Prophecies and Parables

1. I then asked him: “Lord, how shall we be able to prophesy to those who ask us to prophesy to them? Because many are they who ask us and who expect to hear from us an oracle.”

2. The Lord answered, and said: “Do you not know that prophecy was decapitated with John?”

3. I, however, said: “Lord, is it possible to decapitate prophecy?”

4. The Lord said to me: “When all of you learn what ‘head’ means, and that prophecy originates from the head, (you will) know the meaning of ‘It was decapitated.’

5. I at first spoke I to all of you with parables, and you did not understand.

6. Now I speak to you plainly, and you do not comprehend.

7. You, nevertheless, served as a parable within parables for me, and as what is plain within plain things.

8. Hurry to be saved without being admonished!

9. Rather, be eager on your own initiative, and if you can, arrive even before I do, because in this way the Father will love you.

10. Grow to hate duplicity and evil thoughts, because (evil) thoughts give birth to duplicity, but duplicity is far from the truth.

11. Do not let the kingdom of Heaven wither, because its case is like a palm shoot whose fruit has fallen down, surrounding it, sprouting leaves, and after they had sprouted, they caused their womb to dry up.

12. This is the way it is with the fruit which grew from this one root: When it had been ‹gathered up›, fruit was produced through many.

13. Better still would it be, were it possible, for you to produce new plantings; you would find it.

14. Given that I have been glorified already in this way, why do all of you detain me while I am ready to depart?

15. Because after the [work], you have forced me to remain with you an additional eighteen days on account of the parables.

16. For some it sufficed ‹to listen› to the teaching and to understand ‘The Shepherds,’ and ‘The Seed,’ and ‘The House,’ and ‘The Lamps of the Virgins,’ and ‘The Salary of the Workers,’ and ‘The Didrachmae and the Woman.’

17. Be serious about the word, because concerning the word, its first part is faithfulness; the second, love; the third, works, because from these life results,

18. because the word is like the case of a grain of wheat.

19. When someone had sown it, he was faithful to it, and when it had sprouted, he loved it, because he had seen several grains come from one,

20. and when he had worked, he was saved, because he had prepared some as food, while he put (some) aside for sowing.

21. You yourselves will be able to obtain the kingdom of Heaven in this way: If you do not obtain this with knowledge, you will be unable to find it.