RECOVERING THE TRUTH & A COMING TO A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS

Jesus and all his followers were Jews who were faithful to Biblical Judaism and never intended to separate from or start a new religion; after their deaths the Gentile Christian church will condemn the Jewish Christians as heretics...in time fruit of the Jewish Church (Gentile Christianity) will destroy it's mother

We have a unique paradox in Biblical history; one which touches every follower of Jesus yet today and which reaches to the very core of our own culture and time. It is impossible to understand Jesus or his message until we come to a correct understanding of the events that fashioned such persecution of the Jews by the Gentile believers and which contributed to the alteration of the faith of Jesus as can be found to have existed in the first century of Second Temple Judaism. As stated earlier the first and greatest division in the early church concerned the relationship of the followers of Jesus to Judaism; it shaped everything that was to follow. One of the greatest problems facing Christianity today is how to reconcile what it has become with G-d's intended vision for the Gentile nations of the world whereby they become part of the Israel of G-d and not "replace" it with a religion of their own creation. The answers for such a problem come only when one personally acquaints himself with an unbiased presentation of the facts of the tragic events of this part of Biblical history and traces the repercussions of such events down through the corridors of history and ultimately seeing the shock waves from them that are present in our own religious beliefs systems and cultures of today.

Today many scholars tell us the truth today about the early church and courageously break from "church traditions" and "mind control" to present the facts concerning these "events" and the corruption of the early faith of the historical Jesus by the Gentile "converts" who would later steer the direction of this "faith" throughout recorded history. It is so simple today to find this information, but sadly few look or even know the need to see if "they be in the faith." That being the case, we accept the "spin" of religious leaders down through history and the real message of Jesus is never heard, or at best, is overlooked for more "orthodox teachings" espoused which have taken it's place. Keith Akers, in his The Lost Religion of Jesus, states the case as well as any. Jewish Christianity consisted of those early Christians who followed the teachings of Jesus, as they understood him, and also remained loyal to the Jewish law of Moses as they understood it. Messianic Judaism was not to replace Judaism with a new faith; it was the goal and zenith for which the prophets wrote and hoped. This simple statement is of profound importance, because the Jewish Christians were eventually rejected both by orthodox Judaism and by orthodox Gentile Christianity. The understanding of the Jewish follower of Jesus was not that of orthodox Christianity (as it came to be where Jesus is seen more like the sun-g-dmen of the Gentile nations than a human messiah). Likewise the Jewish follower of Jesus possessed an understanding of the law of Moses that was the same as orthodox Judaism, but yet this view would later be rejected under the influence of Paul and his churches. Jerome's celebrated comment in the fourth century summarizes this dual rejection: "As long as they seek to be both Jews and Christians, they are neither Jews nor Christians" [Letter 112] (Akers, The Lost Religion of Jesus, p. 7).

The Jewish Christians considered Jesus to be the "true prophet" who would lead the people back to the eternal law that commanded simple living and nonviolence. They saw in Jesus their hopes for physical redemption and the fulfillment of the prophets. It was their hope that the Law would go forth from Zion with Jesus at its head as the long awaited Messiah and King of Israel. It was their hope that the enemies of Israel would be vanquished by the word of this anointed one of the LORD as taught in the Psalms of Solomon (no not the psalms you are familiar with but a separate Jewish books that was recognized by Jews as authoritative in the first century). The law, which was cherished by all G-dfearing Jews, had been given to Moses; indeed, it had existed from the beginning of the world, and was intended to be cherished and observed by both Jew and non-Jew alike because in the Commandments one finds the unique Covenant stipulations of his Covenant before G-d. In sharp contrast with the gentile Christian movement, which emerged in the wake of Paul's teaching, Jewish Christianity strove to make the Jewish law stricter than the Jewish tradition seemed to teach ("you have heard it said but I say unto you...'much more'"). Such was the Jesus' love for G-d and His Word. But this cannot be said for the Gentile churches which strove to find ways to lay aside the law for the laxity that was taught under the disguise of "grace." In other words, the non-Jews loved the large "gray areas" that came from the teaching of Paul and others who negated the Law through their own personal "revelations" and their own personal "gospels" (Paul is found saying in Rom 2:16 16: In the day when G-d shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel and again in 2 Tim 2:8 8: Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel). It is a little early in this article to address this concept but if you study continues you will reach a point in your understanding and knowledge where you will see beyond any doubt that the "gospel of Paul" replaced the "gospel of Jesus and Judaism."

Jewish Christianity is the blind spot in virtually all accounts of Jesus. Everyone agrees that Jesus was a Jew and that his initial followers were Jews. Yet of the thousands of books written about Jesus, almost none acknowledge the central importance of Jewish Christianity; at least until the end of the previous century and the beginning of the present one. That was true up until the latter part of the last century when Jewish, as well as European scholars began to reevaluate the Jewish Jesus and contrast the Historical Jesus with the Christ of Faith. There are many who are eager to focus specifically on the Jewishness of Jesus, until they get to the point of examining those of his followers who, like their teacher, were also Jewish, and in doing so see for themselves that actually nothing really changed within this community of the closest followers of Jesus until the early fourth century when Rome would effectively destroy the Jewish "followers of Jesus" by declaring them official heretics. The power of Rome would propagate a Gentile understanding and not a Jewish understanding of Jesus (see Constantine's Easter letter if you have any doubts).

The "Jewishness" of these early Christians does not refer to their ethnic group or nationality, but rather to their beliefs. Paul was a convert to Judaism (H. Maccoby, The Mythmaker, Paul And The Invention Of Christianity) and only later converted to Judaism; first a Sadducee, and after rejection by the Chief Priest he turned to the Pharisees, again only to be rejected by them for his prior cruelty to them as an agent of the Temple police who routed them out and killed them (the Messianic believing strict branch of the Pharisees called Nazarenes/Essenes). Paul also preaches freedom from the law and therefore explicitly rejects Jewish beliefs. Paul, and some of the other Jews who became Christians, renounced the law of Moses and, therefore, were not part of Jewish Christianity. The churches of Paul today (vast majority of Christianity as it exists today) lay outside the true faith of Jesus and will continue to do so unless they encounter the truth about this man of Galilee and the truth about their own religious history.

Without understanding Jewish Messianic Judaism or "intended Christianity", we cannot understand the historical Jesus let alone the earliest church nor the corruption of it within the New Testament correctly. Lacking this knowledge we are doomed to misinterpret most of what we read in the New Testament and our worship let alone our conduct will be in error...much of which is defined as sin in the Torah.

Isn't it Paul that is most maligned in the Judaistic circles? I forget how you regard Paul now. Was that he hijacked the Gospel, or that we merely misunderstand what he was teaching?

Don't be disengenuous. You didn't forget. You know I accept his teachings.

Maybe so! Yet, Invincibly Ignorant AKA Steven, has raised a point (even though he is apostate to the Christian faith) that every one of us who believe in the absolute inerrancy of the NT have to ask ourselves. How do we know that all 27 books and no more and no less are the inerrant word of God and the scores of other writings bearing Apostolic names are not?
Why are we right and Invincibly wrong?

I will answer that for you. How do we know that we are right? Because my God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in it in a matter of 6 days. As humans, we have spent our entire existance studying it, and that just produces more questions than answers. God is well beyond our simple human brains. I think He can put a collection of books together and ensure they maintain their integrity throughout history. Never know the mind of God, but I think we have what He wants us to have. I will put my faith in Him. Having said that, the other books that were not in the Bible and you question why; they are extremely interesting to read anyways. Point is: "love the Lord God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself" (paraphrase). That should get us through, no?

I suspect you to be wrong.

Thanks for the correction.

But then again, you're a legend in your own mind.

Have I ever said otherwise? :)

Post #45. Have you been sleeping at the wheel again?

Huh? Post 45 was Steven encouraging me to go ahead and answer. This is not the same as a Protestant answering because #1, it wasn't an attempt to answer and #2, Steven has moved beyond the definition of a "Protestant," at least as I reckon things.

You are very well versed. 99.9% of the Christians out there are not. They don't even know these apocryphal writings exist. Their ignorance is bliss.

If you are talking about the deutercanonicals as apocrypha; sorry, I accept them as scripture, as did the church up until the reformation.

I realize we will disagree on this fact, but without an organic authority capable of stating that these writings are the inerrant word of God, we have nothing more than a bunch of ancient MSS.

People spend their entire lives studying the Talmud and the Koran (among others) and they produce endless questions as well. That's not an argument for canonization of a specific set of books.

God is well beyond our simple human brains. I think He can put a collection of books together and ensure they maintain their integrity throughout history. Never know the mind of God, but I think we have what He wants us to have. I will put my faith in Him.

So you know that these particular 27 books are authentic because God is capable of doing such a thing? Is that your argument? Do you feel a burning in the bosom when you read them?

I can tell you're a Calvinist. They the most loving ones. All in the name of compassion. Lol.

No we are the ones that refuse to compromise the gospel to get along, , we are the ones that think truth is more important than friendship, We are the ones that will with consistancy confront error and hereies. That is real love .

In Him I have forgiveness of sins, and Life Everlasting. Can you say the same for your beliefs?
Yes.

Which god was it that you found that peace in? The triune God of the bible or the Modilist god of the oneness docrtine. They are two different Gods and two different Jesus's. You may need to be "saved" again by the new Jesus

I've seen enough. Your arrogance and superior attitude are obvious. I have no desire to waste my time on someone who thinks he has a corner on the truth, nor will I waste my time trying to refute this false gospel. Don't worry, the door won't hit me in the butt on the way out...

Obviously you didn't read it. So I will post it. Your attempt at sounding intelligent put the truth in the backseat once again.

Ahhh your cut and paste is longer than mine so you are smarter???

LOL

Do you every wonder how your cult fell upon a truth that has been missed by men more learned than you?

And I'm sure you'll keep telling each other that at your pep rallies. Lol.

Oh I realize they are different. One is the pagan man/god. Such as calvinists worship. The created instead of the Creator. Comes from an inherited polytheistic Greek mindset. A gift to you from orthodoxy. A godless torahless makeover of the true Messiah of Israel. I'll stick with mine thank you.

Do you every wonder how your cult fell upon a truth that has been missed by men more learned than you?

Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

There's that Calvinistic love again. What was that again? The Comfort of Calvinism? Lol. Bye.

If you are talking about the deutercanonicals as apocrypha

Actually, I was rather harsh in pursuit of a point and should rephrase myself: although I don't consider the deutercanonicals to have the same weight as the common Protestant canon, neither do I find them to be spurious or even necessarily uninspired. (Here comes the swarm! I'm on your side, guys!) The lack of weightiness is a result of their omission from the Hebrew scripture.

If you are talking about the deutercanonicals as apocrypha; sorry, I accept them as scripture, as did the church up until the reformation.

As you know they were not always accepted by the church as doctrinal , but as holy writings, even Jerome did not want them in the canon. But that is another discussion

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