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GNOSTICISM &
END OF THE WORLD,
MAY 21, 2011
By Mike Taylor
The internet is all
in a buzz. Emails
are flying fast and
furious. Facebook is
all a twitter with
information
concerning the “end
of the world”. If
you are unaware of
this phenomenon,
then maybe you
should count
yourself blessed,
but many people in
the “Christian”
community are
infatuated with the
“prophecy” of one,
Harold Camping, who
has a website
www.familyradio.com.
On this site he
gives, or the
authors do, their
reasoning of why God
is going to destroy
the earth in 13 day
from now, which is
today, May 8th,
2011.
I,
like many other
curious souls, went
to their website to
review their
material and the
best I can come up
with is, it’s highly
convoluted and
twists the
scriptures to
fulfill their
“secret knowledge”
of something you and
I cannot discern
from reading the
Holy Bible. Did I
say “secret
knowledge”? Yes, I
did. Does it remind
you of something,
Christian Saint? It
does me. In the
first century church
a movement was
creeping into the
church called
“Gnosticism” or
Gnosis….secret
knowledge.
What is Gnosticism?
If
you wish, take a
moment and Google
the word, Gnosis, or
Gnosticism. You will
find this
definition, from
Wikipedia:
“Gnosticism
(Greek:
γνῶσις
gnōsis,
knowledge)
was a group of
ancient religions
that combined
different elements
from
Hellenistic Judaism,
Greco-Roman mystery
religions,
Zoroastrianism
(especially
Zurvanism),
Neoplatonism,
and eventually
early Christianity.
It taught that some
esoteric knowledge
(or
Gnosis)
was necessary for
salvation
from the material
world, which was
created by some
intermediary figure
(or
demiurge)
instead of
God.
In some systems, the
demiurge was
considered evil, in
others merely
imperfect. Different
gnostic schools
sometimes identified
the demiurge as
Adam,
Ahriman,
Samael,
Satan,
Yaldabaoth,
or
Yahweh.
Many schools
inverted
traditional
interpretations
of the
Hebrew Bible,
leading
Jewish-Israeli
scholar
Gershom Scholem
(according to
Hans Jonas)
to call Gnosticism
"the greatest case
of metaphysical
anti-Semitism."[1][2]
However, some
scholars have argued
that Jewish
mysticism (Kabbalah)
is Gnostic, and more
recent research into
Gnosticism's origins
reveal influence
from Jewish
Hekhalot
mysticism.[3][4]
Jesus
is identified by
some Gnostic sects
as an embodiment of
the supreme being
who became incarnate
to bring
gnōsis
to the earth.[5]
In others (e.g. the
Notzrim
and
Mandaeans),
he is considered a
mšiha kdaba
or "false messiah"
who perverted the
teachings entrusted
to him by
John the Baptist.[6]
Still other
traditions identify
Mani
and
Seth,
third son of
Adam and Eve,
as salvific figures.[7]
Some consider
Gnosticism to be a
branch of
Christianity, but
alternate theories
trace Gnostic
systems to centuries
before the Christian
Era, predating the
birth of Jesus.[8]
The movement spread
in areas controlled
by the
Roman Empire
and
Arian
Goths,[9]
and the
Persian Empire;
it continued to
develop in the
Mediterranean
and
Middle East
before and during
the 2nd and 3rd
centuries.
Conversion to
Islam
and the
Albigensian Crusade
(1209–1229) greatly
reduced the
remaining number of
Gnostics throughout
the
Middle Ages,
though a few
Mandaean communities
still exist. Gnostic
and pseudo-gnostic
ideas became
influential in some
of the philosophies
of various
esoteric
mystical
movements of the
late 19th and 20th
centuries in
Europe
and
North America,
including some that
explicitly identify
themselves as
revivals or even
continuations of
earlier gnostic
groups.”
Paul in his epistles
warned of a heresy
that was entering
the church when he
rebuked the 1st
century church:
Gnosticism is not
mentioned by name in
the Bible, with one
possible exception,
I Timothy 6:20-21:
O Timothy! Guard
what was committed
to your trust,
avoiding the profane
and vain babblings
and contradictions
of what is
falsely called
knowledge—by
professing it some
have strayed
concerning the
faith. Grace be with
you. Amen.
Paul warns Timothy
and the church
members about
following after this
secret knowledge.
Paul warns about
"the
subtleties
and
contradictions
of what is falsely
called
knowledge
and
spiritual
illumination."
The word translated
"knowledge" in most
translations
("science"
in the King James
Version) is the
Greek gnosis.
Literally meaning
"to know," it forms
the root of the word
Gnosticism.
It is possible, even
probable, that Paul
refers to Gnosticism
here, since both of
his letters to
Timothy contain
warnings against
false teachings that
draw a believer away
from the truth of
God.
Why is Gnosticism so
dangerous? Because
it draws the
believer away from
truth with
contradictions of
God’s Word. Jesus
said in Mark 13:
13:32
But of that day and
that hour knoweth no
man, no, not the
angels which are in
heaven, neither the
Son, but the Father.
13:33
Take ye heed, watch
and pray: for ye
know not when the
time is.
13:34
For the Son of Man
is as a man taking a
far journey, who
left his house, and
gave authority to
his servants, and to
every man his work,
and commanded the
porter to watch.
13:35
Watch ye therefore:
for ye know not when
the master of the
house cometh, at
even, or at
midnight, or at the
cockcrowing, or in
the morning:
13:36
Lest coming suddenly
he find you
sleeping.
13:37
And what I say unto
you I say unto all,
Watch.
How clear must our
Lord be? Why has
this heresy been
allowed to flourish
at this future time
of when this warning
was given by the
creator of the
universe, our Lord,
Jesus Christ?
There has been a
heightened awareness
of the Gnostic
movement by
Hollywood producing
thrillers
(fictional) like the
“Da Vinci Code” or
“National Treasure”
that puts emphasis
on the concept of
secret knowledge, or
total denial of the
truth of the Bible.
Then there are the
Gnostic gospels that
have been discovered
that give an
alternate version of
the Holy Bible. They
go so far as to deny
the divinity of
Jesus Christ, the
crucifixion and the
bodily resurrection
of Jesus to their
own damnation to
those who believe
such rubbish.
Let us look at just
one example of the
heresy found in just
one of these Gnostic
gospels that are in
direct conflict with
Holy Scripture. In
the Gospel of Thomas
we find this:
Jesus is quoted as
saying, "[Blessed
is] the one who came
into being before
coming into being."
This makes
absolutely no sense
to us, but it does
make a kind of sense
to Gnostics, who
believe in a dualism
of flesh and spirit.
Thus, they
understand that
"Jesus" implies that
the spirit could
come into being
before the flesh.
Many Gnostics were
followers of
docetism,
the belief that
Jesus
and
Christ
were two separate
beings in one body.
Docetists believed
that the
man Jesus
was born, and that
the pre-existing
god Christ
entered into Him
when He was baptized
and left again
before He was
crucified. This,
then, is an example
of coming into being
before coming into
being.
Do
we see the error of
this type of
thinking? It denies
that Jesus was God
and that He was
brought into being
and that He was not
eternal with the
Father.
Philip Jenkins, in
Hidden Gospels: How
the Search for Jesus
Lost Its Way,
notes: "Gnostic
believers practiced
'equal access, equal
participation and
equal claims to
knowledge,' to the
extent of
allocating clerical
functions by lot
at their
ceremonies." This
can be seen not only
in the ordination of
women, but also in
the attitude of some
Christians who argue
that, since "we
all
have the
Holy Spirit,"
we do not need any
authoritative
teacher or leader.
While this idea on
the surface appears
to support
“goodness”, the
result is confusion
as doctrine becomes
subjected to the
lowest common
denominator. Not
surprisingly, such
individuals
typically believe
that
they know better—or
more—than the rest
of the church and
particularly the
ministry.
Is Harold Camping
promoting
Gnosticism?
If
you study the life
of Mr. Camping, as I
have wrote in the
past, was an
engineer by trade.
What does an
engineer do that is
a part of his
profession? He uses
science to
calculate. Mr.
Camping is a
mathematician who
has tried to
calculate the end of
the world. I recall
that there has been
a group of heretics
called the Jehovah
Witness, who have
tried to calculate
the return of Jesus
Christ for the last
150 years. They have
elaborate schemes
and scenarios of
when the Day of the
Lord will arrive and
when the Church will
be removed from this
earth. Of course, it
will only be their
sect that will be
removed, as they are
the only ones with
the truth. Problem
is, they have failed
each and every time
that they have made
predictions. That
got so many dates
wrong, that I don’t
believe they have
predicted anything
for a little while,
or at least
broadcasted it
passed their
windowless “Kingdom
Halls” for a number
of years.
So
it is with Mr.
Camping and the
Family Radio
website. They have
used special
knowledge that is
only available to
them. They have
picked and chosen
the scriptures that
they wish to use to
support their false
doctrine and have
ignored or denied
the clear message
what Jesus taught
when He was here on
earth and what the
Apostles preached in
the New Testament
concerning His
return to this
earth. What did
Jesus say? He told
us to WATCH!!
Luke 12:35-40
provides a good
illustration of
watching:
Let your waist be
girded and your
lamps burning [that
is, be prepared];
and you yourselves
be like men who wait
for their master,
when he will return
from the wedding,
that when he comes
and knocks they may
open to him
immediately. Blessed
are those servants
whom the master,
when he comes, will
find watching. . . .
And if he should
come in the second
watch, or come in
the third watch, and
find them so,
blessed are those
servants. But know
this, that if the
master of the house
had known what hour
the thief would
come, he would have
watched and not
allowed his house to
be broken into.
Therefore you also
be ready, for the
Son of Man is coming
at an hour you do
not expect.
And in Luke, Jesus
emphasized:
21:36
Watch ye therefore,
and pray always,
that ye may be
accounted worthy to
escape all these
things that shall
come to pass, and to
stand before the Son
of man.
If you take the
Bible as a whole,
which is all of
God’s Word and take
it for what it says,
do you find anything
in its verses that
would give you the
calculations of when
the Day of the Lord
will be precisely?
No, you do not.
I have covered this
subject before, but
with the heightened
buzz of the “end of
the world” I found
it necessary to warn
all who love truth
and scriptures found
in your Bible and to
cover this subject
one more time. If
you would like to
read the full
account of this
heresy that Mr.
Camping is
promoting, then you
will find the
article I wrote here
on this website, at
http://www.raptureready.com/soap/taylor24.html
Brothers and
sisters, I would
love to be wrong,
and that Jesus would
actually come in
just short of two
weeks, but my bible
proves to me, that
this is not the
case. There is still
many things that
must come to pass,
as noted in
Revelation, Matthew,
and Daniel for the
Day of the Lord to
arrive and for the
Church to be removed
before these events
transpire, and we
are not there yet.
Be not deceived, as
Gnosticism will do
nothing but one
thing:
Wear out the
saints!!
When this event
comes and goes, many
who put their whole
trust in this “false
prophecy” will be
disillusioned, and
they may question
their standing with
God. They may think
they have missed
“the return of Jesus
Christ”. They may
become despondent or
fall from the faith
and following after
Jesus Christ. Many
will have sold their
homes, dropped out
from society, or
left friends and
family thinking they
have no need for
these material
trappings. But if
this prophecy be
true, has Mr.
Camping sold his
possessions and his
home? I’m told he
has not. Again, what
did Jesus Say?
"Nevertheless, when
the Son of Man
comes, will He
really find faith on
the earth?"
—Luke
18:8
The implication
seems to be that
very few will have
the strength of
faith that Jesus is
talking about. As
the God of the Old
Testament, Jesus,
having looked into
man's heart from
Creation and seeing
humanity's
trajectory to our
day, had every
reason to ask if
there would be faith
at the end time!
Even the Jews of His
lifetime, full of
Messianic fervor,
did not have the
faith He is seeking!
Would even His
chosen
people—Christians,
the followers of
Christ—have saving
faith?
These followers of
this new “prophecy”
claim unless you
believe their
teachings, and
believe that Jesus
will return on their
prescribed day,
then, as one emailer
from Family Radio
sent to me, “May God
have mercy on your
soul.” Let me
explain something to
him and to all.
There is only one
way to be ready for
the return of Jesus
Christ and it is not
believing on a
“scientifically
calculated” day that
smacks of
Gnosticism. Jesus
said:
“I am the way, the
truth and the Life.
No man cometh to the
Father, but by me”
John 14:6.
For God so loved the
world, that He gave
His only begotten
Son. That whosoever
believeth in HIM,
should not perish,
but have everlasting
life. God did not
send His Son into
the world to condemn
the world, but that
the world through
Him, might be saved.”
John 3:16-17.
The Apostle Peter
proclaimed this
truth in Acts:
4:12
Neither is there
salvation in any
other: for there is
none other name
under heaven given
among men, whereby
we must be saved.
When this day comes
and goes, I
encourage every
believer that truly
loves the Lord, to
get in contact with
any one who is
connected with this
site
www.familyradio.com,
and preach them the
gospel of Jesus
Christ and His soon
return to this earth
to receive His
church in His hour,
not theirs.
This is Pastor Mike
Taylor praying God’s
blessings on you
all. If you have any
comments, need
prayer, counseling
from the Bible or
just someone to
listen, then drop me
a line at
realteam1999@sbcglobal.net,
or visit me online
at
www.churchofgod-usa.org.
Till we meet at
Jesus feet.
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