Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / Understanding the Bible Series 11

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Understanding the Bible Series 11 · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to the NECF Podcast, where we share our weekly sermons and faithfully interpret
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the Bible to encourage and direct you on your spiritual path.
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We are devoted pastors and special guests, devout to the depths of the Bible, exploring
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its profound lessons and useful applications for your daily life.
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Join us as we explore the timeless truth that have the power to change people's hearts
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and minds, promoting a closer relationship with God and a firm belief in his promises.
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First we touch on the truth.
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I'll be reading from verse 15.
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But sanctify the Lord God, that is, hallowed, sanctify, hallowed the Lord God in your heart
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and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is
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in you, with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that when they defend you as evildoers,
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those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
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Now as we have started, one key important reason why we must understand the Bible very
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importantly, carefully, soundly is that we will need to give a defense of the gospel.
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We see a number of things, but one of them is that we must need, or there will be a need
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for us to give a defense of the gospel.
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Because we have different kinds of people.
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There are people who are those who attack, whether they attack you or they attack the
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faith you have.
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And that's why I say, you understand, you are always ready to give a defense to everyone
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who asks you a reason for the hope.
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Some of them, that word ask doesn't mean that you just come and say, okay, what did you
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believe?
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No.
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When they are trying to question, they hope that it's in you.
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So that's the reason why we are taking time to study.
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And I want to encourage you because I also heard when we are praying, that's why this
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online system is not really good, so to say, for this kind of spiritual meeting.
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You know, we are praying and some people are just talking.
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Is a height of dishonor.
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I mean, you are just doing anything you like.
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So please know that this is very important.
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Pay attention to what we are doing today, because there's no how you'll be able to
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defend what you don't know.
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We don't want you in the process to be even more confused because there are many other
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people when they confront them.
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We saw some few and that's why many people when they just, I mean, especially in Africa,
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because of the kind of the gospels in which we have been taught, immediately you come
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abroad, you just see some good things.
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Things just that are humanly, you understand, because they have been telling you those things
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are spiritual.
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Then you come here and see them.
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Then you just not see anything, I mean, any benefit of God or any benefit in following
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the law.
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So it's important to pay attention.
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And that's why we will always encourage that the only way to do that is to ensure that
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you accept you have a child that normally distorts, understand and all that, or you
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are in a very, very noisy environment.
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For example, maybe if you are staying in a house where you are sharing with someone and
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then some of those kind of things like that.
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But if you are there, you're supposed to be concentrating here and you're supposed to
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be writing.
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This is church.
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Amen.
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Okay.
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Last time we discussed on the issue of, we ended our discussion looking at how each of
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the books of the New Testament, each of the book were actually written and when, and we
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look at a lot of number of things.
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And we noted lastly that there are other writings.
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There are other writings during the time of the apostles, even after they left during
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the time of the early church.
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After the apostles left or they died, there were still other writings.
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Some writings are writings by what we call the church fathers.
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Many of their writings, they are more or less like a commentary.
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They are commentary on many passages of the Bible, just the same way like we have today.
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We have many pastors writing books, you understand, just to help believers in this time and many
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other things.
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That is not to replace the Bible, but to help believers learn more about the Bible.
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And then secondly, we have other writings that seems to challenge the thoughts, the
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belief of the church.
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And here we want to continue in that direction.
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And one of them we are going to look at is what we call the Gnostic gospel.
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But I'm going to go into that later as we proceed.
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I want you to know something.
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Let me revise something we have done.
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I mean, probably at the early, the beginning of our message.
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I mean, this series.
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We noted first, before I get to that, just last week, we noted that the end or week before
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last, we noted that the New Testament, what the section of the Bible we call New Testament
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today, I've been reading, it was completed in between AD 40 and AD 100.
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This is a time whereby every writing from Matthew to Revelation.
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So I want you to note that very importantly.
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Now secondly, we also noted that at the beginning of our message, that during the early church,
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when the apostles were writing, they will write, they will pass it to the next church,
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so the recipient church, that is the primary recipient church.
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And then the apostles sometimes will ask that when you read, pass it to the other neighboring
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church.
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And we saw that way.
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But to pass it, of course, definitely, they won't just carry the entire original manuscript
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and pass it.
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They will have to copy their own and then pass it to the next.
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And we also noted that as even the original one, because it's liable to damage, because
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the material they use as a dent to write actually are also prone to damage.
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We saw the issue of they use different reeds, they use animal skins.
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So they will also copy the original into another one.
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And we saw through that many manuscripts were passed from one church to another, from one
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church to another.
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So to us today, we have about almost 6,000 Greek manuscripts.
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So that means because when I mention Greek, I'm talking about that means it's also about
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the New Testament alone, meaning from different times that were copied from one place to another.
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About 5,800, there are about 6,000 just in Greek alone.
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Then we have other manuscripts of the New Testament also in Latin, because we saw that
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when we are dealing with Bible translation, we saw even how the Bible was translated into
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what we call the Latin Vulgate.
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Now about 10,000 Latin manuscripts we have today.
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And other languages we have about 9,000, more than 9,000, let's say 9,300 or thereabouts
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manuscripts.
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In other languages, because we have plenty of languages also, which means that there's
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a proliferation of this manuscript from one place to another.
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Now that's beside other writings which I've mentioned, the writings of the Church Fathers,
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what we call the Church Fathers, and then of course, other writings in that day or in
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that time.
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So the New Testament was not a single book.
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That's just what I'm trying to communicate.
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How we have it today in a Bible in a particular place, it wasn't like that.
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This manuscript, maybe John is in one place, Pili Mo is in another place, and so on and
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so forth.
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So we have them all scattered.
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But again, with the number of the writings in circulation at that time, it became also
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necessary that these sacred writings by the apostles, you understand, or their associates
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must be put together, because they can be with the same authority as others.
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There was a need in the Church.
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So we have to put all those things together.
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Remember, by that moment, before even Jesus arrived, already what we call the Old Testament
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has been put together.
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And that was why Jesus said, beginning at Moses and in all the prophets, he expounded
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onto them the things concerning himself.
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As Luke chapter 24 says, the law of Moses, the prophet, and the Psalms.
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So at that time already, the Old Testament has been completed.
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It's already in one place.
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But now we have now the part we call the New Testament, which we have been able to prove
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why we call it also the New Testament.
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I mean, what we call it scriptures, or why we can consider it scripture.
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Now one thing I wanted to note, very important here, is that this mixture of the sacred writings,
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and of course, and other writings that are in circulation, was not the early thought
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that it wasn't a good thing.
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We need to put all those things together.
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So the first time, and of course, the process by which the New Testament texts came together
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as one, has been a problem.
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Initially, it wasn't like 27 texts.
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They were added again and again over time.
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First, maybe you say, OK, we recognize this one.
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Then another manuscript will pop up, then they will add the other one.
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But I think we did this teaching sometimes in, I think, at Artismos 20, is it 2022?
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Something like that.
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Or 2021, I forgot.
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2022, I guess.
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So you might likely get the other ones.
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But I don't want to go back there again.
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I want us to note at the beginning when the 27 books were first acknowledged that they
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were the authority, the sacred writings, which the apostles left.
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Now the 27 books were first acknowledged at 367 AD.
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That is in the fourth century.
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367 AD.
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Now it was first acknowledged by an African bishop.
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That 27 books is called Athenitios.
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Athenitios, that is A-T-H-A-N-A-S-I-U-S. A-T-H-A-N-A-S-I-U-S.
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Is a bishop of Alexandria.
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So Athenitios is a bishop of Alexandria.
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And in the letter, in a very critical letter he wrote, because of course it was evident
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that there were a lot of proliferation of some texts that are anti the gospel.
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So he wrote a letter to all the churches throughout Egypt under his jurisdiction.
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Throughout Egypt.
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And said, these are the sacred writings.
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And they are the only sacred writings we will accept.
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So as far as we're concerned in nature, up until that time, there are many texts of the
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scripture that have been accepted.
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But this 27, this was a time they were first accepted.
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And from then, every other person around the world accepted the 27.
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Every other person.
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Every believer.
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As I'm talking now, there is no contention on the 27.
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Every believer in the world.
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Whatever sect.
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Catholic, the orthodox, Coptic, whatever, Protestant, everything.
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There is a great consensus that it is the 27 books that can be considered with authority
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that they are also scriptures.
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Now what were the criteria?
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With something we call canonicity of scripture.
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What were the criteria they used to be able to put these 27 books together?
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Now as we have already noted, that was a criteria when we are dealing with the issue of why should
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we consider the section now, the section of the Bible we call the New Testament also scriptures.
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We noted two important things.
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But that was the major thing they looked at as the major criteria.
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That if any writings, any writing that must be considered sacred must pass these two.
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The top two.
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One, that it has a singularity of message.
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And that it is consistent with the prophecies of the prophets, the teachings of Jesus and
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of the apostles.
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Because of course it cannot deviate.
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Because the teachings of Jesus and of the apostles are actually based on the prophecy
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of the prophets.
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So that means it must have singularity of message.
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It must be about Christ and Christ alone.
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Or it must be about salvation through faith in Christ alone.
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That is the first criteria.
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So any book that is being suggested that it could be sacred, it has to pass that that
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book in question, does it have a singularity of message or does it contradict the message
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of the gospel?
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The second thing is that it must have been written by an apostle or at least a companion
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of an apostle, which means that not a third generation, for example, if let's say Pasochidi
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is an apostle, the early apostle, and then Pastor Custin was his companion.
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And Pastor Custin is the only person which is the first.
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If Pasochidi did not write anything, now Pastor Custin, if he writes anything, it can be accepted.
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But not the disciple of Pastor Custin, because that is a second generation.
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No, no, no.
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So that means is either you are an apostle or you are an associate, which means that
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you were together in ministry together, which means that whatever you write definitely is
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the gospel taught by the apostle, because everything as at that moment, it was the apostles
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who taught it.
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So anyone that is an associate, you understand, or a companion, so to say.
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Now, remember, I'm not even talking about I'm using the word very carefully.
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Companion or associate is different from a disciple, so to say, you understand.
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So the associate is not really like someone whom, yes, he definitely was obtained his
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message from the apostle, but he's not more or less like someone who was just trained,
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so to say, from the scratch.
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You understand.
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He must be someone who worked together as partners with the apostles.
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And then, of course, the message definitely must have come from the apostles.
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So these are things.
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So you can find out, for example, Luke writing, because he was a companion of Apostle Paul.
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Mark.
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Yes, he worked with them also.
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Hebrews, remember we read last week in Hebrews chapter two, verse two, particularly verse
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three, he said, which was confirmed to us by those who saw him, meaning that the writer
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must have been an associate who had, just like Luke, who received his message from them,
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who were with him.
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Good, OK.
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Now, having understood this, the question is that what are Gnostic's gospel?
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Just the same way we treated Apocrypha in the Old Testament.
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Let me just take some time to just run some few things so that we get to understand.
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Now Gnostic's gospel, let me just put some thought here.
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The Gnostic gospel are ancient religious writing.
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Now it was just a term used now to just categorize ancient writings, the ancient religious, their
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religious writing actually, that falsely claim, please note that word, they are majority of
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them.
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I'm coming, I will note some things.
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But majority of all the writings as in classical as Gnostic gospel are actually ancient religious
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writing that falsely claim to be written by famous biblical figures.
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So that means they just put the names of either apostles or some prominent biblical figures
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on those writings so that they could gain acceptance.
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But they falsely claim that they were written by those people.
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For example, Peter, Thomas, Mary, you understand.
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So that's the first thing you have to know about the Gnostic gospel.
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That is up to today, we don't know and we don't have an idea who wrote them.
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But many of them carry the title of prominent biblical characters.
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So which means that they are trying to assert that those biblical characters were the one
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who wrote it.
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That's one thing I wanted to know about that.
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The second thing I wanted to note is that, of course, before the discovery of these writings,
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there are some already, I mean, before the majority of the Gnostic gospel were found,
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there were a few that have been here and there discovered by different scholars.
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But in 1945, what we know today as the Gnostic gospel so much gained clarity by the discovery
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of some documents in 1945.
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They are called the Nakamandi Library.
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Nakamandi is H-A-G, H-A-G, then H-A-M-M-A-D-I, Nak, then Hamandi.
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They call it Nakamandi Library.
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There are collections of materials that have been discovered in Egypt.
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Why they call it there, because that is a town, Nakamandi is a town just near the place
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where they were discovered, the documents.
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So these documents, they are a collection of about 13 books.
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And these books contain about 53 Noxist texts, 52, 52, there are about 52 particularly.
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So you can see that they are much.
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They are really much.
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So now, however, although they are called the word gospel, Gnostic gospel, actually
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there is nothing gospel there, because the evidence in them already shows significant
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deviations and theology and even contradict events completely.
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So all their evidence, so we don't even need to look elsewhere to know that these actually
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material are actually Gnostic.
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We don't need to look elsewhere, because in the material themselves, there are evidence
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that they can show to us that these materials are not written by the name that they carry,
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and they cannot be inspired by God.
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They cannot be inspired by God.
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So what is Gnostic or Gnosticism?
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From the word Gnosticism.
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Gnosticism is spelled G-N-O-S-T-I-C.
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G-N-O-S-T-I-C means Gnostic, or if it is a religion, it's called Gnosticism.
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Now Gnostic is a term that is synonymous to ambiguity in the sense.
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It's like an ambiguous religious sect, very difficult to know what is their stance.
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In fact, until 1945, when we had those documents so much, it was very difficult to really grab
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what is actually their belief.
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Most of the religion in the world, you can clearly say, this is what they believe, this
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is what they believe, this is what they believe.
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But the Gnosticism or the Gnostic religion has more than 50 sects.
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So the emanate is a combination of different ideas from different religions, many different
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religions put together.
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This religion, if you use the word, in fact, let's just clarify the term Gnosticism or
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Gnostic.
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Actually, Gnosticism comes from the word Gnosis, that is G-N-O-S-I-S.
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It's a Greek word, Gnosis.
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I believe that those of us who have heard Buster Custin and other things, and I think
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Basochidi also talked about it, Epignosis.
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You know about Epignosis.
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Yes.
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So Gnosis in Greek means knowledge.
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If you look at it just broadly, Gnosticism has to do with attaining salvation.
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That's what they believe.
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Attaining salvation through esoteric knowledge.
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So it's not just only just knowledge, but the knowledge is esoteric.
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What is esoteric?
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They believe in a special kind of knowledge or a secret or hidden knowledge that is not
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given to everyone.
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That's all we mean.
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When you say something is esoteric, E-S-O-R-T-E-R-I-C, you are talking about something that is not
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common, that is something that is only given to special people.
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So when you said Gnosticism, you are talking about people who believe that salvation can
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be earned through that kind of special knowledge, but the knowledge is given just for some special
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people.
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You understand?
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So they can add all kinds of things here and there.
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So I want to remind you also that we have not yet finished with this problem because
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today we still have people who believe that God can still reveal something to them specially
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about himself that has not been revealed in scripture.
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So already when you hear a person saying something like that, you know that he is also a practicing
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Gnostic or is in Gnosticism.
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Meaning that he is a person who wants to accord to himself a special class in Christianity,
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meaning that everybody is not the same now.
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Are we together?
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So don't think that we have finished with the problem.
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No, Gnosticism is still here up to today and I'm going to show you as we continue.
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Also it's important to pay attention.
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So remember what I said that it promotes or emphasizes the idea that salvation can be
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obtained through that special knowledge.
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So they promote it.
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So they believe in everything spiritual because they are talking about this special knowledge.
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Of course, it cannot be physical.
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It cannot be common.
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It cannot be what you can just get anyhow.
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No, no.
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So you can see these people or those in practicing Gnosticism in this way.
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So they teach that all material things including body, your body, this one, every material
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thing that you see today, they are bad.
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That's what they believe.
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And all spiritual things are considered good.
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All spiritual things.
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So anything that is, again, I want to know today, if you are a type that just believe
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that some things are just evil because they are physical, then you see you are also a
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practicing Gnostic or one who is practicing Gnosticism because that's what they believe
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that everything that is physical is bad.
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So they see this body, listen to this one, they see this body as an enemy.
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That is, they are like a prison that trapped your spirit.
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And the only way you can be freed from it is only by having this special knowledge because
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you can be freed from your body when you continue to engage this special knowledge.
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I hope you are getting me.
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I want to show you where Apostle Paul was dealing with that problem also.
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Are we together?
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So glory to Jesus.
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Amen.
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So they believe that we are trapped.
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Like some people are confused also that they are a male trapped in a woman's body.
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That's a special Gnostic demonstration.
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Are we together?
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So what am I trying to say?
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So the knowledge that you acquire, that special knowledge that you acquire was the key to
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freeing your body, sorry to freeing your spirit from this bondage you call body.
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So because everything material is evil.
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That is a complete divergence or is an anti-message of scripture.
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Now let me show you some places where Paul was addressing some of these problems.
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So remember, this does not emanate now.
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In fact, Gnosticism started even before the time of Jesus.
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It only became rooted during the early church, became prominent.
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Are we together?
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Good.
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Now I will show you later on how it became prominent.
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Now look with me Colossians chapter 2 verse 9.
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Let's read verse 8 then I'll read 9.
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Beware!
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Lest anyone cheat you through what?
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Philosophies.
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So please note that word philosophy.
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An empty deceit according to the basic principle of the world and not according to Christ.
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So there were some philosophical ideas at that moment and they are deceptive.
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So Paul noted it, he said be careful.
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They sound very good to the ear.
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He said be careful.
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He said they are based according to the tradition of men.
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According to the basic principle of the world and not according to Christ.
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Verse 9.
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For in him dwell all the fullness of the Godhead.
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Now when you see four, they are together.
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That means, can you see some relation?
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That means that philosophical idea or ideology that Paul was warning the Colossians.
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Are we together?
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He was warning the Colossians.
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It has to do that there is some special revelation that is beyond the incarnation.
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Because when you say four, in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
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Meaning that that idea is trying to dis or play or downplay the incarnation of Christ.
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Seeking for a higher revelation, a higher meaning.
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Now we said they are all concerned about some esoteric knowledge.
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Are we together?
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So Paul was warning.
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Now look at me, go to verse 20.
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Therefore if you die with Christ from the basic principle of the world, why as though
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living in the world do you subject yourself to regulations?
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Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all concerning things which perish with
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the using, according to the commandment and doctrine of men.
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These things indeed have an appearance of what?
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You see that?
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You see why Paul is warning them?
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He says these things have indeed or indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed
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religion.
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You see that thing?
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Self-imposed religion, false humility and what?
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A neglect of the body, but of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
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See this is an idea here.
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Because the body had to be neglected, need to be tormented because the body is termed
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as the enemy.
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Actually this is a twist on Paul's teaching concerning the flesh in Galatians.
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You remember Galatians?
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So you see most of this religion are actually a twist from the real thing.
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Remember in Galatians Paul was talking about, maybe let's read that please, Galatians chapter
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5 in the same.
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Look at verse 17, for the flesh lost against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh
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and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish.
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But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.
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This seems to be that is a twist of this message that okay since the flesh is contrary to the
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spirit, let's deal with this flesh.
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But which flesh is Paul talking about?
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Remember, come with me.
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Look at Peter, 2 Peter chapter 3.
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Peter actually talked about these people who twist Paul's message.
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In 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 15, 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 15, he said, and consider that the
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longsuffering of our Lord is salvation as also our beloved brother Paul according to
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the wisdom given to him as written to you.
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Verse 16, as also in all his epistles, in all his epistles, speaking in them of the
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things in which are some things are hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people
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twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scripture.
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Now please read this place very carefully.
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Paul did not say that his letters are hard to understand, but they are hard to understand
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to some people.
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Who are these people?
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They are people who are unstable, untaught.
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Speaking in them of the things in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught
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and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scripture.
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So I feel that this Gnosticism, Gerut, remember they say as other scriptures, as of this time,
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they are describing other scriptures as the Genesis to Malachi.
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So these people now have seen Paul's letters and say, aha, this one, that what he's teaching
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is not correct.
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And then they twist it.
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Then they keep twisting it as they do other scripture.
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So we can see Paul was warning that be careful.
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Look at, let me read maybe two scriptures again, where he was in this time around warning
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Timothy.
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Look at Timothy.
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First Timothy chapter six, verse 20, first Timothy chapter six, verse 20.
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Oh Timothy, God what was committed to your trust, avoiding profane and idle babbling
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and contradiction of what is falsely called knowledge.
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I want you to know that.
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So Paul identified there is something, a knowledge that was prevalent at that time.
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And Paul regarded that that is a false knowledge by professing it, some have strayed concerning
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the faith.
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Grace be with you, amen.
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Let me read the last one.
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But let me read in Corinthians.
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Corinthians, first Corinthians one, verse 20, first Corinthians one.
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Where is a wise, where is a scribe, where is the disputer of this age?
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Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
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For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleases
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God through the foolishness of the message, preached to save those who believe.
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For Jews request a sign and the Greeks after what?
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Now I want you to know the word Greeks after wisdom.
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The Jew require a sign, but the Greek seek after wisdom.
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And remember what we have been discussing is more of philosophies, knowledge, wisdom,
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all that.
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Because narcissism, you will see that it is actually an injection of Greek philosophy.
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So the Greek seeks after wisdom.
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But we preach Christ crucified, you see that?
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Because he was talking about where are those who talk about wisdom?
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Understand, has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world for sins?
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Verse 21, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God.
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It pleases God through the foolishness of the message of message, preach to save those
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who believe.
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For the Jews request a sign and Greek seek after wisdom.
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And we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greek foolishness.
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But to those who are called both Jews and Greek, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
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of God.
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Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than
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men.
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So heresy did not start today.
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Culture did not start today.
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You can see how culture can contaminate the gospel.
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So although the early church didn't even use the term narcissism, the idea were actually
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all that idea blossom during their time.
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That word, narcissism or Gnostic is a modern coinage.
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In fact, credited to one 17th century philosopher called Henry Moore.
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He was the one who coined that word Gnostic or Gnosticism to describe heretic writings.
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So the discovery of this MacHarmandy library in 1945, gave more light to these Gnostic
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idea because we now have a lot to read about those writings.
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It should be noted, as I said earlier on, that not all those scriptures categorize or
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writings, not scriptures, writings categorize as Gnostic are explicitly, I mean, like clearly
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or very vividly Gnostic.
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You understand?
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There were about three, particularly, particularly three that were Egyptian wisdom texts.
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So some of them were just three, but majority are actually against the message of Christ
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directly.
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And so each of the book that has been found to be called the Gnostic text have been found
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to be in Coptic language.
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That is, they were written in Coptic.
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Some of them actually few are Greek.
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But however, there is a reason to believe that they were all translated to Coptic because
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Coptic is actually a language that is related to Greek and ancient Egyptian, but because
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Coptic is an Egyptian language, so to say.
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So you could find out that some of these texts that were found, you see them actually translated
45:20
in Coptic, but they are heading is actually Greek.
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Of course, there is one particular, they call it the secret book of James.
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The author acknowledged that it has been written in Hebrew.
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So that means it was written in Hebrew.
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That's also show an idea that this idea of the Gnosticism started even probably before
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the church.
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So that means that the secret book of James, I don't know why they titled it that way.
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The secret book of James, you understand, it was written because the author in described
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that he wrote it in Hebrew.
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So it must have been translated to Greek and then to Coptic.
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So as we all talked about it.
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Now you could see that clearly where we read last here in first Corinthians, when Paul
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was talking about wisdom, where are those, you understand, where are those?
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I wanted to see it please quickly.
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Look at what Paul was talking about here.
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Verse 20, he said, where is the wise?
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Where is the scribe?
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Where is the disputer?
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He said of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
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Now that means he's capitalizing on philosophies and wisdom of men brought about, which we've
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seen many things.
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He warned Timothy about it.
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He said falsely knowledge or falsely called knowledge.
47:19
And then later on he was talking about, he said, for Jew requested a sign and the Greeks
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after wisdom.
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So this idea of was made more profound by the injection of the Greek philosophies, understand,
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which now began to seek because they are the one who seek for higher knowledge.
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In fact, that is the origin of what we call class in society.
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All these, all these, all these class we are talking about.
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In fact, that's the idea if you study many, I do that, that's the idea of slavery.
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Where it came that some people are believed to have higher wisdom above others.
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That is naturally the, when they were created, they were created as nobles to the aristocrats,
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you understand, to rule generally, never actually to walk.
48:12
They are just to sit down and be thinking.
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Then other ones that are from Africa, they are the one that should be working for those
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ones who are meant to be thinking, who are meant to be noble.
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That is where the idea of slavery came from, that the Western world now grabbed it and
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then continue to implement.
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So what am I trying to see?
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I'm trying to know that in fact, there's one German theologians, his name is Adolf von
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Hammack.
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In fact, he called Gnosticism an acute Hellenization of Christianity from the word Hellenist.
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You know, remember we talked about Hellenistic Jews, those people who left their land scattered
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around that area, you understand, because the word Hellenism or Hellenization is talking
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about the spread of the Greek culture.
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So he was talking about that this issue of the Coptic, I'm sorry, the issue of the Gnostic
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or Gnosticism is actually the infusion or the contamination of Christianity with the
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culture of the Greek or the Greek culture.
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And that is what we have whereby some special kind of knowledge, you understand, is promoted
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that is based on philosophies promoted that is a way out of to give a man salvation or
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to give a man salvation from the miseries of the physical life because the physical,
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anything physical is looked about as bad.
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So as I conclude for today, you understand, why did the Gnostic gospel carry the name
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of biblical figures?
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As I have noted earlier on, they do that for validation, for credibility, you understand,
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but in the material themselves contains evidence that contradicts the stance of even the biblical
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figures in which or whose names have been used to actually name those writings.
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However, just to note to you again, all Christians, Catholic, Orthodox Christians, Protestants,
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all of them consider the Gnostic gospel that they are not inspired, they are not divinely
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inspired and should or cannot be among the canon and not be among the canon.
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Thus, all the different Bible translation we have to be all of them.
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None at anything they have a they have an consensus and an agreement that the 27 books
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are the inspired Word of God.
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They are the inspired Word of God.
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Now I want to just read before we just conclude, I want to read something.
51:35
Let me project it for you just to have a test of really how some of these Gnostic gospel
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are actually bizarre.
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Oh, like I said, they are actually out of term, you understand.
51:50
You can find them online, you know, as I did during the apocrypha, I just read some few
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things in the sand that you can answer this by giving arms.
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Let me show you another one.
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Yeah, but in the case, okay, I'll leave the secret book of James.
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Maybe I'll just let me let's let's go to Peter.
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They say the gospel of Peter.
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Yes, gospel of Peter.
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Oh, can you see my screen?
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Or is it okay?
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He has gone again.
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No, I have to read this one.
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He doesn't want me to read this Gnostic gospel.
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Yes, so I was telling us here if you see all the various ones that have apocrypha, for
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example, the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, and all that remember, see under here, we
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have 27 books, 27 books of the New Testament, 27 books of the New Testament.
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So this was they are not even the protestant the protestants, of course, as we noted, have
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36 books of the Old Testament.
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That's nice.
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Sorry, that nine and then 27 of the Old Testament.
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But then you can see that even though this one's have apocrypha, but when it comes to
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the New Testament, they actually agree that it is 27.
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Then let me show us the.
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So this is the this is a first 11 the Gnostics text before before the Normandy Library discovery
53:37
in 1945.
53:40
You will see the Act of Thomas, the Act of John.
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We have other ones up down to what we call the Amatica.
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In the sun, they are by 11.
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So this were actually known we have in the Gospel of Mary.
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In the sun, we have the wisdom of Jesus Christ is on the O's yet.
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Yes, saying that it was Jesus that wrote it.
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I don't know that Jesus wrote anything.
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But we now know that Jesus didn't write anything.
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Anything that we do, we are written by some people concerning.
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Amen.
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OK, let me.
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So these are the they are divided based according to the Codex.
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By now, you know what Codex means.
54:23
So you can see the prayer of Apostle Paul.
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We even have another one, the prayer of Apostle Paul.
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Then we have the Gospel of Truth.
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Of course, we have the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip.
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And we have Exegesis of the Soul.
54:43
And all that Codex three, we have also some of them you can see that is a petition.
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The reason because different codex, I think there has been some copying also just the
54:54
same way you note in this this this one will copy from this.
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This one will copy from the so the Codex that we have found some of them carries the other
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ones.
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That's why you're seeing a petition.
55:07
This is according to Codex.
55:11
Let me show you the last part.
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Yes, this one they are also so they are about as I said, they are about 52.
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You have to understand different.
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I mean, 52 writings.
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So let me just.
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As I said, lastly, let's let me read this in a time.
55:35
This is the Gospel of Peter versus starting to 42.
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The Gospel of Peter.
55:43
Now, I want you to when I read just just just feel whether it is because I was writing this
55:51
in a time.
55:52
But study was a noun.
55:56
When the morning of the Sabbath down a crowd from Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside
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went that they might see the grave that had been seen, that is, they are talking about
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the great grief of Jesus.
56:14
So before Jesus resurrected according to Peter, not Peter, the Gospel of Peter, that the crowd
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when they had to see in the sun, but 35.
56:25
But during the night before the last day down, while the soldiers we are standing or we are
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watching two by two as guards, there was a great voice in heaven.
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First 36.
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And they saw the heavens being open and two men descended from there, having much radiance
56:51
and they approached the tomb.
56:54
But the stone, which had been placed at the mouth, rolled away by itself and made a way
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made way in parts and the tomb was open and both the young men went in.
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You see that?
57:13
So the young men went in.
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I hope you are following me.
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Yes.
57:19
Was that it?
57:21
Then those soldiers seeing it woke up the centurion and the elders because they were
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there to keeping guard.
57:33
And while they were explaining to them what they saw, again, they saw three men.
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Remember how many men went in?
57:47
Remember how many when they say went in?
57:48
Look at here.
57:49
They said two men went in and suddenly now three men.
57:56
You see that three men coming out of the tomb with the two supporting the one.
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So presumably the third one is Jesus.
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So they are supporting Jesus.
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And a cross following them behind.
58:14
So they were supporting and so the cross was walking, following them behind.
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And the head of the two, that's the two men who came in, reaches as far as heaven.
58:29
But that of the one being led by them reaches beyond the heavens.
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That's the third person.
58:39
And they heard a voice from heaven saying, have you proclaimed to those who sleep?
58:48
And the response was heard from the cross.
58:50
So the cross say yes.
58:51
You know, the cross that was following the cross, I was only behind that answer and say
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yes.
58:59
That's 43.
59:00
Then those men decided to go with each other and report these things to Pilate.
59:07
That's 44.
59:09
And while they were still considering, again the heavens were seen being opened and a certain
59:16
man descended and went into the grave.
59:19
Did Jesus return to the grave again?
59:23
That's 45.
59:24
Having seen these things, those with the centurion poured by night to Pilate, having left the
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tomb, they were watching and described all that they saw being greatly distressed and
59:44
saying, truly he was the son of God.
59:55
That's interesting.
59:56
You can imagine there by just titling it the Gospel of Peter, presumably that was Peter
1:00:06
who wrote this.
1:00:09
Hallelujah.
1:00:10
So you can see how confused some of these things can be.
1:00:15
Now what are we trying to say in general as we, because my time is up, you can know that
1:00:26
you can give it a title, maybe you give it a subheading, you know the Bible that gives
1:00:31
subheading.
1:00:32
Maybe you give subheading to this one.
1:00:34
I don't know what you give it.
1:00:37
Whether you say it's a walking, talking cross, or you say the man that descended and ascended
1:00:44
into the tomb, whichever one you give or quote.
1:00:49
Now what are we trying to see?
1:00:50
I'm trying to make you to appreciate that the idea of writing bizarre things didn't
1:00:57
start today and it will end.
1:01:00
This is what the apostles have to stand against, the early church facing.
1:01:06
Today we are facing it.
1:01:09
When people come with all kinds of ideas, unfortunately, this is why sometimes we have
1:01:16
to scrutinize what we believe.
1:01:18
We have to scrutinize what we are teaching.
1:01:21
We have to scrutinize where is it coming from?
1:01:23
Who taught it?
1:01:25
By who?
1:01:26
Where is the idea coming?
1:01:29
These days you hear some people say, especially sometimes our music ministers, it was given
1:01:34
to me from heaven.
1:01:36
I mean you just wonder what is the meaning of that?
1:01:38
Just to sound special, just to sound that it was a revelation uniquely given to them.
1:01:45
And then you are wondering that is a Gnostic practice.
1:01:53
It is a common faith, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
1:01:58
It is there's nothing unique to you.
1:02:02
You cannot privatize revelation.
1:02:06
You can't.
1:02:07
You cannot privatize revelation.
1:02:10
Not at all.
1:02:12
That is another religion coming into.
1:02:18
So even now we have to be careful.
1:02:20
Our music ministers, sometimes in the world they know how to chant, rap and do all those
1:02:26
kinds of things.
1:02:27
We have tongues.
1:02:28
If you speak in tongues, you don't need to do one incantation, incantation, incantation
1:02:35
again.
1:02:36
So today we are even, it is a very thin line.
1:02:40
You don't even know whether the music minister is singing incantation or he's actually praying
1:02:44
in tongues.
1:02:45
So you don't even understand.
1:02:46
We are gradually bringing all those things into the church.
1:02:50
So we have to be careful what we teach while it is being done in church.
1:02:56
Our practice must be founded on the scripture.
1:03:00
Every revelation has been revealed.
1:03:02
We just need to read.
1:03:05
Amen.
1:03:06
So when we come next time, we will ask because there are some arguments that the, because
1:03:15
there are some arguments in the Bible, there are some books that are, that even the apostles
1:03:23
make mention and they are not weird to be found.
1:03:26
You understand?
1:03:27
For example, he told the Laoduchians, you understand?
1:03:31
He said he was telling the Corinthians, take this letter to the Laoduchians and also collect
1:03:37
the one from the Laoduchians and bring it to lit.
1:03:41
But today we don't have any letter to the Laoduchians.
1:03:45
So where is it?
1:03:46
So some of some unscrupulous element entered the church creepily, I mean, without knowing
1:03:52
and they are arguing that some of these lost writings, part of them is the north.
1:04:00
Thank you for listening to our sermon today.
1:04:02
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1:04:05
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1:04:18
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