ELITIST KNOWLEDGE

Introduction

Some people want to appear smarter than they really are. They are based on perception rather than substance. They have rejected the law of God and have sought to establish their own law. This is, of course, a demonic quest. These people have accepted the myth of neutrality. At the presupposition level, they believe that there is elite knowledge that only the enlighten can have revealed to them because they are special. They are essentially full of pride.

They do not accept what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:1, "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." The Amplified Bible gives the meaning of this verse, "Now about food offered to idols; of course we know that all of us possess knowledge (concerning these matters. Yet mere) knowledge causes people to be puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow (to his full stature)." Paul is not saying that ignorance is more important than knowledge. What he is saying that mere knowledge, of the head, without the attitude of love makes one demonic, in regard, to knowledge.

Application

First, one has to understand what is meant by biblical love. Love revolves around two things. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 22:34-40, "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Love, whether toward God or toward one’s neighbor is always defined by God’s law. Those with true knowledge, as opposed to snobbish knowledge, think analogically (thank you Cornelius Van Til for that tidbit) that is their knowledge is God’s knowledge interpreted in balance and context i.e. according to the rules of grammar.

The alternative to parallel thinking would be exclusive thinking. A parallel means that there is something that is being imitated. Private thinking means that it is not being reproduced from another source, but it is rather being made up by the individual to the exclusion of established rules. In other words, they make it up as they go. This Genesis 3:5 right out in the open, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." These are the words of the master of supposed of elite knowledge, the devil. He promises the world and delivers on nothing. He tells people that they can interpret the Bible and anything else they wish and not be subject to the laws of grammar and historical context. In other words, any interpretation of anything is not subject to any set rules or laws.

The devil realizes the importance of beginnings. Either laws have been established or they are made up as we think best. In other words, it comes down to whom is the source of the law. This is the law of origin. This establishes everything that we come into contact with. What we believe about the origin of anything will determine our interpretation of the phenomenon that we encounter on a daily basis. All things are interpreted on a theological basis.

Since there is no neutrality and there is antithesis, things can only be looked at from two perspectives and we will fall out on one side or the other. While most will try to mix the two together, they will essentially end up being sterile as any mule. We will either believe that the world was created by God, who established physical, soul, and spiritual laws or matter is eternal and the cosmos is here by chance i.e. an accident without meaning or purpose. There are no other alternatives. Their names are legion who seek to mix and match at this point. Those who believe that all is black or white are few and far between.

Someone who is characterized by superior knowledge, in their eyes, will seek to impress others with their supposed vast amount of knowledge. They may go so far as to claim to be experts. We all know that academia is not subject to the market system. They are protected, by law, from competition. This means that their ideas are not going to be put to the test. The are exempt from the consequences of their beliefs and yet they believe that what they have to say will actually work in the real world. Back where I come from we call them fools i.e. stupid.

This stupidity stems from the fact that they believe that they can superimpose what they think and make it work upon laws that were established way before they appeared upon the scene. These are educated idiots. All education is, therefore, not the same. One can be educated in the truth or in elitist (demonic) knowledge. One characteristic of elitist knowledge is that it seeks to be exhaustive. In other words, those who seek absolute knowledge are doomed to failure because they cannot know everything. Only the Creator of all things has this knowledge. In other words, there is only One God, not many.

What is extremely dangerous is when elitist thinking is prevalent of those who claim to be Christians. This type of thinking is dominant in the Pentecostal, Apostolic and Charismatic Movements. They throw their intellect out at the door. They make the church and God’s word open to elitist interpretation. The same holds true for Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah Witness, and the Mormons. Also, classified in this group would be Evangelicals who hold to the Pre-Millennial doctrine. Each of these interpret the Bible according to elite interpretation rather than established rules of grammar.

The rules of grammar do not change. They do not and have not for years. Man, not wanting to accept these rules, goes about seeking a change to them, by claiming that something has been lost and he is seeking to restore what has been lost. How convenient this is for him who seeks to be a revisionist and how many people will swallow his slop hook, line, and sinker? Their names are legion. They are Peter said in his epistle 2 Peter 2:22, "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." They enjoy the vomit of elitism and had the truth washed them, they prefer to wallow around in the mire of being snobbish.

A prime example is the Pre-Millennial belief of the seven church ages. These are the same people that tell you that they believe in a literal hermeneutic and yet in the book of Revelation and for that matter the entire Bible, there is no mention of seven church ages. They had to put this in there from their own rules of interpretation. In other words, they have jettisoned the rules of grammar that they accept for everything else but the Bible. In other words, they make the Bible say what they want it to say rather than what it actually says. This is an attitude of a snob who thinks he knows better and refuses to submit himself to rules higher than himself. This is the epitome of pride. No humbleness here.

They have forgotten what God has said to them in 1 Peter 5:5-6, "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." Elitist knowledge is proud knowledge and leads to God resisting them. For all the rapture fever and sensationalism that we have seen, these false prophets of end times have egg all about their faces and yet tell us they know the truth. They are the proverbial emperor with no clothes. Do not tell them though because they will assure you they are properly addressed. No use in correcting a fool in his folly. Remember, he has inside information that others do not possess because he is better than everyone else.

Revelation 1:4 reads, "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne." The author of the book of Revelation, John, tells us who he was writing this book to the seven churches whose geographical location was in Asia. The rules of grammar would force us to believe that John was writing the book of Revelation to these contemporary churches who were located in Asia. This is the literal interpretation of this verse. In fact, this is very straightforward. There is no secret knowledge that only the enlightened would understand and the masses could not figure out on their own.

Pre-Millennial thinking is false doctrine. In fact, it is demonic thinking, all in the name of Jesus. This is because it has to be read into the word of God because one does not come away from reading the word of God and find it contained therein. In other words, it is totally make believe. It is a fairy tale. It is the way that man wants things to be rather than the way that it actually is. The vast majority of people in the church world are Pre-Millennial.

Your eschatology drives your theology. What you believe about the future determines what you will do in the present. What are those who believe in the imminent rapture doing in the present? They are living a Post-Millennial life. Paul challenged Peter at this point in Galatians 2:11-14,"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" In other words, "How can you a Pre-Millennial live like a Post-Millennial?" The way that they do it is called hypocrisy.

Conclusion

If this true and it is, then it follows that all elitist thinking is hypocrisy right out in the open. All men have their limitations. To seek exhaustive knowledge is a quest that is the equivalent of seeking the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Christians are enjoined to redeem the time, not waste it. Elitist knowledge, therefore, is a huge waste of time. Once again, we do not need to know something exhaustively, just truly.

Elitist knowledge is constantly in a state of flux. This is because one elite will eventually replace another elite. Intellectuals come and they go and none has been any closer to the truth than the other one. One generation comes and another goes. Elitists believe that they have special knowledge above the masses but in reality they are wearing a different dress, but underneath, it is the same old mess.

Solomon has already told us that there is nothing new under the sun. Why should it be any different in our day and time? Presuppositions do not change, no matter how they are disguised to be a formulation of something not previously discovered. Elitist knowledge is code for an utopian world. It is fantasy thinking right out in the open. It is not useful knowledge. It is used merely to build one’s ego. It is an attempt to be what someone is not, nor ever can be. The best advice is to avoid it like the plague.