Yes. Abundant references to the Gnostics doing so from NT times onward, both in Irenaeus and Justin Martyr. It's what they were quite famous for actually.
Their testimony is about a much later time. Context indicates these are TARES among the wheat:
Jude identified them when he points to those God saved, but afterward destroyed because they did not believe.
Same implication when he speaks of the angels, they were of God but then became ungodly with lewdness leaving their proper abode for lust.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord (
1203 δεσπότης despotes) God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this,
that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
6 And
the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; (Jude 1:4-6 NKJ)
They weren't "another group" in their midst. They were rebels against God claiming to be
Christian. The congregation knew whose these rebels were, "certain men" is all he needs to say to identify them.
They were "lawless", their Master (
1203 δεσπότης despotes) was not God, their lawlessness proved God was not their Master nor Jesus Christ their King.
They remind me of the TARES who worked Christian like miracles Christ said would appear:
21 "Not everyone who says to Me,`Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me in that day,`Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will declare to them,`I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matt. 7:21-23 NKJ)
These secretly crept in because Satan sowed them in secret:
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 "but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 "But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 "So the servants of the owner came and said to him,`Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "He said to them,`An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him,`Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
29 "But he said,`No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 `Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
...
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:24-42 NKJ)
Another identifier, "false prophets among the people" were prophesied to come by the apostls:
17 But you, beloved, remember the words which
were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time
who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
19 These are sensual persons,
who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. (Jude 1:17-19 NKJ)
:1 But there were also
false prophets among the people, even as
there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their destructive ways,
because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Pet. 2:1-3 NKJ)
The deny Christ by their lawlessness, not by outright denial because Peter says "because of them" Christianity will be blasphemed. So they claim to be Christians.
They aren't Gnostics, just TARES among the Wheat doing what children of the devil always do, rebel against God's law.
Its possible Montanism sprang from them, or other heretical groups like them.
"Montanism, also known as the New Prophecy, was a Christian movement that emerged in the second century CE and was led by a man named Montanus. The movement was characterized by its emphasis on prophecy, ecstatic experiences, and the expectation of the imminent end of the world.
The orthodox Christian Church of the time did not accept Montanism as a legitimate expression of the faith and considered it to be a heresy. This was due in part to the fact that Montanus and his followers claimed to have new revelations from God that superseded the teachings of the apostles and the established doctrines of the Church.
In addition, the Montanist movement was characterized by a rejection of institutional authority and a belief in the direct communication of divine truth to individuals. This challenged the authority and hierarchical structure of the Church, which saw itself as the custodian and interpreter of Christian tradition.
The controversy surrounding Montanism continued for several centuries, and the movement was eventually suppressed and disappeared. Today, Montanism is generally considered a heretical movement, although some scholars have sought to re-evaluate its teachings and place it within the context of early Christian history.-ChatGPT"
