Editing Gnostic Text/The Secret Book of John (section)

==The Creation of the World==

The first ruler (archon) – for so Yaldabaoth was – had inherited immense power from his mother. He slunk away from her and the place of his birth until he found somewhere new. He took control of that place. Using fire, he created new realms within it, realms which still exist to this day. He became infatuated with the foolishness within himself, and from this he engendered other rulers ([[Archons|archons]]) to help him:

# The first is named Athoth, whom the nations call the reaper;
# The second is Harmas, who is the evil eye;
# The third is Kalila-Oumbri;
# The fourth is Yabel;
# The fifth is Adonaios, who is also called “Sabaoth;”
# The sixth is Cain, whom the nations call the “sun;”
# The seventh is Abel;
# The eighth is Abrisene;
# The ninth is Yobel;
# The tenth is Armoupieel;
# The eleventh is Melcheir-Adonein;
# And the twelfth is Belias, who reigns over the depths of the underworld.

Yaldabaoth placed a ruler in each of the seven spheres of heaven, and he placed five in the depths of the abyss. He shared some of his fire with them, but because of his darkness and ignorance, he withheld the power of the light that he had gotten from his mother. For when light mingled with darkness, the darkness shone brightly, but when darkness mingled with light it darkened the light, so that it was neither dark nor bright, but dim.

Now this dim ruler has three names:

# The first name is Yaldabaoth,
# The second is Saklas,
# And the third is Samael.

The first ruler is evil because of the madness inside him. He said, “I am God, and there are no other gods besides me,” for he was not aware of the source of his power.

Each of the rulers made seven powers for themselves, and each of the powers made six angels for themselves, until there were 365 angels. These are the names and appearances of the seven who preside over the seven days of the week:

# The first is Athoth, who has the face of a sheep;
# The second is Eloaios, who has the face of a donkey;
# The third is Astaphaios, who has the face of a hyena;
# The fourth is Yao, who has seven snake heads;
# The fifth is Sabaoth, who has the face of a dragon;
# The sixth is Adonin, who has the face of an ape;
# And the seventh is Sabbataios, who has the face of a burning fire.

As for Yaldabaoth, he has many faces, all of these and more. He could show whichever one he wanted to his angels when he was among them. He shared his fire with them, and through that fire he dominated them, because the radiant power of his mother’s glory was within it. He called himself “God” because of this power; he did not believe in the source of that power, the one who had given it to him.

Yaldabaoth mixed with the rulers who were with him. Through his thought and his speech, the seven powers were brought forth. He gave them these names, beginning with the highest:

# The first is Goodness, and with it the first power, Athoth;
# The second is Forethought, and with it the second power, Eloaios;
# The third is Divinity, and with it the third power, Astaphaios;
# The fourth is Lordship, and with it the fourth power, Yao;
# The fifth is Kingship, and with it the fifth power, Sabaoth;
# The sixth is Zeal, and with it the sixth power, Adonin;
# And the seventh is Understanding, and with it the seventh power, Sabbataios.

Each of these has a realm in its own heavenly sphere. The names given to them by their creator made them powerful, but they were also given names after the glory of the Fullness, which rendered them powerless in the face of their own destruction. That is why they have two names.

The first ruler created the universe according to the model of the original realms, so that everything he made might be incorruptible. For even though he had never seen the original, incorruptible realms, he had their model within him from the power he had received from his mother.

When Yaldabaoth looked out upon the world he had made and the hosts of angels that he had brought forth, he proclaimed, “I am a jealous God and there is no other god but me.” But by declaring this, he made it known to his angels that there was indeed another god besides him. For if he were truly the only god, of whom could he be jealous?