The Reactions to the Action of Jesus and the Apostles, and their Evolution

The Reactions to the Action of Jesus and the Apostles, and their Evolution

Writer: Evangelos D. Kepenes (Athens, February 19, 2020, 23:59)

Reactions to the Actions of Jesus and the Apostles and Their Evolution

The Pax Romana, militarily established by Caesar Augustus, contributed to the economic and social stability of the multi-ethnic Roman Empire. For the Roman political authorities, as for all pagan states, the continuity of Roman power depended on religious devotion to its objects of worship, particularly the figure of the "divine son of god," Caesar (the cognomen of Julius Caesar had been adopted as a royal title), and of "Eternal Rome." Anyone who declared himself a king was considered an enemy of Rome and was put to death.

This was the reason for the crucifixion of Jesus. The capital charge against him was not primarily religious—though he was accused of "calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18)—but political, as per the cunning accusation of the Jews who sought to kill him: "Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar" (John 19:12). The Pharisees, after leaving, "took counsel against him, how to destroy him" (Matt. 12:14).

The destruction of Jerusalem and its earthly Temple resulted from the failed revolt of the Jewish nationalists/Zealots, who believed their elect biological lineage would grant them victory. The reasons were:
a) Political, because they refused Roman occupation.
b) Religious, because those who did not worship the image of the Emperor and Eternal Rome and did not receive the mark of the beast's name or the number of its name were executed. [See: "The Beasts of Revelation"].

The Consequences of the Pax Romana

The consequences of the Pax Romana—the implementation of Roman law, a common language, road and sea networks, and a common currency—were favorable for conducting missions of all kinds and the circulation of goods and ideas. Furthermore, the organization of Jewish synagogues among the nations facilitated the spread of the divine message. This message united the scattered elect from the ten-tribe house of Israel and the two-tribe house of Judah under Jesus, the Author of Life—a union that fulfilled the prophecy of Hosea and formed the nucleus of the first Hebrew disciples (Hosea 1:9-11, 1 Pet. 2:10, John 11:51-52).

The preaching of the chosen Jewish Apostles, who testified to what they had seen and heard from Jesus and did "not follow cleverly devised myths" (2 Pet. 1:16), faced two fronts of resistance. First, it confronted the Jewish, Davidic, nationalist faith (Pharisaic Judaism) and the esoteric Jewish tradition represented by powerful Jewish sects and Jewish magicians (Acts 13:6). Subsequently, through the Apostle Paul and his collaborators, it confronted local national religious beliefs, forms of occultism and magic, and the prevailing Greek contradictory thought and Mythology.

The Apostles, as recipients of Jesus's commandments and servants of the Word, confronted these fronts not with imperial decrees or armed violence, but through preaching, teaching, and the actions of the Holy Spirit. The reactions and plots of opponents, as well as the biblical deviations and theological admixtures provoked by those joining the faith of Jesus—with their Zionist or mythological pagan backgrounds—were strong and varied.

Admixture of Views

Thus, Jewish believers (Judeo-Christians) who were zealous for the Law and ancestral traditions (Acts 21:20) brought Zionist views, Old Testament practices, and Jewish esoteric myths into the newly established Jewish Christian communities. Similarly, Gentile believers (Ethnic-Christians) brought their own ancient religious and mythological views, prejudices, and esoteric knowledge, which they mixed with the Apostolic teaching. This phenomenon, alongside the institutional imposition of the "Greek Orthodoxy" viewpoint, contributed significantly to the establishment of a metamorphosed Christianity in the Gentile world, as the Gentile converts recognized familiar elements of faith.

Result of Admixtures

The result of these mixtures was the creation of new religious trends and currents, and the foundation of unorthodox and rival religious, messianic, personality-driven movements and churches. These were named either after their founder (whose authority as a bearer of a liberating message was unquestioned), their place of origin, or their practices.

Doctrinal Disputes and Persecutions

These movements raised long-lasting, often violent, doctrinal disputes with the financially stronger and elite-supported "Greek Orthodoxy" philosophical-mystical tendency. Consequently, they were marginalized or persecuted. Beyond their beliefs, other reasons for their persecution were their denunciation of the arbitrariness of authority and the greed and immorality of the rich and the clergy. Survivors of these persecutions moved to other regions of the East or wherever they could find refuge, leading to contact with new beliefs and local cultures and the production, once again, of new religious mixtures and sects.

Belief and Expectations

Most of these movements shared common denominators: faith in dualistic Gnostic systems, world-denial, messianic expectations, lost paradises, and the anticipation of the dominant emergence of evil (the Antichrist). For them, the appearance of the Antichrist as a global leader would draw God into:
a) The "Final" war between good and evil (the eschatological war of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness),
b) The "Judgment" of humanity,
c) Their assignment to Paradise or Hell (the Paradise of hymns or the House of lies, according to the Zoroastrians).

Subsequently, the "End" of the existing sensible world through conflagration is expected, and the appearance of a new "ideal world" with the Divine Order restored.

These mythological conceptions present God—of whom the Psalmist sings, "How magnificent are your works, O Lord; in wisdom you made them all"—as an experimenter creator, toiling to achieve the perfect creation and ultimately save Himself, His final purpose being the restoration of His fullness, i.e., the reunification of His "fragments" that fell from their heavenly homeland and the divine fullness and became embodied in matter.

Most of these eschatological fantasies are also found in the cosmology of Persian Zoroastrianism, or Mazdeism, founded by the Persian magus Zarathustra, with a variation in Zurvanism. The Zoroastrians believed in a competitive dualism and, evolving, invented their own peculiar triad: [Ahura Mazda (the embodiment of good) – Mithras (the good spirit, god of light, mediator, savior, overseer, and ruler of the world) – and Ahriman (the embodiment of evil)], which relates to the three primordial Principles of the Sethian Gnostics, "Light – Breath (Spirit) – Darkness."

In contrast to some philosophical trends like Platonism, which taught that the world is eternal, like its archetype, eschatological fantasies are also found in other ancient religions and oracles (e.g., Sibylline Oracles). For instance, Zoroastrianism has a highly developed linear eschatology (final battle of good/evil, judgment). Hinduism has a cyclical eschatology (end/rebirth of the universe). These eschatologies are reproduced to this day by various Eastern and Western religions, thereby distorting the Old and New Testament worldview and placing humanity in anticipation of its end, transforming the "here and now," non-deadline-bound, eternal message of life—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—into a utopia.
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." (John 3:36)
"And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation." (Luke 1:50)

It should also be noted that since the Middle Ages, Kabbalah (from the word QBLH or QBL meaning "tradition" or "reception"), a system of Jewish theosophy based on the esoteric oral tradition of the Hebrews, Neoplatonism and its theurgy, as well as biblical beliefs, played a significant role in the interpretative framework of Rabbinic Judaism and influenced Christian Cabala during the Renaissance. Its followers liken Kabbalah to the "Tree of Life." Its cosmology is based on models including the geocentric system and has close relations with Gnostic beliefs and the search for ideal worlds. Kabbalah today plays a significant role in internet circles and is linked by some to the transformation of the real world into a virtual reality, interpreted as the fulfillment of its utopia for a new future world.

Who Was Converted

Converts to these mythological and utopian religious movements became, and still become, followers for the following reasons:

• Lack of education, ignorance, or misunderstanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.

• Economic deprivation and governmental or religious oppression.

• Ambition, mystical inclination, curiosity, and fear of the future.

• Religious prejudice and specific family or social influences.

• Favoritism, opportunism, desire for wealth, hedonism (antinomianism), and other similar reasons.

Chiliasm and Popular Crusades

The poor of the lower social classes were particularly susceptible to accepting and following messianic and chiliastic myths (or expectations), as they aimed for the improvement of their material living conditions and a Paradise on earth. Wanting to hasten the fulfillment of their dreamy expectations, some movements, influenced by the deceptive apocalyptic guidance of their prophet leaders, turned into anarchist armed groups. In the Middle Ages, these evolved into Popular Crusades of the poor and destitute. They acted either autonomously, slaughtering infidels and plundering rich clergy and laypeople, or served the religious imperialism of the West by joining the official Crusades to capture the East and liberate the Holy City!!!

The Manipulation of Fearful Societies

As still happens today, the self-appointed leaders and founders of these unorthodox, personality-driven movements, exploiting contemporary political, social, economic, and religious circumstances, natural phenomena (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, heatwaves, storms, eclipses of celestial bodies, fires, etc.), epidemics, imperialist wars, revolutions of oppressed and wronged classes, the perennial moral dissolution (which some of them also practiced secretly or openly), and other worldly events and international personalities, cultivated fearful societies that were easy to manipulate. By constantly announcing a coming evil world leader (Antichrist) and an impending long-term peaceful reign on earth (Millennium), they signaled the approaching end of the world's history.

However, in religious eschatology, the "Millennium" has its counter-argument in the theory of Amillennialism, supported by theologians such as Augustine of Hippo, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius of Caesarea. According to this interpretation, the heavenly—symbolically "thousand-year"—kingdom of Jesus Christ has already begun and is identified with the long period during which the earthly Christian Church exists and exercises spiritual authority until the consummation of the world, albeit disregarding the Biblical truth of the eternity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:8). Amillennialism is the prevailing view in the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church and the Western Roman Catholic Church. It is also often associated with more conservative Protestants, such as those in Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican churches.

The Redemption of the Soul and the Doctrine of Hell

Deceived converts were persuaded that they would live in an earthly Paradise or a Golden Age before the final judgment. Furthermore, that they would redeem their immortal soul, which was imprisoned in their evil earthly body (this is the primary pursuit of asceticism/monasticism with Platonic origins), thus avoiding eternal torment (Hell) after their physical death.

 The doctrine of Hell, which is presented as a useful, timeless falsehood of pagan origin intended to prevent the commission of sin, also inspired the poet Dante (1308-1321) but it also replaces and subverts the grace and power of Jesus Christ[11].

 Above all, the illusion was cultivated in them that those who accepted the intermediary services of their God-elected leaders would gain the favor of the Most High and become His chosen ones.

Flee from religions. Christ our Life

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