May 17, 2026

The "Lost" Gospel of Thomas: Truth, Gnosticism, or Spiritual Counterfeit?

The "Lost" Gospel of Thomas: Truth, Gnosticism, or Spiritual Counterfeit?
The Broadcasting Seeds Podcast
The "Lost" Gospel of Thomas: Truth, Gnosticism, or Spiritual Counterfeit?
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What is the Gospel of Thomas really? Some claim it is a suppressed book of the Bible. Others call it a Gnostic distortion of the teachings of Jesus. In this episode of Broadcasting Seeds, Bennett Tanton takes a careful look at the Gospel of Thomas and cross-references its major themes with the Jesus of the Bible. The Gospel of Thomas contains 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, but unlike Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it does not give us the crucifixion, resurrection, or full Gospel message. Instead, it leans heavily into hidden sayings, secret interpretation, and mystical knowledge. So is Thomas a lost treasure? Or is it an ancient example of spiritual deception dressed in biblical language? This episode explores the Gospel of Thomas, Gnosticism, the missing cross, the real Jesus of Scripture, and why discernment matters now more than ever.

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A lot of people get spiritually played played, yeah, played

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like a violin. They leave one form of control and

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walk straight into another. And they reject religious manipulation only

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to embrace mythical manipulation. Okay, they reject the pulpit, but

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then they bow to the guru. You guys see this,

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and you know it. All of you know it. They

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reject church tradition with any ancient text with a cool backstory,

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and that is not discernment, folks, broadcasts.

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In the minds of the.

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Beadle, what if someone handed you an ancient document and said,

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this is the secret teachings of Jesus. Not the public sermons,

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not the cross, not the not the empty tomb, not

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the great commission, but the hidden words, the private sayings,

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the secret wisdom, the stuff they supposedly did not want

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you to see right now if you are anything like me,

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but immediately, that immediately gets your attention, because anytime someone

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says they hid this from you, most of us leaned

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forward just a little bit. And let's be honest and

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brought to broadcasting seeds world. We are used to asking

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hard questions. We ask why certain stories memory hold, We

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ask why certain narratives are protected. Right, we ask, we

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ask why certain ancient texts are dismissed before most people

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even read them. But here is where discernment really matters,

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because not everything hidden is holy, and not not everything

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forbidden is true. And that's that's something that we're running

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into right now, right and not everything ancient is automatically authentic, Okay,

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And tonight we're opening up today. Tonight, today we're opening

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up one of the most controversial texts connected to early Christianity,

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and that's the Gospel of Thomas. Some people claim it

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is one of the lost books of the Bible, and

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some claim it gives us the real and the real

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Jesus before the Church allegedly sanitized them right. Some claim

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it reveals a mystical Christianity built around inner, inner awakening

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and secret knowledge in discovering the divine spark within you.

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But others say it is gnostic distortion, a spiritual counterfeit,

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as I guess is a really good way of putting it,

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a text that borrows the voice of Jesus while quietly

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removing the center of the Gospel. And that is a

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question today. Is the Gospel of Thomas a lost treasure?

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Or is it an ancient spiritual frankly trap dressed up

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in the language of Jesus actual deception because the strange art.

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Some of the Gospel of Thomas sounds familiar right, some

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of it sounds biblical, Some sayings are similar to what

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we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and then

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other parts feel totally different, I mean very different. Instead

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of Jesus as a crucified and risen son of God,

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Thomas often presents Jesus more like a revealer of hidden knowledge.

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Instead of the salvation through Jesus Christ. It leans toward

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enlightenment through interpretation. Instead of the public gospel. It offers

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a secret, secret sayings. And that matters because the Gospel

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of Thomas opens by saying, these are the hidden sayings

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that the living Jesus spoke, and that whoever discovers their

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meaning will not taste death. PBS's presentation on the text

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preserves that opening idea. And Britannica, The en Psychopedia Britannica

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summarizes Thomas as a non canonical gospel containing one hundred

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and fourteen sayings attributed to Jesus, traditionally connected to Thomas

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and likely written in the mid second century. So today

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we are going to do what we always try to

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do here, and we're not gonna We're not going to

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be lazy. That is something we try not to do.

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And we are not going to say it was hidden

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therefore it must be true because we don't do that either,

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try not to and we are not going to say

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it was left out therefore it is worthless. I can't.

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We're gonna put it on the table. We're gonna test it,

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test the spirit, right, test it. We are going to

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cross reference it with what Jesus actually says in the Bible,

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and by the end, I think we will see something

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very important. The Gospel of Thomas may contain echoes of Jesus,

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but it does not carry the heart of the Gospel,

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and that difference is everything. Welcome back to broadcasting. See

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I'm your host, Benitantin. Let's get into it all right,

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What is the Gospel of Thomas Before we get into

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the mystery, we need to start with the basics. And

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the Gospel of Thomas is not a gospel in the

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same way that Matthew Mark, Luke and John are gospels.

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And that is important to understand. Okay, Matthew Mark Luke

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and John tell the story the story of Jesus. They

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tell us about his ministry, about his miracles, his confrontations

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with religious leaders, his compassion for sinners, his teaching of

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and on the kingdom right, his also his betrayal and

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his crucifixion, his barrier, his resurrection, his appealing appearing to

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the disciples, commanding them to go and make disciples, his

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command to go and make disciples right. The Gospel of

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Thomas does not do that. Thomas is a collection of sayings.

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That is it. No birth narrative, no walking on water,

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no feeding the five thousand in story form, no garden

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of gasnemi, no trial before a pilot, no crown of thorns,

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no dripping blood from the cross, no empty tomb. No

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he has risen, no resurrected Christ eating fish with his disciples.

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I'm just saying, Okay, They're just sayings, one after another.

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Jesus said this. Jesus said that. The text contains one

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hundred and fourteen sayings that are attributed to Jesus, and

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it is usually classified as a non canonical sayings Gospel

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and Britannica. It'cycopedia again describes it as apocryphal and non canonical,

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and notes that it contains secret, secret sayings attributed to Jesus,

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several of which parallel the New Testament gospels. Now, right away,

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this should make you pause, because Christianity is not simply

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built on isolated sayings of Jesus. Christianity is built on

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the person and the works, the work of Jesus Christ.

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The Gospel is not merely Jesus said wise things, guys.

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The gospel is Christ died for our sins. He was buried,

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he rose again, He defeated sin and death. He reconciles us.

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You me us to the Father. That is the center.

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And if that is if you remove that center, you

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may still have spiritual language, but you do not have

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the Gospel. You have something else, maybe philosophy, or maybe mysticism,

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maybe ancient self help. Right, maybe it's religious poetry or

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even deception, hark, but it's definitely not the Gospel. Okay.

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And this is where Thomas immediately becomes fascinating, because it

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gives us Jesus language without the full Jesus story. That

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is like giving someone the Constitution with no revolution speaking

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of America, okay. Or let's give you another nowaday a

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wedding ring, right with no marriage or like a knife,

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a knife with no handle. Right, it just doesn't make sense.

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A map with no destination. How about that? It looks important, right?

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It might even contain something that's real, but something essential

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is missing. Period. Why people are so drawn to Thomas?

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And let's be honest about why people are attracted to

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this text? Okay, it's not hard to understand. The Gospel

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of Thomas has all the ingredients of a modern viral mystery.

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It is ancient, it is controversial, It was not included

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in the Bible. It uses the language of secrecy. It

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is tied to the identity. It is tied to early Christianity.

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I guess we'll say it that way. It seems to

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offer hidden teaching of Jesus ooh, you know. And it

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is associated with the Nagamani Discoveries, which included a collection

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of ancient texts found in Egypt in the twentieth Like

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the early twentieth century, and PBS's Frontline describes Thomas as

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one of the most important discoveries connected to the Naghamadi

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and emphasizes that it is made up of the sayings

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of Jesus so of course people are interested. Right. You

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do not have to be a conspiracy theorist to look

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at that and say, wait a minute, what is this.

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But in the modern world, Thomas is often marketed in

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a very specific way. It is presented as the suppressed Gospel. Ooh,

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the suppressed gospel, the one the church which did not

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want you to read. The church. Okay, I'm not a

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fan of the churches are folks, But discernment. It's the

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mystical Jesus and the cosmic Jesus, the Jesus of hidden knowledge,

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and the Jesus that's beyond religion. See, you don't have

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to be religious to believe in Jesus. And that sounds

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attractive to a lot of people, especially people who have

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been hurt, who have been hurt by religious institutions. I

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get it, guys, I get it. A lot of people

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are tired. I mean, if you've listened to me for

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more than six minutes, I am tired of systems. I

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am so exhausted by gatekeepers. Okay. People are tired of

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being told what they are allowed to ask to. I

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get it. They're tired of religious leader saying do not

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look over here and do as I say not as

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I do. So when someone says, here is the secret

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Jesus they buried people naturally, I mean, duh, even me,

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they lean in. But here's the broadcasting seeds warning. Okay,

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distrust of institutions does not automatically make alternative source an

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alternative source trustworthy. That is where a lot of people

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get spiritually played played, Yeah, played like a violin. They

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leave one form of control and walk straight into another. Okay,

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And they reject religious manipulation only to embrace mythical manipulation. Okay, seriously,

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they reject the pulpit, but then they bow to the guru.

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You guys see this, and you know it, all of

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you know it. They reject church tradition, but except any

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ancient text with a cool backstory. And that is not discernment, folks,

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It is not. That is just rebellion wearing a linen

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robe and a crystal freaking necklace. Okay. The question is

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not was this hidden? Was this text hidden? The real

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question is what spirit is behind it? What does it

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say about Jesus? What does it say about salvation again

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something else? What does it say about sin, about the cross?

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About what does it do with the resurrection. What fruit

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does it produce? Because Jesus himself gave us the test.

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In Matthew seven, Jesus warns about false prophets and says

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they will be recognized by their fruit. That is a

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biblical test of spiritual claims Matthew seven fifteen through twenty.

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So today that is what we are doing. We are

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checking the fruit, okay, and it frankly, this text has

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Gnostic fingerprints all over it. So now we need to

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talk about the big word that follows the Gospel of

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Thomas around everywhere. Gnostic. All right. Gnosticism is a broad

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and complicated category, so we need to be careful, careful here.

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Not every scholar agrees on how gnostic the Gospel of

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Thomas is. Some argue that Thomas is fully gnostic, and

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others argue that it is better described as Gnostic influenced.

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Some argue that parts of it may preserve early Jesus

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sayings that were later shaped by mystical or gnostic communities.

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The Gospel of Thomas is most likely a Gnostic or

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Gnostic influenced text, though some of its sayings may reflect

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earlier Jesus traditions. That gives us room to be honest. Now,

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what does gnostic mean? And at a simplest term, simplest level,

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gnosticism emphasize secret knowledge or gnosis, not just knowledge like facts,

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not just learned learning Bible verses right, but hidden spiritual insight,

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the idea that salvation comes through awakening, through discovery who,

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discovering who you really are, through escaping ignorance and finding

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the divine spark within. Okay, And this is where the

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Gospel of Thomas starts to feel very different from the

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New Testament because the New Testament does talk about mystery.

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Paul talks about mysteries revealed, Jesus talks about the mysteries

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of the kingdom. But Biblical mystery is not hidden from

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everyone except a spiritual elite. Biblical mystery is revealed in Christ.

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It is fulfilled in Christ. It points to Christ. The

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mystery is not to code the secret and save yourself, guys.

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The mystery is God has revealed his redemptive plan through

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Jesus Christ. That is very different. And the Gospel of

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Thomas opens by putting massive weight on interpreting hidden sayings,

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secret words or hidden sayings attributed to Jesus and saying

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one connects discovering the meaning of those sayings with not

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tasting death. Now compare that to the Jesus of John

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fourteen six. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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No one comes to the Father except through me John

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fourteen six. Right. That is not salvation through decoding. That

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is salvation through a person. Jesus does not say the

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hidden interpretation is the way. He says, I I am

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the way. He does not say secret knowledge is the truth.

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He says, I am the truth. He does not say

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discovering the inner spark is the life. He says, I

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am the life. That is the divide, that is the

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line in the sand. Folks, Thomas may use Jesus's name.

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Thomas may include sayings that sound close to the Bible,

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But the center of gravity shifts, and whenever the center

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shifts away from Christ himself, we have a problem. And

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where Thomas sounds like Jesus. Now, to be fair, we

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need to acknowledge something, okay, as some parts of Thomas

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really do sound familiar. That is why this text is

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so intriguing. And there are sayings in Thomas that resemble

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teachings found in the canonical Gospels. When you compare them,

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for example, themes like seeking and finding hidden things being

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revealed right, the Kingdom, light, poverty, wisdom, and spiritual discernment.

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PBS's translation includes sayings such as hidden things being revealed,

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which is similar in theme to sayings found in the

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New Testament. And that matters because this means we should

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We should not treat Thomas like it is just random nonsense,

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because it is not. It is an ancient text using

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the language and memory of Jesus' traditions. Some scholars believe

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parts of Thomas may preserve independent traditions. Others believe it

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depends on or reshapes materials from the canonical gospels that debate.

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That debate is real, okay, but here's the key. The

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text can contain true statements and still lead you in

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the wrong direction.

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Right.

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That is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

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Think about temptation in the garden. The serpent did not

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just walk in and say something completely ridiculous, right. He twisted,

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he questioned, and he totally refrained. He used enough truth

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to make the lie digestible. That's how deception works. And

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we see the same thing when Satan tempts Jesus in

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the wilderness. Too writ He even uses scripture, he quotes it,

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and he quotes it wrongly. But he quotes it wrongly.

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He uses the Bible against the purpose of God. That

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is why spiritual discernment is not just asking. It's not

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just asking does this include something true? It is asking.

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You have to see it as where does this lead

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and what does this produce?

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Right?

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What does the text to do with Jesus? Because the

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Gospel of Thomas may contained fragments that sound like Jesus,

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but overall shape of the text does not bring us

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to the cross. It does not. And that is a

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not a small issue. That is an issue. That is

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the issue. The missing cross here is the part that

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we just can't ignore. The Gospel of Thomas has no

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crucifixion narrative, no atonement, no blood of the Covenant, no

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Father forgive me, no thief on the cross, no darkness

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over the land and no veil torn, no Roman censure

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in saying truly this was the Son of God. No

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burial women coming to the tomb, no angel saying he

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is not here, he is risen. That is not a

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minor editing choice, folks. That is the removal of the

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beating heart of Christianity. Paul sins says in one Corinthians

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fifteen that the gospel he preached was that Christ died

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for our sins, according to the scriptures, was buried and

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rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. That

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is the gospel, not secret sayings, not hidden interpretation, not

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mystical insight. Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ rose. That

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is the foundation. So when the text gives you Jesus

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without the cross, you should immediately ask what Jesus is

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this because the New Testament does not present Jesus is

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merely a wisdom teacher.

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Right.

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He is not just some rabbi with better parables. Okay,

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he is not just mystic dropping spiritual breadcrumbs. Right, He's

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not that person. He is the Lamb of God who

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takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist

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identifies him that way in John one right John one

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twenty nine. So if a supposed gospel removes the lamb

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and removes the sacrifice, the blood, the resurrection, and replaces

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it with hidden interpretation, then we have to be honest, guys,

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that is not the same gospel. It may be ancient, right,

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and it may sound freaking great, it may be fating,

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it may even be useful for understanding early religious movements.

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But it is not the Apostolic Gospel. And this is

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where I think a lot of modern people get confused. Frankly,

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they think, well, Thomas has Jesus sayings, and so maybe

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it is just another version of Christianity. But Christianity is

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not built on sayings alone, guys. It's built on an event,

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the incarnation, the Crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, the promised return.

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Take those away and you do not have Christianity. You

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have Jesus flavored mysticism. And that's a very different drink.

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So now let's do what we came here to do.

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Let's put the Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, on the

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witness stand, and let's let the biblical Jesus cross examine it. Okay,

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like in court test one, is salvation found in hidden

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interpretation or in christ Thomas begins with the idea that

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whoever discovers the meaning of the hidden sayings will not

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taste death. Wow, that sounds spiritual, right, sounds spiritual. It

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sounds mysterious, it sounds freaking deep. But biblical Jesus says

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eternal life is found in him. John three sixteen says,

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whoever believes in the sun has eternal life. John five

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twenty four says, whoever hears Jesus's word and believes him

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who sent him as everlasting life, has everlasting life. That's

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not hidden decoding.

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Right.

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That is what we would call faith. That is trust,

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and you would call receiving Christ. So the question becomes

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why does Thomas opening open by making interpretation the gateway

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That does not automatically prove everything every saying is false,

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but it does show us the operating system and the

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rating system feels much different. Period test two is the

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Kingdom inside you, around you, or coming through the king

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Thomas has sayings that emphasize the Kingdom being within or

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spread out, but people do not see it. That overlaps

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loosely with Luke seventeen, where Jesus says the Kingdom of

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God is not coming with observation and that the Kingdom

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is in their midst or among them depending on translation. Right.

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But in the New Testament, the Kingdom is not just

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an inner state of awareness. It is the rain and

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rule of God. It comes through the king. It calls

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people to repentance, It confronts sin and breaks demonic power.

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It heals the sick. It announces the arrival of God's

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authority through Jesus. So if someone takes the kingdom is

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within and turns it into you are divine, Awaken yourself. Guys,

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that's not Jesus. That's like a freaking remix. It's not

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the song. It's a remix of the song. And not

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every remix should be have made made the album right.

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Test three does the text lead to repentance? Great question.

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When Jesus begins preaching in Mark, he says, the time

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is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand.

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Repent and believe in the Gospel Mark one fifteen. Repentance

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is central in that not just awareness, awareness or interpretation,

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not just realizing your hidden identity. Okay, actual freaking repentance, turning, surrendering,

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coming under the authority of God. Thomas does not carry

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that same weight. It has moral sayings, of course, yes

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it does. It has wisdom as well, but the biblical

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call to repentance before a holy God is not the

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central drum beat of Thomas. And when repentance repentance disappears,

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the self usually takes the throne. You all know what

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I'm saying. Test four does the text confess Jesus as Lord. Now,

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the New Testament repeatedly presses us toward the identity of Jesus.

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Who do you say that I am, uh Peter confess

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is Jesus as the Christ, the son of the Living God.

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Matthew sixteen fifteen through sixteen. Thomas in the Gospel of

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John gives one of the clearest confessions in the entire

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New Testament right when he encounters the risen Christ and says,

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my Lord and my God. That's Biblical Thomas, not the

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Gospel of Thomas. Thomas in the Gospel of John right

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confesses my Lord my God John twenty twenty eight. That is,

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that is the biblical Thomas. The Thomas connected to the

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canonical Gospel of John does not discover secret sayings and

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become enlightened. He encounters the resurrect of Jesus and then worships.

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That is a massive difference. The biblical Thomas moves from

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doubt to worship, and the Gospel of Thomas right, this

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that we're talking about, moves from hidden sayings to interpretation.

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What one says, my Lord and my God. The other says,

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whoever discovers the meaning of these sayings will not taste death.

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Those are not the same spiritual center, folks, They're just not.

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Then we move from there, right, we move from the tests,

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which frankly it passed none, right to the strange ending

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of Thomas. And we have to talk about one of

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the This is one of the strangest and most controversial

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parts of this whole book, this Gospel of Thomas, and

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that's the ending saying one hundred and fourteen. This saying

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includes a bizarre exchange involving Mary and the idea that

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a woman must become male to enter the kingdom. The

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Biblical Archaeology Society's published version of the one hundred and

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fourteen Sayings includes this controversial final saying. Now, scholars debate

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what this means, and some say it's symbolic. Some say

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male male represents spiritual completeness in that ancient worldview, and

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some say it reflects ascetic or gnostic ideas about transcending

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the physical body. But let's crow for cross reference it

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with the Bible and the bi the biblical Jesus. Does

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that sound like the Jesus of the canonical Gospels, Jesus

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speaks with the Samaritan woman at the well. In John four,

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Jesus receives support from women during his ministry. Jesus defends

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Mary of Bethany, sitting at the feet at his feet

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as a disciple. In Luke ten, women are the first

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witnesses to the empty tomb. And in the New Testament,

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women are not treated as spiritually defective beings who need

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to become male to enter the kingdom. So when Thomas

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ends with that kind of language, we should be very careful. Again,

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I am not saying every scholar interprets the same the

390
00:38:00.360 --> 00:38:04.360
same way, but through the biblical lens, it is hard

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to make that final saying sound like the Jesus we

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encounter in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And this is

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why I say Thomas may contain echoes, but it is

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also it also contains absolute distortion. And distortion is often

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more dangerous than outright denial, right because outright denial is

396
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easy to spot. Distortion gets close enough to sound familiar,

397
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and you know that's very dangerous. We moved to Thomas

398
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being suppressed, and we're talking about I mean, this is

399
00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:53.239
a spicy question, right, was the gospel of Thomas suppressed

400
00:38:53.880 --> 00:38:58.840
because this is where people usually go. They say, the

401
00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:05.599
Christ are the Church hid it. They buried the real Jesus.

402
00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:10.440
And the Bible was edited by powerful men and Thomas

403
00:39:10.679 --> 00:39:16.440
was removed because it threatened the system. And listen, we

404
00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:19.119
should we should not be naive about power.

405
00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:19.639
Right.

406
00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:26.360
Religious institutions can and do and have absolutely protect themselves.

407
00:39:27.119 --> 00:39:30.920
Church history has plenty of politics and it human beings

408
00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:35.880
are human beings, even when wearing robes and holding councils.

409
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But we also need to be honest. The early Church

410
00:39:39.639 --> 00:39:44.800
did not accept every text with Jesus's name attached to it,

411
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and that's actually a good thing because there were many

412
00:39:52.119 --> 00:40:01.719
texts floating around in the ancient world Claimingtholic authority. Some

413
00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:06.519
were Orthodox, some were strange, some were freaking late, some

414
00:40:06.599 --> 00:40:11.960
were forged, some blended Christianity with other spiritual systems. And

415
00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:19.079
the question was not simply does this text mention Jesus?

416
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The question was is it connected to the Apostolic witness right,

417
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does it align with the rule of faith? Was it

418
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received broadly by the churches? And does does it preserve

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00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:39.840
the true gospel? Thomas did not pass that test. It

420
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:43.760
just didn't and The reason is pretty clear. It does

421
00:40:43.880 --> 00:40:49.719
not give us the Apostolic gospels centered on the death

422
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and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It gives us secret sayings

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and hidden interpretation. So as Thomas suppressed. I mean, here's

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the careful answer. Thomas was rejected as scripture by the

425
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mainstream church. But that does not automatically mean it was

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00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:17.480
rejected because it contained the real truth. It may have

427
00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:22.800
been rejected because it did not faithfully preserve the Apostolic Gospel.

428
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That's less sensational, of course, right, but it is probably

429
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:36.800
closer to reality now broadcasting seed speculation. Could there have

430
00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:41.679
been power politics involved in which texts were promoted and

431
00:41:41.920 --> 00:41:48.559
copied or preserved or condemned. Of course, absolutely human beings

432
00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:54.400
were involved, period institutions were involved in protecting themselves, and

433
00:41:54.800 --> 00:42:01.440
the Roman world was involved. Religious authority was involved. But

434
00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:05.360
that does not mean every rejected text was a buried

435
00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:09.719
treasure of some sort. Okay, some rejected texts were rejected

436
00:42:09.760 --> 00:42:14.400
because they were spiritually dangerous and frankly, guys, I'll say,

437
00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:19.559
full of shit. Sorry, And that is the uncomfortable part

438
00:42:19.760 --> 00:42:24.880
that modern people do not always want to admit. Sometimes

439
00:42:24.920 --> 00:42:29.400
the gatekeepers are freaking corrupt and they're trying to sell

440
00:42:29.400 --> 00:42:35.599
you something. Sometimes the gate exists for a reason. Both

441
00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:42.639
can be true. The modern Thomas problem. Here's why this

442
00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:47.920
matters today. The Gospel of Thomas is not just an

443
00:42:48.039 --> 00:42:53.360
ancient text problem. It is a modern spiritual problem because

444
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the same move happens now. People love Jesus as a

445
00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:02.519
wisdom teacher. They love Jesus as a mystic, and they

446
00:43:02.559 --> 00:43:06.960
love him as a revolutionary right. They love Jesus as

447
00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:14.679
a consciousness guide and an ascended master, and they love

448
00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:19.639
the symbol of inner awakening. But they do not want

449
00:43:19.719 --> 00:43:24.800
Jesus as Lord. They do not want Jesus as a

450
00:43:24.920 --> 00:43:28.960
judge or that. They do not want Jesus as the

451
00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:34.239
only way to the Father. They do not want Jesus

452
00:43:34.280 --> 00:43:41.239
crucified for sin, resurrected in power right. They do not

453
00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:47.119
want Jesus saying deny yourself, take up your cross, and

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follow me. That is the issue. The world is often

455
00:43:52.639 --> 00:43:57.719
fine with Jesus as long as he stays freaking inspirational.

456
00:43:58.679 --> 00:44:03.199
At the moment Jesus becomes authoritative, the room gets quiet

457
00:44:03.800 --> 00:44:08.000
people you can hear crickets. The moment Jesus says repent,

458
00:44:08.519 --> 00:44:14.039
people get uncomfortable because they're sinners. I'm a sinner. We

459
00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:17.320
all are. The moment Jesus says, no one comes to

460
00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:23.000
the Father except through me, through him, people start looking

461
00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:29.119
for another gospel, and Thomas gives them one. And Jesus

462
00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:34.079
without the cross, without blood, without resurrection proclamations, and the

463
00:44:34.199 --> 00:44:38.400
Jesus who gives secret sayings instead of a public salvation,

464
00:44:39.239 --> 00:44:43.320
that Jesus who sounds spiritual but does not demand the

465
00:44:43.320 --> 00:44:49.000
same surrender. That is why this text matters, because it

466
00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:53.480
is not just about what people believe and believed in

467
00:44:53.519 --> 00:44:56.760
the second century. It is about what people are still

468
00:44:57.119 --> 00:45:01.719
doing today. They are trying to separate the teachings of

469
00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:08.679
Jesus from the lordship of Jesus. They want to read letters,

470
00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:13.519
they want the red letters without the red blood, okay.

471
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:19.639
And they want the parables without the passover lamb. They

472
00:45:19.639 --> 00:45:25.239
want kingdom without him being the king. And you can't

473
00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:29.880
have that. You can't have it. It's not biblical, not

474
00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:36.679
biblically period. The broadcasting seeds theory, and I want to

475
00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:43.519
be clear, this is speculation, not confirmed fact, but it

476
00:45:43.599 --> 00:45:49.000
is worth considering speculation. Period. The Gospel of Thomas may

477
00:45:49.039 --> 00:45:53.800
represent an early attempt to reframe Jesus as a revealer

478
00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:58.079
of secret wisdom rather than the crucified and risen son

479
00:45:58.480 --> 00:46:02.159
of God. And if that is true, then Thomas is

480
00:46:02.199 --> 00:46:05.880
not just an ancient curiosity. It is part of a

481
00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:10.119
larger pattern. Take the central figure of God's redemption plan.

482
00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:14.719
Remove the scandal of the cross, remove the bloody resurrection,

483
00:46:15.280 --> 00:46:26.079
remove sin and repentance and sub subsistationary atonement. Right then

484
00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:30.559
repackage Jesus as a mystical teacher who helped you discover

485
00:46:30.960 --> 00:46:35.960
hidden truth within yourself. I'm sorry, folks, but that is

486
00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:42.119
not theology. That is spiritual rebranding. And we see this

487
00:46:42.519 --> 00:46:46.639
all over the place today. New age Jesus, gnostic Jesus,

488
00:46:46.679 --> 00:46:56.920
psychedelic Jesus, freaking alien, Jesus, ascended master Jesus, political revolutionary,

489
00:46:57.159 --> 00:47:02.760
even therapists or influencer self he help Jesus. Everybody wants

490
00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:05.920
a version of Jesus they can use, but the real

491
00:47:06.039 --> 00:47:10.840
Jesus does not come to be used. He comes to

492
00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:17.639
be followed. That is why Thomas should not be studied academically,

493
00:47:18.599 --> 00:47:26.840
It should be discerned spiritually. It it's because the enemy

494
00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:31.440
does not always attack Jesus by denying him. Sometimes he

495
00:47:31.480 --> 00:47:35.199
attacks Jesus by redefining him. That is the old trick,

496
00:47:35.559 --> 00:47:39.239
that is the deception. Do not remove the name, change

497
00:47:39.280 --> 00:47:43.639
the meaning, change you know, keep the vocabulary, but change

498
00:47:43.679 --> 00:47:48.280
the doctrine. Keep the spiritual vibe, b. Keep the spiritual

499
00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:55.960
vibe bro. Remove the cross. Keep Jesus said, but remove

500
00:47:56.480 --> 00:48:02.199
it is finished. And if you do, if you can

501
00:48:02.239 --> 00:48:06.079
do that, you can create a religion that sounds Christian

502
00:48:06.760 --> 00:48:12.320
but cannot save freaking anyone. That is the danger period,

503
00:48:13.239 --> 00:48:22.079
same period a lot. Sorry, So should Christians read Thomas? Now,

504
00:48:22.119 --> 00:48:26.599
this is a practical question. Guys and gals. Should Christians

505
00:48:26.639 --> 00:48:31.400
read the Gospel of Thomas? The answer is yes, but

506
00:48:31.639 --> 00:48:36.719
carefully read it as an artifact. Read it as evidence

507
00:48:36.840 --> 00:48:41.760
of early religious conflict. Read it as a window into

508
00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:46.360
how the memory of Jesus was being used, reshaped, and contested.

509
00:48:47.519 --> 00:48:50.559
It's not just a memory. People, do it now, Read

510
00:48:50.639 --> 00:48:54.280
it with your Bible open, okay, but do not read

511
00:48:54.360 --> 00:48:59.239
it as scripture. Do not read it devotionally. Do not

512
00:48:59.519 --> 00:49:05.760
let it become your lens for understanding Jesus. Because let

513
00:49:05.880 --> 00:49:09.760
Jesus in the Bible be the lens for understanding Thomas.

514
00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:14.519
That is the right order, okay, Because if you read

515
00:49:14.559 --> 00:49:18.840
Thomas first and then interpret the New Testament through Thomas,

516
00:49:19.199 --> 00:49:23.000
you'll drift off course. You're off course. But if you

517
00:49:23.199 --> 00:49:27.960
stand firmly in Matthew, Mark, Luke John acts the Epistles

518
00:49:28.320 --> 00:49:32.960
and the whole witness of scripture, then Thomas becomes something else.

519
00:49:34.039 --> 00:49:37.719
It frankly becomes a case study and a spiritual artifact

520
00:49:37.800 --> 00:49:42.719
and a warning label from the ancient world, and a

521
00:49:42.840 --> 00:49:48.480
reminder that not every text with Jesus's name carries Jesus's truth.

522
00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:53.000
And honestly, that is a lesson we need badly right now,

523
00:49:53.519 --> 00:49:59.440
because the Internet has become the Naghamadi with Wi Fi.

524
00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:04.639
Every day someone finds a quote or a scroll, a theory,

525
00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:12.280
a supposed book, a hidden teaching prophecy, forbidden manuscript, or

526
00:50:12.320 --> 00:50:18.440
a real history thread that supposedly changes everything. I mean,

527
00:50:19.639 --> 00:50:24.039
think about what I do some of it, of course,

528
00:50:24.079 --> 00:50:27.679
I find some of it interesting, and a lot of

529
00:50:27.719 --> 00:50:31.280
it we're studying. Some of it may even expose real

530
00:50:31.400 --> 00:50:36.800
institutional blind spots, right, But so much of it is

531
00:50:36.840 --> 00:50:41.639
actually poison. And if you do not have discernment, you

532
00:50:41.719 --> 00:50:44.880
do not have discernment, you will drink it because the

533
00:50:44.920 --> 00:50:53.519
bottle looks ancient. Okay, so where does that leave us.

534
00:50:53.920 --> 00:50:57.239
The Gospel of Thomas is real. It is ancient. It

535
00:50:57.320 --> 00:51:01.079
is fascinating to many people. It contains one hundred and

536
00:51:01.119 --> 00:51:05.239
fourteen sayings that are attributed to Jesus. Some of those

537
00:51:05.239 --> 00:51:09.639
sayings sound close to the New Testament. Some may even

538
00:51:09.679 --> 00:51:16.239
preserve echoes of early Jesus traditions. But overall, but the

539
00:51:16.280 --> 00:51:20.119
overall shape of the text points is somewhere different. It

540
00:51:20.199 --> 00:51:25.480
points us towards hidden interpretation and secret knowledge, mystical discovery,

541
00:51:26.679 --> 00:51:32.679
a Jesus of sayings without saving, without the saving work.

542
00:51:33.840 --> 00:51:35.840
And that is where we have to draw the line.

543
00:51:35.920 --> 00:51:39.039
Because the Gospel is not hidden in the secret code.

544
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:42.639
It's just not. The Gospel is revealed in a crucified

545
00:51:42.800 --> 00:51:48.480
and risen king. The Gospel is not decode this and

546
00:51:48.559 --> 00:51:55.719
you will live. The Gospel is believe in the Lord

547
00:51:55.840 --> 00:52:00.199
Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not the discovery of or

548
00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:06.079
to inner divine spark. The Gospel is the rescue of

549
00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:11.000
sinners by the Son of God. The Gospel is not

550
00:52:11.280 --> 00:52:16.199
a ladder of secret freaking knowledge. It is the cross,

551
00:52:17.079 --> 00:52:21.000
and that crosses either the center of the story or

552
00:52:21.039 --> 00:52:24.920
we are not telling the Christian story at all anymore

553
00:52:26.840 --> 00:52:30.800
so the Gospel of Thomas what they are telling you. No,

554
00:52:31.880 --> 00:52:35.960
it is not simply the secret Bible book that proves

555
00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:40.679
the Church lied. But it is also not something we

556
00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:46.079
should ignore. It is a reminder, frankly, a warning, a

557
00:52:46.159 --> 00:52:50.599
spiritual fingerprint. It shows us how early and how easily

558
00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:56.000
the message of Jesus could be reshaped within something more mystical,

559
00:52:56.159 --> 00:53:00.719
more elite, more secretive, and frankly more comfortable for people

560
00:53:01.039 --> 00:53:06.519
who want alignment without surrender. Okay, and that maybe the

561
00:53:06.559 --> 00:53:10.360
real reason Thomas still matters, because the same temptation is

562
00:53:10.400 --> 00:53:15.360
alive right now. People still want secret Jesus and mystical Jesus.

563
00:53:15.800 --> 00:53:20.800
They want to Jesus without repentance, right, Jesus without the

564
00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:27.360
cross and lordship and without the empty tomb. Because but

565
00:53:27.519 --> 00:53:30.360
the Jesus of scripture still stands in the middle of

566
00:53:30.480 --> 00:53:34.599
history and says follow me. He doesn't say decode me,

567
00:53:34.760 --> 00:53:40.800
or reinvent me or not use me. Follow me. And

568
00:53:40.840 --> 00:53:44.079
that is where the choice is secret knowledge or saving

569
00:53:44.480 --> 00:53:52.079
freaking grace, hidden sayings or a risen savior Thomas or

570
00:53:52.119 --> 00:53:58.280
the Gospel. As always this is broadcasting seeds. I'm bene Tanton,

571
00:53:59.079 --> 00:54:03.119
Keep asking questions, keep testing the spirit, keep your Bible open,

572
00:54:03.159 --> 00:54:06.880
and remember sometimes the most dangerous counterfeit is not the

573
00:54:06.920 --> 00:54:10.880
thing that looks nothing like the truth. It is the

574
00:54:10.920 --> 00:54:18.360
thing that looks just close enough. In this episode, if

575
00:54:18.360 --> 00:54:22.239
this episode makes you think, share it with someone who

576
00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:26.039
has heard about the Gospel of Thomas but does not

577
00:54:26.280 --> 00:54:29.719
know what to make of it. Let me know in

578
00:54:29.760 --> 00:54:34.280
the comments. Do you think Thomas preserves fragments of authentic

579
00:54:34.360 --> 00:54:37.519
Jesus tradition or do you think it is mainly a

580
00:54:37.519 --> 00:54:43.480
gnostic distortion. Either way, keep it respectful, folks. We are

581
00:54:43.519 --> 00:54:49.599
here to speak truth, not when comments section cage fights. Okay,

582
00:54:49.960 --> 00:54:54.719
that's it. Like subscribe, review the podcast and visit Broadcasting

583
00:54:54.760 --> 00:54:59.599
Seeds dot com and Bennett tantonbooks dot com for more episodes.

584
00:54:59.719 --> 00:55:03.800
Article deep dives into the strange, the ancient, the biblical,

585
00:55:04.159 --> 00:55:07.440
and the berry Have I break something?

586
00:55:25.840 --> 00:55:36.400
You came wrapped in sacopages, dustin from berry graves, whispered

587
00:55:36.719 --> 00:55:41.559
like revelation, colorfool.

588
00:55:41.239 --> 00:55:42.760
To hidden noise.

589
00:55:44.280 --> 00:55:48.400
You spoke with fragments all the teacher, but something underneath

590
00:55:48.639 --> 00:55:52.559
was wrong. No but no cross, no empty tone to shadows,

591
00:55:52.639 --> 00:55:54.320
wearing borrow songs.

592
00:55:55.119 --> 00:56:00.400
I should hear it twisted, I can see it cross with.

593
00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:08.920
Out serender is not crossing sign. You let the cross

594
00:56:08.960 --> 00:56:09.639
out in.

595
00:56:09.480 --> 00:56:11.440
The calls secret worsen.

596
00:56:12.079 --> 00:56:14.360
Lie, you cannot raise the desert.

597
00:56:14.599 --> 00:56:14.960
Lie.

598
00:56:15.320 --> 00:56:18.639
You should wear his name, you should.

599
00:56:18.400 --> 00:56:22.360
Sound why, but you share say.

600
00:56:22.639 --> 00:56:29.360
With the town of it, with the shoun of good.

601
00:56:34.400 --> 00:56:40.880
Few promise sparks inside the darkness, shingdom.

602
00:56:40.400 --> 00:56:42.440
Buried in my veins.

603
00:56:44.360 --> 00:56:49.280
But I have seen what freaking worship when the south

604
00:56:49.880 --> 00:56:51.400
becomes the flame.

605
00:56:52.880 --> 00:56:56.480
No crown of goose, no by broken, no stone roll back,

606
00:56:56.559 --> 00:56:58.039
no victory.

607
00:56:57.760 --> 00:57:01.360
To face it costs us with some trying to read

608
00:57:01.559 --> 00:57:02.480
find the king.

609
00:57:03.599 --> 00:57:07.920
I can do school stud I can see true.

610
00:57:08.320 --> 00:57:14.760
A gospel wisdom, Jesus disney for his life, fun out

611
00:57:14.840 --> 00:57:15.320
the Christ.

612
00:57:15.400 --> 00:57:17.800
I let the gross out.

613
00:57:17.679 --> 00:57:22.239
In the secred words, and hold, I cannot raise the

614
00:57:22.360 --> 00:57:23.239
TAXI lie.

615
00:57:23.719 --> 00:57:26.760
You s can werry his name, you can.

616
00:57:26.760 --> 00:57:32.039
Sell the but you cannot say with a shout of

617
00:57:32.239 --> 00:57:33.519
it hard.

618
00:57:42.280 --> 00:57:48.360
He showed me away can become your salvation fame the

619
00:57:48.599 --> 00:57:56.440
same leave a crucifix, no blood, no mystake, no resurrection, morny,

620
00:57:56.800 --> 00:58:01.400
no lord, no SignAll just a copa right ward.

621
00:58:10.679 --> 00:58:15.280
Not read and things holy, not every ancient voice true

622
00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:17.920
Not every angel brings the message.

623
00:58:18.039 --> 00:58:20.119
Not every lie is breaking through.

624
00:58:20.559 --> 00:58:23.880
That's the spirit, that's the flame, that's the book that

625
00:58:24.119 --> 00:58:25.199
bears his days.

626
00:58:25.360 --> 00:58:29.159
There's no cross, if there's no crave, if there's no Christ.

627
00:58:28.960 --> 00:58:35.079
That show not the Christ.

628
00:58:35.159 --> 00:58:35.480
I know.

629
00:58:36.239 --> 00:58:39.440
You let the cross out in the call sacred words

630
00:58:39.519 --> 00:58:43.360
in all life, you cannot raise the tattoo. I you

631
00:58:43.480 --> 00:58:48.159
should warn his name, You should sound the part. But

632
00:58:48.440 --> 00:58:55.679
you sha'd say with the count of fat hard, the

633
00:58:55.880 --> 00:58:57.840
shout of fath hard.

634
00:59:02.199 --> 00:59:08.159
No secret, no first one.

635
00:59:11.800 --> 00:59:19.079
You came wrapped in sacrepages, du standing from buried graves,

636
00:59:21.480 --> 00:59:28.280
with food like gvelation, calling fools to hidden noise.

637
00:59:29.800 --> 00:59:33.480
You spoke with fragments of the teacher, but something.

638
00:59:33.280 --> 00:59:34.440
Underneath was wrong.

639
00:59:34.639 --> 00:59:38.480
No but no cross, no empty toom, just shadows.

640
00:59:37.960 --> 00:59:42.800
Wearing borrow songs. I can hear it, twist thing, I

641
00:59:42.960 --> 00:59:43.679
can feel it.

642
00:59:43.960 --> 00:59:55.440
Cruel true Swiss absorte. Throw Why not the cross? You

643
00:59:55.599 --> 00:59:58.719
let the cross out in the call? Secret words in

644
00:59:58.800 --> 01:00:03.360
a line, cannot raise the Tentso life you should wear

645
01:00:03.559 --> 01:00:09.119
his name, You should sound apart, but you shan't say

646
01:00:09.719 --> 01:00:10.760
with a show of.

647
01:00:10.880 --> 01:00:14.199
Bed I promise war says signed the dark.

648
01:00:14.519 --> 01:00:16.639
Kingdom, buried in my bay.

649
01:00:17.000 --> 01:00:20.320
I say what I can't wash it when the selfrey

650
01:00:20.480 --> 01:00:21.039
comes up.

651
01:00:21.360 --> 01:00:24.920
No crown or forced, all the three broken, a stroll back,

652
01:00:25.039 --> 01:00:29.199
nobbing to rest station that cost past his wisdom, trying

653
01:00:29.239 --> 01:00:30.840
to ready to find the king.

654
01:00:31.840 --> 01:00:37.480
Twisting, I can feeling cruel gospel without Jesus.

655
01:00:38.119 --> 01:00:39.400
This is the honest line.

656
01:00:43.599 --> 01:00:49.280
I sign the sound in the secret words.

657
01:00:49.079 --> 01:00:51.760
His life, and chant yours the tent.

658
01:00:52.960 --> 01:00:57.159
You should wear his name, you should sound the part.

659
01:00:57.719 --> 01:01:00.519
But you cannot say with the.

660
01:01:01.960 --> 01:01:09.719
Heart, no secret key, no hed and spark, no false

661
01:01:09.760 --> 01:01:15.679
sight inside the dog. Give me the lamb, give me

662
01:01:15.880 --> 01:01:20.320
the gars, Give me the king who conquered the grave.