Greco-Christian stream·Pistis Sophia·Third Book — Mysteries of the Light·Chapter 119
Of such initiated who sin and die without repentance
Of the unending forgiveness of those who have received the mystery of the Ineffable · Of such initiated who sin and die without repentance
Source context
- Theme
- mysteries of light as initiatory revelation within Gnostic Christian cosmology
- Soul-faculty
- Consciousness Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Valentinian GnosticismValentinus articulates a pleroma of luminous aeons in which knowledge (gnosis) of the light-world constitutes the substance of salvation, a structure cross-tradition congruent with the initiatory light-mysteries foregrounded in this chapter.
- Hermetic traditionThe Corpus Hermeticum (Poimandres, CH I) presents primal light as the first divine emanation and the ground of intellective ascent, exhibiting cross-tradition congruence with Gnostic Christian light-mystery frameworks.
- NeoplatonismPlotinus (Enneads I.6, V.3) identifies the One with an intelligible light that the ascending soul encounters progressively, a structural parallel to the graduated revelation of light within Gnostic initiatory sequences.
Chapter 119
CHAPTER 119
Mary continued again and said: "My Lord, but if on the other hand they who have received the mysteries of the First Mystery, turn and transgress, and if they come out of the body before they have repented, will they inherit the kingdom or not, because indeed they have received the gift of the First Mystery?"
Of such initiated who sin and die without repentance.The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: Every man who hath received mysteries in the First Mystery, | having transgressed for the first and the second and the third time, and if he cometh out of the body before he hath repented, his judgment is far sorer than all the judgments; for his dwelling is in the midst of the jaws of the dragon of the outer darkness, and at the end of all this he will be frozen up [?] in the chastisements and perish for ever, because he hath received the gift of the First Mystery and hath not abided in it [sc. the gift].
Of the unending forgiveness of those who have received the mystery of the Ineffable.Mary answered and said: "My Lord, all men who shall receive the mysteries of the mystery of the Ineffable, and have turned again, have transgressed and have ceased in their faith, and again thereafter, when they are still in life,
have turned and have repented, how many times will it be forgiven them?"
The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: To every man who shall receive the mysteries of the Ineffable, not only if he transgresseth once, turneth again and repenteth, will it be forgiven, but if at any time he transgresseth, and if, when still in life, he turneth again and repenteth, without play- acting, and again if he turneth and repenteth and prayeth in any of his mysteries, then will it be forgiven him, because he hath received of the gift of the mysteries of |307. the Ineffable, and moreover because those mysteries are compassionate and forgive at every time."
And Mary answered again and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, those who shall receive the mysteries of the Ineffable, and have again turned, have transgressed and have ceased in their faith and are moreover come out of the body before they have repented, what will befall such?"
Of such initiated who sin and die without repentance.And the Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: All men who shall receive the mysteries of the Ineffable, blessed indeed are the souls which shall receive of those mysteries; but if they turn and transgress and come out of the body before they have repented, the judgment of those men is sorer than all the judgments, and it is exceedingly violent, even if those souls are new and it is their first time for coming into the world. They will not return to the changes of the bodies from that hour onwards and will not be able to do anything, but they will be cast out into the outer
darkness and perish and be non-existent for ever."