Cephas Ministries

PO Box 1239

Zephyrhills, FL 33539

813 788 7422

February 9, 2005

Texe Marrs
Power of Prophecy
1798 Patterson Road
Austin, Texas 78733

An Open Letter To Texe Marrs (Part 2)
Dear Texe Marrs,

This is an excerpt from a letter to a Catholic by Nicholas Stivers (vp) of Cephas Ministry. I’m
using only what relates to the Jewish issue under discussion.

In a 1992 article written by Clarence H Wagner Jr. for the Jerusalem Courier, he writes: "In the
first century AD the Church was well-connected to its Jewish roots, and Jesus did not intend for
it to be any other way. After all, Jesus is Jewish and the basis of His teaching is consistent with
the Hebrew Scriptures. In Matthew 5:17, 18 He states: "Do not think that I have come to abolish
the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth,
until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

It is also known that the writers of the New Testament were Jewish, and the apostles and early
disciples were Jewish. They worshipped on Shabbat (Sabbath), celebrated the feasts, and
attended Synagogue. Even the membership of the early Church in Jerusalem and surrounding
Judea, Samaria, and Galilee was predominately Jewish, as we know that no non-Jewish names
appeared in leadership of the Jerusalem church until after 135 AD when a Greek name appears.
We will see why this happened in a moment.

Congregations in other parts of the Roman Empire also had relatively strong Jewish or Hebraic
roots, as they responded to guidance from the Jerusalem School of Thought, so illustrated by the
names of many of the New Testament epistles... The Letters to the Corinthians, Romans,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. Also, the writers of the other
Epistles were connected to the Jewish congregation.

So, what happened to cause such a split between the Christian and Jewish communities? Initially
it began as a result of religious and social differences."

Before the Temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem razed by the Romans in 70 AD, there was room
for debate within Judaism in the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Jerusalem. However, 1) according
to David Rausch in his new book, A Legacy of Hatred, the Roman intrusion into Judea, and the
widespread acceptance of Christianity by the Gentiles complicated the history of Jewish
Christianity. 2) The Roman wars against the Jews not only destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem,
but also resulted in Jerusalem's relinquishing her position as a center of Christian faith in the
Roman world. In addition, 3) the rapid acceptance of Christianity among the Gentiles led to an
early conflict between the church and synagogue. The Gentile Christians interpreted the
destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem as a sign that God had abandoned Judaism, and that He
had provided the Gentiles freedom to develop their own Christian theology in a setting free from
Jerusalem's influence.

Now, when we look at what Scripture actually foretold and records, we see that "Salvation"
would be offered to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. This was prophesied and well documented
in the Old Testament's books of the Prophets. Some time after Jesus was crucified, a certain man
named Saul from Tarsus was converted while on his way to the city of Damascus by the Lord
Himself. "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" After a few more years of growth and
development, Saul, who became Paul, had sought out the blessing of his Jewish brethren (the
Apostles), namely Peter, to be accepted by them as a brother and fellow disciple. It was not long
afterwards that Paul contended with his Jewish brethren that the Gentiles would also receive the
ministry of the Gospel and Paul was to travel to Rome, the seat of power in the Roman
Government, to pursuade Romans to convert to a Christian faith. This did not at first set well
with the Apostles but Paul was convinced that he was being led to do this by Christ Jesus. We
know by Paul's epistles that he was given to minister to the Greeks, Gentiles and Jews and was
fully convinced that the Spirit of GOD was leading him.

In about 50AD, the first council was called at Jerusalem bringing together both Jews and
Gentiles to encourage fellowship and recognition as brothers of the same faith. At no point in the
outcome of the decisions made in this council can it be ascertained that the Christian Jews and
the Christian Gentiles were to develop separately from one another in the faith and the
subsequent building of the true Church. Yet, history records that there was indeed a division and
split between the two after Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed by the Roman legions in 70AD.
Clarence Wagner Jr. continues… "The Jewish sages who managed to survive the revolt
assembled in Jabneh (Yavneh), a city in the Sharon Plains near Joppa, and decided that the Bet
Hillel School, most closely linked to the Pharisaic sect of Judaism, would be adopted and
practiced as halacha or Law. (The Pharisaic teachings were most interested in the relationship of
each individual to God, and encouraged the masses to holiness based on a scrupulous observance
of the Torah.) Even though Pharisaic Judaism had shown tolerance to Judeo-Christians or
Nazarenes prior to the destruction, the assembly at Jabneh concluded a separation between
Christianity and Judaism. Unfortunately, the Judeo-Christians had disassociated themselves from
the war against the Romans and from the tragedy that had come upon the nation. Believing that
the repression of the revolt by the Romans was a sign of the end, they ran off to Pella, east of the
Jordan River, leaving their fellow Jews to fend for themselves.

Later, in 132 AD, when Bar Kochba orchestrated the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, the
Judeo-Christians had another reason to not participate. Bar Kochba was named the Messiah by
Rabbi Akiva. Since the Christians saw Jesus as Messiah, to participate in the revolt under the
leadership of Bar Kochba would be a denial of their beliefs. When the revolt was crushed by the
Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD, Hadrian expelled all Jews from Jerusalem, allowing them only to
return one day each year, on Tisha B'Av, to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Thus, the
recording of the first Greek name in leadership of the Jerusalem Church, as the Romans allowed
no Jews to enter the city. Hadrian also rebuilt Jerusalem into a Roman city and changed its name
to Aelia Capitolina, and Judea to Syria Palestina (Palestine). This was done to erase any Jewish
connection with the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel.

By this time, the Church had effectively separated itself from Judaism. Theological and political
power moved from Jewish Christian leaders to centers of Gentile Christian leadership such as
Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch. It is important to understand this change, because it influenced
the early Church Fathers to make anti-Jewish statements."

The above is confirmed by the unfolding history of anti-Semitism. The Roman Catholic Church,
which began to flourish after Constantine, played a major role in support of anti-Semitism beliefs
both, directly and indirectly. Clearly, the face of religion began to change and metamorph itself
into something distinctively different than what the early Apostles helped to establish. Herein is
where the departure from the apostolic faith began to pick up momentum costing the lives and
bloodshed of millions of people over the centuries, both Jew and Gentile Christians. History also
tells of the marriage between secular governments and these new sects of Christianity. Religion
has since made great efforts to "change the world" through dominion theologies rather than to
make a separation from them as was patterned for us in the earlier apostolic ministries. Though
some historians may be biased or hide certain critical elements and events, history itself is a
confirmation of what actually took place and some are able to discern truth when they look to
different sources for verification. We can trust the witness of the gospels because though
different authors from slightly different perspectives wrote them, the main jest of the story being
told is the same and the books written confirm one another.

Think of it like this, If a number of spectators were all gathered in a stadium surrounding a
playing field, some on the 50 yard line are going to see the game being played, a little differently
than those who are at the far end of the stadium. If the spectators are sports reporters, each one
will have had certain advantages and disadvantages on viewing the game and will only be able to
report from their own perspectives. Though they all saw the same game and all witnessed the
same results on the scoreboard, each one is going to come away from that game with slightly
different perspectives. If one was to read all these sports reporters stories in the paper, then one
will gain a better understanding of what plays were made and what contributed most to the
outcome of that game. The gospels provide us with this same advantage and by reading all of
them as they are, from different perspectives, we can then gain a better appreciation and
understanding for the minor differences that exist in each of them. The net result for us in the
case of studying the gospels should be as if we studied it in "surround sound stereo." We should
also then be willing to search out different sources of any recorded history to better ascertain the
fuller measure of truth rather than trusting only in the biased witness provided by one religion.
Therefore, from the perspective of the Catholic encyclopedias, if you were to read history only
from the Catholic perspective without testing it against the written and canonized perspective of
scripture and the recordings of other historians who were also witnesses, you might come away
with a Catholic only perspective. To read only from one perspective promotes paradox and often
times when compared to scripture, will result in contradiction and sharp contrast.

Having said that, the relationship of the Christian community to the world may seem differently
depending upon one's historical, sociological and theological perspectives because the diverse
Christian community is both a creation in the world and an influence upon it. It is a true
statement as quoted in the Encyclopedia Britannica, "For the Christian community, the death and
resurrection of Jesus call into question all structures, systems and values that claim ultimacy."
Following are some other noteworthy quotations from the Encyclopedia Britannica on the history
of Christianity.

"Radical medieval Franciscans proclaimed that true Christians should divest themselves of
money at the same time that the papacy expended great sums to manipulate the political
landscape of Europe."

"Endorsement of the world emerged in the fourth century with the imperial legal recognition of
Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine."

"The church, like the state, has been exposed to the temptation of power. The attempt to establish
a kingdom of peace resulted in the transformation of the church into an ecclesiastical state. This
first took place in the development of the Roman Papal States, but it also occurred to a lesser
degree in several theocratic churches and was attempted in Calvin's ecclesiastical state in Geneva
in the 16th century."

I add here that, the later outgrowths of both Catholic and Protestant Churches began to declare
itself a governing authority and executor of the spiritual, political and social commission of the
church and as ultimate representatives of the Kingdom of God. "The struggle between the
church, understanding itself as representative of the church, not only dominated the middle ages
but also continued into the Reformation period."

In the Byzantine Empire the Emperor Constantine granted himself, as "Bishop of Foreign
affairs," certain rights to church leadership, as was demonstrated by his calling of the first
ecumenical council to settle doctrinal disputes and formulate "so-called" fundamental Christian
doctrines and ratify its decisions. This was referred to in the Byzantine era as "caesaropapism." It
was this development which led the Popes to justify their authority by declaring themselves as
the rightful heir and Vicar of Christ and successor of Apostle Peter.

Encyclopedia Britannica states; "In its administration of justice the church largely depended upon
the old imperial law and - in a period of legal and administrative chaos - was viewed as the only
guarantor of order. The Roman Popes used this power, which was in fact allotted, to them by
circumstances, to develop a specific ecclesiastical state and to base this state upon a new
theocratic ideology - the idea that the Pope was the representative of Christ and the successor of
Peter." The Popes saw rulers as members of the church and therefore subject to the rule of GOD
through Apostle Peter's successors. It was this view held by the Roman Catholic Church that was
ultimately the cause of many struggles between Popes and Rulers throughout the Middle Ages
resulting in centuries of mass warfare and genocide. Though history may exist in multiple
paradigms, it does not consist in multiple dimensions or parallel universes. Therefore, what
history records for us should be sufficient to form a larger more complete picture of what actually
took place versus what certain religious authorities claim took place...

To further dissect and reveal the errors of man's maligned religious pathway, lets look more
closely at how the legalized form of Christianity became a suppressive force against Jews whom
God loved and sought to save. Referring back to the article written by Clarence H. Wagner, Jr.,
he states the following understanding:

"As the church spread far and wide within the Roman Empire, and its membership was
increasingly non-Jewish, Greek and Roman thought began to creep in and completely change the
orientation of Biblical interpretation through a Greek mindset and not a Jewish or Hebraic
mindset. This would later result in many heresies, some of which the Church is still practicing.
Once Christianity and Judaism began to take separate paths, the void became greater and greater.
The Romans had effectively suppressed the Jews; however, Christianity was spreading quickly.
This became a major concern to Rome and ultimate political pressure became a third factor in the
widening rift between Christians and Jews. Under Roman law, Judaism was considered a religio
licita, a legal religion, as it postdated Rome. To unify the Roman Empires, everyone was to
worship the Roman gods and sacrificed to the Emperor as a god. Obviously, the Christians could
not succumb to this pagan worship and refused. It was during this period that we find the
Christians being used for sport in the Roman coliseums and circuses, as gladiators, or thrown to
the lions. The Emperor Nero even used them as human torches to light up his gardens at night,
setting Christians afire after dipping them in pitch. The symbol of the fish, not the cross, and
crossing one's finger was used by Christians between one another as an identification sign during
this period.

In order to try to alleviate this persecution, Christian apologists tried in vain to convince Rome
that Christianity was an extension of Judaism. However, Rome was not convinced. The resulting
persecutions and frustrations of the Christians bred an animosity towards the Jewish community
who was free to worship without persecution.

This animosity was reflected in the writings of the Church Fathers. For example, Eusebius wrote
that the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures were for Christians and not the Jews, and the curses
were for the Jews. He argued that the Church was the continuation of the Old Testament and thus
superseded Judaism. The young Church declared itself to be the true Israel, or "Israel according
to the Spirit" heir to the divine promises and found it essential to discredit the "Israel according
to the flesh" to prove that God had cast away His people and transferred His love to the
Christians."

He continues in saying, "In this, we find the beginnings of a Replacement Theology which placed
the Church triumphant over the vanquished Judaism and Israel. This replacement theory became
on of the main foundations on which Christian anti-Semitism was based, even to this day.
Incidentally, the N.T. speaks of the Church being grafted in, adopted sons of Abraham and
spiritual Israel, NOT usurpers of the covenant and a replacer of physical Israel."

Mr. Wagner reveals as affirmed by other historical recordings that in 313 AD, the Edict of Mila
outlawed synagogues, and in 315 another edict allowed the burning of Jews if convicted of
breaking the law.
· the ancient privileges granted to the Jews were withdrawn
· rabbinical jurisdiction was abolished or severely curtailed
· proselytism was prohibited and made punishable by death
· Jews were excluded from holding high office or a military career

In 321 AD, Constantine decreed all business should cease on "the honored day of the sun" and so
by substituting another day for worship, he further advanced the split.

Overnight, Christianity was given the power of the state. Instead of the Church taking this
opportunity to spread its Gospel message in love, it truly became the Church triumphant, ready to
vanquish its foes. After 312, the writings of the Church Fathers changed in character. No longer
were they on the defensive and apologetic, but aggressive, and directed its venom at everyone
"outside of the flock," in particular the Jewish people.

From this time forward the Roman Empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. Using the
Catholic Church as a vehicle of expansion in their newfound Christian faith, they sought to
expand into pagan cultures and other countries taking territory as a prize adding to it the sizable
Roman Empire and forced the conversions of millions of people to their new brand (sect) of what
I call, "so-called" Christianity. Hatred for Jews grew stronger in the advancing centuries as
evidenced in some of the writings of these early Church fathers. Clarence Wagner Jr. sites an
example of this while speaking of the Middle Ages. He states, "Early in this period, we find
examples of anti-Jewish bias in Church literature. At the end of the 4th century, the Bishop of
Antioch, Chrysostom, a great orator, wrote a series of eight sermons against the Jews. He had
seen Christian talking with Jewish people, taking oaths in front of the Ark, and some were
keeping the Jewish feasts. He wanted this to stop in an effort to bring his people back to what he
called "the true faith," and the Jews became the whipping boy for his sermon series. To quote
him, "The synagogue is not only a brothel and a theater; it is also a den of robbers and a lodging
for wild beasts. No Jew adores God."

I whole-heartedly agree with his summary of the development of anti-Semitism springing from
the Catholic Church. He summarizes this in the following, "The monarchs of the Holy Roman
Empire thus regarded the Jews as serfs of the chamber (servi camerae), and utilized them as slave
librarians to maintain Hebrew writings. They also utilized the services of Jews in another
enterprise - usury, or money lending. The loaning of money was necessary to a growing
economy. However, usury was considered as endangering to the eternal salvation of the
Christian, and thus forbidden. So, the Church endorsed the practice of lending by Jews, for,
according to their reasoning, their souls were lost in any case. Much later, the Jewish people were
utilized by the Western countries as trade agents in commerce, and thus we see how the Jewish
people found their way into the fields of banking and commerce.

So, by the Middle Ages, the ideological arsenal of Christian anti-Semitism was completely
established. From a social standpoint, the deterioration of the Jewish position in society was only
beginning its decline. During this early period, the virulent judeophobia was primarily limited to
the clergy who were always trying to keep their flocks away from the Jews. However, later, the
rank and file growing middle class would be the main source of anti-Semitic activity."
History records that during the crusades, the Catholic Church really started taking on an uglier
image of religion thus further defiling itself in the mass murder and persecution of Jews and
Muslims. At Mayence, the Archbishop invited 1,300 Jews into his palace for refuge. This
became an invitation to slaughter, for under his supervision, they were all killed, and he even
shared in the spoils confiscated from the corpses. Incidentally, Emperor Henry IV heard of this
massacre, confiscated the property of the Archbishop, and permitted the Jews who had been
forcibly baptized to return to Judaism.

When the Crusaders finally arrived in Jerusalem, they were 600,000 strong. They besieged the
city and on July 15, 1099 broke through the walls. They killed the Moslems in the city and
herded the Jews into the synagogue. Crusaders with shields decorated with large crosses placed
wood around the synagogue and burned alive all inside as they sang, "Christ, We adore thee!"
This is your beloved Catholic Church we are speaking about Mickey and I cannot stomach the
thought of her centuries of rebellion against Christ which to this day, she has never repented from
but goes out of her way to justify the murderous acts and abominations of which she was at times
instigator of or almost always in support of such genocide! It is as I have said and written in
agreement with others outside the Church, "that religion is largely responsible for all the horrific
mass murders and war-time conflicts we've experienced on earth since the time of Christ. Didn't
Jesus say, "love your enemies?" How has the Catholic Church exhibited love over the centuries
Mickey? I don't see love but a vile hatred for the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And
that is what has become the rotten fruit of man's religion.

Moving forward through time, the Catholic Church through its governing authority, which was
upheld by Canon Law, precipitated more mass genocide in the Spanish Inquisitions. Clarence
Wagner Jr. writes; "According to Canon Law, the Inquisition was not authorized to interfere in
the internal affairs of the Jews, but to seek out Christian heretics who had backslidden. However,
this law was rescinded on the ground that the presence of Jews causes heresy to develop in the
Christian communities.

In the mid-1400s, the Spanish Inquisition had its beginnings. In Spain, tens of thousands of Jews
were forced into baptism. Because of this, they were considered Christians and expected to
behave as Christians. These baptized Jews were known as Converos or New Christians. If a
mouse is caught in a cookie jar, this does not make him a cookie. So, too, force-baptizing anyone
does not make him a Christian.

These Converos were thus still practicing many Jewish customs, such as lighting candles on
Friday evening, changing the linen on the Sabbath, abstaining from pork and scaleless fish,
observing the Feast Days, etc. To be caught practicing any one of 37 customs was grounds to be
brought before the Inquisition court. Christians were to watch for these signs and report any such
backsliders. Once before the court, there was no way out of punishment:

· If you confessed and did not repent, you were burned alive.
· If you confessed and repented, you were publicly humiliated. Any subsequent slip-ups
resulted in certain death.
· If you did not confess, even if you were innocent, you were tortured until you confessed
and then burned.

The Church was not allowed to execute the victim, so they passed them to a secular arm of the
Inquisition Court. Blood was not allowed to be shed, thus the burning. This they justified by a
text from John 15:6, "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and
men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Incidentally, all property was confiscated, enriching the Inquisition Court. Practicing Jews (not
Converos) were ultimately brought to the Inquisition Courts, as it was believed that they were
Judaisers, and a bad influence on the Converos. They too were tried and burned. The Inquisition
in Spain lasted from 1481 - 1820. Over 350,000 Jews suffered punishment."

The Christian centuries largely influenced by Catholicism, had persecuted Jews for theological
reasons, but this errant "teaching of contempt" is what set the course for all anti-Semitic themes
in future generations. Ultimately, the Catholic Church believed the Jews were a uniquely rejected
people within human society and are to be regarded as "unworthy" in God's New Covenant with
mankind. This again sharply contrasts with the apostolic examples immediately following the
ministry of Jesus. As I pointed out earlier, there was a coming together between Christian Jews
and Gentile Jews when Apostle Paul came on the scene but this rapidly deteriorated after the
sacking of Jerusalem and the death of the last Apostle. How many centuries does it take for a
people to forget that Jesus was a Jew and the original twelve disciples were also of Jewish
background, symbolically chosen to be representative of the twelve lost tribes of Israel? Much of
the Canonized New Testament are epistles written by Paul, the thirteenth Apostle, given to
witness also to the Gentiles. Where Mickey, does history record that the Gentile Church age
followed Paul's teachings? I don't see it. I don't see it because it largely does not exist. What does
become clear though is that the Catholic Church adopted the secular world and all its secular
ways rather than making, keeping and maintaining a separation from it. Let's jump forward to the
twentieth century and see if the Catholic Church ever repented of her long history of genocide
and anti-Semitism. What does history record for us here?

As outlined in the above, there developed a mutual relationship between Church and State. It
began of course with Constantine legalizing Christianity. Encyclopedia Britannica states in
reference to this in the following excerpt.

"The religious interpretation of the Christian Emperor reinterpreted in the Christian sense the
ancient Roman institution of the god-emperor who played the role of pontifex maximus (high
priest) in the state cult - took the central position within the church as well. He summoned the
Synods of Bishops, "as though he had been appointed Bishop by GOD," presided over the synods
and granted judicial power for the empire to their decisions. He was the "protector" of the church
of the Christian faith and who fought not only as a warrior but also as an intercessor, as a second
Moses during the battle against God's enemies, "holy and purely praying to God, sending his
prayers up to Him." The Christian Emperor entered not only the political but also the sacred
succession of the Roman god-emperor. Next to such a figure, an independent leadership of the
church could hardly develop."

We see a similar manifestation of this paradox occur in Germany. Encyclopedia Britannica
records, "National Socialism in Germany showed paradoxical contradictions to the separation of Church
and State. On the one hand, Nazi propaganda pursued a consciously anti-Christian polemic
against the Church; it proceeded to arrest those clergy opposed to the Nazi worldview and
policies. On the other hand, Hitler placed the greatest value upon concluding with the Vatican in
1934 a concordant that granted the Roman Catholic Church more special rights in the German
Reich than had ever been granted in any earlier concordant. The concordant with the Vatican
represented the first recognition of the Hitler regime by a European government and was viewed
by Hitler as a method of entrance into the circle of internationally recognized powers." We don't
need to discuss at length, what resulted by this alliance between Hitler's regime and the Catholic
Church because it is well known that the Holocaust was a reality and it again cost the lives of
millions of innocent Jews and some Christians who were viewed as Jewish sympathizers.

This letter would become another book if I extrapolated the founding views of the relationship
between church and state from its earliest authors: Eusebius of Caesarea and Augustine. So lets
be content and agree that what I provided you thus far will be sufficient in supporting my earlier
argument that the Catholic Church is not the supreme power and authority of Christ's Church but
is in fact, as history proves, an abomination and perversion of fundamental Christianity as
demonstrated by the early Apostles. Clearly, mankind has been led astray from the will and
divine revelations of God's purpose and intent of the Christian Church. Since you cannot find
evidence of the one who has been behind this perversion from secular sources, we must be
content on allowing the Word of God to tell the whole story and accept that it has always been
Satan as the undermining source of corrupted religion. I will further submit, if man's propensity
for lust of power and wealth were not so strong in his nature, Satan would not have such a grasp
on man's works, ideology and religion. But scripture reveals he has always been the source and
man's weakness and unbelief is what caused him to be duped and led so far astray. Ultimately,
the churches today are under judgment and God's Word confirms it, "Judgment begins with the
household of God."

May the Lord bless you with a continued hunger for the Biblical truth
as we share His love for you,

Nicholas Stivers (vp)