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The Secret Writing According to John (Apocryphon of John), Codex II, 1 · 2 of 24 · tr. Samuel Zinner

The Savior Appears

Immediately, [as I was musing on these matters], lo, the [heavens were opened, and] the [entire] creation underneath heaven glowed, and [the world] was shaken. [II, 2] [I grew fearful, and lo, I] saw inside the [light a child standing] near me. As I gazed [on it, it became] similar to an old man, and he [altered his] appearance, growing similar to a son. It [was not a diverse entity] in front of me, but there was an [appearance] featuring multiple forms inside the [light], and [the resemblances] made their appearance through each other, [and] [IV, 3] the [appearance] possessed three forms.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The divine being is depicted using human life stages (child, old man, son) as its primary forms.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The vision occurs inside a light that causes the entire creation underneath heaven to glow.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The text states the entity was 'not a diverse entity' despite possessing multiple forms.

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Shapeshifting Transformationtheology

Form-mutability as a constitutional property of divine and preternatural beings — gods, heroes, spirits, and their human practitioners possessing inherent capacity to alter form across human, animal, plant, or elemental states. Loki and Odin's transformations in Norse, Math's pigs and Blodeuwedd's owl-shape and Pwyll's exchange with Arawn in the Mabinogion, the Greek Proteus, the Indian dasavatara, Vainamoinen's bird-flight in the Kalevala, Ovid's metamorphoses, the shamanic and witch's capacity for ritual form-change. Distinct from anthropomorphism (divine taking specific human form, single embodiment) in that anthropomorphism establishes a stable form whereas this concept establishes form's plurality and instability.

The passage explicitly describes the divine figure altering its appearance from a child to an old man to a son.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
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