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Nazarenes were spoken of in the Dead Sea Scrolls as Guardians
of The Torah, Prophets, and The Messiah. It is a mistranslation in our Bibles
where it says “Jesus of Nazareth”, it should read “Yahusha the Nazarene”. The
English word “Nazarene” (Greek “Nazaraios,” Aramaic “Natsraya,” or Hebrew
“Notsri”) comes from the Hebrew word netser (branch), which itself, is
derived from the verb natsar which means; “to guard, watch, keep, or preserve.”
in context speaking of, The Torah.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/natsar.html
The NAS Old
Testament Hebrew Lexicon - Strong's Number: 5341
Transliterated Word – Natsar the
root of Notris or Nazarene
Definition: to guard, watch, watch over, keep (Qal) to watch,
guard, keep, to preserve, guard from dangers, to keep, observe, guard with
fidelity, to guard, keep secret, to be kept close, be blockaded, watchman
(participle)
This is speaking
in context of The Torah, Prophets, and The Messiah, foretold in The Heavenly
Scroll. All Nazarenes were to keep and observe The Torah, guard it, watch over
it and protect it! They were fierce opponents of all forms of paganism
including the Babylonian Talmud and Hellenism (the worship of Greek gods). The
Nazarenes rejected Incarnation outright and any concept associated with
Babylonian demi-gods. They rejected the Virgin Birth, Proclaimed the Name of
The Creator, followed the ancient Enochian Path (Enoch Calendar and Enoch
Zodiac) and rejected Hesus Horus Krishna (Jesus H. Christ).
We see going back to the first few centuries AD, it was The
Nazarenes who were “complete Jews”, who understood The Torah/Prophets, and how
The Messiah fulfilled them. Let’s examine the first-hand witness accounts of
The Nazarenes and discern who they were and what they believed. Did they
believe then, what is taught today… Incarnation? Remember, they knew and were
taught personally by Yahusha (or one of his direct disciples). So, whatever
they believed, is what Yahusha taught them… was True!
The Christian Church Father Epiphanius tells us:
Epiphanius; Panarion 29:9:4, A.D. 374.
“But these sectarians… did not call themselves Christians – but “Nazarenes”
[Natsarim] . . . However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the
New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no
different ideas, but confess everything exactly as The Law proclaims it and in
the Jewish fashion – except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For
they acknowledge both the Resurrection of the dead and the Divine Creation of
all things, and declare that God is One, and that His son is Yahusha The
Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law
(Torah), the Prophets, and the… Writings … are read in Hebrew, as they surely
are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians,
only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to Faith
in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by The Law – Circumcision, the
Sabbath, and the rest – they are not in accord with Christians . . . they are
nothing but Jews… They have the Gospel according to Matthew in its entirety in
Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet,
as it was originally written.”
So far, we can say that a Nazarene:
·
Based their faith in The Heavenly Scroll
·
Is a “complete Jew” who accept both the Tanakh and the Brit
Chadashah (the OT and NT).
·
Kept The Law in the same fashion as Jews, but with ‘intent’ not
bound to the letter
·
Accepted Yahusha as The Messiah
·
Believed in One God, Yahuah, and that Yahusha is His Firstborn Son,
adopted upon his Mikveh!
·
Looked to the Hebraic Mindset and language for understanding and
rejected the Greek Hellenistic Mindset.
·
Keep Circumcision, the Sabbath, and Holy Days
·
Preserve the Hebrew Alphabet to maintain the pictograph nature of
Paleo Hebrew
Much more can be discerned about the Nazarenes by examining
their origin as Essenes and Ebionites. As John the Baptist rose to prominence
as Elijah, the “Great Nazarene Teacher of Righteousness”, the Essenes who
followed John, became known as Nazarenes. Note, for the sake of
maintaining the integrity of the quote below, I do not replace the name Jesus
with Yahusha. Please just replace the name of the False Messiah with the name
of the True Messiah in your head as you read along with this quote. That is not
the point I am demonstrating here:
From “Ebionites & Nazarenes:
Tracking the Original Followers of Jesus” by James Tabor:
This Ebionite/Nazarene movement was made up of mostly Jewish followers of
John the Baptizer and later Jesus, who were concentrated in Palestine and
surrounding regions and led by “James the Just” (the brother of Jesus), and
flourished between the years 30-80 C.E. Non-Jews were certainly part of the mix
but the dominant ethos of the group was an adherence to live according to
Jewish law (Galatians 2:14). They were zealous for the Torah and continued
to observe the mitzvot (Commandments) as enlightened by their Rabbi and
Teacher…
I am convinced that Nazarene comes from
the Hebrew word Netzer (drawn from Isaiah 11:1) and means “a Branch”—so
the Nazarenes were the “Branchites” or followers of the one they believed to be
the Branch–that is the Davidic Messiah…
They too, referred to themselves as the
Way, the Poor, the Saints, the New Covenanters, Children of Light, and so
forth. Perhaps their most common designation was the Yachad–the brotherhood or
community, and they referred to themselves as brother and sister. They were
bitterly opposed to the corrupt Priests in Jerusalem, to the Herods, and even
to the Pharisees whom they saw as compromising with that establishment to get
power and influence from the Hellenistic/Roman powers.
They had their own developed Halacha
(interpretation of Torah), some aspects of which Jesus picks up (ideal of no
divorce, not using oaths, etc.). They followed one they called the True Teacher
(Teacher of Righteousness) whom most scholars believe lived in the 1st century
BCE and was opposed and possibly killed by the Hasmonean King/Priests at the
instigation of the Pharisees. John the Baptizer seems to arise out of this
context (and possibly the Great Notsri?) and rekindle the apocalyptic fervor of
the movement in the early decades of the first century CE. Jesus joined this
movement and it remains our best insight into the conceptual world of an
apocalyptic, messianic, movement of this period, akin to the Jesus movement.
Later, when Christianity developed in the 3rd and 4th centuries and
gradually lost its Jewish roots and heritage, largely severing its homeland
connections, the Gentile, Roman Catholic Church historians began to refer to
Ebionites and Nazarenes as two separate groups—and indeed, by the late 2nd
century there might have been a split between these mostly Jewish followers of
Jesus. The distinction these writers make (and
remember, they universally despise these people and call them “Judaisers”) …
They describe the Nazarenes more
positively as those who accept Paul (with caution) and believe in some aspect
of the divinity of Jesus (after his resurrection), even possibly the virgin
birth (as simple a sign), but viewed him as “adopted” as Son of God at his
baptism. What we have to keep in mind in reading these accounts from the
Church fathers is that they are strongly prejudiced against any form of what
they call “Judaizing” among Christians and they share the view that
“Christianity” has replaced Judaism entirely overthrowing the Torah for both
Gentile and Jew.
As far as “beliefs” of the Ebionites, the
documents of the New Testament, critically evaluated, are our best sources,
including some of the fragmentary traditions still embedded in the book of Acts
(7:37-53). There are fragments and quotations surviving from their Hebrew
Gospel tradition (see see A. F. J. Klijn, Jewish-Christian Gospel Tradition, E.
J. Brill, 1992), the so-called Pseudo-Clementine materials, as well as some of
the traditions reflected in texts such as the “Hebrew Matthew” preserved by Ibn
Shaprut, and now published in a critical edition by George Howard (The Hebrew
Gospel of Matthew, Mercer University Press, 1995). Based on what we can
reliably put together from these sources we can say the Ebionite or Nazarene
movement could be distinguished by the following views:
-
Jesus as a human being with father
and mother but designated a “Prophet like Moses,” or “the Anointed of the
Spirit,” who will be revealed in power as the “Son of Man coming in the Clouds
of heaven,” following his rejection and death (Acts 7:37; Luke 4:18-19; Mark
10:35-45; 13:26-27).
-
Disdain for eating meat and even the
Temple slaughter of animals, preferring the ideals of the pre-Flood diet and
what they took to be the original ideal of worship (see Genesis 9:1-5; Jeremiah
7:21-22; Isaiah 11:9; 66:1-4). This reflects a general interest in seeking the
“Path” reflected in the pre-Sinai revelation, especially the time from Enoch to
Noah. For example, divorce was shunned, as violating the Edenic ideal, even
though technically it was later allowed by Moses (Mark 10:2-11).
-
Dedication to following the whole
Torah, as applicable to Israel and to Gentiles, but through the “easy yoke” or
the “Torah of liberty” of their Teacher Jesus, which emphasized the Spirit
of the Biblical Prophets in a restoration of the “True Faith,” the Ancient
Paths (Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:28-30; James 2:8-13; Matthew 5:17-18; 9:13;
12:7), from which, by and large, they believed the establishment Jewish groups
of 2nd Temple times had departed.
-
Rejection of the “doctrines and
traditions” of men, which they believed had been added to the pure Torah of
Moses, including scribal alterations of the texts of Scripture (Jeremiah 8:8).
We can now add to our list of “what a Nazarene” believes,
and we come to a very good idea of the fundamental ideas, concepts, and beliefs
one would require to be called a “Nazarene”:
·
Based their faith on The Heavenly Scroll
·
A “complete Jew” who accept both the Tanakh and the Brit
Chadashah (the OT and NT).
·
Keeps The Law in the same fashion as Jews
·
Accepts the Messiah
·
Believes in One God, Yahuah, and that Yahusha is His firstborn
son.
·
Looks to the Hebraic Mindset and language for understanding
·
Keeps Circumcision, the Sabbath, and Holy Days
·
Believes Yachad was through Covenant and Family as we are Echad
with Yahuah our Father.
·
Bitterly opposed to the corrupt Priests in Jerusalem, to the
Herods, and even to the Pharisees whom they saw as compromising with that
establishment to get power and influence from the Hellenistic/Roman powers
·
Had their own developed Halacha (interpretation of Torah),
they did not rely on or accept Rabbinical interpretations.
·
Universally despised by pagan Gentile Christianity and called
“Judaisers”) …
·
Accepts Sha’ul (with caution) and believe in some aspect of
the Divinity of Yahusha (post Resurrection), even possibly the virgin
birth (as a sign), but viewed him as “Adopted” as Son of God at his baptism.
·
Understood Yahusha was a human being with father and mother but
designated a “Prophet like Moses,” or “the Anointed of the Spirit,” who will be
revealed in Power as the “Son of Man coming in the Clouds of heaven,” following
his rejection and death
·
Rejects the name Iesous (Jesus/Hesus) in favor of the
Hebrew name of the Messiah
·
Rejects the label Christian
·
Uses the Sacred Name of the Father in public, calling upon Yahuah
without using titles.
·
Seeks the ancient “Path” of Enoch and the pre-flood ancestors (i.e.
understood and put their Faith in The Heavenly Scroll and kept the Enoch
Calendar)
·
Dedicated to following the whole Torah, as applicable to Israel
and to Gentiles, but through the “easy yoke” or the “Torah of Liberty” of their
Teacher Yahusha the Messiah
·
Rejections of the “doctrines and traditions” of men, which they
believed had been added to the pure Torah of Moses, including scribal
alterations of the texts of Scripture (Jeremiah 8:8).
Nazarenes today are those true followers of Yahusha and they
are those who Proclaim The Spirit of Yahuah (the He did not come ‘in the
flesh or die’; He is Invisible, Immortal, and Spirit) and Proclaim The
Spirit of Yahusha (that he did come in the flesh and die). We believe
everything in accordance with those beliefs of the original Nazarenes… and we
can prove these beliefs to be true in the Scriptures. We are going to look
further into these beliefs and I am going to provide a Scriptural defense.
First, we are going to look at the historical Nazarenes.
We know the Nazarene sect was
established by the great Prophet, John the Baptist, who was given the “Way
of Salvation” by Yahuah. John’s role was to instruct and mentor the
Messiah in the office of High Priest and teach Yahusha “The Way”.
We know then, that Yahusha took over as the Leader of the Nazarenes from John.
James the Just then took over for his elder brother Yahusha and led the early
Nazarenes. Sha’ul the Apostle then took over for James the Just and became the
most influential leader of the Nazarenes in history (second only to Yahusha).
We also know that every “Leader of the Nazarenes” were outlaws to the
establishment and met very untimely deaths for serving in that role.
The first leader of the
Nazarenes was John the Immerser and mentor of Yahusha. It was John that was
prophesied to be the coming of Elijah who would “set the path straight” for the
Messiah (serve as Yahusha’ mentor). It was John, the rightful High
Priest of Israel, who mentored Yahusha in the office of High Priest and taught
Yahusha “The Way”. It was John the High Priest who Mikveh’d
Yahusha, and passed the mantle of High Priest to Yahusha in the Jordan River.
It was John, the Leader of the Nazarenes, that instructed his followers to
follow Yahusha, the new Leader of the Nazarenes and rightful High Priest and
King of Israel. Yahusha made his feelings perfectly clear about this man John,
the FOUNDER of The Nazarenes and his personal mentor:
Matthew 11
…10 "This is the one about whom it is
written, 'BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY
BEFORE YOU.' 11"Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has
not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!
So, the message of the Gospel
was passed from John the Baptist to his disciple Yahusha who then took the
leadership role over the Nazarenes. It was Yahusha’s brother Yaakov (James)
who took over to lead the true Nazarenes after Yahusha’s death. Later, it would
be Rav Sha’ul (the Apostle) who would rise to the top and lead the true
“church” which was Nazarene not Christian. John was commissioned with the
message of “The Way” by Yahusha himself, and later mentored by
James the Just.
In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is a figure called “The
Great Notsri (Nazarene)” and “Teacher of Righteousness”, who would
be sent by Yahuah to prepare the way for the Branch. The term Nazarene
described all those that followed John the Great Notri, who prepared the way
for The Branch… who is Yahusha the Messiah.
John 1:6-9
6 There was a man sent from (the Predestined
Plan of) Yahuah, whose name was John (John
was born a miraculous birth and “sent from Yahuah” just like Yahusha). 7 This man came for a Witness, to bear witness of
the Light (Fulfillment of The Plan of Salvation
foretold in The Heavenly Scroll represented by the Light of the Sun),
that all through him (John) might
believe (that Yahusha is the Messiah). 8 He was not that Light, but was sent (from Yahuah) to bear Witness (John too, was an Emmanuel, a true and
Faithful Witness) of that Light. 9 That
(John might
bear Witness to Yahusha who) was the true (Emmanuel) Light which gives light to every man coming into the world
(the Spiritual Fulfillment of the physical metaphor
of the Sun in The Heavenly Scroll).
According
to the Dead Sea Scroll, this Great Notsri (the Teacher of Righteousness)
was said to have the proper understanding of the Torah, qualified in its
accurate instruction, and be the one through whom Yahuah would reveal to the
community “the hidden things in which Israel had gone astray”. He would
rightfully be of the House of Zadok (a true High Priest of Israel). This
was Yahusha’s mentor and teacher, John the Great Notsri who was of The House of
Zadok and the “anointed High Priest” in succession to Yahusha III (see my book,
Melchizedek and the Passover Lamb).
This
description of “The Great Notsri” is found in the Damascus Document of the
Dead Sea Scroll, which carbon dating has placed it around the time John was
acting as High Priest in the wilderness.
John was prophesied to fulfill
this very role by his father Zechariah:
Luke 1:76-80 - Zechariah’s
Song
76 “And you, my child, will be called a Prophet
of the Most High; for you will go on before Yahuah to prepare The Way for him (Yahusha), 77 to give his people the Knowledge
of Salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender Mercy
of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven (Fulfill The Heavenly Scroll) 79 to shine on
those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the
Path of Peace (be the Prince of Peace Isaiah
9:6).” 80 And the child grew and became strong in
Spirit (just like Yahusha Luke 2:40, 52);
and he lived in the wilderness (with the Essenes)
until he (was trained as a Zadok High Priest and)
appeared publicly to Israel (as their High Priest to
perform his duties in the wilderness because the Temple had been corrupted).
The
Great Notsri, founder of the Nazarenes, at that time was undoubtedly John the
Baptist, who was the rightful High Priest from the House of Zadok. Although
there is a “debate” about who this Great Notsri was among current scholars, there
should be no doubt. Yahusha told us exactly who this great Teacher of
Righteousness among the Nazarenes and Essences was, it was his own mentor:
Matthew 11:11
“I tell you the
truth, among those born of women, no one has
arisen greater than John the Baptist.
If there
was no one greater than John ever born of a woman (that includes all men,
even Yahusha himself), then John is The Great Notsri. So much
for that debate! Yahusha The Branch settled it! So, we have John "the
prophesied Great Nazarene" and "Teacher of Righteousness (Torah)",
mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls and identified by The Messiah, leading
a sect called Nazarenes looking for The Branch and they were not called
“Christians” they were called Notsris or Nazarenes!
As we
just learned, Nazarenes were a sect among the Jews in Israel who followed John
the Baptist at the time Yahusha lived. Under John’s direction, the Nazarenes (knowing
the prophecies of Daniel and the contents of The Heavenly Scroll, concerning
the timing of the Messiah’s coming) bathed in the Jordan River (Mikveh)
daily in expectation of the Messiah’s arrival. Which was prophesied by
Isaiah to occur at the transition of the ages as “a woman will give birth to a
King” which is a sign in the “sky” or The Heavenly Scroll. This is also known
as ‘The Sign of the Son of Man’.
The
Sign of the Son of Man is described in
great detail, in Revelation Chapter 12. Daniel further defined the timing of
Yahusha’s birth, place of his birth, manner of his birth, etc. The Nazarenes
knew the prophecies, and John actually knew the Messiah personally from birth
as they were cousins.
Yahusha
and many of his disciples were first followers of John the Baptist and were
all... Nazarenes. When John consecrated Yahusha as his successor,
his followers then followed Yahusha “the Nazarene” and accepted him as The
Messiah, as John had directed them.
James the Just,
brother of Yahusha the Nazarene and Leader of the early assembly of Nazarenes
After the Messiah’s death, his
younger brother Yaakov (James) took over the Nazarenes and led them, probably
during the most important time period, as they were literally being hunted down
and killed. I will talk more about James the brother of the Messiah next, as I
explain how the most influential of all Nazarenes, Sha’ul, went from trying to
kill them… to leading them into prominence in Jerusalem. Sha’ul went from
seeking to kill James to learning to greatly respect James, and in an amazing
twist, the two went from bitter rivals to trusted allies. It was that respect
for James, that ultimately played a key role in Sha’ul’s conversion from a
Pharisee to a Nazarene!
We see Sha’ul list James first among the most esteemed
leaders.
-
Galatians 2:9
9 James, Cephas[a] and John,
those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship
when they recognized the Grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to
the Gentiles, and they to the Circumcised (Jews).
James, being of the same lineage as Yahusha (they were
brothers), was next in line after Yahusha’s death to become the rightful Zadok High
Priest of Israel. Below, I quote from the New World Encyclopedia.
We learn the importance of the role James played as High Priest and his
authority in Jerusalem, even being able to enter the Holy of Holies (a
privilege only afforded High Priest of the House of Zadok):
“Acts of the Apostles,
in later chapters, provides evidence that James was an important figure in the
Christian community of Jerusalem. When Peter, having miraculously escaped from
prison, must flee Jerusalem, he asks that James be informed (12:17). When the
Christians of Antioch are concerned over whether Gentile Christians need be
circumcised to be saved, and they send Paul and Barnabas to confer with the
Jerusalem church there, James plays a prominent role in the formulation of the
council's decision (15:13ff). Indeed, after Peter and Paul have made their
case, it is James who finally delivers what he calls his
"judgement"—the original sense is close to "my ruling"—and
afterwards, all accept it. James, in other words, is shown in charge of the
Jerusalem group. [4] And when Paul arrives in Jerusalem to deliver the money he
raised for the faithful there, it is to James that he speaks, and it is James
who insists that Paul ritually cleanse himself at Herod's Temple to prove his
faith and deny rumors of teaching rebellion against the Torah (21:18ff) (a
charge of antinomianism).
Paul further describes
James as being one of the persons the risen Christ showed himself to (1
Corinthians 15:3–8); then later in 1 Corinthians, mentions James in a way that
suggests James had been married (9:5); and in Galatians, Paul lists James with
Cephas (better known as Peter) and John as the three "pillars" of the
Church, and who will minister to the "circumcised" (in general Jews
and Jewish Proselytes) in Jerusalem, while Paul and his fellows will minister
to the "uncircumcised" (in general Gentiles). (2:9, 2:12). These
terms (circumcised/uncircumcised) are generally interpreted to mean Jews and
Greeks, who were predominant, however it is an oversimplification as 1st
century Iudaea Province also had some Jews who no longer circumcised, and some
Greeks (called Proselytes or Judaizers) and others such as Egyptians, Ethiopians,
and Arabs who had converted to Judaism and were thus circumcised.
In describing James'
ascetic lifestyle, Saint Jerome, De Viris Illustribus, quotes Hegesippus'
account of James from the fifth book of Hegesippus' lost Commentaries:
"After the
apostles, James the brother of the Lord surnamed the Just was made head of the
Church at Jerusalem. Many indeed are called James. This one was holy from his
mother's womb. He drank neither wine nor strong drink, ate no flesh, never
shaved, or anointed himself with ointment or bathed. He alone had the
privilege of entering the Holy of Holies, since indeed he did not use
woolen vestments but linen and went alone into the temple and prayed in behalf
of the people, insomuch that his knees were reputed to have acquired the
hardness of camels' knees."
Since it was
unlawful for any but the high priest of the temple to enter the Holy of Holies
once a year on Yom Kippur, Jerome's quotation from Hegesippus indicates that
James was considered a high priest. The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions
suggest this.”
Rav Sha’ul or The Apostle “Paul”
(as he is known today) was a Nazarene or Notsri.
Being the Leader
of the Nazarenes is a very powerful indicator of what Sha’ul believed and
taught. We should all take the time to do our research
of what belief
system defines the Nazarene. Those who claim Sha’ul is a false teacher are immature, at
best, in their understanding of history and what Sha’ul taught. Please see my
book The Law and The Pauline Doctrine for the truth of what Sha’ul taught and
to overcome the twisted Greek appropriate lie that is … The Pauline Doctrine.
Buy Now!
If the Nazarenes accepted Sha’ul as their Leader, then
Sha’ul must have been an outspoken champion of their cause with unique
understanding of the Torah and Messiah! So, what does it mean to be a
“Nazarene”? This is very important, because whatever that means…
THAT
is what Sha’ul stood for, taught, promoted, and later died for, and it should
be within THAT context we understand his writings (not within
the Hellenistic context our English Bibles are written twisting his letters
into “The Pauline Doctrine”). Sha’ul was a Hebrew Nazarene, not a Roman Hellenized
Christian like he is portrayed today. Remember, after
Sha’ul was arrested in Jerusalem; he was escorted to Caesarea to appear before
the governor, Felix. Under the authority of Ananias, the “unauthorized” high
priest, Tertullus brought the charges before Felix. Notice his accusation:
-
Acts 24:5-6
“For we have found this man to be a pest and
a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader
of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the Temple:
whom we took, and would have judged according to our law”
So,
here we see a firsthand account and eye witness testimony that Sha’ul was a
Nazarene and follower of Yahusha. Sha’ul was, in fact, the Leader of the
Nazarenes, having assumed that role upon James death in 62 AD. Sha’ul went on
to make waves in Israel among the Jewish leaders and Pharisees (as Yahusha
did), confronting them with the written Torah and overturning their
traditions. Sha’ul was being tried for the exact same “crime” that Yahusha was
put to death for! Sha’ul, like John and Yahusha, was the leading figure in
defense of the written Torah, Prophets, and Messiah. He was a Nazarene after
all!
Initially, after Yahusha’s
death and later the stoning of Steven, the Nazarene followers went into hiding
fearing they too would be rounded up and meet the same fate. However, under the
leadership of Rav Sha’ul the Apostle (and the protection of Gamaliel in the
Sanhedrin), the Nazarenes began to steadily grow in number. They first
began to emerge after Yahusha’s execution following Shav’uot when Yahuah
breathed on (poured out His Spirit) the Disciples. They began to teach
in public arenas with much more confidence; The Ruach giving them a
Spirit
of Comfort from the threat of death known as
the Comforter.
The Nazarenes would steadily increase their numbers and eventually grow to be
the dominant sect in Jerusalem. The turning point would be as a result of Rav
Sha’ul, a high-ranking Pharisee greatly respected in Jerusalem, converting to
become a Nazarene follower of Yahusha. Let us look at Sha’ul’s journey to
accept Yahusha as his Messiah.
Sha’ul, as we all know, was a
leading figure in persecuting the Nazarenes as he was a very prominent Pharisee
and deeply dedicated to the preservation of The Torah (which he thought was
under attack by this new sect called Nazarenes). Sha’ul was present at
Stephen’s stoning, which later would haunt Sha’ul, and most probably, remained
with him as his “thorn in the side”. Prior to the stoning of Stephen, while
Caiaphas and his father-in-law Ananias were in control of the Temple, there was
a significant event that took place found in the historical records… not
recorded in the Book of Acts.
It was at this historical
event that Sha’ul learned to highly respect James the Just (whom he was
attempting to kill). How did that happen? It is important to investigate
another earlier event (not recorded in Acts) in which the leadership of the
Nazarene Ecclesia were challenged to a public debate with the Temple leadership
over the claims that Yahusha was the Messiah of the Jews. This debate was to
take place on the interior Temple steps in front of the population.
The Nazarene leaders felt
this would be a good opportunity to present their message of the risen Messiah
to the Jews in Jerusalem. The account of this event virtually became extinct (thanks
to Christianity whose goal is to hide the truth of Sha’ul), except in the
poorly preserved 4th century Latin translation by Rufinus of Aquileia of the
3rd century work, The Recognitions of Clements.
Clements was a disciple of
Barnabus. Clements later became the third bishop of Rome dedicated by Peter the
Apostle. His work, mostly unknown today, would be accepted as based on even
earlier manuscripts, lost to antiquity, called the Preaching of Peter and the
Ascents of Jacob. The Recognitions of Clements, were preserved
and recognized as writings of the Nazarenes of the Zadok-Essene tradition
called the Ebionites/Nazarenes (which I explained earlier in this book).
The Recognitions of
Clements, documents a very
important turning point with both the Nazarenes and the man who would later
rise in their ranks to lead them (defining the Nazarenes to this day) …
Rav Sha’ul the Pharisee!
This event is the debate
between James the Just (the brother of Yahusha and Leader of the Nazarenes
in Jerusalem), and Rav Sha’ul (the Pharisee) on the steps of the
Temple. A very public debate that changed both men’s lives, ultimately serving
as the foundation of their mutual respect and later their close relationship!
The opening debate topics
included:
1.
Emphasis on Mikveh and
self-sacrifice in opposition to physical animal sacrifices
2.
Placing Yahusha on the same level
as Moses
3.
Attacking the teachings of Yahusha
which attracted the poor by offering Earthly rewards and inheritances to those
who maintained a Righteous life, and
4.
Charging Peter, a man not
officially educated in the Pharisaic schools in Jerusalem, as portraying himself
as a ‘teacher’ and using the title Rabbi.
The public debate broke down
when Peter attacked the Temple sacrificial system, saying:
“We have ascertained beyond doubt that
Yahuah is much rather displeased with the sacrifices you offer, the time of sacrifices
having now passed away (been transposed to the Spirit
with Melchizedek). And because you will not admit that the time for
offering (animal) victims is past (been transposed
to self-sacrifice as we are living sacrificial lambs
in The Yahushaic Covenant), therefore the Temple will
be destroyed, and the abomination of desolation shall stand in the Holy Place.”
Source: Recognitions of Clements liii to lxxi as quoted
Schonfield, Hugh Joseph, The Pentecost Revolution, The Story of the Jesus Party
in Israel, AD 36-66, Macdonald and Janes, St. Giles, 49/50 Poland Street,
London, W.I., 1974, p 126.
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“It took the mediation of Gamaliel, the
chief officer of the Sanhedrin, religious court, to stop the debate to be
resumed the next day, this time limiting the debate to Gamaliel representing
the Sanhedrin and James (Yaakov) the Just representing the Nazarenes. This
engaging debate raged for seven days in which at the end, “all the people, the
high priest included, are ready to be Mikveh’d.”
Source: Schonfield, Hugh Joseph, The Pentecost Revolution, The Story
of the Jesus Party in Israel, AD 36-66, Macdonald and Janes’s, St. Giles, 49/50
Poland Street, London, W.I., 1974, p 127
At this moment, in arrives an
‘enemy’, which Jewish historian, Hugh Schonfield identified as Sha’ul, the
student of Gamaliel, who along with his supporters began harassing and reviling
the priests and eventually incited them to murder. With that, Sha’ul seized a
firebrand from the altar and began to attack the Nazarenes. At that time, according
to the Ascents of Jacob as quoted in the Recognition of Clements, the following
account occurred:
“Much blood is shed; there is a confused flight,
in the midst of which that enemy attacked Jacob (James the Just), and threw him
headlong from the top of the steps; and supposing him to be dead, he cared not
to inflict further violence upon him. But our friends lifted him up, for they
were both more numerous and powerful than the others; but, from fear of God,
they rather allowed themselves to be killed by an inferior force than they
would kill others. But when the evening came the priest shut up the Temple and
we returned to Jacob’s house, and spent the night there in prayer. Then before
daylight we went down to Jericho, to the number of five thousand men.”
Source: Ascents of Jacob, quoted in the Recognitions of Clements liii
to lxxi as quoted by Schonfield, Hugh Joseph, The Pentecost Revolution, The
Story of the Jesus Party in Israel, AD 36-66, Macdonald and Janes, St. Giles,
49/50 Poland Street, London, W.I., 1974, p 126)
It was Epiphanius, accepting the historicity of this event
quoted in the Ascents who states:
“They (the Ebionites) have other Acts which they
call those of the apostles, in which are many things filled with their impiety,
whence they have incidentally furnished themselves with arms against the truth.
For they set forth certain Ascents and Instructions forsooth in the Ascents of
Jacob, representing him as holding forth against both Temple and sacrifices,
and against the fire on the altar, and many other things filled with empty
talk, so that they are not ashamed in them even to denounce Paul in certain
invented utterances of the malignant and deceitful work of their false
apostles.
Source: Epiphanius, Parnarmour xxx 16, quoted in Schonfield,
Hugh Joseph, The Pentecost Revolution, The Story of the Jesus Party in Israel,
AD 36-66, Macdonald and Janes’s, St. Giles, 49/50 Poland Street, London, W.I.,
1974, p 128)
Let us dissect this critical
event in the early history of the Nazarene Ecclesia very carefully. Epiphanius
was the first recognized church historian for the Roman orthodox church, who
felt that the books (the Recognition of Clements, and the Ascents of James)
represented books of heresy. Later, in church history, all books of heresy were
called Gnostics, but we must be careful to recognize that there were many
competing ideologies and factions that were trying to gain control over the
Jewish and later the Christian congregations. Yet Epiphanius, as a historian,
still recognized that religious texts of opposing ideologies, did still, give
historical accounts that were valuable in understanding the growing ecclesia of
the apostles in Jerusalem called Nazarenes.
From every appearance, the
writers of the Ascent of Jacob, did have a case against the Apostle Sha’ul, who
in his rash younger days, did oppose and persecute the leaders of the Hebrew
Ecclesia of Nazarenes (in Jerusalem) and sought to kill James the Just, during
a debate in the Temple, against the leading rabbinic scholar in Jerusalem and
the Ab Beth-Din (the Chief Officer of the Sanhedrin), Gamaliel. If this
historical event is accepted even in part, then there was a very personal
relationship, though initially acrimonious, between Sha’ul and the Apostle
James the Just, before Sha’ul’s conversion. There is a saying in regard to very
close intimate relationships; they are born first out of conflict, then change,
leading to respect.
Intimacy = Conflict plus Change
Relating this formula, to the
relationship of the Pharisee Sha’ul and the powerful oppositional high priest
and Leader of the Nazarene Ecclesia, James the Just, both Rabbi Sha’ul and
James the Just, did have a very personal and intimate relationship. Yet
there was truly conflict between these two opponents in the Jewish first
century Temple culture. Sha’ul, was the flaming zealot and guardian of The Law
and the sacrificial system of the Temple culture. James the Just, was the Leader
of the Yahusha movement in Judea, and the Oppositional High Priest (or Nasi)
of the Hebrew Nazarene Ecclesia of Israel and also, the zealot for The Law of
Moses. Their main conflict was over the life, ministry, death, and Resurrection
of Rabbi Yahusha, Fulfilled the Torah type and anti-type shadow pictures of the
spring festivals, as the Son of the God of Abraham, and the Mashiach of the
Jews. Rabbi Sha’ul would later be the leading figure in history to reveal the
meaning of the very things he sought to destroy!
The nemesis of the Nazarenes,
Sha’ul, personally confronted James the Just and sought to destroy his life. It
can be suggested that Rabbi Sha’ul, whom we know as the Apostle Paul, owed
something to Jacob (James the Just) in his prior attempt to take his
life. For the Nazarene Nasi, or High Priest, for James the Just to accept Sha’ul
back into the fellowship of the Nazarenes, despite the prior attempt of Rabbi
Sha’ul to kill him, says also something of the character of that man James (Yaakov)
called, the Tzaddik (The Just). It might also fill in the blanks as to
why the Apostle Sha’ul was so dutifully loyal to James the Just in later years.
As we shall later see, it the
opinion of many scholars, that the Apostle Sha’ul and James the Just became
close and personal friends, they respected each other for their positions as
zealots of the Law of Moses. They both became fierce advocates that Yahusha,
the brother of James, was truly the Promised Redeemer of Israel and they both
gave their lives for allegiance to Yahusha the Nazarene, who became the Messiah.
James lost his life by the hands of the same Sadducean families that sought to
destroy his brother. Sha’ul lost his life at the hands of the Romans, by the
neurotic and half crazed emperor, Nero, who pitted the forces of Rome against
the zealots of Judea, when Rome burned to the ground in 69 CE.
What was the atmosphere in
Israel, at the time of Sha’ul’s ministry, that influenced Rav Sha’ul the
Apostle leading to his acceptance of Yahusha as the Messiah?
In Acts, we see Peter Proclaims
the Gospel in Jerusalem and 3000 men join the ranks of the Nazarenes and
followers of Yahusha. Those 3000 men were all JEWISH (not a ‘Christian’
among them)! The Nazarenes were all Jewish. The proclamation continues in
chapter three in the Temple with Peter and John taking center place. They are Witnesses
that Yahuah raised Yahusha from the dead. In Acts Chapter four, Peter and John
are arrested by the “captain of the Temple and the Sadducees” because they were
preaching the Resurrection of Yahusha. At that same time, the number of the
Nazarenes who believed in Yahusha had reached about 5000. This meant they
outgrew the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes according Josephus’
numbers.
The Nazarenes were now the largest and fastest growing
sect in Jerusalem! Not one of them were a Christian (Greek pagans). They all
were Jews who accepted Yahusha as the Messiah and were all to a man Torah
observant. This is the true early “church”.
It was in this environment
that Sha’ul came to believe in Yahusha as well. The catalyst being Sha’ul’s
confrontation with James the Just! Sha’ul was a “Doctor of The Law” (that is
what a Pharisee is), who studied under the most influential Jewish Rabbi in
history, Gamaliel. Gamaliel was such a respected figure during the time of
Yahusha, that he literally dictated the proceeding of the Sanhedrin. His
authority was such, that he even rivaled the authority of the High Priest, as
we read in Acts Chapter 5! The epigram which Rabbinic literature gives to him
speaks of the respect with which Gamaliel was held:
When
he died the honor [outward respect] of the Torah ceased, and purity and piety
became extinct"(Sotah xv: 18).
Even the Jews admit that upon
Gamaliel’s death, the honor of the Torah ceased (succumbed to Hellenism)
and purity and piety became extinct where it remains today, in the form
of Rabbinical Judaism. From that point forward, history records that Judaism
succumbed to Hellenization and paganism. So, the Jews recognize Gamaliel’s’
death as the defining moment when Judaism went astray.
Historically, we know that Gamaliel
was an important Jewish leader of the first century, and the New Testament
confirms that he was part of the Sanhedrin, a Doctor of The Law and respected
by the people. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, records all this along with
the fact, that he is a Pharisee and the teacher of Rav Sha’ul. To Luke, the
term Pharisee was descriptive and not necessarily written with a negative
connotation… for Sha’ul himself claimed to be a Pharisee (in the Acts of the
Apostles). It was Sha’ul being the protégé of Gamaliel, that was
instrumental in Sha’ul’s rapid climb in influence and position within the ranks
of the Pharisees. Gamaliel flourished then from about 20 AD to 52 AD, this was
the period in which the “Church” (or rather Nazarenes) first grew into
prominence.
Gamaliel was a Nasi (head
of the Pharisees) in this period. During this period that Gamaliel headed
up the party of the Pharisees, Yahusha said: “The Pharisees sit in
Moses' seat, so all that they say to you, observe and do”. Since
Gamaliel is said to have ‘sit at the steps of the Temple Mount’ (and issued
letters from there), it is likely he saw Yahusha in action and heard him
teach, and perhaps, even met and spoken to the Messiah, on at least one
occasion, if not many. Gamaliel later became a follower of the Messiah and by
all accounts, maintaining his position in the Sanhedrin to use his position of
authority to protect the Nazarenes from prosecution (as we see him do in the
book of Acts). This is not admitted or even mentioned in Rabbinical
Judaism!
We then see Rav Sha’ul, an
influential member of the sect of the Pharisees, become a believer and called
directly by Yahusha, to bring the Gospel to the lost sheep of the House of
Israel, scattered among the Gentile nations. It was a fellow Nazarene,
described as “an observant follower of the Torah”, who came to restore Sha’ul’s
vision.
-
Acts 22:12 –
Sha’ul going
to a Torah observant Jew to be healed
A man named Hananyah, an observant
follower of the Torah (why would he add that
statement?) who was highly regarded by the entire Jewish community
there, came to me, stood by me and said “Brother Sha’ul, see again!”.
We have Sha’ul’s teacher (a
devote Torah observant famous Rabbi), the man who healed Sha’ul’s sight, all
Torah observant Jews! In fact, there was no such thing as a Christian among
them at that time. There were the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essences, and Nazarenes
and all of them were Torah observant Jews.
This is the historical
context of Sha’ul’s transition from being a leading Pharisee, to becoming a
Nazarene, to being influential in the conversion of his Rabbi Gamaliel to
becoming a Nazarene, and finally later, becoming the “Leader of the Nazarenes”
which ultimately lead to his own death. We have an environment where the
leaders of the Pharisees (Gamaliel and Sha’ul) became converts to the
Messiah Yahusha, and in Sha’ul’s case, the Leader of the entire Nazarene
movement.
Today, after 2,000 years of
pagan Greek influence in translating the Scriptures, Sha’ul’s Nazarene
teachings have been twisted into a Greek appropriate lie called
The
Pauline Doctrine. Many so- called “Teachers” today have proclaimed
Sha’ul a false teacher. This is because they themselves are “self-appointed
teachers” void of the Ruach to teach them the truth of the letters that
Sha’ul actually wrote. Since they cannot properly teach his letters, they
instead declare him a false teacher so they are not exposed as very immature
teachers at best, if not false teachers themselves who do not understand
what they read. Any discussion of Rav Sha’ul the Apostle today, must come with
a strong rebuke of those who would bear false witness against the most
influential and anointed teacher of the Nazarenes!
What these ‘immature teachers’ are rebelling against is
not Sha’ul’s actual writings, but The Pauline Doctrine of the ‘Christian
Church’ which is a sound bite driven doctrine born out of twisted
mistranslated texts!
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