text: The Gospel of Judas is all over the news. It has been hugely promoted by \nthe National Geographic Society, which funded its reconstruction and \ntranslation, and has been trumpeted by practically every major news \npublication in the world. USA Today's front-page headline is typical: \n"Long-lost gospel of Judas casts 'traitor' in new light."\n\nUntil recently this gnostic gospel was thought to have been lost and was \nknown only through Irenaeus' late second century condemnation thereof in \nhis Refutation of All Heresies, but a copy from the third or fourth \ncentury that was found in Egypt a few decades ago was purchased and \nrestored. The translation of the fragmentary writing was published on \nApril 6.\n\nThe Gospel of Judas presents Judas in a positive light as the only \ndisciple who truly understood Jesus and who betrayed Him only because he \nwas asked to do so.\n\nAccording to Irenaeus, it was produced by the Egyptian Cainite Gnostics \nwho claimed that Cain, Esau, the Sodomites, Korah, Judas, and other \nvillains of biblical history were actually enlightened heroes who \nvaliantly kept the gnosis or knowledge of the truth alive. According to \nthis cult, a god named Hystera created the world and another deity \ncalled "Sophia" allegedly assisted the aforementioned people (Refutation \nof All Heresies, book I, chapter 31, \nhttp://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix...\n\nThe Gospel of Judas begins with the words, "The secret account of the \nrevelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot." Jesus \nallegedly tells Judas that the world was created in a manner different \nthan the account in Genesis and that "an evil god named Nebro rules the \nlower world of humans." Judas is the "thirteenth spirit" who was \nappointed to release Jesus from the physical body in which he was \ntrapped. The Jesus of the Gospel of Judas laughs a lot, even laughing at \nthe way the disciples pray and praise God. In this strange writing it is \nJudas rather than Jesus who is glorified by entering a "luminous cloud."\n\nThe Gnostic Jesus described in the Gospel of Judas is not Almighty God \nor the Creator of the world, does not die for man's sin, and does not \nrise bodily from the dead. It is no gospel at all.\n\nEgypt was a hotbed of heresy and fanaticism in the early centuries after \nChrist. Many other strange "gospels" originated there, including the \nGospel of Thomas that purports to give details of Christ's childhood \n(such as giving life to a dried fish and causing the death of one of his \nplaymates).\n\nEgypt also gave us the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus codexes and the handful \nof similar New Testament manuscripts that contain an Alexandrian type of \ntext preferred by modern textual critics and the translators of the \nmodern Bible versions.\n\n"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old \nordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God \ninto lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus \nChrist" (Jude 4).\n\n"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there \nshall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable \nheresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon \nthemselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious \nways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" (2 \nPet. 2:1-2). \n\nTo know more, click here...\nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/bibletruths_forbelievers/