Between 1987, when I fully took on board ancient ‘Jewish-Christian’ beliefs, and 1996, I thought I was the only Follower of the Way on earth. Then I came across the Ebionite community, led by Shemayah Phillips. There were an amazing number of learned and well-read people in the group, and I am forever grateful for everything that I learned from them. Unfortunately, in the end, the group proved too conservative for me, and I had to leave in 1999. However, there were a number of decisions that the group took – after community debate – that I still hold with, such as ditching certain beliefs.
There are a number of supposedly ancient beliefs that, growing up, I felt very uncomfortable with – even as a Christian. In the Ebionite group, after learning where they came from, it was such a relief to learn that they had not in fact been part of the original Israelite faith, but had actually come from contact with other religions, notably Zoroastrianism, Hellenist philosophy and Gnosticism. It felt like being freed from spiritual shackles to finally find justification for ditching them.
The greatest number of alien beliefs came from Zoroastrianism. These were beliefs such as:
- Apocalypticism (that the world is going to end in death and destruction)
- Hell (a place of eternal punishment that you cannot ever escape from)
- Fallen Angels (that demons and devils are angels that fell from grace)
- Satan (the ruler of all evil who is the equal and opposite of God)
- a messiah-saviour (someone from the realm of light who will come into our world of darkness to save us)
- Resurrection of the dead (that at the end of the world, the dead will rise from their graves and live forever)
- the Second Judgment (that at resurrection, God will judge us and separate the good from the wicked)
- battles in heaven (that much of the chaos and sin on earth is because of battles in heaven between the forces of good and the forces of darkness)
If you examine the books of the Hebrew Bible that were composed before the Babylonian Exile, you will find that they do not contain any references to any of the above beliefs. When Cyrus the Great of Persia allowed Jewish people to return to Judea, a number of Jews remained in Babylon and Persia. The official religion of Persia at that time was Zoroastrianism; it was the prestige religion of the Persian Empire, and most of all, had a positive attitude towards Jews.
Consequently, the Israelite religion became strongly influenced at that time by Zoroastrian theology – which was also a monotheistic religion – and a number of beliefs were taken on board. This point in development marks the transition theologically from the Israelite faith to the Jewish faith. There were also other things that marked this transition, such as the writing down and collation of Torah in its present form, the creation of the first Bible, the realisation that our religion still existed without a Temple or Tabernacle, the institution of the first synagogues, and so on, but I wanted to cast the spotlight on the beliefsthat marked that transition.
I have to say at this point, that as a religion, Zoroastrianism is a respectable religion. Zoroastrians / Parsees are good people, and have always been friendly and positive towards Jewish people. The fact that I am criticising thesebeliefs, should not be taken in any way as a condemnation of Zoroastrianism itself. We just need to be aware that these beliefs were not part of the original Israelite faith, and when appended and attached to where they don’t belong (like trying to attach a third arm, or a second head), they cause spiritual problems for the Yahwist.
Previous to Persian contact, Israelite theology had no belief in Satan, or even a concept of Satan. The Satanic verses in the Hebrew Bible (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-7a, 1Chron 21:1, Zech 3:1-2) were deliberately added as a result of Zoroastrian beliefs entering Judaism. Take all these Satanic verses away, and you have those biblical books as they were before Zoroastrian influence. If you take the Book of Job, for example, which was originally written around the time of the Patriarchs, any experienced exegete can see that the Satanic verses stick out like a sore thumb, and don’t belong there.
It has to be also understood that mainstream Judaism never elevated Satan to the status that Christianity has. In mainstream Judaism, he was only ‘the Accuser’ – like a counsel for the prosecution in the heavenly court. In the Israelite religion, YHVH is all-powerful; there is never any possibility that there is any equal or opposite to God. YHVH has no equal or opposite – it’s just not possible. Removing Satan from your personal belief system infinitely magnifies the power of our Heavenly Father; it also purifies the power of God’s Love.
These were the main beliefs that the Ebionite community debated in the ‘90s, and decided to ditch as being alien to the Israelite religion. We also felt that these are not beliefs that would have been supported by Yeshua either; any of Yeshua’s words in the New Testament that would seem to support these beliefs, would have to be understood as having been put into his mouth by the later gospel writers.
It is also interesting to note that beliefs such as apocalypticism and battles in heaven were always fringe beliefs in Judaism. They were only held by small fringe sects. Yet notably, they were taken on board by Paul and his Believers. If the ancient Ebionite contention is true that Paul was never a Pharisee, but actually a captain of the Temple guard, then his service in the Temple would have given him ample contact with the fringe preachers who came to speak there throughout the year, with sufficient opportunity to listen to and take these beliefs to heart. Several other beliefs that Paul had are also not Pharisaic in origin, but from other sects. The belief that blood is essential for the forgiveness of sin, for example, is a Sadducean belief, not a Pharisaic one.
Hellenist Jewish philosophy became part of some fringe sects too. The Israelite belief that the Davar (‘the Message’) was part and parcel of what God was, in Hellenist Jewish philosophy became a distinct and separate entity – the Logos, which was an incorporeal ‘son of God’ in fringe Jewish sects (but not human). This fringe belief passed into Christianity as a belief that ‘Jesus’ himself was the Logos incarnated in human flesh, the divine Son of God.
Original sin was a belief that came from Gnosticism – again, held by some fringe Jewish sects. Gnosticism also holds that Good and Evil are equal and opposite forces; also, that the flesh is evil and sinful, and only the spirit is good.
Even some pagan beliefs have entered mainstream Judaism. In the Israelite religion, places or objects become holy because the Presence of God’s Glory sanctifies them. When the Presence of God withdraws, they are no longer holy. Believing that an object can be permanently sanctified so that it has power in and of itself is a pagan belief.
Therefore, believing that an object can bring good or bad luck is pagan superstition (such an object is called a ‘fetish’). So, for example, if you cannot see the words of a mezuzah, but believe that it still has power, then you are effectively treating the mezuzah like a fetish – like a magic charm.
Many Jews believe that, if you don’t understand Hebrew, but still pray in Hebrew – while understanding not a single word of what you are saying – that the prayer is still efficacious, or even that God is more likely to listen to a prayer if it is prayed in Hebrew. This is effectively treating the Hebrew prayer like a pagan magic spell; both ancient and modern pagans believe that saying a certain formula of words has power, even if you don’t understand what you are saying. This is why Talmidis always repeat Hebrew or Aramaic prayers in one’s native language. If you are fully fluent in Hebrew or Aramaic, and completely understand everything you are praying, then you obviously don’t need to repeat it in your mother-tongue.
I wanted to write this article to help those who might be having any lingering thoughts about entertaining these alien beliefs. Personally, I was always uncomfortable with them – they just didn’t seem right somehow, but since I was a Christian at the time, I had to accept them – because that’s what the Church taught. When I became a Follower of the Way, I found that ditching all these beliefs was truly a liberation of my soul. It also raised the status and power of God in my own mind, magnified the purity of God’s love, and gave me a renewed strength of faith. I pray that it will have the same effect with you too.
Blessings in the Name of Yahveh, our True and Holy Saviour