 The
New Gnostics, Part I
Posted
by Michael Bunker
editor@lazarusunbound.com
“Behold,
I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for
wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount
Zion. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should
not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the
law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them”
(Isa 8:18-20).
February
15, 2008 – Many years ago, I watched a homegroup in which I was a
member, crash and burn due to the apostasy and error of its leaders.
Needless to say, after that I spent quite a bit of time in thought
and prayer. I had no greater fear than that I too would be lead into
grave and deadly error,
“...lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be
a castaway” (1Co 9:27), and
that I would lead others astray with me. I took separating from that
group very seriously, and I wanted to make sure that there was some
type of “checks and balances” to keep me from wandering astray.
Locked in my library for years with mountains of books even
accentuated my fear that there were so many millions of doors, each
leading to millions of other doors, each leading away from the narrow
path of truth and righteousness. On the one side there was legalism,
and I had dabbled in the neo-judaistic studies of what is called “the
Hebrew Roots” movement, among other legalistic cults. God spared
me from that precipice. On the other side there was Antinomianism,
the particular poison of that homegroup from which I was forced to
separate. Every year there were a thousand-thousand new cults,
parachurch organizations, single-issue “ministries”, fledgling
teachers with super-secret hidden knowledge, etc. I remember making
a list of heresies and idiocies that had manifested in the last year
or so in that Antinomian/Charismatic/neo-Judaistic/End-Times
homegroup my wife and I were attending. The last couple of years in
that group, special speakers or teachers would be invited by and we
would listen to them to see if they had some of the secret knowledge
for which everyone seemed to yearn. Here are a few of the names:
Michael
Rood – Apostate extraordinaire Gentile truck driver and sex
cult “twig leader” turned Jewish Rabbi with secret knowledge of
the real Hebrew Calendar and the “original” Hebrew manuscripts of
the Gospels. In 1996 and '97 Michael showed us his “agriculturally
corrected” calendar, each that always required the Lord's return
the following year. Good thing there was always another year to
“agriculturally correct” the calendar. Michael traveled around
with sulfur from the original (he says) Sodom and Gomorrah, and other
relics he promised were proof that the Old Testament (actually the
“findings” of Seventh Day Adventist and neo-Judaizer Ron Wyatt)
were true. Michael had more relics than St. Peter's Church, and more
secret teachings than the Pope himself.
Avi
Ben Mordechai – Next came kaballist and overall whacknut Avi
Ben Mordechai. Ben Mordechai at first denied being a Kaballist,
but insisted that it was impossible to understand the Bible
with a 21st Century western-Gentile mind. He
admonished us to cut everything Paul wrote out of our Bibles – not
because there was anything wrong with those writings, but because
they were impossible to understand by anyone but a Jew. When
confronted, Ben Mordechai admitted he was a kaballist, but said he
had lied because he didn't think we would listen to him otherwise.
Keep ol' Avi in mind, especially his insistance that the 21st
Century westernized mind can not understand the 1st
Century Jewish writings. I was always curious... if only a Jew (or a
Greek, or whomever spoke the original languages) can understand the
“original documents”, then why didn't the Jews and the Greeks
“get it”? I mean, if anyone rejected Christianity as a whole
more than the Greeks and the Jews, I don't know who it is.
Apparently the “original languages” is not the secret to
understanding Christ.
Sam
Soleyn – One of the last traveling speakers I remember seeing
before we left that group was a modern “apostle” and Charismatic
wizard named Sam Soleyn from New Mexico. Sam insisted that
God was saying “many different things today, some of which are
controversial”. Hmmm... well, one of the “controversial”
things that Sam said at that meeting was: “If any of you have need
of the Holy Spirit, come to the front and I will give Him to you”.
Whoa there Betty! I had to toss a flag on that one. Pretty soon
some folks who I liked and who I thought ought to know better were
running up to the front where Sammy laid hands on them and they fell
over like... well... like something that falls over for no reason at
all. Bye-bye Sammy.
The
point is that these people were not only deceivers, but they
were deceived themselves. There was something they were looking for
early in their search for their concept of “god” that grabbed
them and dragged them into heresy, blasphemy, and apostasy. They did
all have one thing in common. They were very charismatic, they spoke
well, they had a way of charming and disarming those who were
criminally unaware, and they all had some new and secret knowledge
that you could only get from them. Each of them had a teaching or
body of knowledge that was a-historic, meaning that there was no real
history of this particular teaching belonging to the body of Orthodox
Christianity ever in history. Here is where I want to stop and make
a point, because I want to make sure you know exactly what I mean by
that. I am not saying that the great body of professing Christianity
has always been “orthodox” or pure in doctrine. No, far from it.
I absolutely believe in the general apostasy theory – that
the professing Church waxes and wanes like the moon, but generally
grows more and more apostate in time, waxing worse and worse.
However, I believe that God has never abandoned his remnant
believers, and that there has always been a specimen, some great and
some small glimmers, some bright and some not as bright, of truth and
orthodoxy in the remnant of true believers. I also believe that God
has preserved His Word, and that He has done so openly and in the
vulgar language of the people, so at no time has the witness of the
Word and the true Church gone from the earth since the time of Jesus
and the Apostles. I believe this remnant and the true doctrines of
God can be found in the Bible (as I said, translated into the vulgar
tongue of the people) and that no special linguistic gymnastics,
hidden knowledge, mastery of dead or missing texts, etc. is necessary
for the true and faithful believer to know the truth. Any other
teaching concerning the truth and the Word is a Papist lie. But I
digress... I'll return to that later. My point is that if you trace
the doctrines and special teachings of these modern Gnostics, you
find out that they all insist (by default, even if not openly) and
confess that God has restored some secret, hidden knowledge by means
of THEM or their own teachers, etc. Examples: The Mormons
believe that the Old and New Testaments can only be properly
understood through the teachings of their prophets (like Joseph
Smith). The Romanist believes that the truth and the Bible can only
be discerned by the Popes and by the Vatican. Herein we find the
root-stock of error in all of these modern Gnostics. They all infer
that they, their teachings, or their particular brazen calf of secret
knowledge, is necessary for proper understanding of __________ (fill
in the blank... “truth”, “scripture”, “God”, etc.).
So,
I decided some things for myself. I wanted to put some bumpers and
railings alongside the narrow path of my own Pilgrim's Progress:
-
I
wanted elders. Wise, humble, and gentle men. Not “yes men” or
anyone who would automatically rubber-stamp whatever I say. I
looked for men who I knew to be studious, and who, like Bereans,
would study the Word for themselves. I wanted them to have complete
authority over me so that they even would have the power to silence
me if I were to go in the direction of some grave error. I wanted
them to be men I trust (however many I could find) who had a history
of holding my feet to the fire, and who were not scared of me.
Finding men like this is harder than you might think. But I would
entrust them with my soul, as the Bible requires. So it became a
serious task.
-
I
wanted lock-solid evidence – beyond mere speculation or reasonable
doubt – that whatever doctrine I would adopt and teach was the
historical teaching of a solid and unimpeachable remnant of the
Church. I didn't want any “new” thing. If it was “new”, or
some hidden/mystery knowledge that had escaped the notice of greater
and wiser Christian minds than mine, then I wanted nothing of it.
While I understood that there has been some admixture of truth and
error in every Church or epoch of the Church, I refused to believe
that God had hidden necessary truth from His children. I believe
that God does hide truth in parables and in type and shadow – but
there is (and must be) some rule of interpretation and understanding
that exists OUTSIDE any particular man, prophet, teacher, church
group, cult, etc.; and that rule must have been utilized by the true
Church throughout the Church age. In short, there is nothing new
under the sun, and the gates of hell can not have prevailed against
the true Church (however small in any one particular age). When in
doubt, the plain and non-contradictory text of scripture, taken
according to its context, as was to be the rule of my life, and if
there was still doubt, I would rely on the understandings of solid
Bible teachers from history – those who had proven themselves
trustworthy expositors of the Bible, and who had unimpeachable
character. If I would err, it would be along with Holy Christian
men with greater minds than mine.
-
As
a consequence of these things, my rule would be that any doctrine
that limited “knowledge” or “truth” to a particular group,
teaching, teachers, modern prophet, etc. and which excluded the
faithful and diligent student, who just happened to be OUTSIDE or
ignorant of that “secret knowledge”, from the truth, was to be
rejected. When Avi Ben Mordechai, a confessed kabbalist, said that
the 21st Century Mind could not understand 1st
Century writings, I forever made a mental note of how terribly
dangerous that concept is. I wanted the “old paths”, not
the new ones or the “hidden things of dishonesty” (2 Cor.
4:2). I wanted to acknowledge that God's hidden things were to be
revealed in Christ Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit's teaching the
true Church “all things”, not through the craftiness and
dishonesty of men who seek to draw men aside to themselves.
-
I
wanted to forever acknowledge that God doesn't need me, nor do any
of His children. I believe the purpose of the teacher is NOT to
teach new or secret doctrines. I believe that God uses the faithful
teacher to bring to light truths that ARE ALREADY KNOWN by the elect
of God. In other words, you have no need that I teach you anything
since the Holy Spirit is the teacher who reveals all truth. My job,
then, is to bring to the understanding of your physical MIND, that
which is already known (maybe unconsciously) in the spirit. So
then, you have no need that any man teach you (1 John 2:27). Yet,
God has been pleased to give teachers to the Church, to explain and
to “rightly divide” the truth that is already given completely
and perfectly in God's Word, and in the spirit of those who are
God's elect children. God uses the teacher to reveal mysteries, but
not NEW things. In short, since God doesn't need me, I must confess
some things plainly: 1. That there are other Christians – TRUE
CHRISTIANS – born again, regenerated, and converted brethren, all
over the world, who have thankfully never even heard of me. I am no
pillar in the Chuch of God. I am a sinner in need of mercy, and a
sign of how far man has fallen, that anyone would look to me for
help and guidance. 2. That there have always been TRUE CHRISTIANS
even since the Church was first birthed, and that none of them ever
had need of any secret mystery knowledge, original languages,
spiritual gurus, etc. in order to lead them into all truth. 3.
That as time passes, and as we grow closer to the end of this time,
there will be more and more “teachers” drawing men to the
“secret chambers” (Matt. 24:26), and we are to “mark
them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine
which ye have learned; and avoid them”.
These
things I concluded early on in my journey. I knew that God had
provided for secrets and mysteries, but I wanted to be sure that I
understood that those things were unveiled to the Church through the
scriptures, and in the vulgar tongue of the people. God spoke to the
people in parables, and there are many things difficult to
understand, and our colonized, crippled, and entropied minds need
much reformation – but we dare not follow new pipers into secret
chambers in search of gnostic secrets and mysterious “truths”.
It is neither wise nor safe to tear down the old landmarks, or to
abandon that which the Spirit of God has spoken historically through
His children and through His martyrs. If God caused millions of his
martyrs in the valleys of the Alps, and in the inquisitions of
Germany, France, England, etc. to die in vain, then there is no hope
for us in this day with the modern state of our entropied minds. I
had determined to be critical in excess of any attempt by men to
create a Christ + (Christ Plus) theology. I was also going to be
very critical of any attempt to throw off the accepted and orthodox
doctrines unless there was overwhelming history and scripture
provided to do so.
My
position has very rarely been painless. You've heard of the “carrot
and the stick”, well, Arminians were soon beating at me with the
stick, while Hyper-Calvinists were choking me with the carrot. We
fell afoul of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, the neo-judaism cult, the
“rapture” hawkers, Roman Catholics and their “protestant”
apologists, Presbyterian sprinklers, Charismatic babblers, Jesuitical
Preterists and Futurists, and the Carpenterites.
When we had the most listened to and downloaded sermons on the
entire internet via SermonAudio.com, we got banned for daring to hint
that modern “protestantism” was apostate and not anchored in the
roots of historic protestantism – even though we could prove it
beyond any shadow of a doubt to any fair and reasonable inquirer. In
every disputation, we have always appealed to scripture first and
foremost, and the history of the true Church second. I have never
appealed to my own experience as any authority, or to any secret
knowledge that I have gained outside of those simple means of Grace
made available to the entire Church in the Gospel.
I
am always wary of the great red flags of warning that I have set for
myself and the ministry. Almost every day I am contacted by some
person from somewhere who has either just recently run IN TO some
Gnostic cult, group, or teacher – or someone who has just recently
run FROM some Gnostic cult, group, or teacher. They serve to remind
me to keep the railings up for myself and for those over whom God has
given me care. I am equally warned not condemn any man, teacher,
group, etc. based on hearsay or rumor. The new Gnostics will soon
condemn themselves if you listen closely to what they say. Neither
is it necessary that we get into endless debates over minute areas of
doctrine or theology. Some tell-tale methodologies and practices
will always give them away. This is why the rules I have laid out
are so important. I need not be a Hebrew scholar or a master in
Greek, Aramaic, or Latin to understand that any teaching that draws
men away from the Cross of Christ and obedience to His plain commands
- by means of secret or hidden knowledge unknowable by any but the
enlightened and privileged few, is not the teachings of God. No
matter how attractive, special, or fascinating some secret truth is –
if it is not plainly taught in the scriptures, or if it is contrary
to the teaching of the plain text of the scripture, or if it draws
men away from the Bible, or draws them to some earthly substitute –
then it is dangerous and is to be anathematized. If they speak not
according to the law and the testimony, there is no light in them
(Isaiah 8:20).
We
doubt not that God has left most of the world in darkness. We do not
deny that God's truths are mysteries to the carnal man. We accept
that heart of man is desperately wicked and at enmity with Christ and
the Gospel. We reject, however, that somehow God has hidden truth
outside of His Word, or that He has purposely given us a Bible, when
we read it in our own tongue, that is full of lies and deceptions.
Iconoclasm is admirable when the idols and religious symbols being
toppled are contrary to God's truth and to the Bible. But when the
Bible itself is that which is being attacked and overturned, then we
don't have an Iconoclast, we have a usurper and rebel to God and His
Kingdom. Keep that in mind.
***Stay
tuned for Part 2: Wizards that Peep and 1st Century
Minds***
I
am your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael
Bunker
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