Free Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation by Elaine Pagels Page A

Theme of Stability in Late Antiquity
(Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1995).
35 The Secret Revelation of James, 1.9–2.15,
NHC I, 1; CGL
vol. 1, 28–31 (here, too, minor alterations in the translation).
36 Acts 1:9–10.
37 The Secret Revelation of James, 2.20–26,
NHC I, 1, CGL
vol. 1, 30–31.
38 The Secret Revelation of James, 9.1–9,
NHC I, 1,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 40–43.
39 The Secret Revelation of James, 6.19–20,
NHC I, 1,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 36–37.
40 The Secret Revelation of James, 15.6–29,
NHC I, 1,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 50–53.
41 For a discussion of ascent as exemplified in
NHC XI, 3,
the text called Allogenes, in relation to the pattern of ascent described by Plato and taught by his disciple Plotinus, see Karen L. King,
Revelation of the Unknowable God
:
With Text
,
Translation
,
and Notes to NHC XI, 3 Allogenes
(Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge Press, 1995: 9–16, and also the brilliant essay by John Turner, which compares philosophical and Jewish practices of ascent, “The Gnostic Threefold Path to Enlightenment: The Ascent of Mind and the Descent of Wisdom,” in
Novum Testamentum
22 (1980), 324–35. For a discussion of Jewish apocalyptic practice in light of psychoanalytic perspectives, see Dan Merkur, “The Visionary Practices of Jewish Apocalyptists,” in
Psychoanalytic Study of Society
14 (1989), 119–148.
42 For an early study of these dialogues, see Pheme Perkins,
The Gnostic Dialogue: The Early Church and the Crisis of Gnosticism
(New York: Paulist Press, 1980).
43 Matthew 18:20.
44 The Prayer of the Apostle Paul, A.1.5–B.29,
NHC I, A–B,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 8–9. The Secret Revelation of James is bound into the same volume, which scholars call Codex I, as the first of five writings. For discussion of this text, see chapter 5 , pages 149–153.
45 The Dialogue of the Savior, 135.28–136.3,
NHC III, 5,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 70–71.
46 Irenaeus,
Against Heresies,
I.13.2.
47 Irenaeus,
Against Heresies,
I.20.1. For a discussion of the evidence that Irenaeus read this work or another with similarcontent, see Karen L. King,
The Secret Revelation of John,
17, and especially her article on the topic cited in note 28.
48 The Dialogue of the Savior, 139.53,
NHC III, 5,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 78–79.
49 The Gospel of Truth, 17.5–20,
NHC I, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 82–83.
50 The Gospel of Truth, 42.11–20,
NHC I, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 1, 116–117.
51 The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, 52.2–6,
NHC VI, 6,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 346–347.
52 The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, 52.6–7,
NHC VI, 6,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 346–347; 55.4–17, in
CGL
vol. 3, 352–353.
53 The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, 57.30–58.17,
NHC VI, 6,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 356–361.
54 The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, 59.24–61.15
, NHC VI, 6,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 362–367.
55 Allogenes, 52.8–12,
NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 206–207. For the sake of consistency, I continue to cite the text and translation in Robinson’s
The Coptic Gnostic Library;
see also the excellent text and translation, with commentary and introduction, by King,
Revelation of the Unknowable God.
56 Allogenes, 56.15–20
, NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 214–215; note that the text is broken here and partially reconstructed, and I have slightly altered the translation.
57 Allogenes, 57.26–31,
NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 217.
58 Allogenes, 59.26–60.8,
NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 220–223.
59 Allogenes, 59.36ff.,
NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 222–225.
60 Allogenes, 68.25–31,
NHC XI, 3,
in
CGL
vol. 5, 238–239.
61 The Greek term
teleios,
often translated “perfect,” connotes what is “full, complete, mature.”
62 Gospel of John 12:28–30.
63 Thunder, Perfect Mind, 13.1–14.2,
NHC VI, 2,
in
CGL
vol. 3, 234–237; cf. Layton, “The Riddle of the Thunder,” and also Anne McGuire’s discussion in
Searching the Scriptures, Vol. 2: AFeminist Commentary,
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, ed. (New York: Herder & Herder, 1994), 39–54.
64 Thunder, Perfect Mind, 16.6–17.25,
NHC VI, 2,
in
CGL
vol. 3,