One in Messiah Congregation
How did the Church get so far from its Jewish roots?
Unfortunately, it has its basis in anti-semitism - the hatred of God's chosen people, the Jews.
Satan hates the Jews
The term 'anti-semitism' was coined in 1879 by a German journalist Wilhelm Marr to designate anti-Jewish campaigns then appearing throughout Europe. Since that time, the term has been universally applied to any form of behavior or literature which evidences hostility toward the Jews.
Arafat has said "Kill the Christians on Sunday, kill the Jews on Saturday," as well as "Kill a Jew and save your soul".
Anti-Semitism and the early false church fathers
More Jews have been killed in the name of this false christianity than anything else. There is so much documentation that it is absolutely appalling to any lover of the Scriptures. Volumes could be written, but this will only highlight a few. Not only did our False Christian forefathers hate the Jews and disengage themselves from them, they persecuted them throughout history, beginning as early as 69 A.D. Indeed, from the day that Stephen was stoned to death, there arose intense persecution against the Messianic community in Jerusalem.
The early False Church lodged two big accusations against the Jews:
The first false accusation was "Deicide" that the Jews killed the son of God and that the Jews are ritual murders .
The second false accusation was supersession, now called "Replacement Theology". This false teaching says that since the Jews had rejected Yeshua as the Son, that their special bond with the Father was no longer valid, and the Christians were now "the new Israel". The triumph of the elect (Christians) over the rejected (Jews) justified the inferior status of the latter and showed them up as the "living witness" and the One and True Faith (Christianity).
The following are just a few examples of how the False Church fathers spoke against the Jews:
Origen, 185-254 A.D., was most responsible for changing the way the Church interpreted prophecy, creating the atmosphere in which Christian anti-semitism took root and spread. He developed a new teaching on "legalism" setting the stage throughout history for the term "legalism" becoming synonymous with Judaism and both being condemned. (Legalism is not the following of the Old Testament Torah as is currently defined by some present-day teachings. Webster's Dictionary defines legalism as "the doctrine of salvation by good works."
Using his method the Church began to develop the idea that the Israelites had permanently forfeited all their covenants by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, that these covenants now belong to the church, and that the church is the only true Israel now and forever. In order to alleviate himself of his sin nature, he castrated himself. Considered to be a heretic, he was excommunicated by two church councils. His later disciples consisted of Gregory, Dionysus, Hieracas, Pamphilus, Eusebius of the Nicene Age).
If the early Church considered him a heretic, why are we still embracing his teachings on legalism today?
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The Crusaders (11th and 12th century) theological tenets supported the mass murder of Jews and launched what our generation has come to know in Bosnia as "ethnic cleansing operations".
The Spanish Inquisition still has the country of Spain in bondage to its many curses due to the shedding of innocent blood. These campaigns were both done "in the name of Yeshua and for the glory of God."
Martin Luther, 1483-1546 A.D., was by far the worst proponent of anti-semitism. During his early years, he stated that the Jews were special. When they did not convert to Christianity after the corruption of the Roman Church was exposed, he turned on them, writing:
"Set Jewish synagogues on fire for the honor of God. God will see we are Christians when we get rid of the Jews. Likewise homes should be destroyed; they should be put in a stable; they are not heirs of promises of God and deserve to die. Deprive them of all prayer shawls, prayer books and communication, revoke all passports, stop them from doing all business, everything they possess we believe they stole and robbed from us. They do not have God's blessings, drive them out of the country ... get rid of them."
In 1924 at a Christian gathering in Berlin, Adolf Hitler, a professed Christian, 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 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." Hitler stated, "Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my life. Luther was a great man. He was a giant. Within one blow he heralded the coming of the new dawn and the new age. He saw clearly that the Jews need to be destroyed and we're only beginning to see that we need to carry this work on." Hitler followed to the letter, Luther's treatise on how to exterminate the Jews. Martin Luther preached his last sermon avidly against the Jews and died four days later. Indeed, Nazi leader Striker at his Nuremberg trial stated, "I have never said anything that Martin Luther did not say".
Other Christian leaders that were strong proponents of anti-semitism include: Constantine the Great (280-337 A.D.); Saint Gregory of Nyssa (335-394 A.D.); Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.); Saint Jerome (374-419 A.D.); Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-533 A.D.); Pope Innocent III (1160-61-1216 A.D.); Pope Pious IV (1499-15654 C.E.).
John Calvin became a proponent of "grace over law" found in his Institutes of Christian Religion, which became the guide for the Reformed Church of Protestantism. Notable anti-semitists of the twentieth century include Joseph Stalin and Henry Ford.
The most destructive pieces of anti-semitic literature ever produced, especially with its fabrication of the Jews plan to take over the world, is The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, published by Sergyei Nilus of Russia in 1905 .
The Jews have even been blamed for the Black Plague, and as a result were put to death.
Church law throughout the ages has been extremely anti-semitic. Jews were not permitted to eat with Christians; nor permitted to hold public office; etc, etc.... Other laws included the marking of clothes with a badges; and compulsory ghettos (1267 A.D.).
While all these laws were instituted against the Jews, they were still obliged to pay taxes for support of the Church to the same extent as Christians.
This is only a short list of the atrocities instituted against the Jews.
Many of the things believed to have been originated with Hitler truly found their source with the False Church fathers. Hitler was just following what he thought to be early False Church doctrine.