Beware: New Knowledge Ahead

The great danger of deception is one does not know they have been deceived unless something opens their eyes to the truth.

Jesus said, “If, therefore, the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness” (Matthew 6:23).

We have heard a lot in the past few years of new archaeological finds. David's tomb, Lazarus' tomb, Elijah's cave, and seemingly endless coins, pottery and parchments. There's a line from the 1981 film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Indiana Jones, who has been hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant, meets his rival, Belloq, who is seeking the Ark for personal gain, in a cafe in Cairo.

The dialog continues - 

Belloq: You and I are very much alike. Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.
Jones: Now you're getting nasty.
Belloq: You know it's true. How nice. Look at this. [holds out a pocket watch.] It's worthless. Ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless...like the Ark. Men will kill for it. Men like you and me.

What if I write on this paper, "Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh", and I roll it up and put it in a clay jar and bury it in the sand for 1,000 years in a cave in Qumran along with 99 other scrolls of paper that ARE true. When someone eventually comes along and digs it up, are the words I wrote on THIS paper true? No matter what spirit I claim led me to write it, no matter whether I claim to have had a vision from God, or was visited by an angel, or that it was found among 99 other documents that are genuine, are the words I wrote on this paper true?

How would we know? We have a more sure word of prophecy that shines like a light in a dark place. The word of God! Let’s see what it has to say.

1John 4:1-3 NKJV  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  (2)  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,  (3)  and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Just because something was found buried in the sand in and around Jerusalem doesn't mean it is the inspired word of God. It doesn't matter if it came from the Gnostics, the Essenes, or even the Jews it still must be validated to prove whether it is 100% genuine and in accordance with God's word or not. 

Beware of "new knowledge" (gnosis)! Regardless of the source, it must be proven by the word of God before we allow it into our hearts.

Remember the excitement you had when your mind was first opened to the truth? It was exciting! We were learning the truth and we knew it was so!

We came to love the truth and to contend for the truth and turned away from all that was counter to it. Over time though, it's natural for that excitement to wear off and falter. Our first love, can become lukewarm and we take our knowledge for granted. Our minds are no longer on fire for the truth. The fire hasn't gone completely out but maybe it begins to smolder.

My caution is that we beware "new knowledge", that is not of God that could rekindle that fire.  The first time it was the genuine truth but the next time it may not be of the Spirit of God but the "spirit of error". We can become so excited again that we get carried away with it not recognizing that it is fraught with error.

Like a new drug we get that old high again. We find and rekindle that first excitement, that first love of the truth. Only this time if we're not careful this new knowledge, this “gnosis”, can lead us down the path of reprobation and away from God.

Weary not in well doing gentlemen. Stick close to the truth. Learn to love the truth of God, and hold fast to that truth. If we do, we will have no need to seek "new knowledge". We will recognize that "gnosis" for what it is, the deceitful words of a minister of Satan who has transformed himself into a minister of light.

Christ told us this would happen so don't be unsuspecting. We must be ever watchful, ready to recognize false Christs when they come. Contend for the truth at every turn. The evil one will tell us 99 truths to get us to believe just one lie. Something is either completely true or it is completely false. Don't promote or deal in half-truths or even partial truths. It is either 100% true or it is 100% false. Remember subtlety is the perveyance of the evil one.

Mark my words:

There will come a time when they will claim they have found the bones of Christ "proving" he wasn't resurrected.

There may come a time when they claim the King of England is descended from Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene!

Or maybe some descendant of Zarah of scarlet thread fame born to Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law will be the one, though Christ is descended from his brother Pharez.

Test the spirits whether or not they be true.

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is [a lie] and there is no light in them. (Isa 8:20)

There may come a time when we can no longer have the printed word of God. There may come a time when all electronic copies are erased from every hard drive and every server. While we still can, we must store up the word of God in our hearts and in our minds so when that time comes we will have the truth locked away for ready reference.

Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding the profane and vain babblings and contradictions of science falsely so called  "knowledge" [gnosis]— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. (1Tim 6:20-21)