Against Heresies: Book II
Chapter 23: The woman who suffered from a bleeding condition was not a representation of the suffering Æon
Moreover, their ignorance is clearly shown in the case of the woman who, suffering from an issue of blood, touched the edge of the Lord’s garment and was healed. They claim this demonstrates the twelfth power that suffered and extended toward immensity, representing the twelfth Æon. Their ignorance first appears because, as I've shown, in their own system, that wasn't the twelfth Æon. But even if we grant them this point for the moment, there being twelve Æons, eleven are said to have remained unaffected while the twelfth suffered. The woman, on the other hand, suffered for eleven years and was healed in the twelfth. If they were to say that eleven Æons experienced suffering, and the twelfth was healed, then it might be reasonable to say the woman represented them. But since she suffered for eleven years without relief and was healed in the twelfth, how can she represent the twelfth Æon, of whom eleven did not suffer, but the twelfth alone did? While a type and emblem might differ in substance, they should maintain a resemblance in form and features, foreshadowing future events through present things.
In the case of this woman, the years of her infirmity, which they claim fit their invention, have been mentioned. Behold, another woman also was healed after suffering similarly for eighteen years. The Lord said about her, “And should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be set free on the Sabbath day?” If the first woman was a representation of the twelfth Æon that suffered, then the latter should represent the eighteenth Æon in suffering as well. However, they cannot support this; otherwise, their primary and original Ogdoad would be counted among the Æons who suffered together. Furthermore, another person was healed by the Lord after suffering for thirty-eight years. They should therefore assert that the Æon in the thirty-eighth position suffered. If they claim the actions of the Lord were representations of events in the Pleroma, then the representation should be consistent throughout. But they cannot adjust their fictional system to fit the case of the woman healed after eighteen years, nor the man healed after thirty-eight years. It is completely absurd and inconsistent to claim the Saviour maintained the representation in some cases but not in others. Therefore, the type of the woman with the issue of blood is shown to have no connection to their system of Æons.