Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 11 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next

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Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Funk's Parallels
GThom 111:1, Ps 102:25-
27, Isa 34:4, Luke 16:16-
17, Luke 21:32-33, Matt
5:18, Matt 24:34-35,
Mark 13:30-31, DialSav
56-57, Hippolytus
Refutatio 5.8.32, Heb
1:10-12, Rev 6:12-14.

BLATZ LAYTON DORESSE

(11) Jesus said: This heaven
will pass away, and the one
above it will pass away; and
those who are dead are not
alive, and those who are
living will not die. In the
days when you ate of what
is dead, you made of it what
is living. When you come to
be light, what will you do?
On the day when you were
one, you became two. But
when you have become two,
what will you do?
(11) Jesus said, "This
heaven will pass away, and
the one above it will pass
away. And the dead
(elements) are not alive, and
the living (elements) will
not die. In the days when
you (plur.) used to ingest
dead (elements), you made
them alive. When you are in
the light, what will you do?
On the day that you were
one, you made two. And
when you are two, what will
you do?"
11 [11]. Jesus says: "This
heaven will pass away, and
the hevaen which is above it
will pass: but those who are
dead will not live, and those
who live will not die!" 12
[11]. "Today you eat dead
things and make them into
something living: <but>
when you will be in Light,
what will you do then? For
then you will become two
instead of one; and when
you become two, what will
you do then?"

Visitor Comments Scholarly Quotes

All of reality as you believe
it to be is illusion and will
pass. Even the illuison of
birth and death will be
realized as such. You pass
through periods of
incarnation. Then you return
to the spirit world of light.
God (One) chose to become
(create) two and thus the ten
thousand things of illusion.
We are all on a mission of
understanding and exploring
of the nature of the 10,000
Jean Doresse writes: "The first part of this paragraph is quoted and commented on by
the Philosophumena (V, 8, 31). According to this work, the Naassenes explained it as
follows: 'If you have eaten dead things and made them living things, what then will
you do when you eat living things? These living things are rational beings,
intelligences, men - pearls which the great Being without form has cast into the work
of here below!'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 371)
Marvin Meyer writes: "The two heavens will pass away. Presumably the third heaven
(the realm of God; compare 2 Corinthians 12:2-4) will not. On the heavens passing
away, compare Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; Matthew 5:18 (Q); Luke
16:17 (Q)." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 73)
F. F. Bruce writes: "The first part of the saying reminds us of Matthew 24.35 (cf.
Matthew 5.18; Luke 16.17): 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not
pass away' - but it is not a close parallel. As for eating dead things, this probably
means that when the flesh of dead animals is eaten by human beings it becomes part
things in order to return to
the One. Part of the
understanding to be achieved
is to realize that the One has
never ceased to be the One.
- active-mystic
The marvel of this moment
will pass into history and die,
as will the contemplator of
the marvel of this moment.
What the intellect creates is
dead, and what lives cannot
die. During the days that you
ate what is dead you made it
come alive. When truth is
manifest, what will you do?
On the day of enlightenment
you become an enlightened
person. But one cannot be
two.
- Simon Magus
1. This appears to be advice
as to how, once enlightened,
to remain so. It is not easy to
still the intellect. It requires
determination to do so. Once
stilled, the intellect returns
and we are again confused as
our apprehension of truth is
impaired and unity vanishes.
It takes practice to bring the
intellect to heel.
- Simon Magus
2. Note that there appears to
be a literary flaw in the
above interpretation because
of the disconnect between
"Sentence A", which is
"During the days that you ate
what is dead, you made it
come alive" and "Sentence
B", which is "When truth is
manifest, what will you do?"
Note that the most obvious
interpretation of "A" is the
sacrament of communion.
But this is a real-world event
of a living body (cf. Saying 7). [A similar Naassene saying is quoted by Hippolytus,
Refutation v.8.32.] The eating of flesh was probably discouraged, as making it more
difficult to attain the light of immortality; the views of a vegetarian Syrian sect called
the Encratites may have influenced the tradition in this and some other regards. The
words about being one and becoming two refer to the dividing of man into male and
female (cf. Saying 4). If sex was to be transcended in the life to come, it was felt best
that it should play no part in the present life (this may be a further Encratite trait)."
(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 117)
Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The third part of the saying
describes the condition of the Gnostic believer. Those who were formerly divided
have been united; they have worked together (Saying 59); they are at peace (49); they
have become one (103). Unfortunately, it looks as if becoming 'two' were regarded as
the believer's goal. Perhaps it would be best to hold that the present unity of the
believers represents their goal, and - in spite of the parallelism of the saying - that the
becoming 'two' is something they should avoid. Jesus is not a divider (Saying 72),
except in the sense that he divides families into Gnostics and non-Gnostics (Saying
16)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 130)
Stevan Davies writes: "Those who achieve the excellence Thomas commends are
people who live from the living one immortally (sayings 11, 111), while those who
do not do so live from the dead and will die (sayings 7, 11, 60, 87)."
(http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)
Funk and Hoover write: "A number of themes in this complex led the Fellows to
conclude that these sayings derive from a form of Christianity exhibiting mild
gnostic tendencies. This appears to be the form of Christianity Thomas espoused. The
speculative cosmology in 11:1 has parallels in other gnostic texts. The obscure
statements regarding life and death in 11:2-3a seem typical of Thomas (Thom 4:1;
58; 101:3; 7; 60), as does the theme of light (11:3b; compare with 24:3; 50:1; 61:5;
83:1-2). 11:4 may refer to a common gnostic idea that humanity has fallen from an
original, perfect state of undifferentiated unity (22:4-7). All these considerations
suggest that the Thomas tradition is the origin of this complex rather than Jesus."
(The Five Gospels, p. 479)
which is accessible to
historians. This is
inconsistent with the
spirituality of the rest of the
interpretation. But there is a
way out of all difficulties.
We can read "A" and "B"
together as what I'll call "C":
During the days when you
were traditional Christians,
before you knew that this is
my gospel, you knew in your
heart that there was a deeper
spiritual meaning to what
you were doing in the
sacrament of communion. I,
Jesus, now give you that
meaning, for which you are
now prepared. All truth is
now made manifest. A
spiritual interpretation of "C"
(but applied to the future) is:
Henceforth you will
understand the meaning of
the dead sayings in the
Gospel of Thomas, as they
come alive to you. In brief,
Jesus is recommending to
traditional Christians that
they henceforth celebrate
true communion by studying
and trying to understand his
gospel.
- Simon Magus
3. Note finally that the
interpretation of "C" above
again raises the question of
how Jesus could have spoken
of the Gospel of Thomas. It
is clear, I think, that he is
"requiring" Christians to
believe that he wrote the
Gospel of Thomas, not by
shaking the finger of
authority at them, but by
making it impossible for
them, or for anybody else
who studies the matter, to
believe that he didn't write it!
Absolutely mind-boggling!
Move over, Nicene Creed.
The Master has arrived!
- Simon Magus
On the Path one's world view
is continually replaced by
new ones. When, as a child
one learns the dead ways of
one's parents, one makes the
"dead" alive. When faced
with the knowledge of one's
innate self, what will one do?
As an infant one is one but
becomes divided against
onesself in trying to please
ones parents. As a grownup
divided against onesself,
what will you do?
- Rodney
There are seven nafs. The
two lowest [the commanding
nafs] will pass away. If the
student has overcome them
instead of being ruled by
them, he will "live" ---
otherwise he dies. BTW, this
technical process is the
source of the twisted
reincarnation notion. You are
indeed "reborn" before you
[physically] die
- Thief37
This is the Edenic Arcane.
Death is the Fruit of the Tree
of Life. Eating this fruit is
eating what is dead. This is
how we brought death to life,
and life to death. Those who
do not eat this fruit either
stay dead (ignorantly happy)
or stay alive (knowingly
happy). When we were one
(Adam) we become two
(Adam & Eve), and now we
must understand that we
must become one before this
Heaven (physical body,
because Heaven is within),
and the one above it (Soul)
die (in the Second Death).
- Arrogant
This gospel talks about you
becoming two, I believe this
is when your body and soul
separate and then you are
one and your body dies then
you go to another heaven
where you no longer need to
eat what is dead anymore.
- Meg
The enlightened cannot die
as they know they are the
universe and the universe is
one (god). The cycle of life,
organic life being eating to
fuel organic life, life being
one, with the universe which
too is alive (god). Coming to
the light what will "you" do,
you being the false ego;
when the enlightened comes
into being, where does "you"
go (the imaginary you)?
"You" can neither go to the
light nor escape death. When
you were one, the coming
into human form, birth,
whole and integral but then
conditioned in society to and
the ego develops (my
thoughts, my memories, my
desires and wants, seperation
from the whole) what will
you do when you are two?
The confusion and conflict
of a divided human, the
efforts of "you" (ego) being
futile to attain wholeness,
will being the enemy of
enlightment.
- spacebaby
On the day you were one you
became two. This reminds
me of how pure in spirit a
newborn child is (we are
one); then, once we are
taught the worldly ways (eat
of the dead), we become
divided in our obligations to
our spiritual life and our
material life (we are two).
We have to then turn (or
abandon) our "dead" ways
back into living for purely
for our spirit.
- scott
11

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