Texts in Conversation
The Gospel of Philip applies Matthew's outer darkness to the boundary beyond which nothing else lies. A punishment outside the wedding feast becomes the final place of loss, connecting expulsion from a banquet with exclusion from the life found within.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 22:13
New Testament
10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Gospel of Philip 8:16
Nag Hammadi
This is why the Lord called perdition, “the outer darkness,” and there is nothing further outside than it. He said: “My Father who is in secret.” He said, “Enter into your closet and close your door behind you, and pray to your Father who is in secret,” he who is the one inside all of them, but he who is inside all of them is the fullness, beyond which there is nothing else more interior. To describe this it is said, “what is above them.” Before Christ (came), some exited from where they could no longer enter, and they went to where they could no longer leave. Christ, however, came, and those who entered, he escorted them outside, and those who exited, he brought them inside.
Search:
Notes and References
“... 69c. For it is rightly said: 'The inner, the outer, and what is outside the outer'. Because of this the Lord called perdition 'the outer darkness';** there is no other outside of it. 69d. He said: 'My Father who is in secret'. He said: 'Go into your chamber, shut your door behind you, and pray to your Father who is in secret'.*' which means: he who is within all. But that which is within all is the Pleroma. Beyond that there is nothing other within it. This is the one of whom it is said: 'He who is above them'. [...] 44. C f M t . 8:12; 22:13; 25:30. ...”
Schenke, Hans-Martin
"The Gospel of Philip" in Schneemelcher, Wilhelm; Wilson, R. McL. (ed.) New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1: Gospels and Related Writings
(p. 197, 208) James Clarke & Co., 1991
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,