The Hypostasis of the Archons: On the Origin of the World - Literature review Example

The Hypostasis of the Archons: On the Origin of the World The Hypostasis of the Archons: On the Origin of the World The Hypostasis of the Archons, Reality of the Rulers, is a tractate anonymously written to present an interpretation of Genesis 1- 6. The Hypostasis of the Archons is a form of partial revelation discourse between a questioner and an angel. The treatise is illustrating wide ranges of Hellenistic syncretism though the components most evident are Jewish. The present form of the Hypostasis of the Archons is clearly showing the Christian features. Therefore, Hypostasis of the Archons is affirmatively a Christian work. The Hypostasis of the Archons is having a theological perspective of a vigorous Gnosticism related to the Sethian affiliation (Turner, 2011). Like all the other texts of Nag Hammadi, it is assumable that the hypostasis of the archons is a Greek translation (Robinson, Smith, & Coptic Gnostic Library Project, 2013). The likelihood of the Coptic pun phrase blind (Hyp. Arch. 86, 30; 94, 22) and beside me (Isaiah 46:9) suggests that the provenance could have been in Egypt. In addition, the animal-headed description (87, 29) is further suggestion proving that the provenance of the Hypostasis of the Archons was possibly in Egypt. The work’s possibility being a combination of a narrative source interpreting Genesis parts, and an eschatology and soteriology of revelation discourse complicates the provenance. The two provenances gets placed within a framework of Christianity. Thus, the Hypostasis of the Archons is an esoteric work whose writings are targeting self-conscious communities that are feeling the Christian community’s pressure. The Hypostasis of the Archons is of particular importance to provide consciousness to those communities that are defining themselves as either orthodox or heretical (Wilson, Logan & Wedderburn, 2014). There exists some precise and literal relationship between the Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World. The relationship is following the tractate in the Codex II. Both the Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World are drawing from a common source. The Hypostasis of the Archons distinctly identifies with source, the book of Norea (102, 11, 24-25) to which Epiphanius is also referring (Mills & Bullard, 2009). The Hypostasis of the Archons, just as the title indicates, is proclaiming the archontic rulers reality (Robinson, Smith, & Coptic Gnostic Library Project, 2013). Apart from the imaginary powers and fictions witnessed in this tractate of the Hypostasis of the Archons, the archons are all and far too real. The archontic rulers indeed exist. The Hypostasis of the Archons is a grim reality for the Gnostics of Christians. Christian Gnostics who find reality from this tractate are those who are defining the nature of their spirituality in an opposition to the definitions provided by the enslaving and ruling authorities. The Hypostasis of the Archons document is promising that such Christian Gnostics should have hope for their spiritual nature. The reason being, the Christian Gnostics’ spiritual nature will last longer than the archons, and that their destiny in heaven will be more celebrated and glorious. The document explains that the archontic rulers will perish in the end (Wilson, 2011). Conversely, the children that are belonging to the light (God) and the Gnostics will finally know whom their Father (God) is and will praise Him for His majesty. Darkness authority is one of the accounts of the hypostasis (reality) of the eksousiai, rulers or authorities (Colossians 1:13). The father of the truth and the great apostle, as inspired by the Holy Spirit argues that we fight against the wicked spirits and the universe authorities. He implies that we do not fight or contest against the blood and flesh but (Ephesians 6:12). The Father (God) says that he has sent us this message because we are in dire need of inquiring the realities of the rulers and authorities. The chief perpetrator of wickedness in the universe is the authorities that blinded by ignorance, arrogance, and the perceived power. The father affirms that it is Him who is God and that there no any other god apart from Him. None can claim to be God. When the chief of the archons said he was god, he did sin not only against himself but also against the entirety. A voice then came forth from the incorruptibility saying that Samael, the god of the blind, is mistaken (Quispel & Oort, 2008). The thoughts of the chief of the archons became blind. The chief of the blind did expel his power to bring into reality the blasphemy that he had said. He pursued his power down to abyss and chaos. His mother, Sophia (faith Wisdom), at the Pistis instigation, was the person to who these chaos and abysses were pursued. Sophia consequently established each of Samael’s offspring to conform to its power after the realm patterns above. A start from the invisible world to a visible world was then invented (Schmidt & MacDermot, 2008). As incorruptibility was looking down into the water regions, her image did appear in the water. As a result, the authorities of darkness became enamored of her. However, the authorities and rulers of the darkness were unable to lay hold of that incorruptibility image that did appear in the waters. The darkness authorities could have a hold on the incorruptibility image in the waters because of the weakness that they possessed. The darkness authorities do not possess souls, yet the incorruptibility possesses a spirit. It is impossible for beings that are merely possessing souls to lay a hold on the beings that possess a spirit (Givens, 2010). Therefore, the authorities and rulers of the darkness beings do not possess souls hence it is impractical and virtually difficult for them to hold the incorruptibility. The explanation above is bringing into context why the rulers of the darkness were not able to lay a hold on the image. The image of the incorruptibility was coming from above since incorruptibility was looking down into the water regions while the darkness authorities were coming from below. The archontes (rulers) planned to create a man from the soil of the earth. The archontes modeled the earth’s man creature as a being that was one wholly. The rulers took the soil from the earth and modeled the man after god’s image that did appear to them in the water. They were ignorant and did not understand God’s force due to their powerlessness. God breathed into the face of the man in creation, and he came to have a soul and remained alive on the ground. On the contrary, due to the archontes powerlessness, they were unable to make the man (creature) they modeled to rise. They were persistently in vain blew winds of storms unto the face of the modeled man. They failed to capture the image that did appear in the waters as an image of God. It was unworkable for them to reproduce the image of God that appeared in the water because they did not understand the identity of God’s power (Wilkinson, 2015). Now, by the father of the entirety will, all these events happened. After that, the spirit saw the man endowed with the soul upon the earth. The spirit descended from the Land of Adamantine and dwelled within the man endowed with soul. Afterward, the man that the spirit dwelt in did become a living soul. The man with a living soul called himself Adam. He named himself Adam to mean that he was moving on the ground by the time the spirit gave him a soul to become a living being. People heard a voice coming forth from incorruptibility for Adam’s assistance. The rulers then gathered all the birds and all the animals together, both of the earth and of heavens, and brought them to Adam. They gave Adam the task of naming the birds and animals (Wilkinson, 2015). The rulers (archontes) took Adam and placed him in the garden to cultivate and watch over. The rulers gave restrictive and regulatory command to Adam. Adam was not to eat the fruits from the tree of recognizing evil and good. He had an obligation not to touch the tree of recognizing the evil and the good as well. Eating fruits from the forbidden tree would earn him death as a penalty (Schmidt & MacDermot, 2008).The rulers did not understand what they said to Adam rather by the will of the other, they gave the command in such a convincing way. Adam could give neither a damn nor a disregard to the commands that the rulers gave him. Through a counsel, the rulers in unison decided to make Adam fall asleep. In this case, the deep sleep that the rulers caused Adam to fall into regard as ignorance. While Adam was sleeping, the rulers opened Adam’s side and from that side they made a living a woman. The rulers then built up the side of Adam with some flesh in the place of the woman, and Adam became endowed with only soul (Wilson, 2011). The woman made from Adam’s side while he was asleep now came to be with spirit. The woman, being spirit-endowed, came to Adam and spoke to him telling him to wake up. On waking up Adam saw the woman and told her that she was the one who had given him life. He said that the woman would henceforth be mother of the living. Adam considered the woman to be his mother and the physician who had given birth to him. Then the Archontes came to the garden where Adam lived. The rulers found Adam talking to his female counterpart. The rulers became agitated and got enamored of the female counterpart. The rulers pursued Adam’s female counterpart to sow their seed in her. On realizing the plan, the female endowed-spirit laughed at the rulers’ blindness and witlessness. Moreover, in the rulers’ clutches, the female being became a tree (Wilson, Logan & Wedderburn, 2014). The rulers defiled the stamp of the female voice so that they could make a liable condemnation by the form they had modeled together with their image. Then, the female endowed-spirit came in a feminine principle in the snake and asked the woman (Adam counterpart). It enquired about the warnings that the gods had given them about the forbidden fruit. The snake deceived the woman by expressing contrary versions of the warnings. The female principle being (the snake instructor) told her about the existence of deeper sense of distinguishing between good or bad on eating the fruit. The snake instructor added that the gods warned them out of jealousy (Mills & Bullard, 2009. After the carnal woman (the woman who had been made from the side of Adam), became convinced with snake’s female principle of instructions. She took from the tree of recognizing the evil and the good and ate. The carnal woman then gave the fruits to her husband as well to eat. These two beings, Adam and the carnal women (the mother of the living), were only possessing a soul. By eating from the forbidden tree, their imperfections clearly became apparent. They both ate from the forbidden tree, and their lack of obeying the commands and acquaintance, they did recognize that they had become naked. They (Adam and the carnal woman) then took leaves a fig tree and bound the leaves upon their loins (Quispel & Oort, 2008). The chief ruler came and asked Adam where he was. Adam was hiding, and the chief ruler did not understand what had transpired that made him hide. Adam said that he had heard the chief ruler’s voice, and was afraid since he was naked. The ruler then asked Adam the reason for his hiding. He asked Adam if he might have eaten from the tree that he alone had commanded Adam not eat its fruits. The chief ruler realized that fear and shame overcame Adam after breaking the issued command. The chief found out that the reason Adam hid was that he had eaten from the forbidden tree. The chief ruler was the one who commanded Adam in person not to eat from the tree of recognizing the evil and the good. The chief ruler realized that Adam had indeed disobeyed and went contrary to the command that he had issued to him. He (the chief ruler) then asked Adam why had disobeyed his command by eating from the tree of recognizing the evil and the good (Givens, 2010). Adam answered the chief ruler that it was the woman he had been given that gave him the fruit to eat. The arrogant chief ruler then cursed the woman. A series of blames started. No one, neither Adam nor the woman wanted to agree to have done a wrong thing. They were not taking personal responsibility for the disobedience they both committed by eating from a outlawed tree. The woman too started blaming the snake for the wrong she had committed. She said that it was the snake that did lead her to astray and eat from the tree of recognizing the good and the evil (Givens, 2010). The chief ruler and all the other rulers turned to the cursed the snake’s reflection shadow. What is appealing in this case, is that, the rulers cursed a shadowy reflection of the snake that they formed. They were powerless and not comprehending that we can affirmatively conclude that they were blind indeed. The archontes’ (rulers) blindness is evident in that scenario. They cannot even recognize that their actions are causing the evil that took place. They proceed to curse what they had modeled, the snake’s shadowy reflection. From cursing day, the snake has become to be under the authorities’ curse (Turner, 2011). The rulers turned to Adam (their creation that they had modeled) and expelled him from dwelling in the garden along with his wife, the carnal woman. The rulers took away the possession that Adam had been controlling, looking after, and making a living from the garden. Adam and his wife too had no blessing as they became subjected to the curse as well. Moreover, the rulers subjected humankind into an intense distraction and a life full of toiling. Humanity was thrown into these sufferings, like having to toil and sweat for them to eat so that to be occupied by the affairs of the world. Getting occupied with the worldly affairs mean that humanity will have no opportunity to devote them to the Holy Spirit. Now afterward, Adam’s wife bore Cain. Cain was a farmer. Immediately after, Adam knew his wife she became pregnant again and bore Abel. Abel was a sheep herdsman. Abel and Cain handed their offerings to God. Cain brought his field crops offerings and Abel brought his lambs offerings. The votive offering of Abel was accepted by God, by the votive offerings of Cain was rejected. The carnal Cain got furious by this and pursued the life of his brother, Abel (Turner, 2011). Adam knew his wife Eve, and again became pregnant giving birth to Seth. Adam’s female counterpart, Eve, later got pregnant and bore a female child, Norea. From then henceforth, humanity began multiplying and constantly improving in the number (Deutsch, 2012). The rulers came to a counsel with one another and made a deliberation to obliterate and deluge all the flesh from the man to the beast. The ruler of the forces became aware of the archontes’ evil decisions and knew their plan. He (the ruler of the forces) said to Noah that he should prepare an ark from wood that could not rot. After making the ark, Noah was to take all his children, all the birds of the air and all the beasts hide in the ark and set the ark upon Mount Sir. Then Orea, (one of the female rulers of darkness), came to board the ark, but Noah did not let her in. She then blew upon the ark causing fire to consume the ark (Wilson, Logan & Wedderburn, 2014). Then the rulers went to Norea with an intention of leading her astray. However, Norea knew very well that they were rulers of darkness and cursed them. Norea, having understood the rulers of darkness were pursuing her life, she turned to God and cried out to Him to come and rescue her. An angel of God came down from the heaven to rescue Norea from unrighteous rulers of darkness. The great angel of God told Norea that she together with all her offspring are from the primeval Father God. Therefore, no force from the rulers of darkness can blow out the imperishable power of God bestowed on their souls. The authorities and rulers of darkness Could not approach them or claim their soul because the spirit of the truth is present in them. All those who become acquainted with this spirit of the truth will exist forever and eternally defying all deaths amidst the dying humanity (Deutsch, 2012). The humankind, who acquaints themselves with the truth of the Holy Spirit from the supreme God in heaven are free from all the blind thoughts. All those who devote themselves to the Holy Spirit will be free from all the sufferings and distractions caused by the authorities and rulers of darkness. The rulers and authorities of darkness will completely perish and relinquish their ages. They will cry and weep over their destructions. Then all the children of God (the light) will get acquainted with the Holy Spirit, the truth, their root, and their Father (the father of an entirety). The children of light will in one voice utter that the truth of the Father in heaven is just, and the son of God will be presiding over the entirety. From all the generations to generations and unto all the ages of children of light (God) they shall gain an eternal life (Robinson, Smith, & Coptic Gnostic Library Project, 2013). References Deutsch, N. (2012). Guardians of the Gate: Angelic vice regency in late antiquity. Ann Arbor, Mich: UMI. Givens, T. (2010). When souls had wings: Pre-mortal existence in Western thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Mills, W. E., & Bullard, R. A. (2009). Mercer dictionary of the Bible. Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press. Quispel, G., & Oort, J. (2008). Gnostic, Judaica, Catholica: Collected essays of Gilles Quispel. Leiden: Brill. Robinson, J. M., Smith, R., & Coptic Gnostic Library Project. (2013). The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Schmidt, C., & MacDermot, V. (2008). Pistis Sophia. Leiden: Brill. Turner, J. D. (2011). Sethian Gnosticism and the Platonic Tradition. Québec: Les Presses de lUniversité Laval. Wilkinson, R. J. (2015). Tetragrammaton: From the Beginnings to the Seventeenth Century. Leiden: BRILL. Wilson, R. M. L., Logan, A. H. B., & Wedderburn, A. J. M. (2014). The Old and New Testament and Gnosis: Essays in honor of Robert McL. Wilson. London: T & T Clark International. Wilson, S. G. (2011). Separation and polemic. Waterloo, Ont: Published for the Canadian Corp. for Studies in Religion/Corporation Canadienne des Sciences religieuses by Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Read More