Gnosticism (Greek: γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that the material cosmos was created by an imperfect god, the demiurge with some of the supreme God's pneuma; this being is frequently identified with theAbrahamic God, (as opposed to the Gospel according to the Hebrews) and is contrasted with a superior entity, referred to by several terms including Pleroma and Godhead.^[1]Depictions of the demiurge—the term originates with Plato's Timaeus^[2]—vary from being as an embodiment of evil, to being merely imperfect and as benevolent as its inadequacy permits. Gnosticism was a dualistic religion, influenced by and influencing Hellenic philosophy, Judaism (see Notzrim), and Christianity;^[3] however, by contrast, later strands of the movement, such as the Valentinians, held a monistic world-view.^[4] This, along with the varying treatments of the demiurge, may be seen as indicative of the variety of positions held within the category.

The gnōsis referred to in the term is a form of mystic, revealed, esoteric knowledge through which the spiritual elements of humanity are reminded of their true origins within the superior Godhead, being thus permitted to escape materiality.^[5] Consequently, within the sects of gnosticism only the pneumatics or psychics obtain gnōsis; the hylic orSomatics, though human, being incapable of perceiving the higher reality, are unlikely to attain the gnōsis deemed by gnostic movements as necessary for salvation.^[6][7]Jesus of Nazareth is identified by some Gnostic sects as an embodiment of the supreme being who became incarnate to bring gnōsis to the earth.^[8] In others (e.g. theNotzrim and Mandaeans) he is considered a mšiha kdaba or "false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John the Baptist.^[9] Still other traditions identifyMani and Seth, third son of Adam and Eve, as salvific figures.^[10]

Whereas Gnosticism has been considered by scholars to originate as a branch of Christianity, alternate theories have proposed traces of Gnostic systems existed some centuries before the Christian Era, thus predating the birth of Jesus.^[11] The movement spread in areas controlled by the Roman Empire and Arian Goths ^[12], and the Persian Empire; it continued to develop in the Mediterranean and Middle East before and during the second and third centuries. Conversion to Islam and the Albigensian Crusade(1209–1229) greatly reduced the remaining number of Gnostics throughout the Middle Ages, though a few Mandaean communities still exist. Gnostic ideas became influential in the philosophies of various esoteric mystical movements of the late 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and North America, including some that explicitly identify themselves as revivals or even continuations of earlier gnostic groups.

The Lost Book of Nostradamus – Apocalypse

In 1994, Italian journalist Enza Massa was at the Italian National Library in Rome when she stumbled upon an unusual find. It was a manuscript dating to 1629, titled: Nostradamus Vatinicia Code. Michel de Notredame, the author's name, was on the inside in indelible ink. This manuscript, never published by Nostradamus, was handed down to the prophet's son and later donated by him to Pope Urban VIII. It did not surface again until now, almost four hundred years later.

The cryptic paintings vary from the strange to the bizarre, with images of popes,decapitations and strange creatures.  Known as the "Vaticinia Nostradami",this book has often been considered to be Nostradamus' final propheciesregarding the end of the world as we know it.  It was said that Nostradamushad handed the book over to his son who in turn was to donate it to a cardinalat the time who later went on to become Pope Urban VIII; the book eventuallyended up in the library.In both the paintings and the accompanying quatrains within, Nostradamus is saidto have predicted the Nazi Blitzkrieg, the assassination attempt on Pope JohnPaul II, the burning of the oil wells of Kuwait by Iraq, and Boris Yeltsin'srise to power.

Some of the paintings reveal new prophecies, while others are eithergenerally indecipherable or linked to earlier quatrains, but not indicated. Among the paintings are a Pope with the body of a dog, female priests, clergymenbeing attacked and a black-skinned pope.  Following are original imagesfrom the Nostradamus Vatinicia.

Gospel of Thomas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For a similarly titled work, see Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

Texts of the Nag Hammadi library

The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian,non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library.^[1]

The Coptic language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus.^[2] Almost half of these sayings more or less resemble those found in theCanonical Gospels, while the other sayings were previously unknown. Its place of origin may have been Syria, where Thomasine traditions were strong.^[3]

The introduction states: These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down. ^[4] Didymus (Greek) and Thomas (Aramaic) both mean "twin". Scholars suspect this reference to theApostle Thomas to be false and the true writer remains unknown.^[5] The document probably originated within a schoolof early Christians, possibly proto-Gnostics ^[6] Even the description of Thomas as a "gnostic" gospel is based upon little other than the fact that it was found along with gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi.^[7] The name of Thomas was also attached to the Book of Thomas the Contender, which was also in Nag Hammadi Codex II, and the Acts of Thomas.

The Gospel of Thomas is very different in tone and structure from other New Testament apocrypha and the four Canonical Gospels. Unlike the canonical Gospels, it is not anarrative account of the life of Jesus; instead, it consists of logia (sayings) attributed to Jesus, sometimes stand-alone, sometimes embedded in short dialogues or parables. The text contains a possible allusion to the death of Jesus in logion 65 ^[8] (Parable of the Wicked Tenants, paralleled in the Synoptic Gospels), but doesn't mention crucifixion,resurrection, or final judgement; nor does it mention a messianic understanding of Jesus.^[9][10] The Early Church believed it to be a false gospel. Eusebius, for example, included it among a group of books that he believed to be not only spurious, but "the fictions of heretics" that should be thrown out as absurd and impious.^[11]