Against Heresies: Book I
Chapter 3: Passages from the Holy Bible Used by These Heretics to Justify Their Beliefs
Here's the text in modern English:
Such, then, is the account they give of what happened within the Pleroma; such are the calamities that arose from the passion that overtook the Æon who has been named, and who was nearly lost by being absorbed into the universal substance because of her inquisitive search for the Father. This is the stabilization of that Æon from her state of agony by Horos, Stauros, Lytrotes, Carpistes, Horothetes, and Metagoges. Such is also the account of the generation of the later Æons, namely the first Christ and the Holy Spirit, both of whom were produced by the Father after Sophia's repentance, and the second Christ (whom they also call Saviour), who came into being through the joint contributions of the Æons. They tell us, however, that this knowledge has not been openly revealed, because not everyone is capable of receiving it, but has been mystically revealed by the Saviour through parables to those qualified to understand it. This has been done as follows. The thirty Æons are indicated (as we have already noted) by the thirty years during which they say the Saviour performed no public acts, and by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. They claim Paul also clearly and frequently names these Æons, even preserving their order when he says, “To all the generations of the Æons of the Æon.” Indeed, when we give thanks and say the words, “To Æons of Æons” (forever and ever), we present these Æons. And, ultimately, wherever the words Æon or Æons appear, they immediately refer to these beings.
The production of the Duodecad of the Æons is shown by the fact that the Lord was twelve years old when He debated with the teachers of the law, and by the selection of the apostles, of whom there were twelve. The other eighteen Æons are revealed in this way: the Lord, according to them, spoke with His disciples for eighteen months after His resurrection from the dead. They also claim that these eighteen Æons are notably indicated by the first two letters of His name, namely Iota and Eta. Similarly, they assert that the ten Æons are signified by the letter Iota, which starts His name; and for the same reason, they say the Saviour stated, "One Iota, or one tittle, shall by no means pass away until all is fulfilled."
They also assert that the suffering experienced by the twelfth Æon is symbolized by the betrayal of Judas, who was the twelfth apostle, and by the fact that Christ suffered in the twelfth month. They believe that He preached for only one year after His baptism. This is also clearly shown by the story of the woman who suffered from a bleeding issue. After being afflicted for twelve years, she was healed by the arrival of the Saviour when she touched the edge of His garment. For this reason, the Saviour asked, "Who touched me?"—teaching His disciples the mystery that occurred among the Æons and the healing of the Æon who had been suffering. The woman afflicted for twelve years represented the power whose essence, as they recount, was expanding and flowing into infinity; unless she had touched the garment of the Son, that is, Aletheia of the first Tetrad, signified by the hem mentioned, she would have been absorbed into the general essence she participated in. However, she stopped and ceased to suffer further. The power that went forth from the Son (which they call Horos) healed her and separated her from suffering.
They also claim that the Savior is shown to originate from all the Æons and is Himself everything based on the following passage: “Every male that opens the womb.” For He, being everything, opened the womb of the intention of the suffering Æon when it had been expelled from the Pleroma. They also call this the second Ogdoad, which we will discuss later. They say that it was clearly for this reason that Paul said, “And He Himself is all things;” and also, “All things are to Him, and of Him are all things;” and further, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead;” and again, “All things are gathered together by God in Christ.” This is how they interpret these and similar passages found in Scripture.
They further show that their Horos, whom they call by various names, has two abilities: one is supporting, and the other is separating. In so far as he supports and sustains, he is Stauros, and in so far as he divides and separates, he is Horos. They then claim that the Savior indicated these two abilities: first, the sustaining power, when He said, “Whoever does not bear his cross (Stauros) and follow me cannot be my disciple;” and again, “Taking up the cross, follow me;” but the separating power when He said, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” They also maintain that John indicated the same thing when he said, “The fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean the floor, and will gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” By this statement, He demonstrated the ability of Horos.
For that fan, they explain, is the cross (Stauros), which surely consumes all material things, as fire does chaff, but it purifies all those who are saved, as a fan does wheat.
Moreover, they say that the Apostle Paul himself mentioned this cross in the following words: “The doctrine of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but to us who are saved, it is the power of God.” And again: “God forbid that I should boast in anything except the cross of Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Such, then, is the account they all give of their Pleroma and the formation of the universe, as they attempt to adapt the good words of revelation to their own wicked inventions. They not only try to derive proofs for their opinions from the writings of the evangelists and apostles by using twisted interpretations and deceitful explanations, but also deal similarly with the law and the prophets. These texts contain many parables and allegories that can often be interpreted in various ways, depending on the type of analysis they are given. Others, with great craftiness, adapt parts of Scripture to their own fabrications, leading away from the truth those who do not maintain a steadfast faith in one God, the Father Almighty, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.