Codex Tchacos pp. 36–42 · intact early, badly broken at the end
The Disciples See the Temple
The next morning, when it happened, he appeared to his disciples. They said to him, “Teacher, where did you go and what did you do when you left us?”
Jesus said to them, “I went to another great and holy generation.”
His disciples said to him, “Lord, what is the great generation that is superior to us and holier than us, that is not now in these aeons?”
Now when Jesus heard this, he laughed. He said to them, “Why are you thinking in your hearts about the strong and holy generation? I’m telling you, no one born of this aeon will see that generation, and no host of angels of the stars will rule over that generation, and no person of mortal birth can associate with it, because that generation does not come from … which has become … The generation of people among you is from the generation of humanity … power, which … powers … by which you rule.”[6]
When his disciples heard this, they were troubled in spirit. They couldn’t say a word.[7]
Another day Jesus came to them. They said to him, “Teacher, we’ve seen you in a vision, for we have had great dreams in the night …”
He said, “Why have you … hidden yourselves?”
The Vision of the Priests
They said, “We’ve seen a great house with a great altar in it, and twelve men—we’d say they’re priests—and a name. And a crowd of people is waiting at that altar, until the priests finish receiving the offerings. But we kept waiting.”
Jesus said, “What are the priests like?”
They said, “Some fast for two weeks. Others sacrifice their own children, others their wives, in praise and humility with each other. Some sleep with men. Some are involved in slaughter. Some commit a multitude of sins and lawless deeds. And the men who stand before the altar invoke your name, and in all the deeds of their deficiency, the sacrifices are brought to completion …”
After they said this, they were quiet, for they were troubled.
Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? I’m telling you, all the priests who stand before that altar invoke my name. And again I say to you, my name has been written on this … of the generations of the stars through the human generations. And they have planted trees without fruit, in my name, in a shameful manner.”
Jesus said to them, “Those priests receiving offerings—those are you. That’s the god you serve, and you are those twelve men you’ve seen. The cattle you’ve seen brought for sacrifice are the many people you lead astray before that altar.[8]
The Corruption of Worship
… [Someone] will stand there and make use of my name in this way, and generations of the pious will remain loyal to him. After him another man will stand up from those who have forbidden sex, and another from the child-murderers, and another from those who sleep with men, and those who abstain, and the rest of the people of pollution and lawbreaking and error, and those who say, ‘We are like angels.’ They are the stars that bring everything to its fulfillment. For to the human generations it has been said, ‘Look, God has accepted your sacrifice from the hands of a priest’—that is, a minister of error. But it is the Lord, the Lord of the universe, who commands, ‘On the last day they will be put to shame.’”[9]
Jesus said to them, “Stop sacrificing … which you have … over the altar, since they are over your stars and your angels and have already come to their conclusion there. So let them be … before you, and let them go …”
[— about 15 lines missing —]
… generations … “A baker cannot feed all creation under heaven.”[10]
And … to them … and … to us and …. Jesus said to them, “Stop struggling with me. Each of you has his own star, and everyone—”
[— about 17 lines missing —]
Notes
[6] ↩︎ back Jesus laughs a second time. The “great and holy generation,” he says, is one that no one born of this aeon can see and no mortal can join.
[7] ↩︎ back The text says only that they were troubled in spirit and could not say a word.
[8] ↩︎ back Jesus tells them outright that the priests in the vision are themselves, and that the cattle led to sacrifice are the people they lead astray.
[9] ↩︎ back The false priests claim angelic status while promoting corruption. Their “sacrifice” is accepted by the god of error, not the true God.
[10] ↩︎ back This line stands alone between two long gaps in the manuscript, and what it was meant to illustrate is lost with them.