Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
The symbolism of the second coming of Elijah is a Jewish interpretation, not a Christian one.
No jew expected Elijah to be reincarnated, case in point the account of the transfiguration where Elijah and Moses show up.
No, I would not agree that gnosticism predated orthodox Christianity.
The first generation and second generation Christians were, most definitely not gnostic.
I'm not condoning any particular belief, just pointing out things that Jesus said, that many people seem to be very uncomfortable with.
John the Baptist was executed before the transfiguration on the mount, so even if that is taken literally, it doesn't prove anything one way or another. My main point being that Jesus DID NOT conform to orthodox Jewish thought, even though it was his culture and religion. He had some very different ideas.

I would agree that the Gnostic were most likely not of the first church established by Jesus and the apostles, but there are certainly Gnostic themes in the synoptic gospels and some Gnostic literature is as old as the first century. The Roman Catholic Orthodoxy did not exist before the Council of Nicaea, Gnostic Christian practice is older than this.

Frankly, there is no existing church which truly carries on directly from Christ. Everything is a blend of various religions and cultures, like the so called Orthodox churches, or a reconstruction, as the Protestant churches.