A Serious Warning About Episkopos and His Teaching
I believe it is time to give a serious warning about
Episkopos and what he is teaching on this forum.
I am not writing this because I dislike the man, and I am not calling every disagreement between Christians false teaching. Christians can disagree over many things. But there comes a point where the gospel itself is being changed, and when that happens Christians are supposed to speak up.
I believe Episkopos has crossed that line.
John warned that there were already “many antichrists” in his day (1 John 2:18). He said, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). John also wrote, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2 John 9).
I am not calling Episkopos the Antichrist spoken of in prophecy. I am saying the doctrine of Christ and the gospel cannot be rewritten. When a man changes what Christ accomplished or teaches another way of salvation, Christians need to recognize what is happening.
On July 23, Episkopos wrote:
His post:
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/reviving-biblical-christianity-the-way-part-2.76263/post-2291836
Those are his words, not mine. Yet Acts 13:38 says, “through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus Himself said His blood was “shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
So when Episkopos says Jesus did not come to forgive sins and the cross is not about forgiveness, who are we going to believe, Episkopos or Jesus Christ?
Episkopos also wrote:
He continued:
His post:
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/reviving-biblical-christianity-the-way-part-2.76263/post-2295067
Romans 4 says the opposite. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Paul then says God “imputeth righteousness without works” (Romans 4:5-6).
God says righteousness is imputed without works. Episkopos says the only thing God can impute is what we ourselves produce and calls the kingdom a “meritocracy.” Both cannot be true.
On August 24 he made it even clearer:
Then:
His post:
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/reviving-biblical-christianity-the-way-part-2.76263/post-2307038
But Romans 3:28 says, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 4:5 says God justifies “him that worketh not.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says salvation is “through faith...not of works.”
James does not contradict Paul. Abraham believed God and righteousness was counted to him in Genesis 15:6. His later obedience in Genesis 22 demonstrated that his faith was real. Works show living faith. They are not another way for an ungodly sinner to earn justification before God.
What concerns me even more is what Episkopos has said about salvation outside of faith in Jesus Christ:
He also wrote:
His post:
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/reviving-biblical-christianity-the-way-part-2.76263/post-2308094
Read that carefully. He is teaching salvation “whatever the religious belief is” and saying “God doesn't care what our beliefs are.”
Jesus certainly cared.
“He that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18).
“If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Peter said of Jesus, “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12). John said, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).
There is no room in those verses for salvation regardless of religious belief. A person who rejects the Son does not have the Father. Good works do not create another road to eternal life.
A man can say true things about Jesus and still preach a false gospel. Episkopos may say he believes Jesus is God, but that does not give him permission to deny what Christ accomplished on the cross or invent another way of salvation.
Paul said, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
There is another reason people here should be very careful with his teaching. Episkopos makes extraordinary claims about his own spiritual authority. He wrote that he was “transported into Zion to walk in the light as He is in the light.” He then said:
He also said:
His post:
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/reviving-biblical-christianity-the-way-part-2.76263/post-2307752
That should not impress Christians. It should make us test his teaching even more carefully.
A man can claim God spoke to him, transported him somewhere, gave him mysteries, or taught him directly. None of those claims prove anything. Scripture says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).
How do we test what Episkopos claims? We open the Bible.
The Holy Spirit does not contradict the Word He inspired. When someone's claimed spiritual experience says one thing and Scripture says another, Scripture wins every time.
That is why I believe Episkopos should be regarded as a false teacher. I am not saying that because he disagrees with me. I am saying it because his own words repeatedly contradict clear Scripture concerning the cross, justification, salvation, and the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ.
He says Jesus did not come to forgive sins, while Scripture says forgiveness of sins is preached through Jesus. He rejects vicarious imputation and calls God's kingdom a meritocracy, while Scripture says God imputes righteousness without works. He says God justifies by works as well as faith, while Scripture says God justifies the ungodly who believes apart from works. He teaches salvation regardless of religious belief, while Jesus says no man comes to the Father except through Him.
Then he tells people his authority comes from heaven, that the Holy Spirit taught him directly, and that he has been permitted to understand mysteries few people know.
That combination should concern every Christian on this forum.
False teaching does not normally announce itself as false teaching. It often comes wrapped in Bible verses, spiritual language, claims of deeper understanding, talk about holiness, and claims of special revelation. Paul warned about “another Jesus,” “another spirit,” and “another gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4).
I am not asking anyone to take my word for it. I have given the links to Episkopos's own posts. Read them for yourself and then open your Bible. Put his words beside Romans 3 and 4, John 3, John 14, Acts 4, Ephesians 1 and 2, and 1 John.
Then decide which one you are going to believe.
When someone changes the gospel, Christians should not stay quiet because they are afraid of being called judgmental or unloving. Souls are at stake.
Episkopos needs to repent of these teachings and come back under the authority of the written Word of God. Until he does, Christians on this forum need to test everything he teaches against Scripture before believing any of it.
www.christianityboard.com
