(Melchizedek Communique, MC030810) Following mention yesterday of "trouble in Antioch" circa 48 A.D., "Earthquake hits eastern Turkey; 38 dead" reports Associated Press early this morning. Antioch, now called Antakya, is in Turkey. It used to be the third largest city in the Roman empire. (Background: "St. Paul, Secret Agent of Rome?", http://www.shout.net/~bigred/mc030710.html)

James D. Tabor, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, describes this "trouble in Antioch" in his book, The Jesus Dynasty (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006). Saul/Paul, known today as "St. Paul", began to develop a version of Christianity distinct from that of the Jerusalem church. There are no witnesses to Saul/Paul having been personally contacted by the dead Jesus. Nonetheless, Saul/Paul claimed for himself special authority. The ghost of Jesus supposedly told Saul/Paul to begin a re-enactment of the Last Supper, in which followers would drink the blood of Jesus and eat his body.

But James the Just, brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, followed a Christianity not divorced from the Torah. Gentiles could be admitted to the church, and they even did not have to be circumcized nor strictly follow Jewish customs. James was lenient: "Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood." (Acts 15: 18-21)

But the unverified "ghost of Jesus" over-ruled his brother James. Gentiles were forbidden to follow the Torah. James had only said it was their choice, but Saul/Paul decreed otherwise. The so-called "St. Paul" began to fume openly: "Look out for the dogs! Look out for the evil-workers! Look out for those who whack off the flesh!" (Philippians 3: 2)

Saul/Paul "sternly warned the Galatians that if any of them underwent circumcision they were 'cut off from Christ' and 'fallen from grace' (Galatians 5: 4). He said that he wished those undergoing circumcision would slip with the knife and 'cut themselves off' (Galatians 5: 12)." (Tabor, op. cit.)

These were troubled times in Israel. "It is surely an irony of history," writes Tabor, "that the high priest Annas, son of the Annas who had presided at the trial of Jesus, was behind the murder of James, also at the season of Passover in the year A.D. 62." In 66 A.D., a revolt against Rome began. Roman legions numbering 50,000 surrounded and laid siege to Jerusalem. By 70 A.D., famine prevailed in the besieged city. Walls began to be breached and Jerusalem, including the Temple, was burnt and demolished.

The "extremists" (Zealots) made their last stand at the mountain fortress of Masada. Those few of the Jerusalem church who managed to survive the Roman slaughters headed to the east of Palestine. These disciples of the original, true Christianity became known as the Ebionites. The Ebionites rejected the epistles of Saul/Paul "and considered him an apostate from the original faith." (Tabor, op. cit.)

The home page of a modern revival of the Ebionites (http://ebionite.com/) contains this warning: "If The Truths That You Encounter Herein On This Page Shock And Even Offend You, It Is Because The Church Has Embraced The Doctrines of Men -- i.e., Founded Upon The Religions Of Pagan Rome -- While Suppressing And Corrupting The True Teachings Of Yeshua/Jesus and TheWay." Again it must be asked, as in the previous Melchizedek Communique, Was St. Paul a secret agent of the Roman empire?

The empire never ended. We are still essentially living in Roman times. "He causes things to look different so it would appear time has passed," explained Philip K. Dick in his novel, VALIS. One of the sacred icons of the empire, 9/11, has been blasphemed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of Iran! In early February, the emperor Obama let it be known, via Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, that Al Qaeda and its affiliates had made it a high priority to attempt a large-scale attack on American soil within the next six months. [1] The empire has a jobs creation plan -- World War III. Friends, Romans, Countrymen: the Roman legion wants you. Join today!

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[1] "Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July," by Mark Mazzetti. New York Times, Feb. 2, 2010