BIBLE DOCTRINE II

LECTURE 13
CHRISTOLOGY – HERESIES

Matt 16:13-17 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say
that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or
one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
2 Cor 11:3,4 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not
preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye
might well bear with him.

“Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, rose from the
dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited
Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old
Testament. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a
Trinity.” (Wikipedia)
The choices, per Josh McDowell, on who Jesus was are: He either was a liar, a lunatic, or indeed was (is) the Lord !

Matt 24:3-5 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
2 Peter 2:1,2 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 that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

We are definitely in wicked times with great deception everywhere. It is imperitive that every Christian be aware of the
many heretical teachings on the subject at hand – Christology… ‘who Jesus Christ is’. The following is a listing of 33
blasphemic interpretations of Christology. Be aware that many people you will meet will hold to one or more of these
‘damnable heresies’.

(The following section is from Wayne Jackson of www.ChristianCourier.com)

1. Jesus Never Existed
As strange as it may sound, some, in their desperation to dismiss the Lord, deny that he ever lived upon this earth. This
notion was advanced by a German historian named Bruno Baur, near the middle of the 19th century. In our own time,
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Moscow, 1952), in a two-line entry under “Jesus,” states; “the name of the mythological
founder of Christianity.”
2. A Spirit Being, Not Flesh
Out of the ancient world of the New Testament period there eventually evolved a movement known as Gnosticism. One
branch of this philosophy was known as “Docetism” — from the Greek term dokein, which means “to seem.” These
heretics believed that Jesus was not a real, flesh-and-blood [human male]; he merely “appeared” to be.
3. Christ, The First-Created Being
Those affiliated with the Watchtower Society allege that the second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ, was not an
eternal being. Instead, it is claimed, he was “the first of God’s creations … he had a beginning” (Reasoning from the
Scriptures, 1985, 409).
4. Christ Was An Angel
Another false theory of the self-styled “Jehovah’s Witnesses” [(and also the 7th Day Adventists)] is the claim that Jesus is
to be identified with Michael, the arch-angel (Reasoning, 1985, 218).

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[Charles Taze Russell-”There is Scriptural evidence for concluding that Michael was the name of Jesus Christ before he
left heaven and after his return.” (WT 5/15/1969, p. 307)]
5. Same Person As The Father
Those who are affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church contend that “Jesus” is merely the earthly name of God, the
Father. They allege there is but one person who is God, but that “God” is represented in three manifestations.
[Oneness Pentecostals state: “The Son of God existed from all eternity only as a plan in the mind of God.” “The role of
the son is temporary and not eternal” “The Son of God refers to the humanity of Jesus.” (The Oneness of God, D.
Bernard)]
6. Jesus, A Messianic Manipulator
Though it is a rare and clearly incredible viewpoint, there are those who contend that Jesus was a first-century huckster
who manipulated people into believing he was the Messiah. Hugh J. Schonfield, in his infamous volume The Passover
Plot, argued this very point. He asserted that Christ “plotted and schemed with utmost skill” to feign his death and
resurrection (1965, 155).
Schonfield contended that Jesus labored under the illusion that he was the Messiah and so contrived to bring the “greatest
conspiracy in the history of mankind” to fruition. He alleged that Christ actually did not die upon the cross at all; rather,
he merely received a powerful narcotic that made him appear as dead. Then, by a prearranged plan, he was removed
unconscious from the cross by his disciples.
Interestingly, In 1959, just six years before The Passover Plot was published, Schonfield wrote a book titled, The Bible
Was Right.
7. A Good Man — Nothing More
A very common view regarding Christ is that he was merely a good man, perhaps a wise philosopher, but certainly not
the Son of God. Modernists claim Jesus differed from ordinary men in degree, but not in kind.
For example, the late Steve Allen, the entertainer, wrote two vicious diatribes against the Bible. Though he
utterly repudiated the proposition that Jesus of Nazareth was a divine being, he nonetheless had high praise for the Lord.
“[A]mong human heroes, Jesus is supreme. For he not only preached but apparently demonstrated the virtues of
compassion, charity, love, courage, faith, and intelligence.” Allen said Christ “approaches the ideal of perfection more
closely than anyone else who has ever lived” (1990, 229). [Allen was just one letter away from being right… the letter
‘o’ (Good… God)]
8. One Prophet Among Many
Some accept Christ as a prophet of God (Acts 3:22), but contend that he was merely one figure in a long line of divine
spokesmen.. For example, the religion of Islam speaks very highly of Jesus as a prophet, but alleges that Christ
disclaimed being deity (his followers deified him), and that he never died upon the cross (Anderson, 1950, 62-63). To
those of the Islamic persuasion, Mohammed was the last and greatest of the prophets.
Similarly, there is the Baha’i movement, founded by Mirza ‘Mohammed in Iran (c. 1844). This apostate form of Islam
proclaimed the coming a great World Teacher. In 1863 Mirza Husayn ’ Ali announced that he was that Teacher. He
adopted the name Baha’u’llah (from which Baha’i is derived). Baha’i teaching asserts there has been a series of prophets,
beginning with Adam. Adam’s successors were Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zarathushtra, Christ, Mohammed, and finally
Baha’i — the most important of all.
(The Bab; Baha'u'llah, of the Bahai Faith): “Jesus was not the only-begotten Son of God come down from Heaven,
crucified and resurrected, nor the unique Saviour.” (Firuz Kazemzeden World Order summer 1978)
‘Was Christ within god, or God within Christ ? No in the name of God.’ (Abdul Baha Questions p. 97)
9. The Strictly Benevolent Christ
There are those who sincerely believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but they have a warped view of his nature.
They entertain the notion that Jesus was a loving, compassionate character, who went about doing good, and who would
never be able to bring himself to punish human beings eternally (see Smith, 2003, 165ff). These folks simply cannot
fathom the fact that there is a wrathful side to Jesus.

(The following section is from www.LetUsReason.org)

10. A Good Example
(Edgar Cayce): “He is an ensample for man, and only as a man, for He lived only as a man, He died as man.”
(Association for Research and Enlightenment)
11. [Adopted as God’s Son

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Adoptionism, sometimes called dynamic monarchianism, is a nontrinitarian theological teaching that Jesus was adopted
as God's Son at either his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension. According to Epiphanius's account of the Ebionites,
the group believed that Jesus was chosen because of his sinless devotion to the will of God. (Wikipedia)]
12. An Example for the Israelites
(Islam- Sura 43:59) “Jesus was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example to the Israelites. They
are unbelievers who say God is Messiah, Mary’s son.”
13. He Self-Realized the Christ Mind
(Church Universal and Triumphant-Mark and Elizabeth Prophet) “Jesus was both the actual and symbolical
representative of this Christ Self. Jesus was the example and the one who self-realized the Christ Mind and was at one
with It at all times. Jesus himself was not the only begotten Son of the Father. The Christ of him was and is the only
begotten Son of the Father” (The Lost Teachings of Jesus p. 241).
14. One of many Saviours and Prophets
(Eckankar - Paul Twitchell) “Do not put Him [Jesus] in a special category, for all saviours and prophets who came to
earth to help mankind did their part and passed on to the glory of the heavenly kingdom ..
15. A Replica of Adam
Kenneth Copeland “The image being that he was a copy, looked just like, if you stood Adam upside God they look just
exactly alike....” (The Authority of the Believer IV, Tape #01-0304)
16. Our Combined Christ Consciousness
(Course in miracles - Helen Schucman) “Jesus is a man, who is like all other men, and the Christ idea, which all men
possess and must eventually demonstrate. He becomes the pattern for all of us. Jesus the man was used by the Christ to
demonstrate the illusion of the world.”...Jesus became what all of you must be. ...Is he the Christ? O yes, along with you.
“The Son of God ... is not Jesus but our combined Christ consciousness. . .”
17. The Solar Deity
Manly Hall who started the Masons refers to Jesus as “The Solar Deity'. Jesus of Nazareth had attained a level of
consciousness, of perfection, that has been called by various names: cosmic consciousness, soul regeneration,
philosophic initiation, spiritual illumination, Brahmic Splendor, Christ-consciousness. (Lynn F Perkins, The Meaning of
Masonry, CSA Press, 1971, 53)
18. Christ is an Experience
The Divine Life Society Integral Yoga Institute (Sivananda/ Satchidananda) states: “Remember that Christ is not a
person, It's an experience - Christhood. Like Nirvana or Buddha. It's an experience.” (Satchinananda speaks June 17,
1975)
19. The First to Understand the Divine Mind
(Christian Science - Mary Baker Eddy): “Jesus Christ is not God, as Jesus Himself declared, but is the Son of God.”
“Jesus is the name of the man who, more than all other men, has presented Christ, the true idea of God. . . . Jesus is the
human man, and Christ is the divine idea; hence the duality of Jesus the Christ. “He was the first human to understand
the Divine Mind.” (Science and Health - Key to the Scriptures).
20. A Ray from the Cosmic Christ Entered His Body
(Rosicrucianism - H. Spencer Lewis): “The Son is the highest initiate of the Sun.” (The Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception).
“The Christ spirit which entered the body of Jesus when Jesus Himself vacated it, was a ray from the cosmic Christ. We
may follow Jesus back in His previous incarnations and can trace his growth to the present day.” (The Rosicrucian
Philosophy)
21. Came into Being at His Birth
(Christadelphians - John Thomas). “Jesus Christ did not exist as a person from eternity as one of the triune Godhead....
He did not actually come into being until He was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born in Bethlehem” (Christadelphian
messenger no.46)
22. A Man Born without Original Sin
(The Unification Church - Sun Myung Moon): “It is a great error to think Jesus was God Himself. Jesus is no different
from other men.” “Jesus on earth was a man no different from us except for the fact that He was born without original
sin.” (Divine Principle p. 212).
23. Never Suffered on the Cross
(Transcendental Meditation - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi): “[When] Christ said, Be still and know that I am God.'[He also
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meant) 'Be still and know that you are God.”' And, “I don't think Christ ever suffered [on the cross].... Those who count
upon the suffering, it is a wrong interpretation of the life of Christ and the message of Christ. It is wrong.”

(The following is from Michael Hunt of agapebiblestudy.com)

24. The Father became the Son
Monarchians, Patripassinists, and Modalists: These heresies stress the oneness of God by denying the other two persons
of the Trinity as "Persons" in the Godhead. They maintain that God the Father became God the Son.
25. The Son of God but not God
Arianists: They believed Jesus was the son of God but that He was a created being and therefore not equal with God.
26. Deny the Trinity
Manichaeans: Denied the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ.
27. No human nature
Monophysitism: Denied Jesus had a true human nature and acknowledged only Jesus' divine nature.
28. Two persons
Monotheletism: Believed that Jesus is two persons but with one divine will.

(The following section is from www.LetUsReason.org)

29. A somewhat Inferior Enlightened Being
(Scientology - L. Ron Hubbard): “Neither Lord Buddha nor Jesus Christ were OT’s [that is, Operation Thetans,
enlightened beings] according to the evidence. They were just a shade above clear [that is, relatively low on the
Scientology scale of spiritual advancement.” (Ability magazine no. 81)
30. The ‘I AM’ in every Creature
(New Age author Matthew Fox): “The Cosmic Christ is the divine pattern that connects in the person of Jesus Christ (but
by no means is limited to that person). Divinity is found in all creatures. ‘I Am who I Am,’ is appropriated by Jesus who
shows us how to embrace our own divinity. The Cosmic Christ is the ‘I am’ in every creature.” (The Coming of the
Cosmic Christ)
31. Conquered by Satan at the Cross
“Satan conquered Jesus on the Cross and took His spirit to the dark regions of hell.” (Kenneth Copeland Reference
Edition, Holy Bible)
32. Brother to Lucifer
(Mormonism- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints) “..That Lucifer, the son of the morning, is our elder brother
and the brother of Jesus Christ.” (Apostle B. McConkie Mormon doctrine p.163-164) “Jesus got married at Cana and
had many wives Martha, Mary and others… he also had many children,” (J & D vol.1 p.345-346)

33. The Luciferic Initiation

David Spangler stated: Christ is the same force as Lucifer...... Lucifer works within each of us to bring us to wholeness,
and as we move into a New Age ... each of us in some way is brought to that point which I term the Luciferic Initiation ...
for it is an invitation into the New Age. (David Spangler reflections on the Christ p.44-45)

All these Satanic heretics need to take heed what the apostle John said:

John 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye
not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

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John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I
saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 11:25-27 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea,
Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
John 20:27-28 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my
God.
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name.
John 8:24,25 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the
beginning.
John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the
Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Rev 1:6 …to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall
see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty.