The Paraphrase of Shem

The Paraphrase of Shem

📖 Book 1 – Opening Revelation

The Paraphrase of Shem.

I, Shem, addressed this prayer to the exalted aeon, he who is incorruptible, the perfect, who is not divided, who is self-begotten, self-fathering, the one who dwells in the invisible, spiritual land.

I asked that I might see the aeons of the eons and that I might inherit what I have perceived through the power of the spirit.

And I saw in the light, the powers of the left and the right. I saw the power of the Middle, and I called out to the Light that I had seen:

“Hear me, my Light! For I am Shem, the son of Noah. I have come to you from the race of the children of the great eternal aeon.”

And immediately, the Light stood before me and said:

“Greetings, Shem. Behold, I am Derdekeas, the Light, the Great Revealer, the one who was hidden in the shadow of the aeon. I have come to you to reveal the mysteries of the aeons and to awaken you to your origin.”

And I, Shem, was terrified but rejoiced at the same time, for the voice of Derdekeas stirred my spirit, and I saw the realms of light and shadow spread out before me like a scroll.

And Derdekeas said:

“Hear now the mystery of the aeons and the birth of the powers that rule the heavens and the depths. Hear how the thought of the invisible Spirit stirred, and the sound of its will moved like a wave through the abyss…”

Then the voice of Derdekeas came to me again, saying:

“Shem, arise in your spirit and hear. The Thought came forth from the great aeon.

The Light, which is without shadow, was born from the silence of the Hidden One. It moved over the abyss and separated the chaos from the Spirit.

From the disturbance came a wind, and the wind became a great cloud. And the cloud gave birth to shadow, and the shadow brought forth the ruler of the Middle.

This ruler saw himself in the mirror of the deep and called himself God. But he was blind and without knowledge, and the powers that came from him were twisted and defiled.

And they made realms and heavens, and they said: ‘We are the only gods, and there is no one above us.’

But the Light did not cease. It sent a witness — a spark — into the world of the rulers. And the spark cried out in the language of the aeons.

And I, Shem, saw that the rulers were disturbed. They could not bear the Light, nor understand the spark.

Then Derdekeas said to me:

‘You, Shem, are from the race of the spark. You are a child of the silence. You have been sent to awaken those who sleep in shadow.’”

Then I, Shem, said to Derdekeas:

“Lord, where shall I go? For I am in the midst of shadow and wind, and the rulers are many. They make war and speak lies and deceive the minds of those who dwell below.”

And Derdekeas answered me, saying:

“You shall go into the world, but you will not be of the world.

You will proclaim the truth to the elect, and to those who have ears, let them hear. But many will not believe, and the rulers will rise against you.

You will be clothed in forgetfulness, and your body will be formed of matter. But your spirit is from the silence, and the memory of the light will not depart from you.”

And he showed me a vision of the aeons:

The aeon of light stood in radiance, and the aeon of darkness trembled before it.

A great fire separated them, and the fire became thought, and the thought became will, and the will became form.

And the form was the spiritual race, which the rulers could not touch.

And Derdekeas said:

“This is the race of the children of the Light. They are strangers in the world. They will awaken, and they will remember.

When they remember, the rulers will fall, and the silence will speak again.”

And I, Shem, bowed and said to Derdekeas:

“I will go, Lord. I will speak your name in the land of the dead, and I will sow light in the valleys of shadow.”

And Derdekeas said:

“The time will be long, and the number of your days will be full of affliction.

But the Spirit will be with you, and the Memory of the Silence will go before you.

There is a place of rest beyond the world, where the aeons rejoice and the Sound returns to its Source.

There, the mind is still, and the form is incorruptible.

This is the inheritance of those who overcome the world.”

And I beheld the winds of chaos moving over the deep.

The rulers stirred, and a voice rose from the abyss saying:

“Let us bind the sons of light and give them names and laws.

Let us build cities and temples, and let us fill them with blood and noise and forgetfulness.”

But the spark of the Light could not be bound, and those who remembered their source became strangers to the world.

They wandered the earth like fire in the wind, speaking the hidden name and gathering the lost.

And Derdekeas said to me:

“The rulers will rage, and their heavens will tremble.

They will cast out the names of the holy, and they will exalt their own law.

They will make the waters defiled, and they will raise up false baptisms in my name.

But their waters will not cleanse, and their rites will bind, and their temples will fall to dust.”

And I, Shem, asked:

“Shall none be saved from their hands?”

And Derdekeas answered:

“The ones who awaken will shine like stars in the firmament of the hidden aeon.

Their memory will return to them, and they will cast off the garments of forgetfulness.

They will walk in the light and not be deceived.

For the Spirit that is in them is from the silence before all beginnings, and it cannot be extinguished.”

And he showed me the paths of the stars, and the watchers that stand at the gates of the aeons.

He revealed the number of the seals, and the names of the unutterable ones who dwell in the light.

And he said:

“These are the ones who will open the scrolls and teach the hidden words when the appointed hour arrives.”

And Derdekeas continued and said to me:

“There will come a time when the firmaments shall collapse, and the stars shall fall from their places.

The rulers will mourn, for their dominion will end.

The aeons of darkness will be rolled up like a scroll, and the fire of knowledge will consume them.

And the children of light will ascend, for their names are written in the book of the Unshaken Generation.”

And I, Shem, fell upon my face and wept.

For the sorrows of the world were many, and the cries of the forgotten burned within my spirit.

But Derdekeas lifted me up and said:

“Do not mourn, for you are not of them. You are from the place where no tears fall.

Speak this to the children of light:

‘Awaken. Cast off the sleep of the world. Remember who you are. The One waits for you.’”

And a silence came upon all things, and I saw the aeons trembling before the name that cannot be spoken.

Then I was returned to my body, and the vision was sealed in my heart like fire within a lamp.

And I wrote what I had seen, for the time to speak would come.

And I, Shem, finished writing this revelation, as it was shown to me by Derdekeas, the radiant one.

And he said to me again:

“Seal these words until the appointed time.

Only the race of the immovable ones, the unshaken, will receive them.

For the world will scoff, and the rulers will mock, and the blind will not see.

But the flame will not be quenched.

You are its bearer.”

Then Derdekeas was hidden from me, and I saw him no more.

But the echo of his voice remained within me like thunder in a deep place.

And I walked among the people, but I was not of them.

For I knew the truth, and I carried the name that is not spoken.

I bore the scroll of memory, and I guarded the flame of remembrance.

And I say now to those with ears:

Awaken. The aeons await.

The rulers fall.

The silence speaks.

The Light is near.

I am Shem.

I have spoken.