sound (compare the similarity between ض and ص in Arabic)
I want to thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge I have learned so much from you and rabbi Toby a singer and Rabbi Simon Jacobson but you are definitely one of the best teachers thank you thank you❤
Typo Tobia Singer the rabbi
With the esoteric the more you learn the more you realize you really don't know anything
This information was only available to the initatited of the highest elites and philosophers of the past and now it's available to everyone. You can also be a Gnostic Christian
And people say Mormon beliefs are weird. IMHO it's all just a matter of how you slice the baloney. I'm impressed by the range of reference resources you include at the end. It is admirable that you give credit to the contributions of others.
I wonder if you realize just how important this particular book and video are? Do you know how it relates to today? To who, what, and where you are? I cannot thank you enough for these videos...the information on your site has been invaluable to me in answering puzzles I was faced with; things I thought may have no answer, apparently were not only known about, but we're solved by some eons ago, only to be lost and buried in time until now. Every single one of us needs to look up this book for ourselves...you just have no idea how important it truly is!
“If you are, y’know, a woman.” 🤣
Important people - you know, half the population ;)
Lol, yeah, shitty for 100% of the population, most men don't want a domesticated housewife ;).
@@Catarax28 what does that even mean??
@@joelbedulla4 I mean, that if men and women can equally exploit their talents, it's a 100% win for society as a whole :).
A definite not minor point
Thank you for making this message possible for us and I love and enjoy this message
gratitude for your well informed and intriguing lessons on such a vast mystical area of origins... moreover your injection of humor is right up my alley..
it sounds like the Mayan myths and most others. Same story.
I'm days into learning about gnosticism. This was incredibly insightful and helpful. thanks
👍 good video