HEBREW VS GREEK MIND: THE RISE OF GNOSTICISM

John chapter 1













Today we are walking in: Hebrew Vs Greek Mind: The Rise Of Gnosticism










1 Chronicles 28:9




And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind H3824: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

























MIND













Today we look to the word-MIND-H3824 lebab--mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory















The Torah testifies...............







Genesis 23:8




And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind H3824 that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,




Leviticus 24:12




And they put him in ward, that the mind H3824 of the LORD might be shewed them.







Numbers 16:28

And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind H3824.



















The prophets proclaim..................




Isaiah 26:3




Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind H3824 is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.







Ezekiel 11:5




And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind H3824, every one of them.









Habakkuk 1:11




Then shall his mind H3824 change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.















The writings bear witness..........................







1 Chronicles 22:7




And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind H3824 to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:













Lamentations 3:21




This I recall to my mind H3824, therefore have I hope.







Job 34:33

Should it be according to thy mind H3824? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.








Hebrew Mind vs. Greek Mind

THE RISE OF GNOSTICISM

Lesson Six







In the times of Yahusha' and Sha'ul, there were many thinking groups that would fall under the banner of gnosticism. The nihilists and the libertines would be two of these. Both of these groups would also be classified as antinomians or "against the law". This would be the definition as it is commonly known in the English. However, in the Hebrew the word for anti is tachat (תחת), which means instead of or in place of. You see, no one is really against laws, they simply deny Yah's laws and replace them with other laws. Every society, large or small, has rules. One may think he is free when unrestrained by law but he soon comes up with his own. Since the rise of gnosticism, I believe the church has been theologically duped into believing that liberty is freedom from law. The only way that one could claim to be a Hamachiachian and hold this theology is to allegorize or spiritualize the text. This allegorization sprang forth from the early gnostics, and gnosticism is Hellenistic thought at it's best.




So, what is gnosticism? Literally the word gnosis, a Greek word, means knowledge. This way of thinking was also a religious sect at the time of Yahusha'. However, more appropriately it is a way of thinking. Notice I said it is a way of thinking, not it was a way of thinking. There is no way to define this word in a few sentences, so we will define it as we go. The whole idea of gnosticism dove-tails with the whole philosophy of the holy psyche or soul, and the evil body and physical world. There are degrees, if you will, of this philosophy. Much of what is taught in modern Hamachiachianity is very pale compared to some extremes of people like Simon of Samaria (Acts 8), Saturninus, Cerinthus, Valentinus, or even Marcion. If you begin with a relatively small, unscriptural doctrine, it soon leads to a big one. Many of these men (circa 1st-2nd century A.D.) concluded that Yahusha' was not a man, but the spirit of the Messiah. Why? Because the "deity" would not have an evil body since the flesh is by nature wicked. Marcion taught that Yahusha''s body was a phantom. Many early church fathers stood against this doctrine for a time, except for Clement and Origen, who were sympathetic to this doctrine. Fundamental to clearly gnostic systems is dualism, which opposes the transcendent God and an ignorant demiurge. (Remember, this was the caricature of Yah). In some systems, the creation of the world resulted from the presumption of sophia (σοφία) (Gk. - wisdom).




The material creation, including the body, was regarded as inherently evil. Sparks of divinity, however, had been encapsulated in the bodies of certain pneumatic or spiritual individuals, who were ignorant of their celestial origins. The transcendent God or demiurge sent down a redeemer (Hamachiach), who brought them salvation in the form of a secret gnosis or knowledge. To the gnostics, salvation was not dependent upon faith or works but rather knowledge of one's nature, so there was much indulgence in licentious behavior. There were no rules for the body since the logos or ultimate knowledge was not interested in physical or material things. This also meant that marriage was held in contempt as well, for procreation involved the body. A "unisex" being was held in hopeful reverence. The two main religious ordinances of these sects were baptism and the Eucharist. The bottom line of gnosticism is an other worldly existence. Many New Testament doctrines are used to support this thought which we will put back into context later. Gnosticism, historically speaking, is simply the logical progression of Greek or Hellenistic thinking. This philosophy, several centuries later, led to the monastic system and eventually to the Papal system.




We will reveal much, much more about this teaching as we get into the comparisons between the Hebrew and Greek minds. We are going to take several subjects and discuss them from these contrasting points of view. I think you will soon see how and why the modern Church believes and teaches some of the doctrines it does. You may begin to see why our culture is in the condition it is and why many other cultures collapsed. It may become clearer why so many Hamachiachians struggle with sin and cannot seem to conquer anything in their lives. The conclusion will be simple. The Greek/gnostic thinking of inwardness only sounds holy, good, and scriptural. The problem is this. Our mind and our bodies are created by Yah and have natural needs and desires. These needs and desires are anticipated by our Creator, so He has rules for the mind and the body. If our theology denies these rules (the reason is really irrelevant), our mind and body will satisfy them some other way. This is why in much Hamachiachian theology the laws of Yah (that is, the Old Testament "where there is no Holy Spirit"), are superceded by the "law of Hamachiach" where there is the Spirit. God, who lives in the transmundane, is only interested in the spiritual and has no interest in the mundane cares of the world.




In lesson seven we will begin to compare these two contrasting world views. I will take you back to some more details of Greek philosophy as they apply.

Shalom Alecheim!