Acts 20:28 "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."The new church had been born! It was planted firmly and Paul was worried. "Would a drought come? Will weeds overtake the new growth? Will the good grain get mingled with the bad?" Those were all legitimate worries! Paul had a thorn in his side. "there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me" (2 Corinthians 12:7b). My belief is that Paul's thorn was those propagating the gnostic faith. Specifically, my conclusion from ancient history is that Paul's thorn had an identity: he was Simon Magus (the magician). See my commentary on this premise at: SIMON MAGUS)
Here is what Simon said of himself in proclaiming and becoming a Roman god:
"I was manifested to the Jews as the Son, in Samaria as the Father, and among the gentiles as the Holy Spirit, and I permitted them to call me by whatever name they pleased." (Simon Magus).Simon's claim ti fame was that he was the heretic who devised gnosticism and was Paul's chief antagonist! In fact the evidence points toward Simon being the very same heretic as Marcion from which the heresy of Marcionism came about. Marcion spoke in Paul's name, but his Jesus was not the scriptural Jesus. This is the "perverse" things Paul warned about from "grievous wolves" who would enter unto the new church.
Paul had a thorn and in these passages (above) he is worried! Marcionism died out in the fifth century, but as always, it was replaced by other heresies!
Although heretical sects come and go, yet they continue on. The ideas have a life of their own, change over time, but they are always in opposition to Holy Scripture. Even now, since the Gnostic Gospels have been uncovered in Egypt in modern times, Simon the Magician has been resurrected from his grave, not in body, but in spirit. His demon lives because heresies are the deceptions of demons. As such, heresies will always be!
There are dangerous heresies. Satanist Anton LeVay created the unholy (Devil's Bible) and mocks Christianity outright! However, it's not Satanists which Paul feared. It was the churches own teachers! Not that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." (F.D. Roosevelt), because it's truly more like "We have met the enemy and they are us!" (Pogo; Walt Kelly). Yes, the enemy of Christ are those who call themselves Christians and are in the church. Oftentimes the main heretic stands in the pulpit teaching Simonism, both in a monetary sense, but also in doctrine!.
Where do we look for the remnants of which Paul spoke hundreds of years ago? We look in modern theology and in churches which teach a new gospel. It's called "social justice" because that description is so Christian in nature. The most deceptive heretics are those who have designed their own Jesus to fit their own doctrine. The most obvious is Unitarian-Universalism! It's main theme is "tolerance', a dogma which sounds so ameliorating, but which is the catalyst which brought heresies to many. What's worse, Unitarian-Universalism is in all "social justice" or progressive churches. They just fail to be honest about who they are!
An example. They teach, "We all worship the same God." That is to bring us all together, but it's heresy! Other gods such as Allah, deny Jesus who is God incarnate! As such they are counterfeits and their trademark is deception. Truly, Allah is "the way", but the way to destruction, but yet liberal churches, as the modern United Methodists, even send emissaries to American mosques to learn about this peaceful (sic) religion. That is so disrespectful to Jesus who they claim "Died for them!" He didn't die that they believe in other gods, but in him!
Satan is so tricky and Simon still does his magic! Because Christians won't blatantly go to a temple of another god, the other god (sic) brings their worship to them. Yoga, the marital arts, meditations, positive thought, force balancing and all those "tools" for your wholeness are heresies of which Paul warned us about. In effect they are smarter than you are! Even the "science" of psychology is an eclectic array of gnosticism, Simon Magus lives on when we believe in Carl Jung's Analytical Psychology, but the New Age Unitarian-Univeralists are his disciples!
Never think that gnosticism is dead. It's like the Islamic "sleeper cells" in America and the west. It's Satan ready to pounce when the chance arrives and pounce they will!
"Tolerance" has become the key word of the false church. Every doctrine of slime is slipped in under the name of being "tolerant"! Scripture teaches that Jesus is tolerant and that's called "grace". For the rest of us, the key word is "obedience". Whenever a church puts their focus on being tolerant it's at the expense of obedience. If we do what Jesus tells us to do, we will love, but we will rebuke as well because that's one big purpose of scripture. Rebuking sinners is what the world has labeled "intolerance". This is a new doctrine from an old "ism". Simon Magus stands at the pulpit in most churches today. He puts words in the mouth of non-discerning preachers! That's how Simon does his sorcery!
Two of my former pastors in evangelical churches used the mantra "Islam is a peaceful religion!" They did it out of ignorance because even the least intelligent can read the Q'uran and see that Islam is founded on hate and terror. Mohammad was a terrorist himself! It's Simon's magic which deceived Mohammad because his writings were inspired by the spirit world; unfortunately the spirits of the occult! Not only are Christians in a natural war with Islam, but it's spiritual as well. They have crept in and now "the enemy is us" because we allowed them in!
Paul was worried and we should be too! It's worse now than then and it will get even more worse. Scripture describes the end-of-time religion and Simon the Magician will be their god. He will go by another name, but it's his evil spirit which the deceived will readily accept.
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