The Gospel of Thomas

Secret Sayings   Jackson Snyder

This gospel is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, some of which appear to be very ancient. Many are "harder" sayings, thus perhaps earlier forms of canonical sayings. The first mention of this gospel that we know of was by Hippolytus in about 230. The Gospel of Thomas was known only in fragmentary form until its rediscovery at Nag Hammadi in 1945.  Since, it has raised quite a stir, and not only so in the scholarly community.

I have thrown a spark upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes. The one who is near me is near the fire; the one who is far from me is far from the kingdom. 

Mankind can easily see the likeness of most things, but the spiritual light within is concealed by the brighter light of the Father. The Father's countenance can be seen, but his likeness will remain hidden within his light.

The Father's kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a sack of flour. While she walked on the road yet some distance from home, some of the stitching came unraveled and the flour began to seep out onto the road. She did not realize it. When she reached her home, she found that her sack was empty. 

The Scribes and Pharisees have hidden the keys to spiritual knowledge away. They themselves have not used the keys to enter the home of wisdom, nor have they permitted anyone else to try them.

Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees; you are like dogs sleeping in a manger, neither eating nor allowing the oxen their fill. You who seek knowledge, however, must be as wise as vipers and as naive as doves.

The one who knows his father and mother will be called the son of a harlot.

The one who drinks from my mouth will become like me. I will become him, and secret things will be revealed.

Old people will not hesitate to ask an eight-day-old child about life. Thus, the old will live. Many of the first will become last, then they will become one and the same.

If you recognize what you see, then hidden things will become plain. There is nothing that is now hidden that won't be revealed.

When you see one who was not born of flesh, worship him and do obeisance. That one is the Father.

I will reveal to you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, and what no mind has ever considered. 

If two in a house will make peace with each other, they will be able to say, Mountain, move away! And the mountain will.

Blessed are the steadfast in their election, for they will find the kingdom. You elect are from the kingdom, and will return to it.

Blessed is the one who has found life through suffering. Blessed are you when hated and persecuted. Your accusers will find no resting-place. Blessed are those who esteem themselves as worthless. They have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry; the belly of them that desire food will be filled. Blessed is the one who came into being before he came into being! If you listen to my words and follow me, these stones will minister to you. 

There are five trees in Paradise for you that do not change with the seasons - their leaves never fall. Whoever takes interest in these trees will not die. 

A great power formed Adam from a great wealth, but he is inferior to you. Had he been worthy as you are, he would never have died.

Wretched is the flesh that depends on flesh; wretched is the soul that depends on both. Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul and to the soul that depends on the flesh!

Teachers, preachers, and even angels will offer things to you that you already have. In exchange, you will give them all your gain and say to yourselves, When will they return for more?

The kingdom of the Father is like a man who planned to kill another, more powerful man. He spent time at home rehearsing, by drawing his sword and stabbing it with all his might into the wall. He wondered if he had the strength to carry out his plan.  When the confrontation came, he found he was able to kill, thanks to careful rehearsal.

You will see the heavens and the earth rolled up before your very eyes! Only ones who gain life from the Living One will not die.

Whoever finds himself has power over the world.

Let the seeker seek until he finds. When he finds, he will become perplexed. When he becomes perplexed, he will be amazed at what he has found, and he will rule over all.

Your teachers will tell you that the kingdom is in the sky somewhere. If this were so, the birds will precede you there. They may tell you that the kingdom is in the ocean. If this were so, the fish will precede you there. The truth is that the kingdom is inside you, and it is outside you. When you realize who you are, then you will become known to the living Father, and recognize that you are his sons. But if you will not realize who you are, then you live in poverty and you are impoverished. 

He who recognizes the world finds a corpse, and he who finds a corpse is better than the world. Whoever has sought to understand the ways of the world and has become comfortable in worldly ways has found but a corpse. Whoever recognizes a corpse for what it is is superior to the world.

I will choose you, one of a thousand, two of ten thousand. The chosen will stand as one.

Love your brother as yourself; guard him like the pupil of your eye.

When I became flesh and took my place in the midst of the world, I found no one thirsty; all had drunken freely to intoxication. My soul became tortured for the mankind, because men are all spiritually blind, and have no heart-sight. They came into the world empty, and just as empty they seek to leave. For the time being, they are drunken. When they shake off their wine, then they will repent.

If the body had come into being by spirit, it would truly be a wonder. If spirit had come into being by the body, it would be a wonder of wonders! Indeed, I am amazed at how such a great wealth has made its home in such poverty as this!

Jesus' disciples asked him some questions. Do you want us to fast? In what manner shall we pray? Are we to give to the poor?  Are we to maintain a certain diet? They asked, for Jesus had just commissioned them to go out to the towns and villages. Jesus answered, It is too late for aesthetics. The time has come to act. If you fast now, you will turn to inward iniquity, for you do not trust in my name. If you pray now, you will do yourself spiritual harm, for you prove your lack of faith. When you journey into other lands, eat what those who receive you set before you, and heal the sick among your hosts. What goes into your mouth cannot make you unclean; that which comes out may.  If they ask you where you came from, tell them from the Light, and from the place where the Light established itself and became manifest in our images. If then they ask you, Are you the Light? Tell them, We are children of the Light, the elect of the living Father. Furthermore, if they ask you, By what sign do we recognize the Father in you? Say, It is eternal work, yet continuous rest.

Jesus said, Compare me with someone - tell me whom I am like.  Peter said, You are like a righteous angel. Matthew said, You are like a wise philosopher. Thomas said, Master, my mouth is entirely incapable of saying whom you are like. Jesus then said, I am not your master, Thomas. You have become intoxicated from drinking of the bubbling spring that I have measured out. Jesus then took Thomas aside and told him three things. Later, the other disciples asked him what Jesus had said to him. Thomas told them, If I tell you the things he told me, you will pick up rocks to stone me; and if you do, fire will come out of the rocks and consume you.

The disciples said, Twenty-four prophets prophesied in Israel, and all prophesied in you. Jesus said, You have spoken only of the dead and have thus omitted the one living in your presence.

The disciples said to Jesus, Tell us how we will end. Jesus said, Have you discovered your beginning that you look for your end? Where The Beginning is, there also is The End. Blessed is the one who will take his place in The Beginning; he will know his end and not experience death.

The disciples asked, When will the dead rest, and the new world come? Jesus told them, What you ask about has already happened, but you do not recognize it. His disciples then asked him if circumcision was of any benefit. He said, If it were, their father would beget them so, and so they would leave their mother's womb. Only the circumcision of the heart is completely beneficial.

The disciples asked, When will the kingdom come? Jesus answered, It is not a matter of waiting on it, or being able to say specifically that it is here or there. Rather, the kingdom spreads out over the whole earth, but nobody sees it. 

The disciples said, Since we need to seek for your place, show us where you are. Jesus said, There is light within a man of light, lighting the entire world. If the man doesn't shine, he is darkness. Follow the light.

The disciples asked Jesus, Who will lead us, since we know that you will leave us? Jesus replied, From wherever you happen to be, go to James the Just. It is for his sake that heaven and earth came into being.

Some said to Jesus, Come on. Today we will fast and pray. Jesus said, Have I committed a sin, or have I been defeated? When the bridegroom leaves the bridal suite, then you can fast and pray.

Mary asked of Jesus, Whom are your disciples like? Jesus replied, They are much like children who went to live in a house belonging to someone else. When the owners heard about it, they went to the children and demanded that they leave. The children left, abandoning even their clothing, their only possessions, so that the owners might feel fully recompensed. Therefore, if the owner of a house is told that intruders are coming in, he will be prepared not to allow them to break in to live, use his facilities, and make off with his goods.

Listen, all of you, now. Be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves to use all your might and ability against thieves, in case they decide to make you a target. Any thief that is unaware that he is expected will surely come. Whatever you fear will surely happen. If a man knows where the intruder will enter, he is fortunate, for he can get himself prepared!

Listen to a man of understanding! The moment the grain is found to be ripe, a thief comes prepared to reap all he can get! If you have ears, hear.

They showed Jesus a gold coin. Caesar's men demand that we pay taxes, they said. Jesus told them, Give Caesar what is his; give God what belongs to God; and give me what is mine!

There was a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. Jesus asked his disciples, Why is that man round about the lamb? They said, So that he can kill and eat it. Jesus said, He will not eat it alive; he will eat it when he has made it a corpse by slaughtering it. They said, He could not do it any other way! Jesus said, You, too, find your resting-place, for fear you will be made a corpse and be eaten.

A man came for Jesus' help. Tell my brothers give me my share of father's possessions, he said. Jesus replied, Man, who has made me a divider? He then turned to his disciples: I am not a divider, am I?

Become passers-by. 

The Odes of Shalomé (The Odes of Solomon)

Shalomé of the Cross was the daughter of Mary and sister of Yahshua of Nazareth. She is mentioned several times in the New Testament Scriptures as a witness to the crucifixion. The Egyptian Scriptures portray her as a person much more important than a mere onlooker. In them, she is a fervent disciple who harbors and nurtures her brother as she learns the Way of the True Worshipper. To this same Shalomé tradition has attributed forty-one songs composed in the Aramaic language of the holy family. Her spiritual insight has much in common with that of the Beloved Disciple and the Teacher of Righteousness. Yet Shalomé has more to offer than a religious comparison of darkness and light. Her songs comprise a young woman’s unique and often mystical vision of the ‘divine feminine,’ love both mundane and ethereal, and hope that reaches far beyond the boundaries of earth and sky.

The Authentic Peter: The Preaching of Simeon Kefa from the Journal of T. Flavius Clemens (Clement)

THE AUTHENTIC PETER: Ever wonder why Simon Peter only got a couple short letters in our Scriptures? Wouldn’t someone have recorded Peter’s AUTHENTIC acts and preaching? Of course his preaching was recorded! By Clement, an affluent Gentile convert, at the command of James the Just. So why would the Church Fathers bury the preaching of their first pope since Clement was their second pope? Because Peter's teachings are HEBRAIC. This volume is one-of-a-kind, containing teachings on many subjects, including deliverance, healing, true worship, and lost doctrines. We dispensed with churchy language in restored the original Hebraic names and titles of people, places and concepts - and a full GLOSSARY.