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Audiobook edition · 1 h 12 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 46 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 46 pagesAbout this book
What if the maker of the world is not its highest God?
The Apocryphon of John, also called the Secret Book of John, opens with a grieving disciple. According to the text, the Savior appears to John and reveals a hidden account of creation: an unknowable God, an unfolding world of light, and Sophia, whose name means Wisdom.
Sophia’s fall brings forth Yaldabaoth, a flawed ruler who helps shape humanity. Yet within the human being lies a hidden spark of light. This early Christian scripture, central to traditions scholars call Gnostic, rereads Genesis through questions of suffering, knowledge, and the possibility of spiritual rescue.
What you’ll discover
- A God beyond words Explore the text’s vision of the Invisible Spirit, beyond description and the visible world.
- The fall of Wisdom Follow Sophia’s solitary act and the divine crisis at the heart of this creation myth.
- A deeply flawed creator Meet Yaldabaoth and his rulers as they build Adam piece by piece.
- Light hidden within humanity Discover how this tradition connects the human spark of light with knowledge and spiritual awakening.
- Questions of the soul Consider John’s questions about salvation and what becomes of human souls.
Who will love it
This book will suit readers who love ancient myth, early Christian history, and big questions about where the world comes from.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A troubled disciple receives a vision in the desert
- The highest God is a silent, boundless Light
- A divine family unfolds from the Father's thought
- Wisdom acts alone and brings forth a flawed ruler
- Adam is shaped by demons and given a hidden light
- Eden is read again as a story of awakening
- Light descends three times to wake the sleepers
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The Apocryphon of John
by Attributed to John the Apostle · 150
A grieving John meets a shining figure in the desert and learns who really made the world.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
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“I am God, and there is no God but me!”
In short
What if the world you live in was built by mistake, by a ruler who never knew the higher source of his power? That is the startling claim of The Apocryphon of John, a secret book from the early Christian centuries.
The Apocryphon of John at a glance
- Reading time
- About 30 min25 min fast, 40 min slow
- Length
- 7,540 words20 chapters
- Pages
- 46 pages68 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- about AD 150by Attributed to John the Apostle
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A troubled disciple receives a vision in the desert
The book opens with a small, human scene. John, a son of Zebedee, is going up to the Temple. A Pharisee named Arimanios challenges him. Where is the teacher you used to follow, he asks. John answers that Jesus has gone back to the place he came from.
The Pharisee answers with scorn. That Nazarene misled all of you, he says, and turned you from the traditions of your ancestors. John leaves the Temple and goes to a desolate, mountainous place. He keeps asking himself questions. Why did the Father send the Savior into the world? Who is that Father, and what is the imperishable realm that Jesus never described?
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A grieving John meets a shining figure in the desert and learns who really made the world.
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Details
- First published
- 150
- Language
- English
- Listening time
- 1 h 12 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 46 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 46 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 68 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 68 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Fri 13 Nov to Thu 19 Novto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
John the Apostle. The Apocryphon of John. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocryphon-of-john-secret-book-of-john.
John the Apostle. (2026). The apocryphon of John. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocryphon-of-john-secret-book-of-john (Original work published ca. 150)
John the Apostle. The Apocryphon of John. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocryphon-of-john-secret-book-of-john.
@book{johntheapostle2026apocryphon,
author = {John the Apostle},
title = {The Apocryphon of John},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-apocryphon-of-john-secret-book-of-john},
note = {First published ca. 150}
}
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What is the Apocryphon of John about?
It presents a secret teaching from the risen Jesus to John. It describes the unknowable highest God, the fall of Wisdom, the making of the world by Yaldabaoth, the creation of Adam, and the call for humanity to awaken.
Who is Yaldabaoth in the Apocryphon of John?
Yaldabaoth is the lesser creator, born when Sophia acts without consent. He shapes the material world and the first man, and he claims to be the only God because he does not know the higher source of his power.
Why is the Apocryphon of John not in the Bible?
Church leaders such as Irenaeus rejected its view that the creator of Genesis is a flawed ruler, not the highest God. When the Christian canon took shape, the book was left out, and Gnostic groups preserved it.
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