(NOTE: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS “SPOILERS” OF THE NEW RELEASE MOVIE, THE ETERNALS).
It is written:
1 John 2:18-19-Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
One of the greatest threats that the early church faced was Gnosticism. Drawing from the Greek word ginosko (i.e., “to know,”) the Gnostics were a branch of the church that tried to combine Christianity with pagan Greek religion. Claiming that they possessed superior knowledge than the Apostles of Jesus, the various Gnostic groups had several things in common. One modern day Gnostic describes the historical tradition of Gnosticism:
“The Gnostic myth may be said to have four stages. Firstly there is the production of the Pleroma, the divine realm of spiritual fullness, and the emanation of the various aeons that inhabit it. Next we have the fall of Sophia, the youngest of the aeons. Then the birth of the demiurge and the creation of the material world, and lastly the story of humanity, the creation and development of mankind, and the redeemers and revealers who brought gnosis to the world to help the trapped seeds of light to escape. As a whole, the myth describes the process by which God emanates to fill the spiritual realm. At its furthest limits, this accidentally creates the material world, in which shards of spirit are trapped. The on-going story is that of humanity’s attempts to free the imprisoned light which may then rejoin the Pleroma. In the beginning there was only God. God may be known directly through gnosis, but he cannot be defined. (My use of the masculine gender to describe God is merely traditional, though the ultimate God is very often considered male, particularly as a father, by the Gnostics.) We can only say what God is not, not what he is, and this negative theology is very characteristic of Gnosticism. Any attempt to label or define God limits him, and therefore cannot express his absolute, transcendent qualities. God is immeasurable, ineffable, unknowable, unnameable. These epithets do not limit God because they express what God is not, rather than what he is. But God is not completely unapproachable. Without compromising his unity and transcendence, he began to emanate various qualities of himself, characteristics like Mind, Silence, Depth, Love, which are known as aeons. These qualities were formed in male and female pairs, syzygies, and male and female mated and produced yet younger aeons, which were further aspects of God. The final quality to be emanated was wisdom, which in the Greek is Sophia. God and all of his hypostases or qualities were united together in the fullness of God: the Pleroma. Sophia, as the last and lowest of the aeons, was not content. She did not rebel against God, as did Lucifer in Christian thought, but her curiosity and desire led her to fall away. Some say that she wished to know God directly but could not reach high enough and so fell lower than the Pleroma, others that in exploring what was beneath her she somehow copulated with nothingness. However events may have developed, Sophia conceived and the resulting child, often referred to cruelly but accurately as an abortion, was a misshapen thing called Ialdabaoth (sometimes named Saklas or Nebruel). Ialdabaoth knew nothing of God or of the great Pleroma above, perhaps not even of his mother, Sophia. Thinking that he was the only God, he created the material world and declared it good. But in comparison with the great eternal qualities of God that comprised the Pleroma, the earth was a shadow, composed of gross matter. Once created, the living creatures of the earth lived squalid lives, devouring each other and copulating to create more of themselves. Ialdabaoth created the archons, the rulers or authorities, to govern the world and its inhabitants. But despite his arrogance, Ialdabaoth was unable to create the world without some element of his mother Sophia, or of another higher being, entering into it, and hence a small spark of the light of the Pleroma made its way into created beings. As a result, humans have a spark of spirit within them that may be fanned into a flame, a fragment of divinity that can join the whole, a seed of light that can grow. In some versions of the myth, some of the aeons, the hypostasized qualities of God, are interested in helping humans to develop their spiritual components, to help the seeds of light to grow and to escape their imprisonment in the dark matter of the world. So redeemers have been sent from the Pleroma to bring teachings which illuminate the situation in which mankind finds itself. These teachings can lead to direct acquaintance (gnosis) with the Pleroma. And that is the current state of the world according to the Gnostics. The above is a simplified version of the Gnostic myth. There is no extant version of the myth that exactly follows this plot, and many of the texts differ considerably in their emphasis and in their details, but the ancient Gnostics would have recognized the above story as being within their tradition.” (Andrew Philip Smith, The Gnostics: History, Tradition, Scriptures, Influence, 204-235 (Kindle Edition); London; Watkins Publishing)
In Gnostic theology, Ialdabaoth (also known as the Demiurge among the Gnostics) was the god of the Old Testament, Jehovah (Yahweh).
In describing the history and basic teachings of Gnosticism which are opposed to the Bible, Ken Johnson has clarified:
“The father of Gnosticism was Simon Magus, the Simon of Acts 8. Two major schools had developed by 150 AD, the followers of Valentinus and the followers of Basilides. Our knowledge of Gnosticism comes mainly from the early church father Irenaeus, who wrote the five-volume set, Against Heresies and the Gnostic literature itself found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945. Irenaeus wrote that Gnostics derived their teachings from the heathen, namely Homer, Plato, Aristotle, the Pythagoreans and others. 16 John the Apostle would not enter a bathhouse where Cerinthus was, and Polycarp said Marcion was the firstborn of Satan. 18 The basic teachings of Gnosticism that the church called heresy are: There are thirty Aeons (gods) that exist in the Pleroma, outside time and space. 1 The goddess, Sophia, created the Demiurge, a creator angel (the god of the Old Testament) who was a tyrant; and being unaware of the Aeons, thought he was the only God. He created man; but Sophia gave man a spirit. 2 Some may be saved if they do enough good works; but some are predestined to go to hell. 4 (works salvation) Gnostics have spirits that are emanations from Sophia. This makes them predestined to be saved. It is imposable for them to lose their salvation. It does not matter if their behavior is good or evil. The most “perfect” of them addict themselves to evil deeds and are in a habit of defiling the women they convert. 3 Eventually all matter will be destroyed since matter is evil and not capable of salvation. 9, 6 Gnostics will become spirits and will marry the angels. 9 Christ descended upon Jesus at His baptism and left before Jesus went before Pilate. Sophia would not allow Christ to suffer. 9 (Adoptionism) They utter mantras to effect nature. 10 (Hindu mantra and Kabalistic letter magic, Gramera, and emanations) Souls reincarnate. 32 Perfect knowledge is obtained by baptism, spiritual marriage, and last rites. 5 (Sacramentalism) Sophia sent the serpent (the angel Michael or Samael) into the Garden of Eden to free Eve and Adam. By eating from the tree they attained true Gnosis and were set free. 15 Sophia saved Noah from the flood sent by the evil Demiurge. 15 The Demiurge forced Eve into sexual intercourse many times. Eve thereby gave birth to other evil creator angels. 15 (Serpent Seed) At death, some souls enter an intermediate state to be purged of the animal nature before going into the Pleroma. 17 (Purgatory) Later, other Gnostics would add or change some points and found their own Gnostic schools.” (Ken Johnson, Ancient Church Fathers: What The Disciples Of The Apostles Taught, 115-116 (Kindle Edition))
Sadly, there are many examples of how Gnosticism is being promoted by Hollywood. We will notice shortly some examples of this in a recent film (the Eternals). But first, let’s have a brief comparison between Gnosticism and Christianity.
It is important to realize that there are some points of agreement between Christianity and Gnosticism.
First, both Christians and Gnostics acknowledge that there must be “something” which is eternal. Atheism (the belief system whose supporters claim, “I Know That God Does Not Exist”) cannot account for the existence of the universe. There must be something eternal.
Second, Christians and Gnostics are agreed that there cannot be an infinite regress of eternal beings. An infinite regress of past beings or events leads to an infinite number of contradictions, which would then make existence itself impossible. There can only be one eternal Being. This is demonstrated when we consider that an eternal Being would have to be perfect (i.e., fully self-sufficient). Any being which was not perfect would depend upon something outside of itself for existence, and hence would not actually be eternal (but would instead be another part of the universe which needs an ultimate explanation for its’ existence). However, since this eternal Being must be perfect, there cannot be more than one inherently eternal Being. If there were another eternal Being, it would have to be somehow imperfect in comparison to another eternal Being, lacking in some quality which the other possesses. This being could not therefore be eternal, meaning that there can only be one truly eternal Being.
Third, both Gnosticism and Christianity are in agreement that there are multiple beings called “gods.” The Bible itself makes this very clear:
Exodus 12:12-For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
Exodus 15:11-Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exodus 18:11-Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”
Exodus 20:3-You shall have no other gods before Me.
Numbers 33:4-For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments.
Psalm 86:8-Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works.
Psalm 95:3-For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
1 Corinthians 8:5-For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
The Bible identifies these “gods” as fallen angels who have rebelled against God (cf. Psalm 82), and as demons (Psalm 96:5 LXX, “for all the gods of the nations are demons”).
Through the use of logic and Scripture, the early church dealt ably and powerfully with Gnosticism, demonstrating that it’s basic teachings are not true.
The first place to begin is with the Creation itself. According to the Gnostics, the creator of the universe is a wicked and malevolent offspring of the Pleroma. This charge against God is, of course, nothing new: people have been claiming that God is cruel and wicked throughout time! Even in the Bible, some of God’s people struggled with this notion.
For example:
Job 7:11-14-Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? 13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’. 14 Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions,
Job 9:21-24-“I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. 22 It is all one thing; Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’ 23 If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. 24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be?
Job 10:3-Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked?
Job 34:5-For Job has said, ‘I am righteous, But God has taken away my justice;
Job (like many others in the Bible) struggled at times with their faith in God’s goodness. Yet they learned-even through their trials-that God can be trusted to be good. Indeed, this is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from Creation itself. The goodness of God is seen every day so that God has not left Himself without witness (Acts 14:17). Every sunrise and sunset is a demonstration of the love of God (Matthew 5:44-45), as is the start of each new morning (Lamentations 3:22-25). The Creation bears witness to a universe created good that has gone horribly wrong. For every evil in the universe, there is greater goodness. Indeed, good can exist without evil; but evil cannot exist without first having a standard of goodness by which the evil is identified and judged!
“Yes, this hurting world has truckloads of evil, but it also has boatloads of good. Where did it all come from? While atheists routinely speak of the problem of evil, they usually don’t raise the problem of goodness. But if you argue that evil is evidence against God’s existence, you must also admit that good is evidence for it. If a good God doesn’t exist, what’s the source of goodness? The very act of calling evil a problem presupposes a standard of goodness. If God doesn’t exist, by what objective basis can anyone measure morality?… The fact that we don’t question good’s existence affirms our basic instinct that good is the norm and evil the exception. Even the atheist who points out the horrors of evil is testifying to good as the norm. Unwittingly, her moral objection to evil and suffering is an argument for a good God.” (Randy Alcorn, The Goodness Of God: Assurance Of Purpose In The Midst Of Suffering, 38-40 (Kindle Edition); Multnomah Books)
All of this flies in the face of Gnosticism, which claims that the God of the physical universe is wicked.
More to the point, the wicked demiurge of Gnosticism cannot account for the patience in giving even the most wicked time to repent before judgment. It is the goodness of God which leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). If the God of this universe were truly as wicked as Gnostics claim, there could be no accounting for the mercy and kindness that He has shown us (Philippians 2:1).
Further, the greatest evidence against the Gnostic claim that God is evil is seen in the greatest sacrifice that has ever made: the God of Creation sending His Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21)!
Gnosticism cannot explain the goodness of God as seen in the universe.
Of course, the greatest evidence that Christians have which demonstrates the falsity of the Gnostic claims is found in the historical testimony of Jesus Christ as recorded by His Apostles.
Both Gnostics and Christians agree that Jesus Christ was a historical Person Who was Divine in nature. However, they differ greatly in regard to what they believe Jesus taught and did.
On the one hand, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ (the Son of God) came into the world in order to teach us God’s Word (Matthew 11:28-30). According to Jesus’ Word, salvation is based upon His death in our place on Calvary, burial, and resurrection on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Those who believe in Jesus, repent of their sins, and are baptized into Him are forgiven and saved (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:37-38). If they remain faithful to Him unto death (1 John 1:7-2:2), they will receive eternal life (1 John 2:25; 5:13).
However, according to Gnosticism, salvation has nothing to do with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Instead, Jesus came to fight against the god of the Old Testament and salvation consists of special knowledge that He gives to His followers (including how to affect nature and the world through mantras and various other forms of witchcraft). Through this special knowledge (“gnosis”), a person may attain to a higher consciousness and reincarnate into a higher caste in his next life.
Well, which is it?
When I study with Gnostics, I begin with proof (as I do with everyone that I study with).
What proof is there to support either of these claims?
Christians rightfully point to the evidences which undergird the inspiration of the Bible. The Bible has many characteristics which document that it is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Examples include the supernatural unity of the Bible writers, the scientific foreknowledge of the Bible writers, archaeological attestation, the phenomenon of equidistant letter sequencing, prophecy and fulfillment, etc. Of particular interest here is the historical evidence from the miraculous power of Jesus and His Apostles, which is confirmed in both the Sacred histories (cf. Mark 16:17-20; John 3:2; 20:30-31; Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12, Hebrews 2:1-4), and also in the secular histories (cf. Josephus, the Jewish Talmuds, Tacitus, Acts Of Pontius Pilate, etc.)
However, Gnostics present no evidence to substantiate their teachings. They rely on emotional attachment and alleged supernatural knowledge (gnosis). Some of the early Gnostics relied on sorcery (like Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:4-11). Yet people were able to see a clear difference in quality between the power of Christ and the sorceries of Gnosticism:
Acts 8:12-13-But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Were the Writings of the New Testament considered historically reliable? Some today argue in the negative; however, the early Gnostics tell a different story!
Not only does archaeology support the historicity of the New Testament, but so also do the Gnostics themselves! Their library discovered in Nag Hammadi Egypt shows that the Gnostics relied heavily on the accuracy of the New Testament Scriptures. Several translators of the Gnostic library document this. For example, consider some of the testimony of these translators regarding several Gnostic books discovered in this library:
“This impressive composition, which adroitly chains together and inventively elaborates a series of striking images in a discourse interwoven with subtle allusions to New Testament texts, is no doubt the work of an important figure.” (Einar Thomassen & Marvin Meyer, Introduction To Gospel Of Truth, Marvin W. Meyer & James M. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume, 33 (Kindle Edition); HarperCollins E-Books)
“As Michel Tardieu suggests, the author of the tractate has utilized his source, Eugnostos, within an artificial framework borrowed from the New Testament and apocryphal literature emphasizing the revelation of Christ to his disciples after the resurrection.” (Madeleine Scpello, Introduction To The Wisdom Of Jesus Christ, inMarvin Meyer & James M. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume, 285 (Kindle Edition); HarperCollins E-Books)
“The vocabulary of the Gospel of Philip includes expressions drawn from both the New Testament and the Jewish scriptures.” (Madeline Scopello & Marvin Meyer, Introduction To Gospel Of Philip, Marvin Meyer & James M. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume, 159 (Kindle Edition); HarperCollins E-Books)
“As Michel Tardieu suggests, the author of the tractate has utilized his source, Eugnostos, within an artificial framework borrowed from the New Testament and apocryphal literature emphasizing the revelation of Christ to his disciples after the resurrection.” (Madeline Scopello & Marvin Meyer, Introduction To The Wisdom Of Jesus Christ, Marvin Meyer & James M. Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume, 285 (Kindle Edition); HarperCollins E-Books)
“It is interesting that most of these reinterpretations of the Christology of the apostolic church in Three Forms of First Thought seem to depend on key passages from the Gospel of John to score their point in any acute fashion.” (John D. Turner, Introduction To Three Forms Of First Thought, in Marvin W. Meyer & James M. Robinson,The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume by Marvin W. Meyer, James M. Robinson, 713 (Kindle Edition); HarperOne)
All of these references (and more could be cited) show that the Gnostics held the New Testament Scriptures in high regard. They did not deny that the Apostles wrote these Books, nor do they claim that the church tampered with the New Testament text. They readily acknowledge the genuineness of the New Testament Books, and they do not claim that the church tampered with the text of the New Testament Scriptures. Instead, the Gnostics simply claimed to possess superior knowledge to the Apostles of Jesus.
However, unlike Christians, they lack proof to back up their assertions.
Now, according to the Apostles of Christ, did Jesus view the Old Testament God as some kind of wicked being that He came to fight? While we could examine virtually every Book of the New Testament to answer this question, let’s briefly consider some statements from the Gospel of John.
John 1:14-And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18-No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John 3:35-The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
John 5:18-Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:20-For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
John 5:30-I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 5:37-And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
John 6:27-Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
John 6:57-As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
John 8:38-I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
John 8:28-Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
John 10:30-I and My Father are one.”
John 12:49-For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
John 12:50-And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
John 17:5-And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Notice in all of these Scriptures the close and loving relationship that Jesus had with His Father, Yahweh. There is not a hint of Gnosticism in His teaching, and there are indeed many evidences which refute it! Indeed, we see that God sent His Son Jesus into the world in order to save it, because He loves mankind (John 3:16).
This is about as far from Gnosticism as you can get!
The Apostles of Christ began to write down His Word within a few years of Jesus’ death (as evidence from the Magdalene Papyrus and the Dead Sea Scrolls documents). There were still many eyewitnesses around who could and would have quickly disputed them if they tried to somehow “change” Jesus’ message, which argue strongly for their credibility. Furthermore, the Apostles ‘ miraculous powers demonstrated and confirmed the truthfulness of their accounts (as did their unyielding courage in the face of persecution and martyrdom).
By contrast, the Gnostics arose almost a hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They provided no proof of their claims, and indeed bear powerful (if unwilling) testimony to the truthfulness of the Gospels.
These are some of the ways that we know Gnosticism is false.
Despite these facts, there is growing evidence that Gnosticism is undergoing a great revival in our world. Not only is this seen in the rise of many Gnostic-friendly religions in Eastern Kentucky, but even on “the big screen” of Hollywood.
Recently, I was blessed to watch a movie called “The Eternals”with a friend from Hazard. The story line is of a group of aliens (known as “Eternals”) who arrived on Earth some seven thousand years ago, in order to fight another group of beings called “Deviants.” They are Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig (my favorite actor in the movie, incidentally), Gilgamesh, Ajak, and Thena. Their “god” is named Arishem. Through the course of the movie, you learn that Arishem created the material universe and has set himself up as the enemy of mankind. The Eternals achieve this “knowledge” and set themselves to fight against his sinister plot to destroy the Earth and give rise to a being known as Tiamut.
Tiamut is no doubt a play on Tiamat, the Babylonian god of chaos:
“We can agree, however, that the Beast that emerges from the sea in Revelation 13: 1 is the Antichrist figure, but did you know this relates back to Prisoner Zero? The sea (Yam in Hebrew) is most properly understood as an entity. Yam is a proper name and represents Chaos, the very rebel that God subdued in the first two verses of the Bible. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1: 1–2) The Hebrew word translated as “deep” is tehom, which is a cognate—that is, the same word in a different language—to the Akkadian Têmtum, which, in turn, is a variant of Tiamat, the Sumerian chaos monster who was defeated by the warrior god, Marduk, to bring order to creation. Similar myths were common in the ancient Near East (ANE): Baal vs. Yamm, Teshub vs. Illuyanka, Zeus vs. Typhon. But the original version is Yahweh vs. Leviathan. Now, the most obvious difference between the biblical account and the others is that the fight between God and Chaos, if there was a fight, was over by the end of the second verse in the Bible. We see references to it in later chapters—for example, Psalm 74: 12–17—but there is no hint that God had any trouble bringing Chaos to heel. He merely placed His Spirit over the deep and it obeyed. “Down! Stay!” No weapons needed. Just His Word. Not so with pagan versions of this epic moment in history. In every case, the warrior god required outside help, weapons, and multiple battles to subdue the sea monster representing Chaos. But Chaos, being a supernatural creature, is (for the present) only restrained, not dead.” (Sharon K. Gilbert & Derek P. Gilbert, Giants, Gods, and Dragons: Exposing the Fallen Realm and the Plot to Ignite the Final War of the Ages, 17 (Kindle Edition); Defender Publishing)
At the end of the movie, the “Eternals” oppose Arishem and devote themselves to spreading word of his treachery. Two of the warriors discuss whether or not others will accept their account, and one signs, “the truth shall make them free” (notice the obvious reference to Jesus’ words in John 8:32). Finally, at the end, Arishem appears and declares that one day he will return and bring “judgment” on the peoples of Earth.
The Gnostic themes of this movie are extremely clear:
A “god” that is of questionable origin;
A “god” that has a hidden agenda;
A “god”who is the enemy of mankind;
A “god” that has been betrayed by others he created and who strive to bring this “knowledge” to mankind;
Opponents of this “god” who invoke Jesus Christ and His Words in support of their opposition;
Support and endorsement of paganism (including Hinduism) and pagan practices (i.e., mantras, yoga-like dances and scenes);
A “day of judgment” that will one day come upon the peoples of the world.
Gnosticism is alive and well, and has found a powerful ally in Hollywood.
The final thing I want to suggest to you is that we can use this movie as a method of initiating discussion with our non-Christian friends, and we can use this platform for sharing the Gospel.
Here are some tips I suggest.
First, become familiar with the basic history and timeline of Christianity and Gnosticism and their various belief systems. Arm yourself with the appropriate knowledge of Christian evidences to be able to reason with your non-Christian friends and family who may be deceived by these things (cf. 1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3). Focus especially on the evidences of God’s goodness in Creation (carefully consider Job 32-37 in this regard), and the historical evidences which undergird the Christian faith (cf. Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31; 2 Peter 1:16).
Second, familiarize yourself with the agenda behind this movie (and others put forth by Hollywood). Cultivable a knowledge of several Hollywood films which likewise endorse paganism and pagan themes. Draw attention to the anti-Christian elements of these films as you discuss them with others.
Third, point consistently to the authority and words of Jesus Christ. Both Gnostics and Christians point to the Lord for their message; yet only one group has evidential documentation to back up their teaching as being from Him.
Finally, ask God to allow us to use movies such as this to spread the true Gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
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