Greco-Christian stream·Pistis Sophia·First Book — Post-Resurrection Discourses·Chapter 2
Jesus and his disciples are seated on the Mount of Olives
First Mystery
Source context
- Theme
- post-resurrection descent of the light-vesture upon Christ and his ascent into the heavenly light-world
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Merkabah mysticism (Jewish)The ascent of the initiate through luminous heavenly halls, clothed in a radiant garment, shows cross-tradition congruence with the Pistis Sophia's depiction of Christ enveloped in a descending light-power before his celestial ascent.
- Manichaean cosmologyThe 'light-vesture' motif — a luminous body clothing the divine emissary for his return journey through the spheres — recurs structurally in Manichaean accounts of the Living Spirit's mission, showing cross-tradition congruence with this chapter's imagery.
- Valentinian GnosticismValentinus's account of the Saviour clothed in a pneumatic body for his descent and re-ascent through the Pleroma presents cross-tradition congruence with the light-vesture episode opening the post-resurrection discourses.
Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
Jesus and his disciples are seated on the Mount of Olives.It came to pass then, when the disciples were sitting together on the Mount of Olives, speaking of these words and rejoicing in great joy, and exulting exceedingly and saying one to another: "Blessed are we before all men who are on the earth, because the Saviour hath revealed this unto us, and we have received the Fulness and the total completion,"--they said this to one another, while Jesus sat a little removed from them.
A great light-power descendeth on Jesus.And it came to pass then, on the fifteenth day of the moon in the month Tybi, which is the day on which the moon is full, on that day then, when the sun had come forth in his going, that there came forth behind him a great light-power shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure to the light conjoined with it. For it came out of the Light of lights, and it came out of the
last mystery, which is the four-and-twentieth |5.mystery, from within without,--those which are in the orders of the second space of the First Mystery. And that light-power came down over Jesus and surrounded him entirely, while he was seated removed from his disciples, and he had shone most exceedingly, and there was no measure for the light which was on him.
It surroundeth him entirely.And the disciples had not seen Jesus because of the great light in which he was, or which was about him; for their eyes were darkened because of the great light in which he was. But they saw only the light, which shot forth many light-rays. And the light-rays were not like one another, but the light was of divers kind, and it was of divers type, from below upwards, one [ray] more excellent than the other, . . ., in one great immeasurable glory of light; it stretched from under the earth right up to heaven.--And when the disciples saw that light, they fell into great fear and great agitation.|6.