THE APOSTLES CREED OF FIRST CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER ISSUES! BY ERASMUS OF AMERICA - JULY 7, 2014
"Truth is stranger than fiction!" - Old Saying
The top reward that Jesus Christ promises to any Christian on earth is contained in Revelation 2:26-28. This reward is for all eternity with Jesus Christ. It begins with 2:26: "And he who overcomes, and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give..."2:28: "And I will give him the morning star." Revelation 22:16: "I (Jesus) am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." So what is being said here? The over comer is he (or she) who overcomes the lies and shallow character of the world and is totally ruled by the teachings and life style Jesus expects of us on earth. And Jesus has effectively won the heart of this over comer Christian. Now what are the works of Jesus Christ on earth? His Apostolic Christianity He founded on earth and this includes the True Church that He founded with the help of His Apostles and their first disciples under them. The early writings of Christianity basically record what were the teachings of first Christianity when under the direct authority of the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, and the rest of the Apostles. And Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna, Asia Minor who lived until about 155-156 A.D. when he became a martyr was the last living bishop who was ordained a bishop by one of the Apostles and knew several of the Apostles personally and also many of the 500 witnesses who had seen Jesus alive again after His resurrection from the grave. The Christianity you see recorded through the lifespan of Bishop Polycarp and his legal ward raised by him Bishop Irenaeus who was also called a Defender of Apostolic Christianity in the early days in Christianity in the Roman Empire and you have reliable first Apostolic Christianity taught through their lifespans. As Bishop Irenaeus wrote around 170 A.D. go to the Christian writings which existed in his time and before as official documents of the first Apostolic Christian churches and you have reliable Christian teachings and rulings for Christianity to use as their main guidelines for later Christianity after the time of Bishop Irenaeus and wanting the right answers for later Christianity.
Did you know that the theory of evolution had been taught by Epicurus several centuries before Christ and long before Charles Darwin reinvented a very ancient theory taught in the Greek culture and Roman Empire? In fact, Karl Marx did his doctoral thesis on the teachings of the Greek philosopher Epicurus and this inspired him to found Communism in the 19th Century! And early Christianity in the Roman Empire condemned the theory of evolution as heresy as it was not true science in their eyes and tried to deny the validity of the Bible such as Genesis! They were effective in arguing against the theory of evolution based upon the Greek idea of atoms as the building blocks of all material by arguments such as "Which came first? The tree or the seed? The chicken or the egg?" They did not attack the concept of atoms, but the theory of evolution they did attack and brand as heresy meaning in religious error and which no Christian should believe as the truth as it repudiated much of the Bible if believed in.
Now Bishop Polycarp and Bishop Irenaeus are critical figures to study as they show the stand of early Christianity towards the first Bishops of Rome as to how far to respect them as leaders of authority in the original Catholic Church meaning in Latin "Universal Church" of Jesus Christ in the Roman Empire. There was a dispute between Bishop Polycarp and the Bishop of Rome over the correct date to honor Easter for the Christians. This was basically a dispute over a technicality with the calendar, but the way handled shows how the authority of bishops was handled in first Christianity. Bishop Polycarp being the basic leading bishop for the Eastern half of Christianity having been personally ordained a bishop by St. John the Divine who wrote the Book of Revelations met with the Bishop Anicetus (153-68) of Rome who said he pushed an alternative date as taught by the college of presbyters at the Church at Rome. Neither side gave up their understood date to correctly practice Easter, so it was decided that the Eastern half of Christianity could practice its date it understood correct and the Western half of Christianity under the Bishop of Rome could practice the date it understood as correct. The authority of a Catholic bishop only became totally authoritative if firmly confirmed that the teaching involved was directly from an Apostle of Jesus Christ and not the opinion or evaluation of a bishop on one side or the other of a religious issue raised. A little later in time St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin and called the Vulgate Bible was considered the leading scholar on early Christian writings in the Roman Empire back then stated that he judged if a tradition in the churches traced directly backed to the Apostles, then retain it as a binding tradition on the churches. But if a later tradition and not originally traced back to the Apostles, then no one was bound to obey or believe in a tradition created later in Christianity if they did not want to.
The following mobilized the maximum authority of the Catholic Church which was the collective name for all the Apostolic churches in the Roman Empire whether directly founded by the Apostles or else founded on the original apostolic teachings and ultimately joined under one of the mother city churches founded by the Apostles in order to maintain the unity of all the Catholic churches in the Roman Empire under one fold. The first round of bishops were normally picked by one of the Apostles and then ordained to lead up this new mother city church which smaller churches within it would belong to. Then once firmly established the mother churches would elect whom they wanted for their bishop (overseer) and once examined by two or three visiting bishops to confirm their allegiance to Apostolic Christianity the visiting bishops would then ask the people assembled of the city mother church and presbyters (pastors, presidents of the assemblies which churches were often called, and later they used the name of priest for the head of a local church within the city mother church) whether they wanted this candidate to be their bishop (overseer) over the city mother church. When they said yes, then the visiting bishops ordained the candidate and announced to the people that he was now their new bishop and then left him in charge over the local city mother church. Assemblies of elected bishops from these city mother churches met together in church councils when religious issues required it and by serious debate and then vote decided on the stand of the assembled religious council of bishops on the raised religious issue. Once the official stand was made, it was considered binding on the churches represented by the assembled council of elected church bishops. Once the Church at Rome was firmly established, it was general practice that local bishops could head up regional councils of bishops, but when all of Christianity was supposed to be represented, the bishops of Rome were given respect for their church being founded by Peter and Paul and they were made normally the President for the assembly of Catholic bishops representing all of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire. The ordination of priests through bishops should technically remain valid in the Roman Catholic Church (Western half of Christianity long ago) and Greek Orthodox Church (Eastern half of Christianity long ago). Have a reform branch of Christianity commit itself to total return to the first Apostolic Constitution of Christianity and have their bishops ordained by both the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic branches of first Apostolic Christianity. Then have these ordained bishops start up again the ordination of bishops elected by the city mother churches as first Christianity did and ordain in these churches all clergy from presbyters (also called pastors, presidents of assemblies meaning churches, and also called priests) up through the elected bishops of the city mother churches. We are now basically back to the beginning Church of Jesus Christ under the Apostolic Constitution set up by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Also, you have for those wanting it a return to married clergy from ordinary presbyters through bishops and you can have married Protestant pastors who consent to accept this ancient ordination tracing back to the Apostles of Jesus Christ and providing the platform for the reunification of official Christianity wanting seriously to return all the way to first Apostolic Christianity. And don't forget that even the Apostle Peter was a married man when following Jesus Christ! And several other Apostles of Jesus Christ were all married men as well! This also helps eliminate the scandal in some Catholic circles of some Catholic priests of sexual scandals though the vast majority of Catholic priests are very honorable Christian pastors and in my lifetime have known several Catholic priests who were very fine in moral character and outstanding in their dedication to the cause of Christianity on earth. I do not brand all as bad when it is a few who act wrongly and bring unneeded scandal to a Roman Catholic Church not knowing quite how to handle a bad church scandal like this. In ancient Christianity they excommunicated from church membership presbyterers (one of the names for priests today) if they did not seriously repent of the scandal and reform their lives back to the standards set up by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Ways of excommunicating from the churches scandulous sinners who will not repent are listed in the New Testament.
Bishop Irenaeus raised by Bishop Polycarp is the one to watch as to his degree of respect or not for the Bishop of Rome. When the Bishop of Rome spoke a religious doctrine or stand upheld by the Apostolic churches in general, he could be considered to be speaking with authority on behalf of official Christianity itself. If he spoke a religious doctrine or stand which was not firmly upheld by the Apostolic churches in general, then it should be reviewed by a general church council of the elected bishops to either uphold or else show objections to the stand that the Bishop of Rome made. With the backing of the church council of bishops backing him, the Bishop of Rome could make a firm stand as to what was judged to be representing true Apostolic Christianity on earth. If he lacked the backing for a firm stand on an issue, then time to resubmit to church council until the issue is firmly worked out and ruled on.
Based upon watching the actions of Bishop Irenaeus towards the Bishop of Rome, he showed respect for the position as being a higher bishop in effect, but still subject to the authority of the other Catholic bishops of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire. And Bishop Irenaeus questioned maybe two or so positions of the Bishop of Rome as he was not certain that he was right in all of his positions.
My basic position to Christian scholarship is to be scientific in sticking to confirmed facts and scientifically derived conclusions by logic and common sense and be always open to debate to see if your position makes good sense with others or has a flaw to it not spotted at first! Since some say they will only accept the Bible as authority in Christian issues, let's then use the Bible for some upsets for some claiming to use what the Bible teaches and then evade it when it contradicts their positions. I don't hold to the position that a person cannot be a good Christian scholar if he ever makes a mistake in some religious issue or stand. I think like St. Jerome did that some were basically good Christian scholars but once in a while could make a mistake in one stand or issue. And if an honest Christian scholar, he or she should not consider it the end of the world if he or she recognizes a mistake in one point. They can still be very smart as St. Jerome pointed out, but just correct the error and continue the Christian debate over important issues. You use this basic approach in science so why not also use this in serious Bible scholarship as St. Jerome implied in principle?
Galatians 1:8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
Acts 20:7 while the Apostle Paul was at Troas: "And upon the first day of the week, (this means Sunday as Saturday is the seventh day which early Christianity often wrote about the 8th day of the week which is the first day of the week and they often called it "the Lord's Day" to honor the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday), when the disciples (the followers of Jesus) came together to break bread (the day of holy communion each week in their worship services as an assembly or church), Paul preached to them."
1 Cor. 16:2: "Upon the first day of the week (Sunday), let everyone of you lay by him in store (refers to collection offering for worship service), as God has prospered him that there be no gatherings (collections) when I (Apostle Paul) come."
Here are two clear references to Sunday being used as the main day of worship in Christianity at the time the New Testament of the Bible was written. So Constantine the Great did not change the main worship day of Christianity from Saturday to Sunday, but the Apostle Paul and other Apostles of Jesus Christ did the authorized change in the first century A.D. Read the early Christian writings that since we lived under a new covenant and not old covenant, this was permitted and encouraged for reasons stated in the early Christian writings left to us from the Roman Empire. Hebrews 8 of the New Testament tells why the old covenant was replaced with the new covenant established by Jesus Christ and the news covenant was better than the old covenant which too many people did not seriously keep before God.
Also, as I heard of a local Protestant church that only had two communion services and that was over a two year period, when the New Testament says that they had a weekly holy communion and this pastor had two holy communions versus over 100 holy communions in the same two year period, is this pastor today practicing holy communion like early Christianity did or else just made the services more comfortable for him by the change in schedule of when holy communion should be held by the Christian churches? This is a shock to some that the Bible teaches that Sunday was the main worship day of the early Christian churches when the New Testament was written is not as bad as it sounds! They also had worship services on other days of the week if they decided to but Sunday was the big day of worship on their day of rest with the heavy religious ceremonies carried out then. In a famous debate around 100 years after Christ between Justin Martyr, leading golden orator of Christianity in his time, with a very smart Jewish scholar, he defended Christianity for having their main worship service on Sunday instead of Saturday as the Jews had their main worship service. He used Old Testament prophecies to show that the Bible predicted that the Old Covenant would be replaced by a New Covenant later on as the Old Covenant had not been observed correctly before God so a New Covenant would replace it given by God. This debate where the Jewish scholar called the Christians "heretics" for worshipping on Sunday instead of Saturday was held I repeat around a 100 years after the death of Christ. One more note. Sunday is referred to as the Lord's Day in the beginning of the Book of Revelation.
Now we have Herbert Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God who condemned the main Christian churches for holding their main worship services on Sunday instead of Saturday and he asserted this proved them to be false churches. He was in error in this stand. Now he was not a dumb man and many of his other Christian stands I found very intelligent and I did not find error in them. He denounced the theory of evolution and I think his proofs against evolution were very smart. He had explanations about what Genesis predicted would later happen to the 12 Tribes of Israel and I think his explanations very intelligent about this and it sounded like sound scholarship to me. As for the Seventh Day Adventists they were technically wrong on their Sunday stand. But smart in their health angle of being vegetarians. I once met a very attractive young woman shortly after leaving a university and she looked almost the same age as me. I almost asked her for a date! I was surprised when I found out that she was the mother of two grown sons and being a vegetarian with the Seventh Day Adventists, she had eaten wisely and did not show her real age physically! I did not initially know that she was married and met her when she was passing out Seventh Day Adventist literature with another on a street in Wash., D.C. We don't have to throw rocks at any group because they had one slipup or two among some of their teachings! If they have other smart stands then respect the sound stands and don't try to feel superior to them. After all they may correctly on another point effectively prove you wrong and them right on that other point! Respect sound brains wherever you find it in Christianity!
By this report I am trying to create the foundation so that good hearted Christians of all sides can work out their differences and by using what early Christianity established as true Apostolic Christianity for all Christians then, we can bridge differences created by bad scholarship and bad policy either side and in the end evolve back into the original Catholic Church as founded by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. As Jesus Christ promised in Revelation 2 that those Christians who uphold His Works until the end meaning true Apostolic Christianity will be the most rewarded Christians in all history and rewarded for all eternity by Jesus Christ for this total integrity towards Him and love towards Him instead of invented falsehoods in Christianity created by those who try to create barriers so Christianity can never reunite nor be total Christianity in practice. As Jesus said, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The Christians are weak because they are divided. Don't sell out integrity but also on honest standards work out the differences until finally Christians can love one another as Jesus taught. He said that the mark of his true followers on earth would be that they love their brethren in Christ, not hate them! Early Christianity taught the highest treason against Jesus Christ was to divide the Christian Church on earth by schism as it is called. This would destroy the strength of Christianity to win the world to Christ and oppose evil with the good of Christ in His teachings and our actions as dedicated Christians on earth!
And in Romans 14 and 15, the Apostle Paul writes to allow many differences in religious opinions in Christianity so long as they don't challenge the main foundational teachings of Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church did not pay attention to this in their policies nor did the Protestant side. Both sides need to learn what the policies of early Apostolic Christianity were. Remember St. Jerome said that he could respect Christian scholars who came out with many intelligent things worth of study. If they made a real serious mistake, it could be demonstrated by good scholarship and then respect what is good from any scholar and if an error soon bury it and not reject the scholar who made one mistake or two in the growing process as a good Christian scholar.
And Jesus said to His disciples not to chase away the healers unknown to them who obtained Miracles of God by praying for healings in the Name of Jesus but allow them for he who is not against us is for us so taught Jesus Christ. So I respect Christian faith healers in the Catholic side such as St. Padre Pio with constant Miracles of God and carrying the wounds of Christ on his body for 50 years and on the Protestant side such as the Rev. Ernest Angley of Akron, Ohio who has in 60 years of a healing ministry probably had over two to three million people healed of incredibe ailments by being prayed for in the Name of Jesus Christ and In His Blood! I have seen stunning Miracles of God in both the Catholic side and Protestant side. I think that Jesus is trying to show us that good Christians exist on both sides, but still I am sure that Jesus wants His Church to be pulled back together in unity instead of split into massive division and Christians hating one another worse than their official enemies such as in Islam, etc.
I judge the Catholic side has done pretty good on the side of doctrine and not so good at times on the side of policy. There never should have been a Spanish Inquisition and physical punishment is not a good answer to any scholarship of the other side! As the Bible says, Let us reason together! Now it is a historical lie that something like 46 million people were killed and burned at the stakes in Europe by the Inquisition. The European economy would have collapsed massively if such a massive massacre had occurred in real history! The correct figure is from around 2,000 up to a few thousand beyond would technically have been executed by the Catholic Inquisition including by burning at the stakes. The millions of people killed by the Inquisition is a lie invented by plants slipped into Christianity in order to create division in Christianity by cleverly planted lies. Now at one time the Spanish Royal Government took over the Spanish Inquisition long enough to use it as an arm of their government and put down a planned military uprising in Spain by Muslims and Jews to overthrow the royal government of Spain. But when Royal Government of Spain authority which was secular, not religious, took over the Inquisition long enough to save Spain from civil war, this action whether good or bad should correctly be credited to the royal government of Spain and not to the Vatican, etc. And punishments like burning at the stake originated from the ancient Roman Empire and were intended to be harsh enough to crush resistance to the government in power. These Roman type state punishments survived in Europe through part of the Middle Ages and at some point were discontinued with public opinion no longer tolerating them in Western society. Jesus demonstrated He knew the earth was round and not flat when giving the example of people being taken away from the earth at the same time when daytime at one place and night at another place. Jesus respected scientific truth. At one point the Inquisition did not trying to say the earth was flat and not round to Galileo the astronomer. Even the Old Testament said the earth was a globe suspended in dark space. The Inquisition needed to know its Bible better! And when early Christianity said for all Christians to read the Bible and then the Vatican in part of the Middle Ages thought the people could not be trusted to read the Bible as they would misunderstand it, I go with early Apostolic Christianity and not the Vatican going away from Apostolic Christianity in opposing Martin Luther to give the people a Bible they could read! The Vatican needed reform back to first Christian standards. Now time to reunite Christianity but upon the standards of true early Apostolic Christianity!
To the credit of Christianity, the spirit of Christianity steadily penetrated deeper and deeper into the hearts and souls of Europe to where finally original barbarian tribes and nations of Europe finally became civilized through Christian teachings and Europe finally through the creation of a Christian college and university system throughout Europe became in the end the leading races on earth in leadership, science, medical discoveries, etc. The rest of the world had to learn from the advanced education that arose in Christian Europe as it grew more mature in culture and standards of life to live by. Without Christianity bringing this into birth, we might not have advanced scientific education in the world today. Dr. D. J. Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries when alive released a book which was a study how advanced education and the world university system were created from Christian culture and then spread all over the world. Western and modern civilization were basically born from the Christian roots of Europe and then America as well.
As there have been so many false studies and mispresentations of Christianity by poor quality or else dishonest scholars in order to defame the good and blessings that Christianity has brought to the world, I felt it justified to write this short defense of Christianity in comments above so that Christianity can find its heart and soul once more and return all the way to The Early Roots Of Apostolic Christianity. I wrote a book by this title name under my pen name of Erasmus Of America, This book I wrote on the early teachings of Apostolic Christianity according to the first official writings of Christianity found in leading Christian libraries across the world. My book is offered on my website at $25.00 PDF format version and I was surprised when some called this even the best Christian book ever written in America and a "Christian classic" according to a Catholic monk and some Protestant sources as well who liked seeing what first official Apostolic Christianity taught for real. I just told the truth and if I stepped on any Catholic or Protestant toes of scholars, I just reported the truth as I found it in ancient Christian writings including first histories written by the leading Christian scholars then and let the chips fall where they may!
One last comment for the "Bible Only" crowd which says nothing is religious authority to them but what the Bible says. In Hebrews, Chapter One and Two, which is considered likely written by the Apostle Paul or else on his behalf, it mentions God the Father calling Jesus Christ His Son and God the Father is quoted as addressing Jesus Christ as also "God" and given the kingdoms of this world to Jesus Christ once Jesus returns to earth. Also, the Holy Ghost is also mentioned as sent from God to instruct mankind on earth in the truths of God by opening up their eyes so they can now understand what God has told them in the Bible, etc. So the Holy Trinity of God is officially listed in Hebrews, Chapter 1 and 2. And the Bible scholar Grant Jeffrey when alive wrote on the hidden Bible Codes in the Old Testament which predicted correctly most of the events we know happened much later after the Old Testament was written. No other book has thousands of prophecies which have already come true in history. The Bible is supernatural and from God, not invented by human authors, but by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.
I had a hardcore Protestant father and a Catholic convert mother and so understand both sides of Christianity far better than most Americans would. I have in what is above and what is below given Christianity of this age its only practical approach how to reform and reunify Christianity back to the primitive True Church founded by Jesus Christ on earth. Dr. Richard Eby who was dead for around 18 hours and then came back alive in a shocked hospital in Chicago seeing a dead man arise alive again, he said that he brought a message from Jesus Christ in Paradise. Jesus Christ was returning soon to earth and the Christians were not ready for His return. Pastor Dan who was killed due to a car accident in Niagara in 2001 came back alive at a Reinhard Bonnke Crusade three days later due to his amazing wife who claimed as a promise from God Hebrews 11:35 :"Women received their dead raised to life again:". She had him taken by ambulance from the morgue where the dead Pastor Dan had been stored and demanded that God honor His promise of Hebrews 11:35 in the Name of Jesus Christ and resurrect her husband back to life. She felt at the spiritually anointed service of Reinhard Bonnke, God would be able to honor Hebrews 11:35 and resurrect her husband from death. The large crusade in Nigeria was startled when this dead pastor was resurrected from the dead and TV cameras there caught the situation as he changed from physically stone dead to alive once more and breathing. Pastor Dan once alive again then relayed the message that he said Jesus had given him in Paradise for the Christians on earth. Jesus was returning soon and the Christians were not ready for the return of Jesus. Same message as delivered by Dr. Richard Eby separately once alive again in Chicago at the hospital!
Share this report with others to wake up sleeping Christian churches and Christians! As Rev. Ernest Angley of Akron, Ohio said on national TV on July 7, 2014, many of the churches in America were spiritually dead and not winning others to Christ. And many were lukewarm or indifferent to the true teachings of Jesus Christ in Christianity. If they did not wake up spiritually in time, Jesus would leave them behind when taking the loyal Christians with Him so they did not have to go through the prophesied Tribulation and reign of Antichrist. Rev. Ernest Angley has maybe had as many as 2 to 3 million people cured of incurable and impossible ailments by praying for them in the Name of Jesus Christ in a 60 year healing ministry. I don't laugh at people who have constant Miracles of God occur because of their prayers to Jesus Christ! And when alive, St. Padre Pio wrote from Italy to me in a military academy to work to undo the division and lack of dedication of the churches to early Apostolic Christianity. He indicated that Jesus willed this and told a secret about me no one could know except by supernatural knowledge. I was a Protestant then but impressed with this very holy Catholic saint. Also, three others with holy gifts later gave me the same message again and again! And each with supernatural signs to back their message to me. I have witnesses who saw two of them when meeting with me and delivering to me their messages. I think it was St. Joan of Arc who once commented that the Lord picked the least likely for an important mission so it would be known that the Lord did this and not the person. This was the only way I could picture myself being asked for the most impossible mission in Christianity to reunify and reform back to early Apostolic Christianity the Christians who so fiercely hate and mistrust one another in our age. They think dividing Christianity is how to win for Christ! Too many love their pet lies far more than the truth and what Jesus obviously wants message sent or not is for Christianity to clean up its mess, reform where necessary, reunify and now live by the early Apostolic Christian standards that Jesus gave to mankind upon founding the Church of God on earth founded upon His shed blood at Calvary!
I have felt strongly spiritually pressed that I was supposed to write this report so that the loyal Christians will have the guideline how to prepare the bride church for Christ while waiting for His return. Good Christians will support this report and get it out across America and elsewhere. Lukewarm Christians will see no need to do this. And in Revelation, Jesus says that He will spew (vomit) out the lukewarm Christians into the world Tribulation when it comes! Chapter 24 of Matthew, verses 27-28 was explained by Bishop Hippolytus around 200 A.D. the hidden meaning to it the churches taught but did not share with the unbelievers and hypocrites. His Treatise On Christ and Antichrist explains that the Greek word assumed meaning carcase does not but in literal Greek means "fall" and where did Adam and Eve fall, but in Paradise also called the Garden of Eden. The eagle Christians are gathered to the location of the "Fall" by Jesus when He suddenly comes for them like lightning in the sky. The non-eagle Christians are left behind and as St. Jerome explained when telling the meaning of the Parable of the Ten Wise and Unwise Virgins in Matthew 25, the wise virgins are safely with Jesus Christ and the unwise virgins are fleeing for their lives from the Antichrist on the surface of the earth during the Tribulation. I heavily studied the early Christian writings, have a strong background in military intelligence and know how to intercept secret messages in code, and this is what early Christianity taught accept it or not! Bishop Hippolytus in writing around 200 A.D. stated that the true meaning of such as Matthew 24:27-28 would be forgotten by Christianity until the Last Days and then suddenly they would see these writings and once more understand the true meaning of these prophecies by Jesus Christ.
I descend from prominent business leaders on my father's side of the family line. On my mother's side, it is a colorful and unusual background of many things of gifted and bright people. There was a family claim that one part of this family line descended from a line of prophets and there are old family stories which indicate that somehow this family line had had the gift of prophecy for generations and generations. I believe I have given you a sound explanation of what early Christianity expected for this our age and time. This line had the family coat of arms represented by the incident with the Roman Emperor when meeting with the two grandsons of St. Jude who wrote the Epistle in the New Testament around 100 years after Christ. This incident was well written of in both Christian and Roman history. The family coat of arms is implied to mean descent from one of the two grandsons of St. Jude when they met the Roman Emperor visiting Jerusalem at that time and had Roman soldiers sent to bring them to him so he could cross-examine them. They were descendants of King David of Israel and he wanted to know if they were a security threat to lead an insurrection against the Roman occupation of Palestine. When they talked of Jesus returning much later as King over the earth, he thought that they were harmless fools and let them live and released them to return to their 30 acre farm in Palestine. They became heroes to the Christians then because he stopped his persecution of the Christians after meeting with them now judging that all the Christians were fools and no threat to the Roman Empire after all. That is in Eusebius's history of first Christianity and other historical references of this incident.
Now for the finish of this report and getting back to more conventional material from the early Christian writings.
I hear a very common mistake repeated by Protestant and Catholic scholars on TV, etc. They think Paradise is an alternative name for Heaven. Bishop Irenaeus writing on a theme repeated by many other early Christian writers shortly after Christ wrote the following about 150 years aftger Christ. In Against Heresies, Book 5, 5:1, "When the was the first man placed? In Paradise, obviously, as it is written: "And God planted Paradise eastward in Eden, and there he placed the man whom he had formed." Also, in Against Heresies Book 5, 36:1-2, "As the elders say, then will those who have been deemed worthy of an abode in heaven go there, while others will enjoy the delight of Paradise, and still others will possess the brightness of the city (New Jerusalem), for in every place the Savior will be seen, to the degree that those who see him are worthy." "..."For this reason, therefore, our Lord, has said, 'In my Father's house there are many rooms.'...The elders, the disciples of the apostles, say that this is the order and arrangement of those who are being saved..."No church today teaches this common teaching of first Christianity taught by the Apostles!
Years ago, I visited the library at Georgetown University, Wash., D.C., oldest Catholic university in America. I went to their section on old writings of Christianity, a very small section by the way! I noticed these books were apparently checked out once each two or three years meaning the Catholic students there, future priests, scholars, and leaders for the Roman Catholic Church, had virtually never read the first writings of Christianity after Christ and the Apostles, and had no idea what was taught in them! Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, a brilliant Catholic thinker and speaker, one on TV apparently made the comment that he sometimes wondered what Christ meant when he said He and the thief on the cross would be in Paradise that very day! He didn't understand! Brilliantly educated, but not in the teachings of first Christianity! The Protestants are just as ignorant! I heard common statements of theories of Protestant scholars as to when Jesus was born. None of them seemed to know first Christianity gave several statekments on when Jesus was born including 28 years after the death of Cleopatra (30 B.C.) These early Christian references pointed to 2 B.C. or a few months one side or the other of this year.
Hopefully I am not one of the very, very few Bible scholars who seriously knows what first Christianity taught which in turn was taught to them by the Apostles of Jesus Christ what to believe as true Christianity founded by Jesus Christ? This doesn't make me smarter than those who did not read the early Christian writings. Rather I bothered to read the early Christian writings and they did not! That was my advantage over them! How the ignorant among these scholars boldly assert their theories in total disregard of the writings of first historic, Apostolic Christianity founded by the Apostles of Jesus Christ commissioned to set up the Christian Church for Him on earth! The early Christian writers knew with accuracy the teachings of Jesus Christ. Too many modern Bible scholars both Protestant and Catholic pretty much ignore in contempt what first Christianity taught and as still faithfully recorded in huge multitudes of Christian documents which survived the downfall of the old Roman Empire! They think that they are much smarter and wiser than than the first teachers of Christianity taught by the Apostles of Jesus Christ and so teach to the churches theories of religious doctrines many times alien and contrary to what first Christianity taught!
A simple example. II Thessalonians 2:7 the he who letteth (meaning hinders) the appearance of the Antichrist most Christian writers today says represents the Holy Ghost is removed and then the Antichrist can appear to take over power on earth. Early Christian writings explained that the Apostle Paul orally told them the meaning of this as it was high treason in those days to predict the eventual downfall of Roman state authority and Christianity would be persecuted for high treason if the Roman censors knew the real meaning of this prophecy of the Apostle Paul. Even though the Roman Empire persecuted the Christians then, it blocked the rise to power of the Antichrist. When the last legitimate representative for the early Roman Empire authority is removed from society, then the Antichrist can arise to power and in lands formerly ruled by the Roman Empire. This predicted the eventual disappearance of Imperial Roman authority and with that the disappearance of the real Roman Empire government authority on earth. One representing the earlier Roman governmental authority exists in the Last Days and he blocks the Antichrist from being able to take over the world. When he is removed once having done his job for the Lord, the Antichrist is free to take over former Roman lands and the world. Early Christian prophecies predicted the last representative for the ancient Roman government who defends Christian interests and won't let the evil win in society. Once the Lord has him removed, then the imposter Antichrist takes over the prior Roman Empire lands on earth but has no right to them. Some Christian prophecies of earlier days said that the one with the legitimate Roman authority turns it over to Jesus Christ and with that removes himself from any further Roman claims. The idea is that Jesus has claim to all former Roman Empire lands when He returns to earth because they were all abdicated to Him.
The oldest form of The Apostles' Creed was likely started around 140 A.D. and was called the Old Roman form meaning used by the Church of Rome and other Western churches. It reads, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His Only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried: the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven (visited Paradise first while dead where the elect of God are kept until the First General Resurrection and where first Christianity taught the eagle Christians are taken by Christ so they avoid the Tribulation!) and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick (living) and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting." (Notice One Church Worldwide!"The Holy Church," not 33,000 denominations as claimed in America tas Church of God fragments into 33,000 hostile warring camps fighting and hating each other. Jesus taught His disciples would love, not hate, their brethren in Christ meaning all Christians. And when Nero ordered the arrest of Christians around 3 decades after Christ to massively kill them in Rome, he didn't tell His Roman soldiers to arrest the Methodists, the Lutherans, the Catholics, the Quakers, etc.! He said, "Arrest the Christians!" For all Christians then attended individual churches throughout the Roman Empire known collectively to the Romans as "The Christian Church" and to themselves in the first days as "the holy Church" and "the Body of Christ" calling themselves just Christians, not Methodists, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, etc.!)
Pope Celestine, Bishop of Rome, held a synod (council) in August, 430 A.D. condemning Nestorius for denying that Jesus was God when born rather than man adopted afterwards to be the Son of God. He sent a communication to Nestorius to change his teachings within ten days of receiving this notification and adopt that of, "of Rome, Alexandria, and the whole Catholic Church," or he must be treated as excommunicate meaning an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership and threatening his soul with damnation! Notice carefully the legal wording of this official communication by the Bishop of Rome on behalf of the authority of all Christianity, We have the Church of Rome involved, the Church of Alexandria involved, and the whole Catholic Church meaning the other city churches throughout the Roman Empire all collectively as one unit or body called the "Catholic Church." Catholic comes from Latin meaning "universal" and in this 430 A.D. message meant the universal Christian church. In those days, if you said "Roman Catholic Church," they would think that you mean the Catholic Church at Rome, not the universal Christian church called "the Catholic Church" meaning the universal Church of Chris or the united Body of Christ also called the "holy Church!"
It should in fairness be stated that the first Bishops of Rome were probably quite honest, intelligent, and did their best to lead the Church of Rome which was the most prestigious city church in the Roman Empire where all the culture and the power for the empire existed. And I repeat that the Apostolic Constitution of Jesus Christ and the Apostles had all the bishops after the time of the Apostles elected by their own city mother Catholic churches and these independently elected bishops in assembled councils were the legal Apostolic government of all Christianity!
The Apostle Thomas who doubted the resurrection of Jesus until touching His wounded flesh according to ancient history landed in India in 52 A.D. at Malabar, South India. He founded several Christian churches there and was later martyred in India. His churches spread over much of Asia at one point, but had no contact with the Church of Rome, etc. When Europeans finally arrived in India a few centuries ago, they found a number of these ancient Christian churches founded by the Apostle Thomas still in existence. Were they saved since they were not in contact with the Church of Rome? Yes of course saved, but moral duty was to join with the fellowship of other Apostolic churches once contact with contact with these Apostolic churches was finally established. And chuch history shows the Apostle Peter was Bishop (overseer) of Antioch before eventually ending up in Rome, He and the Apostle Paul were two of the main pillars of Christianity establishing and getting the Catholic Church operating effecively first in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire which was the Middle East. Then Peter and Paul effectively established the Church of Rome which became the giant church of the Western half of the Roman Empire. Agreeing on most religious teachings and fighting over one or two controversial points of disagreement between the Eastern Church founded by Peter and the Western Church founded by Peter, I do not see how Peter of the East can excommunicate Peter of the West or visa versa when they faithfully held on to mostly common doctrines of early Apostolic Christianity. You cannot by authority of Christ excommunicate any person or source unless first upon valid grounds for such action. I doubt that either side had proper authority to excommunicate the other side from official Christianity, so their decrees of excommunication are I assume frankly invalid and both sides represent the authority of the Apostle Peter to head up the authority of other Christian churches within their reach. But early Christianity gave the higher rank of a Catholic bishop to Rome rather than later Constantinople.
I am preparing the foundation so the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox Catholics including such as Russian Orthodox Catholics, and the Protestants will all face the shock and ask the question, "Why are we divided when Jesus Christ founded one Church on earth, not many?" Let us hold councils of bishops from all sides until good will and charity of heart prevails on all sides and Christianity reunites, but on terms of total integrity and honor of all sides to Jesus Christ who is Lord and Savior to all real Christians on earth. But any Christian church obbn earth needs to help their members become better Christians or else are failing in their assignment from Jesus Christ to raise up the best Christians on earth that the churches can achieve!
I am known for heading up the movement to pass the Omni Law in America and as soon as possible. This movement will restore the God-given rights of the people under law and restore a more godly society in America without making any one church the official church of the nation. But this report is a separate movement though operating under the headquarters for the Omni Law Drive in America. This is to reform the Christian churches back to the best standards of Jesus Christ that Jesus wants for them and we know that Jesus said to God His Father, "I pray that they be one even as You and I are one!" Jesus wants one basic church and loyal to Him, not a disorganized mob incapable of standing up to and winning against any disciplined enemy of Christianity on this earth. I am the only Christian who has given a sound basis to reform and unify Christianity back to first Early Apostolic Christianity. Back this and Jesus says in Revelation that He will reward you with the top rewards given to Christians for all eternity. It also says in the Bible to back a prophet sent by God and you will share in the rewards of that prophet sent by God.
This life is short. Eternity is for all eternity and never ends. That sounds like a smart deal with Jesus not to refuse the greatest rewards that He will give to Christians if they listen to what He asked of them. Jesus asks that we uphold his True Apostolic Christianity until He returns. I will do that to the best of my ability. Join with me in backing the cause of Jesus totally on earth!
We have two reports on God on our website. Miracles Of God and God Exists! Obvious Proofs! From Erasmus Of America (my pen name). This second report I also posted with Nesara News on June 4, 2014. Look up these reports and know that if you use them to show others why to believe in God, almost 100% of the people will believe in God and Christianity after that as we show the people the proofs and simple sound logic that basically all the people or nearly all can undersand. Once understanding, they will then believe in God!
Our website for this movement is www.fastboomamericaneconomy.comOur email is fastboomamericaneconomy.com@gmail.com Our mailing address for orders placed with us by mail instead of through our website is NIFI, P.O. Box 1465, Seneca, SC 29679 . Make checks, etc. out to NIFI and tell us what the payment is for whether products or else our loan program to help fast pass our proposed Omni Law in America. Full name of Omni Law is The Omnibus Civil Rights Act For America. This gives the American people the power of referendum over the national government when the people want it and so the national government despite all its secret cries and protests that it does not really believe in nor want to represent the will of the American people, it is now forced to become the servant of the American people again instead of their intended master and run by secret evil cabal interests behind the scenes really running Wash., D.C. and not you the American people until you pass the Omni Law. Once passed, America will skyrocket into enormous prosperity, freedom, and a nation blessed by God because the American people have seriously returned in loyalty to God.
Now we all have our ways to show our love and loyalty to God as God has assigned His dream for each of us for our own lives. It is not for the churches to try and tell us that they have all the answers. Christianity would not have gotten into the mess and disunity it ended up with if the church leaders we had before knew all the right answers for us. As Bishop Fulton J. Sheen commented, when the laity of Christianity finally rises up to champion Christianity, then the real Christianity of Christ will win in America. He also commented that this would be the antidote to living in a post-Christian age when people do not deny Christianity, but instead ignore it in society! He also said that the Holy Ghost also inspired Protestant Christian writers, so listen to good Christians of all sides for the most total Christianity you can find on earth! Words to that effect when asked why he had a large Protestant library of over 2,000 Protestant books along with his large Catholic library of books.
I chose the pen name of Erasmus Of America because it represents to reform Christianity, not divide and destroy Christianity. With this report I feel that at last I am living up to my pen name that I chose back in April, 2012. As Gandhi of India once said, "If you would reform the world, first start with yourself!"
Yours For God And Country, Erasmus Of America (pen name for that Christian scholar who believes in doing what the Bible says! Let us reason together and we can solve the problems of America and of Christianity! And if Jesus is returning soon, I plan to be prepared to meet with Jesus at such a time and not be dismissed with the words, "Get out of my sight! I never knew you!" I am a smart common man. That is why the common people really understand me. I am one of them, just bothered to get the technical facts and knowledge so I can help better my fellow man in America and on earth.)