In Matthew 16 Jesus was walking into the region of Caesarea Philippi and asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” It is interesting how differently people viewed Jesus even while He was walking on the Earth in the flesh. What Jesus was doing in this moment was asking looking into their foundation of their faith. Jesus didn’t ask them what the people thought of Him as to see if they like Him or what do you think His spiritual gift was –but who He was.
It is eye-opening when you dive into who the spiritual cults and false teachings out there, and see who they say Jesus Christ is. It speaks volumes as to their spiritual foundation and into the beliefs that they hold. Here are the synopses of some of the major cults beliefs into who Jesus is:
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES – Jesus is a created being, Michael the Archangel, the first and greatest creation of Jehovah and hence the son of God.
MORMONISM (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) – Jesus is a pre-existent spirit, one of many gods. He is the spirit brother of Lucifer. He was not begotten by the Holy Spirit, but through sexual relations between the Father and the Virgin Mary and born in Jerusalem.
ARMSTRONGISM – Jesus is part of the Godhead (or God family) and men may become like Jesus and become part of the God Family Sons of God. There is no Trinity, nor is the Holy Spirit a person.
THE BAHA’I FAITH – Jesus was one of many manifestations (or prophets) of the divine. He was only the way and the truth for His time – not for all time.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE – Jesus was a mere man who demonstrated the Christ idea (or divine idea). It doesn’t matter whether Christ ever existed and that blood does not cleanse from sin.
THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT – Jesus was an enlightened master who somehow became the Christ. As to how He became the Christ, no one knows.
SCIENTOLOGY – Christ is a man who achieved a state of clear, but not the higher state of “Operating Thetan” Man, by the process of working through levels of self-knowledge, is able to regain total godhood.
THE UNIFICATION CHURCH (Rev. Sun Myung Moon) – Jesus is a perfect man who failed to fully save us. His efforts redeemed us spiritually, not physically. His death upon Calvary’s cross was not part of God’s plan, this he failed in his earthly mission. Rev. Moon (regarded to be the second coming of Christ) has come to complete what Jesus left unfinished.
UNITARIANS – Jesus was a man who believed in one God not the Trinity. Jesus is no more than a great prophet.
UNITY SCHOOL OF CHRISTIANITY – Jesus was a perfect man indwelt by the Christ Consciousness present in every human.
THE WAY INTERNATIONAL – Jesus Christ is not inferior to God and did not exist before his birth in Bethlehem.
WICCANS (witches) – Jesus was part of the male-dominated religious system. He did not have a divine nature, and some wiccans say He was a witch.
How can Jesus be all these things? How can He be any of these things? It may be logical that Jesus can be either one of these things, or none of them all. But it’s not about being logical; it’s about what the truth is. The truth that men seek is found in the Bible: the Word of God.
In Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
How did Peter get this? Did it just pop in his brain? Did he deduct in his reasoning that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God? No. God revealed this to Peter, and it was on the cornerstone of this truth that Jesus built His church (Matthew 16:18).
If you were to go back and find the cornerstone or foundation of the cults listed above, what would you find? If you narrowed each of these religions to their fundamental core belief, who or what would it be? Sometimes it’s a person, place, thing, idea. Other times it is using human intellect to explain a supernatural phenomenon. But none of them are foundational to God and His Word, nor consistant with historical findings in archeology.
What is the foundation of your faith and beliefs? How is that foundation holding up the rest of the organization?
Pens & Wrenches 
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