Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter

The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter is the third tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library and part of the New Testament apocrypha. It is also known as the Coptic Apocalypse of Peter or Revelation of Peter. The Coptic manuscript is considered a poor translation of a Greek original that dates to c. 200 AD. Translator James Brashler considers the text "important source material for a Gnostic Christology that understands Jesus as a docetic redeemer," based on a vision near the end of the text in which Jesus states that a substitute was crucified rather than the living Jesus. Comparable language is used in the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, in which Jesus laughs at the ignorance of those who tried to kill him but failed to realize that he "did not die in reality but in appearance." Docetism was later rejected at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and regarded as heretical by most non-Gnostic churches. The text also emphasizes seeking truth and knowledge, because many people will be misled by false teachers.