Gary DeMar
President of American Vision
- The Bizarro Gospel of Judas “The Gospel of Judas” is actually old news. While a Coptic-language version of the “Gospel,” dated around A.D. 300, was found in the Egyptian desert in 1970, Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons (France), mentions it in one of his writings around A.D. 180. “Irenaeus said the writings came from a ‘Cainite’ Gnostic sect that jousted against orthodox Christianity. He also accused the Cainites of lauding the biblical murderer Cain, the Sodomites and Judas, whom they regarded as the keeper of secret mysteries.” This is the very definition of Bizarro - the traitor becomes the hero. Here’s what Irenaeus wrote about “The Gospel of Judas”:
- Armageddon Again, and Again, and Again Newly revised would be a better description, since it was first published in 1974 and begins with how “the world has never before witnessed so many ominous developments.” This is factually untrue. Battles with Muslim extremists have been going on for centuries, and even then prophecy writers tried to make an eschatological case that “current events” were part of a prophetic end. In 1528, Martin Luther wrote On the War with the Turks. In 1532, he wrote: “I am entirely of the opinion that the papacy is the Antichrist. But if anyone wants to add the turk, then the pope is the spirit of Antichrist, and the turk is the flesh of Antichrist. They help each other in their murderous work. The latter slaughters bodily and by the sword, the former spiritually and by doctrine.” 08/04/06