Judaism, Christianity and a Religion of Ecumenical Councils

Judaism, Christianity and a Religion of Ecumenical Councils

By: Evangelos Dim. Kepenes  (01/24/2018)

                                                                                                                     'Documented argumentation does not choose the truth but is led to it.'

The historical Biblical monotheistic Judaism, which stood out among the trinitarian, polytheistic religions of the nations, gave birth to Christianity through the recorded promises of the Torah or Pentateuch of Moses and the Jewish prophets. However, when the fullness of time came and God sent His Son, born of Mary, Jesus, thus fulfilling the promise He had given to the patriarch and founder of the Hebrew nation, Abraham, that He would make him the father of a multitude of nations through faith, Judaism had split in two.

One part was Pharisaic Judaism, as it had evolved from the 2nd century BC onwards. After the Babylonian captivity in 587 BC and the destruction of Solomon's Temple, aiming to preserve the national and religious cohesion of the worldly Jewish nation, houses of prayer and study, the known synagogues, were created as a substitute for the Temple, where the leading figures were not priests, but wise and learned Jews, who were renamed rabbis. Defending against external, cultural, and religious influences, mainly from the Greeks, and gradually adding human traditions and teachings to the education of the Jews, that is, the oral Torah (Torah She-be-al Peh), they fueled the development of national-religious superiority, i.e., nationalism, which was represented with extreme zeal by the Pharisees. As a consequence, a new attribute of the one God of Israel was formed, that of a national protector, in imitation of national polytheism. This erroneous perception of the one true God as a national protector (War-God) is upheld to this day by various so-called Christian national entities. They adopted it through the unfortunate historical event of the nationalization of Hellenized Christianity by the Roman state in the 4th century AD.

The other part was the original Biblical Judaism, which remained anchored in the written word and the prophets, awaited the consolation of Israel, and accepted the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham concerning eternal life in Christ Jesus according to the Scriptures. This original Biblical Judaism reached its spiritual completion, which is the genuine early non-religionized Christianity, as established by Jesus and His Apostles.

The first Jewish Christians and those later incorporated into this part of Judaism formed a spiritual body that maintained its monotheistic faith unchanged. Quickened by Jesus Christ, they proved to be "children of promise" and became "partakers of the heavenly calling." They worshipped God "in spirit and in truth," and God gave them the authority to become His sons and daughters, being the God of the Living and not of the Dead.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” [John 3:36, Matt. 22:32, Luke 2:25, 2 Tim. 1:1, Heb. 3:2]

I. The Birth of Biblical Judaism

Biblical Judaism was the traditional monotheistic religion of the Hebrews, born after its constitution as a nation. It was the Religion of promises and expectations with a strong element of types, which were images of the heavenly expected spiritual goods fulfilled through Jesus Christ, and it had an age-like character with birth, peak, and old age.

“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” [Heb. 8:13]

Its main prophet and founder was God's servant Moses, who did everything he was shown. The historical circumstances of the formation of the Hebrew nation and religion are known through the written Torah and the books of the prophets of Israel, the Hebrew Bible.

From the beginning, the birth, guidance, and communication of the true God with the carnal Israel made it a heteronomous nation, socially and religiously, a nation dependent on divine commandments, with the only proof of its nationality being its biological descent from Abraham. The other autonomous peoples chose their land, their interaction and intermingling with others, philosophized, legislated, invented their gods and their respective religions, according to their applied politics and their social, spiritual, and cultural needs, unless they were under foreign dominion.

Israel [=Strength of God] neither chose, nor was it imposed by other states to be this way. It was God Himself who spoke to Abram the Chaldean, son of the idolater Terah, then seventy-five years old, and said to him:

“Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” [Gen. 12:1-2, 7, Acts ch. 7]

So Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot and went to the land of Canaan. There again the Lord appeared to him and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” So God Himself decided to create the nation of Israel, designated its land of dwelling and the place where they would worship Him, and established Abram as its biological father, promising to bless him.

And while Abram had already received the promise that he would be the biological father of the carnal Israel, at the age of eighty-six he fathered Ishmael from Hagar, Sarai's Egyptian handmaid, which allegorically interpreted, is the Old Covenant, (“which gendereth to bondage”) [Gal. 4:24], or otherwise, the Mosaic Law, which after four hundred and thirty years Moses received on Mount Sinai, through angels, and which would constitute the inviolable rule of the religious and political organization of the Jewish nation, with heavenly promises that received spiritual completion in the person of Christ. [Deut. 4:2, Heb. 8:5, Gal. 4:24]

Thus, the national and religious identity of the earthly Israel and the boundaries of its dwelling, in the land where the Amorites dwelt before, were defined by God Himself with the sovereign command:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” [Judg. 6:10?, Acts 7:53, Deut. 6:4, Gen. 16:16, Gal. 4:22-24]

The Promise of Life to Abram

At ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared again to Abram, and after introducing Himself as his God, said:

“As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. […] And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” [Gen. 17:4, 11]

Circumcision as a Sign of the Covenant

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant, a seal, confirming what was promised, i.e., justification and quickening by faith for all nations. And Abraham, according to the promise, would be the father of faith for all believers, whether circumcised or not. The circumcision of the foreskin was not an innovation for the Hebrews that would make them special or superior to other nations, but it was a sign to remind them of God's promise to Abraham concerning the quickening of the dead through faith, (“a father of many nations have I made thee”). Moreover, circumcision was already in use before Abraham by Egyptians, Ethiopians, Syrians, and others. [Herod. Hist. II, 104:2]

“What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” [Rom. 3:1-3]

The fulfillment of the promise, through Jesus, abolished circumcision. Paul wrote to the Jews who had believed from the beginning:

“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” [Gal. 5:2]

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” [Phil. 3:2-3]

Continuing, God, speaking to Abraham, tells him to call his wife Sarai by the name Sarah [=Princess] henceforth, and although Sarah did not bear children when young, He promises that in her old age she would give him a son through her, Isaac. Isaac, as a child of promise, became the most important allegory in the history of Judaism and is the New Covenant of grace, which freed from the bondage and guilt of the law, and which is the fulfillment/completion of Biblical Judaism. [Gen. ch. 17, Gal. 4:22-24, 5:1, Rom. 10:4, Heb. 2:15]

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:2)

The Teaching of Christianity on the Promise of Life to Abraham

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.” [2 Tim. 1:1]

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” [Gal. 4:28]

“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect.” [Rom. 4:13]

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. […] Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ (the Life).” [Gal. 3:6-8, 16, John 11:25]

Abraham, Father of Faith

“Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.” [Rom. 3:29]

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. […] How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.” [Rom. 4:3-11]

“As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” [Rom. 4:17]

So, the promise of the one God to Abraham, that He would become the father of a multitude of nations, spoke of the quickening of the dead, both Jews and Gentiles.

“But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” [Matt. 8:22]

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” [Eph. 5:14]

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” [Eph. 2:5-6]

This same promise invalidates every nationalist and biological interpretation of Pharisaic Judaism concerning the revival and prevalence, on a global scale, of the earthly kingdom of Israel. It was a promise of God that transcended the narrow limits of the carnal, genealogically Jewish nation and embraced all children of faith, regardless of earthly nationality. Any biological or national-religious understanding of the promise is devoid of truth. God did not tell Abraham that he would be the biological father of all nations, but made him the father of faith, of the children of promise who are without father, without mother, without descent in relation to the worldly creation, because the household, the Living children of God, are a spiritual Living Nation.

“But as many as received him, to them gave Ηe power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1:12-13]

And to thy seed, which is Christ [the Life]

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” [1 Peter 1:23]

Nor when He said “and to thy seed” did He mean the corruptible biological seed, because the biological man is sown, born, with corruption, with dishonour, and with weakness, but by establishing Abraham as the father of faith, He told him about the heavenly man Jesus Christ, who as a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), raises within the psychic, corruptible, and mortal body of earthly men, the inner, new man, the spiritual man.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption [biological seed]; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body [psychic]; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body [psychic], and there is a spiritual body.” [1 Cor. 15:42-44]

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” [John 3:6]

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man [the psychic] perish, yet the inward man [the spiritual man] is renewed day by day.” [2 Cor. 4:16]

“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” [Col. 3:9-10]

The old / the outward man is the mortal, carnal, corruptible man, who is “sown,” born from an earthly father and an earthly mother, while the new / the inward man is the spiritual, incorruptible one, who is born inside the earthly / mortal one, from the heavenly Jesus, who is a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18) This birth concerns the spiritual man and not the carnal one.

The Earthly Man was a Type of the Spiritual Man of the Promise

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” (Rom. 5:14)

God is Spirit, He is eternal/immortal, and cannot be considered as clay from the earth. Therefore, the execution of His purpose, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” required a heavenly, eternal/immortal, spiritual man and not an earthly one from the ground, dependent on food and drink (John 4:24, Gen. 1:26).

The earthly Adam (= man) was formed according to the image of God, “in the image of God” and “the figure of him that was to come” (Rom. 5:14). And his categorization as “the first man” indicates the expectation of a second (1 Cor. 15:47-49), who would be according to the requirements of God's original purpose, i.e., spiritual, eternal/immortal, and heavenly. Consequently, from the beginning of the creation of man from the earth, the spiritual man, the new creation, was the expected one. This expectation was fulfilled through Jesus, “who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” (Col. 1:15)

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” [Gen. 49:10]
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

The Flesh/Body of Jesus Christ is the Temple of the Invisible God (John 2:21)

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col. 2:9)

In the Old Testament, God, the Spirit, appeared through the earthly Sanctuary (=Holy Place, Temple), in a cloud. In the New Testament, “God was manifest in the flesh.” He appeared through the heavenly Temple. Through the body from heaven, of the holy child Jesus. (Lev. 16:2, 1 Tim. 3:16)

“To wit, that God was in Christ (God was dwelling in Christ bodily), reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:19)

In the Old Testament, the tabernacle of witness, otherwise the sanctuary, “a worldly sanctuary” [Heb. 9:1], was the portable, earthly, and handmade tabernacle of the Hebrews, the strongest institution of Hebrew society and Judaism, which was constructed by God's command to Moses. And it was a type of the true, heavenly, not made with hands, dwelling place of God. It was constructed with earthly materials, with the most important vessel being the ark of the testimony, inside the holy of holies, where the presence of God was.

“And let them make me a sanctuary [= sanctuary, temple]; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” [Ex. 25:8-9]

The worldly, handmade temple consisted of the first tabernacle, where the priests performing the service entered, and the second tabernacle (the Holy of Holies), where the Ark of the Covenant was and into which only the high priest entered, offering the blood of animals, “for himself, and for the errors of the people.” Between the two tabernacles there was a partition, the veil.

As long as the first tabernacle was standing, the Holy Spirit indicated that the way into the Holiest had not yet been made manifest, as its service functioned with animal sacrifices, offerings, food, and drink, which were carnal ordinances. All these were a parable until the time when Christ Jesus would come, the true heavenly Tabernacle, inside which true spiritual worshippers “in Spirit and in truth,” “those in Christ,” would worship. [Heb. 9:6-10]

The heavenly body/flesh of Jesus is the True, not made with hands, Temple, it is the heavenly true tabernacle that came, it is the way that leads into the holy places, it is the way by which we draw near and worship God, who dwells inside it bodily, “in spirit and in truth.” (Heb. 8:1-2, 10:19)

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building [the worldly, the earthly]”. [Heb. 9:11]

So God annulled, canceled, the old, the carnal, and established, introduced, the new, the spiritual. In this new heavenly Temple of the body of Jesus (John 2:21), those quickened through Jesus Christ, “those in Christ,” true, spiritual worshippers, the “new creation,” have worshipped since then.

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” [John 4:23-24]

The institution of the earthly tabernacle of Jewish society was replaced by the heavenly tabernacle with the New and living way, which was consecrated through the veil, that is, through the flesh of Jesus, which came down from heaven.

The Origin of Jesus

“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 1:20)

The Father of the heavenly man Jesus was the Spirit, and Jesus was born a life-giving spirit. If Jesus were a biological, earthly man, he could not bring about the regeneration (=to be born again, to return from death or non-existence to life). (Matt. 19:28)

According to biblical testimony, Jesus was the seed of the promise to Abraham, and His Father was the Spirit. His characterization as “the second man from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:48) disqualifies him as an earthly, biological man. Given also that God does not dwell in handmade temples, it was impossible for all the fullness of the Godhead to dwell bodily inside the blameless and spotless Jesus (1 Pet. 1:19), if His flesh, His body, were biological. The biological man is corruptible and cannot inherit incorruption, nor can flesh and blood inherit the kingdom of God. The heirs are the spiritual children of promise, the new creation, the regeneration.

Jesus was not a type of the first man, but the first man from the earth was a type of the future man, “the true one,” the second man, from heaven, Jesus, whose flesh/body was “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” (Rom. 8:3, 1 John 5:20)

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [psychic]; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Cor. 15:45-50)

Jesus said about himself the following:

“And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath [earthly]; I am from above [heavenly]: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” (John 8:23)

“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” (John 6:32-33)

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” [John 6:51]

The authors of the epistles said about Jesus:

“He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.” (John 3:31)

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man.” (John 3:13)

“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” (1 Cor. 15:47)

“He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” (Eph. 4:10)

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn from the dead.” (Col. 1:19? The reference seems off; Col. 1:15 is "firstborn of every creature")

“And the Word was made flesh,” “God was manifest in the flesh,” “the life was manifested.” [John 1:14, 1 Tim. 3:16, 1 John 1:2]

The Fulfillment of the Promise

The promise, therefore, to the fathers of the Hebrews and founders of Jewish monotheism, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was fulfilled.

“And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” [Acts 13:33]

Early Christianity is the fulfillment of the written expectations of Biblical Judaism, which was completed. “Christ is the end of the law.” Biblical Judaism was characterized as a religion of expectations and a religion of types. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost confirmed the completion of the era of Biblical Judaism and its typology. The baton for the salvation of man and the true knowledge and worship of the one God was taken up by the first apostolic Church, the sect of Judaism (Acts 28:22), with the command not to be imposed or nationalized, but:

“That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” [Luke 24:47]

Just as God's promises to Abraham legitimized the carnal Israel and Biblical Judaism, so too the fulfillment of these promises by God legitimizes and establishes the new spiritual Israel which is the Church of the living God. This pure, non-religionized Christianity certainly needs no worldly legitimization, nor any kind of worldly imposition, because it is based on the will of God and the unforced will of man “If any man will come after me …”. [Matt. 16:24]

The Birth of Pharisaic Judaism 

God had appointed the priests, the sons of Aaron, as responsible for teaching the people of Israel and interpreting the written law, and for matters and differences among them, He indicated that they should appoint judges.

"[...] that ye may put difference [Aaron and his sons] between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses." [Lev. 10:10-11]

"Judges and officers [teachers] shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment." [Deut. 16:18]

The institution of the monarchy, which the Hebrews requested from the last judge, Samuel, created, as in every kingdom, family-based oligarchies. Combined with the ignorance of the law due to the faulty teaching of the priests, who sometimes even neglected the maintenance of the temple [2 Kings 12:4], it created rival political and religious currents, which brought about schisms among the people of Israel, apostasy from God, the division of the kingdom, and civil wars. In the acts of the kings, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, stands out, who attempted to do what was right in the sight of God and sent, along with the Levites and unauthorized officials, to the cities of Judah to teach the people the book of the Law of the Lord [2 Chr. 17:7-9]. Consequently, the involvement of the elite in religious matters was in action, and the safeguarding of interests required the survival of the nation, resulting in the gradual development of a nationalist religious consciousness and faith in a God, a national protector, who would ensure the prosperity and supremacy of the state against others. Thus, the perception of God's good intention to bless all nations, as it had been announced to the patriarch Abraham, was overshadowed.

Later, during the Babylonian captivity and diaspora, the destruction of the built Temple, the strongest institution of Judaism, highlighted intensely the need for the survival of Jewish identity and the elevation of national and religious morale. This need was met by the houses of prayer and study which evolved into synagogues, with educators, learned Jews, the later rabbis. The synagogues were places of prayer usually built outside the city and near rivers or coasts to facilitate purifications, and they compensated for the lack of the Temple, continuing as a secondary religious institution even after its rebuilding, which was done with the support and sponsorship of a foreign power, Persia. [Ezra 7:14-15]

The leading figures during the period of the Temple's rebuilding, which however lacked the splendor of the first, were the political leader Zerubbabel and the priest and scribe Ezra, skilled in the written law of the Lord, who largely restored the knowledge of the law, appointed Levitical priests, judges, and magistrates, and thus the kingdom of Judah continued its survival with those whose spirit God had stirred to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. [Ezra 1:5]

Until the birth of Jesus, the Hebrew nation continued its schismatic religious and political course. Apart from the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, a temple also operated in Samaria, on Mount Gerizim, which was built by the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel and according to Josephus was destroyed by the high priest and king of the Jews John Hyrcanus in 128 BC, who inaugurated in Israel the institution of dual power, political and religious. Also, archaeologists confirm a Jewish temple on the island of Elephantine in Egypt which served the needs of the Jewish community there. With the support of Ptolemy VI, another temple was built by the high priest Onias in Leontopolis, Egypt, where he had fled after being persecuted by the Maccabee family; this temple was a spiritual center for the Jews of Egypt. The participation of the Jews of Alexandria in the revolt of the Jews of Palestine against Roman domination brought about the destruction of the temple in Leontopolis.

Political Division of the Jews

The civil war among the Greeks between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, who eventually prevailed in Palestine, turned the land of Judea, due to its geographical location, into a battlefield, dragging the Hebrews into political division, splitting them into Hellenizers and nationalists. The violent policy of Hellenization by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire (175-164 BC), outlawed the Jewish religion, causing civil war among the Jewish factions, with the participation of Hellenizing high priests. The Maccabean revolt, after many struggles, eventually granted independence again to the Jews, and peace ensued between the factions, but the spread of Greek thought and the tendency towards Hellenization were not curbed. The hostilities between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, the prevalence of Antiochus IV, the desecration of the Temple of Jerusalem, and the death of many Jews by the latter, who imposed the worship of Zeus upon them, are mentioned in the eleventh chapter (11) of the book of Daniel.

The involvement of the priestly institution with politics weakened its original mission and created a rift between the priests and the wise men and scribes who controlled the synagogues. In this way, the ground was cultivated for the emergence, from among the learned, of the sect of the Pharisees [= those who are separated] who claimed to be the legitimate representatives, interpreters, and guardians of Judaism. They recognized, besides the written Torah, the oral secret tradition which operated parallel to and complementarily with official Judaism, thus creating the dipole, commandments of God – commandments of men, which culminated in today's esoteric Judaism, the Kabbalah. They placed particular importance on man-made types, elevated national morale, and were popular among the common people. The Pharisees were in constant social and religious opposition to the sect of the Sadducees, who rejected the oral secret tradition, strongly pursued Hellenization, and defended the rights and privileges of the ruling class.

As forerunners of the Pharisees, they are characterized by many historians as the Hasidim or Chasidim or Hassidim (meaning "pious ones"), who were a Jewish movement in the late 3rd century BC with traditional, messianic, nationalist beliefs and expectations like those of the Pharisees and modern Jewish Zionism, as well as modern Christian Zionism.

The Roman conquest, the pro-Roman policy of the Jewish rulers, and the Hellenistic tendency of the wealthy Jews mainly of Palestine and those colonized in Egypt, strengthened the position of the Pharisees but created a side effect in the Hebrew perception, that of the predominance of oral traditions over the written Law of Moses, resulting in the birth of extreme nationalism. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this event and the Lord Jesus confirmed it.

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." [Matt. 15:6-9]

Throughout His ministry on the land of Israel, Jesus always referred to the written Law and the Prophets and never to human secret traditions and teachings which He rejected.

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." [Luke 24:27]

The Apostle Paul, "of the tribe of Benjamin," was a Pharisee, who studied in Jerusalem "at the feet" of Gamaliel, also a Pharisee. He was a great zealot for his ancestral traditions and before his conversion to Christ, not having the spiritual understanding of the written law, he persecuted and harassed the church of God.

"For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." [Gal. 1:13-14]

But when he came to his senses, he understood that the Scriptures spoke not of a carnal but of a spiritual people, who would receive a heavenly inheritance and kingdom, which would not be of this world. Thus, what he had previously considered as gains, he counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Having this understanding, he instructs the church "not to think beyond what is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another." [Phil. 3:8, 1 Cor. 4:6].

In his letter to Timothy, the same apostle exalts the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, placing the written word of the Hebrew Bible unquestionably above any human tradition and philosophy.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." [2 Tim. 3:16-17]

And again: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." [Rom. 15:4]

No "genuine child of faith," of the true Jesus, was led astray by the human traditions of the Pharisees, whose adherents, hoping in them, believed about Jesus that He was the Jew who would restore the kingdom to the carnal Israel according to the earthly pattern of David.

"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone." [John 6:15]

These same unbiblical Pharisaic perceptions stood as an obstacle to recognizing the heavenly Jesus as the One true God, and for this reason they sought to kill Him, believing that Jesus was, like them, an earthly man who made Himself God.

"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." [John 5:18]

"The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." [John 10:33]

Pharisaic Judaism remained in the nationalist, earthly view of God's promises and, not understanding the written prophetic word, rejected the finisher of faith, Jesus Christ, and persecuted true Christianity from its birth, thus failing to achieve its spiritual completion and become a recipient of the heavenly goods.

"And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." [John 5:40]

"For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain." [Acts 13:27-28]

Modern Rabbinic Judaism, which revels in a collection of human Jewish traditions, presents itself as the ideological continuation of Pharisaic Judaism with various trends, stripped of the elements that legitimized Judaism, namely the Temple, the Prophets, the Priests, the sacrifices, the baptisms, the offerings, and the genealogical Jewish bloodline. It posits the modern political "Israel" instead of Christ as the fulfillment of the biblical promises and maintains the expectation of a third handmade Temple in Jerusalem as the means of fulfilling its nationalist ideologies, completely ignoring that:

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." [Acts 17:25]

ΙΙΙ. The birth of the state religion of the Ecumenical Councils

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John, 8:31-32)

The formed Byzantine, "patristic" Christianity differs in its structure from the primitive Church founded by Jesus and His Apostles, which is the fulfillment of biblical Judaism.

The Hellenization of Christianity and the Christianization of Hellenism were facilitated by the historical Hellenization of the peoples of the East and were achieved through the mixture of predominantly Platonic thought and monotheistic Judeo-Christianity. The primary agent was the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo, who equated the Hebrew Scriptures with Platonism. While disseminating Greek philosophical positions, he held the deceptive view that he remained faithful to the Bible of his fathers. Philo was later imitated by the Apologist philosophers and the "Church Fathers." Gradually, this mixture formed a new philosophical current, which was an evolution of Plotinus's Neoplatonism, characterized as patristic philosophy, the Byzantine thought.

According to this new "patristic" philosophy, the "heavenly" man, Jesus Christ, is the incarnation of the pre-existent God the Son, has two natures, is a perfect man like an earthly one and a perfect God—here we have a copy of the mythological model "biological man - god"—and thus the Jewish deniers, who deceitfully led Jesus to the cross because He made Himself God while (according to them) He was a biological man, were vindicated by the "cooking" of the Fathers.

“The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God.” (John 10:33)

Patristic Philosophy and its Opposition to the Scriptures

The "Fathers" of the new religion, also influenced by Philo's love for contradictory Greek philosophy, ignored the Scriptures which say:

“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” [1 Cor. 1:21]

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” [1 Cor. 2:6-8]

The apostolic teaching in the Holy Spirit, that Christ is the manifestation of God's love and "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" is in contrast to human philosophy.

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” [1 Cor. 2:13]

“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” [1 Cor. 1:19-20]

The Apologist philosophers attempted to equate this contrast, on the one hand by downgrading "the gospel of God" to the level of human philosophy, and on the other by elevating contradictory human philosophy to a divine level. [Rom. 15:16]

“For Plato, as if he had descended from above and accurately seen all things in heaven, says that the supreme God is in a fiery substance. But Aristotle [...] clearly and manifestly refutes Plato's opinion.” [Justin Martyr, Exhortation to the Greeks (80, 81)]

A large portion of "Christians" from the 2nd century AD onwards proceeded with this contradictory philosophy, seduced by the Apologists, who erroneously taught that philosophy is a pedagogue to Christianity and a collaborator in understanding the truth, even though Justin in his writings presents versions contradictory to each other according to the latter.

The view that ancient philosophy is a collaborator in the Truth, Justin in one place (Second Apology, 10.1-8) attributes to the "spermatic word," i.e., the revelation of the God of the Bible to the pagan world in the form of seeds of truth; in another (First Apology, 54.1-10, Dialogue with Trypho, 69.1-4) he says that the devil (through philosophy) tried to deceive the nations so they would not believe in Christ; and in yet another (First Apology, 44.8-11) he says that the Greeks received their words from Moses and the prophets. Irenaeus of Lyons tried to smooth over the cacophony of contradictions through the theology of "recapitulation."

This teaching was in complete opposition to the teaching of the Apostles who said:

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” [Gal. 3:24-25]

The few references in the New Testament to Greek literature have merely a human meaning and do not prove the parallel adoption or dissemination of philosophical currents by the Apostles. This is erroneously claimed by the devotees of the evolved and processed "patristic" Christianity, which, as foretold, is the result of a years-long process of mixing mythology with the revelation of Truth by the Holy Spirit, which was sent from heaven. [1 Peter 1:12]

Biblical Testimony and the New Religion

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” [1 Cor. 2:4-5]

Accepting this correct practice of the apostle Paul, the Jews of Berea were "more noble" than those in Thessalonica. When Paul visited them in their synagogue, they received the word with all readiness. To ascertain the truth about Jesus, they "searched the scriptures daily" without resorting to Greek philosophy, which was seizing Christ as spoils from the believers.

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” [Col. 2:8]

The New Religion

The Platonizing new "patristic" thought, concealed behind the Hebrew Bible and the person of Jesus Christ and having Hellenism as its background, ultimately formed a new polytheistic religion, supported by the Roman policy of New Rome. Reviving typologically the incinerated liturgical forms of Judaism ("the elements shall melt with fervent heat" [2 Pet. 3:10])—such as earthly temples with symbolic arrangement and function, strongly reminiscent of the burned Temple of the Jews—it promoted the "other God Logos" of Philo and the Apologist Justin and other philosophers, from a "second" and "inferior" god, to "co-eternal" and "co-essential" with the Father, making an ontological equation of God the Father and God the Son.

The erroneous effort of the Apologists to mix Greek thought—which accepted complex deities with a hierarchical union of divine members [henotheism]—with biblical Monotheism, gave birth to long theological-philosophical battles. Finally, with the contribution of the philosopher "Fathers" and the convening of many Councils, which in practice fueled new conflicts, and successive depositions and exiles of bishops from all factions, a God of three Hypostases, a Triune Godhead, was produced, thus vindicating human philosophy and the perennial pagan polytheism.

The incomprehensible "Tri-hypostatic Unity" became fully comprehensible at the end of the 4th century AD, only by the philosopher "Fathers," who finalized the "Trinitarian" dogma that was proclaimed as Orthodox by imperial decree, replacing the teaching "according to Christ." [Col. 2:8]

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Excerpt from a decree of Byzantine Roman Law.

'Concerning the orthodox faith of the Christians and that no one should dare to publicly dispute about it.'

(1) Read book 1, title 1, chapters 1 and 4, in which it says that a Christian is one who believes there is one deity with equal power of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for he who believes contrary to what has been said is a heretic.

(2) Let no cleric or monk or soldier or any other person, gathering a crowd, publicly discuss the faith, for he would seem to insult the Council in Chalcedon which duly formulated everything, and which gives all heretics the opportunity to know our views. Therefore, if the one doing this is a cleric, he shall be expelled from the assembly of clerics. If a soldier, from the army. Let the rest be punished according to their respective rank. 

Historical Testimonies and Interventions

The "divine inspiration" of the Hellenizing patristic dogma and the conflicts and reactions between the patriarchal thrones, which were ultimately subdued by the emperor, is attested by the ecclesiastical history of V.K. Stefanidou, Papademetriou publications, from which we read excerpts:

"Theophilus of Alexandria was a devotee of Origen and an enemy of anthropomorphism. The monks of the Scetis in large groups went to Alexandria and threatened that they would kill him if he did not condemn Origen [...] Celestine of Rome considered the convening of an ecumenical council (for Nestorianism) unnecessary, but accepted it being convened by the emperor of the East Theodosius II and the emperor of the West Valentinian III. Thus the Third Ecumenical Council was convened in Ephesus (431). Theodosius II was favorably disposed towards Nestorius, appointed an imperial representative at the council, the count Candidian, a personal friend of Nestorius, and permitted part of the splendid imperial guard to accompany Nestorius to Ephesus. Cyril, one of the four great patriarchs of Alexandria (the third in order), like-minded nephew and successor of the known to us Theophilus of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus, followed by Egyptian bishops, monks, servants, and strong-armed sailors, who were ready with irresistible arguments to support their lord and his teaching against any possible violence from the opponents [...] Thus the Council of Ephesus split into two parts with opposing decisions." (pp. 208, 216-7)

"Emperor Theodosius II, persuaded by the supporters of Eutyches, convened a council in Ephesus (449), the sessions of which were held in the church of Mary. As imperial representatives were present the count (imperial advisor) Elpidius and the tribune and notary (both titles of an imperial secretary - the titles of 'count' and 'tribune' were given to civilian and military officials) and as representatives of Leo of Rome, one bishop, one presbyter (Renatus, who died in Delos before reaching Ephesus) and one deacon. President appointed by the emperor was Dioscorus of Alexandria. Flavian of Constantinople and his followers were deprived of the right to vote, while such a right was given to the Syrian presbyter and abbot Barsumas, as a representative of the Monophysite monks of Syria. The latter, through monks armed with rods, spades, and slings, was plundering the churches of the Nestorians along the Euphrates, burning their monasteries and driving out or killing the Nestorian bishops. Coming to Ephesus he brought this battalion with him for any eventuality. From the beginning, various numerous groups exercised terror over the non-Monophysites of the council in Ephesus: rough local soldiers, fanatical monks, coming from Constantinople and Syria (none are mentioned from Egypt), strong-armed sailors and vicious parabolani (the parabolani are mentioned in the rise of Cyril to the patriarchal throne, and in the murder of the philosopher Hypatia), who were nurses, used also as gravediggers and in case of need for any other serious purpose. The last two groups were brought from Egypt by Patriarch Dioscorus. The teaching of Eutyches was presented as follows: 'two natures before the union, one after it' and was recognized as orthodox, and Eutyches was acquitted. The same formulation was used by Cyril of Alexandria, but he added the 'unconfusedly and unchangeably', while Eutyches accepted the human nature of Christ as 'not consubstantial with us'. Because the proposed deposition of Flavian caused objections, the terror increased and thus brought results. Flavian made an appeal, without mentioning to whom it was addressed, tried to take refuge under the holy altar as a sanctuary, without succeeding. Pushed and beaten, he was thrown out of the Church, deposed and exiled. The excesses are not mentioned in the surviving acts of the council, but are known from testimonies made at the Fourth Ecumenical Council (Mansi, 6, 828). [...] Emperor Theodosius II ratified the decisions, but Leo of Rome rejected the council, calling it the 'Robber Council' (latrocinium Ephesium)." (pp. 222-224)

The Roman Emperors Constantine and Theodosius

The Sun-worshipping, Polytheistic, Mithraist, Bloodthirsty emperor of the Romans, Flavius Valerius Constantine, for political reasons sought the religious assimilation of his subjects, believing that this would secure the favor of the God of the "Christians" in his military campaigns and also the willingness of the Christians themselves to shed their blood for the empire. As an idolater, whatever knowledge he had about the Son of God, he had derived from the disputed oracles of a Sibyl [= prophetess and priestess of the god Apollo] whom he also blessed.
"This was divinely inspired to be prophesied by the virgin Sibyl. And I certainly consider her blessed, since the Savior [epithet of Apollo] chose her as a prophetess concerning His providence for us." [Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Oration to the Assembly of the Saints, ch. 18, 5]
Most of Eusebius's contemporaries considered that the Sibylline oracles concerning Jesus were forgeries, as Eusebius himself testifies:
"But most people disbelieve, although they admit that the Erythraean Sibyl was a prophetess, but they suspect that these verses were composed by someone from our own religion not devoid of poetic muse and that these are spurious and were called oracles of the Sibyl." [Life of Constantine, Oration to the Assembly of the Saints, ch. 19, 1]
Emperor Constantine came from the army and had taken his office through military feats. His main concern was proper administration, the increase and maintenance of his territorial dominion. Without knowledge of Greek and Jewish literature and incompetent in Judeo-Christian biblical matters, he convened the First Ecumenical Council, which was characterized as a political act, aiming at the cohesion of the Roman state through a common faith. By enacting the decisions of the Council as state law with the penalty of death for dissenters, he set himself up as the patron of the already Hellenized and Schismatic Christianity, and granted special privileges to the Clergy. Himself influenced by Arianist bishop friends and his sister Constantia, he leaned towards Arianism. A few years later, after the condemnation of Arianism by the Council and the exile of Arius, he recalled the latter from exile and punished in the same way the great opponent of Arius at the Council, the "Father" Athanasius of Alexandria.

The greatest distortion, however, of the promises of God and the teaching of genuine Christianity (which has no national flag or color), was brought about by Emperor Theodosius, who in 380 AD made processed Christianity the official religion of his empire, thus attributing a national-religious identity to the earthly citizens of his state, in contrast to the spiritual and not worldly identity that the one God recognizes in the "partakers of the heavenly calling." [Heb. 3:1]

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” [Gal. 3:26-29]

The new state religion of the philosopher "Fathers," supported by the anti-pagan legislation of the sole-ruler patrons, who outlawed all ancient religions imposing the penalty of beheading and other means of punishment on dissenters, achieved its violent prevalence, resulting in enduring spiritual darkness in East and West, and placed the political and religious tradition of the Roman Empire under the control of the intolerance and absolute dogmatism of the new religion.

The quoted passage from the Acts of the Apostles highlights the complete contrast between God's good intentions for man and the purposes and interests served by the state of the New Religion, an ally of Byzantium, as well as its policy of violent clearance of those of other religions.

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” [Acts 26:18]

There were, of course, voices that opposed the intolerance of fanatical and violent "Christians" and intervened on behalf of the persecuted of other religions, simultaneously confirming the extent of the pogrom against them. A characteristic example is the sons of Theodosius I, Honorius and Theodosius II, who tried to protect law-abiding Pagans from mistreatment by fanatical "Christians" and demanded, according to the law, double compensation in case of theft of their properties. ("History of the Greek Nation," Ekdotiki Athinon A.E. vol. 7, p.345)

Also: Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius to Asclepiodotus, Praetorian Prefect:
"[...] We specifically order that the genuine Christians and those who claim to be, should not abuse the authority given to them by the Church and dare to lay violent hands upon the Jews and Pagans who live peacefully and do not attempt anything against public order and our laws. For if such Christians act violently against peaceful people living in security, or plunder their goods, they shall be compelled to replace what they stole twofold, threefold, or even fourfold. Also, let the provincial governors, their staff, and the inhabitants of these provinces be informed that we will not permit such a crime to be committed. Otherwise, they will be punished in the same way as those who committed the crime." [Theodosian Code XVI.10.24 (8 June 423 AD)]

The Side Effects of the Nationalization of the New Religion

Anti-Christian are the consequences of the decision of the Roman emperor Theodosius I (379-395) to nationalize the work of God for the salvation of men, which are perpetuated and reflected

I) In the results of the anti-pagan policy that he and other Roman emperors followed, which resembles that of the Persian king Artaxerxes.

“And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.” [Ezra 7:26]

The Canadian historian James Allan Evans states: [The mob violence against pagan temples and idols was carried out at the instigation of "Christian" monks. "At the popular level, the most implacable enemies of paganism were the monks. [...] The monks took an active part in the controversies over correct Christian dogma. [...] The monks showed no mercy to pagans. When mobs destroyed pagan temples, the monks were usually at their core"]. (James Allan Evans, The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, Greenwood Press, 2005, p. xxvii, xxviii)] (Wikipedia)

II) In the peculiar Christian perception acquired by the Byzantine "Christian" subjects, as revealed in the following excerpt from an article by theologian Manolis Tzirakis:
“But beyond the emperor, the subject of the Byzantine state is a pure and faithful Christian. He believes that the state to which he belongs is under the protection of God and enjoys His favor. This belief is expressed by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6th century when he states that: 'The State of the Romans will not be conquered, it will remain unharmed through the ages, as the first to believe in the Lord Christ' (att. Arveler, 2009). The members of Byzantine society are law-abiding subjects of the emperor and devoted Christians in their faith, guided by monks and clerics, they listen indiscriminately to the name Roman or Christian, concepts synonymous in Byzantium, which its emperor Leo VI characteristically calls the Nation of Christians, while the Byzantine people were called Peculiar or New Israel (Arveler, 2009).” Source

III) In the periodic prevalence of the warring dogmatic groups with the favorable support of the respective emperor, which always had political motives. Basil Stefanidis, who was an archimandrite and professor at the University of Athens, in his "Ecclesiastical History" states that:
“[..] the Church was subordinated to the state. Caesaropapism was analogous to the persons and the circumstances, sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter. The election of bishops and especially of patriarchs, the foundation and merging of bishoprics and archbishoprics and their elevation into metropolises, or the proclamation of autocephalous Churches depended on the emperor. Appeals from ecclesiastical courts were made to the emperor. The emperor convened the ecumenical councils, directed them personally or through representatives, made the synodal decisions laws of the state, and of the warring dogmatic teachings, he himself determined which would prevail. Thus Constantius and Valens imposed Arianism, the Great Theodosius Orthodoxy, Basiliscus Monophysitism, Zeno sidelined the Fourth Ecumenical Council, Justinian by dogmatic decrees determined the faith of his subjects and, finally, imposed Monophysitism, Heraclius imposed Monothelitism and Leo III the Isaurian Iconoclasm.” (Ecc. History Stefanidou, Papademetriou pub. (6th ed.), p. 149)

IV) In the priestly character that the emperors acquired, when in the Councils they were acclaimed as "high priests."
“And the iconoclastic council of 754 decided that 'God raised up our faithful kings as equals of the Apostles, endowed by the power of the same Spirit, for our instruction and teaching, and for the destruction of the strongholds of the demons' (Mansi 13, 225). Through these words the emperors were proclaimed Equal-to-the-Apostles and divinely inspired.” (Ecc. History Stefanidou, Papademetriou pub. (6th ed.), p. 151)

Epilogue

The formed religious and subsequent political supremacy of the new worldly Byzantine religion refers rather to the military conquering triumphs of Rome, than to the pure and through the Holy Spirit heavenly destiny, which early Christianity charted with the persuasion of the God-breathed written word and not with the persuasion of contradictory evolved patristic philosophy and armed coercion, which harmed and adulterated the basic truths that God is love and God is One.

“And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.” [Acts 28:23]

“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. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” [Matt. 11:25-27]

Jesus reigns!

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