Coptic Apocalypse of Paul
The text describes a Gnostic cosmogony and interpretation of Pauline epistles via its portrayal of Paul the Apostle as an apocalyptic hero.
The publication was part of the work of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project, which began in 1966 at Claremont Graduate University.
The soul challenges the toll collector to present witnesses and evidence of its deeds, and a divine courtroom of sorts occurs.
In the seventh heaven, Paul encounters an old man who has a throne that surpasses the Sun's brightness by sevenfold.
The apostles' authority is limited to serving the demiurge, who appears in the text as the old man in the seventh heaven.
[18] The neutral description of the old man indicates that he represents the God of Judaism and non-Gnostic Christianity, but he is considered an inferior creator deity by Gnostics.
[18] The text's description of the divine realm is minimal because its importance comes from its hierarchical position, placing the intellect above the passions.
[19] In a study comparing Valentinianism in the text with the First Apocalypse of James, Eirini Bergström outlines the role of the toll collectors.
[20] Bergström states that the toll collectors are ignorant rather than evil since they incorrectly believe that the demiurge whom they serve is the true God.
[23] Matthew Twigg rejects Rosenstiehl's theory and proposes instead that the "mountain of Jericho" is an allegory for overcoming the devil of the material world.
Monika Pesthy compared the scenes, and writes that in the Coptic work, the ultimate destiny of souls is not a matter of interest, unlike the Visio Pauli.
Given that the "punishment" is simply the soul returning to a body, it makes the scene more about intermediary foibles that can be improved during life.
Hans-Josef Klauck suggests that the entire scene is an interpolation or later addition, given that it could be removed without changing the overall tenor of the story.
Murdock and McRae see syncretism and multiple influences, including Jewish apocalypses such as the Testament of Abraham; Greek mythology such as the angel whipping a soul; and Babylonian astrology.
[26] Jacques van der Vliet questions the scholarly consensus on the basis, doctrine, and dating of the text.
While he accepts the obvious intertextuality with 2 Corinthians 12, he believes Galatians 1–2 should also be considered as primary intertext.
Van der Vliet likewise acknowledges the Valentinian ideas in the text but considers them residual traces of the movement rather than definitive proof of being written in the second century.
[27] Van der Vliet instead believes the text dates to the fourth century, based on the interest in apocalyptic literature and Paul at that time.
