John's Story by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page A

both his friends, as if they knew instinctively that such heresy might make him bolt. He shuddered. Jesus is the Christ! I know it! I know it! I knew Him! I know Him still.
    “I do not come to tickle your ears,” Cerinthus continued. “I speak plainly so you may understand. Though I have studied long under divine instruction and may be considered an educated man, I do not set myself above you. I will not mislead you. I tell you clearly that I deny the claims of the divinity of Jesus made by many of His followers. He never said He was the Christ. He never claimed Godship for Himself.”
    Liar! Jesus told me Himself that He and His Father were one!
    Someone from the crowd called out, “But what of the teachings of the missionary Paul?” And John was proud of whoever that was, while yet hoping it was not a member of his church. Oh, that true followers of Jesus would ignore this man!
    “Again,” Cerinthus said, “I speak not to gain popularity but to tell the truth. I regard Paul as apostate. He clearly taught that Christ existed before the foundation of the world, but I say that only matter is eternal and a product of the Deity. Material things constitute the body of the Creator God. Creation, the world, is then the transformation of what preexisted, and that does not include the Man Jesus.
    “God created the universe by His wisdom, a demiurgic hand, not through another entity, another being, another person.”
    Not true! Jesus was with God from the beginning, and it was Jesus Himself who created all things!
    “What is he saying, master?” Polycarp said. “I thought a demiurge was a Greek magistrate.”
    “No, no,” John said. “The Gnostics believe the Demiurge is a deity who created the world out of chaos and originated evil.”
    Cerinthus said, “I can see the puzzlement on your faces. Let me explain. Our universe is made up of two realms, the good and the evil. The Son of God, the Christ, rules over the realm of the good, and to Him is given the world to come. But the Prince of Evil is the prince of this world. The Christ resides between God and His creation, thus He is not a creature, but still not equal to or even comparable to the Father.”
    John quivered and moaned, clenching his teeth to keep from crying out.
    “The union of Christ with Jesus is a mystery,” Cerinthus intoned.
    It is not! They are one and the same!
    Ignatius leaned in and whispered to John. “No wonder people’s ears are tickled by this nonsense: people do not want to accept that they cannot save themselves. They do not want their salvation to rest in the grace of God. They’d rather believe this and play a role in their own destinies.”
    Someone else spoke up, and John turned to try to see him because the voice was familiar. Polycarp did the same and whispered to Ignatius, “He’s one of ours!”
    “How, then,” the man said, “is a man saved from his sins? For Jesus to die for our sins, He had to be the Christ.”
    “No, no,” Cerinthus said. “You see, man is saved by knowledge, by believing in the Teacher, God, and by being baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Thus he receives knowledge and strength to be able to obey the law. I am telling you a revelation of Christ and His apostles.”
    John could contain himself no longer. “I am one of those apostles,” he shouted, “and you, sir, are misinformed! Gaining the knowledge and strength to obey the law will leave one still under the bondage of his sin! You cannot work to save yourself!”
    The crowd stirred, but Cerinthus quieted them, squinted through the mist, and smiled condescendingly. “You are one of the apostles?”
    “A disciple! I knew Jesus personally.”
    “Indeed? If that is true, you are the only one who remains, and that would make you John.”
    “I am he.”
    Cerinthus bowed. “I greet you with humble respect, if you are to be believed.”
    “It is true,” Polycarp said, “and I vouch for him.”
    “And who might you be? Mary of