 |
Gnostic sects and founders
|
TheApocalypse of Adam is aSethianGnosticapocalyptic writing.[1][2] It is the fifthtractate inCodex V of theNag Hammadi library,[2][3] transcribed inCoptic.[4] The date of the original work has been a point of scholarly contention because the writing lacksChristian themes[1] and other explicit allusions.[5] Thus, the Gnostic redeemer in the text may have been pre-Christian and influenced laterNew Testament writings.[5] The text provides an interpretation of theGenesis account of creation, describes the descent of a heavenly illuminator of knowledge, and ends with an apocalypticprophecy.[3]
Adam teaches his sonSeth about his past, saying that he andEve were created by the godSakla out of the earth, but they were once withthe eternal God and like great eternalangels. They were divided by Sakla in wrath, causing the glory in their hearts to leave them, and they lost the first knowledge that breathed in them. They recognized the god who created them and served him in fear and slavery. Adam and Eve are awakened by three persons, who help them remember the eternal being and the seed of the person to whom life has come (Seth). Adam tells Seth that he will reveal to him what he learned from the three.
Aflood destroys all flesh on Earth except for those onNoah's Ark. Sakla gives the Earth toNoah and his sons to rule over in kingly fashion. Some people, sent from the knowledge of great eternal realms and angels, defy Sakla and live in knowledge of incorruptibility. Noah then divides the Earth among his sonsHam,Japheth andShem and warns them to serve Sakla in fear and slavery. The seed of Ham and Japheth forms twelve kingdoms. Sakla again tries to destroy the pure who know of the eternal God.[3] Fire, sulfur, and blinding mist come over the realms, and the inhabitants cannot see. But great clouds of light descend, and Abrasax, Sablo, and Gamaliel come to rescue the people and take them to the eternal realms where they will be like angels.
The illuminator of knowledge saves the pure for the third time, leaving Sakla disturbed and wondering where the higher power comes from. 13 different kingdoms each have their own belief about the origin of the illuminator. Douglas M. Parrott argues that this section was originally an independent work that is influenced by the author'sEgyptian surroundings:[2]
However, the generation without a king believes that God chose him from all the eternal realms.
The text concludes with a prophecy about a group of people who will fight against the power and be covered by a cloud of darkness. The people who do not follow the power and have a knowledge of the truth will be blessed and live forever. The text then criticizes those who have followed the power and defiled the water of life, saying their works are not of the truth. The people who follow the truth will be known up to the great eternal realms, and their words will be called words of incorruptibility and truth. The holybaptism is described as being of the eternal knowledge through those born of the word and the imperishable illuminators, who came from the holy seedYesseus Mazareus Yessedekeus.[6]