traditions that have deep roots in paganism that I won’t go into here.
I was under the impression that Christ and His disciples taught all men everywhere to repent. Yet when you go to church you wouldn’t think so. “Just say this prayer and you’ll be saved” they tell us. “There is no need to repent, Christ paid the penalty for your sins”.
The truth is… Two seperate and distint churches formed and developed after the resurrection and ascension of Christ.
1. The Nazarenes: The origal disciples of Yehoshua the Christ.
We know a little about the Nazarenes from Jewish Rabbinic writings, but the more important description of them, although negative, can be found in the writings of the Early “Church Fathers”. You see, just as now, the Nazarenes were misunderstood and hated by both the “Church” and Pharisaic Judaism. The fourth century “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).
Another fourth century Church Father, Epiphanius, gave a more detailed description of how the Netzarim were viewed:
“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