Hypostasis of the Archons

Concerning the rulers of darkness — their origin in the boasting of Samael, the heavenly intervention, and the creation of Adam from the dust.

1On account of the reality of the authorities — inspired by the spirit of the Father of truth — the great apostle, referring unto them which are of the powers of darkness, said unto us: Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the world, and against the spirits of wickedness.

2I have sent thee this writing because thou hast inquired about the reality of the authorities.

3Their chief is blind. Out of his power, and his ignorance, and his arrogance he said, with his power: I am God; there is none other but me.

4When he said this, he sinned against the All. And his speech ascended unto Incorruptibility. Then there came a voice forth from Incorruptibility, saying: Thou art mistaken, Samael — that is, the blind god.

5His thoughts became blind. And, having expelled his power — that is, the blasphemy he had spoken — he pursued it down to the abyss and the chaos. The female spiritual presence came in the shadow above. And she beheld the chaos. And the chaos became matter — by reason of the shadow of the spirit.

6Then the authorities came up from the matter, and from the shadow above. They came forth in their orders. Their chief is Yaldabaoth; his face is the face of a lion. He is the offspring of error. He hath the strength of fire; the form of a lion's eye.

7And he is androgynous. And he hath six other rulers under him. They are: Pravity, Jealousy, Wrath, Wailing, Wickedness, and Lamentation. They have all of them their portions in the matter.

8And the rulers planned together, and said: Come, let us make a man, that he may worship us.

9And they fashioned a man out of the dust of the ground. They moulded him after their own likeness. He was a creature of the earth — soulless, formless, lifeless. They could not raise him up.

10Then the Spirit, looking down upon the soulless body, came forth from above; she breathed into his face; and the man received a soul.

11And the rulers were jealous of him. He was wiser than they. They cast him into the deepest part of the All. They desired to keep him under their hand.

12But the Father of all, in His pity, sent forth the Spirit of life. She entered into the man as a holy breath; and she taught him the way.

13And she became Eve — the spiritual, the mother of the living. And she said unto the man: Adam, arise. And he arose. And he beheld her; and he said: Thou shalt be called the mother of the living, for thou it is that hath given me life.

14Then the rulers came unto Adam. And when they saw Eve speaking with him, they said one to another: What is this that hath come forth from the man? Let us seize her, and cast our seed into her. So shall they that are born of her be subject unto us.

15But the spiritual Eve, perceiving their intent, withdrew herself into the tree. And she became the tree of knowledge. And she left the likeness of herself with Adam. The rulers seized the likeness, and defiled it. But they touched not the spiritual.

16And from the defilement came forth Cain — even he that slew his brother. From the seed of Adam came forth Abel. And Eve bare again, and bare Seth — the seed of the spiritual race.

17Then the rulers said unto Adam: Of every tree that is in the garden thou mayest eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

18But it was not so. The fruit of the tree was the knowledge of the spiritual. The rulers feared lest Adam, eating thereof, should know himself; and knowing himself, should despise them; and despising them, should ascend to the Father.

19Then the spiritual Eve came in the form of a serpent — even she who is called the Instructor. And she said unto Adam and unto the woman: What is it that the rulers have said unto you?

20And they said: They have said unto us, of every tree thou mayest eat, but of this tree thou shalt not eat.

21And the Instructor said: Ye shall not surely die. The rulers know that in the day ye eat thereof, your minds shall be opened, and ye shall be as the gods, knowing good and evil. They have said it unto you out of jealousy.

22And they ate. And their minds were opened. And they knew that they were stripped of the spiritual. And they took fig leaves, and bound them about their waists.

23And the chief ruler came, and said: Adam, where art thou? — for he knew not what had happened. And Adam said: I heard Thy voice, and was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.

24And the ruler said: Why hast thou hidden, save that thou hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee not to eat? And Adam said: The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.

25Then the rulers cast them out of the garden. And they cursed the ground for their sake. And they set a guard at the gate, with a flaming sword. But the spiritual Eve had already withdrawn; she was not cast out, for she was never within their grasp.

Norea, the daughter of Eve, refuses the rulers; the angel Eleleth descends and reveals to her the origin of the powers and the coming of the True Man.

1Then the powers came unto Eve again, that they might defile her. But Eve laughed at their stupidity, and at their blindness. And she became a tree before them, and left a shadow of herself with them; and they defiled the shadow.

2And after these things, Eve bare a daughter, even Norea. And Norea was a virgin. And the rulers came unto her, that they might defile her also. But Norea cried out unto the great angel of the Father; and she said: Holy One, deliver me from the rulers of unrighteousness.

3And the great angel — even Eleleth, the Sagacity, the wisdom of the Father — came down out of heaven. He stood before Norea, and said unto her: Be not afraid. The rulers shall not lay hand upon thee. For thou art of the spiritual race; thou art of the children of light.

4Then Norea said unto him: Lord, instruct me concerning the powers. Whence are they? And of what kind?

5And Eleleth said: They came forth out of pride. The chief, Yaldabaoth, said in his ignorance: I am God; there is none other beside me. And on account of his blasphemy, he was cast down out of his high place; and there came over him a great rebuke from the Mother.

6And the Mother brought forth a son, called Sabaoth. He repented; he condemned his father. He praised the Mother. And the Mother set him over the seventh heaven. And he is the lord of the powers; and he loveth the holy Spirit; and he serveth the Father of truth.

7But Yaldabaoth abode in his ignorance. He yet boasteth, and yet blasphemeth. And his powers serve him still. They are: Cain, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Elohim — these are the names which they have arrogated unto themselves, that they might confound the children of men.

8Now hear, O Norea: there shall come a day when the True Man shall be revealed. He shall come down from above. He shall be born of a virgin. He shall take upon Himself flesh; He shall live among men; He shall teach the way.

9He shall reveal the rulers; He shall make their nakedness manifest; He shall strip them of their authority. They that have received the Spirit shall be set free. They shall ascend unto the place of the Light; they shall stand in the presence of the Father; they shall reign with the True Man for ever.

10Now do thou bear witness — thou, Norea, and thy seed after thee. Tell these things unto thy children, and unto thy children's children. They shall be a holy people, set apart from the works of the rulers. They shall be a kingless generation; they shall not bow before the powers.

11And in the latter days, the books of revelation shall be opened. The mysteries shall be made known unto the perfect. The deficiency shall be filled up. The Father shall be glorified through the Son in the Spirit.

12And Norea bowed before the great angel Eleleth, and worshipped, and gave thanks. And she went forth, and she taught her children. And the words which Eleleth had spoken, she set them in writing; and she hid them in a sure place; and they have come down even unto us.

13Glory be unto the Father, who is above all things; and unto the True Man, who shall come; and unto the holy Spirit, who instructeth the hearts of the saints; world without end. Amen.