POSTED 17 MAY, 2005

The Effect of Mysticism and Gnosticism on the Messianic Movement

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

The Messianic community today faces many issues. Perhaps the most important of these issues, as more and more people come out of evangelical Christianity and embrace a Messianic lifestyle, is the question of: Why? Why are people changing their lives and how they practice their faith? What is the attraction of Hebraic Roots and the Messianic movement? What is the motivation for being Messianic?

The answers to these questions, as can and should be expected, vary from person to person, and congregation to congregation. But, the common thread throughout people embracing a Messianic lifestyle should be that we are all trying to grow and mature in our faith. As Yeshua the Messiah and the Apostle John admonish us, we are to be “abiding” in the Lord—meaning we are to be moving forward in our walk of faith:

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

“Whoever confesses that Yeshua is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

How many people have entered into the Messianic movement and truly asked themselves the honest question: Why am I here? How many, when asked this question, would answer it correctly?

What would substantiate an incorrect answer? Consider how many people have entered the Messianic movement not because they read their Bibles and started asking some questions—but how many people have been sensationalized? What do I mean by sensationalized? How many people in the Messianic community have read a book or an article or listened to a message with an agenda? This agenda has not been to encourage people in their walk of faith, but rather get them angry or embarking down a path that they have no business going.

The Lord has given us as born again Believers His Holy Spirit not just so that we would be able to commune with Him, but also so that we may be empowered to discern between truth and error. As Messianic Believers, we should have the Holy Spirit convict us when we fall short of God’s standard contained in the Torah, and the Spirit should be leading us to keep God’s commandments. We should also have the Spirit to distinguish who the many false teachers are and what they teach. The Apostle Peter attests that there will be false prophets circulating in the Last Days:

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

While these Scriptures are often applied by Messianics to refer to some false, non-Biblical Christian teachings, they could just as well refer to certain Messianic teachers and/or ministries, which are leading people astray into aberrant teachings, or worse, onto a path from falling away from faith in Yeshua. Let us not, in arrogance, think that we have “arrived” or “understand all things.” Let us be willing, as Messianics, to put our feet to the fire sometimes and examine the errors that we as a community might have, before criticizing Christianity. After all, is our purpose for being Messianic one of where we are trying to grow in our faith and become fully Biblical? Or, are we trying to prove ourselves “spiritually superior” to others?

Back to the First Century—and its Problems

It is commonly said in the Messianic movement that we as Believers need to be restored to the faith of Yeshua and the First Century Disciples and Apostles. I could not agree more with this. We must return to the Torah obedient faith of our Lord and Savior, and emulate His early followers in our faith practice. We must return to the faith of those who had the Holy Spirit poured out on them at Shavuot/Pentecost, and realize that the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 required non-Jews to hear the Torah of Moses taught.

But aside from the richness of our faith that we have missed, because of our blindness for many centuries, how many of us fail to recognize some of the problems we presently face? Specifically, how many of us fail to recognize that if we are returning to the First Century faith of the Disciples and Apostles, that we will be facing the same problems that they faced? And what are some of the problems that they encountered?

Obviously, as many non-Jews from the nations embraced faith in the Messiah of Israel, the challenges that the First Century ekklēsia largely faced dealt with how these new Believers were to grow in their faith. The primary issues they dealt with related to how they were to leave Greco-Roman religious practices and adopt a Torah foundation as they were discipled and properly trained. They had to leave idolatry, fornication, and other practices expressly prohibited by Scripture. Many of these same issues, lamentably, have plagued the Body of Believers for centuries.

Specifically, as we strive to return to the First Century faith of the Disciples and Apostles, we will not just be facing “common problems” like adultery, idolatry, or even sins such as lying. We will also contend with some of the very specific religious problems that the First Century ekklēsia faced. Very few when examining Scripture, unfortunately, fail to consider it in its historical context. Many do not have an understanding of First Century Judaism, Greco-Roman religion, Second and Third Century Christianity, and the various mystery religions and cults that existed. Many of us fail to consider the gross religious errors that were circulating throughout the First Century that affected the early Believers in Yeshua, and how some of these same errors are affecting Believers today.

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.