What is a Nazarene

What is a Nazarene?

What is a Christian?

After Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified, the people who claimed to be His followers were eventually divided into two camps: “Nazarenes” and “Christians”. Both terms are found in the Scriptures. The name Christianos, (khris-tee-an-os’) “Christian” (Strong’s 5546), was coined by the enemies of Greek speaking believers in the (so-called “Gentile” ) regions.

“Nazarenes” is what the Jewish/Hebrew believers were called. Scripture calls Yeshua a Nazarene; we do not know who first applied it to His Disciples. The name Nazarene (Strong’s 3480) is derived from the Hebrew word “netzer” , meaning BRANCH. Why BRANCH? Here are four reasons. Upon careful examination, they all refer to Yeshua the Nazarene during what is mistakenly called the “second coming”. (There were many previous “advents” as the “Angel of the Lord”.) I hate to skimp on the context. I want it to be self evident that the BRANCH = the Netzer = the coming Nazarene:

Jeremiah 23:5-8 Behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that I will raise to David a righteous BRANCH, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name by which he shall be called: [Yehovah] our righteousness. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that they shall no more say, “As [Yehovah] lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, as [Yehovah] lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the North Country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land”. WEB

This prophecy is covered in The Time After Jacob’s Trouble

Isaiah 11:1-6 A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a BRANCH out of his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of [Yehovah] will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of [Yehovah]. 3 His delight will be in the fear of [Yehovah]. He will not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; and with the breath of His lips He will kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. WEB

Jeremiah 33:12-21 Thus says [Yehovah] of Armies: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of him who numbers them, says [Yehovah]. 14 Behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a BRANCH of righteousness to grow up to David; and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name by which He shall be called: [Yehovah] our righteousness. 17 For thus says [Yehovah]: David shall never [lack] a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 neither shall the priests the Levites [lack] a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 19 The word of [Yehovah] came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says [Yehovah]: If you can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season; 21 then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, My ministers. WEB

I believe this prophecy to be contrasting Joshua (Yehoshua) of old to Yeshua the Messiah. Obviously the iniquity still needs to be purged from the land.

Zechariah 3:1...10 He showed me ‘Joshua’ [=Yehoshua = Yeshua] the high priest standing before the angel of [Yehovah], and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary.... 8 Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men who are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth My servant, the BRANCH. 9 For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave its engraving,’ says [Yehovah] of Armies, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 In that day,’ says [Yehovah] of Armies, ‘you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’” WEB

There is one more branch scripture that is ofter lumped in with the preceeding ones, but it refers to "the man whose name is the Branch". He’s sort of the John the Baptizer of the BRANCH, which accounts for the name. The coming temple that this branch will build will be human, indeed he will be killed.

Zechariah 6:12- 14 ...“Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of [Yehovah]; 13 even he shall build the temple of [Yehovah]; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14 The crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of [Yehovah].

In order to learn more about the distinctions that developed between Nazarenes and Christians after the book of Revelation was written we must go to secular, Catholic and Jewish historical accounts because the Nazarenes and their histories were hunted down and burned with a vengeance.

As long as the Assembly in Jerusalem was relatively stable there was a reservoir of truth available. Indeed Yeshua’s brother James was a very stabilizing influence. James made too much of an impression on the Jerusalem Assembly to ever be covered up. Christians claim him as one of their own, but with extreme difficulties. Some even claim that he was the first Pope due to his exemplary leadership! Of course there are no Papal succession types of claims made in the literature of the first centuries.

Catholicism bases their claim that Peter was the first Pope on the following verse:

Matthew 16:18 I also say that you that you are a stone*[4074], and on this *Rock cliff*[4073], I will build My Assembly; and the gate of the grave[86] wont conquer it. YMES

It really says, in essence, that Peter was a pebble standing next to the Rock of Gibraltar, in the scheme of things. After some of his stunts he apparently needed that. There were not going to be any Popes!

Mark 10:42-44 Yeshua called them, saying, “You know that those who *suppose that they are*[1380] to rule the nations, *subdue and subjugate*[2634] them; and their *high ranking officials* *wield power*[2715] over them. 43 But it must not be so among you; because he who desires be great among you, must be a servant*[1249]. 44 Anyone who desires to be first *in rank*[4413], must become a servant in *everything*[3956].

It was James who served Yehovah’s Assembly in the leadership role. Jerome also wrote about James: De Viris Illustribus, quoted Hegesippus’ account of James from the fifth book of his lost Commentaries. Note that James had been both Nazarite and a Nazarene:

“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 [ceremonially] 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.” — Jerome, Letters

The record about James puts him in an altogether light than might be expected. He was quite “Messianic” !

“... Epiphanius’ sources plainly claim both that he had access to those parts of the temple restricted to the high priest and that he wore the headdress associated with that office. The Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (58) seem to equate James’ position in the Jerusalem church with that of the high priest in the Jewish community as they describe a dispute between “the chief of the priests” and “James, the chief of the ‘bishops’” [elders or guardians]. In fact the title and activities of James as “bishop” or “archbishop” (as in Recognitions 1:73) in some early Christian writings may imply an equation of this office in the Jewish Church with that of priest or high priest in Judaism. -link

James was of the tribe of Judah so he couldnt have become a Levitical priest but now the veil of the temple was destroyed and the Holy of Holies had been opened so things were apparently somewhat different.

“The best known description of James is that of Hegesippus as recorded in Eusebius Hist. eccl. 3.23.1-18. He describes James as something of a Jewish ‘holy man,’ an ascetic whose piety was controlled by ceremonial concerns. He was frequently in the temple, where he prayed constantly for the people. Because of his “excessive righteousness he was called ‘the Just’.” During the Passover season, Hegesippus says, the scribes and Pharisees attempted to have James dissuade the people from following Jesus. But James bore positive testimony ‘concerning the Son of man’ and was thrown from the battlement of the temple, stoned and finally killed by a blow to the head.” -same link

Here is how his martyrdom came about:

According to a passage in Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities, (xx.9): “But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: -(Antiquities 20,9) Dated 62 AD. link

As he was being killed, he was praying: “Father, forgive them for they dont know what they are doing”.

So a study of this one man alone proves that the “Church” in Jerusalem was led by a man who doesnt remotely fit the stereotype of a Christian!

This is quite an excellent article on James the Just. Of course any time that you see commentary in historical sources about him having a throne in Jerusalem and hierarchical rulership over the people would be alterations of the facts.

The Nazarenes were particularly vilified when they fled to Pella for true Divine protection at the last moment because they simply could not fight under a false Messiah:

John 18:36 Yeshua said to him, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldnt be given over to the Jews, but now, My kingdom is not from here”. YMES

So now the parent Assembly went into hiding, it appears that they remained there for a very long time. The world in general believes that Law keeping “Messianic Jews” , or “Nazarenes” of any race, disappeared entirely. Indeed they have kept a very low profile for many centuries. Yet for anyone who would look for them, the history of Sabbath observant believers in Yeshua keeps showing up here and there, all over the face of the earth, particularly during the brief respites of freedom such as is present in our Israelite descended nations. To consider their historical records you could check out this other site.

The Bar Kokhba revolt

These were certainly dangerous times to be a Nazarene, but it gets much worse. Roman control remained quite oppressive and the next Roman invasion (132-135 AD), named after Bar Kokhba, hit even harder than the one in 70 AD.

“The struggle lasted for three years before the revolt was brutally crushed in the summer of 135. After losing Jerusalem, Bar Kokhba and the remnants of his army withdrew to the fortress of Betar, which also subsequently came under siege. The Jerusalem Talmud relates that the numbers slain were enormous, that the Romans “went on killing until their horses were submerged in blood to their nostrils” (Taanis 4:5). The Talmud also relates that for seventeen years the Romans didntallow the Jews to bury their dead in Betar.” -End Bar Kokhba quotations

There continued to be widespread contempt for the occupying Roman government and again the Jews decided to throw off the shackles of tyrany. They thought that it was time for divine intervention and so they actually appointed a Messiah!

“The Jewish sage Rabbi Akiva (alternatively Akiba) convinced the Sanhedrin to support the impending revolt, and regarded the chosen commander Simon Bar Kokhba to be the Jewish Messiah, according to the Star Prophecy verse from Numbers 24:17: “There shall come a star out of Jacob” (“Bar Kokhba” means “son of a star” in the Aramaic language).

“At the time Messianic Judaism was still a minor sect of Judaism, and most historians believe that it was this messianic claim in favor of Bar Kokhba that alienated many Messianics (including Messianic Jews), who believed that the true messiah was Jesus, and sharply deepened the schism between Jews and Messianics.

Any schism causes pain. Some pain is “only” emotional, some leaves scars, and some leaves a trail of blood.

This quote from Hebrews, particularly the latter portion is a vivid description of the patriarchs, but also our Nazarene forefathers.

Hebrews 11:32-40 32 What more should I say? For I dont have time to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David, Samuel, and of the other prophets: 33 who, by faith, conquered kingdoms, who were righteous, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power* of fire, were rescued from the edge of the sword, were healed of diseases, became strong in battle, routed the camps of enemies, 35 and of women who regained their children, by a resurrection from the dead. Some died being tortured, without hope of escape, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 others endured being mocking and whipped; others were chained and imprisoned; 37 others were stoned; others were cut in half; others died by the edge of the sword; others roamed around clothed in sheep skins and goat skins, and were destitute, distressed, and tormented; 38 of whom the world was not worthy, yet they were as wanderers in the desert, in mountains, in caves, and in caverns of the earth. 39 None of these, *divine witnesses*[3 140], received their *promised blessing*[1860]: 40 because God has foreseen*[4265] something* *more excellent*[2909]; so that without us they shouldnt become perfected. YMES

I suspect that “a better resurrection” means that will be given more prominent roles of serving in the Kingdom.

Of “those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua” (Revelation 14:12), a good number of them in America, have arisen from the tribe of Judah in my lifetime:

The Messianic Judaism of today grew out of the Hebrew-Christian movement of the 19th century. Hebrew-Christian congregations began to emerge in England; the first of these was Beni Abraham, in London, which was founded by forty-one Hebrew-Christians.[9] This led to a more general awareness of a type of Christianity with a Jewish background.[10] In 1866, the Hebrew-Christian Alliance of Great Britain was organized, with branches also existing in several European countries and the United States. A similar group, The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America (HCAA), was organized in the U. S. in 1915. The International Hebrew-Christian Alliance (IHCA) was organized in 1925 (later becoming the International Messianic Jewish Alliance). Additional groups were formed during subsequent decades.”

Now lets go back to the point in time when the Jerusalem Assembly lost its candlestick, so to speak and the Christians in Rome and Constantinople-people with hellenized backgrounds took center stage. The Nazarenes had to flee to Pella to save their lives:

“DID JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS FLEE TO PELLA?”

“The first clear reference comes from the fourth century church historian Eusebius. He says that as the Romans approached the city, ‘The people belonging to the church at Jerusalem had been ordered by an oracle revealed to approved men on the spot before the war broke out, to leave the city and dwell in a town of Peraea called Pella’ (EH III:5). The destruction of the city, Eusebius says, came only after the Jerusalem Christians had made their escape. A late first or early second century sarcophagus found beneath the floor of a church in the western part of Pella may be a relic of the Christians stay in the city. [5] The mid-second century Christian apologist, Aristo, came from Pella. [6] Later, Epiphanius (315-403) makes reference to the same tradition as Eusebius and says there were both orthodox and heretical Jewish Christians in the Pella and other Decapolis areas centuries later. [7] From the third century onward the remains of churches are found all around the area, including a large church complex in Pella itself. These may give further evidence of an on going tradition of Christian presence in the area.

“For when the city was about to be captured and sacked by the Romans, all the disciples were warned beforehand by an angel to remove from the city, doomed as it was to utter destruction. On migrating from it they settled at Pella, the town already indicated, across the Jordan. It is said to belong to Decapolis (de Mens. et Pond., 15).”

This was a place of safety for a long time. Eventually tho, they fled to Europe:

“Now this sect of Nazarenes exists in Beroea in Coele-Syria, and in Decapolis in the district of Pella, and in Kochaba of Basanitis-called Kohoraba in Hebrew. For thence it originated after the migration from Jerusalem of all the disciples who resided at Pella, Christ having instructed them to leave Jerusalem and retire from it on account of the impending siege. It was owing to this counsel that they went away, as I have said, to reside for a while at Pella” (Haer 29:7).

Most of the early Christians, not being rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, were soon led into heresy. When the pagan Constantine “came out of the blue” and made his Christian-in-name-only religion the official religion of the Roman Empire, he drastically tipped the scales in favor of a hybrid pagan/Christianity.

Charles Guignebert, professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Paris, wrote:

“Contemplate the Christian Church at the beginning of the fourth century, therefore, and some difficulty will be experienced in recognizing in her the community of Apostolic times, or rather, we shall not be able to recognize it at all....” (The Early History of Christianity, Twayne, New York, 1927).

The most easily recognized distinction between Christians and Nazarenes became the issue of the Sabbath. A great many quotes on this topic are found here.

“On the venerable day of the Sun let the Magistrates and the people residing in the cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” Edict of Constantine 321 AD

British historian Paul Johnson said of Constantine:

“He himself appears to have been a sun-worshipper, one of a number of late-pagan cults which had observances in common with the Christians. Thus the followers of Isis adored a madonna nursing her holy child; the cult of Attis and Cybele celebrated a day of blood and fasting, followed by the Hilaria resurrection-feast, a day of joy, on 25 March; the elitist Mithraics, many of whom were senior army officers, ate a sacred meal. Constantine was almost certainly a Mithraic, and his triumphal arch, built after his ‘conversion’, testifies to the Sun-god, or ‘unconquered sun.’

“Many Christians did not make a clear distinction between this sun-cult and their own. They referred to Christ ‘driving his chariot across the sky’: they held their services on Sunday, knelt towards the East and had their nativity-feast on 25 December, the birthday of the sun at the winter solstice. During the later pagan revival under the Emperor Julian many Christians found it easy to apostasize because of this confusion; ... Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the sun on his coins....”

Paul Johnson summed it up quite well:

“How could the Christian Church, apparently quite willingly, accommodate this weird megalomaniac in its theocratic system? Was there a conscious bargain? Which side benefited most from this unseemly marriage between Church and State? Or, to put it another way, did the empire surrender to Christianity, or did Christianity prostitute itself to the empire?” (A History of Christianity, Atheneum, New York, 1976, pp. 67-69).

In order to document the divergence between Nazarenes and Christians, we need to consider the records of the “Ante-Nicene fathers” (pre Constantinian writers, many of whom were actually Nazarenes).

“There is a website that catalogs almost all of these writings. While it is possible to see the parting of the ways between the ‘Law keepers’ and the ‘Law breakers’, the details have apparently been highly edited. The men themselves were very glorified in the edited texts but their ‘objections’ to the massive changes were minimized. Still, enough of the distinctions remain to easily see the difference between the so-called ‘primitive’ faithful and the ‘wolves inn sheep’s clothing orthodoxy’. While the early writings seem to be very short on doctrinal beliefs, and some conclude that they were ‘not writers’, that is probably due to how much was left on the cutting room floor. Here is an introductory quote from the site:

“[a.d. 100-200.] The Apostolic Fathers are here understood as filling up the second century of our era. Irenæus, it is true, is rather of the sub-apostolic period; but, as the disciple of Polycarp, he ought not to be dissociated from that Father’s company. We thus find ourselves conducted, by this goodly fellowship of witnesses, from the times of the apostles to those of Tertullian, from the martyrs of the second persecution to those of the sixth. Those were times of heroism, not of words; an age, not of writers, but of soldiers; not of talkers, but of sufferers. Curiosity is baffled, but faith and love are fed by these scanty relics of primitive antiquity. Yet may we well be grateful for what we have. These writings come down to us as the earliest response of converted nations to the testimony of Jesus. They are primary evidences of the Canon and the credibility of the New Testament....”

One of the earlier controversies occurred when the Christians wanted to phase out Passover and replace it with another celebration-Easter, to appease their Roman persecutors, and to deliberately distinguish themselves from the “primitive” Nazarenes. They knew that if they could pull that off it would set a very strong precedent for many more innovations. The authority of Christianity was transferred away from the word of Yehovah and replaced with syncretism (scripture hybridized with then popular pagan ideas).

“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers… The first Christians continued the observance of the Jewish [God’s] festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed,” —Enyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, p.828).

On the human level, the motivation for change was money. While Nazarenes didnteven carry a spare coat to evangelize, Christians extracted great sums of money. On the spiritual level, Satan began turning wine into water-incrementally.

“Neither the apostles, therefore nor the Gospels, have anywhere imposed ... Easter ... The Savior and His apostles have enjoined us by no law to keep this feast [Easter].... And that the observance originated not by legislation [of the apostles], but as a custom the facts themselves indicate” (fourth century scholar, Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, chapter 22).

“Notice what history tells us from the Catholic Church itself concerning this second century controversy:

“The dioceses of all Asia, as from the older tradition [Passover], held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving Pasch [Passover] ... However, it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world [primarily the West, represented by Rome] to end it at this point [allegedly a non-biblical based fast ending on Easter Sunday], as they observed the practice, which from apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time.... Synods and assemblies of bishops [not Jesus Christ’s example] were held on this account and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree [superseding Christ’s personal example as recorded in the gospels] that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but, the Sunday [Easter] and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only. A letter of Saint Irenaeus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus. Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp [bishop of Smyrna], who like the other Asiatic, kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon [which is really Passover], whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he [Polycarp] claimed to have derived from St. John the apostle, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodecimen observance. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the holyday of the Jews.... Those who kept Easter [Passover] with the Jews were called Quartodecimans” -The Catholic Encyclopedia; [comments] from the link”

Once they had changed an annual event-the Passover, it wasntlong before they changed a weekly event-the Sabbath. This brazen act eliminated one of the very Ten Commandments and drove an irreconcilably wedge between the Sunday observant Christians and the Sabbatarian Nazarenes.

Deuteronomy 28:9 [Yehovah] will establish you for a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of [Yehovah] your God, and walk in His ways. WEB

Psalms 119:115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. WEB

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patient endurance of the Saints, who keep the Commandments of Yehovah, and the faith of Yeshua. YMES

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For they are seudoapostles[5570], crafty hirelings*[2040], impersonating* Apostles of the Messiah. 14 And it’s no wonder[2298], for if Satan impersonates a Messenger* of light, 15 it is no great surprise if his ministers impersonate* ministers of righteousness; whose *end state*[5056] is a consequence of their works. YMES

There is very little information about the Nazarenes from the ancient Jewish writings. Of course, everything that Yeshua (Jesus) taught, was as hated in His Disciples as it had been in Him. However, we can read what the “Early Christian Fathers” had to say about them. Nothing much has changed between the two camps-except for the enormous popularity of Christianity. Christianity and Judaism reject the original teachings of the Nazarenes, made plain in the Scriptures, to this very day.

The fourth century Catholic Church Father Jerome, described the Nazarenes as “those who accept Messiah in such a way that they do not cease to observe the Old Law” (Jerome; On. Is. 8: 14).

Christians all believe that the Law (Torah) is “done away” , “nailed to the cross” (unless perhaps they are Nazarenes but dont know it). This is the most vital distinction between Christians and Nazarenes. Consequently, their translations generally disguise the term “lawlessness”. The term for this lawless view is called Antinomianism. Here is a simple definition:

Antinomianism is derived from the Greek anti, which means “against” and nomos, which means law. As a general principle, antinomianism teaches that moral laws are relative in meaning and application instead of fixed or universal. As a Christian theological teaching, antinomianism is used to refer to the idea that the Gospel frees Christians from obedience to any law, scriptural, civil, or moral, and hence that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace rather than through obedience to any rules.

Of course when one sect says that another is Antinomian, it is generally said to discredit an opposing sect based along man made rules rather than Biblical Law. The degree of acceptable anarchy depends on the persuasiveness of the various sects.

For a much better understanding of this most critical of topics, please see: The Antinomians are Coming! The bottom line is that the “Old Testament” is far from irrelevant-it is our foundation, walls and pillars!

When Christians do recognize the legitimacy of the word law they never apply it to be the Hebrew Law-the Torah, rather it is assumed to mean civil law, ecclesiastical law or some other law-anything but Yehovah’s Law!

In Christian translations, the following verses often refer to “iniquity” or “unrighteousness”. “Anamos” is translated as “iniquity” 12 times in the KJV and once as “unrighteousness” , of its fifteen usages.

Matthew 7:23 Then will I declare to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you Law breakers*[458, anomia]”. YMES

Matthew 13:41 The Son of man will send His Messengers*, and they will gather out of His kingdom everyone *who set snares*[4625], and all the Law breakers*[458]... YMES

Matthew 23:28 So you also, outwardly, appear to men as righteous; but within, you are full of hypocrisy[5272 hupokrisis] and Law breaking* [458]. YMES

Matthew 24:12 Because of the plethora*[4129, plethuno] of Law breakers*[458], the love of many will grow cold. YMES

Romans 6:19 I speak as among men, because of your weakness* and carnality*; for as you once gave over your bodies to prostitution* and Lawlessness*[458], so now give over your bodies to be servants of righteousness and sanctity. YMES

2 Corinthians 6: 14 Dont be yoked [together] with those who dont believe; for what fellowship has righteousness with Lawlessness*, or what fellowship has light with darkness? YMES

2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mysterious *Law breaker*[458] is already at work: he presently hinders us and will continue until he is finished and takenout of our way... YMES

Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness*[1342][1], and hated *Law breaking*[458]; so Yehovah, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your fellow Israelites.YMES

1 John 3:4 Everyone who *wanders from the way of righteousness*[266] is *breaking the Law* [458]; for all sin is *breaking the Law*[458]. YMES

Christians, from a very early time in Rome totally rejected the Law, the very Law which essentially defines the Nazarenes.

Jerome was such a spokesman for Christianity that his words can be taken as the official position of his camp. So what kind of a man was it who best described the great divide? Let’s look at what his supporters, the Catholics have to say about him:

“St. Jerome, who was born Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius, was the most learned of the Fathers of the Western Church. He was born about the year 342 at Stridonius, a small town at the head of the Adriatic, near the episcopal city of Aquileia. His father, a Christian, took care that his son was well instructed at home, then sent him to Rome, where the young man’s teachers were the famous pagan grammarian Donatus and Victorinus, a Christian rhetorician. Jerome’s native tongue was the Illyrian dialect, but at Rome he became fluent in Latin and Greek, and read the literatures of those languages with great pleasure. His aptitude for oratory was such that he may have considered law as a career. He acquired many worldly ideas, made little effort to check his pleasure-loving instincts, and lost much of the piety that had been instilled in him at home. Yet in spite of the pagan and hedonistic influences around him, Jerome was baptized by Pope Liberius in 360. He tells us that “it was my custom on Sundays to visit, with friends of my own age and tastes, the tombs of the martyrs and Apostles, going down into those subterranean galleries whose walls on both sides preserve the relics of the dead.” Here he enjoyed deciphering the inscriptions.”

Jerome lived his life much like the Epicureans: “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” and “if it feels good do it”.

Luke spoke out about the perennially popular philosophy—Lawless:

Luke 12:19 Then he said to himself, “I have accumulated an abundance of goods*, which will last for many years; *take it easy*[373]; eat, drink, and *be merry*. 20 But Yehovah said to him, “You ignorant man! Tonight, your *breath of life*[5590] will be *demanded back*[523}; then who will own your provisions?” 21 This awaits the one who accumulates wealth for himself, but is not rich in Yehovah. YMES

Yet Jerome also attacked the Epicureans, but for entirely different reasons. He is virtually the sole historical writer about the person of the Epicurean philosopher and poet Lucretius who lived from about 95-54 BC.. Lucretius was perhaps the first evolutionist, tho he was not an atheist. Lucretius attacked the pagan notion of an everburning hell fire, and that is where Jerome departed from the Epicureans!

“Following Epicurus he [Lucretius] sets before himself the aim of finally crushing that fear of the gods and that fear of death resulting from it which he regards as the source of all the human ills. Incidentally he desires also to purify the heart from other violent passions which corrupt it and mar its peace. But the source even of these-the passions of ambition and avarice-he finds in the fear of death; and that fear he resolves into the fear of eternal punishment after death.

“The selection of his subject and the order in which it is treated are determined by this motive. Although the title of the poem implies that it is a treatise on the “whole nature of things,” the aim of Lucretius is to treat only those branches of science which are necessary to clear the mind from the fear of the gods and the terrors of a future state.

“But his arguments ... are real1y only valid against the limited and unworthy conceptions of divine agency involved in the ancient religions ... by his vital realization of all that is meant by the arbitrary infliction of eternal torment after death.” link

Third century Christianity was OK with Lawlessness so long as it didnt interfere with “eternal torment after death”.

It should come as no surprise that Jerome’s thoughts were framed by paganism.

Jerome’s friend Epiphanius was his polar opposite, as far as character was concerned. Paradoxically, his character as relating to his fellow man was as pure as the Epicurean Lucretius, who didnt live his life as his fellow Epicureans!

Epiphanius in his monastery was the oracle of Palestine and the neighboring countries; and no one ever went from him who had not received great spiritual comfort by his holy advice. The reputation of his virtue made him known to distant countries; and about the year 367, he was chosen bishop of Salamis, then called Constantia, in Cyprus. But he still wore the monastic habit, and continued to govern his monastery in Palestine, which he visited from time to time. He sometimes relaxed his austerities in favor of hospitality, preferring charity to abstinence [as in a vow of poverty]. No one surpassed him in tenderness and charity to the poor.... The veneration which all men had for his sanctity, exempted him from the persecution of the Arian emperor Valens in 371; but he was almost the only Catholic bishop in that part of the empire who was entirely spared on that occasion.... The saint fell into some mistakes on certain occasions, which proceeded from zeal and simplicity, as Socrates observes.

So how did the “Sainted Christian Father” , Epiphanius, describe the Nazarenes:

“We shall now especially consider heretics who ... call themselves Nazarenes; they are mainly Jews and nothing else. They make use not only of the New Testament, but they also use in a way the Old Testament of the Jews; for they do not forbid the books of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings ... so that they are approved of by the Jews, from whom the Nazarenes do not differ in anything, and they profess all the dogmas pertaining to the prescriptions of the Law and to the customs of the Jews, except they believe in Messiah.... They preach that there is but one God, and His Son Yeshua the Messiah. But they are very learned in the Hebrew language; for they, like the Jews, read the whole Law, then the Prophets.... They differ from the Jews because they believe in Messiah, and [differ] from the Christians in that they are to this day bound to the Jewish rites, such as circumcision, the Sabbath, and other ceremonies.” -link

“They have the Good news 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”. (Epiphanius; Panarion 29; translated from the Greek).

“The Catholic writer Bonacursus in ‘Against the Heretics’, referred to the Nazarenes by saying: “Let those who are not yet acquainted with them, please note how perverse their belief and doctrine are. First, they teach that we should obey the Law of Moses according to the letter-the Sabbath, and circumcision, and the legal precepts still being in force. Furthermore, to increase their error, they condemn and reject all the Church Fathers, and the whole Roman Church.”

While these comments are in fierce opposition to the Nazarenes, I believe them to be honest descriptions. There was no need to resort to lies and gross distortions, which were also made, these “accusations” were quite sufficient at the time. However there are some extremely wild modern allegations about the Nazarenes, contradicting the above in every point.

Another name for Nazarenes is “the Way”. Paul affirmed that he, like Yeshua believed in the Law. He added that “they” were calling this Nazarene Way a “sect”. (The KJV and others use “heresy” instead of “sect”. However, the Jews, for example would not have referred to themselves as “the [139, hairesis] of the Pharisees” or “the [hairesis] of the Sadducees” , if “heresy” , as it has come to mean in English, were the connotation. The word for heresy was quite acceptable among the Jews. However espousing one denomination or sect is the real “heresy” in the Greek!

2 Peter 2:1-3 But as there *arose in history*[1096] pseudoprophets[5528], so there will also be pseudoteachers[5572] among you, who will *stealthfully introduce*[3919] destructive sects[139], denying the Master who bought them; thus bringing on themselves swift and *eternal death*[684]. 2 Many will *comply with*[1811] their *deadly ways; because these deceivers blasphemed* [987, blasphemeo] the Way of truth. 3 In their greed[4124] and with *custom crafted*[4112, plastos] arguments*, they will *buy and sell*[1710] you: after which their sentencing [2917], *determined in distant past*, will not be delayed*; nor will their *utter destruction*[684] be delayed. YMES

Matthew 7:15 Beware of pseudoprophets; who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are extortioning*[5578] wolves. YMES

Acts 24: 14-15 But this I certainly acknowledge, that of the Way*[3598] which they speak of as a sect, I serve the God of my fathers, believing everything written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I also have a hope in Yehovah, as they expect, that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the wicked. YMES (The Aramaic may differ slightly.)

Later, the Nazarene Way is again spoken of as an evil sect:

Acts 28:22 But we are willing to hear from you what you think; for this sect*[139], we know, isnt accepted by anyone. YMES

Neither Yeshua nor any of the Saints in Jerusalem were ever called Christians. We know that Yeshua was a Nazarene, He inspired that into the record.

Matthew 2:23 He came and resided in a city called Nazareth; so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, that He should be called a Nazarene. YMES

The first 15 pastors of the Jerusalem Assembly were all of Jewish descent. As shown below, they would never have called themselves “bishops”. For obvious reasons they were all very short lived. Presumably these leaders were selected from the Nazarene “Sanhedrin” , a group alluded to in Luke 10:1-17. A group of seventy apparently served as elders until the diaspora. But the “bishops of the circumcision” ceased after 70 AD according to v.3 of the following link.

[v]“2. But I have learned this much from writings, Reuterdahl (De Fontibus Hist. eccles. Euseb., p. 55) conjectures that these "writings" were found in the church of Jerusalem itself, and compares a passage in the Dem. Evang. III. 5: ‘The first bishops that presided there [i.e. at Jerusalem] are said to have been Jews, and their names are preserved by the inhabitants of the country.’ ... until the siege of the Jews, which took place under Adrian, in 135 a.d. (see chap. 7) there were fifteen bishops in succession there...." Christian Classics Ethereal Library">

The Assembly in Jerusalem went from almost 100% Jewish to 0% Jewish overnight. If there is an historic quote that epitomizes what happened to the Assembly that existed at the birthplace of the Nazarene religion it would be here:

“... after the death of Symeon, the last prominent relative of Christ, the presbyters took the lead, and that they were afterward made by tradition into successive monarchical bishops. Closs and Gieseler suppose that there were bishops of a number of churches in Palestine at the same time, whom tradition made successive bishops of Jerusalem. But the fact is, that the episcopate is of Greek, not of Jewish, origin, and in the strictly Jewish Christian churches of Palestine no such person as a bishop can have existed. Only after the church there came under the influence of the Gentile church, and lost its prevailingly Jewish character, was it possible for a bishop, in the general sense of the term, to exist there. The Jewish Christians [Nazarenes] assumed for their church government the form of the Jewish Sanhedri[n], though while James and Symeon were alive, they were naturally leaders (according to the common Oriental custom, which exalted the relatives of the founder of a religion). The Jewish character of the Jerusalem congregation was very marked until the destruction of the city under Hadrian (note that all but two of the fifteen bishops have Jewish names), after which all circumcised Jews-Christians as well as unbelievers-were excluded, and a heathen Christian congregation took its place (see the next chapter). According to Stroth, followed by Closs, Stigloher, and Heinichen, the church of Jerusalem remained in Pella after 70 a.d., and was called the church of Jerusalem because it was made up of Christians from Jerusalem. This is possible; but Eusebius evidently did not understand it so (compare, too, his Dem. Evang. III. 5), and Epiphanius [a Nazarene] (de Mensa et Pond. chap 15) says expressly that, after the destruction of the city by Titus [70AD], the church returned again to Jerusalem, and there is no good reason to doubt the report.” —Note #997: Christian Classics Ethereal Library

[v] “4. And thus, when the city had been emptied of the Jewish nation and had suffered the total destruction of its ancient inhabitants, it was colonized by a different race, and the Roman city which subsequently arose changed its name and was called Ælia, in honor of the emperor Ælius Adrian. And as the church there was now composed of Gentiles, the first one to assume the government of it after the bishops of the circumcision was Marcus." Christian Classics Ethereal Library>

Satan has a tactic that has worked for him very well to this day-disinformation. In order to discredit the truth, offer many alternatives. Offer some close counterfeits to ensnare those approaching the truth and offer a wide variety of even more popular flavors to dilute the truth. The more variations of a matter that are out there, the “better”. So even among the “Jewish Christians” there were quite a few “options”.

According to New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia The Ebionites split away from the Nazarenes, tho “the fathers” used the names somewhat interchangably. The Ebionites naturally retained considerable truth, such as the Sabbath and the importance of the Law, but they taught Unitarianism-they denied the Divinity and virgin birth of Yeshua. Furthermore they rejected the teachings of Paul. Eventually they even de-emphasized the Law. Origin was the first to write of the split among the Nazarenes. Eusebius also noted the distinction. Epiphanius (actually a Nazarene) is said to have called the Ebionites “more heretical” than the Nazarenes, because these same departures of the Ebionites from the Nazarenes happened to also be condemned by the Catholics. Of course the way that Epiphanius is “quoted” would be necessary for him to have been adopted into Catholicism after his death.

For more about the heresies/sects split from "the early church" see The Origin of Heresy

As for the terms “Christian” and “sect” (denomination)-I’d leave those for others.

Would you rather belong to a large Christian Church or a small Nazarene Assembly?

Luke 12:32 Dont fear little flock; for your Father *takes pleasure* in giving you the Kingdom. YMES

Perhaps you have cringed for years when calling yourself a Christian because you dont really identify with them but lacked the term of distinction.

So what should we do with this knowledge? Some articles on the topic treat it as an historic curiosity, others see it as an opportunity to expand their hierarchy. Why not simply decide to see what else you dont know about the Way of Yeshua the Nazarene?

Here is what “Way” means:

“Hodos” is primarily translated as “way” meaning “highway” or having to do with travel. Yet it is the metaphoric meaning concerning your “way” of “thinking” , “feeling” and “deciding” that will set you apart on your “journey” of the “road” less “traveled”.

So what is the bottom line? A Nazarene understands that the Rule of Law is the Rule of Logic. The entire universe operates on logical rules. Physical laws can be temporarily suspended if Yehovah so decides, these exceptions are called miracles. When true miracles happen you actually experience the existence of the Law giver. Yet Yehovah never breaks a spiritual law. That is the only way that Yeshua even qualified to be the Messiah. He never broke a single spiritual Law.

When the Bible says that Yeshua was the “Word” , it is saying that He is the Logos, from which we get the word “logical”.

A logical Creator would have a logical reason for creating the human race. Logic would never say, “OK, I’m going to create humans, and My ultimate objective is for them to say the magic words, ‘Save me Lord Jesus’, and if they say that, then they can join Me in Heaven when they die”.

A scientist sets up an experiment and then watches the results-then comes his judgment. That is pretty much what Yehovah is doing with project earth. It is simply inescapable that some of us have a spirit nature that is salvageable and some do not.

A logical mind, one motivated entirely by love, would think very much like these words in the human realm:

“Rule of law [is a] doctrine that no individual stands above the law, and that all rulers are answerable to the law. This is one of the major legacies of the constitutional system. The rule of law can also be understood as the belief that there is a universal standard of justice, equality and impartiality, against which all governments and governmental actions may be measured”.

After a great disappointment, when a third of the Angels mutinied, Yehovah decided to make beings of flesh that could be tested to see how much they gravitated towards love. Of course none are expected to be perfect, but we all inevitably move either toward the light, like a moth or are repelled from it, like savage beasts! The test tube is called earth. From our first breath we are rapidly exposed to Satan’s ways, a philosophy of life that seeks the self first-no matter what. Those who show thru their actions that they long for “justice, equality and impartiality” are the ones who will be spared. Those who seek self gratification-at the expense of others-literally abort their eternity!

It is really that simple! Need Scriptures? You should. Read The Called, the Culled, and the Excused, the most non Christian segment of this site.

The ultimate set of laws of all time are the ones that Yehovah handed to Moses-the ones carved into stone by His own hand. Dont dismiss them due to the Christian doctrine of antinomianism which is simply the politically correct name for anarchy-whether moderate anarchy or complete anarchy.

I was born into a strict Nazarene family-the Protestant Church variety. When I was about 17, my parents sent me to see a wise man to try to figure out what I was. I still toted a Bible everywhere I went, but had forsaken most of the traditional beliefs of my family-beliefs that the patriarch of the family, 100 years ago, had helped establish in the church presently headquartered in Kansas. I told him that I must be the last Puritan, but that it might take the rest of my life to figure it out. As of this day, 1/6/08, I’m back to calling myself a Nazarene; but if anyone should ask, I’d have to add, "not the Kansas variety, but rather the variety presently headquartered in heaven and awaiting the promise given to Abraham".

Quotes from: The Most Important Jew of All

Albert Einstein: “As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.

Joseph Klausner professor at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem and author:

“Jesus was a Jew and a Jew he remained till his last breath. His one idea was to implant within his nation the idea of the coming of the Messiah and, by repentance and good works, hasten the ‘end’....

In all this, Jesus is the most Jewish of Jews ... more Jewish than Hillel.... From the standpoint of general humanity, he is, indeed, ‘a light to the Gentiles’”.

“Jesus was utterly true to the Torah, as I myself hope to be. I even suspect that Jesus was even more true to the Torah than I, an Orthodox Jew. —Dr. Pinchas Lapide, Orthodox Jewish scholar