# PISTIS SOPHIA ## CHAPTER III ### The Ascension and the Shaking of the Powers [Deep Baritone Narration, solemn, slow, cathedral reverb] And it came to pass, when the **Power of Light** had descended upon Jesus, that the radiance gathered itself about him little by little, until his whole form was enclosed within it. [Low Dark Drone Rises] And behold— the Light covered him utterly. No shadow remained upon him. No darkness touched his garment. No boundary could be seen between the Man and the Glory that surrounded him. [Pause] Then Jesus rose. [Deep Baritone, reverent] He ascended from the earth. He soared upward into the Height. And as he ascended, he shone with a brilliance beyond measure. Not as flame. Not as the sun. Not as any light known beneath the heavens. But with that Light which hath neither beginning nor boundary. [Long Silence] The disciples lifted their faces and gazed after him. None among them spake. Not one voice arose. Not one question was uttered. They watched him pass upward through the air until he had reached the heavens. And all remained in a deep and terrible silence. [Deep Baritone, whispered] For there are moments when even the tongue knoweth it standeth before Mystery. [Low Church Bell] And this came to pass upon the **fifteenth day of the moon**, when the moon stood full in the month called **Tybi**. --- ## THE SHAKING OF THE POWERS [Dark Horror Drone Enters] And when Jesus had entered into the heavens, three hours passed. [Pause] Then the heavens began to move. [Sub-Bass Rumble] All the Powers of the heights were thrown into agitation. The Aeons trembled. The regions stirred. The Orders moved one against another. What had stood fixed since the beginning was shaken from its place. [Deep Baritone, increasingly ominous] Power rose against Power. Region pressed against Region. Order struck against Order. The invisible worlds themselves were cast into confusion. And beneath them— the earth also trembled. [Low Earthquake Rumble] The ground moved beneath those who dwelt upon it. Men throughout the world were seized with fear. The disciples themselves were troubled greatly. And one thought entered into the hearts of all: [Deep Baritone, whispered with distant echo] “Peradventure the world shall be rolled up.” [Silence] As though creation were a scroll. As though some unseen Hand had taken hold of its edge. As though heaven and earth might suddenly be folded together and withdrawn into the Mystery from which they came. [Drone Swells] Yet the shaking ceased not. The Powers continued in their agitation. The heavens moved against themselves. The world groaned beneath them. From the **third hour of the fifteenth day of Tybi**, the disturbance continued without rest. Hour after hour. Through darkness. Through the turning of the night. Until the **ninth hour of the following day**. --- [Wordless Choir Enters Very Softly: sustained “Oooh” and “Ahhh” only, no spoken or sung words] And throughout all this trembling, the Angels of the heights lifted up their voices. The Archangels answered them. The Powers beyond them joined the song. And all those who dwell in the upper regions gave praise unto the **Interiors of the Interiors**. [Deep Baritone, reverent] Not unto the outer heaven. Not unto the visible throne. Not unto the veil. But unto that which lieth within what is already within. The Hidden within the Hidden. The Mystery behind the Mystery. The Interior beyond every Interior. [Wordless Choir Swells: layered “Oooh… Ahhh…” over dark drone only] And their voices descended through the heavens. Through the Aeons. Through the regions. Through the Powers. Through the trembling earth. Until the whole world heard them. [Deep Baritone, slow, awed] Every land heard the praise. Every creature beneath the heavens stood within the sound of it. And the Angels ceased not. The Archangels ceased not. The Powers of the Height ceased not. Their praise continued throughout the shaking of the worlds— until the ninth hour of the morrow. [Wordless Choir Holds Dissonant “Oooh—Ahhh” Chord, no lyrics] [Deep Baritone, whispered] For when the Saviour entered the Height, the heavens themselves knew that something had changed. [Long Pause] And the Powers trembled before him. [Dark Drone and Wordless Choir Fade Slowly]
