Last week sometime, I heard this phrase… “The New Gnostics.”

I found a book used on Amazon, and ordered it — but also found a couple articles about it.

One was by someone who seems to hold to a Baptist Doctrine kind of background, dismissing anything experiential as Gnostic, such that raising the dead, healing the sick, or casting out of demons etc, are Gnostic.

So that is pretty much blasphemous of The Holy Spirit.

I wasn’t sure at the time if God wanted to speak about this to me, or just have me study. But as I went through the article tonight, I felt He was wanting to speak.

“Sometimes it seems that Prophets or Apostles have special knowledge.

That is true to an extent in that I speak to people who believe in Me.

But they don’t keep it to themselves like they have some special knowledge that others are not privy to!

For example,saying “Only I” can teach you about this.

I do give Revelation of Scripture to those who seek Me — but I do NOT create a special knowledge to those who seek Me, that they would keep to themselves, unless that knowledge would cause harm to someone.

There are times when I hold back knowledge even to My Prophets, if they are not ready to receive it without it hurting their hearts or walk with Me.

I said on earth to My Apostles, I have much to tell you — but you cannot bear it now. (John 16:12)

So there are things that are difficult to carry, that I give Grace to some to carry. But I do NOT make it so difficult to understand for there is a wide range of educational backgrounds in people.

I took Charles Finney for example, and had him preach to coal miners. They were not educated men, but Finney was a former lawyer, and a very educated man. Yet I gave him ability to speak to them in plain language.

There is NO doctrine supporting man being God, though I said, to the Pharisees, I and The Father are One.

I AM LORD, and there is no other GOD besides Me!

You are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But you are not “gods” in the sense that some use this phrase.

However I have given you Power, according to My Holy Spirit’s Will. As many are teaching that anyone can have this or that power — but in My Word, I made it clear that The Holy Spirit gives as He Wills. Not as you will!

I AM still Sovereign LORD of the Universe. There is none besides Me.

I raise up kings — I bring down kings!

I lift up men and women from the ash-heap, and I make them low.

It is I who rule The Universe. You cannot manipulate Me as you do to one another.

For I know everything in your heart and mind. I know all men and women, every girl or boy and what is in their hearts.

I know the number of the very hairs on your head!”

“All these [gifts, achievements, abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] AS HE CHOOSES.” 1 Corinthians 12:11 AMPC

“Jesus said to them, My Father has enabled Me to do many good deeds. [I have shown many acts of mercy in your presence.] For which of these do you mean to stone Me? The Jews replied, We are not going to stone You for a good act, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere Man, make Yourself [out to be] God.
Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods?
So men are called gods [by the Law], men to whom God’s message came—and the Scripture cannot be set aside or cancelled or broken or annulled — [If that is true] do you say of the One Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?
If I am not doing the works [performing the deeds] of My Father, then do not believe Me [do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me]. But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand [clearly] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him]. They sought again to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands.” John 10:32-39

“God stands in the assembly [of the representatives] of God; in the midst of the magistrates or judges He gives judgment [as] among the gods. How long will you [magistrates or judges] judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Do justice to the weak (poor) and fatherless; maintain the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy; rescue them out of the hand of the wicked. [The magistrates and judges] know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction]; all the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles upon which rests the administration of justice] are shaking.” Psalm 82:1-5 AMPC

“Understand as well, that I AM the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow! I do not change.

My Principles do not change. I AM the same God of The Old Testament and The New Testament. Jesus did not come to eliminate The Law, but to fulfill it.

You can still find in the Old Testament, My Standards of Holiness. Yes, Jesus paid the price for you, but He did not destroy the Old Testament as if it was irrelevant.

I AM that I AM in the New Testament as well. We are One. We still want you to walk according to The Holy Spirit’s guidance, who will never tell you to do something I hate.

I abhor all violence and murder. I abhor lying and deceitful lips. I abhor perversion and abuse of children, or anyone.

I abhor pride and an arrogant look and attitude! I abhor injustice and the unjust scales.

My Son told you, “Love one another as I have loved you!” Treat others as you would like to have them treat you.

There are times when you must, like a good parent, not approve of disturbing behavior, and people who pull on you mentally and emotionally in inappropriate ways.

But, you must NOT give into bitterness or bitter root judgments and hate. You set boundaries.

But you do not give into fleshly hatred — and you don’t gossip about them to others. You can confide in a counselor, but The Holy Spirit is also your Counselor!

I will call many of you Prophets and Evangelists, Teachers and Apostles to CONFRONT the darkness in The Church, and all it’s false doctrine.

For these ungodly doctrines of demons will be ROUTED from The True Church!

Those who will not change will be given over to delusion as many already are. But I will appoint many of you to confront them once again, and if they will not bow, will be under swift judgment.

For I will NOT allow them to make the younger generations twice the sons of hell as they are!

The Church will have a new Face when I am finished with the work I AM doing!

Deliverance and Healing, Prophecy and raising the dead will be everyday occurrences once again!

The miracles will fill the news. For even those speaking for me, transformed by My Glory will see people delivered by the words they give on the internet or in the streets.

People will flock to the shining ones, because they will be Hungry for Healing and learning about their new or revived Faith!

Watch who you are listening to and aligning yourself with beloveds, that you do not associate with the prideful — but with the Humble in Heart.

Remember that Love is not puffed up — it is not boastful or jealous of others.

Love suffers long and resists vainglory. It is not only thinking of me, me, me, but of others, and all they are going through as well.

It is conscious of the sufferings of other, and not just self, or it’s own self interests.”

“Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].” 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 AMPC

“Love goes on to fulfill My Will in your life, and what I have called you to.

Love puts Me first, and not just your friends or busyness.

Perfectionism — is not Love. Perfectionism holds others to a standard that you set, instead of what I set for them.

In that, you have greatly underestimated their relationship with Me. You cannot see everything someone else is doing, but I do!

I see not only their actions, but the depths of their heart, and every detail of their lives including all I have spoken to them.

So check yourselves when you are eager to tell others what to do, for I AM in charge of the lives of others around you, not you!

You don’t get to decide what is best for them — and I AM able to tell them what to do if they ask Me.

If they ask for advice, then seek Me for what to help them with, but do not assume you know what’s best for another. That is control — and I AM the One in Control of them, not you!

So many today want to tell you what to do, what to say, what to do with your life.

When people feel out of control, that leads them often to try and control some other aspect of other’s lives because of that feeling of lack of any control.

So be aware of your own feelings, that they are not controlled by fear or inordinate desire to compete or to control others.

I AM able if you ask, to help you with all you are feeling, all you are going through.

I AM all about doing Miracles for those who Love Me!

I AM increasing the Glory, and you are seeing now more answers to Prayers, more quickly because of it.

I AM with you in all that you do or don’t do. S o lean on me beloveds and don’t be in a hurry to leave My Presence as it comes!

Stay in a place of Worship — and linger in My Presence to hear what is on My Heart, for I AM longing to share with you.”

Appendix:

Question: What is the definition of Gnosticism? What is its relationship to the Bible?

Answer: This word comes from the Greek term gnosis (Strong’s Concordance #G1108, translated as the word ‘science’ in the KJV version of 1Timothy 6:20) which means ‘knowledge.’ Christian Gnosticism had its earliest beginnings in the reformation of the Greek religion beginning back in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. It did not become a significant religious and philosophical movement until around 100 A.D. in the Roman Empire.

Gnosticism believed that secret esoteric (which means only understood by a few) knowledge was the source for salvation.

Only those considered special were to have it. This theory does not make any sense, since Christians are to proclaim the Gospel to everyone, even when the people hearing it do not accept it (see Matthew 28:18-20, Philippians 1:15-18, Romans 10:12-15).

In addition, some version of reincarnation or the transmigration of souls is involved in Gnosticism. This teaching is contrary to the Bible, which states the dead are dead (unconscious) and do not know anything which refutes the concept of an immortal soul.

Eternal life is only gained through a resurrection (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6,10, 1 Corinthians 15:16-19).

We did not have any prior lives so life is a single one-way trip.

Those who believed this teaching were radical dualists, and thought matter was intrinsically evil and spirit good.

This goes excessively far. The author C.S. Lewis observed that God likes matter since He created it.

The flesh is only evil if we choose to violate God’s law, such as concerning having sex outside of marriage.

All variations of Gnosticism had one central belief in common concerning The Bible. This belief was that the Old Testament was a revelation from one God while what is written in the New Testament is a revelation from a different God.

The God of the Old Testament was evil, since He created the world as per Genesis 1.

No Christian could accept such views, since Jesus was the Creator God or God of the Old Testament (John 1:1-3, Ephesian 3:9).

Additionally, the Bible is clear that God is perfectly good with no ‘darkness’ or evil in him at all (1John 1:5).
The New Testament builds upon the Old Testament’s authority (2Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 10:4,11), and so the two are not opposed to each other foundationally as those who supported this doctrine believed. (^©BibleStudy.org)

Oxford Dictionary: A prominent heretical movement of the 2nd-century Christian Church, partly of pre-Christian origin.

Gnostic doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity, the demiurge, and that Christ was an emissary of the remote supreme divine being, esoteric knowledge (gnosis) of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

Merriam Webster: Etymology. Late Latin Gnosticus, from Greek gnōstikos of knowledge, from gignōskein : esoteric knowledge of spiritual truth held by the ancient Gnostics to be essential to salvation.
Esoteric: 1 a : designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone b : requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group; 2 a : limited to a small circle b : private, confidential

From another article (^©The New Gnostics in Today’s Church):

What is Gnosticism? One definition of Gnosticism states: Gnosticism was built on Greek philosophy that taught matter was evil and the Spirit was good. . . . So-called “Christian Gnostics” said since matter was evil, God could not really incarnate in a human body; He only appeared in human form and only appeared to suffer, but basically, it was an illusion. . . .

Prior to Christianity, the Gnostics taught that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit. The body and the soul are man’s earthly existence and were considered evil. Enclosed in man’s soul is the spirit, a divine substance of man. This “spirit” was asleep and ignorant and needed to be awakened. It could only be liberated by a special knowledge that would be later called “illumination.”1

The apostle Paul saw that Gnostic influences were coming into the church, and he addressed them in his epistles (Colossians 2:8-23, 1 Timothy 1:4, 2 Timothy 2:16-19, and Titus 1:10-16).

Gnostics (“knowing ones”) redefined the knowledge of God (i.e., what it means to know and communicate with God). They were elitists who sought “deeper knowledge” than that which is revealed in God’s Word. Gnostics despised doctrine, dismissing it as mere head knowledge.

They held forth a view of “salvation” which was, in fact, merely a self-realization rather than the rescue from sin and judgment through the blood of Jesus (which the Bible says is the only means of atoning for sin).

Gnostics believed that self-realization wasn’t for every Christian but only available to elite Christians who are let in on the secret knowledge (the so-called “secrets of the kingdom” available only to the initiated).

The same attacks are presently being launched as dogma also. The “dry, dusty doctrines of another day” are being jettisoned by the “new” Gnostics of today who eagerly covet “new revelation” or “present truth.”

 

~ Priscilla Van Sutphin

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PRISCILLA VAN SUTPHIN is the founder of Upstream Ministries, California, online at www.upstreamca.org and blogtalkradio.com/ Upstream. Email: upstream.ca@me.com For Donations: send to ‘Priscilla Van Sutphin’ on envelope, but to Upstream if chk at 15660 Tustin Village Way #27, Tustin CA 92780 or https://www.paypal.me/UpstreamMinistries or Zelle thru using upstream.ca@me.com

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