The Gospel of Thomas Fully Interpreted – Logion 1 to 10
The SECRET teachings beneath the veil
These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.
In this opening statement there are two important phrases that need to be fully understood. The first is ‘hidden words’, which means that the Logia should not be taken literally, but rather should be considered as esoteric (intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group.) The secret teachings were presented in this way, because if they had been taught in plain language, then they would soon have incurred the full wrath of what were considered to be, the spiritually blind and dead, and it would not have been possible to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. You should therefore take into account that many of the words used in the secret teachings are allegorical. (Allegory: a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.) The second phrase to consider is the living Jesus. At first glance, you may reason that this refers to Jesus being physically alive at the time when Thomas recorded Jesus’ words. However, Thomas was actually referring to Jesus’ spiritual state of being.
Logion 1:
He said, “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death”.
Interpretation:
If you were no more than a physical being, then how would it be possible for you to experience anything after your physical body has died? It is plain to see that life and death (as mentioned in the scriptures) are not speaking of physical things. It is a fact that every physical body eventually dies, and once dead it is incapable of experiencing anything.
To experience something requires three things; existence, awareness and consciousness. Therefore to experience life or death there must be something that exists after the physical body no longer functions, something that is not of a physical nature, something that is not of this material world.
It is plain to see that these logia and indeed all scriptures, are not teachings things that concern the physical and materialistic world, but rather they are teachings about the spiritual Self, soul and mind. The Self is immortal, why then teach only of temporary things?
Mark 8:36 KJV: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Whoever finds the interpretations will have found the understanding of truth, and it is this Light of Understanding that gives life to the soul. This Light of Understanding is the Spirit of Truth, also known as the Holy Spirit. Death is only experienced in the absence of this light.
There are three types of soul, each following its chosen path on its life journey.
The first follows the narrow path which is the path of life, which leads to home. It is the right path of righteous desire.
The second is the middle path and is the path of the spiritually diseased, and disabled. These are referred to as sinners who require spiritual healing. It is these that Jesus came to save. They are also referred to as the spiritually crippled who require faith. Some are referred to as the blind who cannot see the Truth, and some are referred to as lepers, who have been misled by false doctrines.
The third is the left path also known as the ditch. This is the path of those who are completely materialistic minded, in other words, they have no spiritual understanding; they are the spiritually dead and blind. They are the dead whose path leads to the oblivion of their souls.
The good news is that those on the middle path can change their path if they wish to.
If you have even a little of the Light of Understanding you will be given more, and what you have cannot be taken away from you.
The key to the scriptures has always been spiritual understanding, and I know it can be difficult at times but do not try to understand or interpret them materialistically.
Come see beneath the veil at what this world has hidden from you, and in seeing you will find yourself.
See also in John 8:51 KJV: Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Logion 2
Jesus said, “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All.”
Interpretation:
What you search for is the Truth and Understanding of yourself, your Soul, and your inner kingdom. When you find these things you will have come to know yourself and you will become troubled because you will feel alone and disconnected from the material world, and everything else outside of yourself.
When you become troubled you will be astonished as you realize that you are the creator and ruler of your inner kingdom and all that there is therein, including your Soul, it is then in your astonishment that you will realize that you are a God and you will rule over the ALL, which is everything in your own personal inner spiritual domain.
Logion 3
Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.”
Interpretation:
The words those who lead you is an obvious reference to the religious authorities, who were teaching a literal and materialistic interpretation of the scriptures.
The kingdom is not in the sky or the sea of this material world, if it were then the birds and the fish would be there before you. The kingdom is not of this world, rather the kingdom is inside of the Soul and it is outside of the Soul. This is because the kingdom is the Self’s mind, and the Soul is formed from its substance.
When the Souls of the disciples realize what they are, then they will become known to each other and they will realize that they are the sons of the living father. The father being the Self’s righteous desire.
But if the Souls will not come to know themselves then they have nothing of worth, and they are of no worth, because they dwell in the poverty of ignorance.
See also in Luke 17:21 KJV: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Logion 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.”
Interpretation:
The man old in days is a reference to the wise soul that is near the end of its life journey.
The small child seven days old is a reference to the soul at the beginning of its life journey.
When the wise soul asks the soul at the beginning of its life journey about the place of life, he will understand that the soul is the place of life, and with this understanding his soul will be filled with Life.
The Light of Understanding is the Spirit of Truth, and it is the Spirit that gives life to the Word.
For many souls that took their place in the beginning will take their place also in the end, and both of those souls will become one and the same. The end will be the same as the beginning.
See also in Matthew 18:3 KJV: And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Logion 5
Jesus said, “Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest.”
Interpretation:
That which was hidden from the disciples was the kingdom. They could see it but did not recognize it. You too are seeing it even now, but you have not recognized it. The kingdom that should be recognized is of course your mind, your kingdom, your domain.
Every image that you see is in your mind, this is why you can still see things when your physical eyes are closed.
There is seeing and there is perceiving. To perceive is to recognize what you are seeing; to perceive is to understand.
It is when people do not realize that what they are seeing is seen in the mind that the illusion of being in the material world occurs.
Logion 6
His disciples questioned him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?”
Jesus said, “Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered.”
Interpretation:
If you have to ask someone what you should do and how you should behave, then these things are not an expression of what you yourself feels is right. They will simply be done to look good in the eyes of others, and make you feel proud, which would be dishonest and a deception.
If you tell lies and do what you hate, you may fool others but you cannot fool yourself, because the Truth will be in your mind. It will trigger your conscience and leave you feeling guilty. What reward do you have then?
Many people tell lies and do what they hate because they want to be accepted or loved by others, but even if they succeed they know inside that what they have gained is not deserved, and all it has done is cause harm to the Soul.
Always be honest and true to your feelings, because if you don’t you will never know peace, and no-one will ever know the real you.
All things are plain in the sight of heaven (righteous mind).
Logion 7
Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.”
Interpretation:
The man represents the soul.
The lion represents desire.
When the soul consumes desire his desire becomes righteous.
When desire consumes the soul, the soul becomes unrighteous.
Either you rule over desire or desire rulers over you.
If you rule over desire then desire will be blessed.
If desire rules over you then you will become cursed. There can be only one ruler in your domain/mind.
See also in 1 Peter 5:8 KJV: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Logion 8
And he said, “The man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Interpretation:
In Matthew 4:19 KJV it is written; and he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And so a wise fisherman is a reference to a wise disciple.
Preaching to the people is likened to casting a net and attracting a crowd. People caught in the crowd are like fish caught in a net.
Souls are likened to fish. Souls exist in the mind, and the mind is likened to the sea.
The large fish represents a soul that had grown with knowledge and understanding of spiritual things, in other words, a soul that was worthy of the mysteries. The small fish represents those not yet ready, or incapable of understanding or perceiving the meanings of the teachings. To be thrown back is to be rejected as followers.
The wise disciple would choose those who were worthy of the teachings without difficulty. Whoever has the ability to understand, let him understand.
The lesson here is; choose wisely who you choose to teach.
Logion 9
Jesus said, “Now the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds) and scattered them. Some fell on the road; the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on the rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not produce ears. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed(s) and worms ate them. And others fell on the good soil and it produced good fruit: it bore sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure.”
Interpretation:
The sower is the teacher. The handful of seeds represent the teachings of the Gospel of the kingdom.
The seeds represent the Truths in those teachings. The scattering of the seeds is the sharing of the teachings with those gathered to hear them.
When hearing the teachings of the kingdom a person will react in one of four ways, and so what happens to the seeds of Truth in those teachings is dependent on the person’s reaction. Each person will react according to their knowledge, beliefs, level of understanding and desire.
Reaction One
The seeds that fell on the road are the teachings that were not understood by the one receiving them. The birds that came and gathered them up, and disposed of them are the thoughts of the one who has an unrighteous heart.
It is this type of person that would judge someone teaching about the kingdom as being foolish.
Reaction Two
The seeds that fell on the rock, are the teachings received by the person whose belief in them was temporary and weak. When first heard the teachings made this person feel joyful, but when his belief was tested because of suffering and persecution, the Truth of the teachings of the kingdom died in him without producing any more knowledge of Truth.
This is the type of person that has knowledge without faith.
Reaction Three
The seeds that fell on thorns, are the teachings rejected by the person whose love of this world and its wealth is too great to accept them. It is the criticisms of his own heart and mind that choke the Truth of the teachings of the kingdom, and so they do not produce more seeds of Truth, and there is no pleasure gained from them.
It is this type of person that loves power and wealth far too much to accept the Truth. In scripture subconscious desires are likened to worms that eat the roots of plants.
Reaction Four
The seed that fell on good soil, are the seeds of Truth that fall into the open and righteous mind, and then onto the surface of the fertile subconscious mind where they take root. It is then that the seeds of Truth are able to grow and produce a harvest of many more seeds of Truth. Such a person who possesses this type of mind will eventually be filled with Truth, Understanding, and Unconditional Love. To those who have a little more will be given.
See also in Matthew 13:19-21 KJV: Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Logion 10
Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes.”
Interpretation:
It was a burning desire for Truth that Jesus had ignited in the hearts of the people, and he was guarding it until it became a passion.
The religious authorities wanted that fire put out, because it was a threat to their power and wealth, and so they began arguing with Jesus in the hope of convincing the people that what Jesus was teaching was wrong. But Jesus countered their accusations with logic and reason, and in this way he was guarding the fire he had ignited in the hearts of the people.
See also in Matthew 10:34 KJV: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.