266 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM
In this world those wearing garments are better than garments.
In heaven the garments are better than the wearers.THROUGH WATER AND FIRE
Through water and fire this wide realm is purified,
and the visible cleaned by the visible,
and the hidden by the hidden,
but there are elements concealed in the visible.
There is water within water
and fire in the oil of chrism.JESUS TRICKED EVERYONE
Jesus tricked everyone. He did not appear as he was
but in a way not to be seen.
Yet he appeared to all of them.
To the great he appeared as great,
to the small as small. To angels he appeared as an angel,
and to humans as a human.
And he hid his word from everyone.
Some looked at him and thought they saw themselves.
When before his students he appeared gloriously
on the mountain, he was not small.
No, he became great, and he made his students grow
so they would know his immensity.^19UNION WITH ANGELS
On the day of thanksgiving prayer he said,^20
"You who have joined perfect light with holy spirit,
join the angels with us as a single image."- On the glory of Jesus on the mountain, see accounts of the transfiguration appearance and
glorious resurrection appearances in the gospels and other early Christian literature. - Perhaps Jesus is speaking here, or perhaps Philip.