Christian
Media
Communiqué
THE CULTING OF CHRISTIANITY
The Occult Roots Of
The Rapture Cult - Part V
In Part IV,
we introduced the writing known as Pseudo-Ephraem, in which Rapture
Cult proponents lift a statement out of context in a deceitful attempt
to show the pre-tribulational Rapture doctrine was taught by early Christians.
As the
singular statement “taken” from Pseudo-Ephraem (hereinafter quoted
as P/E) as a supposed indicator of pre-trib is a total of 39 words, we might
want to consider what else is said by the false witness (once again the word Pseudo
is Greek for false, which demonstrates why Rapture Cultists
routinely omit the word Pseudo when quoting “Ephraem”).
Indeed, the Latin version is 2,303 words and the Syriac is a whopping 3,756, so
the forger has a lot more to say on prophecy.
“In those days people will not be buried, neither Christian, nor
heretic, neither Jew nor pagan” (Section 4, P/E.)
“There is nothing else which remains [to be fulfilled] except the
advent of the Evil One in the completion of the Roman kingdom” (Section
2, P/E).
The genuine
Ephraem has a similar statement as the reference just cited by Pseudo-Ephraem:
“There is nothing still remaining except that the coming of our
enemy the Antichrist be revealed” (Ephraem the Syrian, Sermon on
Asceticism).
One can only
ponder how it is that genuine Ephraem and Pseudo-Ephraem both said the only
thing “remaining” is the arrival of Antichrist, if they supposedly
taught pre-trib. The fact is, the genuine Ephraem has numerous statements that
show believers in a tribulational setting:
“That great tribulation…approaches and comes upon
us…let us be watchful…for the manifestation (and) coming of the
sedition [of the Antichrist] which is to be revealed on the earth….get
ready to oppose that one who is armed…with diverse means and deceits,
with signs and miracles of his powers, to frighten us suddenly with very great
temptations” (Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, From the Latin
to German translation, cited by Professor Gundry in First The Antichrist, page
174).
The large
volume of scholarship, generated by thousands of hours of study in multiple
languages by dozens of researchers, is trumped by Rapture Cult
showmen, who simply misquote the primary passage – conveniently
failing to ever mention the citation is from a forgery, in addition to wildly
misdating it. For example, Calvary Chapel’s Jon Courson,
who is a liar of the first magnitude, simply adds words to the
quotation out of thin air.
Entertaining
a crowd of theological victims who are cursed with itching ears, Courson sought
to use Pseudo-Ephraem’s quote to bolster his hapless follower’s
faith in pre-trib:
“People have been telling me, and telling you if you’re
involved in prophecy discussions…about the rapture happening before the
tribulation…[that it] wasn’t even taught until 1820 by J N Darby.
Anybody hear that? Listen to this, quote `For all the saints and elect of God
are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken up to be
with the LORD, lest they see the confusion that is to be overwhelmed,
overwhelming in the world because of sins,’ written by Ephraem the
Syrian, in the year AD 373” (Early Teachings Of The Rapture, Jon Courson,
Applegate Christian Fellowship, You Tube video).
Courson was
using Grant Jeffrey’s book Apocalypse, as a source template for
his summary of the Rapture controversy, as he tried to cite word for word from
Jeffrey’s book. However, Jon Courson’s misquoting of Jeffrey
compounded Jeffrey’s misquote of Pseudo-Ephraem almost
beyond comprehension. In the interest of accuracy, we note that Courson states J
N Darby introduced the “rapture” in 1820 – whereas Darby
was post-trib for 10 years after that date. When he cites Pseudo-Ephraem,
which carries allusions to Islam (in which Mohammed’s pivotal event in
the founding of Islam came in 622 AD) Courson says this writing is “in
the year 373.”
Not once
does he identify the writing by its actual title, which includes the sub-title “A
Sermon By Pseudo-Ephraem,” as Courson clearly mis-identified the
author as “Ephraem the Syrian.” To make matters worse, Jon Courson
doesn’t hesitate to add crucial words to the quote. Whereas Pseudo-Ephraem
says the saints “are taken to the Lord lest they see the
confusion,” Jon Courson deceitfully states the saints “are
taken UP to BE WITH the Lord” – a phrase that does not
appear in any translation. Accordingly, we have an accurate quote for Jon
Courson:
“Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that
follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God; because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am
against you, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 13:3, 8).
The
resilience of the Rapture doctrine in the face of contradictory clear and coherent
evidence, both Scriptural and historical, is a mysterious phenomenon, with
supernatural undertones. Although I was delivered from the Rapture Cult
relatively early in my doctrinal development, it took a number of years before
I began to understand we’re not dealing with simple error, we’re
looking at something far deeper, and certainly more sinister than most suppose.
Evidence
suggests that the Spirit of Antichrist has sought to plant the
doctrinal seeds of the heretical system from the earliest time and, there are
causal links which demonstrate the idea of the deity evacuating a faithful
group of his followers before a final trial predates Christianity itself.
Ironically, proof of that assertion is found in the same classification of
documents known as pseudipigrapha, with the root word Pseudo
indicating this large body of writings are falsified writings.
One of the
primary clusters of these writings is categorized as Gnostic
– from the Greek word for knowledge (gnosis). The Gnostics were mystics
with doctrines that were Occultic to the core. The Egyptian Gnostics
believed in many gods, who took on different personas during various ages. They
held a particular reverence for Seth, the son of Adam, who was
considered divine. The “Sethians” date back well into the Old
Testament period, and two documents detailing Seth are of
particular interest, as they are both very similar.
The
Apocalypse of Adam is of pre-Christian origin, and it shows faint traces of the
Greek Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. Conversely, The
Gospel of the Egyptians is early in the New Testament era, possibly as
early as the 1st or 2nd century AD. Epiphanius
(320-403 AD), a Catholic bishop who was a contemporary of Ephraem the Syrian,
mentions an Apocalypse of Adam in his writing, so without a doubt, these
documents are very old. That fact is also an indicator that both documents were
available to Ephraem the Syrian.
Because The
Apocalypse of Adam features a pre-tribulation Rapture, it is the oldest
instance of pre-trib on record. However, The Apocalypse of Adam
is an Occultic writing, as the Saviour in the writing is Seth! Gnostic
scholars universally note close similarities between the Apocalypse of Adam,
and the Gospel of the Egyptians (as well as several other writings),
including the same names of angels, a fiery cataclysm to come and, in the case
of the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Sethians claim that Seth was
the divine figure who “put on” the form of Jesus.
There is a
blurring of identities between the third son of Adam (Seth in Genesis 4:25) and Seth (also known as Set), the angelic trickster of Egyptian
legend. Because Seth was considered the good son of Adam after the evil Cain
killed his brother Abel, the occultists saw Seth and his lineage
as having a divine nature. Similarly, some racially twisted
“Christian” groups see the descendants of Cain as the Kennites,
a demonic lineage which their unholy doctrine can vilify. Further, there is a
connection in the Sethian lore with the Nephilim, the “sons
of God” of Genesis 6.
Skeptics who
doubt the story of fallen angels breeding with the “daughters of
men,” claim the Genesis text referring to the “sons of God”
who came in to the “daughters of men” (Genesis 6:4), applies to the
descendants of Seth. Further, the Sethian legends also see the
flood of Noah, as paralleling a great future judgment of fire. However, the
writings on the subject appear dissimilar to Christ’s comparison of the
days of Noah with the tribulational events accompanying His return in Matthew
24:37.
The Apocalypse
of Adam opens with Adam telling the story of three angels who visited him:
“The revelation which Adam taught his son Seth in the seven
hundredth year….I saw before me three men whose appearance I could not
recognize…saying to me, Rise up, Adam, from the sleep of death, and hear
about the aeon and the seed of that man to whom life has come,
the one who came forth from you and from Eve your wife” (Apocalypse of Adam,
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume I, James Charlesworth, Editor, page
713).
The angels
(called archons in the text) tell Adam of a great cataclysm involving
“fire and sulfur and asphalt,” from which the angels Abrasax,
Sablo, and Gamaliel will deliver the chosen “race.”
“Afterward great angels will come on high clouds to bring those men
to the place where the spirit of life dwells [lines missing here] ….there
come from heaven to earth. [But] the whole [multitude] of flesh will be left
behind….Then God will rest from his wrath” (The Apocalypse
of Adam, Charlesworth edition, and The Nag Hammadi Library in English, James
Robinson, Editor, emphasis mine).
Another
section of the same writing also details the rescue of the Sethians from the
fiery trial:
“And great clouds of light will come down and other clouds of light
will descend on them from the great aeons. Abrasax and Sablo and Gamaliel will
come down to take those men out of the fire and the wrath and bring them above
the aeons and the rulers of the powers and take them away”
(Apocalypse of Adam, ibid, Chapter 5, The Fire, emphasis mine).
In the Gospel
of the Egyptians (hereinafter noted in citations as G/Egypt), salvation
is reserved for the race of Seth, and in the occult
writing,
“Seth comes from heaven, puts on Jesus as a garment, and
accomplishes a work of salvation on behalf of his children” (G/Egypt III,
2 and IV, 2, The Nag Hammadi Library, James Robinson, editor, page 208).
Noticeably
similar to the Apocalypse of Adam, the story details a forthcoming great
tribulation:
“A conflagration will come upon the earth. And grace will be with
those who belong to the race through the prophets and the
guardians who guard the life of the race. Because of this race
famines will occur and plagues. But these things will happen because of the
great, incorruptible race. Because of this race
temptations will come, a falsehood of false prophets” (G/Egypt, Nag
Hammadi, page 216, emphasis mine).
Seth is dispatched from heaven to
retrieve the Sethians from the disasters coming upon the world:
“Then the great Seth was sent by the four lights….He passed
through the three parousias which I mentioned before: the flood, and the
conflagration, and the judgment of the archons and the powers and the
authorities, to save her (the race) who went astray”
(G/Egypt, Nag Hammadi, page 216, emphasis mine).
Having
“put on” the guise of Jesus, the Gospel of the Egyptians
tells us “the great Seth” not only “guards” his chosen
ones, but those he has “established” are to be “taken
away.”
“Even Jesus the living one, even he whom the great Seth has put on.
And through him he nailed the powers of the thirteen aeons and established
those who are brought forth and taken away” (G/Egypt, Nag
Hammadi Codices, Volume IV, Krause, Robins, Wisse Editors, emphasis mine).
As
“Jesus” is supposedly Seth in a cosmic disguise,
those which will ultimately be “taken away” are armed with
knowledge – the gnosis which the Gnostics so highly valued:
“He armed them with an armor of knowledge of this truth, with an
unconquerable power of incorruptibility” (G/Egypt, Nag Hammadi Library).
Those
Sethians who are “worthy,” are promised they will be translated
into eternity without dying:
“These will by no means taste death” (G/Egypt, Nag Hammadi
Library).
-- James
Lloyd
[Next:
More Links Between The Occult Gnostics And The Rapture Cult]
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[Notes from 2015]
Just as we began
to distribute our new multi-part series on the discovery of the Old Testament
era Occult source of the pre-tribulation Rapture doctrine, the Christian
Media ministry found itself under an all out attack by forces which are
seeking to stop people from reading (or forwarding) our material. At this
writing, most of the members of Christian Media’s numerous Google
groups are still unable able to receive the Communique. One of
our Google groups is now getting through. Yahoo has been sending out a false
warning notice to the Yahoo group members of the CMNFolks with their copy of
the Communique which reads "WARNING ! This email may
be dangerous and may collect your personal information!”
Obviously, the Christian
Media ministry is not using malicious software, but this type of attack by Spiritual
forces which are seeking to stop people from reading (or forwarding) our
material is increasingly common. Due to the huge resistance to our
Internet activities of late, and the fact that public Internet groups (such as
those controlled by Google and Yahoo) can be shut down arbitrarily due to the
fact the Spirit of the Age is at war with the Spirit within us, we will also
continue to send out our materials via our much slower, and less reliable
servers – servers which
are frequently blocked by your Internet providers.
At this writing,
we still have thousands of readers who are members of additional groups who are
unable to receive the prophetic work the LORD has given us, as many of our
numerous net groups are still banned.
Although many
believers scoff at such struggles, those with Spiritual discernment understand this is what the battle for the
truth looks like in the America of the 21st century.
Finally,
it’s likely the malevolent censorship powers will next install a warning
on our websites as well. Clearly, powerful factions are seeking to stop
this message, so we suggest you collect all the James Lloyd writings possible,
and store them offline for future reference. And, please pray for us, and stand
with us as we fight the good fight….
_________________________________________________________________
James Lloyd
PO Box 1414
Medford OR 97501
541/899/8888
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This writing is
part of the prophetic output of James Lloyd of the Christian Media ministry.
More on the subject of the Rapture, including accounts of dishonest
presentations of historical fact, is found in the James Lloyd book entitled THE RAPTURE CULT.
God has revealed
the New Testament Gospel has been steadily leavened, and true discernment in
the realm of the Spirit, which is the place where our lives in Christ continue
after our physical existence comes to an end, is regularly addressed on the James Lloyd radio broadcast The Apocalypse Chronicles.
The Communique E-letter is periodically sent out to
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To this end, one
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