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Astanphaeus
Astanphaeus (or Astaphaeus) is an evil angel in Gnosticism. He was seen as an Angel of the Presence, the seventh and last of them. He was associated with the planet Mercury. Among the elements he is associated with water, among the human body parts with hair In the ''Adversus Haereses'' book (180 CE), Irenaeus wrote, that Ophites (a Christian Gnostic sect) considered Hebrew Bible prophets as spokesmen for evil gods of the lower world. Specifically, Ezra and Zephaniah were believed to belong to Astanphaeus. In Sethian Gnosticism, Astanphaeus can be identified with the archon Astaphaios in ''Contra Celsum'' by Origen Adamantius. The archon, however, has a different planetary alignment than the angel: Venus, not Mercury. See also *Ialdabaoth *Archons *Angels of the Presence * Ogdoad References External links {{Wikisourcehas, an English translation of, Ante-Nicene Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astaphaios
In Sethian Gnosticism, Astaphaios is an archon. In ''On the Origin of the World'', he is one of the three sons of Yaldabaoth, with the other two being Yao and Eloai. In the ''Apocryphon of John The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed b ...'', he is the third of the seven archons. See also * Astanphaeus References Gnostic deities {{Gnosticism-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ... and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent demiurge, lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the nature, material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never far from the Sun, either as morning star or evening star. Aside from the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in Earth's sky, capable of casting visible shadows on Earth at dark conditions and being visible to the naked eye in broad daylight. Venus is the second largest terrestrial object of the Solar System. It has a surface gravity slightly lower than on Earth and has a very weak induced magnetosphere. The atmosphere of Venus, mainly consists of carbon dioxide, and is the densest and hottest of the four terrestrial planets at the surface. With an atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface of about 92 times the sea level pressure of Earth and a mean temperature of , the carbon dioxide gas at Venus's surface is in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnostic Deities
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. Gnostic writings flourished among certain Christian groups in the Mediterranean world around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ogdoad (Gnosticism)
The concept of an Ogdoad appears in Gnostic systems of the early Christian era, and was further developed by the theologian Valentinus (''ca''. 160 AD). The number eight plays an important part in Gnostic systems, and it is necessary to distinguish the different forms in which it appeared at different stages in the development of Gnosticism. The earliest Gnostic systems included a theory of seven heavens and a supercelestial region called the Ogdoad. Astronomical theories had introduced the concept of seven planetary spheres with an eighth above them, the sphere of the fixed stars. In the system of Valentinus, the seven heavens, and even the region above them, were regarded as but the lowest and last stage of the exercise of creative power. Above them was the Pleroma, where were exhibited the first manifestations of the evolution of subordinate existence from the great First Principle. 7 + 1 System Seven heavens All the early Gnostics of whose opinions Irenaeus give ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angels Of The Presence
In some Judeo-Christian traditions, the Angel of the Presence / Face (lit. "faces", Hebrew: ''Mal'akh HaPanim'', ) or Angel of his presence / face (Hebrew: ''Mal'akh Panav'', ) refers to an entity variously considered angelic or else identified with God himself. The phrase occurs in the Book of Isaiah (), which states that, throughout the history of the Israelites, God has loved and been merciful to that nation and shared in its distresses, saving Israel with "the angel of his presence". The Septuagint translation of the Book of Isaiah explains the term in the most explicit language as a reference to God: "not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself (Greek: αὐτὸς κύριος) saved them". In the Book of Jubilees, the Angel of the Presence explains to Moses the history of Israel. Jubilees depicts this entity as one of God's special agents and does not provide him with a specific name. In the Testament of Judah, Judah states that he has received blessing from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archon (Gnosticism)
Archons are, in Gnosticism and religions closely related to it, the builders of the physical universe. Among the Archontics, Ophites, Sethians and in the writings of Nag Hammadi library, the archons are rulers, each related to one of seven planets; they prevent souls from leaving the material realm. The political connotation of their name reflects rejection of the governmental system, as flawed without chance of true salvation. In Manichaeism, the archons are the rulers of a realm within the "Kingdom of Darkness", who together make up the Prince of Darkness. In ''The Reality of the Rulers'', the physical appearance of Archons is described as hermaphroditic, with their faces being those of beasts. Hebdomad A characteristic feature of the Gnostic concept of the universe is the role played in almost all Gnostic systems by the seven world-creating archons, known as the (ἑβδομάς). These Seven are in most systems semi-hostile powers, and are reckoned as the last and lowest eman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ialdabaoth
Yaldabaoth, Jaldabaoth, or Ildabaoth is an evil deity and creator of the material world in various Gnostic sects and movements, sometimes represented as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent. He is identified as the Demiurge and false god who keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe. The name is derived from the Aramaic expression ''yaldā bahôt'' (), which means "descendant of Chaos". Role in Gnosticism Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and early Christian sects. In the formation of Christianity, various sectarian groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') of the divine spark within, over faith (''pistis'') in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians. Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable God, and the Demiurge, "creator" of the material universe. The Gnostics considered the most essential p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contra Celsum
''Against Celsus'' (Greek: Κατὰ Κέλσου ''Kata Kelsou''; Latin: ''Contra Celsum''), preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise ''The True'' ''Word'' (Λόγος Ἀληθής ''Logos Alēthēs''). Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. Or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Origen Adamantius
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early centers of Christianity#Alexandria, Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, exegesis, biblical exegesis and biblical hermeneutics, hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality. He was one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, Christian apologetics, apologetics, and asceticism. He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced". Origen sought martyrdom with his father at a young age but was prevented from turning himself in to the authorities by his mother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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