"Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star."  (The Gospel Of Judas). 

In the canonical gospels, Jesus is the literal son of God, who was born to redeem human kind from sin.  The price that must be paid is that Jesus must be crucified and killed on the cross.  Gnostics would point out that the Old Testament God abhorred human sacrifice, and forbade any of his people from doing it.  Here is an example from the book of Deuteronomy. 

"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods."

As I mentioned last week, Gnostics believe that the Old Testament God and the New Testament God are not the same.  Why would God abhor and forbid child sacrifice in the Old Testament, and then be willing to offer up his own son to be brutally beaten and then crucified on a cross in the New Testament? Gnostics believe that the body is just a shell, or a vessel, and that the soul (the Gnostics call Pneuma) lives on no matter what happens to the body.  It is our Pneuma that will be reborn in a new body should the path of Gnosis not be found, or it will be joined in the heavenly realms should the path be found.  There is no way for a living person to enter the heavenly realm, but is possible for them to see it and know how to get there.  The body has to die and the Pneuma freed for it to be able to travel to the heavenly plains of existence. 
Jesus knew this to be true, and knew that to return to the heavenly realm, his human body had to die.  Jesus believed that 11 of his disciples were beguiled by the Demiurge and that only 1 knew the truth and was strong enough to carry out and set in motion the events that would free Jesus from his mortal coil and allow him to rejoin the heavenly realm.  This one Apostle was none other than Judas Iscariot.

" But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me. Already your horn has been raised, your wrath has been kindled, your star has shone brightly, and your heart has [been hardened..."] The Gospel Of Judas

Indeed, Judas's heart was hardened, and he does everything the canonical gospels claim he did.  The major difference in the Gospel of Judas, however, is that he does it with the full blessings of Jesus.  This has to happen! None of the others would have understood or acted to free Jesus of the bonds of humanity.  Judas understands that the others are going to hate him for it, and Jesus warns Judas that he will be hated and despised for generations to come.  Agonizing over his misfortune, Judas is called to join Jesus (in private).

"Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom,"  The Gospel Of Judas

Judas is shown the path to Gnosis and assured his place in the heavenly realm.  Jesus wanted to let Judas know that his place was prepared in a place far higher and above that of the other 11 Apostles. 
In the end, we know what happens to Jesus Christ.  He does end up being crucified and dies.  Christians believe that he arose on the third day and was resurrected.  Gnostics believe that he remained dead, and that his Pneuma returned to the heavenly plain where it belonged.  The Gospel of Judas does not end with Judas hanging himself, or with his bowels bursting out of his body.  In an odd twist, Judas foresees his death as being stoned to death by the 11 Apostles that would come to revile and hate him.  His Pneuma joining that of Jesus. 

For more about The Gospel Of Judas follow this link [link]

To read the Gospel Of Judas follow this link [link]

My continued prayers to my friends  Mia, Chas, and Shell

To my friends and watchers I wish you a wonderful and prosperous week ahead...