Threefold Body of Melchizedek

The Gnostic does not only seek to be Christian, which is to say Christ-like,
the Gnostic seeks to consciously evolve to Christhood. Likewise, the
Gnostic does not merely seek to experience the resurrection and ascension in the afterlife states,
but labors to experience the truth of the resurrection and ascension while yet in the body. This,
among other things, distinguishes Gnostic Christianity from its orthodox and fundamental
counterparts – the belief in the Christ Presence or Light-Presence within oneself and the belief in
the possibility of a conscious unification with God or the Light-Continuum.

The Gnostic Christian believes in a spiritual resurrection not a material resurrection, yet in the
peak mystical experience the distinction between the spiritual and material vanishes, so that there
is no difference between the spiritual and material dimensions. Essentially, the resurrection is the
recognition of the Bornless Nature of our Inmost Being and the development of a continuity of
self-awareness throughout all states of consciousness; hence a development of consciousness
beyond the body. This Self-realization naturally leads to the generation of a more subtle and
luminous Body of Consciousness, which is called the Body of Light or Body of the Resurrection.

In the Sophian teachings on the Gospel we speak of going within and living within, and a
conscious opening of oneself to the Light that comes from above – the Light of Supernal Being –
and we speak of this Light-Force igniting Fire and Light within us. Basically, we are indicating a
Divine Presence and Power that enters and transforms every level of consciousness into a vehicle
of Itself. To the degree we are able to open ourselves to this Light-Force and surrender to Divine
Grace, our minds, hearts and bodies are transformed and taken up by the Light-Presence. The
body, heart and mind transformed by the Supernal Light and reintegrated into Supernal or
Bornless Being is called the Threefold Body of Melchizedek – the Body of the Resurrection.

Of the Holy Books which made their way into the Bible, the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to
the Hebrews speak most directly of the Threefold Body to those who know how to look and see
the inner meaning of the words and glean the secret wisdom. In Hebrews the apostle who writes
the Epistle specifically justifies Yeshua Messiah by Melchizedek, and in effect states that the
Living Yeshua or Risen Savior is Melchizedek. Of Melchizedek the apostle writes: “Without
father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but
resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” (Hebrews 7:3) In the Gospel of St.
Thomas Yeshua speaks of one not born of woman: Jesus said, “When you see one who was not
born of woman, prostrate yourselves on your faces and worship him. That one is your Father.”
(Gospel of St. Thomas, Logion 15) In the prologue to the Gospel of St. John it is written: “And
the Word become flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the father’s
only son, full of grace and truth.” (Gospel of St. John 1:14) According to the masters of the
Tradition, all of these verses allude to the attainment of Supernal Consciousness and the
Threefold Body of Melchizedek which arises in this state of Self-realization.
In the Sophian Tradition there is a body of secret oral teachings called the Melchizedek
Teachings. In these teachings Melchizedek does not indicate a historical person, but rather
represents Primordial Enlightenment or the Bornless Nature of Being which is the very essence
and nature of all consciousness; hence Supramental or Supernal Being. The Order of
Melchizedek mentioned in Psalm 110 indicates the Great Luminous Assembly of those who
recognize the true nature of consciousness and reintegrate themselves to the state of Bornless
Being; hence the Divine Order of a Supernal Humanity.

In the Melchizedek Teachings the Threefold Body of Melchizedek is the purity of the mind,
heart and body that naturally and spontaneously arises when the true nature of consciousness is
recognized and realized – a Body of Divine Illumination. Until the recognition and realization of
the Bornless Nature of Being-Consciousness, the true nature of the mind, heart and life are
obscured and obstructed by karmic conditioning, and thus are bound to the Dominion of the
Demiurgos and Archons (Cosmic Ignorance.) But when the Bornless Nature of Being-
Consciousness is recognized and realized, the karmic conditioning of the mind, heart and body is
dissolved and they arise in their natural state, which is inherently Divine (Christos.)

Although in provisional teachings we speak of Three Holy Bodies, in truth we are speaking of
three dimensions of one Body of Light from its most subtle and sublime level to its appearance
in the inner dimensions and its appearance in the material world; hence the Enlightened Mind,
Heart and Body are an Integral Consciousness united by Supernal Being: Truth-Consciousness.

The Body of Truth

The inmost dimension of the Threefold Body of Melchizedek is called the Body of Truth
because it is the state of Supernal Consciousness itself; hence a Body of Truth-Consciousness.
The state of Supernal Consciousness is Pure Radiant Awareness, or what is called Non-Dual
Gnostic Awareness, which is beyond the mental, vital and physical consciousness completely,
and yet is the very nature of mental, vital and physical consciousness. When an individual is able
abide in Pure Radiant Awareness the mind arises as the Truth Body, the Inmost Essence of
which is Clear or Transparent Light.

This corresponds to Ain and to Keter on the Tree of Life, and to the Yod of the Great Name.
When one abides in the Truth Body, everything is known inwardly, and in the words of St. Paul,
the Perfect Master “sees face to face,” and “knows as he or she has been known.” Essentially, the
Truth Body contains the whole of creation, and unified with God and Godhead transcends
creature and creation. Thus, in the Body of Truth there is a state of Pure Awareness of oneness
and multiplicity, formlessness and form, emptiness and fullness all at the same “time”; hence a
Consciousness of the Infinite and Eternal.

Although we can point to this Supernal or Messianic Consciousness, it cannot be explained; yet
seeking to recognize and realize the Natural State of the Mind it can be experienced and
therefore known. Fundamentally, only the Holy Masters of this attainment perceive the Body of
Truth, but to unenlightened creatures it is completely hidden and unknown. When Scriptures
speak of Christ in God, or Gnostic texts speak of the repose of the Risen Savior in the Living
Father, it is this Body of Truth to which they allude.
The Body of Glory

The inner dimension of the Threefold Body is called the Body of Glory, because it is the radiant
glory that naturally and spontaneously arises from the Truth Body. This is the appearance of a
Holy Master in the inner dimensions, from the spiritual to the astral dimensions; hence the
appearance of the Holy Ones in the visionary dimension. It is angelic and self-luminous in
appearance. While the Truth Body is formed of Clear Light, the Glory Body is formed of
Translucent Light, much like the light of a rainbow in the sky, though unimaginably brilliant and
splendorous.

Through the Body of Glory a Holy Master can generate innumerable manifestations of him or
herself in the inner dimensions, and appear in countless realms and worlds that exist in the subtle
dimensions of creation. Likewise, it is said that a Perfect Master of Supernal Self-realization can
even generate heavenly realms and worlds in the Body of Glory as Holy Sanctuary for living
spirits and souls. It is truly a glorious supernal and heavenly emanation; hence a Spiritual Body
through which the Holy Ones are able to extend the Light of Truth to many creatures.

This Holy Body corresponds to Ain Sof and to Tiferet on the Tree of Life, and corresponds to the
He of the Great Name; hence it is called the Great Angel and Holy Shekinah of the Risen Savior.
For as we know, the Light-Presence is the same in every Holy Apostle, and the Living Yeshua is
embodied by every Holy Master of Supernal attainment; thus the higher form of every Sacred
Tau is the Risen Savior.

The Body of Glory is the higher form of incarnate adepts and masters, and it is the Holy Body
through which disincarnate adepts and masters are able to appear to incarnate individuals who
are open and sensitive. However, to perceive the higher form of an incarnate adept or master, or
to receive communion with the spirit of a prophet or apostle manifesting in the Body of Glory,
one’s mind and heart must be opened to it, and one’s interiors senses must be purified and
opened. If a Holy One appeared in the subtle dimension of a room filled with a thousand people,
typically speaking, perhaps one might see and hear and know the presence of the Holy One in the
Body of Glory. But to a person who is open and sensitive, a Holy One may appear in a Body of
Glory in a waking vision, or else in a person’s dreams or meditative visions. One cannot help but
think of St. Paul’s conversion when contemplating the Glory Body, or of the many Gnostic
initiates who have experienced the Living Yeshua and Bride and other prophets and apostles, and
even holy angels, in the visionary dimension.

If one is open and sensitive, and one meets an Apostle of Light who is incarnate and who
embodies something of the Supernal Consciousness, one will find a distinct field of Divine
Energy-Intelligence within and around the adept or master. Likewise, one may well intuit, if not
see, spirits of prophets and apostles, and other luminous beings, coming and going constantly
from his or her presence. Just as the higher form of the adepts or masters is a perception of the
Body of Glory, so also is the perception of the Holy Shekinah around them and the signs of
wonders that often occur by the power of the Holy Spirit working with, in and through them.

This is the Holy Body reflected in all of the wonder-working Yeshua Messiah performed, and it
is the Holy Body revealed to the disciples at the Transfiguration, when Elijah and Enoch
appeared. (According to the masters of the Tradition, Enoch was mistaken for Moses at the
Transfiguration.)

The Body of Emanation

The outer dimension of the Threefold Body is called the Body of Emanation. Because it is the
appearance of an adept or master in the material dimension it is also called the Body of
Manifestation. This Holy Body actually appears in the material dimension and may be perceived
by the physical senses of all creatures in the material world – hence one can see, hear, smell,
touch and taste the Body of Emanation. Yet, because this Divine Body appears as an ordinary
body of incarnation, unless one is open and sensitive, one would not be able to recognize an
adept or master appearing in the Body of Emanation – he or she would seem like any other
ordinary person.

One the one hand, the Emanation Body is a physical or material body of an incarnate person
transformed by the realization and embodiment of some degree of Supernal Consciousness;
hence it is the body of an adept or master who embodies something of the Light-Presence and
has acquired Gnosis of the Light-Continuum. Such a manifestation of the Emanation Body may
remain subject to death. Or, at death it might be transubstantiated into what is called the Rainbow
Body Attainment. Likewise, it is also possible, in some cases, that it could be directly
transfigured and taken up in the ascension by way of divine rapture, as in the case of Enoch,
Elijah and, some say the Holy Mother. On the other hand it can be a Body of Pure Emanation,
generated directly from the Truth Body and Glory Body, which naturally and spontaneously
appears in the material dimension, and disappears just the same – Yeshua Messiah demonstrated
this capacity following the resurrection, showing himself both in a Body of Pure Emanation and
also the Body of Glory.

The physical body is composed of matter-energy-light, and quite literally is composed of mostly
space. In the experience of Supernal Consciousness, one realizes that the Supernal Light above is
everywhere here below, hidden as the secret center of every particle of matter. Thus, bringing
down the Supernal Light from above tends to activate and release the Light-Force in the physical
body and the physical body is transformed, more or less, dependent upon the degree of Supernal
Self-realization.

If one is blessed to meet an Apostle of Light, whether an adept or master, and one draws close to
that holy person, one will eventually discover that he or she can transmit Divine Power through
the physical body itself – by touch, by glance, by gesture and by other means, and even merely
by physical proximity. Such is the nature of the Emanation Body – it is a Body of Light or
Divine Energy-Intelligence made material. In truth, through the Body of Emanation many
Apostles and Angels live and move among us, though compared to the trillions of creatures on
the face of the earth they are relatively rare and precious. It is truly a great blessing to encounter
one of these Light-bearers in one’s life time, and an even greater blessing to become a spiritual
companion of one of these Holy Ones.

Here we may share one more quality of the Emanation Body – potentially, anything touched by
the Emanation Body can become an extension of the Emanation Body, and therefore become
blessed and holy. As well as animate forms, inanimate forms may also be Emanation Bodies.
This reflects a secret concerning the Wedding Feast (Eucharist) when performed by a Holy
Apostle, as well as the basic principle behind the creation of talismans in the Divine Theurgy of
the Tradition. You may recall the woman who was healed by merely touching the hem of the
Master’s robe. Many wonders can occur by way of the Emanation Body, for it is not as it appears
to be to those who lack faith and eyes to see in the Spirit.

The Emanation Body corresponds to Or Ain Sof and to Malkut on the Tree of Life, and
corresponds to Vau of the Great Name. The unity of the Threefold Body corresponds to the final
He in the Great Name, or to Shin of the Holy and Blessed Name of the Anointed. This may give
insight into the true power of the Name and the esoteric meaning of “putting on the Name of the
Lord.”

The oral teachings on the Threefold Body are extensive in Sophian Gnosticism, and are part of
the Melchizedek Teachings given to initiates of the Tradition. The above article represents a
brief discourse for the sake of the illumination of terms used in our teachings and a deeper
explanation of the secret level of the Threefold Sanctuary of Faith-Wisdom. As previously
mentioned in the article on the Threefold Sanctuary, it is the actual attainment of Supernal or
Messianic Consciousness which is the True and Holy Sanctuary of our Faith; hence the Truth
Body, Glory Body and Emanation Body given as the three objects of faith at the “secret level” of
the Threefold Sanctuary. Essentially, faith in the Threefold Body of Melchizedek is affirmation
of our faith in all other objects of faith, for all arise from this inmost secret level of the Mystery.

Blessings & shalom!