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If one reads the sacred texts of Christian Gnosticism that appear in the Nag Hammadi library, one will find many different cosmological and metaphysical teachings attempting to reveal the deeper mysteries of the Messiah. This is common to all Gnostic Christian traditions—all have elaborate and in-depth esoteric teachings of cosmology and metaphysics behind them. It is a mystical language of myth and symbolism among initiates that allows active contemplation and meditation through which inner and secret knowledge is acquired.

This is also true of Sophian Gnosticism, which basically represents a Christian Kabbalah with very strong Judaic roots. As a pre-Nag Hammadi tradition, Sophian teachings represent an independent development of Gnosticism that relies more upon source works of Judaic mysticism than upon texts that appear in the Nag Hammadi. What is drawn from the Nag Hammadi library is typically what reflects and supports the teachings of the Christian Kabbalah as expressed in one of my previous books, Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ (Llewellyn, 2005). Thus, in speaking about the mysteries of the Messiah—the Anointed of God—again and again, Sophians do so through principles taught in the Kabbalah. Central to the mysteries of the Messiah are the mysteries of Adam Kadmon, the archetypal or primordial human being.

The most common term Yeshua uses to refer to himself is not the Son of God, but rather the Son of Adam 23 —Son of the Human One. This has deep esoteric meaning if one is familiar with the many teachings that appear in the Kabbalah on Adam Kadmon, the primordial human being, and Adam Ha-Rishon, the generation of the first human being. Speaking of himself as the Son of Adam, Yeshua speaks of himself as the embodiment of something of the ideal human, which is Adam Kadmon and Adam Ha-Rishon.

According to the Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon is a pure emanation of divine being, specifically a pure emanation of Or Ain Sof, the light of the infinite, and the form of Adam Kadmon is the “image and likeness of God,” as indicated in Genesis. Thus, Adam Kadmon is a person of light existing in the light-continuum. Adam Ha-Rishon is essentially the same, except Adam Kadmon represents the divine potential of the Human One in the great unmanifest and Adam Ha-Rishon represents the activation of that potential, hence the Human One coming into substantial being. This Adam is male and female in one body of light, which is reflected in the Sophian teachings on the male and female incarnation of Christ in the persons of Lord Yeshua and Lady Mary of Magdal. It is said of Adam that he-she sees from the beginning to the end of creation in the light-continuum, because the whole of creation exists in the light-continuum and in the body of Adam Kadmon him-herself.

In the Kabbalah, everything is said to come into being through Adam Kadmon, for the sake of Adam Kadmon, who is said to be the fruition of all creation. It is as though Adam Kadmon is the potential of all life, and at the outset exists in an unconscious unity with the light-continuum and divine being. Through the process of creation, Adam Kadmon is individuating and awakening to enter into a conscious unification with the light and divine being. The soul of every human being that has ever existed, exists at present, or that will ever exist comes from the great soul of Adam Kadmon and is an expression of the soul of Adam. Thus, in the deepest part of our being, as individuals we are a unique expression of Adam and, on a collective level, we are all united in Adam Ha-Rishon—the human being of light. As individuals and as a collective, we are Adam Kadmon awakening and coming into substantial being, and in this sense we are all sons and daughters of Adam. The whole purpose of creation is activation and realization of the divine potential represented by Adam Kadmon, and we are this purpose being fulfilled.

If our souls come from this Adam, and if this Adam is a person of light existing in the light-continuum, intimately connected to God24 and Godhead,25 then in our inmost being we also are a person of light who comes from the light-continuum. Within each and every one of us there is a soul of light, which is the image and likeness of God and in which we are inseparable from God. Whether we are conscious or unconscious of it, this is the truth of our inmost being and essence.

When Yeshua speaks of himself as the Son of the Human One, he alludes to the realization and embodiment of this truth and light in himself. When he makes “I am” statements, such as “I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . .”26 or “I am the light of the world . . . ,”27 it is of this divine truth that he is speaking. But he does not confine such statements to himself; in the Sermon on the Mount as it appears in the Gospel of St. Matthew, for example, he says, “You are the light of the world,” which is to say, “You are a person of light who comes from the light-continuum,” hence a son or daughter of the Human One. In the Gospel of St. Thomas Yeshua says, “There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness.”28 According to the Sophian teachings, this is the “good news” Yeshua proclaimed, the gnosis of which is enlightenment and liberation of the soul.

There is another esoteric teaching on the title Son of the Human One that is also quite revealing. In Genesis we find the story of Cain and Abel, in which Cain kills his brother Abel and becomes a “marked man.” In effect, both sons are lost in this act, for Abel dies and Cain loses his humanity. Therefore, a new son is given to Adam and Eve who is said to be “the image and likeness of Adam” and who is named Seth. Cain and Abel represent the sinner and saint, the darkness and the light within a human being, while Seth represents the unification and harmony of the light and darkness, and thus the transcendence of light and darkness and all corresponding duality. Being the image and likeness of Adam, Seth is the true Son of Adam. Thus, in calling himself the Son of the Human One, Yeshua is also calling himself Seth.

A study and contemplation of the name Seth proves most intriguing because the name is composed of the last two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Shin () and Tau (). This implies completion or fruition, and a state of perfection. Shin is the letter added to the name Yahweh to produce the name Yeshua and, as has been said, is the letter representing the Shekinah and Holy Spirit, specifically a fiery intelligence or fiery light. Tau was originally drawn as a cross, thus Shin-Tau or Seth suggests the light of the Cross. The Cross itself is a symbol of unification of all duality—hence a state of divine illumination. Thus, in Sophian teachings the title “Son of the Human One” is often translated as the “Great Seth.”

The connection to the story of Cain and Abel, and to Seth, the true Son of Adam, directly reflects the process of the awakening of the soul of light in us. In the process of the soul’s awakening, at the outset there is a play of fundamental ignorance, and we are unaware of our innate connection to divine being. Because of this ignorance, dualism occurs in consciousness and an illusion of separation from the source of our being. In the process of individuation, the soul enters the cycles of incarnation, with the creative Spirit of God in the soul of light generating the mental, vital-emotional, and physical being of numerous incarnations. Because of cosmic ignorance and the illusion of separation, the soul becomes bound to potentially endless cycles of life, death and rebirth, and while dualism remains in consciousness, the soul of light becomes obscured and hidden in the play of cause and effect. It is, in effect, as though we forget who and what we most truly are, and thus must labor to remember ourselves and reintegrate ourselves to the state of the person of light who is united with divine being in the light-continuum. Cain and Abel are the state of dualistic consciousness; Seth is the state of consciousness unified—hence self-realization or divine illumination.

In our present state, we are bound to dualistic consciousness. We tend to polarize ourselves, identifying ourselves almost exclusively with surface consciousness, finite reason, and the limited name and form of mortal being. Yet, in truth, we exist on many other levels, and there are many other dimensions to our consciousness and being, from the physical, vital-emotional and mental levels to spiritual and supernal levels. The person of light is one who integrates all of these levels or aspects of consciousness and being into an authentic individual, representing the alignment and harmony of our true being. To recognize and realize the soul of light in us brings about a conscious unification with God naturally and spontaneously. In Christian Gnosticism, it is this state which is called Messianic or Christ consciousness or the Gnosis of Yeshua Messiah.

Whatever might transpire in our incarnation in the material plane and physical world, the unique essence and truth of our soul of light remains unchanged. It is, was, and forever shall be the same, completely pure and pristine, radiant and glorious, ever at-one with the light of the infinite and divine being. At any time, we can remember ourselves and the light that is in us and experience a conscious unification with God and Godhead. It is the present truth of our inmost being—our Christ self.

This points to an essential message found in all forms of Gnostic Christianity: knowledge of oneself leads to divine illumination—hence the knowledge of God. From a Gnostic point of view, unless one knows oneself, one can certainly not know God; if the inmost part of oneself is of God, then to know that inmost part is to have knowledge of God. If one speaks of God, but does not know him or herself, then one speaks in ignorance. In this sense we might contemplate the saying of Yeshua, “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen . . .”29 In other words, “we speak from direct spiritual experience and gnosis, the true nature of which is self-knowledge.”

Soul of the Light-bearer

On the most basic level, from a Gnostic perspective, the purpose of the divine incarnation is the revelation of who and what we most truly are in our inmost being—revelation of the person of light and the light-continuum. Unless this truth was made known to us, how would the bonds of cosmic ignorance be broken? If we were not shown the image of our true self, how could we be empowered to activate our divine potential and consciously aspire to attain Christ consciousness? From the Gnostic point of view, Yeshua does not come to redeem us from sin but rather to redeem us from cosmic ignorance—thus to impart true gnosis.

The image and likeness of God is not the physical body. It is the soul of light—the essence and nature of our being-consciousness-force. Thus, a “human being” is any self-aware and intelligent life form, whether resembling what we call human or not. According to Sophian teachings, human beings exist within many world-systems in creation, and there are literally countless millions of world-systems in the universe in which life-forms evolve. Wherever human beings emerge, which is to say self-aware and intelligent life-forms, the truth of the soul of light is revealed by way of an incarnation of the light-presence—hence the divine incarnation of the Christos. This light-transmission is said to pass from one world-system to another. Essentially, souls from elder races that have been Christed, or enlightened, transmigrate to incarnate in life-waves of humankind in younger worlds, becoming light-bearers to new races and worlds.

While this may sound strange to some people, basically the same idea appears in many world wisdom traditions, such as in Eastern traditions which speak of the numerous buddhas30 and avatars31 who incarnate in the world to teach the path to enlightenment, in one form or another. According to Sophian teachings, the soul of Master Yeshua is among the most significant and influential light-bearers to appear on earth, and the soul was previously Christed in another world before incarnation in the human life-wave on earth. Thus, from a Gnostic perspective, what is meant by Christ extends far beyond the name “Christian.” It includes various revelations of the truth and light that have occurred in our world, as well as in elder races of other worlds. In this sense, Christ as envisioned by Sophians is truly universal or cosmic, while also being unique and individual in the person of Yeshua Messiah. As pointed out by Jay G. Williams, Yeshua Messiah could well be called “Yeshua Buddha”,32 as the meaning is fundamentally the same. This idea is perfectly harmonious to the meaning of Christ or Messiah among Sophian Gnostics and many other Gnostic Christian traditions.

When a great soul comes from among the elder races, specifically from the divine order of the light-continuum, and incarnates among us, he or she becomes fully human and takes up the karma of the human race on earth. Though the soul may have attained Christ consciousness previously, entering into the life-wave of humankind on earth, he or she must embark upon the sacred quest and labor to attain Christ consciousness as though for the first time. The powerful influence of having previously been enlightened makes it most likely that Christ consciousness will be realized once again. Yet it requires heroic effort, for once again the soul becomes bound to physical incarnation and the cycles of reincarnation until restored to a self-realized state. Even the most enlightened being is not born into the world enlightened but, like everyone born in the world, must labor to recognize and realize the soul of light and embody the Spirit of truth. Typically speaking, such a holy soul will experience a series of incarnations in the new race, through the process of which the soul will progressively unfold its self-realization. In so doing, the self-realization process is seeded into the collective consciousness of the new race and the light-presence (Christos) is brought into the conscious awareness of the race, whether or not all believe in the Christ.

According to the teachings of the Sophian tradition, this was also true of the soul incarnate as Yeshua. His soul came from another world, from among the elder races, to be a light-bearer to our world; his soul passed through a series of incarnations, the incarnation as Master Yeshua being the fruition of the process. Contrary to orthodox teachings, he was not born enlightened. He became Christed through spiritual practice and spiritual living. Like any sincere truth-seeker, he received a spiritual education and relied upon spiritual guides from whom he received teachings and initiations. His soul was, indeed, a great soul, yet first and foremost he was human. Yeshua entertained the self-realization process as a human being, becoming a teacher and example to all who seek to follow him.

The Tzaddik of the Messiah: John the Baptist

Yeshua may have had any number of spiritual teachers, both incarnate and disincarnate. According to all authentic wisdom traditions, all who have attained full self-realization have, to one degree or another, relied upon a spiritual teacher. In the Sophian teachings, it is said that Yeshua had three principle spiritual teachers, though only one was his holy tzaddik,33 which is to say his true spiritual teacher. One taught him the law, the prophets, and the contemplative and mystical Kabbalah; another taught him the secrets of the magical Kabbalah. John the Baptist, who was his true holy tzaddik, completed his spiritual education and training and facilitated the initiation through which Yeshua attained Christ consciousness—hence the rite of baptism spoken of in the Gospels. Yeshua is said to have been the inmost disciple of John the Baptist and part of John’s inner circle before becoming Christed. Thus, in Sophian teachings, John the Baptist is more than merely the herald of the Christ-bearer; he is also the tzaddik of the Messiah—the spiritual teacher of the Anointed One.

The connection between John and Yeshua is said to stem from a previous incarnation. As stated in the Gospels, John was the reincarnation of the prophet Elijah. According to sages of the tradition, Yeshua was the reincarnation of the soul of Elisha, the remarkable disciple and protégé of Elijah. 2 Kings relates a fascinating tale of a key event that transpired between Elijah and Elisha. There it is written:

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherent a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and cried out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”34

The promise of a double portion of the spirit of Elijah (Ruach Ha-Elijah) is significant. This is the spirit of the prophets, a “double portion” of which would represent another manifestation of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Enoch (Ruach Ha-Enoch), which is the spirit of the initiates. Thus, Elisha requests that the blessing of the spirit of the prophets and spirit of the initiates rest upon his soul. According to the tradition, these two manifestations of the divine Spirit joined together are the Spirit of the Messiah (Ruach Ha-Messiah). This promise is not fulfilled in the lifetime of Elisha, but is said to be fulfilled in what transpires between John the Baptist and Yeshua—the event of the baptism of Yeshua by John in the River Jordan, in the very place the promise was originally made.

If we wonder at this connection between John and Yeshua, we merely need to consider a passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew, where it is written:

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all of the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!”35

Even if one were to believe that Yeshua was not the son of Joseph and Mary, but believed in a literal interpretation of the immaculate conception and virgin birth, Yeshua was also born of a woman. Therefore, in effect, Yeshua praises John the Baptist above himself, which is typical of a disciple speaking of his or her holy tzaddik. Likewise, in speaking about John as more than a prophet, and openly proclaiming John as the reincarnation of Elijah, he hints at himself as the reincarnation of Elisha, especially if he was at one time known to be a disciple of John. In any case, a very powerful and intimate spiritual connection between John and Yeshua is clearly stated, along with clear reference to a doctrine of reincarnation. Thus, even in the canonized Gospels there is clear indication of the mystery of the light-transmission spanning lifetimes and the events of the Gospel as the fruition of things that had previously transpired.

Quite obviously, if John drew great crowds out into the wilderness to see him, like his disciple, Yeshua, he must have offered something more than merely words and a symbolic ritual of purification—he, too, must have displayed the divine presence and power of a realized individual and worked wonders. Likewise, to his inner circle of disciples, he also must have imparted inner and secret teachings, much of which became integrated and reflected in the teachings of Yeshua.

In the oral tradition among Sophians, it is said that John was given over to the assembly of prophets to be raised and that he was recognized as a Baal Shem,36 master of the assembly of prophets, at a very young age. Essentially, the soul incarnate as John the Baptist was equal to the soul incarnate as Yeshua, and was equally integral to the divine revelation as Master Yeshua. Indeed! Who else but a very great and powerful soul could serve as the tzaddik of the Messiah and bring about the initiation through which Yeshua became the Anointed One? Because of this, John the Baptist is revered and honored among Sophians as much as Lord Yeshua and others who play a central role in the Mystery drama of the Gospel, such as Mother Mary, Lady Mary Magdalene and St. Lazarus. Though Yeshua becomes the center of divine activity in the revelation of the light-presence and light-continuum, the light-presence was embodied through a matrix of souls, including John the Baptist and the circle of disciples that formed around Lord Yeshua.

This is a very different view of the Christ-bearer and Christos than the picture painted by orthodox theology, which attempts to place Yeshua in a vacuum and make the Christos something isolated to him, thus making an idol out of a man. From a Gnostic perspective, however, Yeshua is a wisdom teacher or sage, a mystic or prophet, a very skilled healer, and a magician. Indeed, he is a light-bearer or Christ-bearer, yet before speaking of a complete unification of the Christ and Christ-bearer, one must first and foremost understand a distinction between the Christ-bearer and Christos. Only in this way is the path to enlightenment as taught and demonstrated by Lord Yeshua understood, so that one does not fall into the folly of worshipping a man, however holy and self-realized, as God, the All in All. Understanding Yeshua as a holy man, a human being, the story of his life and the events that transpire become a revelation of the path to Christ consciousness. It is a spiritual allegory of the self-realization process in which we are all involved.

Birth of the Mystic

In the Sophian teachings, Yeshua is conceived through the union of Joseph and Mary, and though indeed a great soul and spiritual prodigy, he is not born Christed. The stories of immaculate conception and virgin birth are considered myths meant to convey mysteries of the Christos or as allegories of the divine grace integral to the awakening of the soul and the journey to Christ consciousness. The whole idea of being born in a barn among animals is quite symbolic, for the very nature of our spiritual development and evolution is the regeneration of the bestial soul (Nefesh) through the recognition and realization of our heavenly soul (Neshamah)—hence the soul of light. The implications are that it is through the Christos that we discover our true humanity, and that embodying the Christos is the purpose of human birth. All aspects of the myth of the conception and birth of Yeshua are understood in a similar fashion, and many esoteric teachings are given in Sophian tradition based upon this myth.

The view of Yeshua conceived in a natural way is common to most Christian Gnostic traditions, and the subject is taken up in several Gnostic Scriptures that appear in the Nag Hammadi library. For example, in the Gospel of St. Philip, which represents the ancient Valentinian School of Gnostic Christianity, it is written, “Some say, ‘Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman?”

It is also written, “And the Lord would not have said ‘My father who is in heaven’ unless he had another father, but he would have said simply ‘My father.’”37

The term for the Holy Spirit in Hebrew, Ruach Ha-Kodesh, like the term for the divine presence and power of God, Shekinah, is feminine. The author of the Gospel of St. Philip plays upon this in addressing the ignorance of a literal belief in immaculate conception and the virgin birth. Yet, in the same passage the author says, “Mary is the Virgin whom no power defiled,” alluding to esoteric teachings behind the myth. Thus, while not accepting any literal interpretation in the myth, Christian Gnostics find metaphysical and cosmological truths in it—how a mystic, and specifically the Christ-bearer, is spiritually born.

There is birth and there is rebirth. What is meant by birth is what causes a person to become a truth-seeker—how a mystical inclination comes into being. One who embarks upon the sacred quest and takes up the path to Christ consciousness experiences a spiritual birth. Why one person becomes a truth-seeker and takes up the spiritual life, and another does not, is something of a mystery. Those who do entertain the sacred quest and take up the spiritual life have been born to it—which is to say that something in them has changed, and a desire for the Spirit and truth has dawned in them. In effect, this is the first initiation of the path, which all spiritual seekers experience. Anyone who is reading this book has likely had this experience, for it is the cause of all spiritual seeking. Yeshua experienced this spiritual birth as a very young boy, and it is this that set him on the path.

This spiritual birth is a sparking of a fiery intelligence, according to the Sophian teachings, and is a movement of divine grace, specifically Mother Sophia,38 who is personified in the Gospel as Mother Mary. She is the very nature of the soul of light, which is ever pure and pristine, or undefiled, that is activated by the Holy Spirit—hence a movement of divine grace. Gnostics often speak of those who are called to the path as “chosen” or “elect,” and it is this spiritual birth to which they are pointing, which one either experiences or does not. Without it, no one would be on the path to Christ consciousness nor would anyone take up the divine life. Yet, this spiritual birth is only the beginning, for fruition in the Way comes through a rebirth or metanoia—a spiritual transformation. Perhaps the best expression of this is to be found in the Gospel of St. John, where Yeshua is speaking to a secret disciple who has come to him in the night, the Pharisee Nichodemus. Nichodemus recognizes Yeshua as one “who has come from God,” and in response to this recognition Yeshua imparts a teaching, saying:

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nichodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”39

Obviously, given the Gnostic interpretation of spiritual birth, Nich-odemus has experienced it, because he himself has taken up the sacred quest and spiritual life, and, in fact, is a spiritual teacher of Judaic tradition. Yet he has not experienced rebirth in the Holy Spirit and the spiritual transformation that comes from rebirth. Here, a clear distinction is made between religion and spirituality, and between the truth-seeker and an actual mystic. The spiritual birth leads first to a seeking of the truth and light outside of oneself. Many who experience it become religious, but not spiritual and mystical. Thus, many remain outsiders and do not become insiders. To become an insider, one must have a direct and personal experience of the truth and light; to become a mystic, the experience must be inward, within oneself. The path then becomes living according to the truth and light revealed in one’s own experience—hence Yeshua’s words to Nichodemus quoted previously: “. . . we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen . . .” To the degree one follows in the Way of the Spirit, self-realization unfolds and the Christ self is embodied—hence the soul of light is fully incarnate in one’s person.

No one can really say exactly how this spiritual rebirth occurs, or where, or when, or even if it will happen for any given person. Like the spiritual birth which leads us to seek, finding also transpires in a mystery and is the result of a movement of divine grace—something within, yet beyond us. Generally speaking, it is the product of spiritual education, practice and living through which we actively create the conditions necessary for the Holy Spirit to move with, in, and through us. Rebirth in the Spirit is the advancement of the initiation begun in our spiritual birth, if we are willing to seek until we find, and when we find, we are willing to be transformed and live according to the Spirit and to truth.

This is reflected in a saying that appears early in the Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas: “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the all.”40

This would seem to speak of Yeshua’s own experience, a mystical journey into which he also invites us. This saying relates directly to the spiritual rebirth, which is depicted in the story of the baptism and temptation.

Emergence of the Light-presence and Light-bearer

Above, we have mentioned something of the mystery within and behind the baptism of Yeshua by John the Baptist as taught among Sophians. The baptism and temptation are the fruition of a long spiritual journey begun in Yeshua’s youth, culminating at around the age of thirty. It represents an essential light-transmission that passes between a holy tzaddik and his or her disciple when the distinction between the tzaddik and the disciple vanishes, and there is only the One light-presence and light-continuum.

To the outsider of the experience, words such as light-transmission, light-presence, and light-continuum can only be somewhat curious and undoubtedly vague. Yet, to an insider of the experience, their meaning is perfectly clear, and the terms are much more than a poetic metaphor: it is an actual spiritual or mystical experience of the inmost essence of oneself and reality as it is. These words point at it, but in truth they cannot explain it. However, if a person embodies something of this divine presence and power, it can be transmitted to others, more or less, which is to say that a shared experience can be facilitated. In terms of the light-transmission that may come to pass between a tzaddik and disciple, it is akin to a candle that is lit drawing near to a candle that is unlit—separating again, both are illuminated and illuminating.

Typically speaking, for most initiates, this transpires in a sacred friendship with an actual apostle of light who is incarnate and physical. Yet, as in the case of St. Paul, it can and does occur at times between a disciple and a disincarnate apostle of light—what is termed in esoteric teachings an “inner-plane adept or master.” According to the masters of the Sophian tradition, in one way or another, rebirth of the Holy Spirit is a spiritual transmission, which awakens the soul of light and Holy Spirit power in us.

In the Gospel, the light-transmission between John and Yeshua transpires during an actual ceremony of initiation. Yet it could just as easily occur apart from any external act, for it is an internal experience, whether there are outward signs or not. In the case of Yeshua, we hear of the visible sign of a dove of light as an image of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him. In this instant Yeshua is reborn from above, from the light-continuum, and having found the light-presence, he indeed becomes troubled, as the ordeal of initiation follows. The ordeal is the integration of the power that has been activated in Yeshua—hence the trek into the wilderness and “temptation by Satan.”

Through the light-transmission that occurs between the tzaddik and disciple there is recognition of the truth and light, and the power of the Holy Spirit is awakened in the disciple. But as the word “initiation” implies, it is only the beginning of a process. What has been recognized must be realized by the disciple, and the divine power that has awakened must be sublimated and integrated so that the disciple might fully embody the light-presence. It is not enough to recognize the truth and light or to experience higher states of consciousness. The mind, heart, and life must be brought into harmony and alignment with the Spirit of truth. Only then can we speak of an actual self-realization or enlightenment.

In this sense, the tzaddik is akin to a midwife, and the disciple is one who is in labor to give birth to the Christ self. It is ultimately the disciple who must work out his or her self-realization and pass through the pains of labor to enter into the joy of having given birth. The tzaddik imparts teachings in the spiritual life and practice, and initiates the disciple, imparting the light-transmission. In so doing, he or she reflects the inner teacher and guide—the inner tzaddik—within the disciple: the Christ self and Holy Spirit which the disciple must follow to bring the initiation to fruition in Christ consciousness.

As reflected in the many years of Yeshua’s life before the event of the baptism, the spiritual education the disciple receives and all spiritual practices are preparation for actual initiation—reception of the light-transmission. Essentially, it is preparation of the human vehicle for an influx of divine presence and power, a progressive and dynamic surrender so that, when the presence and power emerges, the life is ready to be taken up by the soul of light and Christ self. Traditionally this process is spoken of in terms of self-purification, which is reflected in the rite of baptism—the Jewish rite of purification. Thus we read in the Gospel of St. Mark: “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”41

There are many deep and esoteric teachings on exactly who or what Satan is among the various traditions of Gnostic Christianity. The name Satan literally means “adversary,” and in Judaic tradition, is called Samael, which means the “poison of God.” On the most basic and universal level, Gnostic teachings consider Satan the ego-illusion which produces the state of dualistic consciousness and, thus, the illusion of separation of ourselves from life, one another, and God. The effect of dualistic consciousness is a profound inner conflict and insecurity which gives rise to a violent inclination—the “evil inclination,” as it is called in the Kabbalah.

Because of the ego-illusion, we tend to identify ourselves only with the surface consciousness, our mortal name and form, and personal history—that which must surely come to an end and die. The surface consciousness, our personality and life-display, is that part of us that exists within space-time and the material world. Yet on a deeper level, there is a part of us that exists beyond space-time and the material plane—the person of light who exists in the light-continuum, which is to say a soul of light that exists in eternity. Essentially, the gross and subtle levels of the ego-illusion or self-grasping must be dissolved to allow these two aspects of ourself to unite as an integral and authentic individual. It is this integration that brings about Christ consciousness. This is reflected in the story of the temptation as it appears in the Gospel of St. Matthew:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourselves down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; he said to him, “All of this I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly the angels came and waited on him.42

According to masters of the Sophian tradition, this all occurs in the mind and imagination of Lord Yeshua. Every temptation is a product of the ego-illusion: the desire to break the fast and the continuum of spiritual practice prematurely, the desire to use power for self-glorification and dominion over others, the desire for personal ambition and gross materialism (consumerism). Given the nature of the temptation as it is portrayed in the Gospel of St. Matthew, there can be little doubt who or what Satan is. The banishing of Satan, thus, clearly represents the dissolution of the ego-illusion and self-grasping, which is the fruition of the rite of baptism. In the Sophian teachings, it is at this point that Yeshua truly becomes the Christ-bearer and the Christos shines from within him—hence the holy angels who come to wait on him. Yeshua the disciple of John went out into the wilderness, but it was Yeshua the Master who returned from the wilderness—Yeshua Messiah.

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23. The actual translation of what typically appears as “Son of Man”

24. The manifest aspect of divine being

25. The unmanifest aspect of divine being

26. Gospel of St. John 14:6

27. Gospel of St. John 8:12

28. Gospel of St. Thomas, saying 24

29. Gospel of St. John 3:11

30. Enlightened beings

31. Incarnations of divine beings

32. Yeshua Buddha: An Interpretation of New Testament Theology as Meaningful Myth (Wheaton, IL: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1978)

33. Tzaddik, a Hebrew word literally meaning “righteous one,” is used to indicate a spiritual adept or master; it is a common term for an elder or tau in the Sophian tradition

34. 2 Kings 2:9–12

35. Gospel of St. Matthew 11:7–15

36. Literally, “Master of the Name,” specifically the divine name Yahweh and all associated divine names

37. Gospel of St. Philip II, section 55

38. Literally, Mother Wisdom

39. Gospel of St. John 3:3–8

40. Gospel of St. Thomas, saying 2

41. Gospel of St. Mark 1:12

42. Gospel of St. Matthew 4:1–11