As In The Days of Now

Review  from Galatians Unwound

Who is:

Yeshua

Sha’ul –

Hillel –

Shammai –

General Titus –

James – brother of Yeshua —

A God-fearer –

Sanhedrin –

Marcion –

Enter Justin Martyr

Taken from Galatians Law and Grace Companions in Redemption

by Steve Salter

Greek philosophy student, mainly Stoicism, Aristotelianism, Pythagoreanism and Platonism.  Justin M was born in Sechem, Samaria to heathen parents.

He came to faith as a Christian because he was so overwhelmed with his belief that Christianity was the oldest and most divine philosophy.  He trusted that Christianity was the truest of philosophies.  ‘Logos’ in Stoic terms was in Greek thinking as being everywhere and always at work teaching the Greeks.  He cites Socrates and Heraclitus, and even the ‘barbarian, such as Abraham’, and claims that those that obeyed this belief were in fact Christians.

Justin does not point to Yeshua’s death and resurrection as primary points, although he points to it.  For him it was more important that one understand that Yeshua is the revelation of the divine Logos and the philosophy that it represents.

Tertullian – lawyer

150 – 155 C.E. Tertullian was born to a wealthy heathen family in Carthage.  He was well versed in history and philosophy and practiced law.

He converted to Christianity around 190 C.E.  He fellowshiped at the Church at Rome but later turned to Montanism.  He left the Catholic Church 200 C.E.  He looked at Christianity from Stoic perspective.  He was purely an Apologist.  It was purposed to show similarities between Christianity and pagan thought….not Jewish.ught that the more

Tertullian taught that the more a man punishes himself, the less G-d would punish him.  He taught Christianity was a new law and that “Jesus” taught and preached this new law and promises of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Origen – eunuch

Born in Alexandria Egypt around 185 C.E.  Clement of Alexandria, a stoic philosopher, taught him that philosophy and Christianity were helpmates to each other…they were not inconsistent. A type of Christian Gnosticism was created with Platonism and Stoicism as the main union of ancient philosophies.

Origen had Christian parents which gave him a head start with the beliefs that were coming from the Church in Alexandria heavily influenced by Clement the philosopher of whom lead a school.

He denied himself any pleasures making him ascetic to the extreme.  He thought this would please G-d and went so far as to castrate himself applying Mathew 19:12.

“For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

He did not understand the last phrase in the verse and applied Hellenistic (Greek) thinking in interpreting it.  He wanted to bring Greek philosophic viewpoints into harmony with Scripture.  He did it by allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures.  If you do that, you can read it practically anyway you desire.

So called, ‘Apostolic Fathers’

They came first after the Apostles.   The name is derived as if they were disciples of the Apostles.  Let’s start..

Clement of Rome      c. 93-97 C.E.

Ignatius of Antioch     c. 110-117 C.E.

Polycarp of Smyrna    c. 110-117 C.E.

Hermes of Rome        c. 100-140 C.E.

These Greek Apologists philosophers wanted Rome to think that Christianity was in actuality a philosophical religion.  They hoped that Rome would look at it as another Greek religion…not Jewish.

Later half of First Century

Ignaius, in Platonic sense, coined church ‘Catholic’

160 – 190 C.E. Catholic creed formulates

Origin b. around 185 C.E

“The Church in Rome was to become the main emphasis for Christianity.  The Christian creed was formed there and the canon of Scripture.  Asia Minor was not to follow the Church of Rome.  Asia Minor wanted Easter to be observed by a vigil that would end in the ‘lord’s supper’ on the 14th Nisan, the same night that Yeshua kept.  Rome’s custom was to hold it on Sunday every year.  The Church law went with the Roman church, c. 190 C.E.”

Later third of second century

Church calling itself, ‘Catholic Church’

Ebionites

There were still believers that continued to worship as Jews and G-dfearers.  Ebionites and others without names were scattered throughout the world.  They were NOT well received by either the Jewish or Christian sects.  This is true today.

The book of Galatians draws us toward the G-od of Israel and His commandments, but is taught by the Church to do just the opposite.  We call the day night and the light dark.  We are not able to tell the difference as we have exchanged ‘truth’ for a lie.

We have abandoned the things of Adonai for the ideas of the Greek philosophers..  We just can not give up our Christmas even though it is celebrating Tammuz.  God sits Chanukah directly on top of Christmas and Thanksgiving and Christians don’t have a clue as to what God might be saying.

CONSTANTINE The Great

Constantine in 325 AD captured Rome with it’s seven hills.  He embraced the Catholic Church there with his mother leading the way.  Then he captured the next seven hills and called it Constantinople.  It became another Rome.  That area today is Istanbul Turkey.  We have two church harlots both on seven hills being birthed together and again joined together after 700 AD with Mohammad.  He married Fatima, a Catholic.  This is why today the Pope will pray toward Mecca and link arms with the Immans connecting Turkey.  It is the hills of Jerusalem that the religious leaders seek.  We will either come to the truth of this matter and fight for Jerusalem or we will be part of the end-time seduction of her.

There is so  much to sort through in the Book of Galatians, but perhaps in another writing.  But for now……

Gal 4:27 – 

All who believe are children of faith, or promise, and those who place their redemption on their performance, or works, are children of deeds, and are opposed to  faith.  Those who oppose faith alone for redemption, always have, and always will, persecute those who believe in the promise of redemption by faith alone.  This is not an argument for Grace vs Law, it is an argument for faith vs. works, Grace and Torah (Law) must coexist, they compliment one another.

Keeping the Torah requires faith

Gal 4:30

“those who depend on their works for redemption, shall not be heirs with the children of promise, those who have faith in G-d alone for their redemption.”

This verse does not mean that those who keep the Torah do not have faith, and are not the children of the free woman.

There is no need for grace without Law (God’s instructions)