alchemy

²¹In the manner of silver being tested in the refinery, and gold in the furnace, so also is a man tested by the mouth of one who praises. The heart of the iniquitous inquires after evils, but the heart of the righteous inquires after knowledge.

¹⁸I urge you to buy from me gold, tested by fire, so that you may be enriched and may be clothed in white vestments, and so that the shame of your nakedness may disappear. And anoint your eyes with an eye salve, so that you may see.

³⁶For how does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world, and yet causes harm to his soul?

¹⁷Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who prevails, I will give the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white emblem, and on the emblem, a new name has been written, which no one knows, except the one who receives it.

¹See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we would be called, and would become, the sons of God. Because of this, the world does not know us, for it did not know him. ²Most beloved, we are now the sons of God. But what we shall be then has not yet appeared. We know that when he does appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³And everyone who holds this hope in him, keeps himself holy, just as he also is holy. ⁴Everyone who commits a sin, also commits iniquity. For sin is iniquity. ⁵And you know that he appeared in order that he might take away our sins. For in him there is no sin. ⁶Everyone who abides in him does not sin. For whoever sins has not seen him, and has not known him.

⁷The eloquence of the Lord is pure eloquence, silver tested by fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.

¹Responding, Moses said, “They will not believe me, and they will not listen to my voice, but they will say: ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ” ²Therefore, he said to him, “What is that you hold in your hand?” He answered, “A staff.” ³And the Lord said, “Cast it down upon the ground.” He cast it down, and it was turned into a snake, so that Moses fled away. ⁴And the Lord said, “Reach out your hand, and take hold of its tail.” He reached out his hand and took hold, and it was turned into a staff. ⁵“So may they believe,” he said, “that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” ⁶And the Lord said again, “Put your hand into your bosom.” And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it out leprous, resembling snow.

⁷And then the Lord God formed man from the clay of the earth, and he breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

¹And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind. ²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect. ³For I say, through the grace that has been given to me, to all who are among you: Taste no more than it is necessary to taste, but taste unto sobriety and just as God has distributed a share of the faith to each one. ⁴For just as, within one body, we have many parts, though all the parts do not have the same role, ⁵so also we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one is a part, the one of the other. ⁶And we each have different gifts, according to the grace that has been given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the reasonableness of faith;

¹⁷In exchange for brass, I will bring gold; and in exchange for iron, I will bring silver; and for wood, brass; and for stones, iron. And I will make your visitation into peace, and your leaders into justice.

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, in order to be tempted by the devil. ²And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. ³And approaching, the tempter said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴And in response he said, “It has been written: ‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” ⁵Then the devil took him up, into the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and said to him: “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it has been written: ‘For he has given charge of you to his angels, and they shall take you into their hands, lest perhaps you may hurt your foot against a stone.’ ”

¹⁷Therefore, thus says the Lord: In this you will know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike, with the staff that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it will be turned into blood.

²²And the Lord God built up the rib, which he took from Adam, into a woman. And he led her to Adam.

⁷Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who prevails, I will give to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of my God.