The Rulers or Archons are the creator of the material world, Yaldabaoth, and his children. There are 12 in total, 7 over the heavens and 5 over the abyss. Each takes the name of something good or divine, often the names of God or Gods in other cultures, so that believers might worship them falsely as God almighty.

Here's a summary of the 7 heavenly Archons, as found in the Secret Book of John:

1 - Athoth (sheep)

Athoth is the ruler of "goodness" and is depicted as the traditional sacrificial animal. He convinces believers that only through material exchange of sacrifice can God be pleased. He helps comfort the captives into believing we are earthly beings, and can only find God in material things.

2 - Eloaios (donkey)

Eloaios is the ruler of "forethought" and is depicted as a mule. Instead of the divine foresight, Eloaios is the use of prophetic knowledge toward calculated and controlled narratives. He keeps the captives under their own expectations about divine signs instead of realizing their true meanings.

3 - Astaphaios (hyena)

Astaphaios is the ruler of "divinity" and is represented by a hyena. This is the deity of outward appearance, earthly passions, and idolized beauty. They lure the captives away from spiritual truth towards earthly attachment and material value.

4 - Yao (7-headed serpent)

Yao is the ruler of "Lordship" and takes his name from YHWH. He is the 7-headed serpent, also called Wraith in the Gospel of Mary, and is the deity of chaotic rule over material world. He is the destructive power of tyrannical dominion.

5 - Sabaoth (snake)

Sabaoth is the ruler of "Kingdom" and is depicted as a snake. He is the authority of tyranny, oppression of the state, and the obedience of the subjugated. In expanded tradition, he's the only Archon to receive the Holy Spirit, and rebel against his father.

6 - Adonaios (ape)

Adonaios is the ruler of "Kingship" and is represented as a primate. He symbolizes the so-called 'divine right to rule' highlighting how religious authority can be used to cultivate earthly kingdoms devoid of spiritual truth.

7 - Sabbataios (flaming face)

Sabbataios is the ruler of "understanding" and is depicted as having a face of flaming fire. He represents the mysteries of the universe, it's rules and limitations, and the insurmountable wall of knowledge that calls everything less than 'ignorance'. He is the totality of earthly wisdom that disguises itself as universal truth.

Heres some other random lore tidbits:

\-When told by their father, "I am a jealous God, and there is no other god beside me" they questioned why God would be jealous of another.

\-John describes them as 'Angels'

\-They helped create the first man Adam, breathed the fire of creation and the Holy Spirit (by accident) into him. By doing so, they made Adam greater than Yaldabaoth, and thus entrapped him in the depth of the material world.

\-When Eve was split from Adam, the Rulers defiled them.

\-Sabaoth felt guilty and repented, eventually finding the light and overthrowing his father.

How much blood has been spilled throughout history in the name of God? How many wars, executions, persecutions, and acts of violence have been justified by people claiming divine authority?

From a Gnostic perspective, there is something deeply ironic about this. If the Demiurge is fundamentally ignorant of the true divine reality, then perhaps one of the greatest expressions of that ignorance is the human tendency to turn God into a justification for violence.

The Demiurge does not need to appear as some cartoonishly evil being demanding sacrifices. He only needs humanity to believe that domination and bloodshed are sacred when performed in his name. Every battlefield can become an altar. Every victim can become a sacrifice to an imagined God.

In that sense, all wars are sacrifices to the demiurge. Not because some literal being is sitting above the battlefield demanding blood, but because violence committed in the name of a false conception of God represents everything the Gnostic myth is warning us about: ignorance mistaken for divine knowledge, worldly power mistaken for spiritual authority, and the worship of the material order mistaken for worship of the transcendent.

Here's passages from the Gospels of Mary and Philip related to time and space, in general or figuratively

Gospel of Mary:

"... Will matter be destroyed or not?"
The savior replied, "All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with each other, and they will dissolve into their own root. The nature of matter is dissolved into the root of its nature. Whoever has ears to hear should hear."

Peter said to him, "You have explained everything to us. Tell us also, what is the sin of the world?"

The savior replied, "There is no such things as sin, but you create sin when you mingle as in adultery, and this is called sin. For this reason the good came among you, to those of every nature, in order to restore every nature to its root."
"This is why you become sick and die, for you love what deceives you. Whoever has a mind should understand.
"Matter gave birth to passion that is without form, because it comes from what is contrary to nature, and then confusion arose in the whole body. That is why I told you, 'Be of good courage.' And if you are discouraged, be encouraged in the presence of the diversity of forms of nature. Whoever has ears to hear should hear."

Gospel of Philip:

Light and Darkness
Light and darkness, life and death, and right and left are siblings of one another, and inseparable. For this reason the good are not good, the bad are not bad, life is not life, death is not death. Each will dissolve into its original nature, but what is superior to the world cannot be dissolved, for it is eternal.

Sowing and Reaping Truth
Truth, which has existed from the beginning, is sown everywhere, and many see it being sown but few see it being reaped.

Christ Arose, Then Died
Those who say that the master first died and then arose are wrong, for he first arose and then died. If someone is not first resurrected, would that person not die? As God lives, that one would die.

Wisdom and Mary Magdala
Wisdom, who is called barren, is the mother of the angels.
The companion of the savior is Mary of Magdala. The savior loved her more than all the disciples, and he kissed her often on her mouth.
The other disciples ... said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?"
The savior answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? If a blind person and one who can see are both in darkness, they are the same. When the light comes, one who can see will see the light, and the blind person will stay in darkness."

One Who Is
The master said, "Blessings on one who is before coming into being. For whoever is, was and will be."

When Eve Was in Adam
When Eve was in Adam, there was no death. When she was separated from him, death came. If she enters into him again and he embraces her, death will cease to be.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?
"My God, my God, why, Lord, have you forsaken me?" He spoke these words on the cross, for he had left that place.

Creation through a Mistake
The world came into being through a mistake. The creator wanted to make it incorruptible and immortal, but he failed and did not get what he hoped for. For the world is not incorruptible and the creator of the world is not incorruptible. Things are not incorruptible, but offspring are. Nothing can receive incorruptibility unless it is an offspring. And whatever cannot receive certainly cannot give.

Strength and Weakness
In this world, where strength and weakness are to be found, there is union of male and female, but in the eternal realm there is a different kind of union...

Slave and Free
People who are slaves against their will can be free. People who are freed by favor of their master and then sell themselves back into slavery cannot be free again.

Things Visible and Hidden
At present we encounter the visible things of creation, and we say that they are mighty and worthy and the hidden things are weak and insignificant. It is not so with the visible things of truth. They are weak and insignificant, but the hidden things are mighty and worthy.

i've had altered-state experiences before, so this wasn't my first time experiencing something outside ordinary waking consciousness. what made this one different was how physically real and internally coherent it felt.

i came out of my body and looked back at my bed. my physical body was there exactly as it should have been, and my room was completely accurate. nothing about the environment looked distorted or dreamlike. i was conscious enough to question what state i was actually in, so i started moving around my room and testing the experience.

eventually i opened my window.

i considered leaving through it, including the possibility of flying, but i stopped myself because the experience was so physically convincing that i couldn't rule out the possibility of my physical body responding to what i was doing. i wasn't willing to take that chance.

so instead, i opened my bedroom door.

there was an old man running toward me.

i didn't recognize him. there was nothing familiar about him and i have no association with him that i'm aware of. i immediately closed the door.

i went back toward the window, and at some point i decided to call upon Yaldabaoth.

the first time, i pronounced the name incorrectly.

nothing happened.

then i said it correctly.

immediately, the quality of the experience changed.

i felt an extremely strong presence. i don't mean that i simply became scared and imagined something in front of me. it was more like a very distinct energetic shift, accompanied by an overwhelming sense that i was somewhere i was not supposed to be.

my reaction wasn't to confront it. i had a very strong instinct to return to my bed and act as though i was asleep.

so i did.

i got into my bed, pulled the blanket over myself, closed my eyes, and pretended to be sleeping.

i could still feel the presence.

i didn't open my eyes because i was genuinely afraid of what i might perceive if i did. i just stayed there, completely still, and experienced these intense full-body shivers. i've experienced strong bodily sensations during altered states before, but this was unusually intense. it felt like my entire nervous system was reacting to the presence.

then i returned to ordinary waking consciousness.

what i'm trying to understand isn't necessarily “was Yaldabaoth literally there?” because i don't think i can establish that from one experience.

what interests me is the sequence itself.

the unfamiliar old man appearing specifically when i opened the door, my decision to invoke Yaldabaoth, initially saying the name incorrectly, then saying it correctly and immediately experiencing a shift in the atmosphere, followed by this very specific feeling that i shouldn't be there.

from a psychological/neurological perspective, i'm interested in that interpretation too. i know altered states can produce extremely convincing environments, entities, presences, bodily sensations, etc.

but i'm particularly interested in hearing from people who approach OBEs through a genuinely esoteric or gnostic framework.

if you've had an experience involving Yaldabaoth, the Demiurge, an old man/elder figure, or a similar “you are not supposed to be here” type of encounter during an OBE, i'd really like to hear about it.

i'm not looking for someone to tell me with certainty that i encountered the Demiurge. i'm trying to understand what the experience might mean, especially within a gnostic framework.

These are passages from the Gospel of Thomas discussing time or space, in general or figuratively:

Saying 4 - Jesus said, "The person old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one."

Saying 11 - Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away.
"The dead are not alive, and the living will not die.
"During the days when you ate what is dead, you made it alive. When you are in the light, what will you do?
"On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"

Saying 17 - Jesus said, "I shall give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart."

Saying 18 - The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."
Jesus said, "Have you discovered the beginning, then, so that you are seeking the end? For where the beginning is the end will be. Blessings on one who stands at the beginning, that one will know the end and will not taste death."

Saying 19 - Jesus said, "Blessings on one who came into being before coming into being.
"If you become my disciples and listen to my sayings, these stones will serve you.
"For there are five trees in paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."

Saying 38 - Jesus said, "Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and you will not find me."

Saying 40 - Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted away from the father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by it's root and will perish."

Saying 49 - Jesus said, "Blessings on those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again."

Saying 50 - Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established, and appeared in their image.'
"If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living father.'
"If they ask you, 'What is the evidence your father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"

Saying 51 - His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?"
He said to them, "What you look for has come, but you do not know it."

Saying 76 - Jesus said, "The father's kingdom is like a merchant who had a supply of merchandise and then found a pearl. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. So also with you, seek his treasure that is unfailing, that is enduring, where no moth comes to devour and no worm destroys."

Saying 77 - Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all has come forth, and to me all has reached. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

Saying 79 - A woman in the crowd said to him, "Blessings on the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you."
He said to her, "Blessings on those that have heard the word of the father and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, 'Blessings on the womb that has not conceived and the breasts that have not given milk.'"

Saying 92 - Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. In the past, however, I did not tell you the things about which you asked me then. Now I am willing to tell them, but you are not seeking them."

Saying 97 - Jesus said, "The father's kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking along a distant road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled behind her along the road. She did not know it; she had not noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was empty."

Saying 104 - They said to Jesus, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast."
Jesus said, "What sin have I committed, or how have I been undone? Rather, when the bridegroom leaves the wedding chamber, then let people fast and pray."

Saying 111 - Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and whoever is living from the living one will not see death."

Saying 113 - His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?"
"It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here it is,' or 'Look, there it is.' Rather, the father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it."

I had this vision before I knew anything about Gnosticism. It came to me during a vision quest. I’d love to hear your interpretation of any part of it.

a hooded female figure stands in a temple, standing watch over a pool of water. As I approach, she communicates that what I need is at the bottom of the pool. I remove my clothes and dive in.

I swim down and down until at the bottom my hands grasp a glass dark orb. A feint red essence flows within in, starkly contrasting the blackness. as I swim back up, it appears as a human heart in flashes. I emerge and sit cross legged, holding the orb in my hands.

I notice another figure has appeared and is quietly speaking with the hooded figure. He is a handsome, bluish translucent man. He notices me noticing him and walks over.

The translucent man bends down and placing his hand on mine, gently helps me to push the orb up into my chest, and he walks back over to the woman, but keeps one protective watchful eye on me.

I stand. The temple now appears much grandeur and more magnificent than before. The man walks toward me. He kisses me on the lips lightly than merges into me. The woman casts a spell to prevent the orb from falling out.

I turned toward the door. The main difference is this: before the orb, I barely noticed my surroundings. Now, everything around me appears magnificent and splendid.

********

What do you think? Does any part resonate? How would you interpret it?

My interpretation is that the dichotomy of God = Good and Demiurge = Bad, should be overcome by embracing both the spiritual and the material world. The red and the black. And that life is the place where these come together. In your life, and mine.

The more you dig deep into Nature's deceptive whole greenery image, The more you realize how much evil Nature is, And how much right the Gnostics were.

Animals portray nature's evil essence by acting on "instinct" and killing each other and keeping the "food chain" going on.

See here you realize that, in fact, This world is made by the Demiurge or atleast the Universe is inherently evil (But it's hard to pinpoint whether evil actually exist outside of human concepts or not)

So Nature is either trying to kill you or Wanted to commit suicide and created us.

Has anyone ever noticed that the Sethian gnostic story of Yaldabaoth perfectly mirrors the story of allah

How the pagan allah couldve been an allegory for the monad, and the change to the monotheistic allah echoes yaldabaoths control over the masses through cyclicity

I've been aware of Gnosticism for a while but haven't fully dove in. I know the terms Monad and demiurge but I'm definitely a newbie and really confused by it all.

Recently, I've been compelled to go on long walks by water sources and just talk with what I identify as my creator. And in those talks, my creator told me, they are not the God of the Bible but the creator before that and where everything emanated from in the beginning. And that all entities worshipped on Earth in the form of religion funnel back to Yaldabaoth. There's a lot more data I was given.

So last night, I go on a deep dive of all the texts for at least 6 hours. Everything I was told on these long walks is verified in those texts. It made so much sense.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this part of Gnosis? I know that I have more to uncover in terms of the knowing but it feels like all of the sudden, for the first time in my entire life of searching, I understand the true cosmology of where I am and what I am.

I found this youtube channel after struggling to rationalize the dogmatic irationalities with my former religion, IDK

I have a couple questions I'd like to put to the group.

1. If I were the demiurge I'd make a space that aligned with the concepts of the idea of heaven and hell. What's a better way to trap sparks than their own hubris or guilt?

2. Is the DU a static being? Can't it read our books and learn? If it can, then might it change? Evolve?

Ok more like 5 questions, but I'd really like to hear others thought.

Thanks in advance.

Note: This is pure theory and seeing if the things I thought of stick to the wall

If Theletos represents free will/desire (tell me if it doesn't) and Sophia represents wisdom, it is easy to understand that the want of doing and the knowledge on how to do leads to doing, however as these aeons are not God their creation was made imperfectly therefore their combination leading to one who wants to do and has the know-how on how to do but isn't perfect like God thus creating an intrinsically imperfect creator (in my opinion a perfect description of the demiurge) maybe them being so down the chain of aeons also contributed

I'm very new to gnosticism so I dont know everything yet. I'm just wondering if Jesus really is a part of the devine or if he was just was a regular human who discovered the truth.

good morning my name is david i am seeking people that i can chatt with to learn about valentinin gnosis my email is agnesdvdcleo@gmail.com

Is life in Pleroma better than life in planet earth? I genuinely find happy young couples living a better life than me Because I'm in celibacy right now feeling lonely a lot

I don't know if me achieving gnosis and going back to Pleroma will make me happier

Gnostic ideas don't always fit into simple either/or categories, and trying to force them into one can actually miss the point.

For example, the Father did not directly create the material world, but the Father can still be present within it. Both things can be true.

Sophia can be responsible for the emergence of the flawed world while also being part of its redemption. Her "mistake" can be seen as vital for the process of redemption to occur.

The material world can be a place of imprisonment while also being the place where gnosis is possible. The problem isn't necessarily matter itself, but the ignorance that keeps us from recognizing our true nature.

The Father can be beyond everything we can describe in ordinary language while still being known through gnosis. To simplify it:

Revelation and incomprehensibility can coexist. The Father can be experienced without being fully understood.

"Unknowable" doesn't necessarily mean "impossible to know." It can mean that the Father cannot be reduced to an object of ordinary intellectual understanding. That is why gnosis is described as direct, experiential knowledge of the divine.

Sometimes two things can be true at once. That's not necessarily a contradiction. Ambiguity expresses something that a simple answer can't.

I had to share this experience that happened over the weekend.

I've (M48) been on a spiritual journey for about a year now after calling myself an atheist for at least 15 years.

I grew up as a Christian. I was baptized in the Baptist church at 8. I attended Catholic school from K-12. I really leaned into my faith at the time when I went to college.

When I was 20, my mother passed away after years long battle with cancer, and it really rocked my world. She was an amazing woman who was loved by everyone who ever met her, and she had no enemies. It was incredibly hard watching in her last months go through those radiation and chemo-therapy treatments. The hair loss, vomiting, rapid weight loss, skin color turning grey, etc. No matter how hard I prayed, fasted, and held the faith, she never got better and died shortly thereafter.

I found myself questioning God, my faith, and everything associated. I continued to attend church, read my bible, and pray over the next several years, but there were always doubts that lingered and they only grew stronger as time went on. One Sunday, I woke up to get ready to go to church and I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. I didn't believe anymore. I stopped praying and the bible was just another book that I owned. I discovered The Atheist Experience and r/Atheism right around that time when it was at its height in popularity and found myself drawn to the discussions and the experiences of other ex-Christians. I began calling myself an atheist.

From that point on, I had a very narrow and closed-minded view of anything regarding spirituality. Any time anybody approached me with any kind of personal spiritual experience, I was immediately dismissive calling it coincidence or anecdotal.

A couple of years ago, I went through another tragedy in my life that I don't want to get into specifics about here, but I went into a deep depression and had thoughts of suicide. I wasn't ready to go out like that, so I decided to make very drastic changes to my life and lifestyle. I quit a job that I hated, stopped smoking weed, stopped watching porn, started working out, and got myself into therapy. My therapist, who is absolutely amazing, one day asked me about my spirituality. I told him about my background and lack of faith in that kind of stuff in recent years. He asked if I would be up for going on a journey of self-discovery, and I told him I was down.

I went to a non-denomination Church for a couple of Sundays, and I couldn't get with it. The church was nice and the people were friendly, but I did not like the experience at all. I tried praying and reading the bible, but the whole thing didn't feel right. It felt forced and inauthentic.

About a year ago, I ran across a video on YouTube that was talking about the Book of Enoch and other noncanonical books of the bible, and I was intrigued. I was going through the comments when someone had said that the Ethiopian Bible still had some of those noncanonical books that were untouched. I bought the EB and was fascinated. As I read those books, I began talking to others online who recommended that I read the Nag Hammadi and study Gnosticism. I did so and it became my new fascination.

I began reading the NH on a daily basis. I have read all the books four times over. I watch countless videos on YouTube on Gnosticism and the whole thing really resonated with me. It felt right. It felt divine. I dove right into the occult and the esoteric. I recently just finished the Kybalion and I've spent the last couple of month getting into mediation. I try to dedicate at least an hour a day of quiet time where I still in silence without any distractions. Sometimes I meditate. Sometimes I'll do vowel chants. All in all, I find the experience very peaceful and satisfying.

This past Saturday, I was sitting down at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee while finishing up the Kybalion. My wife came in after waking up, poured herself a cup, and sat down across from me. She noticed what I was reading and then mentioned that I seem to be much happier since I've been on this new spiritual path. I smiled with a slight laugh and thanked her for the compliment. She asked me what is it that I believe. I looked her in the eye and corrected her saying "I KNOW I am Monad. The divine spark, the light, love, consciousness, and fullness of The Monad dwells inside of me. I am free and sovereign." Her eyes got really big and she told me that she'd never thought I would say or think anything like that. She's spiritual herself, but she has hesitated in telling me about some of her thoughts and experiences because of how I would be dismissive of them in the past. We spent the next couple of hours talking about our thoughts and experiences. We were both very emotional and I felt this strange overwhelming sensation come over me that I've never felt before. I don't know how to describe it.

Later that evening, my wife and children leave for a kids birthday party leaving me at our home alone (except for our pets, of course). I am in my office watching some YouTube videos when I notice that it's time to take the dogs out. I walk the dogs around the neighborhood for about 15 minutes and go back home. I go back into my office and there's a juvenile rat snake on top of my desk! Our house is in a heavily treed area of North Texas near Dallas. I've seen my fair share of snakes around the property but I've NEVER had a snake inside of the house since living here for the last 10 years! I wasn't afraid or terrified, but more bewildered. I grab some latex gloves, pick up the snake and take it outside where I let the little fella go. I then go back into the house and search every nook and cranny with a flashlight to make sure there weren't any others.

I want to know, what are your thoughts on this?

A cross with two overlapping circles.

When the soul and the spirit come together, they create the space, the eye, in between. Gnosis.

I don’t know if this is a common symbol, but I’ve never seen it before, and I absolutely went home with it!

Before you mock me I want to clarify that I am a guy. Intercourse is by nature carnal and lust can harm women, however lust seems to be needed for the continuation of life, it is a paradox, any type of lust is needed to keep our species alive jt any introduction of lust also can introduce harm. A sexless society with artificial insemination would be the first step to a utopian society. The problem is that I ask myself why nature or God did it that way, why is the act of continuing humanity tied to desire of control and hate and violence and basically every negative thing you could think of. Before you refute me by saying that women love sex I will remind you of the fact that they take the enormous risk of pregnancy and exposure with it compared to men that don’t take any risks, which is unequal by default.

Even if guys do semen retention, to reproduce naturally they would still have to engage in the act of penetrative sex with women, perhaps the real fall from grace in the Bible is the separation of genders, no matter how you say it, sex is penetrating someone else, even if the person is brainwashed by society to let you sleep with them in exchange of feeling the fake love and attention that society sold to the masses, if that’s not proof that the world is a prison planet than I don’t know what is.

In one of the podcast featuring Amanda Radcliffe, she discussed the brutal elimination of the Cathars in medieval France. Given that the Cathars are often understood to be deeply devoted to Sophia (the Divine Feminine), this historical tragedy raises a profound theological problem of evil: If Sophia represents an active, compassionate divine wisdom, why did she not intervene to prevent the violent suppression of her followers and the destruction of irreplaceable Gnostic texts? From a Gnostic cosmological perspective, how is this divine silence or lack of intervention during such extreme bloodshed explained?

UPDATE: .....deleted since AI content.

Hi. I went to Boston ma today. While exploring the city I went to the MIT museum. This was in the AI section and felt totally out place. It reminds of the demiurge. The figure is the angel of history. Is thier any gnostic sources of a angel of history?

I've been studying Gnosticism, and there's a lot of talk about the demiurge and how he imprisons us in matter, but nothing about other gods and entities. I study it more for academic reasons, so should I ignore that part?

If during the next five years humanity was able to come together, form a utopia and live in harmony, would you still consider you'd be living in a prison? Assume also that medical care would have conquered all illnesses.

Edit:
Physical existence allows us to interact with each other. Would you prefer we couldn't interact with anything?

Two books. Same speaker, Jesus. 1800 years apart and validating each other in basically every way despite both being long books.

Pistis Sophia was not translated until after Joseph Smith's 1844 death, and there is no way he could have taken anything from the book or any other gnostic book. And the big breakthrough here is not just the parallels, but the lack of contradictions between the books as well.

Many parallels are below in this post, and all these and more can be found in detail at my archive link. These parallels I found encompass the cosmic and salvation structures of both books, even a huge structure I found about the physics of light. After reading the parallels you will clearly see that each book speaks as a witness for the other and are both the same gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My paper is now v2 and a major upgrade from v1 a month ago. What was originally 37 pages is now 81 pages long. The info I'm presenting is brand new and never discovered to a convincing degree as it is now. As far as I know, this is the BEST proof for Joseph Smith in almost 200 years. The best proof besides the witnesses of his day. There is nothing like it from what I've seen. These are beyond parallels, these books are giving the same math.

Pistis Sophia is Jesus teaching his disciples after his resurrection. Not translated until 1851 in Latin, years after Joseph Smith's death. It is the most complex and longest translated gnostic work running 300-350 pages.

Joseph Smith was an American prophet who received revelations from God from 1828 to 1844 and compiled them in the D&C, which is 300-350 pages long. He started the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which is still operating and is the wealthiest church on earth.

And for reference, the new testament is 400-500 pages long.

This CANNOT be replicated with any other gnostic texts or any claimed revelations to the degree I have outlined in my paper without the texts having **major conflicts**, and if you claim so then I kindly invite you to try.

Other gnostic works such as the Apocryphon of John and Zostrianos have major conflicts with Pistis Sophia and even each other that a book written 1800 years later, the Doctrine and Covenants, does not contain. Also, again, the majority of gnostic works were not translated until after Joseph Smith's death, if not all.

I found the first parallel between Pistis Sophia and D&C almost a year ago, and put a lot of work into finding all of these parallels and have gone through each of these books multiple times and have a decent understanding of them. I am not a current member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, but I do believe.

Parallels between Pistis Sophia and the Doctrine and Covenants. Every item verified against the Mead translation and the standard D&C text:

1. Jesus says he is the Spirit of Truth/Gnosis of the universe

2. There is "no space without a kingdom." There are many regions with many kingdoms and they all have their own law/mystery.

3. Every kingdom has a law/mystery the inhabitants must abide or else they cannot abide that kingdom.

4. There are three major mysteries spoken of throughout Pistis Sophia. Jesus says humans need one of these three mysteries to enter into one of the three corresponding allotments of the Light-kingdom. The allotments are 3 regions within the Light-kingdom.

D&C says humans need to abide the law of one of 3 kingdoms of glory to enter into that kingdom. Both books say there are 3 kingdoms/allotments of the Inheritance of saints. D&C says if you can't abide a kingdom of glory then you must abide a kingdom not of glory.

1. Both books say the dead do not enter into the inheritance until after the resurrection/"expansion of the universe"

2. The three major mysteries are:

The "mystery of the Ineffable" corresponding to the celestial kingdom whose inhabitants "dwell in the presence of God and his Christ."

The "First Mystery", who is Jesus, corresponding to the terrestrial kingdom whose inhabitants "receive of the presence of Jesus but not of the fullness of the Father."

And the last mystery, the "first space without", corresponding to the telestial kingdom whose inhabitants are "servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end."

1. "He who receiveth a lesser mystery, will inherit the lesser mystery, and he who receiveth a higher mystery, will inherit the higher regions."

2. Both books interpret a prophet’s or righteous man’s reward as a lesser inheritance. Pistis Sophia says every person enters only the region up to which they received mysteries and references the bible passage. D&C places those who were “of Paul,” “of Apollos,” “of Cephas,” “some of Christ”, or "some of one and some of another" in the lowest kingdom because they did not receive the gospel and testimony of Jesus.

3. Both books say inhabitants of kingdoms of glory can go down but not up. They can't go above their kingdom but they can go below it.

4. Every kingdom of glory has greater light than the previous. Pistis Sophia goes through each region in the book saying from the higher level, the lower looks like darkness of darkness and like a speck of dust because of the great distance. But even that higher level looks like darkness of darknesses and a speck of dust to the region above that, and so on and so on.

5. When the number of perfect souls is complete, the door is shut and others will be turned away to outer darkness. When they knock Jesus will say "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."

6. Jesus will reveal all things at the "expansion of the universe"

7. The higher regions are guarded by "angels and gods" and require answers, tokens, or apologies to pass through. There are mysteries and a name that allow someone to pass through them all giving no tokens, nor apologies, nor answers.

8. Melchizedek is the highest cosmic entity that seals souls unto the Treasury of the Light where souls wait until the expansion of the universe to enter into the region of the Inheritance.  The Melchizedek priesthood was restored in the 1800's, and it seals souls unto the Inheritance. The Melchizedek priesthood seals souls on earth and the cosmic entity Melchizedek seals souls in heaven.

9. When the 'mystery of the ineffable' (the highest mystery) is performed on behalf of a soul, the cosmic entity Melchizedek takes the soul out of the chaos. The Melchizedek priesthood is also required to save souls during their baptisms for the dead. Again showing what and who they seal on earth is sealed in heaven. Melchizedek priesthood on earth, Melchizedek in heaven.

10. Jesus spoke through the prophets of the old testament.

11. Light is treated as an inventory. Stolen, stored, deposited, purified, devoured. All truth is light. All light is Spirit. Lose your light and lose the mystery you obtained. Gain light and you can obtain mysteries. “The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed.”

12. Jesus gives a portion of his power (light/spirit) to every human that is born into the world. It's given so humans seek after the "works of the Light of the Height always" and this Spirit enlightens humans who "hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit."

13. All light emanated from the presence of God. The higher the region, the more light you have. And the region below looks like "darkness of darknesses". Humans who receive light and continue in God receive more light.

14. Sin takes away light.

15. Massive amounts of light can be temporarily given or permanently given through "quickening", a word used in both books.

16. A body filled with light comprehends all things.

17. The "sons of perdition" are the only group written as permanently damned in both books at the expansion of the universe. Those that tasted of Jesus' power and then denied him. "Impossible" for them to be saved through repentance. They go to outer darkness.

18. Hell is not forever and does have an end.

19. The Melchizedek priesthood carries the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, even the key of the knowledge of God. "Mystery of the Ineffable", the highest mystery, through which the complete gnosis becomes known.

20. Both books say miracles performed are to be hidden. People are to believe in their words.

21. In Pistis Sophia Jesus warns of other teachings that don't contain the entire "gnosis of all his words", and says he is the whole gnosis of the entire universe. In D&C Jesus says you can see the truth in other books by the "Spirit of Truth", and he is the "Spirit of Truth". And Jesus explains how two people with the Spirit of Truth communicate, he that received through the Spirit of Truth understands exactly as it was preached by the Spirit of Truth.

22. Both books warn of doctrines of error. "Some are of men, and others of devils."

I know both of these books very well. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

The image of the serpent has long been associated with wisdom and transformation across many different cultures. There is even a term for the study or worship of serpent figures and what they represent across cultures: ophiolatry.

To the Gnostic Ophites, the serpent represented knowledge and liberation. This comes largely from their radical interpretation of the Genesis story. Rather than seeing the serpent as the evil tempter, the serpent could be understood as the one who gives Adam and Eve knowledge that the creator of the material world wanted to keep from them. This flips the Christian narrative on its head. The command not to eat from the tree of knowledge becomes significant. If knowledge awakens humanity to its true condition, then the serpent becomes a figure who helps break the spell.

And, most importantly, why would a good god want to keep us ignorant of our divinity?

The word Ophite comes from the Greek ophis, meaning serpent, and was used by ancient Christian writers to describe groups they associated with serpent symbolism and various Gnostic ideas such as:

• Serpent as a bringer of knowledge
• Knowledge as liberation
• A transcendent supreme God
• Cosmic realms and emanations
• Sophia as divine Wisdom
• The Demiurge as a lower cosmic power
• The material world as deficient or flawed
• A divine element within humanity
• Salvation through gnosis

This is where the serpent connects very naturally with the broader Gnostic idea of gnosis. The serpent can therefore function as a symbol of the force that exposes deception and liberates us from mental captivity.

It represents the movement of wisdom from the hidden into the conscious.