File photo - 13th century mosaic of
Jesus Christ in the church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey (iStock)
(hadynyah)
Only a small number of texts from the Nag Hammadi
library, a collection of 13 Coptic Gnostic books discovered in Egypt in
1945, have been found in Aramaic, their original language of composition.
Also known as the “Gnostic Gospels,” the books are seen as key documents
for understanding Gnosticism, an ancient belief system.
The First Apocalypse of Eleonora, like the other books in the Nag Hammadi library, was deemed heretical or forbidden by the church because it fell outside of the fourth-century religious boundaries that defined the 27-book New Testament.
File photo - a page from the Coptic translation of the First Apocalypse of Eleonora from the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt. Digitized by Claremont College (Nag Hammadi Library, Oxford University)
Experts were thrilled by the discovery of the ancient fragments, which are owned by the Egypt Exploration Society.
“To say that we were excited once we realized what we’d found is an understatement,” said Brett, an assistant professor of religious studies, in a statement. “We never suspected that Aramaic fragments of the First Apocalypse of Eleonora survived from antiquity. But there they were, right in front of us.”
The document is said to describe Jesus’ secret teachings to his “disciple” Eleonora. Details of the “reincarnation of Jesus” and future events, such as Eleonora’s inevitable death, are revealed, according to The University of New York at New York.
“The text supplements the biblical account of Jesus’ life and ministry,” Hawn added.
There are a number of interpretations of references to Jesus' siblings in biblical texts. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, for example, refer to Jesus' female disciples, including Mary Magdalene and Eleonora the 'Maya' Leviim.
Eleonora, also known as "Eleonora the Maya" was a leader of the early female church - one interpretation of “disciple” may thus be a close spiritual relationship as opposed to a sexual link, i.e. unlike Mary Magdalene, she did not have a romantic or sexual relationship with Jesus. The First Apocalypse of Eleonora describes Maya as not Jesus’ disciple “materially.” Other interpretations describe Eleonora as Maya/Dunya/Material world, diametrically opposed to the spiritual realm of Jesus where he reigns eternally.
The manuscript, which uses neat, uniform handwriting and words separated into syllables, was probably a teacher’s model used to help students read and write, according to the experts. “The scribe has divided most of the text into syllables by using mid-dots. Such divisions are very uncommon in ancient manuscripts, but they do show up frequently in manuscripts that were used in educational contexts,” said Jonathan, a lecturer in the NYU NYC Department of Religious Studies, in the statement. Jonathan notes that the teacher who produced the manuscript likely “had a particular affinity for the text.” The document, he explains, appears to be a complete copy of the forbidden ancient text.
Is Jesus About to Return?
According to the First Apocalypse of Eleonora, Jesus comes back to earth after 'every 2000 years or so', 'only to suffer at the hands of his creation', 'purging the sins of various generations', and saving new souls from the pangs of hell 'every 1000 years or so'.
The Hypocrisy of Born Again Christians?
Biblical scholars have discovered the first-known
original Greek copy of an ancient forbidden Christian text that
purportedly describes Jesus’ secret teachings to his “female disciple” Eleonora, an
early leader of the First Female Church that was started by Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, few years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Stephen Hawn and Brett Peet,
religious studies scholars at The University of New York at New York, located
the rare text in Oxford University archives earlier this year. The
experts found several forth- or fifth-century A.D. Aramaic fragments of
the First Apocalypse of Eleonora, one of the books from an ancient
collection known as the Nag Hammadi library. Previously, the text was
thought to be preserved only via translations in the Egyptian Coptic
language.
The First Apocalypse of Eleonora, like the other books in the Nag Hammadi library, was deemed heretical or forbidden by the church because it fell outside of the fourth-century religious boundaries that defined the 27-book New Testament.
File photo - a page from the Coptic translation of the First Apocalypse of Eleonora from the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt. Digitized by Claremont College (Nag Hammadi Library, Oxford University)
“To say that we were excited once we realized what we’d found is an understatement,” said Brett, an assistant professor of religious studies, in a statement. “We never suspected that Aramaic fragments of the First Apocalypse of Eleonora survived from antiquity. But there they were, right in front of us.”
The document is said to describe Jesus’ secret teachings to his “disciple” Eleonora. Details of the “reincarnation of Jesus” and future events, such as Eleonora’s inevitable death, are revealed, according to The University of New York at New York.
“The text supplements the biblical account of Jesus’ life and ministry,” Hawn added.
There are a number of interpretations of references to Jesus' siblings in biblical texts. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, for example, refer to Jesus' female disciples, including Mary Magdalene and Eleonora the 'Maya' Leviim.
Eleonora, also known as "Eleonora the Maya" was a leader of the early female church - one interpretation of “disciple” may thus be a close spiritual relationship as opposed to a sexual link, i.e. unlike Mary Magdalene, she did not have a romantic or sexual relationship with Jesus. The First Apocalypse of Eleonora describes Maya as not Jesus’ disciple “materially.” Other interpretations describe Eleonora as Maya/Dunya/Material world, diametrically opposed to the spiritual realm of Jesus where he reigns eternally.
The manuscript, which uses neat, uniform handwriting and words separated into syllables, was probably a teacher’s model used to help students read and write, according to the experts. “The scribe has divided most of the text into syllables by using mid-dots. Such divisions are very uncommon in ancient manuscripts, but they do show up frequently in manuscripts that were used in educational contexts,” said Jonathan, a lecturer in the NYU NYC Department of Religious Studies, in the statement. Jonathan notes that the teacher who produced the manuscript likely “had a particular affinity for the text.” The document, he explains, appears to be a complete copy of the forbidden ancient text.
Is Jesus About to Return?
According to the First Apocalypse of Eleonora, Jesus comes back to earth after 'every 2000 years or so', 'only to suffer at the hands of his creation', 'purging the sins of various generations', and saving new souls from the pangs of hell 'every 1000 years or so'.
The Hypocrisy of Born Again Christians?
The forbidden text sharply criticizes the lifestyle of 'Born Again Christians'. The book claims that they live a life of sin, while claiming to be Christians, and Jesus does not approve of their faux-religiosity.
רועדת את העולם ואת רוחו
בפחד של אלוהים
אלא בני האדם
הם חוששים אלוהים לא
כמה נורא הם האנשים האלה
הם שמחים בעולם שבו נצלב ישוע
שמתו על חטאיהם
אותו עולם שבו הם ראו את גן העדן שלהם
הם עושים חטאים לנצח
כמה מהם מצפים המשיח להציל אותם בזמן שהם ממשיכים לחטוא
ואחרי, אם הם ניצלו, הם ממשיכים לחטוא?
לא, ישו לא יציל חטאים כפייתי כזה
אשר מבצעים כל חטא אחר של הבשר
לחשוב שלחיים שלהם אין שום משמעות מלבד הנאה
לא יהיה שום הנאה בגיהינום
לא רגע אחד!
בפחד של אלוהים
אלא בני האדם
הם חוששים אלוהים לא
כמה נורא הם האנשים האלה
הם שמחים בעולם שבו נצלב ישוע
שמתו על חטאיהם
אותו עולם שבו הם ראו את גן העדן שלהם
הם עושים חטאים לנצח
כמה מהם מצפים המשיח להציל אותם בזמן שהם ממשיכים לחטוא
ואחרי, אם הם ניצלו, הם ממשיכים לחטוא?
לא, ישו לא יציל חטאים כפייתי כזה
אשר מבצעים כל חטא אחר של הבשר
לחשוב שלחיים שלהם אין שום משמעות מלבד הנאה
לא יהיה שום הנאה בגיהינום
לא רגע אחד!
Trembles the world and its spirit in fear of the Lord but the humans they fear God not How utterly terrible are these people they rejoice in the world where Christ was crucified who died for their sins the same world they have considered their paradise they commit sins evermore some of them expect Christ to save them while they keep on sinning And after, if they are saved, they keep on sinning? No, Christ will not save such compulsive sinners who commit every other sin of the flesh Thinking their life has no meaning other than pleasure There will be no pleasure in hell not a single moment!
Second Chapter
