The Apocryphon of John, Part 5
Lost and Condemned Books of the Bible
Welcome back, Bystanders! Today, we will finally finish the Apocryphon of John! To keep this post at a convenient length, our usual recap has been omitted this week. But if you’re curious, click here to read last week’s post again! So now, let’s go through the questions John asked Jesus one by one and see what answers Jesus has for him!
Will all souls eventually be brought into “the pure light”?
In response to this question, Jesus warns John that these concepts are difficult to explain to beings who are not Aeons. But lucky for John and for us, Jesus was willing to give it a try. Let’s see if we can understand his explanation. In so many words, Jesus tells John that all of mankind who has the Spirit of life will be saved, perfected, and purified from all darkness. And in their time on earth, their only focus will be that perfection and they won’t be affected by anything except simply being human/mortal. It is humans like these who are worthy of eternal life. So their lives will be spent looking forward to the day they transcend the body and inherit that eternal life. A very encouraging message of hope from Jesus! But John doesn’t stop there! He really hones in on this question and asks for more details.
Is it possible for any souls on whom the Spirit of Light descends to be rejected?
This is something I was curious about too! But honestly Jesus’ response was a bit confusing to me. He initially answers saying that if the Spirit is within them, they will “in any case be saved” and will change for the better. It is within all of mankind and, after birth, it “strengthens the soul” so that no one could be led astray by evil. But then he ends his response saying that those upon whom the “counterfeit spirit” descends will be drawn away by him and go astray as a result. So which one is it? Are we all possessors of the Spirit of Light and does it prevent us from going astray? Or do some lack it and are left susceptible to Yalda’s influence? Or are those with the Spirit of Light actually still at risk of Yalda’s deception? Unfortunately, John doesn’t probe further on this point. He instead moves on with questions about the afterlife.
Where do these souls go when they come out of the body?
Jesus’ response to this question was short and sweet. He tells us that the soul that grew stronger than the Yalda’s deception “flees from evil” and is saved through the intervention of the Monad. This soul is “taken up to the rest of the Aeons”.
If someone does not know who their soul belongs to, where do their souls go?
Another great question from our boy John! In his answer, Jesus infers that if you don’t know to whom your soul belongs, your soul belongs to Yalda’s spirit. He tells us that in these, Yalda’s spirit has gained strength when they went astray (so not knowing is equivalent to going astray?). Yalda “burdens their soul”, leads them to evil, and casts them into forgetfulness. So upon death, their soul is handed over to the Archon authorities, bound in chains, and cast into a prison. There, the Archons “consort with it” until it is liberated from forgetfulness and acquires knowledge. And if it does, it becomes perfect and is saved. So if you don’t know which team you’re on, then surprise! You’re on team Yalda. But even if you are led astray and die in that state, there is still a way for you to be saved.
Can the soul become smaller and return into its mother’s womb or be reborn?
I could be wrong, but I feel like John is asking if reincarnation is a thing. Jesus answers this question easily:
“Truly, you are blessed, for you have understood! That soul is made to follow another one, since the Spirit of life is in it. It is saved through him. It is not again cast into another flesh.”
There go my dreams of returning to the physical world as an alpaca. Dang it!
Those who did not know, but have turned away, what happens to them?
Ready to be confused again? Jesus’ response here is that these souls would be taken to the place where “angels of poverty go” and it is a place of no repentance. There they will be held until the time comes where all who “blasphemed the spirit” will be tortured and suffer eternal punishment. This confuses me for multiple reasons. So we have three categories of people. People who are filled with the Spirit of Light and know it, people who know there is a spirit within them but don’t know which one it is, and people who were unaware of the spirit within them and went down the wrong path. I made a graph below to map this out.
Where did Yalda’s spirit of deception come from?
For John’s final question, he asks where Yalda’s spirit comes from. Jesus graciously give him a short recap as well as some added information. In it, he reminds us that when Yalda realized mankind were superior to him, he wanted to seize our power of thought. He mentions that Yalda committed adultery with Sophia (referring to Yalda bringing forth Cain and Abel through Eve). And from that bond came every sin and injustice that exists. All of mankind was then made blind so that we may not know the Monad. Eventually, Yalda fashioned the great flood in order to wipe out these superior creations. But the Foreknowledge of the Monad warned Noah in advance. According to Jesus’ clarification, Noah and his family “hid themselves in a luminous cloud” since he recognized the spirit within him. But Yalda didn’t give up. In a second attempt, he chose instead to corrupt mankind by sending his angels to bring forth offspring with human women (remember the story of the Nephilim in the Bible?). At first, they did not succeed. But in their second attempt, they crafted a counterfeit spirit that resembled the Spirit of Light. With this tool in hand, Yalda’s angels made themselves appear as human men, filled mankind with the spirit of darkness, closing their hearts, and leading them astray with deception.
Jesus Explains How He Saved Mankind
Jesus reminds John that, though the counterfeit spirit runs rampant throughout mankind, there is still hope! And in his final monologue, he explains how he (referred to as “the perfect Pronoia of the all”) came to the material world in the form of a man not once, not twice, but three times! In his first and second visits, the foundations of our realm quaked. So he returned to his source.
But on the third visit, Jesus entered our world proclaiming “He who hears, let him get up from the deep sleep”. And he tells us that mankind wept bitter tears, saying “Who is it that calls my name, and from where has this hope come to me, while I am in the chains of the prison?”. The response Jesus gives all of mankind is quite beautiful. So I will leave you with Jesus’ message of hope for all of mankind as well as the conclusion of the text. Let me know what you think below! Stay curious!
“ ‘I am the Pronoia of the pure light; I am the thinking of the virginal Spirit, who raised you up to the honored place. Arise and remember that it is you who hearkened, and follow your root, which is I, the merciful one, and guard yourself against the angels of poverty and the demons of chaos and all those who ensnare you, and beware of the deep sleep and the enclosure of the inside of Hades.
And I raised him up, and sealed him in the light of the water with five seals, in order that death might not have power over him from this time on.
And behold, now I shall go up to the perfect Aeon. I have completed everything for you in your hearing. And I have said everything to you that you might write them down and give them secretly to your fellow spirits, for this is the mystery of the immovable race.’
And the savior presented these things to him that he might write them down and keep them secure. And he said to him, "Cursed be everyone who will exchange these things for a gift or for food or for drink or for clothing or for any other such thing." And these things were presented to him in a mystery, and immediately he disappeared from him. And he went to his fellow disciples and related to them what the savior had told him.
Jesus Christ, Amen.”