Second Treatise of the Great Seth
A variety of Gnostic themes and doctrines are propounded: souls are preexisting and immortal, but the mortal bodies they are attached to have forgotten their noble origin; the false God Yaldabaoth is an inferior being, and those who serve him are deluded fools and laughingstocks; and Jesus's teachings (gnosis and sophia) can enable souls to cast off their earthly shackles and achieve spiritual enlightenment.
[1] In it, Jesus reflects on the nature of reality and the existence of a perfect deity, who is at rest in the truth and ineffable light.
He visits a bodily dwelling and reveals himself to be a stranger from above the heavens, causing the rulers of the earthly area to become troubled.
The rulers are unable to recognize the true father of truth and the human of greatness, but instead, they take the name out of ignorance.
He has a single emanation from the eternal and unknowable ones, places a small thought in the world, and visits the angels with fire and flame, causing a disturbance and a fight around the seraphim and cherubim.
He brought the son of the majesty to the height and revealed the three ways to a perfect bridal chamber of the heavens.
Jesus criticizes the rulers for not understanding the truth about the ineffable union between the children of light and for instead promoting a doctrine of fear, slavery, and worldly worship.
The text emphasizes the importance of unity among Gnostics and the avoidance of negative qualities such as jealousy, division, anger, and fear.
The text also mentions that the rulers around Yaldabaoth were disobedient due to their envy, but Jesus is a friend of Sophia and is a member of the children of truth and greatness.
[3][4] The Nag Hammadi library was discovered in 1945, but due to a variety of reasons, it was not until 1972 that a reproduction of Codex VII was published and available to the public.
The immortal spiritual Jesus is who mattered in this view, not the unimportant physical body it possessed during its time in the mortal realm.
The text mocks Yaldabaoth, the evil ruler of the material world, as a joke who has greatly exaggerated his power.
[1][6][3] According to the proto-orthodox heresiologist Irenaeus, some Gnostics propounded a substitution hypothesis wherein Simon of Cyrene was crucified instead of Jesus.
[1][4] While the work does not go into great detail, it includes some presumed criticisms of proto-orthodox Christianity's understanding of the Passion.
In this view, they have misunderstood what occurred and worship "the doctrine of a dead man," while true salvation is achieved by allowing the spiritual Christ within.
The text encourages unity among Gnostics, assuring them that Jesus will help them overcome the false rulers and their followers.
