by Travers and Jewel van der Merwe
Chapter 3: A Gnostic Gospel ?
Having defined and illustrated the doctrinal core of Gnosticism, we
can now effectively identify Gnostic thought as it emerges in the church
today. There is a growing network comprised of loosely linked groups with
a common Gnostic theme. They refer to themselves in many ways. They use
Biblical sounding titles such as "Overcomers", "The First Fruits", "Manifest
Sons of God", "The Elect", "A New Breed", "Son of Man Company" and even
"The Manchild Company". These groups can be involved in a wide spectrum
of teaching from anti-Semitism, Prophets and Apostles, Restoration, Kingdom
Now Theology, and most sinister of all - the New Age philosophy.
Though diverse in their outworking, these groups have a common origin
in three main bodies of teaching: the Latter Rain Movement, the New Order
and the Rosicrucian Order. We will study these three groups in detail,
and as we do, the underlying Gnostic philosophy will be evident. Bear in
mind, the essence of Gnosticism is finding your divinity - the god within
you, by subjective experience.
The Latter Rain Movement
Most Pentecostal history books date the historic Pentecostal revival
of the Latter Rain movement to 1948 and attribute its geographical origin
to North Battleford, Canada. Its beginning was explosive among the Pentecostals
and like a wild fire spread quickly throughout North America and many places
around the world.
The movement was characterised by many healings and miraculous phenomena
. . . There was an emphasis on spiritual gifts which were to be received
by the laying on of hands. [Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements,
Zondervan Publishing House]
Leaders feld that God was giving the Church, in these last days, great
insight into the mind of God by prophetic revelation and manifestations.
With the outburst of the revival the ministry of an apostle and a prophet
was elevated to the rank of an "office". "The ministries were not restricted
to penetrating the mysteries within the Bible but included the unveiling
of people's lives and heart." [Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic
Movements, Zondervan Publishing House (emphasis added)]. New revelations
into the spiritual world emerged - communication with angels, divine visitations,
and out-of-body experiences.
Dangers
Revealing a "new thing" or gaining knowledge either by allegorising
the Scriptures or by personal prophetic revelation was the spirit of absurdity
that overtook what initially seemed to be a move of God. The records show
that the revival started out well. Unfortunately, in certain major respects,
it ended in abuse and apostasy, thus showing once again the need for the
teaching of true Biblical doctrine.
The Latter Rain Movement had a notorious reputation for imparting
an assortment of strange teachings. The origin of these teachings, which
have no thread of Scriptural foundation except where the Scriptures have
been applied out of context, can be traced beyond any reasonable doubt
to the occult. These teachings are invariably accompanied by what seems
to be supernatural manifestations, which when examined, are characteristically
descriptive of the occult. There is evidence that with the Latter Rain
revival came a blaze of subjective theology that centred on man, his senses,
imagination and intuition above the objective and scriptural knowledge
of truth.
This new emphasis started a paradigm shift. The initial paradigm,
an orthodox perspective of Christ shifted or changed, caused Christians
to be receptive to subjective impressions of Christ, experiences and ideas.
To maintain the interest of followers, new ideas and new revelations were
(and are) continually in the making.
Most people who have had any history in Pentecostalism at all have
been influenced at some time in their lives by the Latter Rain Movement.
There have been many sincere people who felt they were part of the move
of God for the Last Days and were earnestly partaking of the fruit that
was offered. Since 1948 the Latter Rain influence has permeated the churches,
Bible Colleges, evangelism and Christian television broadcasting networks.
The overall magnitude of its influence makes it more difficult to warn
of the inherent dangers that are involved.
As a result of the Latter Rain influence in the Christian Church
two basic streams of thought exist side by side. Sometimes it is hard to
distinguish the one from the other. Like the tares and wheat they have
grown up together. Only through God's written Word can a true separation
be discerned. The first stream is "Gnostic" thought - the inspiration of
many masquerading as apostles and prophets. The second is "Christian orthodoxy"
thought based on the Holy Scriptures. It is the Gnostic stream of thought
that divides the Christian Church into a dichotomy.
Tangents
Here are some of the subtle doctrinal concepts the Latter Rain fraternity
have come to popularise:
Positive Confession and Prosperity Message
(Hagin, Copeland, Capps, Price)
Restoration - Apostles, Prophets and the "Innter Voice"
(Bickle, Hamon, Cain)
Shepherding/Covenantalism
(Simpson, Godwin, Mumford)
Kingdom Now Theology
(Paulk, Hamon)
Manifest Sons of God
(Cerullo)
There are many more names and new ways these streams are flowing
together now. In spite of these erroneous teachings, many souls around
the world have come to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour. However, through
these aberrant doctrines, many Christians have or are being swept into
a form of religion that too often fits the description of the cults and
occult.
Prophets and The New Order
Today with the rise of new "prophets" and "apostles", we are hearing
terminology that is clearly unscriptural. Yet, enough Scripture references
are used to make the teachings palatable to the average Christian.
The elevation of prophets and apostles obviously made way for individuals
to abuse Scripture. It allowed some to give the 'Spoken Word' equality
with Scripture. 'There could be no greater error', denominational leaders
warned . . . [The Assemblies of God] General Secretary, J. Roswell Flower
cautioned, 'Predictive prophecy resulted in untold disaster wherever it
had been given free course'. Flower was well-versed in the history of Pentecostalism
and recalled numerous prophecies that had come to nothing. The New Order
of the Latter Rain in fact was nothing new. The ground had been covered
before, with lessons learned through costly mistakes. Now a new generation
seemed to want to repeat it all. [The Assemblies of God, A Chapter in the
Story of American Pentecostalism, Vol.2, Edith Blumhofer]
This "New Order" has survived and has influenced the course of Pentecostal
history. All along there has been interaction among the salvation/healing
revivals and the Charismatic movement for the past 40 years. Now another
generation later, we are facing the same situation that our forefathers
faced, only this time it is exacerbated because of the mass media, telecommunications,
huge conferences and a strong interlocking network.
When the terms "Illumination", "New Revelation" and "New Order" are
used, immediately the imagination is titillated into wondering, "What does
God have new in store for me?" Promises of a "New Anointing" and a "New
Thing" keep the conferences filled and the tape and book sales rolling!
When the term "New Thing" is used, the following are some of the thoughts
behind the term:
1. New "mysteries" revealed;
2. New "knowledge" of the Christ within - self consciousness;
3. New "form of godliness" that will be the light of the world;
4. New "power" that will do marvellous new things;
5. New "Law of Love" without Scripture;
6. New "Inner Voice" above the Scriptures to guide and govern;
7. New centre of divinity - the soul;
8. New ministries that exceed even those of the prophets and apostles
of old; and
9. New consciousness/self potentional - self-esteem, self-immortalisation
and self-the temple of illumination.
These thoughts are the bedrock of Gnostic experience and its objective
of self-realisation of the god within and its subsequent fruit of love
and works (born not out of the working of the Holy Spirit but of connecting
with your inner self.)
The Rosicrucian Order
There is a clear link in modern trends and the above teachings to what
is known as "The Rosicrucian Order". (A Gnostic religion). This seems like
a bold drastic statement. However, in 1925 there was a book written entitled
The Sons of God. It was "A Foreshadowing of the Coming World of
the Messenger of The New Age" (R. Swinburne Clymer). Note the similarities
in the following quote:
In each life is a spark, a germ of the Divine Nature. This spark
is the potential Christos or the potential individual Soul or that 'light
which lighteth all the world of man's consciousness'. When man becomes
conscious of this light within his own being and recognises and obeys its
'still small voice', he has reached a state bordering on Illumination of
Soul or Immortalisation. When he has found within himself the CENTRE whence
cometh the LIGHT, Soul Consciousness is attained. This is the beginning
of Initiation; the first revealment of the Divine Mysteries. The Divine
Spark in each individual may be developed into a centre or globe of pure
white fire; it may become a dynamic nucleus of living fires - the Fire
of Love and Immortality. This fact gives the key to the significance of
the term 'Temple of Illumination'. Man in toto, is the nuceau of Illumination,
the Temple of the living, radiating Christos . . . 'God in me and I in
you'. Thus, by obedience to the Divine Law, man attains unto Christhood,
becomes the Son of God. (page 15)
Out of Gnosticism a variety of religious cults and orders emerged, one
of which was Druidism that spread rapidly during the mediaevel era throughout
Europe including Britain. It became a prime factor in the direction of
all European culture, religion and society. From Gnosticism and Druidism
evolved what has come to be known as the Rosicrucian Order that openly
admits to having originated in Gnosticism.
We can date the Rosicrucian Order back to 1379. According to their
own writings, a Rosicrucian is one who has learned, or is learning a philosophy
of life - a path to confident living. Among famous people who were known
Rosicrucians were to name a few: Gottfried Leibnitz 1646-1716, Francis
Bacon 1561-1626 and Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790. The Rosicrucians boldly
advertise "Become united with enlightened minds everywhere". The tragedy
is that men who were great thinkers and spiritual leaders in their day
became influenced by the Rosicrucians, just as the same thinking is influencing
the church in varying degrees today.
As a result of the Rosicrucian philosophy in the eighteenth century,
the Freemason Society became one of the strongest influences in Europe
and North America. Thus, in the USA as well as in other parts of the world,
Gnosticism helped shape much of the Christian thought, culture and politics
of the day.
The book Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects by Time-Life Books
not only seems to confirm the fact that Freemasonry in part owes its existence
to Rosicrucianism, but also substantiates the fact that Gnosticism is at
the core of Freemasonry. With reference to the enormity of Freemasonry
influence on North America, this book says:
Today of course, the fraternal service group known as the Free and
Accepted Masons is a secure strand in the social fabric of the developed
world. In the United States alone, some 16,000 lodges welcome several million
member Masons, and the leading citizens of many a town consider it a privilege
to belong. In some ways, however - in the observance of hidden rituals,
the profusion of symbols and honorary titles and high-flown ceremonial
language - the Masonic order remains the secret society it has been for
centuries untold. (page 83)
Needless to say, a great portion of Freemasonry membership comprises
of the Christian clergy and to some extent accounts for the strong Gnostic
influence in the Church.
According to the same book, on page 53:
Rosicrucianism's spread in seventeenth-century Germany may have
gained impetus from a Gorlitz cobbler named Jakob Boehme. Boehme reportedly
has his first spiritual 'illumination' in 1600 when, at the age of twenty-five,
he sat gazing at the light reflected from a pewter dish. The revelation
led the shoemaker to abandon his trade for myhstical studies. It was William
Law's introduction to Jakob Boehme which poured light into Law and inspired
him to write The Spirit of Love and The Spirit of Prayer. People
who love William Law's writings and respect his teachings cannot believe
he was influenced in any way by Rosicrucian thought that was basically
Gnostic.
The founder of InterVarsity, Norman Grubb, testifies in his biography,
. . . from Boehme, most difficult to read because he could not easily
put the depths of his illuminations into readable form, I got my answer,
and to this day know no writer to match him . . . He is the last word to
me . . . I am saying that everything is a form by which He manifests Himself,
much as my body is not exactly I, but an outward form of the inner me.
This fact, gleaned through Boehme, confirmed through the writings of many
others, with the foundations in Scripture, has given me my anchor. [Once
Caught, No Escape, Norman Grubb, Intervarsity Press]
Norman Grubb confessed to receiving more from mystic writings than from
studying the Bible. Apart from Boehme and William Law, other great mystic
writers that proved a spiritual help to him were as follows: Saint Teresa,
Meister Eckhart, Henry Suso, John Tauler, John of Rusbroeck, Walter Hilton,
Plotinus, Angelus Silesius, Richard Rolle, Lady Julian of Norwich, Evelyn
Underhill, William Kingsland and Rufus Jones. These names are well known
for their Gnostic and even theosophical ideas. With reference to some of
the mystic writers he said, "These are out of bounds to the orthodox; but
I have often got more from them than from normal Bible exegesis". According
to his own testimony, during a time of severe despair and doubt as to the
existence of God, he desperately sought for answers amongs the writings
of mystics. "My answer came through the mystics and has been widening ever
since", he writes.
Norman Grubb is a typical example of countless others, who for whatever
reason, struggled to walk by faith and unfortunately turned to Gnostic
ideas (mysticism) to experience a sense of spirituality and a feeling of
belonging to God. Like Norman Grubb, numerous Christians, in spite of all
of their experiences, are floundering in doubt for lack of faith in God's
Word and instead are searching for answers in mysticism - the spirit of
Gnosticism. No wonder the masses are receptive to the modern Gnostic apostles
and prophets.
