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What Happened to the Friends and Disciples of Jesus
The Study into the Lives of the Associates of Jesus after the Crucifixion
by Robert D. Mock M.D
September 19, 1998
Part Two
The Mission of the Relatives of Jesus
The Forced Exile of Joseph and the Friends of Jesus:
The Mission of the Disciples of Jesus
History of the Spanish and Irish Israelites
James the Just, the Less, first leader and High Priest of the Jerusalem Church
The Mission of the Relatives and Disciples of Jesus after the Pentecost
The Relatives of Jesus
Joseph - Father of Jesus -Descent from David
Death - Date not known but apparently when Jesus was a child.
Mary - Mother of Jesus - Descent from David
Mission of Mary:
She was placed in the custody of the Apostle John, her nephew, at Calvary. It was assumed that she was cared for by Joseph of Arimathea, her guardian and protector most of her life.
Death of Mary:
The death of Mary is not known.
The medieval Roman Church declared her Assumption was in a manner like they portrayed Christ’s, floating in clouds up to heaven, to live a perpetual life as “Queen of the Heavens”
They also redefined her birth so she was born by Immaculate Consumption.
They also redefined her life, so that she was a perpetual virgin
Burials of Mary:
Tombs: A tomb in Ephesus is reputed to be Mary’s (due to her relationship with The Apostle
John. This tomb is empty.
The tomb of Mary is also found in Muree, India, is found about 45 miles east of Taxila, now a quiet mountain resort near Kashmir. It is called Mai-Mari-de-Asthan, or the “resting place of the mother Mary.” (Nazir Ahmad, Khwaja, Jesus in Heaven on Earth., p.361 quoted in Hassain 158-159) This tomb is located in a sealed military area on Pindi Point, outside the town. The tomb, east-west oriented in Judaic custom is unusual since Hindu’s cremate all bodies and tombs are not in existence in this area. This tradition is consistent with the Indian tradition that Jesus (St. Issa) spent several years after the crucifixion traveling and ministering in India and later died and was buried in a the tomb of Jesus (St. Issa) at Rozabal in Srinagar. (Hassain 22)
In the 7th century when the Muslims conquered the area, all sites were desecrated except this one, since Mary is honored by Muslims as a mother of the Prophet and one of the ‘people of the book’. (Hussain 159)
An epitaph in Glastonbury, England on the side of the ruins of the Glastonbury Cathedral state, Mary-Jesus. Authors have states excellent cases that Mary was buried at Glastonbury, England, but there are no ancient records that state the site or location or time of Mary’s death. It is assumed that this epitaph is a memorial rather than a tomb.
In the Ste Maries of the Camaroque, of the seacoast of Provence, France is the reputed burial site of Mary Salome and Mary Cleopas. If Mary Cleopas is to be identified with Mary, the mother of Jesus, then her burial would be at this location. There is one caveat. The bones of one of these women are preserved, so Mary Cleopas site of burial may also be unknown.
Mary Worship: A case could be made that Mary’s burial site is deliberately
unknown in order for Roman Church to promote the teaching on the Assumption of Mary back to heaven.
On the other hand, it could be stated, that the site was deliberately hidden by God, knowing the propensity of man to worship human heros. Can you image the sacrilege and commercialization if the site of Mary’s burial were known today?
Joseph of Arimathea - Uncle to both Joseph and Mary
Mission of Joseph:
Jerusalem: The power and influence of Joseph of Arimathea quickly affected the entire future of the ministry of Jesus. If was he, who preserved the body of Christ at the cross and lovingly put it in a protected place. It was he who used every physical process to assist in the preservation and assistance of life. His influence with Pilate was strong, his influence within the Jewish community was equally strong. Under his protecting hand the early church flourished.
Caesarea: This maritime city was within the influence of Joseph, with his shipping interests and business contacts as well as his Roman political influence. He had given up or sold out his Jerusalem and Palestine estates by this time, now a hunted man by his former Sanhedrin associates. To them, he was a traitor against the Jewish cause, a marked man for the Zealots, but still respected for his Roman connections. In Caesarea, he was not touchable, that is until there occurred a vacuum in the Roman-Jewish politics.
47-48 AD - The year was a Sabbatical year in Jerusalem and the country was at heighten stage for religious and political unrest. The Nazarenes were becoming marked by the Romans especially at the instigation of the Sadducean authorities. This was a double perilous time for right after the Sabbatical year, the Roman census went into effect. This was a time of anger and agitation for the entire Jewish population.
This Sabbatical year also came after a severe famine in Palestine. The political climate was intense, poverty was tightening its grip on the population, a year of famine, a year when the whole population is off work and the land is idle followed by a year in which the census and taxes for fourteen years are due.
Cuspius Fadus, appointed governor of Judea by Claudius had used oppressive action against increased Jewish guerrilla activities. Judah was aflame and the Nazarene who had the ear of the Zealots and the Sicarii plus the general populations were coming under suspicion by the Sadducean authorities. In light of this, Joseph of Arimathea with his political, religious and economic resources was a liability that could not be ignored.
46 AD - Fadus was replaced by Tiberius Alexander as the new governor of Judea. During this interim, the Sadducean High Priest had complete autonomy in the political and religious control of Judea. Yet they still feared the long arm of Rome, so rather than assassinate Joseph, they plotted to send him into exile, with a one way ticket hopefully to his demise. (Schonfeld, 171-173)
Understanding now the historical background, we can see the validity in the Rabanus document
The Forced Exile of Joseph and the Friends of Jesus:
Joseph and a group of twelve were sent according to tradition of a boat with no sail, no rudder and no oars. The Jewish authorities believed that the will of God would create their demise. Yet Providence carried the boat on the current across the Mediterranean to the coast of Provence, France and landed on the sandy beaches in the Camaroque near the present town of Les Ste. Maries.
Occupants of the Boat:
Though traditions are sketchy, within this boat was a company of twelve, that included: (Cardinal Baronius quoting from Mistral, in Mireio and another Vatican document, as quoted in Jowett 70)
Joseph of Arimathea plus
Mary Cleopas Clemon (Clement of Rome)
Mary Salome and Sarah handmaiden Eutropius, who later went to Orange
Mary Magdalene Sidonius (Restitutes “Man born blind” who
Martha with Marcella handmaid later went to Aix and known as St. Restitutes
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Martian, who later went to Limogenes
Lazarus, who went to Marseilles
Saturinus, who later went to Toulouse
Trophimus - Martha’s father? Who went to Arles
Maximinus - ‘Rich young Ruler’ who went to
Maximinus
Near their landing site was the great city of Marseilles, one of four of the greatest cities of the Roman world in the first century. The city of Marseilles had a rock harbor with dry docks and an armory. The Ephesium was the prized temple dedicated to Diana of Ephesus. There also was a temple dedicated to the Delphians of Apollo. The city was controlled by a well regulated aristocracy called the Council of 600. (Taylor 111-113)
Here in Marseilles, was Philip, the friend of Joseph and his company. He had come earlier under instructions by Peter to scout out the region of Gaul and begin to establish the mission of Jesus on the European continent above the area already started by James the Greater. (Stough 78)
Philip took charge of the company, and during this interim, he dedicated Joseph with the apostolic commission as Bishop to Britain. An emissary must have been sent ahead to the British Silurian royalty.
Here, Joseph followed the tradition path of the ancient Tin Traders. From Marseilles, they traveled to Narbonne on the southern coast of France. They then traveled by horseback across central Celtica or France up the route through Figeac, Rocamadour, Limoges and on to Marlaix on the western coastal peninsula of France.
At Morlaix, so the traditions say, Joseph and his company were met by a British Druidic delegation led by Arviragus, the crown prince of the Silurian tribe in the Dukedom of Cornwall. He was the son of Cunobelinus, the Cymbeline of Sheakespeare fame, and cousin to the renown British Pendragon and warrior, Caradactus. This tribe represented the most powerful tribal confederation on the Isle of Britain. (Stough 78)
Then they took a ship across the English Channel to St. Michael’s Mount called Ictis as it was the loading dock for the tin that would be shipped by East from the town of Marazion. From Marazion, they would travel by Joseph of Arimathea and the Royal Silurian Family (Gardner) skiffs through the marshy islands to Glastonbury, called the island of ‘Ynes Wyten’ Here they were met by a second delegation, with King Guiderius and an entourage of nobles.
The first official act by Arviragus was to present to Joseph a charter with twelve hides of land, one for each disciple, as a perpetual gift, free of tax. At the equivalence of 160 acres per hide, there was given about 1920 acres for the first Christian mission in the Isles. This charter is extant today, recorded in the British royal archives. It was recorded in the Domesday Book, recorded by authority of William I the Conqueror, first Norman king in England in 1066 AD. (Jowett 70) Here in isolation and protection, one of the greatest mission station was built.
Some may suggest that the Christian message reached Britain at this time, but to the contrary, it was written by Gilgas (AD 500), the foremost early British historian, who wrote in his De Exidio Brittannioe, “We certainly know that Christ, the True Son, afforded His Light, the knowledge of His precepts to our Island in the last year of Tiberius Caesar.” (37-38 AD) (Jowett 82) Careful historical reconstruction confirms that it could have only been Joseph who initially went to the Isles and brought the “Good News”.
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At the site was already built, a ‘Wattle Church’ which 400 years later would be claimed by Augustine the Great, the doctor of the Roman Church, was “built by the hands of our Lord.”
There also at a site was a natural spring, now called the Chalice Well, where the twelve lived in individual huts built in a circle. This became the tradition of the anchorites which lasted for hundred of years, for whenever one would leave or die, another anchorite would be appointed. At this site was the beginnings of the first Christian school and institution of higher learning.
Celtic Druids, as inheritors of the Ancient Hebrew Faith.
Within the Celtic culture, the religious, spiritual leadership and education was entrusted into the hands of the Druidic priests. The Druids in the British Isles, ran one of the largest educational and university systems in the ancient worlds. Tens of thousands of young people spent twenty years of their lives to complete their education. An in depth knowledge of the Druidic faith, confirms that they were waiting for the coming of the messiah. In fact, in the Druidic faith, they were awaiting the anointed One, Jesu and it was with willing hearts that the message of Christ found immediate reception in the Royal Silurian family, including Bron, who was the Arch Druid of Britain, later known as Bran the Blessed.
British historians, documented what they feel are legitimate migrational routes of the Celtoi tribes, feel that they can trace these tribes to the lost tribes of Israel. It was these same Druids, who in their “Celtic Triads”, who wrote prior to the coming of Christ, and recorded by Procopius in De Gotthici,
‘The Lord our God is One,
Life up your heads, O ye gates, and be
ye life up, ye everlasting door, and the
King of Glory shall come in.
Who is the King of Glory? The Lord Jesu;
His is the King of Glory.’ (cf. Procopius, De Gothici, bk 3, in Jowett 78)
The second link to historical time is when Clements and Barnabus, met Joseph and the Bethany family at Caesarea at the home of Philip after 36 AD. This was prior to the beheading of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in 44 AD. It was after this date (AD 47) that Joseph and his company were expelled from Palestine. It is this Clements, the second Bishop of Rome, who was also expelled with Joseph under the name of Clemon.
It was under the instruction of Joseph and Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and others that the first British were instructed and trained as emissaries for Christ. It was to them that Macnessa, King of Ulster, sent his priests to Avalon to commit the Christian law and its teachings into writing, which they names ‘The Celestial Judgments’. (cf. Lewis and Old History of Ulster, Irish Tourist Bureau in Jowett 80)
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It was also here at Avalon, that Lazarus life is identified, in the Celtic MSS, known as The Triads (Laws) of Lazarus. (Capgrave, De Sancto Joseph ab Aramathea, quoting ancient manuscript and the Book of the Holy Grail, quoted in Jowett 163) And it was from here that Lazarus, returned to Gaul, the area of Provence, France with Mary and Martha. In the ancient church records of Lyon it states, ‘Lazarus returned to Gaul from Britain to Marseilles, taking with him Mary Magdalene and Martha. He was the first appointed bishop. He died there seven years later.” (Jowett 164)
It was this, the Avalon school that the children of the Silurian Pendragon, Caractacus, Gladys, Linus and Eurgain were baptized and taught the message of our Lord. It was they, who with their father, as Roman military captive, went to Rome, and after his clemency, they lived at the Pallatium Brittanicum where the first Christian church in Rome met with the Apostle Paul. This site is preserved today in the Church of St. Pudentianna, and the remains of the house of Pudens have been escavated and preserved there today on Vermillian Hill in Rome.
Death: Joseph died at Glastonbury, and today his tomb is still present within thepartially ruined Lady Chapel or known as the Chapel of Joseph. It was in the writings of one Melchin, who wrote about 560 AD and later quoted by John of Glastonbury,
“The disciples…died in succession and were buried in the cemetery. Among them, Joseph of Marmore, named of Arimathea, receives perpetual rest, and he lies in linea bifurcata near the south corner of the oratorio, which is built of hurdles.” (Melchin, or Church of St. Pudentianna in Rome Melkyn, is said to have lived before Merlin, and to have recorded the coming of Joseph in a book (see the Flores Historiarum, London, 1890, p 127, in Taylor 152)
The Brethren of Jesus
John the Baptist First Cousin
John the Apostle Cousin by Half Blood - see under Twelve
Apostles
James the Great (Apostle) Cousin by Half Blood - see under Twelve
Apostles
James the Less (Just) Half Brother or Cousin by Half Blood
see under Twelve Apostles
Symeon (Simon) Half Brother or Cousin by Half Blood
History: In Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, reference is made to a Letter to Aristides by Julius Africanus, which deals with the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. This letter records the survival of members of Jesus family from the war of Jerusalem in AD 66-70. Their family records and family memory depicted pride in their Davidian heritage. Julius states, “These coming from Nazara and Cochaba, Jewish villages, to the other parts of the country, explained the aforesaid genealogy as faithfully as possible from the book of Chronicles” (Eccl, Hist I viii, quoted in Schonfield 293)
Prior to the war, 66-67 AD, most of the Nazarene Christians fled to Pella in the Decapolis, the northeast tip of Peraea (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist III,v quoted in Schonfield 240) and set up a government in exile under the leadership of Simeon, son of Cleophas. It appears that Nazara (Village of the Sprout) was in this region as Cochaba (Village of the Star) has been identified there also. Nazara and the modern translation of Nazareth would be references to a village identified with the Isa. 11:1 prophecy, ‘the sprout or shoot shall arise out of stock of Jesse.” Later, the name Cochaba, would be linked to Bar-Cochba, leader of the Second Revolt in AD 135 reflecting the ancient prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17 states, “a star shall come forth out of Jacob”
Nazareth, the Lost City - We must take into account that a research of all Roman records, histories, topographical maps reveal that village of Nazareth did not exist prior to the 4th century AD. It is beyond the scope of this study, but Nazareth could be associated as a village of the Nazarenes and be possibly be identified with the above Nazara, where the later Nazarene (Jerusalem) Christians fled to prior to the fall of Jerusalem. This city would be somewhere above Galilee, somewhere in the region of Caesarea Philippi and Damascus.
66 AD - Simeon, son of Cleophas, called a “certain aged man from among the Elders…who frequented the Holy of Holies”, (from the Nazarene documents, Gospel of the Hebrews, (the Hebrew Matthews), the Ascents of Jacob) Epiphanius’ ‘falsified Acts’) and the Book of John as presented in Schonfield 234) was elected to take the leadership position of the Jerusalem Nazarene Church upon the death of Jacob (James) the Just. About the year 66 AD, the Sanhedrin for the Nazarene Church, were seeking a leader with the respect and wisdom to prevail upon the Nazarenes to withdraw “from their midst” or to leave the sacred city of Jerusalem. Eusebius, quoting from the lost Memoirs of Hegessippus from the second century states:
“After the martyrdom of Jacob (i.e. The brother of Jesus), and the capture of Jerusalem which immediately followed, the report is, that those of the apostles and the disciples of the Lord who still survived came together from all parts with those who were related to the Lord according to the flesh - for the great part of them were still living. These consulted together to determine who was most suitable to succeed Jacob. They unanimously declared Simeon son of Cleophas, of whom mention is made in the sacred volume (i.e. Luke 24:18) as worthy of the episcopal seat there. They say he was a first cousin of the Savior; for Hegesippus asserts that Cleophas was the brother of Joseph” (Eccl. Hist III, xi quoted in Schonfield 294)
Death: Simeon was well over a hundred years old as he survived into the reign of Trajan, in the second
century. He appears to have been killed in a “‘palace plot’, Being denounced to the Romans by certain heretics as a descendant of David and a follower of Jesus.” (Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius, Eccl Hist., III.xxxii quoted in Schonfield 246)
Jude (Thaddeus) Half Brother or Cousin by Half Blood see under Twelve Apostles
Joseph (Barsaba) Half Brother or Cousin by Half Bloo ‘son of wisdom Ancestor of the “Heirs” of Christ also called Justus
One clue on Joseph or Justus is the Jesus Justus, whom Paul states, was one of the only Nazarene Jews, along with Aristarchus, and John Mark, who were willing to work with him in his mission in Rome. (Col. 4:10-11)
The Mission of theTwelve Apostles -
The twelve apostles made their first acquaintance with Jesus after his baptism by John in the Jordan River. The date of the baptism being the Fall 27 AD (SDA BC 227-231) or possibly the Fall, 30 AD. The disciples still followed their own professions for over a year, in the Spring of the following year when they received the call by Jesus to be permanent disciples (Luke 5:1,11, Mark 3:13-19)
Simon Peter
Mission
32 AD - Fiery evangelist at Pentecost with thousands converted to “The Way” He was arrested with John and brought to the Sanhedrin with a warning. They were jailed but were set free by white robed ‘angel’ like beings. They immediately went back to preaching, and were rearrested, but were saved from death by the intervention of Gamaliel. (The Gospel of Peter, from The Apocryphal New Testament, tr. MR James, Oxford, 1926 noted in Hussain 157)
33-34 AD - John and Peter assisted Philip in the successful Samaria crusade
34-36 AD -Leader in the Jerusalem church
36 AD - The Stoning of Stephen.
Conversion of the Centurion Cornelius in Caperneum with Peter.
Luke and Simon the Cyrenean travel through Syro-Phoenicia on to Antioch
A large company of leaders flee to Caesarea with Philip.
36-43 AD -Peter travels to Asia Minor (Turkey) - Pontus, Galatian, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
To the inhabitants of these countries he wrote, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (I Peter 2:9-10)
Peter then travels later to Babylonia, and apparently was accompanied by John Mark. It is here that Peter probably wrote I Peter.
39 AD - Cornelius transferred to Caesarea, during the change of Roman rulership when Herod Antipas
was deposed and a change of all Roman administrative offices. He is sent to Caesarea and as such
becomes the protector of Christian company in that city
41AD - Sabbatical Week
Caesarea - Peter meets Clements, the Roman convert of Barnabus, who later became the 2nd Official Bishop of Rome. (Recognizions of Clements)
James the Less, son of Zebedee, returns from Spain
Peter appoints Zaccheus to be Bishop of Caesarea.
Peter heads to Antioch, along with Joseph of Arimathea
Lazarus is sent to Cyprus (home of Barnabus)
43 AD - Antioch - Peter heads to Antioch, wintering first in Tripoli.
Zaccheus remains in Caesarea and becomes Bishop in that city.
Peter leaves for Rome.
Joseph of Arimathea returns to Jerusalem.
44 AD - Peter is in Rome and meets Rufus the Roman Senator (married to
Paul’s mother) Peter leaves Rome at the onset of the Claudian
Persecution. James the Less, son of Zebedee, is decapitated by Herod Agrippa I.
45-49 AD - Antioch, the second center of the Christian faith: In the meantime, Barnabus goes to
Antioch to help out in the ministry of this great center of early Christian life. About a year later, Peter returns to Antioch and becomes the leader of the Antioch Church. It is here that the dynamic interchange between Peter and Simon Magus made a strong impression on the church and the need for central leadership. Barnabus is sent by Peter to find Paul and bring him to Antioch. The ministry of the Great Apostle to the Gentiles is about to commence. (48 BC)
47 AD - Joseph of Arimathea and the Bethany group plus Zaccheus and others are sent into exile on a
boat by hostile Jews.
47-49 AD - The persecution against the leadership of the Nazarene (Jerusalem) Church became serious and
not controllable. The central leadership and apostles can no longer accept a peaceful acceptance by the Jewish hierarchy and that their mission must be spread outside the central world mission at Jerusalem. On the year 48 BC, the apostles by casting lots divided the world as known to them.
The Division of the World
Thomas and Bartholomew - lot cast to the East
Simon and Matthew - cast lots for the South.
Philip and Thaddaeus - were to go to the North.
Matthew and James were to stay in the center of the world, Jerusalem.
John and Andrew were to go to the provinces of the Mediterranean
Peter and Paul to the kingdoms of the West. (Taylor 88)
52-66 - Peter goes to Spain, Gaul, to help Philip and Britain, to help
Joseph in the Avalon (Glastonbury) mission.
66 AD - Returns to Rome at the onset of the Neronian Persecution (Second Visit) He probably headed
directly to Rome when he heard of the arrest of Paul and possibly his death. There is no record that Peter was in Rome at the time of the death of Paul
66 AD - Arrested and put in the Mamertine Prison for nine months.
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Circus of Nero and the site of Peter’s Tomb
The Tomb of Peter in the Catacombs beneath
St Peter’s
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Mamertine Prison - this place was the most famed and dreaded of all isolation chambers in the Roman world. In classical times it was called the Gemonium or the Tullian Keep. The Mamertine was a two chamber cell cut into solid rock, one over each other, whose only entrance was through a hole in the ceiling. As early as 50 BC, is was described by the historian Sallust as follows:
“In the prison called the Tulian, there is a place about ten feet deep. It is surrounded on the sides by walls and is closed above by a vaulted roof of stone. The appearance of it from the filth, the darkness and the smell is terrific.” (Taylor 176) It was here that Jugurtha was starved and went insane, and Vereingirorix, the famed and feared Druidic Chief was murdered by Julius Caesar. Yet here incarcerated in the filth and stench of decades of human debrid, Peter was bound in chains for nine months, standing upright to a column, never able to rest. Peter’s undaunted spirit was such, that in these nine months, he converted his gaolers, Processus, Martinianus, and forty-eight others to the ministry of Christ.
(Jowett 176)
Death of Simon Peter
67 AD - Crucified head down in Nero’s Circus.
Tomb - buried on the sloped side of Nero’s Circus, now in the center of St. Peter’s Cathedral in
the Vatican.
2nd c. AD - Bones transferred to Calistixus Catacombs during the height of the Christian persecutions.
656 AD - The bones (or part of the relics) were relocated to Canterbury Cathedral at the request of King
Oswy in Britain to Pope Vitalian.
Peter and the Papacy at Rome
No record of him being in Rome long enough or presiding as a Bishop of Rome. The Apostles would
nominate Bishops for areas of leadership for their global mission was to a much larger area. Peter’s responsibility was to “all the Lost Sheep” when Jesus asked him three times, “Feed My Sheep.” Every indication that Peter traversed the entire world known to inhabit the colonies of Hebrew people from Babylonia to Britain.
Andrew
Mission: Spent his life as an associate of John the Apostle in Asia Minor helping in the ministry in the countries of Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea and Colossae, using Ephesus as their home base.
Death of Andrew:
According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Andrew went to Edessa to preach the gospel there. At that city, “he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground.” (p. 4) or in the shape of the letter X - hence the name, St. Andrew’s Cross. Other traditions state that his crucifixion occurred in Greece.
James the Greater:
Mission: Lost Tribes of Israel - Spanish and Portugese Israel colonies in Sardinia and Spain (Taylor, The
Coming of the Saints)
Apostle to Spain - Strong tradition depict James leaving Jerusalem soon after the crucifixion and going to the
Spanish provinces of Rome. He was not heard from again until he returned to Jerusalem for the Passover in 44 AD.
History of the Spanish and Irish Israelites:
Judah, son of Jacob married Tamar. To them were born twins: Zarah and Pharez. The Jewish story depicts the uncertain role of who was the first- born. According to the story Zarah was the first to reached his hand out of the womb and a scarlet thread was tied to it by the midwife. Yet Pharez moved ahead of Zarah in utero and was officially born as the first born.
According to prophecy, it was stated, “The Scepter shall not depart from Judah…till Shiloh comes.” Gen. 49:10. To the Israelites, though, which lineage would Jesus officially be born was not known.
The Judah - Pharez lineage became the official lines of Judaites and the official royal lineage of David, King of Israel and also Jesus’ lineage according to Matthew and Luke through his father Joseph.
The Judah - Zarah Lineage officially became untraceable in Judaic Literature for Achan, who received his demise after the destruction of Jericho for disobeying the word of the Lord, was of the Judah-Zarah lineage. (Joshua 7:1-25) There is no other mention in Hebrew scripture made of this lineage
According to E. Raymond Capt. in Jacob’s Pillar, the Judah - Zarahites left the main body of the Israelites as they were fleeing from Egypt through the Red Sea. They became known as the Gadelians or Milesians, known mainly by the famed Scythian prince, Milesius, who was a mercenary in the Pharaoh’s army and befriended Moses prior to the Exodus. Their descendants later settled in the Spanish province called Brigance ( where Campostela is today), up the Ebro River, the area of Zaragozza (named after Zarah) and with part of the tribes of Dan (the Seafaring tribe) and Simeon, colonized the eastern coast of Spain especially around Marseilles including a Danite colony at Lisboa, Portugal.
Solomon later sent Adoniram, as a state official to collect taxes from these colonies in recognition of their Israelite heritage.
Tamar Tephi, the Princess of Judah, Mother of Ireland
The Hebrew royal lineage after the fall of Israel, continued through the lineage of Tamar Tephi, the daughter of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. She fled with Jeremiah in exile to the court of the Pharaoh in Egypt. She married a Milesian Prince, and moved to Ireland to the site of Tara where for over 100 continuous rulers, the hereditary lineage of the ancient Irish and British monarch reigned. As such, the Hebrew royal lineage was maintained in the Judah-Zarah male lineage by marriage to a Judah-Pharez princess.
According to British genealogical records, Mary’s mother was British and if confirmed, Jesus birth lineage would be Judah-Pharez in his paternal side and Judah-Zarah in the maternal side.
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Map of the Spanish
Israelites(Stough)
Lost Tribes of Israel (Stough)
James’ Death:
AD 44 - Beheaded and according to tradition, buried under the foundation of the Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. The bones were reputed later to be taken to Spain and lie today under the main altar of the Cathedral Santiage de Compestelo on the northwest corner of Spain, site of one of the largest pilgrimages in Europe.
Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great was tetrarch over Galilee. He was wary of Jewish aspirations to overthrow the Roman rule and as early as AD19, it was recorded that 4000 youth which were “affected by the Jewish and Egyptian superstitions” (Tacitus, Annals, V ol ii,c., 85) were banished from their homeland and forced to enlist as Roman soldiers and placed in Sardinia. Joseph recognized the “4000” in his Antiquities.( bk., xviii, c. 3)
This action was highly unpopular with the Jews and inflamed the imaginations with many on the homeland. For James, former disciple of John the Baptist, and now disciple of the crucified Christ, to go to Sardinia and Spain and preach “The Way”, was a source of concern to Herod Agrippa I. It was felt that the initial “4000” were probably remnants of the disciples of the slain Hassimodian aspirant, Judas the Galiliean. (Acts 5:37) James returned from Spain after 14 years to the Passover feast in Jerusalem in 44 AD and was promptly captured and beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. (Hugo Hoever, The Lives of the Saints, c.1650 p. 282), reported by Stough p. 18)
Traditions:
Traditions stemming from at least 400 AD depict the death of James and were contained in the records of the old Spanish offices from the 7th to 9th century.
Isidorus Hispalensis - 600’s AD (vii, 390,392 and c. 183in Jowett 58) - wrote that the body was buried in Marmarica or Achaia
St. Julian, leader of the Church of Toledo - 7th c. agreed with Isidorus -(Acta Sanctorum v. 33, p. 86 in Jowett 58)
Freculphus, 850 AD - (bk, ii, cap. 4 in Jowett 58) also confirmed the tradition. Acta Sanctorum written by the Bollandists were in favor of the Spanish mission of James, the brother of John.
Theodosium, Bishop of Tira - AD 820 - claims that the reputed body of the Apostle James was found at the site of present famous cathedral Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain. There a shrine was erected and became on of the most famed site for the medieval pilgrimages of Europe. The relics can be observed just below the high altar.
Santiago de Compostela: The cathedral was built AD 899, destroyed by the Moor, El Mansui in AD 997, and rebuilt in AD 1078.
James Last Convert:
Fleetwood D.D., John, London, 1680 AD “The Life of our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. - “Herod, who was a bigot to the Jewish religion, as well as desirous of acquiring the favor of the Jews, began a violent persecution of the Christians, and his zeal against them animated him to pass sentence of death of St. James immediately. As he was led to the place of execution, the officer that guarded him to the tribunal, or rather his accuser having been converted by that remarkable courage and constancy shown by the apostle at the time of his trial repented of what he had done, a came and fell down at the apostle’s feet, and heartily begged pardon of what he had said against him. ‘Peace,’ and he, ‘my son, peace be unto thee and the pardon of thy faults,’ upon which the officer publicly declared himself a Christian, and both were beheaded at the same time. Thus fell the great apostle St. James, the first proto-martyr, the first of that number that gained the crown, taking cheerfully of that cup of which he had long since told his Lord he was ready to drink” (Stough, p. 18)
John the Beloved
Mission:
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To the churches in Asia Minor: Using Ephesus as his primary base of operation, John moved about and established churches in Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea and Colossae.
34 AD - Crucifixion
Participant in the Upper room at Pentecost
Observer of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost
Peter and John healed lame man at the Beautiful Gate
34-35 AD - Assisted Philip in his Samarian revival, went with Peter to give further instructionto the converts
36 AD - Left for Ephesus at the onset of the Churches ministered by the Apostle John (Henry W. Stough persecution of followers of “ The Way”. The life of John is not well documented but his writing are well preserved. He followed Paul, who founded initially the church in Ephesus. Upon leaving this mission area, Paul warned his converts that, “grievous wolves (will) enter among you, not sparing the flock.” It was John to go to this area and to develop a long a fruitful ministry. His life epitomized the fullness of pastoral life: personal ministry, study and teaching. His life and his works reflect the success of this, the man of ministry.
81-96 AD - Persecution of Domitian (81-96 AD) Timothy martyred in Ephesus
Taken to Rome, imprisoned
Tradition claims that John was put in pot of boiling oil but was not killed
Banished to Isle of Patmos - to work in the mines
Received the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
96-98 AD - Ephesus - Emperor Nerva (96-98)- released John and he returned to his former ministry in Ephesus. Irenaeus claimed that the Apostle John was living in 98 AD.
Authorship:
Wrote the Gospel of John
Gospels: Matthew - Jesus as King of Kings
Mark - Jesus as Servant
Luke - Jesus as Son of Man
John - Jesus as Son of God.
Wrote three Epistles (Letters)
1st John - General Letter on the Lord of Love
2nd John - written to “the elect lady whom I love in the truth”
3rd John - written to “the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”
Wrote Revelation by tradition.
Death of John:
Death: Only apostle known to have died a natural death.
AD 101-102 - Died at Ephesus at age 101 years.
Basilica of Ephesus is the reputed site of his grave
Jerome - dates death at sixty eight years after the crucifixion. (68 + 34)
Relics of John - unknown - grave site in Ephesus known to be opened
Traditions: Church of Rome transported bones to Rome and later sent to Canterbury, England along with
Peter’s and Paul’s in 656 AD - The bones (or part of the relics) were relocated to Canterbury Cathedral at the request of King Oswy in Britain to Pope Vitalian.
Philip the Evangelist
Mission - Philip the Apostle
AD 34-36: One of seven responsible for the ministry to the Greeks in Jerusalem
Evangelism in Samaria
AD 36: In Jerusalem during the stoning of Stephen
AD 36-48: Lived in Caesarea after the onset of the persecution of the Nazarenes
AD 48: Went to Gaul (France)
Afterwards se