It happened, Jesus having finished saying these words unto his disciples, came forward Maria the Magdalene, she kissed the feet of Jesus, said she, My Lord, bear with me, and be not angry with me, seeking from thee, but have mercy on us, my Lord, and reveal to us every thing which we shall seek after.
Now therefore, my Lord, how hath the First Mystery the twelve mysteries; the Ineffable (only) one mystery is that which it hath?
Answered Jesus said he to her, One 119 (only) mystery however at least is that which [220 ] it hath, but that mystery doeth three mysteries being the one (only) mystery, but different type (is) of each of them.
And also it is wont to do five mysteries, being yet one only, but different (is) the type of each: so that the five mysteries are equal with one another in the mystery of the kingdom in the Inheritances of the Light.
But different (is) the type of each of them, and their kingdom excelleth and is being exalted above the whole kingdom of the twelve mysteries one after (upon, MS ) another of the First Mystery: but they are not equal in the kingdom with the one (first, MS ) mystery of the First Mystery in the kingdom of the Light.
Likewise again the three mysteries are not equal also in the kingdom which (is) in the Light, but different (is) the type of each of them.
And they also again are not equal in the kingdom [220 ] with the one (only) mystery of the First Mystery in the kingdom of the Light.
And different is the type also of each of them three, and the type of the figures of each of them varieth from one to another.
The first indeed if thou shouldest complete its mystery throughout, and stand and complete it well in all its figures, until thou comest out of the body of the present, and become a great overflow of light of effluence, and pass (i.e.
the soul) through every Place of the Rulers with all the Place of the Light, all fearing before the light of that soul, even until it goeth unto the Places of its kingdom.
Also the second mystery of the First Mystery, if thou shouldst complete its mystery well in all its figures, the man therefore who will complete [221 ] its mystery, whenever he should say that mystery over the head of every man who cometh out of the body, and he (should) say it unto his two ears.
If indeed the man who cometh out of the body of matter having received the mystery another time, and is made partaker in unto the word of the truth.
Amen I say unto you, That man whenever he should come out of the body of the matter, his soul will become a great effluence of Light and (will) pass through every Place, even until it go unto the kingdom of that mystery.
But if he, that man did not receive mystery and (was) not made partaker unto the words of the truth, he who completeth that mystery, whenever he should say that mystery over the head of the man who cometh out of the body, this who did not receive mystery of the Light, and [221 ] who communicated not in the word of the truth.
Themes
◆Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
The text explicitly states that one must 'come out of the body of the present' to achieve spiritual completion.
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The passage establishes a fundamental opposition between the 'body of the present' and the 'Light', as well as between those who receive the mystery and those who do not.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage centrally discusses the numerical relationships of mysteries (one, three, five) and their equal yet unequal status within the divine kingdom.
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The text describes the soul becoming a 'great overflow of light' and partaker in the word of the truth.