Beginning with the knowledge that Christianity is in fact
Messianic Judaism, I became interested in finding out what had happened to the
Jewishness of our faith. From the very
beginning, the hatred by Satan of 'God's people', was evident by the false
doctrines 'of man' that were rampant throughout the history of God's people, even
from the time of Abraham and Moses. The Jewishness of Christianity was determined
by 'The Jew Jesus', who said He had come to the Jew first.
Where does Christian history begin? It is documented that
Jesus was "born" in a year between 6BC to 3BC, in Bethlehem Ephrata
of Judea. Today would be the year 2014
in the Julian calendar and 5775 in the Hebrew calendar. Researchers tracked the 'Christmas star' to
reveal the date of Christ's birth as June 17.[1] Scientists have, through geological study of
earthquakes, determined that Jesus was crucified on April 3, 33AD (Hebrew
calendar 3793).[2] We do need to take the scientific
determinations with a grain of salt, because there seems to be a discrepancy of
billions of years for the age of the earth; Bible vs. Evolution.
The One True and Apostolic Church lasted until the Apostle
John died, in Ephesus, in his 90's. Since he was the last apostle alive, the Apostolic
Church Age ended. As the Apostle John
wrote late in his life, we know his writings contain the early church truth,
especially since his writings verify what the others apostles wrote. In 100 AD, we can see that apostasy had crept into
the church, because Justin Martyr was an anti-Semite. This is when the "replacement
theology" theory began. Replacement
Theology is the theory, that the Christians have replaced the Jews in the
promises of God. It is significant that
this abomination hadn't crept into the Church until all of the apostolic eyewitnesses
were dead.
In the early church, the Jews didn't give up their Judaism
when they were 'Born Again'. When some
of the Christian Jews wanted to have the gentile converts be circumcised, the
Apostles said they could come in without fulfilling that part of the law,
because Jesus was the fulfillment of the law.
Jews and Gentiles alike became circumcised in the heart, rather than the
flesh. Jews were not converted; they
were completed, by being 'Born Again'. Gentiles were converted. Gentile means 'unbeliever', so there is no
such thing as a gentile Christian, which would mean 'an unbelieving Christian'. Gentiles became 'Born Again' believers and
therefore grafted into the root of Judaism.
The name Christian wasn't even used before 35AD, when it was meant as a
slur.
Throughout history, the Christians have been blamed for the
majority of anti-Semitism. What people
fail to realize is that it was not Christianity that was anti-Semitic, but
rather some misguided denominations who called themselves Christians. The crusades and the inquisition were
conducted by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Nazi's claimed to be Christian, but in reality were Occultists. In 100AD, Justin Martyr claimed the covenant
between God and Israel was no longer valid. The Bible says that Gods covenants are irrevocable.
In 130 AD, Irenaeus said the Jews were
disinherited from the grace of God. Irenaeus,
was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. Only Satan could mess up the truth that
quickly. We can't know where these
people got their ideas, but we do know they were not expounding what is in the
Word of God.
"The first Christians met together, mainly in houses,
to exercise the spiritual gifts described in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 and to
have a meal together to remember their Lord, Acts 2 v 46. If you walked into a
meeting in early church times you would be hard pressed to find who the leaders
were. The leaders had no title as Jesus had forbidden them to have one, Matthew
23 vs. 1-12. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, (note not THE Pastor
), and teachers, were simply there to make sure that every believer was
fulfilling their ministry, Ephesians 4 vs. 11,12, NOT to do their ministry for
them! Under the new covenant the Bible states that ALL believers are priests, 1
Peter 2 vs. 5,9. Revelation 1 vs. 4-6. 1 Peter 5 vs. 1-4 describes how leaders
are to behave and Jesus sets an example for us all in John 13 vs. 1-15. Luke 9
vs. 46-48 and Luke 22 vs. 24-27 describe how we can be great in the kingdom of
God!
Over the centuries these
Biblical principles were abandoned and a system was introduced whereby leaders
in the Church became known as the clergy and the rest were called the laity.
The same meaning applies to Pastor and flock, Minister and congregation,
Leading Elder and believers etc… The title may change but the same principle
remains - the leaders are active, the rest of the church are passive. The
faithful roll up for services or meetings to hear a message or sermon, sing
hymns, say prayers. Some may even be privileged to take part in some way, or to
take turns with the ministry. All this is a far cry from what happened in the
New Testament Church as recorded in the Bible." [3]
Jesus said He hated the Nicolaitanes, who in their pride,
put on airs and ruled the people by assuming authority not given to church
workers. Their priests lorded over the
people they were supposed to be serving and were apparently using the clothing
styles of the Hebrew high priests; to set them above the people. Jesus said
"He who would be first, should be a servant".[4]
"Revelation 2:6, where Jesus told the church of
Ephesus, "But this thou hast [in your favor], that thou hates the deeds of
the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate." Jesus was proud of the church of
Ephesus for their "hatred" of the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which He
also "hated." The word "hate" is a strong word, so let's
see exactly what it means. It comes from the Greek word miseo, which means to hate,
to abhor, or to find utterly repulsive. It describes a person who has a
deep-seated animosity, who is antagonistic to something he finds to be
completely objectionable. He not only loathes that object, but rejects it
entirely. This is not just a case of dislike; it is a case of actual
hatred."[5]
"The state church of the
Roman Empire was established on 27 February 380 with the Edict of Thessalonica, when Emperor Theodosius
I made Nicene Christianity the Empire's
sole authorized religion. Unlike Constantine
I, who with the Edict of Milan of 313 had established tolerance for
Christianity without placing it above other religions and whose involvement in matters of the
Christian faith extended to convoking councils of bishops who were to
determine doctrine and to presiding at their meetings, but not to determining
doctrine himself, Theodosius established a single Christian doctrine, which he
specified as that professed by Pope
Damasus I of Rome and Pope Peter II of Alexandria, as the
state's official religion.
Catholic
doctrine teaches that the Catholic
Church was founded by Jesus Christ. It interprets the Confession of Peter
as acknowledging Christ's designation of Apostle
Peter and his successors to be the temporal head of his Church. Thus, it
asserts that the Bishop of Rome has the sole legitimate claim to
Petrine authority and the primacy due to the Roman Pontiff. The
Catholic Church claims legitimacy for its bishops and priests via the doctrine
of apostolic succession and authority
of the Pope via the unbroken line of popes, claimed as successors to
Simon Peter."[6]
The first Popes as claimed by the Roman Catholic Church -
St. Peter (33-67)
St. Linus (67-76)
St. Anacletus (76-88)
St. Clement (88-97)
St. Evaristus (97-105)
Why would Linus have been made Pope, if Matthew, Jude and
John were still alive? Was it like the
Hebrews who decided they would rather have a king, than to be ruled directly by
God? Some of the Apostolic books hadn't
even been written by that time.
James was the Leader of the Jerusalem
Church. Despite attempts to suppress the fact, the primary
sources show that James was the brother of
Jesus. Just as in the case of James' blood relationship to Jesus, Christian
tradition have tried various
explanations to minimize the role of James in the early church, but a critical
evaluation of the primary sources like the New Testament, the quotes by the
early church fathers and other contemporary works, shows us conclusively
that James, and not Peter, was the leader of the Jerusalem Church. Further,
despite the claims of Christian tradition, Peter was subordinate to James. Peter was an evangelist like Paul, Phillip,
Barnabas, Timothy and many others. The
Bible tells us that James, John and Peter ministered to the Jews, while Paul
and Barnabas were sent to the gentiles. Peter
did seem to carry a lot of authority when questions of the faith came up,
because Paul and others consulted with him.
The apostolic period extends from the Day of Pentecost to
the death of the Apostle John, and covers about seventy years, from A.D. 33 to
about 100. The field of action is Jerusalem, and gradually extends over Syria,
Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. The most prominent centers are Jerusalem,
Antioch, and Rome, Samaria, Damascus,
Joppa, Caesarea, Tyre, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica,
Beraea, Athens, Crete, Patmos, Malta, Puteoli, Ephesus and Corinth are also
where the Christian faith was planted. Through the eunuch, who was converted
under Philip, it reached Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. As early as A.D.
58 Paul could say: "From Jerusalem and round about even unto Illyricum, I
have fully preached the gospel of Christ." He afterwards carried it to
Rome, where it had already been known before, and possibly as far as Spain, the
western boundary of the empire. Christianity
was spread around the Roman Empire by Paul who founded Christian churches in
Asia Minor and Greece. Eventually, he preached throughout Rome itself.
The Church Ages -
Apostolic (30-100 AD)
Ante Nicene (100-325 AD)
Nicaea to the Fall of the
Roman Empire (325-600 AD)
The Dark Ages (600-1500 AD)
The Reformation (1500-1600 AD)
The Modern Age (1600-1800 AD)
The Apostate Age
(Approximately 40 AD to today) We know
that the Apostles were fighting false teaching, from almost the beginning, just
as we see all around us today.
Significant events -
28 John
the Baptist begins his ministry.
30 Jesus begins His ministry
33 Jesus crucified and raised
from the dead
33 (Nisan 14 or 15), the Jerusalem church was founded as the
first Christian church with about 120 Jews and Jewish Proselytes
(Acts
1:15), followed by Pentecost
33 Holy Spirit
descends on the day of Pentecost
33 Martyrdom of Stephen, first Christian martyr.
35 Name 'Christian' first
used in Antioch.
37 Joseph
of Arimathea travels to Britain and lands in Glastonbury.
40, We are told of a certain
Eunuch who brought the Gospel to Ethiopia[8]
40 Apostle
Barnabas sent from Jerusalem to Antioch.
46-48 Apostle Paul's
first missionary journey, with Barnabas.
51 The Jewish persecution of
Christians in Rome becomes so disruptive that the Jews are expelled from the city
49-52 Apostle Paul's
second missionary journey, with Silas.
53-57 Apostle Paul's
third missionary journey.
59-62 Apostle Paul's
fourth missionary journey, voyage to Rome.
52 Apostle
Thomas arrives in Kerala, introducing Christianity
to India.
60? Paul in Rome: greeted by
many "brothers", three days later called together the Jewish leaders, who hadn't received any
word from Judea about him, but
were curious about "this sect", which everywhere is spoken against; he tried to convince them from the
"law and prophets",
with partial success – said the
Gentiles would listen, and spent two years proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching "the Lord Jesus
Christ" (Acts
28:15- 31); Epistle to Philemon written?
64-68 July 18 Great Fire of Rome, Nero blamed and persecuted the Christians
66 Flight of the Christian
community in Jerusalem to Pella and other places in the Decapolis, and Antioch.
66-73 Great Jewish Revolt: destruction of Herod's
Temple, Qumran
community destroyed, site of Dead
Sea Scrolls found in 1947
70 Jerusalem destroyed by the
Romans
71 Mark
introduces Christianity to Egypt.
120? Rabbi Tarfon
advocated burning the Gospels
132-135 Bar Kokhba's revolt: final Jewish revolt, Judea
and Jerusalem erased from maps, region
renamed Syria Palæstina (the term Palestine was originally coined by Herodotus),
Jerusalem renamed Aelia Capitolina
135 Roman Emperor Hadrian
changes Jerusalem's name to Palestine
303 Diocletian orders burning
of Christian books and churches
306 Synod
of Elvira, prohibited relations between Christians and Jews
312 Vision of Constantine: while gazing
into the sun he saw a cross
with the words by this sign conquer, see also Labarum, he was
later called the 13th Apostle and
Equal-to-apostles
325 Council of
Nicea
380 Christianity made
official religion of Roman Empire
385 Priscillian,
first heretic to be executed?
396-430 Augustine, bishop of Hippo, considered the
founder of formalized Christian
theology (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)
432 St Patrick
begins mission in Ireland.
455 Sack of Rome by the Vandals. The spoils
of the Temple of Jerusalem previously taken by Titus are among the
treasures taken to Carthage.
590-604 Pope
Gregory the Great, whom many consider the greatest pope ever, reforms church structure and
administration and establishes Gregorian
Chant, Seven
deadly sins .
628-629 Battle
of Mut'ah, Heraclius recovered Cross of Christ and Jerusalem from Islam
687-691 Dome
of the Rock built
732 Battle of Tours stops
Islam from expanding westward
787 Second Council of Nicea
793 Sacking of the monastery
of Lindisfarne
marks the beginning of Viking raids on Christendom.
1045 The Roman Catholic
Church broke off from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
1095-1291 10 Crusades, first
called by Pope Urban II at Council of Clermont against Islamic empire to reconquer the Holy Land
for Christendom
1191 Teutonic
Knights founded
1205 Saint Francis of Assisi becomes a hermit, founding
the Franciscan
order of friars
1307 The arrest of many of
the Knights Templar, beginning confiscation of their
property and extraction of confessions under torture.
1311-1312 Catholic Council
of Vienna, disbanded Knights Templar
1313 Foundation of the
legendary Order of the Rose Cross (Rosicrucian
Order), a mystic Christian
fraternity for the first time expounded in the major Christian literary work The
Divine Comedy
1383 - 1395 John
Wycliffe published the first Bible in English
1431 Joan of Arc martyred
1455 Gutenberg makes first
printed Bible.
1478 Spanish Inquisition
founded by Ferdinand and Isabella
1492 Expulsion of Jews from
Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella
1492 Columbus 'discovers'
America
1517 Martin Luther posted his
95 Thesis - The beginning of
Protestantism
1525 Anabaptist
movement begins
1529 Church of England came
into being
1534 Jesuit
order founded by Ignatius of Loyola
1536 Calvin's Institutes of
the Christian Religion
1543 Parliament of England bans Tyndale's
translation as a "crafty, false and untrue
translation"
1545-1563 Catholic Council
of Trent, counter-reformation against Protestantism,
clearly defined an official theology and biblical canon
1549 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of
England by Thomas Cranmer
1553 Michael
Servetus founder of Unitarianism, burned at the stake in Geneva
1553-1558 Queen Mary
I of England persecuted reformers: John Rogers, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, Thomas
Cranmer; 238 burned at the stake
1560 Geneva
Bible, first Bible with chapter and verse numbers
1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
Thousands of Protestants murdered in France.
1572 John Knox,
founded Scottish Presbyterian Church
1582 Institution of the Gregorian
Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII.
1590 Michelangelo completes
the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
1609 Baptist Church founded
by John Smyth
1611 King
James Version (Authorized) of the Bible produced
1620 to 1630 Puritans and
Pilgrims come to American continent.
They referred to their
settlements the "New Israel".
1630 City
upon a Hill, sermon by John Winthrop
1636 Founding of what was
later known as Harvard University as a training school for ministers
1647 - 1963 The Bible was
used in our schools, in 1782 Congress
printed and paid for the first
ones used in the schools of the new republic.
1648 George Fox
founds the Quaker
movement
1729 Beginnings of Methodism,
led by John
Wesley
1769 Mission San Diego de Alcala, first
California mission
1776 American Declaration of
Independence in signed
1783 America wins
independence from Britain
1789 The French revolution
1700-1799 The first Great
Awakening
1794 The Whisky Rebellion
1795 The
Age of Reason written by Thomas Paine, advocated Deism
1816 American Bible Society
established
1816 Bishop Richard Allen, a former slave, founds the African Methodist
Episcopal Church,
1819 Thomas
Jefferson produced the Jefferson
Bible
1830 Church of Christ (Mormonism)
founded by Joseph Smith, Jr.
1859 Darwin publishes Origin
of the Species
1861-65 American Civil War
1845 Southern Baptist Convention formed in
Augusta, Georgia
1850 Unitarianism, as a
denominational family of churches, was first defined and developed in Poland-Lithuania, Transylvania, England and
America from the late 16th to the
early 19th centuries, although theological ancestors
are to be found as far back as the early days of Christianity. It matured and reached its classical form in
the mid-19th century.[9] This Satanic movement can be directly
attributed to the need for the second Great
Awakening.
1865 The Thirteenth Amendment
to the United States Constitution abolished slavery
and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
1865 Methodist preacher William
Booth founds the Salvation Army
1800-1899 The second Great
Awakening
1870 Italy declared war on
the Papal
States. The Italian Army enters Rome. Papal
States ceased to exist.
1897 Christian
flag, conceived in Brooklyn, New York
1899 Gideons International founded
1882 Nietzsche declares
"God is dead"
1896 The invention of motion
pictures
1904 Welsh revival
1914 Assemblies of God
founded
1914-18 First World War
1917 True
Jesus Church founded in Beijing
1924 First religious radio
station in the U.S., KFUO (AM), founded
1925 Scopes
"Monkey" trial
1931 Christ the Redeemer (statue) in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
1935 Billy
Sunday, early U.S. radio evangelist
1939- 45 World War Two
1942 National Association of
Evangelicals founded
1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer is executed by the Nazis
1946-1952 Revised Standard Version
1947 Oral
Roberts founded Evangelistic Association
1947 Dead
Sea scrolls discovered
1948 World Council of
Churches founded
1950 The Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association founded
1951 Campus Crusade for Christ founded at UCLA
1952 C. S. Lewis'
Mere Christianity
1954 U.S. Pledge of Allegiance modified by act of
Congress from "one nation, indivisible"
to "one nation under God, indivisible"
1960 The charismatic renewal
in the mainline churches in the United States. Charismatic
Christians believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit as it the New
Testament are available to contemporary Christians through the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit,
with-or-without the laying on of hands.
These spiritual gifts are believed to be manifest in the
form of signs, miracles, and
wonders, including, but not limited to, speaking in tongues,
interpretation of tongues, prophecy, healing,
and discernment of spirits.[10] This was also known as the 'third wave'.
1956 In
God We Trust designated U.S. national motto
1961 First human in space
1962 Engel
v. Vitale, first U.S. Supreme Court decision against School
prayer
1963 Martin
Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech
1963 campaign by Madalyn Murray O'Hair results in U.S. Supreme
Court ruling prohibiting reading of
Bible in public schools
1969 First man on the moon
1970 The Late, Great Planet Earth futurist
book by Hal Lindsey
1971 The Jesus Movement
1971 Intel introduces the
microprocessor
1971 Liberty University founded by Jerry Falwell
1973 Roe vs. Wade
1977 Focus on the Family founded by James
Dobson
1978-2005 Pope
John Paul II, reaffirmed moral traditions
1979 Moral
Majority founded
1979 Jesus
(1979 film), most watched movie of all time according to New York Times
1988 Christian Coalition
1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1989 First woman ordained in
an apostolic-succession church (the Protestant Episcopal
church).
1997 Birth of the internet -
Daniel 12:4 " But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of
the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased."
1999 International House of Prayer in Kansas City
begins non-stop 24/7 continual
prayer
2004 The rise of Social Media
2013 Pope
Francis, became pope, also known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio
2014 The war has already begun, between the true 'born
again' Christians and the
religious Christians[11]. This is part of
"The Falling Away".
???? The rapture of the
Church
???? The seven year
tribulation period
???? The thousand year reign
of Christ
???? Satan loosed for a
season - so that man can use his free will, one last time.
???? The New Heaven and New
Earth
Denominational Development -
If you are a Lutheran,
your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the Catholic Church,
in the year 1517. Luther was one of the
worst anti-Semites in history.
If you belong to the Church of England, your religion was
founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant
him a divorce with the right to re-marry.
"The beginnings of the Church
of England, from which The Episcopal Church derives, date to at least the
second century, when merchants and other travelers first brought Christianity
to England. It is customary to regard St. Augustine of Canterbury's mission to
England in 597 as marking the formal beginning of the church under papal
authority, as it was to be throughout the Middle Ages. In its modern form, the church dates from the
English Reformation of the 16th century, when royal supremacy was established
and the authority of the papacy was repudiated. With the advent of British
colonization, the Church of England was established on every continent. In
time, these churches gained their independence, but retained connections with
the mother church in the Anglican
Communion."[12]
If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John
Knox in Scotland in the year 1560.
If you are a Congregationalist, your religion was
originated by Robert Brown in Holland in 1582.
If you are Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an
offshoot of the Church of England, founded by Samuel Seabury in the American
colonies in the 17th century.
If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your religion
to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1606.
If you are of the Dutch Reformed Church, you recognize
Michelis Jones as founder because he originated your religion in New York in
1628.
If you are a Methodist, your religion was founded by John
and Charles Wesley in England in 1774.
If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began
with William Booth in London in 1865.
If you belong to one of the religious organizations known
as “Church of the Nazarene", "Pentecostal Gospel,” or “Holiness
Church,” your religion is one of the hundreds of new sects founded by men
within the past hundred years.
Christianity in Ethiopia dates to the 1st century AD, and
this long tradition makes Ethiopia unique amongst sub-Saharan African countries. The only pre-colonial Christian church of
Sub-Saharan Africa, the Ethiopian Church has a membership of between 40 and 45
million, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia, and is thus the largest of all Oriental
Orthodox churches. Next in size are the various Protestant
congregations, who include 13.7 million Ethiopians. The largest Protestant
group is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church
Mekane Yesus, with about 5 million members. Roman Catholicism has been present in
Ethiopia since the 16th century, and numbers 536,827 believers. In total,
Christians make up about 60% of the total population of the country.
If you are Roman Catholic, your church shared the same rich
apostolic and doctrinal heritage as the Orthodox Church for the first thousand
years of its history, since during the first millennium they were one and the
same Church.
Roman Catholic
doctrine teaches that the Catholic
Church was founded by Jesus Christ. Lamentably,
in 1054, the Pope of Rome broke away from the other four Apostolic
Patriarchates (which include Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and
Jerusalem), by tampering with the Original Creed of the Church, and considering
himself to be infallible. Thus your church is 1,000 years old. They developed extra-biblical teachings such
as purgatory, penance, indulgences, and Mary worship.
If you are Orthodox Christian, you believe your religion
was founded in the year 33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It has not changed
since that time. The church is now almost 2,000 years old. And it is for this
reason, that Orthodoxy, the Church of the Apostles and the Fathers is
considered the true one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.[13] "The Eastern
Orthodox Churches trace their roots back to the Apostles
and Jesus Christ. Apostolic succession established the seats of Patriarchy
(for example see the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of
Jerusalem). Orthodoxy reached its golden age during the high point of the
Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, taken over by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church before it continued
to flourish in Russia
after the Fall of Constantinople. Numerous autocephalous
churches have been established in Eastern
Europe and Slavic areas."[14]
I have not tried to make this an exhaustive study of church
history. I would surmise it would take
thousands of pages to do so. I did not want to subject either of us to that
much detail. I hope that I have given
enough detail to give a good overall view.
If more information is desired, the internet is available.
If more information
is desired about the Jewishness of the Church, I suggest reading my book - Masugana For Yehoshua
http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2014/09/mashugana-for-yehoshua_1.html
If more information is desired on the historicity of Jesus
I suggest reading my paper - Historically Who Was Jesus?
http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2014/04/historically-who-was-jesus.html
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1093053/Cancel-Christmas--Jesus-born-June-17-say-scientists.html#ixzz3FlaSLRsz
[5] http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/refuel-with-rick/articles/who-were-the-nicolaitans-and-what-was-their-doctrine-and-deeds--14510.html
[11]
Religious Christians are Christians in
name only. They have no personal
relationship with Christ.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>
