Certain Men Crept in Unawares

Peter, in his second epistle, warns: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord.” Notice, Peter doesn’t say there “may” be false teachers among you but there “shall” be false teachers among you! A few years later Jude in confirmation writes: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” These men spiritualized the Word. They spiritualized His glorious appearing. They spiritualized the humanity of His birth, and His resurrection and return. They spiritualized His kingdom and coming reign. They spiritualized away Israel and her Scriptures. They spiritualized sin to their own shame. They spiritualized Truth, writing their own Gnostic gospels and crediting them to the apostles and our Lord e.g., The Gospel of Peter, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Truth ... (cf. Gal 1:8-9). And they went about preaching another Jesus encouraging many to receive another spirit and accept another gospel.

Christianity, even our Christianity, is more pagan than we realize. And if we do not get back to the primacy, the teaching of the Word of God, then we too can be sweep into grave and even complete error (The Valley Church, emphasis added).¹³

¹³The Valley Church, Thyatira, 3/24/74, (audio tape).