Messianic Israel Alliance
Sheepfold Gleanings
A Brief Look At Church History
Unfortunately, the history of the church is not as pristine as we have been led to believe. History reveals that
Hellenistic wisdom and the spirit of anti-Christ flourished in the second century. We find that Polycarp, an early
witness of God's truth, died as a martyr (155 CE) for faithfully speaking against Easter worship and for upholding
the Biblical observance of Passover.
Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, declared in his letter to the Magnesians (AD 115): "No longer live for the Sabbath but
for the Lord*s Day." This was echoed in the Didache, a manual of church instruction, in 120 CE.
Marcion, in 140 CE, used his misinterpretation of Matthew 5:17 "to fulfill the law" as his theme to put an end to
God's Torah. He then proceeded to teach the grace of God superseded the law (Torah). He thereby declared
that God had rejected His Old Testament. Marcion argued that the Old Testament was a book of wrath and
inferior to the New, "the book of love", and hence had no part of authoritative revelation. He therefore fought to
have it removed from the canon. Rejected as a heretic later in life, his prolific anti-Semitic writing still served to
greatly influence the newly written King James Bible.
Justin Martyr, in 160 CE, introduced a new attitude regarding the church in his bold decision to proclaim and
teach the "appropriation of the title Israel" for the church. This attitude caused the onset of Replacement
Theology, which holds that all the blessings of YHVH in the Word should be interpreted as being bestowed upon
the church, while all the curses are poured out on the Jews. The church fathers preached the triumph of "the
elect" (the Church) over "the rejected" (the Jews), thus justifying the inferior status of the Jew, while projecting
the Church as the living witness and the One True Faith (now known as Christianity). Justin Martyr also charged
that the Jews crucified Christ. During this period Jews were actually labeled the Christ-killers. He also declared:
"Jewish cities are burned with fire and that Jews are desolate, forbidden to go up to Jerusalem for you have slain
the Just One, and His prophets before Him; and now you reject those who hope in Him."
The Epistle of Barnabus is a second century writing that used the word "Deicide" (the killing of God). This
depicts ignorance of God's plan of redemption, which was from the very beginning. It also symbolizes an
increasing cancer that was growing within the church. As a result of this new thinking, the early church fathers
proceeded to alter the original words of the Apostles. It has been documented that certain changes were made in
the apostolic record. As a result, these changes were adopted into the understanding of the church of the
second, third and subsequent centuries. Plato's ideas, Greek thought and wisdom had totally infiltrated God's
Judaic church
The church had moved further away from the betrothal/marriage ceremony with YHVH at Mount Sinai and moved
closer to the Mars Hill of Greek mythology.
Origen in the third century CE was responsible for the teaching of the term "legalism", setting the stage
throughout history for the term becoming synonymous with Judaism and being condemned.
Judeophobia, anti-Semitism and an anti-Torah spirit were truly alive and flourishing within the Messiah's Hebraic
church. God*s true remnant was forced to go underground to escape this hatred and persecution from Rome.
Constantine in 312 CE recognized Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. We may have been
taught that Constantine brought Christianity to the pagans, but more likely, as we shall see, he succeeded in
bringing Paganism to Christianity.
By this time the church differed greatly from that which Messiah preached almost three hundred years earlier.
The church of Messiah was quickly becoming the Church of Rome. The true doctrine (Torah) and the good news
of the Kingdom of God were buried amongst ceremonies, rituals and beliefs of the Babylonian pagan religion,
which date back to Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Nonetheless the institution still called itself by the name of
Christ.The Babylonian Mystery religion now wore a new cloak " Christianity " but at its center was the worship of
Diana, the daughter of Zeus.
All things Hebraic or Judaic were shunned, the feast of the Lamb and of Unleavened Bread were replaced
substituting Ishtar and Tammuz (Easter and Christmas). The Sabbath day of worship was replaced with
corporate worship on the Sol dei (day of the sun). Constantine*s Christian Creed and the Council of Nicea in
325 CE, in the name of Christianity, asserted everything relating to God*s Torah and everything considered
Judaic or Hebraic as cast out in the formation of God*s universal state church.
Eusebius Epiphanius 315-402 CE, later known as the father of church history, and the Catholic Council of
Laodicea in 365 CE did much to annex all signs of God*s religion in relation to the people. Chrysostom 344-407
CE preached "the Jews are worse than wild beasts, lower than the vilest animals" Augustine said not to interpret
Revelation as literal but simply as an allegorical story.
Many true believers were arrested and many were martyred. The Christian Crusades attempted to recapture
Jerusalem and destroy any remnant that remained faithful to God*s true word. These Crusaders, who were once
seen as perfect, wearing their red crosses on their uniforms, forced the people to convert or be killed. The
Spanish Inquisition forced a Jew, Christopher Columbus to sail. The day he discovered land was Ha Shanah
Rabbah, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Martin Luther gave birth to Protestantism, known as the Reformation, which was a protest against the Church of
Rome. Many today refer to Martin Luther as "that great man of God and reformer of the church". However, he
was by far one of the worst proponents of anti-Semitism, as his writings declare. Adolf Hitler, in 1924 at a
Christian gathering in Berlin, stood before thousands of Christians, and with a standing ovation said: "I believe
that today I am acting in accordance with the will of almighty God. As I announce the most important work that
Christians could undertake and that it is to be against the Jews and get rid of them once and for all. We are
doing the work of the Lord and let*s get on with it. Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my
life." Hitler followed to the letter Luther's treatise on how to exterminate the Jews.
The Christian church for the most part has accepted YHVH, but rejects His Word, His Torah, due to anti-Semitic
and anti-Torah sentiment by the early church fathers who created the premise of the dispensation of grace. This
misunderstanding has caused us to reject that which He represents. We suggest that the church has continued
to accept the lie that was initiated by the early church fathers and then fully implemented and sealed by
Constantine.
Yes, we ALL have much blood on our hands. Who among us will be a Phinehas (Numbers 25:1-13)? Who is
willing to stand for YHVH and declare His righteous ways today in the assemblies of God*s people? Who will
stand up in the synagogues and who will stand up today in the churches, declaring Moses? Who among us will
be a true teacher, prophet, rabbi or pastor and teach on the true Sabbath, YHVH's true Feasts and about clean
and unclean (Ezekiel 44:23-24)? Who among us will step out and do the things God has asked us to do? Who
will stand up for God and say "Here I am, send me"? Or, have we all had a taste of Balaam and succumbed to his
ways like the church of Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17? If we call ourselves by His Name, whose side are we
on? Have we been obedient to Him or obedient to man, to a system and an institution? Have we continued to
follow the traditions of man that transgress the commandments of YHVH (Matthew 15:3)? Man in the past
searched for his own answers and thus created a new religion. Man has always sought religion while YHVH has
always sought after man for relationship. For this very purpose, YHVH came down in the flesh to speak to us. He
has been speaking to us all along. We simple have not been listening. It is time that we started to listen to His
message and not to our own directives, for God knows our hearts and where our treasure lies' Selah.
Jude 1-25 "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among
you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny our only
Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been
destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Messiah, Yeshua foretold. They said to you, "In the last
times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who
follow mere natural (godless) instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in
your most holy faith and pray in the Ruach HaChodesh, Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in YHVH's love as you wait
for the mercy of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt.
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy-- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Yeshua our Messiah,
before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."
Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of YHVH saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said,
"Here am I. Send me!""
Quotes of Church History from: The Truth of Reformation by Jeffrey L. Weiss
Sheepfold Gleanings written by Carl and Julie Parker http://www.messianicisrael.com
Sheepfold Gleanings
A Brief Look At Church History
Unfortunately, the history of the church is not as pristine as we have been led to believe. History reveals that
Hellenistic wisdom and the spirit of anti-Christ flourished in the second century. We find that Polycarp, an early
witness of God's truth, died as a martyr (155 CE) for faithfully speaking against Easter worship and for upholding
the Biblical observance of Passover.
Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, declared in his letter to the Magnesians (AD 115): "No longer live for the Sabbath but
for the Lord*s Day." This was echoed in the Didache, a manual of church instruction, in 120 CE.
Marcion, in 140 CE, used his misinterpretation of Matthew 5:17 "to fulfill the law" as his theme to put an end to
God's Torah. He then proceeded to teach the grace of God superseded the law (Torah). He thereby declared
that God had rejected His Old Testament. Marcion argued that the Old Testament was a book of wrath and
inferior to the New, "the book of love", and hence had no part of authoritative revelation. He therefore fought to
have it removed from the canon. Rejected as a heretic later in life, his prolific anti-Semitic writing still served to
greatly influence the newly written King James Bible.
Justin Martyr, in 160 CE, introduced a new attitude regarding the church in his bold decision to proclaim and
teach the "appropriation of the title Israel" for the church. This attitude caused the onset of Replacement
Theology, which holds that all the blessings of YHVH in the Word should be interpreted as being bestowed upon
the church, while all the curses are poured out on the Jews. The church fathers preached the triumph of "the
elect" (the Church) over "the rejected" (the Jews), thus justifying the inferior status of the Jew, while projecting
the Church as the living witness and the One True Faith (now known as Christianity). Justin Martyr also charged
that the Jews crucified Christ. During this period Jews were actually labeled the Christ-killers. He also declared:
"Jewish cities are burned with fire and that Jews are desolate, forbidden to go up to Jerusalem for you have slain
the Just One, and His prophets before Him; and now you reject those who hope in Him."
The Epistle of Barnabus is a second century writing that used the word "Deicide" (the killing of God). This
depicts ignorance of God's plan of redemption, which was from the very beginning. It also symbolizes an
increasing cancer that was growing within the church. As a result of this new thinking, the early church fathers
proceeded to alter the original words of the Apostles. It has been documented that certain changes were made in
the apostolic record. As a result, these changes were adopted into the understanding of the church of the
second, third and subsequent centuries. Plato's ideas, Greek thought and wisdom had totally infiltrated God's
Judaic church
The church had moved further away from the betrothal/marriage ceremony with YHVH at Mount Sinai and moved
closer to the Mars Hill of Greek mythology.
Origen in the third century CE was responsible for the teaching of the term "legalism", setting the stage
throughout history for the term becoming synonymous with Judaism and being condemned.
Judeophobia, anti-Semitism and an anti-Torah spirit were truly alive and flourishing within the Messiah's Hebraic
church. God*s true remnant was forced to go underground to escape this hatred and persecution from Rome.
Constantine in 312 CE recognized Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. We may have been
taught that Constantine brought Christianity to the pagans, but more likely, as we shall see, he succeeded in
bringing Paganism to Christianity.
By this time the church differed greatly from that which Messiah preached almost three hundred years earlier.
The church of Messiah was quickly becoming the Church of Rome. The true doctrine (Torah) and the good news
of the Kingdom of God were buried amongst ceremonies, rituals and beliefs of the Babylonian pagan religion,
which date back to Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Nonetheless the institution still called itself by the name of
Christ.The Babylonian Mystery religion now wore a new cloak " Christianity " but at its center was the worship of
Diana, the daughter of Zeus.
All things Hebraic or Judaic were shunned, the feast of the Lamb and of Unleavened Bread were replaced
substituting Ishtar and Tammuz (Easter and Christmas). The Sabbath day of worship was replaced with
corporate worship on the Sol dei (day of the sun). Constantine*s Christian Creed and the Council of Nicea in
325 CE, in the name of Christianity, asserted everything relating to God*s Torah and everything considered
Judaic or Hebraic as cast out in the formation of God*s universal state church.
Eusebius Epiphanius 315-402 CE, later known as the father of church history, and the Catholic Council of
Laodicea in 365 CE did much to annex all signs of God*s religion in relation to the people. Chrysostom 344-407
CE preached "the Jews are worse than wild beasts, lower than the vilest animals" Augustine said not to interpret
Revelation as literal but simply as an allegorical story.
Many true believers were arrested and many were martyred. The Christian Crusades attempted to recapture
Jerusalem and destroy any remnant that remained faithful to God*s true word. These Crusaders, who were once
seen as perfect, wearing their red crosses on their uniforms, forced the people to convert or be killed. The
Spanish Inquisition forced a Jew, Christopher Columbus to sail. The day he discovered land was Ha Shanah
Rabbah, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Martin Luther gave birth to Protestantism, known as the Reformation, which was a protest against the Church of
Rome. Many today refer to Martin Luther as "that great man of God and reformer of the church". However, he
was by far one of the worst proponents of anti-Semitism, as his writings declare. Adolf Hitler, in 1924 at a
Christian gathering in Berlin, stood before thousands of Christians, and with a standing ovation said: "I believe
that today I am acting in accordance with the will of almighty God. As I announce the most important work that
Christians could undertake and that it is to be against the Jews and get rid of them once and for all. We are
doing the work of the Lord and let*s get on with it. Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my
life." Hitler followed to the letter Luther's treatise on how to exterminate the Jews.
The Christian church for the most part has accepted YHVH, but rejects His Word, His Torah, due to anti-Semitic
and anti-Torah sentiment by the early church fathers who created the premise of the dispensation of grace. This
misunderstanding has caused us to reject that which He represents. We suggest that the church has continued
to accept the lie that was initiated by the early church fathers and then fully implemented and sealed by
Constantine.
Yes, we ALL have much blood on our hands. Who among us will be a Phinehas (Numbers 25:1-13)? Who is
willing to stand for YHVH and declare His righteous ways today in the assemblies of God*s people? Who will
stand up in the synagogues and who will stand up today in the churches, declaring Moses? Who among us will
be a true teacher, prophet, rabbi or pastor and teach on the true Sabbath, YHVH's true Feasts and about clean
and unclean (Ezekiel 44:23-24)? Who among us will step out and do the things God has asked us to do? Who
will stand up for God and say "Here I am, send me"? Or, have we all had a taste of Balaam and succumbed to his
ways like the church of Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17? If we call ourselves by His Name, whose side are we
on? Have we been obedient to Him or obedient to man, to a system and an institution? Have we continued to
follow the traditions of man that transgress the commandments of YHVH (Matthew 15:3)? Man in the past
searched for his own answers and thus created a new religion. Man has always sought religion while YHVH has
always sought after man for relationship. For this very purpose, YHVH came down in the flesh to speak to us. He
has been speaking to us all along. We simple have not been listening. It is time that we started to listen to His
message and not to our own directives, for God knows our hearts and where our treasure lies' Selah.
Jude 1-25 "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among
you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny our only
Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been
destroyed in Korah's rebellion.
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Messiah, Yeshua foretold. They said to you, "In the last
times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who
follow mere natural (godless) instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in
your most holy faith and pray in the Ruach HaChodesh, Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in YHVH's love as you wait
for the mercy of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt.
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy-- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Yeshua our Messiah,
before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."
Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of YHVH saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said,
"Here am I. Send me!""
Quotes of Church History from: The Truth of Reformation by Jeffrey L. Weiss
Sheepfold Gleanings written by Carl and Julie Parker http://www.messianicisrael.com
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