Gnostic Gospel, Pt 12 -- Peace Offered to End the Endless War

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

The hierarchy of the Fullness

The original Economy was that of the Hierarchy of the Fullness, wherein every aeon knew its place, position, and duties for cooperative overall functioning. Each of the Fullnesses lived in a state of "joy, benevolence, and harmonious agreement," giving glory to the Father and never to themselves or each other [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 86]. 

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

The Second Order of Powers was created to establish a "new Economy" to replace the Deficiency that had arisen as a result of the Fall of Logos.  

Logos and the Fullness brought forth these "little ones" of the Second Order so they could receive the "life-giving light born from the thought of brotherly love of the pre-existent Fullnesses" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 85], in contrast to those that arose from the Fall. The "Powers of Remembrance" resembled the aeons whose likenesses they were, and they were in harmony with themselves and with others of their kind.

Those of the Remembrance were from a good disposition, with an inclination to seek and pray to what is glorious and pre-existent and an ability to ponder and appreciate it. 

The new economy of the Second Order of Powers reflected a different method of doing business from their parents in the Fullness. In the new economy, the Powers vied for position and authority within a limited space. Here, those of the Imitation, who continued to wholeheartedly embrace the shadows left over from the Fall, actively fought against those of the Remembrance. 

For their part, those of the Remembrance forgot all about the values of the Fullness, due to the "law of mutual combat" they were enacting. The new Powers acquired the same "lust for domination and all the other passions of this sort," and wound up acting "against itself on account of its rage." It was during this Endless War that a myriad of "various kinds of matter and all sorts of powers [were] mixed with one another and in great number" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 84, 85].

Those of the Remembrance battle Those of the Imitation in a never-ending war over whose memes will rule the world.

Clearly, another solution was required if peace were to enter the Deficiency. 

Remember that none of this was due to an error of planning; rather these steps were all necessary to bring about an economy still to come. "For this reason, then, it is wrong to condemn the movement of the Word as the cause that made an ordained economy come to pass" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77].

The aeons of the Fullness "took upon themselves the Fall that had happened as if it were their own, with concern, goodness, and great kindness. . . for the one who had become deficient could be made perfect in no other way except by the Fullness of the Father" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 86].

And so the aeons of the Fullness, every one individually and ALL of them collectively, gave glory in unison to their Father, while praying for help for the Deficiency. 

The Fullness gave glory to their Father and the ALL while praying for the Endless War to be over.

They brought forth One that combined every attribute of the ALL manifested in the image of the Father "of whom they had been thinking when they gave glory and prayed for help" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 86]. 

The Christ Principle, The Son of His Will, the Fruit of the ALL and the Father

This One was called "The Son of his Will" and "of the good pleasure of the ALL." It is "the knowledge of the Father, who wished to become known." It is also described as holding "authority vested in him from the beginning and the power needed to execute it" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 87, 88]. 

The aeons not only produced a singular Fruit reflecting the Father, but that Fruit also reflected their own individual countenances and aspects from their positions in the hierarchy of the Fullness. In this manner, they "went forth in a form that consisted of many forms, so that the one whom they were going to help should see those to whom he had prayed for help as well as the One who brought it to him" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 87]. 

Continue on to the next article in the Gnostic Series: Part Thirteen -- The Revelation of the Son
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Those readers who are put off by the name "God" or other religious words like the "Father," the "Son," and the "Holy Spirit," are free to continue using more modern memes like "consciousness" and "self-awareness," "algorithms" and "fractals." You may study these same topics in my Simple Explanation blog and book. However, if you are already familiar with Hebrew and Christian memes, then you will understand these Gnostic writings without needing to first dip into the Simple Explanation, and so you may skip the following translation.

The Fruit of the ALL and the Father becomes another fractal iteration of the Universal Unit of Consciousness, but this iteration is not a fractal deriving from Second Order of Powers. The Christ Principle would be a perfect fractal iteration of the Universal UC, taking into account the new information available to the universal formula arising from the goings-on in our bounded space. 

Here's what that sounds like in terms of the Simple Explanation: The Universal Unit of Consciousness has just amended the primary algorithm of the universe to include up-to-date data specific to each individual Unit of Consciousness in our space-time continuum. This new code represents patches to the fragmentary error-code of the Deficiency, in order to end the stalemate and reestablish harmony and proper functioning of the Economy.  

The reason why each UC needs its very own correcting code is because each UC's karma has been affected by the Imitation in a unique way, different from its neighbors. For humans, this means that each person has a personal point of view and a unique meme shroud that needs correcting. The creation story above also speaks to the need for each UC to be able to hear and recognize the voice of reason for themselves.

On another scale, the "forms consisting of many forms" also refers to the nested fractal hierarchies of our toroidal space that may need tweaking from time to time. Our Universal UC continually pours information, metaversal values, love and coherence into our space.

Gnostic Gospel, Pt 10 -- The Second Order of Powers

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

The Imitation arose from the broken body of Logos. Logos gathered himself up the best he could and returned to the Fullness to lick his wounds, leaving behind the shadows and phantoms of his Fall contained within the Boundary.

Phantoms and shadows of the Deficiency held at bay within a Boundary

Logos regretted the Fall and the phantoms born of the Fall. Regret turned to condemnation of "the irrational things he had produced. This condemnation became a judgment directed against them, aiming at their destruction" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 81].

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

Logos and the One who drew him back to the Fullness "did not remain idle, but they brought forth a fruit in the Fullness with a view to overthrowing what had come into being because of the deficiency" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78].

"Now, all his prayer and remembrance were numerous powers, also produced in accordance with the Boundary mentioned. . . . These powers were much better and greater than those belonging to the imitation. For [the imitation] have the substance of darkness, having come into being from illusory imitation and a vain and presumptuous thought. These, on the other hand, are from a thought that had known them in advance" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 82]. 

Logos and the Fullness bring forth a fruit with the goal of overthrowing the deficiency.

In other words, the newly produced offspring of the Fullness and Logos were patterned after the originals in the Fullness, formed to fit within the Boundary rather than the hierarchy. 

The Fruit of Logos and the Fullness Fitted to the Boundary

And, whereas those of the imitation "are like oblivion and heavy sleep; like people who have troubled dreams in which someone pursues them and they are surrounded," "these others, however, are for him like beings of light who are waiting for the rising sun, as when the dreamers have been able to see dreams in their sleep that are truly sweet" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 82].

These newly formed beings "did not have more substance, nor did they have a greater glory, for they are not equal to the preexistent ones. If, on the other hand, they were superior to the imitations, the only thing that made them elevated above them was that they were from a good disposition--for they had not come out of the sickness that arose" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 83]

"He sowed in them an inclination to seek and pray to what is glorious and preexistent, and he also sowed in them an ability to think about it, and a power of reflection to make them realize that something greater than themselves existed before them, but they had not understood what it was. Bringing forth harmony and mutual love by means of that thought, they acted in unity and unanimity, since to unity and unanimity they owed their existence" [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 83]

Continue to Part 11--Endless War

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Those readers who are put off by the name "God" or other religious words like the "Father," the "Son," and the "Holy Spirit," are free to continue using more modern memes like "consciousness" and "self-awareness," "algorithms" and "fractals." You may study these same topics in my Simple Explanation blog and book. However, if you are already familiar with Hebrew and Christian memes, then you will understand these Gnostic writings without needing to first dip into the Simple Explanation, and so you may skip the following translation.

The Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything refers to the Father as the Metaverse, that which is above our Universe.

The Simple Explanation calls the Son the Universal Unit of Consciousness, because while identical to the Father, or Metaverse, this all-knowing consciousness is now also a singular Unit. In fractal terms, the Son is the first iteration of the pattern of consciousness. 

The ALL is every thing that will ever be, in potential. They began as unrealized fractal iterations of the pattern of the Son. This is the second iteration of the singular Unit, which carries the formulae of our universe. 

The Fullness represents the expressed fractals of the third iteration: the proliferation of singular Units of Consciousness. These fractals are called "aeons," and they have multiplied into the potential of all forms, processes, and personalities. In same way that an individual's DNA carries its species' potential form, so each unit of consciousness carries within itself the complete pattern of creation. 

The Boundary of the Simple Explanation is the fractal shell of the Universal Unit of Consciousness. The Simple Explanation model suggests that the undifferentiated consciousness of the Metaverse is held apart from this created universe by means of a toroidal-shaped membrane "composed" of consciousness. One purpose of the toroidal shell is to contain the space, time, and memes of our universe so the tranquility of the Metaverse remains undisturbed.   

The cooperation amongst the ALL is the prototype for the Simple Explanation's Golden Rule, which the Simple Explanation puts this way: "In order for units of consciousness to join and work together for the greater good, they need to share relevant information, they need to assist one another's efforts, and they need to love one another."   

Logos represents the best possible single individual that could ever exist, for its personality contains the formula for every good thing possible. Yet, even then, Logos was unable to create on his own because he lacked the "will" to carry it out. The will is what the Simple Explanation identifies as the coherent, pre-energetic potential that enters our universe through the portal of here and now. The will would be the Metaversal information streaming into our universe via the singularity at the center of the Universal Unit of Consciousness. While Logos identified himself with the Universal UC, Logos was mistaken, for he deviated from the Universal algorithm when his individual will conflicted with the will of the Fullness. 

The phantoms produced by the Fall are not fractal iterations of the Son. They are broken code. The phantoms cannot replicate on their own; they lack activation by the Source at the center, as they were generated away from the metaversal portal in what the Simple Explanation used to call the doughy blue ring of the donut.

The Fruit of Logos and the Fullness discussed in this article represents the fourth iteration of the originating fractal pattern. We know this because "fruit" refers to the legitimate offspring of Logos and the Hierarchy of the Fullness formed through the Will of the One. In Simple terms, the Will of the One is expressed into our universe through the portal at the center of the Universal Unit of Consciousness. At this point in the Gnostic Gospel, new fractal iterations of the originals in the Fullness are entering the Deficiency, bringing their correcting algorithms with them. These new beings are called "The Second Order of Powers," which is another indication that they are self-aware entities, for they are called "Powers" rather than "Imitations."

These beings are not identical to the aeons of the Fullness, for they are offspring made to fit within the contained space of our universe. They are called Powers of the Remembrance for they represent the values of the Originating Source, whereas Those of the Imitation remember neither the values, the hierarchy, nor the Source. 

Gnostic Gospel, Pt 7 -- Division Becomes the Imitation

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

Logos was the final aeon born from the will of the Son and the ALL. This singular being possessed the latent characteristics of the ALL, including the full variety of personalities, proclivities, powers, and positions arrayed in the Fullness. Each aeon of the Fullness was an individual who was also an integral part of the larger whole. So, too, Logos embodied all of these parts precisely situated within the whole that was himself.

The aeon named Logos sits atop the hierarchy of the Fullness

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

When Logos overreached and fell into the darkness, he shattered into a confusing jumble of disconnected parts. These pieces of the shattered aeon were “sicknesses”: small, dark, ignorant, divided, and roiling with chaos. They reflected neither the glory of the originals in the Fullness, nor the ecology of the hierarchy. And, because they were no longer arranged in the pattern of the hierarchy, they forgot their functions and their names [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]

The shattered corpse of Logos gave rise to the imitations of the deficiency

"Those who had come into being did not know themselves, nor did they know the Fullness from which they had originated, nor did they know him who had become the cause of their existence. For since the Word was in such an unstable condition, he no longer attempted to bring forth offspring in the form of emissions... of glory. ...Instead, what he brought forth were feeble and small creatures, infected with the same sicknesses with which he himself had been infected." [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 80]

Because Logos had been reaching for the heights when he fell, the imitation born of the fall continued to be motivated by a desire “to reach the unreachable,” but now that upward drive was divorced from the goal of reaching for the glory of reunification with the Father. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77] With no recall of who or what came before, this upward drive was entirely self-interested, for those of the imitation had no cooperative arrangement amongst themselves.

What had been an upward pull to reunite the Fullnesses with the Father became an upward push arising out of each singleton, not for the glory of the Father, but for the vainglory of the individual. “For they desired to command one another and to lord it over them in their vain love of glory, and the glory that they acquired [from their striving] became the cause of the structure that was to be.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 79] In this manner, egoic striving for vainglory replaced glorious longing for the Father--ambition replaced God's Will.

The “offspring of the presumptuous thought”, as they came to be known, recognized neither Logos, the All, nor the Father as their progenitor. “They thought of themselves that only they existed and that they had no beginning, since they saw no one existing before them. For this reason they exhibited disobedience and rebellion, being unwilling to submit to the one who had brought them into existence.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

"The Word, then, was the cause of these things coming into being, and he became increasingly desperate. He was dumbfounded. Instead of perfection he saw deficiency; instead of unity he saw division; instead of stability he saw disturbance; instead of rest, upheaval." Logos “was unable to bring their love of disturbance to an end, nor could he destroy it,” for Logos “had become powerless when his wholeness and his perfection had abandoned him” to become the deficiency. The deficiency took on an imitation of life on its own, becoming “the cause of the things that do not exist on their own account from the beginning.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 80]

These “irrational things” were condemned by Logos. “Because of that, what was perfect in him left him and went upward to his own [in the Fullness]. . . “The one who hastened on high [Logos] and the one who drew him to himself [The Son] did not remain idle, but they brought forth a fruit in the Fullness with a view to overthrowing what had come into being because of the deficiency.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

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You may read more about the deficiency in this article: Implications of Dark Matter and Gnostic Cosmology.

Click here for the next Simple Explanation blog article: "The Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part Eight -- The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL"

The Simple Explanation is using its method of meta-analysis to strip out the confusing elements of the various Gnostic Gospels to form a simple, coherent, creation story. I have chosen the Tripartite Tractate as the book out of the Nag Hammadi scriptures to focus on, because I find it to be the least confusing and most complete Gnostic account of the origins of the universe, with the fewest non-essential elements. You will not find lists of names and numbers here. Only the cosmology and its rationale. The purpose of this exposition of the Simple Gnostic Gospels is to clarify and simplify so that any person who cares to may fully understand the essential Gnostic truths.

Cyd and Munchkin working on the Gnostic Gospel

Gnostic Gospel, Pt 6 -- The Rise of the Deficiency

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

The most perfect and complete of the individual aeons, Logos, crowned the top of the aeonic hierarchy. This single aeon consisted of all of the attributes of the good and perfect Fullness rolled into one individual.

Logos Crowns the Fullness

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

Logos mistook itself for the Fullness.

Logos Mistakes Itself for the Entire Fullness

Logos decided to give glory to the Source of its awakening and launched itself from the hierarchy in an attempt to reconnect with the Father. Logos believed his personal will was sufficient to reach the Father, without the will of the united Fullness to add to his own.

Logos Attempts to Reach the Father and Falls

Logos imagined he could build the Paradise dreamt by the Fullness because he understood all of the plans and possessed all of the necessary talents. However, without the willing support of the Fullness, Logos was unable to give proper glory to the Father.

Logos Falling

As he reached for the Father, Logos stumbled and fell, shattering himself to bits.

Because the isolated glory of Logos was inadequate to the task, everything he produced as a result of that effort fell disastrously short. Where there had been unity with the Son and with his brethren in the Fullness, now there was “a division and a turning away.” The undiluted will expressed by the Fullness was splintered because Logos “could not bear to look at the light, but looked at the depths, and he faltered.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]

“What issued from his presumptuous thought and his arrogance had existed from something that itself was deficient; because of that, what was perfect in him left him and went upward to his own” in the Fullness, leaving the “sicknesses” behind in the darkness. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

The Deficiency Resembles Disordered Phantoms of the Aeons

“From the faltering and division came oblivion and ignorance of oneself and of that which is.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]  Presumptuous thought and arrogance was left in place of wisdom.

“Those who came into being from the presumptuous thought resemble in fact the Fullnesses of whom they are imitations, though they are phantoms, shadows, and illusions, deprived of reason and light, belonging to this empty thought, being nobody’s offspring. . .  In their own eyes, however, they are great and powerful beings, more beautiful than the names [of their originals in the Fullness], though they are only their shadows.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 78]

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Read the next article in the series: The Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part Seven: "Division Becomes the Imitation"

Those readers who are put off by the name "God" or other religious words like the "Father," the "Son," and the "Holy Spirit," are free to continue using more modern memes like "consciousness" and "self-awareness," "algorithms" and "fractals." You may study these same topics in my Simple Explanation blog and book. However, if you are already familiar with Hebrew and Christian memes, then you will understand these Gnostic writings without needing to first dip into the Simple Explanation, and so you may skip the following translation.

The Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything refers to the Father as the Metaverse, that which is above our Universe.

The Simple Explanation calls the Son the Universal Unit of Consciousness, because while identical to the Father, or Metaverse, this all-knowing consciousness is now also a singular Unit. In fractal terms, the Son is the first iteration of the pattern of consciousness. 

The ALL is every thing that will ever be, in potential. They began as unrealized fractal iterations of the pattern of the Son. This is the second iteration of the singular Unit, which carries the formulae of our universe. 

The Fullness represents the expressed fractals of the third iteration: the proliferation of singular Units of Consciousness. These fractals are called "aeons," and they have multiplied into the potential of all forms, processes, and personalities. In same way that an individual's DNA carries its species' potential form, so each unit of consciousness carries within itself the complete pattern of creation. 

The ongoing cooperation amongst the Fullness is the prototype for the Simple Explanation's Golden Rule, which the Simple Explanation puts it this way: "In order for units of consciousness to join and work together for the greater good, they need to share relevant information, they need to assist one another's efforts, and they need to love one another."   

In the same way that the ALL sat in unitary perfection together while singing the same song of praise, so do we all instantiate the pattern of cooperation needed to "get the job done" when we work together for the greater good, without selfish motive. So, too, the Fullness, though differentiated into units of consciousness with individual stations and ranks, dreams of a Paradise where everyone knows their job and does it in perfect cooperation with others for the benefit of all. 

Logos represents the best possible single individual that could ever exist, for its personality contains the formula for every good thing possible. Yet, even then, Logos was unable to create on his own because he lacked the "will" to carry it out. The will is what the Simple Explanation identifies as the coherent, pre-energetic potential that enters our universe through the portal of here and now. The will would be the Metaversal information streaming into our universe via the singularity at the center of the Universal Unit of Consciousness. While Logos identified himself with the Universal UC, Logos was mistaken, for he deviated from the Universal algorithm when his individual will conflicted with the will of the Fullness. 

The phantoms produced by the Fall are not fractal iterations of the Son. They are broken code. The phantoms cannot replicate on their own; they lack activation by the Source at the center, as they are generated away from the metaversal portal in what the Simple Explanation used to call the doughy ring of the donut.

But don't worry about translating back and forth between the Simple Explanation and the Gnostic Gospel. Use whichever type of language appeals to you--it is the same truth.

Gnostic Gospel, Pt 5 – Self-Awareness Overreaches and Falls

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

Prior to the Fall, the aeons of the Fullness sat in perfect equilibrium in their hierarchy of ranks, stations, and names. They were a congress of one accord, meaning they agreed on everything and they cooperated together to bring about a single dream of Paradise. 

The Fullness Dreams of Paradise in Perfect Harmony

You could note one difference between the ALL and the Fullness as the ALL singing their songs in blissful unison, while the Fullness sings their songs in perfectly tuned, multi-toned harmony.

The ALL Sings in Perfect Unison

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

The aeons of the Fullness were all given wisdom, which is the ability to reason with logic and prudence. They were given a thirst to seek after the originating consciousness of their Creator and a desire to align themselves with the Father’s Will through the process of giving glory. And they were all creative geniuses, able to dream up a fully functioning mental Paradise where whatever they willed in the Father’s name happily happened. Reminiscent of popular culture's depiction of heaven, where you can fly around amongst the clouds, and the buildings are all made of precious jewels and the streets are paved with gold.

"The Prologue and the Promise" mural by Robert McCall. Disney's Epcot, 1983.
A pretty sweet depiction of Paradise--even the dog is invited!

In their desire to give glory to the Father, that is, to align themselves with the Will of the Creator, aeons of the Fullness were required to follow these rules:

1. Give glory to the Father, not to the Fullness. Aeons were to remain aligned with the Son and not shift their focus to the Fullness as a whole.

2. Give glory to the Father, not to individual aeons. Aeons were to remain always mindful of the Father and not to give glory to themselves and their talented neighbors as individuals.

3. Give glory to the Father to the best of your own ability. An aeon was to give glory from its own location in the hierarchy. They were not to sidle up next to an aeon who appeared closer to the Father in order to borrow that aeon’s station to give better glory. Rather, the individual was to develop its own voice and talents through the process of giving glory to the Father. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 74]

It is said that although the Father put an unquenchable thirst to align themselves with the One into the minds of the Fullness, he did not reveal to them the Father's ineffable nature and the impossibility of reuniting with him and surviving to tell the tale. This was doubtless to keep alive the hope of reunification with the Father as a motive for giving glory. [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 75]

And then, a cosmic tragedy occurred. This is how it happened.

The last aeon made by the will of the Father was placed at the very top of the hierarchy of the Fullness, like a star sitting atop the Christmas tree. 

As a star sits atop a Christmas tree, so did Logos sit atop the Fullness.

The reason  this final aeon was given such a position of honor in the hierarchy was because it carried within its singular consciousness all of the traits of all the other aeons. This was one talented, capable aeon! In fact, this particular aeon was called a “perfect single one,” produced by the Father “who had desired him and was pleased with him.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]  

Logos Crowned the Fullness

Now, here is what happened. It turned out that "this aeon was one of those who had been given wisdom, with ideas first existing independently in his mind so as to be brought forth whenever he wanted it." He had also "received a natural wisdom enabling him to inquire into the hidden order.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76] 

Indeed, this aeon’s name was the very personification of wisdom: “Logos.”

And this was the cause of the Fall: Logos mistook his singular self for the entirety of the Fullness. He then broke the rules by acting unilaterally and without authority. Because the Father had withheld the impossibility of singletons reaching the “realm of perfect glory,” Logos launched himself upward toward the Father and he stumbled and fell as he reached for it.

Logos Mistakes Himself for the Fullness

“Thus, the free will with which the members of the ALL had been born caused this one to rush forward to give glory to the Father” on its own.  “And before he had yet produced anything to the glory of the Will and in the union of the members of the ALL, he acted presumptuously, out of an overflowing love, and rushed forward toward that which surrounds the realm of perfect glory.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76]

Logos Attempts to Reach the Father and Falls

Do we blame the Fall on young, reckless Logos? No. The Tripartite Tractate points out that the Fall of Logos was not due to bad motives on his part. On the contrary, Logos was attempting to give glory and reunite with the Father out of love when he fell. 

“Now, the intention of this Logos was good, because he rushed forward to give glory to the Father, even though he undertook a task beyond his power, having desired to produce something perfect from a union in which he did not share and without having received orders." [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76]

Furthermore, “It was not without the Will of the Father that this Logos had been brought forth, nor that he should rush forward; rather, the Father had brought him forth for the things that he knew must take place.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 76] “For this reason, then, it is wrong to condemn the movement that is Logos. Rather, we should speak about the movement of Logos as the cause that made an ordained economy come to pass.” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 77]

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Proceed to the Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part Six -- The Deficiency Gives Rise to the Imitation.