The Supernal Abode, Heaven & Hell

The promise of heaven and the threat of hell have been played upon strongly by orthodox and fundamental forms of Christianity, which propose that those who believe in the Savior will receive eternal life in a heavenly abode and those who do not believe will suffer eternal damnation in hell. Typically, eternal damnation would include the righteous of every other faith apart from Christianity. In Gnostic Christianity, however, heaven and hell assume a very different meaning, for a soul attaining an ascent into the heavens is not necessarily enlightened, and a soul experiencing hell is not bound there forever – heavens and hells are the product of dualistic consciousness and form the karmic matrix of creation.

Both in the Gospel of St. Matthew and Gospel of St. Thomas there are interesting comments regarding the heavens. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, as part of the Sermon on the Mount we find this saying: “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass away from the law until all is accomplished.” (Gospel of St. Matthew 5:17-18) First of all, according to these verses, heaven, like the earth, is not eternal, but exists for a limited duration. Even if the heavens are forever, they are not the Eternal Abode. Secondly, like the earth, the heavens are bound to the law, specifically the law of karma (causality), and thus are the karmic matrix under the Dominion of Cosmic Ignorance. Thus, even the attainment of the highest heaven would not represent the attainment of a Supernal or Messianic Consciousness, or a full and complete Enlightenment and Liberation.

This is reflected in the Gospel of St. Thomas as well, where it is written: Jesus said, “This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. And the dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, what will you do? On the day you were one, you became two. And when you become two, what will you do?” (Logion 11) This saying clearly speaks of the impermanence of the heavens, as well as the earth, and alludes to them as the product of dualistic consciousness. It also alludes to something beyond the heavens – the source of the Light.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians something quite remarkable is said of the heavens. There it is written: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Here the apostle speaks directly of the Dominion of Cosmic Ignorance, and even alludes to Satan having a heavenly root. Thus, not only are the heavens bound by the law, but however subtle and sublime, dualism remains present in them and they are a phenomenon of consciousness conditioned by karma. From these few verses we must conclude that what Yeshua calls the “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” is something that transcends the heavens and the hells completely, for he speaks of the Divine Kingdom in terms of eternal life, yet he clearly speaks of the heavens as impermanent and finite.

There is a very interesting teaching in the Kabbalah concerning the source of light in the heavens and fire in the hells. First of all, the Kabbalah says that the light of the heavens and fire of the hells are both the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, not for the sake of reward and punishment, but rather for the sake of the education of souls – hence Divine Illumination. Likewise, in one cosmological myth the Kabbalah speaks of the highest class of angels in the Order of the Seraphim, which worship God and Godhead in the Supernal Abode and which stand in the inner Shekinah of God. According to the Kabbalah, these great angels perspire when they worship and their perspiration flows down to become the light of the heavens and fire of the hells. As you may know from other teachings in the Tradition, both the Seraphim and the Holy Spirit often indicate the Serpent Power, or what in Eastern Schools is called “Kundalini.” Thus, on the one hand, the source of the heavens and hells lies beyond, in the Supernal Abode; and on the other hand, the heavens and hells are the product of the radiant nature of our own consciousness or soul.

In the teachings of the Tradition on death, dying and the afterlife states, this is made perfectly clear, for according to these teachings all that appears, whether heavens or hells or realms in between, or angels or demons, all is the radiance of the soul or consciousness and must be recognized as such. According to these teachings the initiate should neither accept a place in a heavenly abode, nor accept any descent into the hells; he or she should neither attach him or herself to heavenly visions nor be averse to hellish visions. Instead, the initiate is directed to recognize everything that appears as the radiant nature of his or her own soul and to seek unification with the Light-Presence.

This is reflected in teachings on the Threefold Body of Melchizedek as well. For the Body of Emanation is that which appears on earth and the Body of Glory is that which appears in the heavens, but the Body of Truth (Amet), from which these arise, transcends the heavens and the earth – its Holy Root is in the Supernal Abode.

Essentially, according to the teachings, the heavens and hells are the product of attachments and aversions in consciousness; hence they arise due to the impurity of desire and fear in consciousness (karmic conditioning.) As long as these attachments and aversions remain, the soul remains bound to the gilgulim (the potentially endless transmigrations of the soul.) The cause of impure desire and fear is the ego-illusion, thus heavens and hells are projections of a fundamental state of ignorance and self-grasping. In this light one may contemplate the Gospels and the actual teachings of Yeshua Messiah, all of which aim at the cessation of the ego-illusion, and the desire and fear that are the natural products of it. Such sayings as “do not resist evil” begin to make sense in conjunction with these teachings on heaven and hell – for attachments to what one desires and aversion to what one fears hold the soul in bondage to Cosmic Ignorance.

Thus, in the teachings it is said, “The sinner will go to hell and the saint will go to heaven, yet neither will attain Enlightenment and Liberation.” Essentially, a true state of Divine Illumination is beyond the concepts of saint and sinner, and for this reason it is said in the Kabbalah that a Tzaddik (Righteous Person) is beyond either the saint or the sinner. This teaching is reflected in the story of Cain and Abel, and Seth who comes after them. Cain (the sinner) slays Abel (the saint), neither of whom are the image and likeness of Adam (the Human One.) Cain murdered Abel and, thus, lost his humanity, and therefore Adam and Eve are blessed with the birth of Seth who is said to be the image and likeness of Adam – hence a true Human Being. In the Gospels the most common title give to Yeshua Messiah is the Son of Adam (Son of the Human One), which in essence means Seth. Essentially, Seth represents the prototype of the Supernal Human Being; hence one who transcends saint and sinner, and who is established in the Supernal Image.

In Sophian teachings, however, the heavens and hells are not merely spoken of in terms of afterlife states, but rather they are related to states of consciousness experienced in life – what may be called psychological states and the spiritual forces with which our thoughts, emotions, words and deeds link us. Heaven or hell in this regard represents our attachments and aversions in life, as well as positive and negative emotional states we experience from day to day. This is reflected, for example, in a traditional teaching of the Kabbalah which says “the Holy Shekinah cannot come to rest upon a depressed person,” and that “Ruach Ha-Kodesh cannot enter where darkness is allowed to dwell.” Thus, seeking to invite and to welcome the Shekinah and Holy Spirit we are taught to cultivate joy, and specifically to cultivate the fear of the Lord and love of the Lord.

It is said, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Hokmah.)” Quite obviously it is not the fear of punishment and Gehenna that is meant, but rather what is meant by “fear” is holy awe and wonder – awe and wonder of the Mystery of the One Life-Power. What is implied by the word fear (Pachad) is the Holy Awareness of the Sacred Unity underlying all of creation and all levels of consciousness; hence the Awareness of Supernal Being. This Presence of Awareness naturally leads to love, which is a state of yearning for a conscious unification – Mystical Union with God and Godhead being the natural fruition of Spiritual Love.

Love is the light of the law, and transcends the law, thus the “fulfillment of the law and the prophets” of which Yeshua speaks. Firstly, where there is love no instruction in righteousness or how to be an authentic human being is necessary, and therefore no commandments, such as “Do not kill” or “Do not steal.” Basically, the law is for the lawless and those who are lacking in love. Secondly, where there is love there is unity and harmony, and all dualism is put to an end, for the fruition of love is cessation in the embrace of the Beloved, which is the fulfillment of the law and prophets.

In the process of the development and evolution towards Supernal or Messianic Consciousness we may certainly speak of the heavens as respites between incarnations in which the progress of the soul is integrated. Likewise we may speak of the hells as regressions in evolution through which the obstructions to the next progress in the evolution of the soul are worked out. However, neither heaven nor hell represents Enlightenment and Liberation. Therefore, at the heart of Gnostic Christian teachings is the aim to attain repose in the Supernal Abode and thus to “ascend beyond the heavens” altogether; hence our aim is a conscious unification with the Light-Presence and the Light-Continuum of Supernal Being.

Again and again as one approaches Gnostic Christian teachings one must bear in mind that we use exoteric terms with esoteric and mystical meaning, in order to understand what the teachings are actually saying. Always we speak with more subtle and sublime meaning than our orthodox and fundamental counterparts, though, indeed, we use many of the same terms. Therefore one needs to listen and hear with more subtle and sublime ears. We study and contemplate many of the same Scriptures, but we seek the mystical meaning and secret wisdom they contain. Here, through our dialogue on heaven and hell, a good example is given.

If one learns to look and see the inner mystical meaning of Scriptures, one will find a whole new Holy Book before one’s eyes and a true guide to Enlightenment and Liberation. It is the aim of the Sophian Tradition to train our initiates to look and see in this way, and thus to study and contemplate sacred texts as a vehicle of Mystical Union with the Light-Presence.

Blessings & shalom!