“... A similar intertextual juxtaposition of the two symbols—the ark of the covenant and the one of Noah—is found in the Gospel of Philip (NHC II,3). The author of this Valentinian composition makes use of typological exegesis, while putting the imagery of the ark and the flood into the eschatological per- spective of final “restoration:’ MINOV: NOAH AND THE FLOOD IN GNOSTICISM 227 in the holy. The veil at first concealed how God controlled the creation, but when the veil is rent and the things inside are revealed, this house will be left desolate, or rather will be [destroyed]. And the whole (inferior) godhead will flee [from] here but not into the holies [of the] holies, for it will not be able to mix with the unmixed [light] and the [flawless] fullness, but will be under the wings of the cross [and under] its arms. This ark [ⲦⲈⲈⲒϬⲒⲂⲰⲦⲞⲤ] will be [their] salvation when the flood of water [ⲠⲔⲀⲦⲀⲔⲖⲨⲤⲘⲞⲤ Ⲙ̅ⲘⲞⲞⲨ] surges over them.42 An intriguing detail of this latter-days scenario is that we are presented with two distinct groups of people: those of the priesthood, who shall enter the ultimate mystery of the “bridal chamber”; and, inferior to them, the follow- ers of the lower divinity, who shall seek salvation “under the wings of the cross.”43 Unfortunately, the author of the Gospel of Philip prefers to remain elusive and does not provide his readers with a key that would allow us to decode his message and get a clearer understanding of the kind of groups to which he refers. However, it seems plausible to suggest that he projects into the eschatological perspective the difference between the two groups, namely, between the spiritual and psychic races of humankind, that appears in many gnostic interpretations of the flood. Albeit in a cryptic form, he describes two different scenarios of behavior in the eschatological future that shall separate between the gnostic Christians and the ordinary believers. ...”