It turns out that the gospel of
Judas, discovered in the late 1970’s for the first time is quite authentic and
was part of the extant canon in Egypt
before the standardization imposed under Constantine . Much of the text is missing and lost, but
some parts are understandable.
This is startling in some aspects
that do not conform to the expectations of the canon. We already know that Jesus appears to be a Buddhist
adept from other sources and our partial understanding of that discipline
conforms to this material. In
particular, we note that priesthood is rejected in this community and then accepted
as the Roman way.
Yet the Roman way succeeded in introducing the gospel globally in its brilliant but doomed tendency to overreach. Even in failure, it has
succeeded. For all that it can be
perhaps forgiven.
Many accept the remarkable idea
that we now live in the holy generation.
It is not too hard to read prophecy in this manner.
What is sorely missing is a sound
understanding of spiritual thinking from this era. Our present understanding is now becoming
interesting and surprisingly conformal to the snippets been unearthed.
I added a translation of the textual material and I will also post later another item on the material of interpretative significance.
Authenticity of the gospel of Judas verified
A scientist who helped verify authenticity of the fabled Gospel of
Judas today revealed how an ancient Egyptian marriage certificate played a
pivotal role in confirming the veracity of inks used in the controversial text.
The disclosure, which sheds new light on the intensive scientific efforts to
validate the gospel, was made in New
Orleans
"If we hadn't found a Louvre study of Egyptian wedding and land contracts, which were from the same time period and had ink similar to that used to record the Gospel of Judas, we would have had a much more difficult time discerning whether the gospel was authentic," said Joseph G. Barabe. A senior research microscopist at McCrone Associates, he led an analytical team of five scientists who worked on the project at McCrone, a consulting laboratory in microscopy and microanalysis in Westmont , Ill.
Barabe's team was part of a multidisciplinary effort organized in 2006 by the National Geographic Society to authenticate the Gospel of Judas, which was discovered in the late 1970s after having been hidden for nearly 1,700 years. The text, written in Egyptian Coptic, is compelling because -- unlike other Biblical accounts that portray Judas Iscariot as a reviled traitor -- it suggests that Jesus requested that his friend, Judas, betray him to authorities.
Barabe's presentation was part of an ACS symposium on archeological chemistry.
After analyzing a sample, Barabe and his colleagues concluded that the gospel was likely penned with an early form of iron gall ink that also included black carbon soot bound with a gum binder. While this finding suggested that the text may have been written in the third or fourth century A.D., the researchers were perplexed by one thing: The iron gall ink used in the gospel was different than anything they'd ever seen before. Typically, iron gall inks -- at least those from the Middle Ages -- were made from a concoction of iron sulfate and tannin acids, such as those extracted from oak gall nuts. But the iron gall ink used to produce the Gospel of Judas didn't contain any sulfur. And that, Barabe said, was troubling.
"We didn't understand it. It just didn't fit in with anything that we had ever encountered," he said. "It was one of the most anxiety-producing projects I've ever had. I would lie awake at night trying to figure it out. I was frantically searching for answers."
Ultimately, Barabe found a reference to a small French study conducted by scientists at the Louvre who analyzed Egyptian marriage and land records written in Coptic and Greek and dating from the first to third centuries A.D. Much to Barabe's relief, those researchers had determined that a wedding certificate and other documents were written in ink made with copper, but little or no sulfur.
"Finding that study, and realizing its implications, tilted my opinion a little in the direction of it being appropriate for the era," Barabe said. "My memory of that experience remains quite vivid. I had a sudden feeling of peace that things were okay, and that I could submit my data without qualms."
Barabe now suspects that the ink used in the Gospel of Judas was probably transitional, a "missing link" between the ancient world's carbon-based inks and the iron gall inks (made with iron sulfate) that became popular in medieval times.
THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS
Translated by
Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst,
in collaboration with François Gaudard
From The Gospel of Judas
Edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst
Published in book form complete with commentary by The National
Geographic
Society.
Copyright (c) 2006 by The National Geographic Society.
All rights reserved. No part of this translation may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
without permission in writing from the National Geographic Society.
https://selectra.co.uk/sites/selectra.co.uk/files/pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf
https://selectra.co.uk/sites/selectra.co.uk/files/pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf
INTRODUCTION: INCIPIT
The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation
with Judas Iscariot
during a week three days before he celebrated Passover.
THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS
When Jesus appeared on earth, he performed miracles and great wonders
for the salvation of humanity. And since some [walked] in the way of
righteousness while others walked in their transgressions, the twelve disciples
were called.
He began to speak with them about the mysteries beyond the world and
what would take place at the end. Often he did not appear to his disciples
as himself, but he was found among them as a child.
SCENE 1: Jesus dialogues with his disciples: The prayer of thanksgiving or the eucharist
One day he was with his disciples in Judea ,
and he found them gathered together and seated in pious observance. When he
[approached] his disciples, [34] gathered together and seated and offering a
prayer of thanksgiving over the bread, [he] laughed.
The disciples said to [him], “Master, why are you laughing at [our]
prayer of thanksgiving? We have done what is right.”
He answered and said to them, “I am not laughing at you.
are not doing this because of your own will but because it is through this
that your god [will be] praised.”
They said, “Master, you are […] the son of our god.”
Jesus said to them, “How do you know me? Truly [I] say to you, no
generation of the people that are among you will know me.”
THE DISCIPLES BECOME ANGRY
When his disciples heard this, they started getting angry and
infuriated and began blaspheming against him in their hearts. When Jesus
observed their lack of [understanding, he said] to them, “Why has this agitation
led you to anger? Your god who is within you and […] [35] have provoked you to
anger [within] your souls. [Let] any one of you who is [strong enough]
among human beings bring out the perfect human and stand before my face.”
They all said, “We have the strength.”
But their spirits did not dare to stand before [him], except for Judas
Iscariot. He was able to stand before him, but he could not look him in the
eyes, and he turned his face away.
Judas [said] to him, “I know who you are and where you have come from. You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo. And I am not worthy to
utter the name of the one who has sent you.”
[ This is a remarkable discussion
and does not stand alone while changing our perspective Arclein ]
JESUS SPEAKS TO JUDAS PRIVATELY
Knowing that Judas was reflecting upon something that was exalted,
Jesus said to him, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the
mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will
grieve a great deal. [36] For someone else will replace you, in order that the
twelve [disciples] may again come to completion with their god.”
[ Judas has been promoted to
successor here as he has succeeded ]
Judas said to him, “When will you tell me these things, and [when] will
the great day of light dawn for the generation?”
But when he said this, Jesus left him.
SCENE 2: Jesus appears to the disciples again
The next morning, after this happened, Jesus [appeared] to his
disciples again.
They said to him, “Master, where did you go and what did you do when
you left us?”
Jesus said to them, “I went to another great and holy generation.”
His disciples said to him, “Lord, what is the great generation that is
superior to us and holier than us, that is not now in these realms?”
When Jesus heard this, he laughed and said to them, “Why are you
thinking in your hearts about the strong and holy generation? [37] Truly [I]
say to you, no one born [of] this aeon will see that [generation], and no host
of angels of the stars will rule over that generation, and no person of mortal
birth can associate with it, because that generation does not come from […]
which has become […]. The generation of people among [you] is from the
generation of humanity […] power, which [… the] other powers […] by [which] you
rule.”
When [his] disciples heard this, they each were troubled in spirit.
They could not say a word.
Another day Jesus came up to [them]. They said to [him], “Master, we
have seen you in a [vision], for we have had great [dreams …] night […].”
[He said], “Why have [you … when] have gone into hiding?”
[38]
THE DISCIPLES SEE THE TEMPLE
They [said, “We have seen] a great [house with a large] altar [in it, and] twelve men—they are the priests, we would say—and a name; and a crowd of people is waiting at that altar, [until] the priests [… and receive] the offerings. [But] we kept waiting.”
[Jesus said], “What are [the priests] like?”
They [said, “Some …] two weeks; [some] sacrifice their own children,
others their wives, in praise [and] humility with each other; some sleep with
men; some are involved in [slaughter]; some commit a multitude of sins and
deeds of lawlessness. And the men who stand [before] the altar invoke your
[name], [39] and in all the deeds of their deficiency, the sacrifices are
brought to completion […].”
After they said this, they were quiet, for they were troubled.
JESUS OFFERS AN ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION OF THE TEMPLE
Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? Truly I say to you, all the
priests who stand before that altar invoke my name. Again I say to you, my name
has been written on this […] of the generations of the stars through the human
generations. [And they] have planted trees without fruit, in my name, in a
shameful manner.”
Jesus said to them, “Those you have seen receiving the offerings at the
altar—that is who you are. That is the god you serve, and you are those twelve
men you have seen. The cattle you have seen brought for sacrifice are the many
people you lead astray [40] before that
altar. […] will stand and make use of my name in this way, and generations of
the pious will remain loyal to him. After hi another man will stand there from
[the fornicators], and another [will] stand there from the slayers of children,
and another from those who sleep with men, and those who abstain, and the rest
of the people of pollution and lawlessness and error, and those who say, ‘We
are like angels’; they are the stars that bring everything to its conclusion.
For to the human generations it has been said, ‘Look, God has received your
sacrifice from the hands of a priest’—that is, a minister of error. But it is
the Lord, the Lord of the universe, who commands, ‘On the last day they will be
put to shame.’” [41]
Jesus said [to them], “Stop sac[rificing …] which you have […] over the altar, since they are over your stars and your angels and have already come to their conclusion there. So let them be [ensnared] before you, and let them go [—about 15 lines missing—] generations […]. A baker cannot feed all creation [42] under [heaven]. And […] to them
[…] and […] to us and […].
Jesus said to them, “Stop struggling with me. Each of you has his own
star, and every[body—about 17 lines missing—] [43] in […] who has come […
spring] for the tree
[…] of this aeon […] for a time […] but he has come to water God’s
paradise, and the [generation] that will last, because [he] will not defile the
[walk of life of] that generation, but […] for all eternity.”
JUDAS ASKS JESUS ABOUT THAT GENERATION AND HUMAN GENERATIONS
Judas said to [him, “Rabb]i, what kind of fruit does this generation
produce?”
Jesus said, “The souls of every human generation will die. When these
people, however, have completed the time of the kingdom and the spirit leaves
them, their bodies will die but their souls will be alive, and they will be
taken up.”Judas said, “And what will the rest of the human generations do?”
Jesus said, “It is impossible [44] to sow seed on [rock] and harvest
its fruit. [This] is also the way […] the [defiled] generation […] and
corruptible Sophia […] the hand that has created mortal people, so that their
souls go up to the eternal realms above. [Truly] I say to you, […] angel […]
power will be able to see that […] these to whom […] holy generations […].”
After Jesus said this, he departed.
SCENE 3: Judas recounts a vision and Jesus responds
Judas said, “Master, as you have listened to all of them, now also
listen to me. For I have
seen a great vision.”
When Jesus heard this, he laughed and said to him, “You thirteenth
spirit, why do you try so hard? But speak up, and I shall bear with you.”
Judas said to him, “In the vision I saw myself as the twelve disciples
were stoning me and [45] persecuting [me severely]. And I also came to the
place where […] after you. I saw [a house …], and my eyes could not
[comprehend] its size. Great people were surrounding it, and that house
a roof of greenery, and in the middle of the house was [a crowd—two
lines missing—], saying, ‘Master, take me in along with these people.’”
[Jesus] answered and said, “Judas, your star has led you astray.” He continued, “No person of mortal birth is worthy to enter the house you have seen, for that place is reserved for the holy. Neither the sun nor the moon will rule there, nor the day, but the holy will abide there always, in the eternal realm with the holy angels. Look, I have explained to you the mysteries of the kingdom [46] and I have taught you about the error of the stars; and […] send it […] on the twelve aeons.”
JUDAS ASKS ABOUT HIS OWN FATE
Judas said, “Master, could it be that my seed is under the control of
the rulers?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Come, that I [—two lines missing—],
but that you
will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation.”
When he heard this, Judas said to him, “What good is it that I have
received it? For
you have set me apart for that generation.”
Jesus answered and said, “You will become the thirteenth, and you will
be cursed by
the other generations—and you will come to rule over them. In the last
days they will
curse your ascent [47] to the holy [generation].”
JESUS TEACHES JUDAS ABOUT COSMOLOGY: THE SPIRIT AND THE SELF-GENERATED
Jesus said, “[Come], that I may teach you about [secrets] no person
[has] ever seen. For there exists a great and boundless realm, whose extent no
generation of angels has seen, [in which] there is [a] great invisible
[Spirit], which no eye of an angel has
ever seen, no thought of the heart has ever comprehended,and it was never
called by any name.
“And a luminous cloud appeared there. He said, ‘Let an angel come into
being as my attendant.’
“A great angel, the enlightened divine Self-Generated, emerged from the
cloud.
Because of him, four other angels came into being from another cloud,
and they became attendants for the angelic Self-Generated. The Self-Generated
said, [48] ‘Let […] come into being […],’ and it came into being […]. And he
[created] the first luminary to reign over him. He said, ‘Let angels come into
being to serve [him],’ and myriads without number came into being. He said,
‘[Let] an enlightened aeon come into being,’ and he came into being. He created
the second luminary [to] reign over him, together with myriads of angels
without number, to offer service. That is how he created the rest of the enlightened
aeons. He made them reign over them, and he created for them myriads of angels
without number, to assist them.
ADAMAS AND THE LUMINARIES
“Adamas was in the first luminous cloud that no angel has ever seen
among all those called ‘God.’ He [49] […] that […] the image […] and after the
likeness of [this] angel.
He made the incorruptible [generation] of Seth appear […] the twelve […] the twentyfour […]. He made seventy-two luminaries appear in the incorruptible generation, in accordance with the will of the Spirit. The seventy-two luminaries themselves made three hundred sixty luminaries appear in the incorruptible generation, in accordance with the will of the Spirit, that their number should be five for each.
“The twelve aeons of the twelve luminaries constitute their father,
with six heavens for each aeon, so that there are seventy-two heavens for the
seventy-two luminaries, and for each [50] [of them five] firmaments, [for a
total of] three hundred sixty [firmaments …].
They were given authority and a [great] host of angels [without
number], for glory and adoration, [and after that also] virgin spirits, for
glory and [adoration] of all the aeons and the heavens and their firmaments.
THE COSMOS, CHAOS, AND THE UNDERWORLD
“The multitude of those immortals is called the cosmos— that is, perdition—by the Father and the seventy-two luminaries who are with the Self-Generated and his seventytwo aeons. In him the first human appeared with his incorruptible powers. And the aeon that appeared with his generation, the aeon in whom are the cloud of knowledge and the angel, is called [51] El. […] aeon […] after that […] said, ‘Let twelve angels come into being [to] rule over chaos and the [underworld].’ And look, from the cloud there appeared an [angel] whose face flashed with fire and whose appearance was defiled with blood. His name was Nebro, which means ‘rebel’; others call him Yaldabaoth. Another angel, Saklas, also came from the cloud. So Nebro created six angels—as well as Saklas—to be assistants, and these produced twelve angels in the heavens, with each one receiving a portion in the heavens.
THE RULERS AND ANGELS
“The twelve rulers spoke with the twelve angels: ‘Let each of you [52]
[…] and let them
[…] generation [—one line lost—] angels’:
The first is [S]eth, who is called Christ.
The [second] is Harmathoth, who is […].
The [third] is Galila.
The fourth is Yobel.
The fifth [is] Adonaios.
These are the five who ruled over the underworld, and first of all over
chaos.
THE CREATION OF HUMANITY
“Then Saklas said to his angels, ‘Let us create a human being after the likeness and after the image.’ They fashioned Adam and his wife Eve, who is called, in the cloud, Zoe. For by this name all the generations seek the man, and each of them calls the woman by these
names. Now, Sakla did not [53] com[mand …] except […] the gene[rations …] this […]. And the [ruler] said to Adam, ‘You shall live long, with your children.’”
JUDAS ASKS ABOUT THE DESTINY OF ADAM AND HUMANITY
Judas said to Jesus, “[What] is the long duration of time that the
human being will live?”
Jesus said, “Why are you wondering about this, that Adam, with his
generation, has lived his span of life in the place where he has received his
kingdom, with longevity with his ruler?”
Judas said to Jesus, “Does the human spirit die?”
Jesus said, “This is why God ordered Michael to give the spirits of
people to them as a loan, so that they might offer service, but the Great One
ordered Gabriel to grant spirits to the great generation with no ruler over
it—that is, the spirit and the soul. Therefore, the [rest] of the souls
[54] [—one line missing—].
JESUS DISCUSSES THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED WITH JUDAS AND OTHERS
“[…] light [—nearly two lines missing—] around […] let […] spirit [that
is] within you dwell in this [flesh] among the generations of angels. But God
caused knowledge to be [given] to Adam and those with him, so that the kings of
chaos and the underworld might not lord it over them.”
Judas said to Jesus, “So what will those generations do?”
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, for all of them the stars bring
matters to completion.
When Saklas completes the span of time assigned for him, their first star will appear with the generations, and they will finish what they said they would do. Then they will fornicate in my name and slay their children [55] and they will […] and [—about six and a half lines missing—] my name, and he will […] your star over the [thir]teenth aeon.”
After that Jesus [laughed].
[Judas said], “Master, [why are you laughing at us]?”[Jesus] answered
[and said], “I am not laughing [at you] but at the error of the stars, because
these six stars wander about with these five combatants, and they all will be destroyed
along with their creatures.”
JESUS SPEAKS OF THOSE WHO ARE BAPTIZED, AND JUDAS’S BETRAYAL
Judas said to Jesus, “Look, what will those who have been baptized in
your name do?”
Jesus said, “Truly I say [to you], this baptism [56] […] my name [—about nine lines missing—] to me. Truly [I] say to you, Judas, [those who] offer sacrifices to Saklas […] God [—three lines missing—] everything that is evil.
“But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that
clothes me.
Already your horn has been raised, your wrath has been kindled, your
star has shown brightly, and your heart has […]. [57]
“Truly […] your last […] become [—about two and a half lines missing—],
grieve [—about two lines missing—] the ruler, since he will be destroyed. And
then the image of the great generation of Adam will be exalted, for prior to
heaven, earth, and the angels, that generation, which is from the eternal
realms, exists. Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look
at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star
that leads the way is your star.”
Judas lifted up his eyes and saw the luminous cloud, and he entered it.
Those standing on the ground heard a voice coming from the cloud, saying, [58]
[…] great generation […] … image […] [—about five lines missing—].
CONCLUSION: JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS
[…] Their high priests murmured because [he] had gone into the guest
room for his prayer. But some scribes were there watching carefully in order to
arrest him during the prayer, for they were afraid of the people, since he was
regarded by all as a prophet.
They approached Judas and said to him, “What are you doing here? You
are Jesus’ disciple.”
Judas answered them as they wished. And he received some money and
handed him over to them.
THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS
1 comment:
"Much of the text is missing and lost, but some parts are understandable."
My understanding is that most of the text is extant with the discovery of the Ohio Fragments.
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