How the Torah Was Lost

By Justin Hunter

Have you ever wondered why, as followers of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, we no longer keep the Sabbath or other commandments that He kept? Have you tried to piece together the early church's history only to see that many things don't make much sense?
Step into the world of ancient and modern times and explore the struggles of God's people as they come to learn of and eventually fall away from the Torah - the Law of God. In these twelve captivating stories, spanning the totality of human history, you will experience the joy and sorrow of the characters as they each have their own unique conflicts with the law of God. From the exodus of Egypt to the destruction of the Second Temple to our present day in time as well as in the mystical Heavens, join the characters on a spiritual journey as they fight for their beliefs and battle with their own doubts.
A narrative crafted from historical documents and biblical passages, you will be taken on a thought-provoking journey that will stay with you long after you have finished.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justin Hunter
• Release date: Aug 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223327684

Justin Hunter

Justin Hunter's transformative journey from darkness to light is an awe-inspiring testament to the power of love and faith. Once a Neo-Nazi, he now carries a heart full of compassion for the Jewish people. Embracing off-grid living, Justin finds harmony with nature and God as he immerses himself in the Scriptures. He explores different artistic avenues and likes to include God in everything he does. Justin is always preaching the Gospel to those lost in this world and longs for the day of the Messiah's return.

Book preview

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Isaiah 56:6-7 (ESV)

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. Zechariah 14:16-17 (ESV)

One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you. Numbers 15:16 (ESV)

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Romans 3:31 (ESV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 (TLV)

and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. Exodus 19:6 (ESV)

Introduction

It’s fascinating to me that in the matter of the first 450 years of Church history the Church had completely stopped reflecting the original faith.  Mary was being venerated, and images of her were used in worship.  In a bold statement and defence of the faith, Epiphanius of Salamis in 398 tore down a painting of Yeshua (The Hebrew name of Jesus will be predominantly used in this book) hanging on a wall in a Church building, stating it was against the religion.  Yet, the practice of revering and worshipping images of saints and the Lord continues in many branches of Christianity today.  By the 300’s Christians had come to depend entirely on one bishop, the Pope, as irrefutable authority over all the Churches.  By 155 AD, antisemitism was rampant in all types of writings, from the pseudepigraphical Epistle of Barnabas to Justin Martyr’s writings.  There had even been major Church disagreements over matters such as when to celebrate Passover, called the Quartodeciman controversy.  Later this same Church system would require people to pay money to relieve the sufferings of their loved ones from purgatory. And would later teach and continue to uphold that the blood and literal flesh of Christ is present at communion. 

All types of weird heresies and teachings would come from twisting scripture.  The above examples don’t even take into account the Gnostics and other branches of heretics.  And today, we have people in many denominations justifying any behavior they want by simply saying, We aren’t under the law.

Of course, we live in a time when the Church has been reformed, and so to us it appears a lot of these issues matter very little.  Why should I care?  I don’t do those things.  I’m a well mannered born again Christian.  You may say.  But genuine faith matters very much, and in fact, we have not been reformed enough!  The Church is not complete and it is still divided.  Do you not want to get to the fire and spark that was so pure 2000 years ago, that is what, as a Whole Body we should be aiming for.  But on a more personal level it is our responsibility to reform ourselves.

For if the Church by the year 150 AD could be so divided on many topics and lose its connection to any Jewish clergy or laity and be shaped by antisemitic believers, I have wondered what other false doctrines had seeped in to the church, in like matter, earlier than we know about.  We can not rely on others to reform for us, just as those 2000 years ago needed to find The Faith in a strange and confusing world.  Contradictions and factions were even present during the time of Paul and the other apostles that personally knew the Lord.  What this means is that in a world full of Gnostics and other heretics people had to still keep their head and spirit level and make sure that what they were doing was genuine – as do we today.

For instance we have documents like this from Clement of Rome (c. 90 AD): Those, therefore, who present their offerings at the appointed times, are accepted and blessed; for inasmuch as they follow the laws of the Lord, they sin not.  Here he is actually approving of the laws of the Old Testament and shows no indication that they are parabolic, but in another Epistle (c. 100 AD), credited to Barnabas (though a forgery), it says this, For He hath made manifest to us by all the prophets that He wanteth neither sacrifices nor whole burnt offerings nor oblations...  Barnabas goes on to write in-depth how the Old Testament laws were never meant to be literal, a clear violation of what Christ had taught:

Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.’ - Luke 22:8 (NASB)

And yet both of those epistles, along with the words of Yeshua, were used together in Church services for years to come.  There is a big contradiction here.  After reading nearly all the Church Fathers’ writings, I was troubled by these and other discrepancies and decided to sit down and write my explanation of it in a story format.  This is by no means as extensive a work as it could have been.  Any author who wishes to take up the task and expound on it in more detail may feel free to do so.  It seemed reasonable to me that I should create a brief outline and note some fundamental historical events that many in the Church today are not aware of.

As a reader of Church history, I have found joy in trying to piece together the bits and pieces of the written record from the Church fathers.  I hope you enjoy this work, but if you don’t, that’s okay too.

As you read this, you may wonder what parts of the story are genuine or made up.  You will find a bit of an explanation, resources and suggested readings at the end of the book that deal with the topics and themes discussed in this book.  I hope that it helps give you a sense of clarity of what I tried to create here.

I am in no way trying to pass off my story as divinely inspired.  I would like to encourage you to pray before starting this book if you haven’t already.  Please take everything with a grain of salt, but I encourage you to use this as a tool to picture how the history of the Christian faith may have developed and how the subsequent falling away from the Torah took place.  If one does a study on the Church Fathers’ writings, you will see there are significant inconsistencies.  Most of the earliest writings seem to be pro-Torah in some regard until the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 136 AD, after which antisemitism became rampant, and the law of God (Torah) was viewed as old and barbaric.  It’s important to note that the term ‘Law of God,’ which refers to the Torah (first five books of the Bible), has been mainly and incorrectly called the Jewish Law. But it was God that instituted it and continues to affirm it through scripture.  The Jewish Law can be found in the Talmudic and rabbinic writings.

Chapter 1

1446 BC

The flickering candlelight on their dingy wooden table softly illuminated the clay walls.  An Egyptian family was nervously picking at leavened breadcakes.  The air was cool.  The moon, half full, shone the streets outside as wisps of cold moonlight lay across the colorful carpet spread out on the floor.

Well, it hasn’t happened yet, Akila spoke to her husband in feigned confidence.

It won’t.  Ur said sharply.  We are just going to pass over this night, and the mocking will come in the morning to those who thought to tempt us into sacrificing the image of our god.

My love, I’m scared.  Akila reached down and squeezed her ring finger for comfort, the Egyptians believed it held a deep connection to their heart. My darling, I felt it in my heart.  We must do it quickly.  I believe this is true.  I believe what their God said through their speaker Moses.  He, this YHVH, must be a higher God; look what He’s done to our gods.  They could not save us.  I fear for the life of our son.  She coddled her sweet child in her breasts, brushing back his thin, gentle locks.  His brown eyes squinted up at his mother with sweet adoration, fascinated by the beauty of her face in the moonlight as he learned about the wonders of life.

Don’t you know what they will do to us?  Let me read this for you! Ur pulled out a piece of papyrus, edged with a rough cut, a fibrous tan texture with the smell of black charcoal ink. Hieroglyphic figures sprawled across the page that many of the Egyptians and Israelites read during the days leading up to this suspenseful night.

An edict for all those who listen to Moses and give sacrifice unto YHVH in the land of The Pharaoh.  Any man caught with blood on the lintel of his door shall be imprisoned with his belly facing the sun strapped to a pole until Amun speaks from heaven for your release.

Do you wish to believe this God?  A God of plagues and famine? Ur was determined to deter his wife.

Akila knew in her heart that what was happening was true.  God’s Spirit spoke to her the last few weeks as the final plagues made their way upon the land.  But her husband –