Gospel of Thomas - Chapter 006
Contents
Saying 4
- (4) Jesus said, "The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same."
man old in days
The man old in days is the Ancient of days. (m. The man old in days - Ancient of days)
small child
The small child is Jesus who was the “smallest seed” or the “least of men” because he served them all. (m. small child - “smallest seed”)
seven days old
Genesis 1 is a table of contents to the rest of the Bible, which is split into six portions representing six days. The man (Christ) obtained his bride (the church) on day six covered by the New Testament. The conversation takes place on the seventh day.
Or perhaps simply means "complete" or "perfect/mature" since the number 7 represents completeness. (m. seven days old - complete, perfect)
He is as old as from the beginning to the end... the alpha and omega.
place of life
The “place of life” takes a bit of explaining. Before the creation there was nothing but God. There was no place to contain him, since there is nothing bigger than God. When he created, he opened a void within himself in which to place all of the heavens and the earth. (The earth was void…) This is where it gets fun. In שמים heaven is the ש Spirit, מ is the Father, and ם is the Son. See the yud י in there? It’s not required to make the word heaven but it represents the first speck of the void created. It contains everything that was made. We are made of tiny voids within God. We are made of nothing.
- Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
This is an allegory to help visualize the proposition
- This is the way it works. The smallest particle that exists, maybe something like a Plank particle is a void in the “substance” of God. The voids are gathered together into larger stable clusters. So imagine a film negative in 3-d. Everything you think is black is white. In the universe what you think is a void is what is the substance of God (He’s what’s left when you remove everything else). And what you think is solid are really voids within him.
- All of the properties of physics are redefined as properties of the geometry surrounding the voids. When the geometry creates tension is a charged particle, when the geometry creates compression, it is the opposite charge. The two will attract in order to reduce stresses in the surrounding substance. Gravity is really a push away from the substance in lower energy levels which tends to cluster the voids as though they were attracted to each other. All the properties of physics are explained by the geometry of the substance, and a unified field theory is derived from the analysis. The 'place of life' is the existence within the void... the place within himself that God made room for us...actually 'many rooms'.
- When the Son became incarnate, his existence moved from being the substance to being the voids that made up his body.
- Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person [ὑπόστασις - substance, essential nature], and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
he will live
Ambiguity between the ancient one and the child, but since the child is the one who was put to death, this suggests the resurrection.
many who are first will become last
The law of love says to put others first and self last.
they will become one and the same
- Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Meaning
What could God-the-Father learn from God-the-Son? The stuff that the Son learned.
- Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
After having the conversation and after the resurrection, the Son remains in the flesh (“he lives”) “married to the flesh” so to speak.
The Son will be pre-eminent among the many, who were the expressions of God before creation, and they will all be one again. (The Son was separated on the cross).
As odd as it sounds when stated this way, it is what most Christians believe. There is a physical resurrection where we live with Christ physically forever.
- (1) Metaphor "The man old in days", "place of life", "small child seven days"
- (2) Nominal reference "he will live"
- (3) Spatial reference "For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same." The alef is first, and the meaning of its name is '1000'. The alef can represent the creator or the creation. The riddle clarifies the reference with "many who". The four-prong shin is last with a gematria of 1000. The created ones will become kings, and the king (Christ who emptied himself) will become God. (He will be restored to his previous glory.)
- (m. 1000 - king)
