1 John 2:24-28

[Hidden In Him]

The Word First Preached, And How Satan Seeks To Rewrite It


                               

     When the gospel was first preached, it was accompanied by signs and wonders, which the Lord was using to confirm the word and prove it to be not merely the word of men but the word of God. Unfortunately, Gnostics have been trying to rewrite that message ever since. In 2nd Thessalonians, the apostle Paul warned they were attempting to do so in several different ways. One was by entering in amongst Christian congregations where the gifts were in operation, and prophesying through the inspiration of demonic spirits to espouse Gnostic doctrines rather than Christian ones:

     We implore you, brothers, by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him, that you not become quickly disturbed in mind nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by report, nor by letter as if written by us, [intimating] that the Day of the Lord is here. No one should deceive you in any way if the apostasy has not yet come first... (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

     Jesus warned about this happening in advance. He told the disciples that there would be many coming in His name and who would prophesy, yet nevertheless walk in lawlessness and sin. The magic that the Gnostics practiced enabled them to walk in what appeared to be spiritual "gifts" such as exorcism and prophecy. But while they professed themselves to be "Christians," the reality was that they never truly knew the real Christ, and He never knew them: 

     Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many works of power?" And I will confess to them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness." (Matthew 7:22-23)

     That this prophecy was fulfilled by the Gnostics is confirmed by passages like in Revelations Chapter 2, where the woman Jezebel was walking in the two sins most frequently associated with the Gnostics, yet also prophesying. Apparently she was doing so unsuccessfully, however, given that the Lord Himself stated she only called herself a prophetess:   

     To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write... "I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and misleads my servants into committing sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time that she might repent of her sexual immorality, but she is unwilling to repent of it. (Revelation 2:18-21)

     In a nutshell, during New Testament times Satan was trying to mimic true Christianity in every way possible, the reason being he was trying to pervert and rewrite it into something else. This is why John would advise his readers in another few verses to "test the spirits," and make sure they were of God and not the Devil. False prophets were now entering in among Christian congregations and trying to lead true Christians astray:

     Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to see] if they are of God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit which does not so confess Jesus is not of God. (1 John 4:1-3a)

     As stated above, the message the Gnostics were preaching was entirely different from the one originally handed down to the saints. Thus, John now reminded his readers to continue abiding in that message they heard from the very beginning:

     Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you; if what you heard from the beginning should abide in you, you shall also abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise which He promised us: Eternal life. I wrote these things to you concerning those leading you astray, but the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as this same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, even as it taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He is made manifest we may have boldness, and not be made ashamed before Him at His coming. (1 John 2:24-28)

     Jude, a brother of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, would likewise urge the same thing, and again in the context of warning congregations about the dangers of Gnostic heretics entering in among Christian congregations and perverting the message originally delivered to the churches:

     Beloved, applying all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I had need to write to you, exhorting you to lay stress upon that faith originally delivered to the saints. For certain men crept in, those of old having been proscribed unto this condemnation: They are "ungodly ones," translating the grace of our God into sexual licentiousness and denying the only Master and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:2-4)

     Satan is once again trying to rewrite Christianity in our time, only this time he has the backing of the powers that be. Movies, books and television documentaries have all been increasingly representing Gnosticism as the original form of Christianity, supposedly squelched and hidden away from view by the early church.
     Will Satan succeed at rewriting Christianity with the Gnostic version in coming years? No, and the reason is because the same anointing that was poured out upon the early church will be poured out upon her once again in the end-times, and it will teach them all things and expose the enemy's activities, just as took place during New Testament times. They will again walk in genuine spiritual gifts, and through them expose the works of darkness rather than succumbing to Satan's deceptions.


Falsifying Epistles: Yet Another Of Satan's Tricks

     A second way the Gnostics were quite literally attempting to rewrite Christianity was by sending out letters written in the name of the apostles which were in fact being written by the Gnostics themselves. These letters espoused Gnostic doctrines rather than Christian ones, leading Paul to warn the Thessalonians not believe them should one show up:

     We implore you, brothers, by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him, that you not become quickly disturbed in mind nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by report, nor by letter as if written by us, [intimating] that the Day of the Lord is here. No one should deceive you in any way if the apostasy has not yet come first... (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

     At the time this was written, such letters were likely coming from Simon the magician, who was appearing before the Roman senate and displaying great powers of magic, proclaiming himself to be the greatest god. Simon taught that everyone who did not believe in him would be destroyed when he brought an end to all things, which is likely why he wanted everyone thinking the "Day of the Lord" was now at hand. But as we shall see, later Gnostics didn't have the same guts to preach something quite so bold. Instead, they simply taught that God's promise about a coming "Day of Wrath" was just a lie, and that He didn't have the power to back it up, but was merely attempting to scare people into bowing down to Him.
     Yet regardless of what version they taught, the Gnostics kept sending out these false letters trying and rewrite the original Christian message. They were still doing so by the time Irenaeus was writing extensively about the Gnostics and the heresies they were still teaching in the late second century:

     Every one of them generates something new, day by day, according to his ability, for no one is deemed “perfect” who does not develop among them some mighty fiction... and besides the above, they adduce an unspeakable number of apocryphal and spurious writings, which they themselves have forged to bewilder the minds of foolish men, and of such as are ignorant of the scriptures of truth. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, XVIII:1, XX:1)

      "Apocryphal" simply meant "of doubtful authenticity, though widely circulated as being true," and "fiction" was a good word for the stories these Gnostics concocted. As already stated, one of their biggest fictions was that the Old Testament God was just blowing hot air when He threatened that a Day of Wrath was coming, and in reality did not have the power to fulfill his promises about bringing judgment upon a sinful world. As Peter prophesied in his second epistle, this is something they would increasingly be preaching:

     Be mindful of the words which were spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Savior through the apostles sent to you, knowing this first, that in the last days there shall come mockers, walking in accordance with their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the forefathers fell asleep all things continue this way from the beginning of creation." Yet, willing it so, this is hidden from them, that through the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth which subsisted out of water and in water, through which the world that then was perished, being overflowed with a flood. But having been kept in store through the same word, the heavens and the earth are now being reserved unto a Day of judgment for fire, and the destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 1:16, 3:2-7)

     In other words, Peter was prophesying that the Gnostics would deny that the Old Testament God actually had the power to destroy the world, conveniently forgetting the fact that He already had done so once already during the time flood. And if He had done so once then He could do so again.
     Not to be outdone, however, the Gnostics apparently answered this argument by saying the flood didn't actually happen the way the scriptures say it did. As is stated in the so-called "Apocryphon of John":

     This time [the chief archon Yaldabaoth] planned to bring a flood upon the work of man. But the greatness of the light of the foreknowledge informed Noah, and he proclaimed it to all the offspring which are the sons of men... It is not as Moses said, 'They hid themselves in an ark' (Gn 7: 7), but they hid themselves in a place, not only Noah but also many other people from the immovable race. They went into a place and hid themselves in a luminous cloud. And [Noah] recognized his authority, and she who belongs to the light was with him, having shone on them because [the chief archon] had brought darkness upon the whole earth. (The Apocryphon of John)

     In other words, God planned to bring a flood upon mankind, but Noah recognized his "spiritual authority" to keep that plan from succeeding, and thus essentially thwarted it from taking place.     
     But the Gnostics went even further than this, claiming that the supreme god of Gnosticism had supposedly taken the power of the Old Testament and His angels away from them, so that His prophets could no longer prophesy accurately concerning future events, and everything they said would thus be a lie:

     When then he had said this to his disciples, he said unto them: "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear"... Mary Magdalene asked and received permission to speak. And Jesus, the compassionate, answered and said unto Mary: "Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all mysteries of those of the height, discourse in openness, thou whose heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren." Then said Mary to the Savior..." The word which thou hast spoken: 'I have taken a third from the power of the rulers of all the aeons, and changed their Fate and their sphere over which they rule, in order that, if the race of men invoke them in their mysteries - those which the angels who transgressed have taught them for the accomplishing of their evil and lawless deeds in the mystery of their sorcery,' - they may no more from this hour accomplish their lawless deeds, because thou hast taken their power from them and from their horoscope-casters and their consulters and from those who declare to the men in the world all things which shall come to pass, in order that they should no more from this hour know how to declare unto them any thing at all which will come to pass." (Pistis Sophia 17-18)


"And Your Sons And Daughters Shall Prophesy"

     So we shall see whose "scriptures" are confirmed, and whose prophecies actually come to pass. Though Gnosticism will again make its presence felt, the anointing of God will once again be poured out, and confirm the message received by the saints from the beginning, for as He promised through the prophet Joel long ago:

     I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And I will pour out My Spirit upon My servants and My handmaidens in those days. And I will show wonders in the heaven and on earth, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes." (Joel 2:28-31 LXX)

     This passage suggests that they will even prophecy concerning natural disasters and judgments from God, and these will come to pass. Thus, things will again be as they were during New Testament times, when the body of Christ was receiving tongues and interpretations, revelations from God, teachings concerning the word, and prophesying accurately. Typical services in the churches of God will again be as Paul described to the Corinthians:

     If all prophesy, and there should come in some unbeliever or uninstructed person, he gets convicted by all; he gets examined by all. The secrets of his heart become manifest, and thus, having fallen on his face, he will worship God, declaring that God is indeed among you.
     What is it, then, brothers? Whenever you may come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks with a tongue, let it be by two or the most three, and in succession, and let one interpret. And if there is no interpreter, let him be silent in the church, but let him speak to himself and God. And let prophets speak two or three, and let the others discern. And if anything should be revealed to another sitting by, let the first one be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be exhorted. (1 Corinthians 14:24-31)

     There will again be no need for any man to teach them, for the Spirit Himself will teach them through the spiritual gifts. As for those preaching another Jesus and a different gospel, they will again come under judgment just as the churches in Thyatira and Pergamos did, who were warned that the Gnostic heretics present among them would no longer be tolerated:

     To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write... "I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and misleads my servants into committing sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols... Behold, I will cast her on a bed, and those committing adultery with her into great affliction if they will not repent of their ways. And I will strike her children with death, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and will repay to each of you according to your deeds." (Revelation 2:18-23)

     And to the messenger of the church at Pergamos, write, "These things saith the One wielding the sharp, two-edged sword... I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, and to eat things sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. You also have those so holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which I likewise hate. Repent! If not, I am coming to you quickly, and will make war with them with the sword of My mouth. (Revelation 2:12-16)

     This is the type of confirmation that will return to the church, and the earth will again know that the Old Testament God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the One who searches the hearts and knows what men's intentions are, and judges justly to keep the message He originally delivered to the saints from being corrupted.