Gospel of Nicodemus

Gospel of Nicodemus

The above is the text, the following is commentary/summary ->

THE LEGENDS OF NIGHT, as we read in the Gospels, tell us that during the suffering and crucifixion of the son of God the heavenly host gathered around him; and so too did the infernal host. Up until this point the god made flesh denied temptation, denied the myrrh and opium offered to him, denied the wine and water as he gave up his breath on the spear of Longinus. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the Pharisee and Sanhedrin member attended his death and saved his blood, sweat and relics. Joseph continued his church, but through Nicodemus a different legacy was maintained. Nicodemus has an apocryphal text ascribed to him, the Gospel of Nicodemus where we find the important section, The Harrowing of Hell, which describes Christ’s descent to Purgatory and Hell where the Lord of Hell is surprised by his powers...

...The apocryphal text tells us that to be hung on a tree, as Jesus did, was reserved for those accursed. So from his crucifixion at the gate of skulls, Golgotha, he opened the infernal and celestial gates at a precise astrological moment where his breath was given to both the above and the below. The Harrowing of Hell demonstrates that the death of Jesus shook Heaven as much as Hell, and that he had to enter into both domains to conquer. We are moving far from accepted Christian doctrine here as we venture into the lands of heresy and hidden truth.

De Mattos Frisvold, Nicholaj. Exu & the Quimbanda of Night and Fire (p. 17). Scarlet Imprint | Bibliothèque Rouge. Kindle Edition.

The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate. This Librivox Recording is in public domain - https://librivox.org/. This gospel does not assume to have written by Pilate, but to have been derived from the official acts preserved in the praetorium at Jerusalem. The alleged Hebrew original is attributed to Nicodemus. The apocryphon gained wide credit in the Middle Ages, and has considerably affected the legends of our Saviour's Passion. Its popularity is attested by the number of languages in which it exists, each of these being represented by two or more recensions. We possess a text in Greek, the original language; a Coptic, an Armenian and a Latin, besides modern translations. The "Acta" consist of three sections, which reveal inequalities of style.

1. 0:00:32 The first (1-11) contains the trial of Jesus based upon Luke 23. 2. 0:43:25

The second part comprises 12-16; it regards the Resurrection. 3. An appendix, detailing the Descensus ad Infernos, forms the third section, This does not exist in the Greek text and is a later addition. Leucius and Charinus, the two souls raised from the dead after the Crucifixion, relate to the Sanhedrin the circumstances of Our Lord's descent to Limbo.

The well-informed Eusebius (325 AD), although he mentions the Acta Pilati referred to by Justin and Tertullian and heathen pseudo-Acts of this kind, shows no acquaintance with this work. We are forced to admit that is of later origin, and scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century. There is no internal relation between the "Acta" and the feigned letter found in the Acts of Peter and Paul. Epiphanius refers to the Acta Pilati similar to our own, as early as 376, but there are indications that the current Greek text, the earliest extant form, is a revision of the original one. The "Acta" are of orthodox composition and free from Gnostic taint.

"Gnostic taint" is an interesting turn of phrase...