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Jesus is the Greek name of the Master that has become popular on account of orthodox traditions of Christianity. Among Jewish and Gnostic Christians, the name Yeshua is commonly used, which is Aramaic and is derived from the Hebrew name Joshua. Aramaic is the language the teacher and his disciples actually spoke. This is the name the disciples used for the teacher, and it is the name by which he would have referred to himself. By using this name, we draw ourselves closer to the divine presence and power manifest in the first circle and, specifically, we draw ourselves closer to the Anointed (Messiah).

In the Gospels that appear in the Bible and the letters written by apostles, we are told that there is power in the name of Yeshua and that in speaking this name this power flows through us. In the name of Yeshua, dark spirits are said to be banished, illness and dis-ease are healed, all manner of wonders occurs, and people experience the power of God. The questions arise, “What is the meaning of the name Yeshua, and what is the power of the name?” A study of the name Yeshua from Hebrew and Aramaic provides an answer to this question. In Hebrew, the name is very specific and, in fact, contains secret knowledge (gnosis).

Essentially, Yeshua () is the primary name for the divine in the Old Testament, which is Yahweh (), with the addition of the Hebrew letter Shin (). In the Kabbalah Yahweh is called the Great Name of God, and in the Judaic tradition is considered so holy that it is not spoken out loud. Even when the temple stood in Jerusalem, this holy name was not spoken except by the high priest once a year in the holy of holies. Mystics would use this name to enter into prophetic states of consciousness under certain conditions, and in private, but it was never spoken by ordinary individuals. It is this divine name that is addressed by the third commandment, in which it is written, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord (Yahweh) your God . . .”9

Yeshua literally means “Yahweh delivers.” Referring to Yahweh as a “name” is actually deceptive. In the first place, it is more akin to a designation than a proper name. In the second place, it is not actually a noun, but a verb. Yahweh literally means, “That which was, is and forever shall be.” This may be taken to indicate divine being; yet it also connotes something like the “force,” or life-power, and the idea of a continuum, a term played upon heavily by Christian Gnostics. The word Yahweh connotes the Spirit of truth or the truth of life. In terms of force and continuum, it alludes to a force in the unmanifest state as well as a force in manifestation—hence the force unmoved and the force set in motion. One cannot help but think of the outpouring of light and energy from the sun and stars when contemplating this holy name of God. The use of Yahweh as a “name” suggests that this force is also intelligence. Hence, it indicates a consciousness-force or energy-intelligence.

The name Yeshua therefore implies that knowledge of this consciousness-force liberates the soul, or as it is frequently put, “The truth will set you free.” The Hebrew letter that is added to the name Yahweh to produce the name Yeshua, the letter Shin, is significant. It is the Hebrew letter most commonly associated with the Holy Spirit or Holy Shekinah, which is the divine presence and power of God within and beyond creation. Appearing in the name of Yeshua, it implies an embodiment of the divine presence and power and, specifically, an awakening of the consciousness-force within an individual. Thus, “knowledge (gnosis) of the truth” comes by way of the embodiment of the Spirit of truth, which is a state of self-realization.

Basically, the name of the teacher actually means a state of divine illumination—enlightenment—that liberates the soul. This is the power in the name of Yeshua, the power of the soul that is consciously united with the One life-power (God). In the teachings of Gnostic Christianity, the name Yeshua is the truth of any realized or enlightened individual and is not isolate to the great Teacher who has come to be known by this name. The closer we are to this truth and light—this enlightenment—the more powerful the name of Yeshua is when we speak it.

Throughout the remainder of this book we will use this version of the Master’s name to remind us of this most essential truth within us, which is the “secret” knowledge at the heart of Christian Gnosticism. Every time this blessed name appears, remember that there is power in this name because the life-power (God’s presence and power) is in you!

Gnosis: Secret Knowledge

Through our brief contemplation of the name Yeshua and the name Yahweh, we have come into contact with “esoteric knowledge” or gnosis, which would be called “outer knowledge” among Gnostics. If a person were to meditate upon the teachings given, look deeper into the names of Yeshua and Yahweh, and have a direct and personal spiritual experience of the mystery symbolized by these names, he or she would acquire what Gnostics call inner knowledge. Outer knowledge and inner knowledge among Gnostics is esoteric in the sense that it is not common knowledge among the masses of humanity, and only a relative few are in possession of it. In our example, few know the true meaning of the name Yeshua and the name Yahweh from which it is derived. Secret knowledge among Gnostics would mean something more—it would not only be a deeper insight into the mystery of the names, but also would be a direct and personal experience of the divine illumination or enlightenment they symbolize. It is through inner and secret knowledge as defined by Gnosticism that a truth-seeker actually becomes a Gnostic—one who knows the Spirit of truth.

The willingness to seek direct and personal experience of the truth and light is the foundation of all mystical traditions and is at the very heart of Gnosticism. Essentially, a mystic is born from the recognition that he or she is an outsider to the experience of enlightenment or God and the realization that it is possible to have direct and personal experience of divine being in whatever form it might be conceived. Thus, the mystical aspirant seeks out direct spiritual experience of truth, and as the truth and light unfolds in his or her own experience, the mystic becomes an insider. If we look closely into the Gospels that appear in the Bible, as well as into the sacred Scriptures of the Nag Hammadi library, we will find that Yeshua himself spoke of “outsiders” and “insiders,” and we will find hints at different levels of teachings—outer, inner, and secret.

There is a striking passage in the Gospel of St. Mark that directly speaks of the idea of outsiders and insiders:

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything occurs in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”10

Here Yeshua clearly speaks of insiders and outsiders, those to whom the “secret of the kingdom of God” is given, and those from whom the secret knowledge is hidden. We find a very similar passage in the Gospel of St. Matthew also:

Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’”11

In this passage Yeshua also speaks of outsiders and insiders, and he indicates the distinction between the insider and outsider. The insider is a person who already has some degree of gnosis or direct spiritual experience of the truth and light, while the outsider lacks any real gnosis or spiritual experience of the truth. It also implies that the insider is chosen or elect, in the sense that he or she has a certain degree of spiritual maturity and soul-evolution which others do not have.

The Gospel of St. Mark, perhaps more than any other, makes it clear that the status of an insider is based on spiritual experience that gives inner or secret knowledge. Frequently throughout the Gospel, when healing has been performed or a mystery is revealed, Yeshua imposes a solemn charge of silence and secrecy on his disciples, those who have been healed, and even upon demons he casts out. Because of this, the Gospel of St. Mark is often called the Gospel of “secret epiphanies” and is said to bear a strong Gnostic quality, because an inner and secret knowledge is continually being implied.

The idea of esoteric knowledge was not isolated to Yeshua and his circle, however, but was common in the rabbinical Judaic tradition of the time. Jewish rabbis were empowered to openly speak teachings on the Scriptures, but certain “secret teachings” were forbidden to be spoken in public. Esoteric teachings on Genesis, the mysteries of creation, Ezekiel’s vision of the merkavah,12 and mysteries of prophecy were not allowed to be communicated except under special conditions and in private. In the Mishnah Hagigah13 it is written, “It is forbidden to discourse . . . on the Creation of the World in the presence of two, and on the Merkavah in the presence of one, unless he is wise and able to understand of himself.”

According to masters of Christian Gnosticism, these mystical teachings on creation and merkavah are the “secrets of the kingdom of God” that Yeshua entrusted to the “insiders” who were his disciples, but in the context of the supreme mysteries of the Messiah—the One anointed with the supernal light of God. We get a hint of this from the writings of St. Paul. The basis of merkavah mysticism is teachings on the attainment of prophetic consciousness and heavenly visions. St. Paul writes of such an experience in 2 Corinthians: “I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven14 —whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows—was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.”15

Elsewhere St. Paul writes: “Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”16

Through passages like these we see that not only Yeshua but later the apostles also make a distinction between the outsider and insider, the profane17 and the initiate, and that outer, inner, and secret teachings existed. Thanks to St. Paul’s brief comment regarding his own merkavah experience, we even have a hint as to the nature of the inner and secret teachings, at least in part. In teachings on the merkavah, seven heavens are mentioned, and St. Paul speaks of his experience of the third heaven, noting that experiences of higher states of consciousness are possible, which alludes to various gradations of consciousness and gnosis even among insiders or initiates. Thus, while there are outsiders and insiders—the profane and initiates—among initiates there are various grades corresponding to outer, inner, and secret levels of esoteric teachings. This is reflected in the canonized Gospels, for example, in the Transfiguration, when Yeshua only took a couple of his disciples up the mountain to experience the revelation of the light-presence, or when Yeshua first appears to St. Mary Magdalene alone as the Risen Christ.

In the Gospel of St. Thomas from the Nag Hammadi, which itself claims to represent “secret sayings” of the teacher, we find an excellent example:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me to someone and tell me who I am like.” Simon Peter said to him, “You are like a righteous angel.” Matthew said to him, “You are like a wise philosopher.” Thomas said to him, “Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying who you are like.” Jesus said, “I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out.” And he took him and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, “What did Jesus say to you?” Thomas said to them, “If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.”18

Here, Thomas is clearly given secret teachings in private by Yeshua that other disciples were not privy to, and it is directly said that Thomas was not allowed to repeat these special teachings even to others among Yeshua’s disciples. Thus, while all disciples received inner teachings that were not given to outsiders, there was also a distinction made between outer, inner, and secret teachings within the circle of disciples itself, so that there were inner and secret teachings which were only given to a select few among the disciples of Yeshua. The way in which Thomas was chosen suggests that he had a more direct experience of the Christos and a greater spiritual maturity, and it was on account of this that he was selected. Essentially, the connotation is that Thomas was nearer to the indwelling Christ in himself and therefore would be able to hear and understand deeper levels of the teachings. Always, it is a question of what a given person will be able to look and see for him- or herself, and what a person can hear and understand in the context of his or her own experience.

You will recall in the last chapter, in our description of original Christianity, that in the first three hundred years of the Yeshua movement there were many and diverse views and teachings of what Yeshua said and did. When we examine the Scriptures and source works closely, we find that this was true in the circle of Yeshua’s immediate disciples, as well. Yeshua taught and initiated each disciple according to his or her own capacity, and what he taught any given disciple was based upon the degree to which he or she was able to enter into the experience of Christ consciousness and the Spirit of truth. Thus, there was a diversity of teachings—outer, inner, and secret—among the original disciples of Yeshua, and to some of his disciples he imparted special teachings of esoteric wisdom. Christian Gnosticism is essentially founded upon these inner and secret teachings—hence the gnosis Master Yeshua imparted to his closest disciples.

The Living Yeshua

The Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas begins with the statement: “These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Thomas Judas wrote down.” The Gospel then continues, “And he said, ‘Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death.’”19 The name Living Yeshua is common among Christian Gnostics and Gnostic writings and is always used to denote the Risen Savior or Risen Christ. A study of the various Gnostic Scriptures in the Nag Hammadi will reveal that typically speaking, the claim of Gnostic Holy Books is that their origin is the Living Yeshua or Risen Christ, which implies that the teachings received come from an intuitive or visionary experience—hence a direct and personal experience of the Christos.

The first saying of the Gospel of St. Thomas, in which it is written that Yeshua promises that anyone who understands the sayings of the Gospel “will not experience death,” alludes to the reception of these sayings as an integral unit of wisdom teachings. Thus, the Living Yeshua speaks of the sayings to follow at the outset, as though beginning a dictation. Because the name Living Yeshua is used, it implies that the sayings come from an intuitive or visionary experience of the Risen Christ.

Previously, we indicated that the Yeshua movement was an oral tradition in the early years, and that it was some time before anything was written down. What is written, in part, represents something of the oral tradition. Yet, it is something more than merely oral tradition, for Scripture is said to be “inspired,” whether by the Holy Spirit or the Risen Christ. Essentially, all Scripture comes from the author’s spiritual or mystical experience of the Holy Spirit and Christos, which naturally combines whatever oral teachings the author received with intuitive or visionary experience. The oral tradition itself represents a weave of the teachings Yeshua gave during his life and ministry, along with teachings received from the Living Yeshua or Risen Christ on a psychic and spiritual level.

According to Scriptures, including those accepted by orthodoxy, not only were teachings received from the Living Yeshua or Risen Christ; spiritual initiations were also received. An outstanding example occurs in the Gospel of St. John, which tells the story of the Living Yeshua appearing to the disciples in a locked room and transmitting the Holy Spirit to them.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”20

To enter a locked room, Yeshua either walked through the wall or spontaneously appeared within the room. In either case, the body of the Master was not material in the typical sense, but was spiritual. Thus, the nature of this experience was visionary. This is true of all experiences of the Risen Christ recorded in the canonized Gospels. While, indeed, there are deep metaphysical mysteries and esoteric teachings that can be said of such manifestations of Lord Yeshua as the Risen One, the fundamental truth of these experiences is that they were spiritual or mystical in nature and represent an intuitive or visionary perception.

There is another excellent example given within the orthodox Bible in the Book of Acts where the conversion of Saul into St. Paul is recorded:

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him were speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.21

This story continues telling of Paul’s blindness and the disciple of Christ in the city who heals him, who also has an intuitive or visionary experience of the Living Yeshua instructing him to do so. This experience represents an initiation through which St. Paul ultimately becomes an apostle. St. Paul refers to himself as the “least of the apostles,” but nevertheless he becomes an apostle in this way. In Gnostic teachings, generally, he is spoken of far less than other, more significant figures.

What is ironic, however, is that orthodoxy, which claims true apostles are only those who knew Yeshua when he lived, places Paul on such a pedestal. (So much so that orthodoxy might well be called “Paulianity” instead of Christianity.) The only real significance of St. Paul to Gnostic Christians is that his story reveals that true apostolic succession is founded upon the experience of the Living Yeshua or Risen Christ, and not upon knowledge of the man “Jesus,” however holy and “of God” he might be.

Orthodox Christianity puts stress upon the physical death and resurrection of Yeshua, and teaches that apostles are only people who knew Yeshua personally, or who received some sort of blessing in a line of succession of those who knew him personally, such as the “Pope” who is claimed to represent the line of St. Peter. Gnostic Christianity, however, proposes that the apostolic succession is founded upon a spiritual experience of the Living Yeshua—hence Gnosis of Yeshua Messiah and embodiment of Messianic consciousness. Rather than a literal and physical resurrection, first and foremost Gnosticism teaches a spiritual resurrection through Gnosis of the Living Yeshua. Curiously enough, even canonized Scripture supports this view, all directly Gnostic Scriptures aside, as we see in the case of St. Paul.

What this means, basically, is that Christian Gnostics rely upon a direct and personal experience of the Living Yeshua as the foundation of their belief and practice. The very nature of the Living Yeshua is not an experience isolated to the past. It is an ongoing experience in the present, which means anyone who is open, sensitive, and desirous of experiencing the Living Yeshua can have a direct and personal experience. As we have seen in our brief study of the name Yeshua, the nature of this experience is something inward—hence the experience of the Christos within us—the indwelling Christ.

While, indeed, Christian Gnosticism represents a tradition of inner and secret teachings, or esoteric wisdom that Yeshua gave to his closest disciples, it also represents Gnosis of the Living Yeshua, which is to say direct spiritual experience of the Christos and secret teachings and initiation imparted by the Risen Christ. Thus, Gnostic tradition is alive, for tradition and gnosis continually interact, and as each generation of initiates acquires gnosis, the tradition grows and evolves.

Gnosis and Tradition

The word “tradition” has come to mean something fixed and unchanging in our modern use of it, so that, in speaking of tradition, many often think of a fixed doctrine and creed—hence, religious dogmas. In Gnostic Christianity, however, the term “tradition” does not imply anything static or fixed at all. Rather, it implies a living transmission of wisdom or enlightenment. Essentially, a Gnostic tradition represents a body of spiritual teachings and practices through which initiates of previous generations have been able to enter into direct and personal experience of the Living Yeshua and thus acquire gnosis. The teachings and practices are methods through which others have recognized and realized the Christos within themselves and thus attained a state of self-realization of one degree or another. “Tradition” therefore represents the collective knowledge, understanding and wisdom of those who have entertained the mystical journey to Christ consciousness before us.

In the tradition, an elder (adept) or tau (master) is an initiate who has acquired Gnosis of the Living Yeshua and who embodies something of Christ consciousness. Thus, an elder or tau represents a living presence of enlightenment, as do all Gnostic initiates to the degree that each encounters the Living Yeshua and embodies something of a higher consciousness. Essentially, a Gnostic tradition represents a living lineage of adepts and masters who teach and initiate others, just as Lord Yeshua and Lady Mary taught and initiated disciples in the first circle.

Obviously, as this living transmission of wisdom or enlightenment passes from one generation of initiates to another, it grows, evolves, and tends to assume whatever form is necessary to the time and place in which it appears. Thus, the Gnostic circles that arise, even within the same tradition, can be quite different. While they may share the same mystical and symbolic language and have the same basic foundation of esoteric teachings, there will always be teachings and practices unique to each Gnostic circle. This is especially true because in Gnosticism the spiritual experience of each individual is highly valued. Thus the form any given Gnostic circle assumes is based upon the enlightenment experience embodied in the elder or tau of the circle and the enlightenment experience as it unfolds in her or his spiritual companions. A Gnostic tradition tends to constantly change or transform and represents something vibrant and alive.

Consequently, it can be somewhat difficult to speak to outsiders of a Gnostic tradition. Firstly, because no single individual could possibly represent the whole of the tradition, however enlightened she or he might be, and what is actually meant by a tradition is far too vast to be spoken, let alone written. Secondly, because the tradition is actually an experience of living gnosis or enlightenment, and outside of the experience itself, whatever might be said is but a dim reflection—something conceptual rather than experiential. Gnosticism is experiential, not a fixed set of dogmas and creeds to be conceptually learned. Therefore, to truly understand a tradition of Gnostic Christianity, one must seek to become an insider, which is to say one must go to school and acquire Gnosis of the Living Yeshua—hence seek direct and personal experience of the truth and light.

This typically means that one must encounter a Gnostic teacher and participate in a Gnostic circle (community) through which one receives secret teachings and instructions in spiritual practice, along with corresponding spiritual initiations. However, as we see in the case of St. Paul, the light-transmission22 is not confined to a physical teacher or physical circle, but may in some cases occur independently of an incarnate teacher and circle. As we also see in the case of St. Paul, though, he was sent to an initiate following his experience of the Living Yeshua. It is very rare that contact with a living lineage is unnecessary in the process of self-realization. Because of this, most authentic Gnostic traditions place emphasis on an actual contact with a living lineage of the light-transmission and the receiving of a spiritual education.

Acquiring Gnosis

Acquiring gnosis usually involves a spiritual friendship with a Gnostic elder or tau and receiving esoteric teachings and initiation within a Gnostic community; in Gnostic traditions, the teacher and community are a vehicle of the light-transmission. However, the purpose of a Gnostic teacher and circle are to support one’s own continuum of spiritual practice and spiritual living, through which one is able to experience the Living Yeshua and recognize and realize the light-presence (Christos) within oneself. Thus, the acquisition of gnosis and progressive self-realization ultimately comes through consistent spiritual self-discipline, practice, and the integration of one’s spirituality to daily living.

Anyone who is willing to engage in actual spiritual practice and spiritual living can enter into the experience of the Living Yeshua and consciously evolve him- or herself towards Christ consciousness. This is the most basic message of Gnostic Christianity. The primary intention of this book is not only to share Gnostic perspectives on Christian mysteries, but to encourage and empower the reader in basic and practical applications of Christian Gnosticism—hence to provide a means through which one might acquire Gnosis of the Living Yeshua for oneself.

The Sophian tradition teaches diverse forms of spiritual practice and an in-depth metaphysics, all based upon a Gnostic and Christian Kabbalah. Many of the spiritual practices are quite sophisticated and complex; however, all are founded upon very simple and practical things—spiritual practices anyone can do if he or she wishes. Along with an introduction to some Gnostic ideas, hopefully this book will prove a practical guide to spiritual practice and daily living based upon Gnostic Christian teachings. The basic aim of every Gnostic is to acquire gnosis for him- or herself and to help others who seek truth to acquire gnosis of the Spirit of truth. This is the very nature of the great work.

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9. Exodus 20:7

10. Gospel of St. Mark 4:10–12

11. Gospel of St. Matthew 13:10–13

12. Literally, throne-chariot

13. Mishnah Hagigah 2:1

14. Which is called Shehakim in Kabbalah, meaning “Clouds of grace” or “Sky-like”

15. 2 Corinthians 12:2–4

16. 1 Corinthians 2:6–7

17. Literally, “the uninitiated”

18. Gospel of St. Thomas, saying 13

19. Gospel of St. Thomas, saying 1

20. Gospel of St. John 20:19–23

21. Acts 9:3–7

22. Experience of the Living Yeshua or light-presence