We talked a little bit about an interesting character Luke introduced us to in chapter 8 of Acts named “Simon” from Samaria. Church fathers who wrote about him called him Simon “Magus” (Magic). There are a surprising number of apocryphal stories as well as substantive descriptions and refutations of Simon’s false teachings and the practices of his “Simonian” followers in various writings of the earliest Christians.
The consensus seemed to be that Simon did not repent, despite the harsh rebuke and prophetic warning from the Apostle Peter. And if Simon really did convert, he committed apostasy quickly thereafter. In fact, some sources say Simon simply incorporated certain elements of Christian doctrine, namely “water and fire” baptisms and blended it with his own fairly elaborate gnostic teachings.
Church fathers like Justin Martyr and Iranaeus tell us that the Simonians worshiped Simon as a sort of hybrid of God, the Father and Zeus, and his female consort, Helena, they revered as the Greek goddess, Athena. These two were viewed as a sort of embodiment of the divine binary of male and female and the source of life itself.
Some writings claim that they fused with a cult that revered John the Baptist over Jesus led by another Samaritan named Dositheus. Dositheus was known as “the standing one”, another title perhaps for what Luke said Simon was called which was “the great power.”
Origen, another church father, claims that by his time, the Simonians were all but extinct as a group, although he said there were still about thirty cult members during his time. Origen also wrote, “it is now plain as daylight that Simon was nothing divine.”
However, a Bishop as late as the seventh century wrote about the threat of a group that seemed to have descended from the followers of Dositheus and Simon and he even wrote corrective epistles against their heresies.
Even to this day, there is a sect called the “Mandaeans” that seemed to originate in Iran and has current followers in Iraq, but more recently, in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and other western countries. They revere John the Baptist or “Yahya” as their chief prophet! Ritual baptism is a centerpiece of their religious practices. They are thought to be the oldest surviving gnostic religious group in the world.
The Mandaeans have a sacred dialect that is a variation of Aramaic that only about 200 people on earth can read, write or speak. Their word for “knowledge” is “manda”, from which the name “Mandaeans” is derived. They have a number of writings they consider Scripture and one of them claims to be about John the Baptizer. A number of their gnostic scriptures were discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt back in the 1940’s and are currently residing in a library in Cairo. An American professor named Dr. James McGrath translated “The Mandaean Book of John” which I read, and it was a wild ride. So much of it is so mysterious and confusing, but a number of elements are particularly fascinating and troubling at the same time.
For instance, multiple times the “Mandaean Jesus” approaches John to be baptized in the Jordan river. Jesus asks to be John’s disciple and promises if John will baptize him, he will write about him in his “epistle.” John refuses until finally a voice from heaven says; “Baptize that deceiver.” Not only that, the Holy Spirit is referred to with female pronouns, and is also seen as a deceiver of sorts. On top of all that, the creator of this world, or “demiurge” as gnostics refer to Him, is a bungling and evil God who is inferior to a different transcendent Almighty God of light. Interestingly, the demiurge is referred to as “Adonai” which is the Hebrew word for “Lord”, obviously referring to the Yahweh of the Bible. So, even though they are sometimes referred to as a “Christian Gnostic” group, they actually deny the true divinity of the entire Biblical Trinitarian Godhead.
Even more strange is the teaching that inspires the bulk of their religious ritual practices. The river Jordan is referred to in the plural often, and their ritual purification for many different defilements must take place in a “Jordan” with “living water.” That phrase “living water” is used again and again.
Thank God for the internet, because there are videos of these ceremonies on youtube. The Mandaeans dress in white garments, descend into the water of some river near to them, they splash “living” or “moving” water upon themselves a number of times, and then they cup that water with their hand and drink it! The ritual concludes with them placing a piece of a myrtle tree branch under their turban or veil and patting their heads repeatedly, as if to ensure it will not fall but stay securely pressed in place.
Dr. Amots Dafni from Haifa University in Israel says; “In many cultures, myrtle symbolizes many sublime virtues and supernatural powers such as; Immortality and eternity were associated with this shrub in Iran.”
This is just my theory, but I believe that because the Mandaeans are “Gnostics”, which means they deify secret supernaturally conveyed knowledge, this part of the ritual is a reminder that their eternal life is completely dependent on the secret/sacred knowledge they believe they possess.
In my research I didn’t come across anyone that connected the following dots, so I will just throw my ideas out there as food for thought.
If multiple sources among the “church fathers” made such a big deal out of the false conversion or rapid onset apostasy of “Simon Magus” in their writings,
And they claimed he not only failed to repent, per Peter’s strong words, but actually doubled down on his claims to divinity,
And that this same Simon Magus assumed leadership of another heretical “Samaritan John the Baptist cult” after a Samaritan cult leader named Dositheus (specifically mentioned as having cult members even into the seventh century) died,
And that a key feature of the “Simonians” supernatural claims were that as devotees were baptized in water they would also receive a special “power” that would manifest as “fire”,
And that the followers of Simon believed by means of their secret knowledge, they would bypass the inferior creator God (Yahweh) to ascend into the “light”,
And that Simon, who Luke tells us was baptized himself, while “following along” would have heard Philip, the evangelist obediently repeating the words of Jesus as he immersed hundreds of new believers:
“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!”
It does not seem like a stretch to me to believe that the mysterious Mandaean religion, scriptures and rituals might have been influenced in some way by the very person Dr. Luke tells us about, and whom multiple church fathers warned their people about repeatedly and passionately.
Remember this little proverb?
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
It’s very wrong, even at face value, however if we expand on this saying and modify it, the level of its wrongness comes into sharp focus.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but persuasive words that communicate seductive but spiritually toxic ideas can never hurt me.”
I find it so striking that “winds of doctrine” can continually move people into deception and even damnation. The short account of Philip and Simon Magus that Luke shares with us is a cautionary tale, and it reminds us of the lovingly stern words of our Savior;
Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Being fearful and suspicious of every Bible teacher is not the proper way to obey the commandment above, but rather, the purpose of Valley Christian Church can be our “North Star”, guiding us and keeping us on the path of life.
We exist to know Jesus and to make Him known.
PRN: Father, we adore You, Lord Jesus, we worship You, Holy Spirit, we honor You. We are so grateful for Your guidance and leadership. We want to keep our eyes on You as we run the race you have set out for us. Please guard us from all deception and help us to lovingly lead others in your Truth as well. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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