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From Eliyahu

Consider this:

“History is written by the victors” is a witty line often attributed to Winston Churchill. That popular conception is itself proof of how easily the popular narrative of history can be changed. I say that because there is no evidence that Churchill ever spoke that quote, which has also been credited to Napoleon Bonaparte, Mark Twain, Walter Benjamin, Niccolo Machiavelli, and others. Actually, the source of the quote is unknown - even though it is an obvious truism.  Churchill is reported to have told a joke in a speech before the House of Commons on Jan. 23, 1948: “For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.” This is as close as Churchill ever got to the famous line about history.

No matter who wrote it, it is a fact - history books often preserve an altered narrative of history preferred by those in power. The term "historical revisionism" has often been applied to this, but recently scholars are backing away from that term for false history. That's because "Historical revisionism" is also applied to cases of revising the false narrative of history back to a more accurate picture of history. Now, "historical negationism" is the preferred term for cases in which history has been rewritten to negate unwanted disclosure of the actual truth of history.   

Of course, individuals often rewrite their own history, to be seen in the best possible light. But, when whole civilizations practice historical negation, that can have lasting effects on all later generations. This practice of the elite altering the narrative of their history goes back through virtually all civilizations to very ancient times. The reason for this is simple; history has a lot to do with how any civilization sees itself, and it is therefore politically expedient to maintain a version of history that preserves the most flattering narrative of a people and their leaders.  The Bible is a huge exception to this, since it includes the major sins and blunders of both the people and the elite leaders of the Biblical nation. A truthful record was deemed more important than a flattering story by the writers and keepers of the Scriptures. Outside of the Scriptures, all accounts of history should rightly be skeptically viewed.

Due to the historical negationism so prevalent throughout history, it is entirely appropriate to test the history of the Christian Church. There are good reasons to suspect that the claim that the Christian Church is the same movement that began with Messiah and His Apostles may be a case of historical negationism. The first indication is the stark contrast between the simple and pure worship documented in the "New Testament" with the institutionalized "Universal Church" that arose during the next few centuries thereafter. The two don't look anything alike. Then we have the Roman persecution of innocent believers in the 1st century contrasted with the persecutions and even murders of innocent believers by the Roman Church in later centuries. Indeed, the Church has been reported to have killed over 50,000,000 people over the course of its existence. There is no way this can be the same movement of Messiah and His Apostles!

Protestant Christians may take exception to this, saying their movement left the Roman Catholic Church, so can't be counted in with their history. While it is admirable that the reformers saw abuses of the Roman Church, and sought to reform the Church, the question must be asked: What were they reforming? They were reforming some version of the Roman Church i.e. the Christian Church. No attempt was made by the reformers to uncover the true early history of the Roman Church that they were "protesting." They were simply trying to continue what they saw as a better version of the institutionalized Church they were protesting against. All of the imperfections and abuses were laid at the feet of the Catholic Church of 325 AD forward. What about the period between the Apostles and the Roman Catholic Church of 325 AD? The reformers simply assumed a link between the Apostles and that Roman Church, through which they also saw themselves as connected with the 1st century believers. In other words, they stopped short of the full truth.

The real truth is this: The movement of Messiah and the Apostles of the 1st century stands alone. There is no historical link, other than falsified documents, connecting that 1st century movement with the Gentile Christian movement of the mid 2nd century, that evolved into the institutionalized Roman Church reformed by the Protestant reformers. No Christian wants to believe this, so a false history assuming the fictitious connection has been easy to maintain. The false history requires the Apostle Paul to be the functional founder of the Gentile Christian Church. This would require Paul to have been a Christian. Was he? A growing number of Christian scholars say "no" - Paul was never a Christian!

All of this is unquestionably scary to a lot of believers. They should just take a deep breath and relax. None of this threatens the truth of the Good News taught by Messiah and the Apostles. Knowing the true history of the period following that authentic 1st century movement can only be a good thing. After all, following Messiah is all about the truth, isn't it?

See the premier of this re-mastered video entitled: Paul Was Never Part of the Christian Church! This historical picture will answer many questions for you, will iron out inconsistencies you've often wondered about, and will bring new clarity and a deeper understanding of what being a disciple of Messiah really means.

Join us for our live meeting to be aired tonight, at tsiyon.net, at 8 pm cst. Invite your friends to register free of charge and join us for this special meeting. Each of these "Restoring The Assembly" videos fit together to undo past mistakes, and to point the way back to a restoration of the authentic Assembly established by Messiah in the 1st Century. 

Blessings and good health to you!

P.S. - Who was Paul, really? Knowing the truth about this can change your life.