Sermon 10 –Philip 8
Last week we ended our presentation with these inspiring words:
“67. The Truth is not given to this world in clear form,
but in symbols and images. It is not possible to give It in
other forms. So, there are a birth (in the highest eons) and its symbolic image (an earthly birth). One has to reconstruct the Truth through this image. Or: what is the Resurrection in reality? In that way, image after image, man rises.
The same is with the Bridal Chamber: image after image,
comes the Truth, which is Mergence. I say this to those who are not just interested in the words “the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, but who gain Them truly for themselves. But those who do not gain Them thus — then even these words will be taken from them.
Verily, one can gain Them by the blessing of God in
the realization of all the fullness of the power of the
Cross, which was called by the Apostles the Right-and-
Left. The One Who has cognized this is no longer a Christian but a Christ.
68. The Lord has everything important in the form
hidden from this world: the baptism, the blessing, the
transfiguration, the purification, and the Bridal Chamber.”
In particular we have made note of the expression, “The Lord has everything important in the form hidden from this world.” Today’s presentation, The Gospel of Philip Verses 69-94, begins with further distinctions between Worldly things and Heavenly things, and, moreover, the UNITY of Worldly things and Heavenly things:
“69. The Lord said, “I came to bring the lowest to the Highest and the outer — to the inner, and to unite them THERE.” He spoke about THAT place in symbols and images. Those who say that God is above are wrong. It is so because about Him, Who is in That place, one may say that He extends below. Yet, at the same time, He — to Whom also belongs everything hidden from this world — is above everything! In fact, it is just nattering: “the inner and the outer, the outer from the inner”… The Lord called the place of destruction the outer darkness. And the entire world is surrounded by it… He also said, “My Father Who is in the hidden.” He also said, “Go into your chamber, close the door, and address your Father Who is in the hidden”, that is, the One Who is in the depth under everything. But the One Who is in the depth under everything is the Primordial Consciousness. Beyond It, there is no one residing deeper. Yet, at the same time, it is said about It: “The One Who is above everything.”
The difficulty with this whole concept is that it is hard for us humans to see two things at once. To believe in a Father who is hidden and yet in everything, who is both above and below, is a difficult row to hoe. Still, spiritual experience gives slight inklings of how this is possible. My puny intelligence responds positively to the idea that “Who is in That place, one may say that He extends below”. To think of an omniscient omnipresent Being Who is capable of limiting His infinite scope for the sake of lil’ ol’ me is a blessing, a comfort, and an inspiration. In Antonov’s commentary, below, an important semantic distinction is made, he says: don’t think of God as a Being on high (up), but rather as a Being Whose evidence is inward, in the depth beneath everything.
Antonov’s Commentary:
“God-the-Father is the Primordial Consciousness existing throughout the whole universe. He is above and below, and in all sides, and beneath each object of the material world, including our bodies. He is in the depth beneath everything, in the deepest, primordial eon.
So, He can be cognized not above, to which direction people usually raise their hands and eyes, but in the depth of the developed spiritual heart, grown up to the galactic size.
Having cognized the entrance to His eon, one becomes
able to come through it to any point of space, including the points beneath one’s own body.
In the last two paragraphs of this fragment, there is a
“play on words”, which is typical of this Gospel. Its meaning is the following: the One Who is beneath everything rules everything.”
I have been thinking about the point Philip makes, repeatedly, about the ability of citizens of the Higher Eon to travel down into the lower Eons and back up again. This is certainly the case with the Saints, who shower down blessings on, and answer the prayers of, Earthly supplicants. One wonders who else may travel down the up staircase from Heaven to Earth. I think we have no reason to doubt that all ascended Beings, that is to say, DEAD PEOPLE, are able to go up and down Jacob’s Ladder, and bestow blessings commensurate with their level of soul evolution. I am sure that the prayers sent to our ascended ancestors are heard, and answered. I am also sure that, as Claudius says in Hamlet, “Words without thoughts never to Heaven go.”
Going on with Philip and his assurance that Jesus has made this soul travel possible:
“70. Before Christ’s coming, many people came out
(from this world). They could not return (immediately) to
the place from which they came out. And they could not
come out (immediately) from the place to which they
came.
But Christ came. And now those who came in can
come out, and those who came out can return.”
The fluidity of soul travel from one dimension to another has become a more central component in my spiritual devotions; as I ascend higher on the spiritual ladder, I find myself often in a kind of cloudy milk shake of shades of individual consciousnesses and corporate consciousnesses. I often find myself lost to my focused consciousness and afloat on a current of spiritual movement which acts on me without my volition. I find that I am in touch with conscious intelligence which is beyond me and above me. Most of my life I have been very focused on the literal consciousness of mind and have not freely relinquished the ego control that fixes me in one dimension. Lately I have allowed myself to drift more freely from one level to another, and I have thus experienced an intensity of spirit consciousness that is new and exciting—not to mention that this new consciousness is actively preparing the way to my death.
Antonov’s Commentary:
“Christ helped His disciples to become closer to Perfection. And now they can, during meditations, leave the world of matter, visit the highest eons, and return again to the world of matter.
Moreover, some of them, being stoned to death for their sermons, afterwards came back to their bodies and continued working in them. Jesus and the Apostles also raised the “dead” to their earthly bodies.”
Moving on, we encounter a typically Jewish historical reference. Adam and Eve are mentioned here in The Gospel of Philip as they often are in other Gnostic Gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas. This is because the Gnostics are always searching for First Causes, such that the Creation is often used as a starting point for some logical extension of a thought. Thus, this discussion of the relationship of Worldly to Heavenly things quite naturally includes a reference to Adam and Eve and the Original Sin:
“71. When Eve was in Adam, there was no death. When
she was separated from him, death appeared. If she enters
in him again and he accepts her, there will be no
death anymore again.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“This is again a witty “play on words” with a great meaning. The point is that Adam and Eve are not the names of the first two humans, as it is said in the contradictory ancient Jewish fairy tale included in the Bible. Adam means just man, in the aggregate sense of this word. Eve means life. When life, i.e. soul, leaves the body, clinical death happens. But the soul can return to the body.”
Antonov’s irreverent mention, of the “Jewish Fairy Tale” of Adam and Eve, seems slightly disrespectful, especially to people who take the stories in the Old Testament as historical fact. Nevertheless, attributing metaphorical rather than historical significance to Adam and Eve is not without its merits. I don’t in the least mind reading, “Adam means just man, in the aggregate sense of this word. Eve means life.”
Back to Philip:
“72. “My God, My God, why, O Lord, have You forsaken
Me?” He said these words on the cross. Then He separated from that place That Which was Divine. The Lord rose again (in a body) from the dead. He came as He was before. But now His body was perfect, though it was flesh. But this flesh was from the Primordial. Our flesh is not from the Primordial; we possess only a likeness of it.”
One of the most misunderstood sayings of Jesus are these words spoken from the cross: “My God, My God, why, O Lord, have You forsaken Me?” From this we are to assume that Jesus felt abandoned by the Father in His agony. Actually, the words are a reference to Psalm 22; Jesus, in His extremity, was only able to get out the first sentence, expressing despair and hopelessness, but a few more lines of the psalm reveal it as a message of hope, hope that Jesus wanted to share with His disciples present at the crucifixion:
Psalm 22
22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
As you can see, Jesus’ quotation of the beginning of this psalm contains a message of deliverance—that Jesus’ friends should not lament His passing, but trust in the Lord to deliver Him from His enemies, and return Him to them who inappropriately mourned.
Antonov’s Commentary focusses on this part of the scripture:
“The Lord rose again (in a body) from the dead. He came as He was before. But now His body was perfect, though it was flesh. But this flesh was from the Primordial.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“Jesus materialized for Himself a new body, which was a concentrated product of the pure Divine Energy, in contrast to His former body born by Mary.”
As we have seen, the Antonov translation often leaves out portions of the text which are damaged by age, with missing words and phrases. Isenburg includes these omissions with reasonable guesses as to what is being left out. Hence, his translation of this portion of the text includes concepts missing from the Antonov version:
72 "My God, my God, why, O Lord, have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15:34). It was on the cross that he said these words, for he had departed from that place. [...Jesus was the man] who has been begotten through him who [...came] from God. The [...Christ rose] from the dead. [...Jesus came] to be, but now [...is made] perfect. [...Christ rose in the] flesh, but this [...spirit] is true flesh. [...The earthly image] is not true, but [...the body] only possess an image of the true.”
Notice that the Antonov version says, “. Our flesh is not from the Primordial; we possess only a likeness of it,” while the Isenburg translation uses a different kind of jargon: “[...Christ rose in the] flesh, but this [...spirit] is true flesh. [...The earthly image] is not true, but [...the body] only possesses an image of the true.”
The new wrinkle here is that Isenburg equates Antonov’s “primordial” with “true flesh”. The idea of the “true flesh” has been a topic of discussion in previous Philip presentations, specifically Philip 3 where I said:
“I had always thought of the carnal life and the afterlife as separate things—first one then the other; but if we think of the carnal life as an appendage of the spiritual life, a permanent imprint on the face of the Cosmic host, then a transcendental relationship between death and life may be perceived. As such, we can see that the experiences in the body do not simply disappear when we pass on to the higher planes, but they continue to resonate in the mind and memory of God.”
Thus, as in every other aspect of The Gospel of Philip we see TWO aspects of something—a lower and a higher aspect; in the case of the word “flesh”, we have one, the carnal flesh, of earthly origin, and, two, the “true flesh” of primordial origin—flesh that lives forever in the mind and memory of God. I have often poo-pooed the idea of people living on the Earth in a new paradise, after the second coming, but the idea of a “true flesh” makes it much more believable. In my current state of mind it is not difficult to imagine a new Earth peopled by spiritual beings clothed in new flesh.
Pursuing the subject of “flesh”, Philip returns to the distinction between animal consciousness and human consciousness:
“73. The Bridal Chamber is neither for animals, nor for
men-slaves (of passions), nor for women driven by passion.
It is for pure women and men who gained Freedom.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“One’s birth in the eon of God-the-Father, maturing in it, and Mergence with God-the-Father constitutes the completion of the individual evolution of the soul. Only those who are highly developed intellectually, ethically, and psychoenergetically can attain this. They must also liberate themselves from worldly passions and attachments and achieve the purity and Divine subtlety of the consciousnesses.”
Philip continues:
“74. Thanks to the Holy Spirit we are begotten on the
Earth. But we were born again thanks to Christ.
We are baptized in the Holy Spirit.
And after our birth in Him, we united with Him.”
Isenburg’s translation is simpler:
“74. Through the Holy Spirit we are indeed begotten again, but we are begotten through Christ in the two. We are anointed through the Spirit. When we were begotten, we were united.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“The Holy Spirit, Who controls destinies of people, also controls their birth in earthly bodies.
Then the Author speaks about the stages of cognition of the Divine.
The first stage is baptism, when during the appropriate
meditation a spiritual warrior enters (or is led in) the appropriate eon and for the first time feels the Consciousness Which dwells there.
Then one has to learn to enter this eon by one’s own efforts and to stay in it. It is called the birth in it.
And after the birth and the following maturing in this eon— again thanks to mastering special meditative techniques —one comes to Mergence with the Consciousness dwelling in it.”
In the next section, Philip discusses the higher spirituality as seen from the lower earthy perspective. Notice the reference to mirrors. We can’t read the word “mirror” without thinking of Paul’s “through a glass darkly”. Thus the image of “seeing” is again divided into carnal seeing and spiritual seeing:
“75. No one can see himself or herself in a flow or in a
mirror without light.
And vice versa: you cannot see yourself in the Light
without the Flow and without a mirror.
For this reason, it is necessary to be baptized in both:
in the Light and in the Flow.
In the Light we receive the blessing.”
This last line, “In the Light we receive the blessing,” implies a declension: to be sure, we need the physicalization of baptism through the flow of water, a prop, a symbol to accommodate the limitations of our weak human minds—but we must also remember the purpose of this physicalization, which is to lead us to enlightenment in the Light.
Antonov’s Commentary:
“In this fragment, two points need to be commented.
The first point is the allegorical meaning of the word mirror.
This is self-examination (looking at oneself) for the sake of discovering vices (with the purpose of getting rid of them) and defects in the development of good qualities (with the purpose of further development of them).
The second point is the word blessing. It has two meanings:
a) blessing for doing something (analogue — “to give consent”) and
b) transmission of good energy to another person. The full blessing of a Teacher is when both components are merged together. Practically, in the Light we can receive the highest bliss and the blessing with the instructions on providing spiritual help to incarnate people and blessing with particular pieces of advice about entering the eon of God-the-Father.”
Continuing with the subject of baptism, Philip discusses the structure of the temple in which sacrifices are made. At first he seems to be describing the actual physical architecture of the temple, but by the end of the paragraph we perceive that his discussion was allegorical.
“76. There were three buildings in Jerusalem for making
sacrifices. The one, opened to the west, was called
the holy. Another, opened to the south, was called the
holy of the holy. The third, opened to the east, was
called the Holy of the Holiest, the place where a priest
enters alone.
The baptism is the holy.
The redemption of others (through one’s own sacrificial
service) is the holy of the holy.
But the Holy of the Holiest is the Bridal Chamber.”
Clearly, the Bridal Chamber must not be thought of as a physical chamber in the temple; therefore, the two lower chambers, the holy chamber of baptism, and the higher chamber of redemption must also be understood in their symbolic rather than literal sense. The next section confirms this conclusion:
“… What is a bridal chamber if not a symbolic image of
the Bridal Chamber? The latter is above all evil.
Its veil is rent from the top to the bottom, as an invitation
for the chosen to enter.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“In the last paragraph, Philip speaks about the symbolic meaning of the fact that the veil (curtain) in the Jerusalem temple was rent from the top to the bottom at the moment of the cross death of Jesus.
The most important stage preceding one’s entering the
Bridal Chamber is sacrificial service to God through spiritual service to people.”
The Isenburg translation offers a few more complications:
“76. There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice in Jerusalem. The one facing the west was called "The Holy". Another, facing south, was called "The Holy of the Holy". The third, facing east, was called "The Holy of the Holies", the place where only the high priest enters.
Baptism is "the Holy" building. Redemption is the "Holy of the Holy". "The Holy of the Holies" is the bridal chamber. Baptism includes the resurrection and the redemption; the redemption (takes place) in the bridal chamber. But the bridal chamber is in that which is superior to [...] you will not find [...] are those who pray [...] Jerusalem who [...] Jerusalem, [...] those called the "Holy of the Holies"
[...] the veil was rent, [...] bridal chamber except the image [...] above. Because of this, its veil was rent from top to bottom. For it was fitting for some from below to go upward.”
This translation suggests the idea that the levels of spirit consciousness are cumulative, that is to say that sage two includes stage one and stage three includes stages one and two:
“Baptism includes the resurrection and the redemption; the redemption (takes place) in the bridal chamber.”
This only makes sense because we have repeatedly been told that the Pleroma includes EVERYTHING. Still, our rational minds perceive things not as a unity, but in parts. It is up to the Cloud of Unknowing to consolidate the parts into an indivisible whole.
The veil separating all but the high priest from the Holy of Holies is of interest. Here is a concise commentary on this subject from Gotquestions?.org.:
“During the lifetime of Jesus, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life. The temple was the place where animal sacrifices were carried out and worship according to the Law of Moses was followed faithfully. Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that in the temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies—the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—from the rest of the temple where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7) to enter into God's presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins (Leviticus 16).
Solomon's temple was 30 cubits high (1 Kings 6:2), but Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits, according to the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. There is uncertainty as to the exact measurement of a cubit, but it is safe to assume that this veil was somewhere near 60 feet high. An early Jewish tradition says that the veil was about four inches thick, but the Bible does not confirm that measurement. The book of Exodus teaches that this thick veil was fashioned from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen.
The size and thickness of the veil makes the events occurring at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross so much more momentous. “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-53).
“50And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”
So, what do we make of this? What significance does this torn veil have for us today? Above all, the tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus' death dramatically symbolized that His sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It signified that now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile.
When Jesus died, the veil was torn, and God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with hands (Acts 17:24).
God was through with that temple and its religious system, and the temple and Jerusalem were left “desolate” (destroyed by the Romans) in A.D. 70, just as Jesus prophesied in Luke. As long as the temple stood, it signified the continuation of the Old Covenant-- the age that was passing away as the new covenant was being established (Hebrews 8:13).
In a sense, the veil was symbolic of Christ Himself as the only way to the Father (John 14:6). This is indicated by the fact that the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. Now Christ is our superior High Priest, and as believers in His finished work, we partake of His better priesthood. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him. The faithful enter into the sanctuary by the “blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the veil, that is, through his flesh.” Here we see the image of Jesus’ flesh being torn for us just as He was tearing the veil for us.
The veil being torn from top to bottom is a fact of history. The profound significance of this event is explained in glorious detail in Hebrews. The things of the temple were shadows of things to come, and they all ultimately point us to Jesus Christ. He was the veil to the Holy of Holies, and through His death the faithful now have free access to God.”
In the next verse, Philip reminds us that the lower mind (evil spirits, in this case) cannot perceive the higher levels of consciousness.
“77. Evil spirits do not see and cannot seize Those Who
dressed Themselves with the Perfect Light.
Let such dressing with the Light be secret Mergence.”
The reference to “secret mergence” is significant to me because it reminds me that you can’t make a horse drink. If people you know are not attuned to the spiritual, no amount of proselytizing will have any good effect. To Jesus is granted the ability to reveal Himself to people in degrees commensurate with their perceptive capacities; to us lower beings, not so much. We may hope for this talent to emerge in our developing psyches, over time, but, for most of us, spiritual enlightenment is something to be cherished in secret. I have written on my wall:
“The only truth you can know is your own truth, and the only one you can tell it to is yourself.”
As long as I languish in this physical dimension, I must stand by this statement.
Antonov’s Commentary recalls the term “spiritual warrior”:
“According to these recommendations, the first task of spiritual warriors is to arise in the eon of Light.
The second is to become mature in it, to become a sufficiently large, active, and able consciousness.
The third is to merge with the Consciousness of this eon.
Evil spirits do not see Those Who dressed Themselves with the Light, but only when They stay in the eon of the Light.”
The Isenburg translation substitutes the term “powers” for “evil spirits”, and the expression “sacramental union” for “secret mergence”:
“77. The powers do not see those who are clothed in the perfect light, and consequently are not able to detain them. One will clothe himself in this light sacramentally in the union.”
The next section makes another sideways reference to Adam and Eve. First let us recall Verse 71:
“71. When Eve was in Adam, there was no death. When
she was separated from him, death appeared. If she enters
in him again and he accepts her, there will be no
death anymore again.”
Now let us go on with Verse 78:
“78. If the woman had not separated from the man,
she would not have died along with the man. The separation from him was the beginning of death.
Therefore, Christ came to correct the separation, to
unite them, and to give the True Life to those who died in
separation, uniting them.”
Also let us remember the commentary from above:
Antonov’s irreverent mention, of the “Jewish Fairy Tale” of Adam and Eve, seems slightly disrespectful, especially to people who take the stories in the Old Testament as historical fact. Nevertheless, attributing metaphorical rather than historical significance to Adam and Eve is not without its merits. I don’t in the least mind reading, “Adam means just man, in the aggregate sense of this word. Eve means life.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“Philip again jokingly refers to the biblical fairy tale about Adam and Eve. The explanation will be given in the next fragment.”
Whether Philip refers to Adam and Eve “jokingly” or not, it is clear that that mention of woman uniting with her husband is meant to be taken both literally and symbolically.
“79. So, let a woman unite with her husband in the
Bridal Chamber, because Those Who have united in the
Bridal Chamber will no longer be separated.
Eve separated from Adam because she united with
him not in the Bridal Chamber.”
Antonov’s Commentary:
“The true and eternal mergence of the Perfect happens in the Bridal Chamber of God-the-Father.”
In conclusion, let us review the main topics of this section of Philip:
“68. The Lord has everything important in the form
hidden from this world: the baptism, the blessing, the transfiguration, the purification, and the Bridal Chamber.”
“69. The Lord said, “I came to bring the lowest to the Highest and the outer — to the inner, and to unite them THERE.” He spoke about THAT place in symbols and images.”
Don’t think of God as a Being on high (up), but rather as a Being Whose evidence is inward, in the depth beneath everything.
I think we have no reason to doubt that all ascended Beings, that is to say, DEAD PEOPLE, are able to go up and down Jacob’s Ladder, and bestow blessings commensurate with their level of soul evolution. I am sure that the prayers sent to our ascended ancestors are heard, and answered.
The fluidity of soul travel from one dimension to another has become a more central component in my spiritual devotions; as I ascend higher on the spiritual ladder, I find myself often in a kind of cloudy milk shake of shades of individual consciousnesses and corporate consciousnesses. I often find myself lost to my focused consciousness and afloat on a current of spiritual movement which acts on me without my volition. I find that I am in touch with conscious intelligence which is beyond me and above me. Most of my life I have been very focused on the literal consciousness of mind and have not freely relinquished the ego control that fixes me in one dimension. Lately I have allowed myself to drift more freely from one level to another, and I have thus experienced an intensity of spirit consciousness that is new and exciting—not to mention that this new consciousness is actively preparing the way to my death.
Thus, as in every other aspect of The Gospel of Philip we see TWO aspects of something—a lower and a higher aspect; in the case of the word “flesh”, we have one, the carnal flesh, of earthly origin, and, two, the “true flesh” of primordial origin—flesh that lives forever in the mind and memory of God.
“75. No one can see himself or herself in a flow or in a
mirror without light.
And vice versa: you cannot see yourself in the Light
without the Flow and without a mirror.
For this reason, it is necessary to be baptized in both:
in the Light and in the Flow.
In the Light we receive the blessing.”
As throughout The Gospel of Philip, the verses we have pondered today concern themselves with graduated levels of spirit consciousness. Today we have focused more on the idea of hidden or secret knowledge, knowledge revealed through a baptism of light.
Let us pray: Jesus thank you for these words of guidance. Let us approach ever closer to the Bridal Chamber, the Holiest of Holies and meet you there in blessed unity. Amen.
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