What Happened to the Friends and Disciples of Jesus

34-36 AD - After the crucifixion, Lazarus and his family remained in Bethany for several years. Their estates were vast, and from all accounts, it was gradually liquidated. Martha, being the eldest, was responsible for the administration of the property. This was recorded in the Book of Rabinus (34th and 35^th chapters); where upon the sale they gave the whole proceeds to Peter, for the use of the Jerusalem Nazarene Church.

The Bethany house alone was kept as a House of Prayer, and was consecrated with Lazarus being the priest or bishop of the church there. (Book of Rabinus, recorded Taylor 88-89) This was their life until the stoning of Stephen and the persecution by Saul and the Saduccean authorities.

Of interest, we note the appointment of the seven deacons in Acts 6:1 was over a dispute that special attention was being given to the Jewish women and not to the Greek females. This preference was in specifics to food, clothing, and rights within the community. According to Rabinus, the jealousy was over the special attention the apostles gave to the women that accompanied Jesus in his ministry when for years they fed, housed and cared for the large entourage. It was not any wonder that Mary Magdalene and the other women were treated with preferential respect and honor. Even so, this honor and respect was not shared by all the company of believers. The deacons were nominated, all Greek (non-Jews) so that they could address the cultural need of the women and children in the exploding ministry of the Pentecost revived church.

Ministry of Lazarus:

Carving of Lazarus’ Bust (1^st century) (Mock)

36-43 AD - After the stoning of Stephen, the Bethany family made a quick exit to Caesarea where Philip, the deacon already had a residence. There Joseph of Arimathea still had political clout with the Roman authorities, and the environment was cosmopolitan with toleration for a many cultural and religious tastes. By 39 AD, with the transfer of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, they also had direct Roman protection.

Here we have literary documentation of this company in the Reflection of Clements. Lazarus went with Peter towards Antioch, and on to Cyprus to lead the ministry program there. From all references, the Bethany sisters and the other Maries stayed in Caesarea during this interim. Joseph went back Britain, now with the official commission by Peter, yet with his business interests it is assumed he plied the navigational routes of the Mediterranean continuing to bring tin back from Britain. We know he was back in Caesarea prior to 43-44 AD.

44 AD - With the expulsion of Joseph and the Bethany friends, Lazarus it was documented was with the twelve who traversed the hazards of boat travel, according to legend, either at the beginning or at the final destination, their boat was without oars or sail. They were truly at the mercy of the elements and the God who ruled the laws of nature.

The evidence is sketchy, but all indications, that the entire group went to Britain and stayed as the original twelve anchorites at Glastonbury at Chalice Hill at the base of the Glastonbury Tor. There a school and religious ministry program was set up and soon began to train missionaries to go back to Gaul to assist in the European mission.

The Grotto of Lazarus with his tomb in the Church of St. Victor (Mock)

Lazarus was one of the first to return to Gaul, and as preserved in the records at Lyon, brought with him Mary and Martha, all of which lived out the rest of their lives within fifteen to twenty miles of each other in the Marseilles area of Provence, France.

Lazarus spent the last seven years of his life, now as the first Bishop of Marseilles. His resume includes: the first Bishops of Bethany, Cyprus and Marseilles plus teacher and instructor in Avalon, Britain and missionary to Gaul.

On this last trip he was accompanied by the Pro-consul Sergius Paulus. He is dedicated today at the Cathedral of St. Serge in Narbonne, France.

Death: In Marseilles, in the grotto beneath the 4^th century Church of St. Victor, are the remains of now a subterranean church built by the Cassianite monks. This is built over an older cave which was the 1^st century Church of Lazarus. The perfect round pillars still support the roof of this 1^st century chapel.

Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles

Mission: Mary Magdalene is one of the most interesting characters of the New Testament story. In recent years, a lot of research has been done on Mary. It is known, in the canon and in the extra-biblical gospels that Mary had a special relationship with Jesus, which was close, personal and intimate. Because of her role on the Easter morning and being the first to bring the news of the risen Christ to the other Apostle, she has been called the “Apostle to the Apostles”.

Outside of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, is the most revered woman in all Christendom with more churches dedicated directly and indirectly in her honor. She is reputed to be the person in whom the enigmatic ‘Black Madonna’ statues are modeled after with the idea that black means the dark, shaded and the hidden Madonna.

Mastiff Ste. Baume, France (Mock)

Grotto of Mary Magdalene

Church of St. Maximinus, France (Mock)

What we do know is, Mary Magdalene, was found in Caesarea in 38-46 AD with Joseph, Philip, Lazarus, Zaccheus and others. In the Recognition of Clements, this fact is so stated. She was then a participant in the perilous exile at sea, landing at Ste. Maries in the Camaroque. We have indirect evidence of her life being at Glastonbury with Joseph as one of the twelve anchorites and the Avalon School. We also know that her last days were spent in isolation in a mountain cave in the Ste. Baume Mountain Range about twenty-five miles out of Marseilles, France. Here she lived the life as a hermit. Visiting this site, I was impressed at the immense solitude and the beauty of the panorama view seen from the heights. Why did she remain in solitude? Was it in remorse and grief as the forgiven prostitute? I doubt it. This is the picture of the Roman Church. What is more striking suggestion was she a hunted woman, in permanent exile due to her close personal association with Jesus, born as an heir of the dynasty of David? Someday, we may know.

Death: It has been recorded that Mary’s death was in the eleventh day before the kalends of August and she was interned by her friend, Maximinus in a bright sepulcher. The remains of Mary Magdalene’s most famed site are in the Church of St. Maximinus (built about 1295 AD) about eight miles from the cave site of her last home.

Skull of Mary Magdalene

Crypt of Mary Magdalene

Church of St. Maximinus, France (Mock)

Behind the chancel screen is the entrance to the crypt chapel which contains the alabaster sarcophagus which originally contained the body of Mary Magdalene. Upon the altar is a small but well formed skull, encased in a golden skull, supported on a pedestal representing angels with wings. The ramus and ascending portion of the lower jaw (inferior maxilla) are missing. On the front of the skull is reputed to be a lighter spot where a piece of flesh adhered for hundreds of years, supposedly touched by Christ after the resurrection. To the left is a golden arm and hand casing which contains one of the arm bones. Is this the real site?

Martha, Apostle to Avignon and Arles

Mission: Martha was also participated with her sister in the events of their life at Bethany, Caesarea and Glastonbury. When Lazarus and apparently the Bethany sisters returned to Provence, France, she went to the cities of Avignon and Arles and in the towns and villages along the Rhone in the province of Vienne.

Legends surrounding her life, testify that her life was surrounded with miracles, such as curing paralytics, healing (cleansing) lepers, ‘quicken’ the dead, and healing those known to be deaf, lame, dumb and blind. One legend still espoused in Tarascon history, was to help the local people, capture a dragon, felt to be a type of crocodile and ‘taming’ it so the people could kill the ‘child eating’ animal. (Stough 92-94)

Golden Urn of Martha, the brother of Lazarus, Church of St. Trophime’s, Tarascon, France (Mock)

She was a noted hostess to the apostles and disciples coming up the Rhone valley area. These include Maximinus, and Trophimus, as well as harboring Christian hostages when persecution began in Aquitaine and Frontinus, Bishop of Perigeux, and Georgius of Veliacum fled and were harbored in the custody of Martha. (Stough 94-96)

Relic Box of Martha (Mock)

Death: 63 AD Eight days after the death of Mary Magdalene, Martha according to the records, died on the fourth day before the kalends of August,…at the ninth hour of the day, in the sixty-fifth year of her age. (Rabanus in Taylor 98) This suggests that her birth was in 2 BC, or about five years younger than Jesus. She was buried at the Church of St. Trophime, her friend and sponsor, who supervised her funeral.

Mary Salome, Mary Cleopas, Maximinus,

Restitute and Zaccheus

Mary Salome and Mary Cleopas

Mission and Death:

Mary Cleopas, who possibly could have been Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Salome appear to remain in the custody of Joseph of Arimathea. We find them at Caesarea with Joseph and passengers on the floundering ship at sea. They were later recorded to live at Avalon or Glastonbury, England. Later after 60 A.D., they returned to Provence, France to the site of the landing, the ‘Plymouth Stone of the Josephian Mission’ to remain, the remainder of their lives near the sea, at Ste. Maries in the Camaroque

Church of Ste. Maries of the Camaroque (Mock)

There on the beach where Joseph and his company landed, is one of the greatest traditions of Provence. Nestles within a large national preserve in the Camaroque, is a wildlife sanctuary for a white native horse, black native cattle used to bullfight, and thousands of waterfowl. Here stand the 8^th century fortress church of Les Saintes Maries in the Camaroque, eighteen miles south of Arles.

This church built like a fortress, which includes an interior well, is the site of one of Provence’s most famous pilgrimage sites honoring Mary Salome and Cleopas plus their handmaiden, the black girl, Sara. The choir and apse are lit only by a shaft of light and the church has neither the traditional aisles nor transepts. The gypsies over Europe convene on this beach and carry the relics of the two Maries as they rededicate the day of the landing of the saints.

This site is recorded in the will of St. Caesarea (542 AD) and the church on this site was called, Sanctae Mariae de Ratis (St. Mary of the Boat)

The Shrine of the Two Maries which is carried out to sea. (Mock)

Death: In a lower chapel or crypt, the relics are preserved of Sara, the handmaiden. In the chapel above apse of the choir, is a window where on May 24 every year the double wooden case holding the relics is lowered for the pilgrims to take on the yearly voyage to the sea. At east end of the chapel with a silver reliquary called ‘Saintbras’ holds a radius and ulna of one of the Mary’s. Which Mary, no one knows.

Maximin, the Rich Young Ruler

Mission: There was a ‘ruler’ who had great possessions’ who lived on the outskirts of Jerusalem, who was a devote commandment keeper, and was said the ‘Jesus beholding him loved him’ (Mark 10:21) Who was this ruler, who Luke called ‘princeps’ or ‘ruler’? One clue is Maximin, which also means ruler and was called by Rabanus ‘chief of the disciples after the apostles’.

When Peter went to Gaul in 48 AD, he immediately set up an administrative organization in the seventeen regions of Gaul and the seven regions of Spain, each would have a bishop and teacher to work, live and teach in that province. Of these twenty four, it was said that, Maximinus, originally, one of the seventy disciples, was first and foremost of these twenty four disciples. (Taylor 89)

Maximin went to the city of Aix, (Aquensem), the capital of the second Narbonnaise, and there he developed the ministry of Christ. Mary Magdalene stayed in his company, for she was then under the custody of his care. Was he a relative or a close friend? We have no record of such either in affirmation or denial.

Death: Maximin spent most of his life ministering about 40 miles from Marseilles in the village which now bears his name, Maximin, France. It was from this site, he served as the protector of Mary Magdalene, even though she lived about ten miles distant in the solitude of the mountains, Ste. Baume. The 13^th c. Church, in the village of Maximinus, also bears his name.

Restitute, the man born blind

Mission: Restitute claimed his mission field on a hillside north of the modern city of Orange, overlooking a valley rich with grapes, olives and fig-trees. There with the Alps looming in the distant and the Rhone River nearby, he ministered to the people. In the western end of the ancient temple of Diana, is where traditions states Restitute lived. Sitting upon a high ascent of worn out steps, a rock hewn village called St. Restitutes surrounds the resting place of this man who was literally ‘touched by the hand of Jesus.’

Death: The church of St. Restitute was built by the famed 9^th century architect, Hugo. Underneath the ground in a lower bay underneath the present baptistery, the tomb of Restitute lies. An altar was built above this tomb but during the 15^th century, the tomb was desecrated during the religious wars and the bones burnt and the ashes scattered.

Zaccheus, the Tax Collector

Mission: The “wee little man” who was the hated and feared Roman IRS agent, was totally changed by the personal visit of Jesus into his home. He revolutionized his life and became a valuable contributor to the cause of Christ.

36-47 AD - Zaccheus’ first mission was as friend and supporter of the Bethany family. He also fled to the safety of Caesarea, lived with the Bethany family in the home of the Apostle Philip, who was under the protection of Cornelius, the centurion. While the other disciples moved out to other cities and areas to establish mission bases for future development, Zaccheus was ordained to minister to the home base, the grand central station, the communication center for the Apostolic ministry as bishop of Caesarea.

This was a weighty responsibility, for under his care and ministry was Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the closest female companion of Christ, Martha, Mary Salome, Mary Cleopas, and their handmaidens. He was to protect the home front.

Rocamadour (roc amator (lover of Rock) - (Mock)

47 AD - With the expulsion of Joseph of Arimathea, Zaccheus was also found with the company of twelve exiles floating on the Mediterranean totally at the mercy of the elements, the currents, and the will of God.

They landed on the beach front near Marseilles, France, at Saintes Maries dela Mer. As the fugitives made their way across south-central France following closely the trail of the ancient tin and lead traders, Zaccheus found the place for his final mission.

One of the most striking and picturesque villages on the European continent, is the ancient cliff hugging village of Rocamadour. Sitting north of the mastiffs of Causse de Gramat, northeast of Figeac, the rugged rolling hills immediately overlook a precipitous canyon overlooking the Alzou Valley. The battlements, medieval houses and towers give a breathtaking view probably reminiscent of the views of Jericho overlooking the Dead Sea. A clustering of houses, winding cobblestone streets, old gateways, a series of churches and chapels, St. Michael’s Chapel, The Chapel of St. John the Baptist, The Basilica of St. Sauveur (12^th c.), St. Anne’s Chapel (19^th c.) the Chapel of St. Blaise (19^th c.) and the Chapel de Notre Dame, with the Black Madonna and child, and a magical bell overhead which legends states rings during times of danger, all surround the Tomb of St. Amadour, known as the Biblical Zaccheus.

Death - Here was discovered in 1166 an ancient sepulcher which traditions said was to be the undecayed body of St. Amadour, and soon became the site of one of the oldest pilgrimages in Europe. Over the centuries, the notable visitors included, Roland, who laid his sword ‘Durandal’ on the altar of our Lady of Zaccheus and later redeemed it with its weight in gold. Descending the stairs, in a vertical chamber is the crypt where the body lay for about five hundred years. The tomb was rifled and the body burnt with the ashes scattered by the Huguenots. Some of the ashes were preserved in the altar of the crypt.

Aristobulus and the Capernaum family.

Aristobulus

Mission:

Following the crucifixion of Christ, it appears that Aristobulus went to Britain. He is later noted to have great insight into the mission of Joseph of Arimathea in Avalon, Britain. Our first real clue is finding Aristobulus associated with Paul in Rome in association with the Royal British Silurian family of Caractacus and the Senatorial family of Pudens the Roman Senator. This family included Caractacus, the British Silurian Pendragon, winner of over 60 pitched battles with Rome and now under Roman house arrest, his father, Bran the Blessed, Arch Druid and Christian leader of Britain, his son, Linus, and daughters Eurgain and Gladys. There also was Pudens the Senator and his Jewess wife, Priscilla, the mother of the Apostle Paul by a different husband, and Rufus Pudens Pudentianna, Paul’s half-brother, son of Pudens the Senator.

The relationship of the Roman family of Pudens and the British Silurian family is documented in Usher, British Ecclesiastic Antiquities 19, Archdeacon Williams’s, Claudia and Pudens; the Rev R.W. Morgan’s St Paul in Britain, Conybeare and Howson’s Life and Epistles of St. Paul, Vol II, p. 581,582,584,585, Baronius’ Annales Ecclesiastic, Vol. 1, p. 228, re Vol 2, Sec. 56, p. 56,64; Sec IV and V, pp. 111-112; Sec I and II, pp 148 and 150, Jowett, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, p. ; Lewis, Lionel Smithett, St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury, p. 23-26.

58 AD - Pauline Mission to Britain.

According to ancient records, Bran, the Arch Druid was consecrated by the Apostle Paul and under the leadership of Aristobulus, went back to Britain. This company included Eurgain, who became the chief sponsor (St. Prydain’s Genealogies) with her husband, Salog, Lord of Caer Salog, known today as old Sarum or Salisbury, plus the sons of Aristobulus, Manaw, Brennus, Ilid, and Cyndaw.

They landed at Llanilid, the birthplace of Caractacus, and built a church there which became their headquarters in Britain. Ilid, remained to minister at this site, Llanilid, meaning Llan, ‘sacred enclosure’ of Ilid. Eurgain and her group went on to build ‘Cor-Eurgain’, a missionary college which became the University of higher learning for early Christians that were sent throughout Britain and Gaul over the next few hundred years. Aristobulus, in the Cymric language was called “Arwystli-Hen” or “Arwystli-Senex”. Hen, in Celtic stands for aged. (Triads, Mryuyrian Arch. Vol 2 in Stough 163). Aristobulus became the first Bishop at Ilanlid, and Bran, remained the chief High Priest of Siluria at Llandaff. It is interesting to note the significant similarities of the Druidic faith and the Primitive Hebrew faith of the era of Moses. (Stough 164)

Death of Aristobulus, the first Christian martyr in Britain:

Aristobulus was a zealot for spreading the message of Jesus and soon ventured into areas of Britain out the protective custody of the Silurian royalty. With in the dominion of the Ordovician tribe, who had an intense hatred to the Romans, Aristobulus preaching appeared to them as a Roman ruse in a form of political treachery. He was martyred in 58-59 AD only after many church and believers were converted to the message of the Kingdom of Love by Jesus.

There are many ancient testimonies to the ministry of Aristobulus:

(1) Dortheus, Bishop of Tyre (AD 303) “Aristobulus who is mentioned by the Apostle

in his Epistle to the Romans, was made Bishop in Britain.

(2) Haleca, Bishop of Augusta - “The memory of many martyrs is celebrated by the Britons, especially that of St. Aristobulus, one of the seventy disciples.”

(3) Genealogies of the Saints of Britain written by Achau Saint Prydain: “There came with Bran the Blesses from Rome to Britain - Arwystly Hen (Aristobulus the Aged). Ilid, Cyndaf, men of Israel, Maw of Mawan, son of Cyndaf.”

(4) Adonis Martyrologia, “March 15. Natal day of Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain, brother of St. Barnabus the Apostle, by whom he was ordained Bishop. He was sent to Britain where, after preaching the truth of Christ and forming a church, he received martyrdom”

(5) Cardinal Alford, second to Cardinal Baronius as the most authoritarian Vatican historian, “It is perfectly certain that before St. Paul had come to Rome, Aristobulus, was absent in Britain.”

(6) A district in Montgomeryshire along the River Severn, memorializes Aristobulus, by calling it “Arwystl-Hen”

(7) Greek Menology: “Aristobulus, the divine Apostle of Christ, was one of the disciples…and when Paul ordained bishops in every country, he ordained Aristobulus bishop in the country of the Britons - who were unbelievers and rude and fierce men - and he departed thither and at other times being dragged through the streets, and again at other times derided, persuaded many to turn to Christ and to be baptized; and he founded churches and appointed priests and deacons, and there he died.”

(8) Hippolytus (born about AD 160, mentions Aristobulus in his list as “Bishop of the British.”

(9) Tertullian (AD 193-220) confirms that there were Christian converts in Britain in areas that Roman rule had not penetrated

(10) Welch Triads describe him as a man of Italy.

(11) Alrod, Regia Fides, p41: Aristobulus was the first British bishop and the only one martyred by them…

(12) Tombstone was uncovered at St. George’s, Fordington, Dorsetshire, which states: “Gaius Aristobulus, a Roman citizen, aged…years; Rufinus and Marina and Avca, his children, and Romana his wife.” Was Rufinus names after Rufus Pudens, the half-brother of Paul?

(13) In Greek, Eubulus and Aristobulus were the same, as Eu and Aristo are similar Greek prefixes. “Greetings from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, (Gladys in Britain), and from all the brotherhood here.” (2 Tim 4:21) Does this sound like a family greeting, from the house of Pudens in Rome?

(Stough, Henry, Dedicated Disciples, 164-167)

Barnabus, called Joses and John Mark

Barnabus

Mission of Barnabus - Asia Minor and Cyprus

34-44 AD - Immediately after the crucifixion of Christ, we find that James the Greater headed to Spain, Joseph of Arimathea went to Britain and Barnabus was on the road to Rome. Here in this imperial city, he witnessed to the death and resurrection of Christ. One of Barnabus’ most prominent disciples actually was a British, a known associate of Joseph, called Clements. British Culdic history states that Clements was a Britain and a convert of Joseph of Arimathea.

Clementus Romanus became prominent in the Roman church as he became its second Bishop, nominated by Peter just before his death in Rome in 67 AD, to follow after Linus, the royal prince, who was appointed by Paul in 58 AD.

Isn’t it interesting that the real history of the beginning of the Roman Christian Church was by two British converts to Christianity, Linus, the first bishop was converted and appointed bishop by the Apostle Paul and the second bishop; Clements was a convert of Joseph of Arimathea and appointed by the Apostle Peter to be bishop of Rome.

About 43 AD, Clement rendezvoused with Barnabus at Caesarea, and accomplished one of the highlights of his life, meeting the apostle Peter. In his book, the Recognitions of Clements, he recorded meeting also the Bethany family, Zaccheus, along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, at the house of Philip.

Rome and was the first to evangelize that city. Being of Greek descent, he would understand the cosmopolitan nature of that imperial city.

44-47 AD - Antioch, the second center of the Christian faith: The Jerusalem Nazarene Church tries to reorganize after the expulsion of Joseph of Arimathea and the Bethany family who were major supporters and protectors of the church. Antioch it appears becomes the central alternate site from Jerusalem for the church organizational committees. It is here that Barnabus goes to minister, followed about a year later; Peter arrives to assume defacto leadership of the Antioch Church. Barnabus then leaves or is sent to Tarsus to find Paul, requesting him to come to Antioch. The ministry of the Great Apostle to the Gentiles is about to commence.

43 AD - Clement rendezvous with Barnabus at Caesarea, and accomplishes one of the highlights of his life, meeting the apostle Peter. In his book, the Recognitions of Clements, he records meeting also the Bethany family, Zaccheus, along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, at the house of Philip.

47-48 AD - Paul and Barnabus’ Missionary Journey - In Antioch, Paul and Barnabus were selected “by the Holy Spirit” and with John Mark in their company, started in the first missionary journey. They went to Seleucia, then to Cyprus, and on to Salamis. Their ministry centered on preaching in the synagogues of the Jews. Here we notice they call John Mark by his Hebrew name, John (Acts 13:2-5) At Salamis, for some reason, John Mark chose to leave them and return to Jerusalem when Paul and Barnabus went on to Pamphos and then to Perga in Pampylia. Some suggest he was homesick and could not endure the deprivation of life style that Paul appeared to endure on so many occasions in his missionary journey. Others felt he knew the dangers of the next journey into Asia Minor, the land of Turkey, and the risks of desolate mountain and bandits. Some felt, being a Jew, he was having problems accepting Paul’s concept of salvation by grace and through faith alone, as opposed to James the Just and the Jerusalem Nazarene believers that faith with salvation must also be accompanied by good works.

49-50 AD - Antioch Church Conflicts. - This conflict between and Paul and John Mark, became reflective of the general conflicts within the Jerusalem and Antioch Church. First in Antioch, the issue of admitting Gentile believers in the Jesus Movement was controlled by the Jerusalem (Nazarene) Church. Later there was a general meeting in Jerusalem to deal with this issue. Out of the Antioch and the Jerusalem conflict, Peter was able to say, “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved,”

50-51 AD - When it came time to start their second missionary journey, (Acts 15:36) a rift between Paul and Barnabus, John Mark’s uncle resulted when Barnabus wanted John Mark to go with them again and Paul refused. Therefore Paul selected Silus (vs.38-40) and split with Barnabus, who selected John Mark and went to Cyprus to evangelize that area. John Mark later goes back to Jerusalem and Barnabus appears to stay at Cyprus.

Death of Barnabus:

58 AD - On the island of Cyprus, Barnabus appears to live out the rest of his days, ordained by Paul as the Bishop of Cyprus later dies at the island of his home about the year 58. (or 73 AD as “supposed to have taken place” - Fox’s Book of Martyrs, 5)

58 AD - Clement returns to Rome, where he becomes friends with the Apostle Paul and the family of Rufus Pudens Pudentiana and Gladys, whose home was the site of the first Gentile church in Rome. Paul lived with this family, because he was the half-brother of Rufus Pudens, whose mother and Paul’s, whose name was Priscilla, was a Jewess.

John Mark

Mission of John Mark - Rome

56 AD - How long John Mark was in Jerusalem, we do not know. Apparently he was there during the arrest of Paul and during Paul’s interim stay in prison for three years in Caesarea. Paul was sent to Rome about 56 AD, “during the second year of Nero”, according to Jerome.

58 AD - After the death of Barnabus, we see John Mark going to Rome at Paul’s request to assist Paul during his house arrest and imprisonment. To his good friend, Timothy, Paul wrote, “Do your best to join me soon; for Demas has deserted me because his heart was set on this world; he has gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia; I have no one with me but Luke. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for I find him a useful assistant. John Mark and Paul not only mended their theological fences but Marcus, as Paul knew him by his Roman name in Rome, recognized that Aristarchus, Mark, and Jesus Justus (the brother of Jesus?) “of the Jewish Christians, these are the only ones who work with me for the kingdom of God, and they have been a great comfort to me.” (Col.4:10-11)

It was during this stay in Rome (58-60 AD), that it is believed that John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark, reputed to be the oldest of the Synoptic Gospels, probably soon after the death of the Apostle Paul in Nero’s

The British Church in Rome and the First Bishop of Rome

58 AD - Palatium Britanneum, British Royal Palace - When Paul was released from house arrest, it appears he lived for some time in the residence, Palatium Britanneum, of his half brother, Rufus Pudens and Gladys (Celtic for princess), known in Rome by her Roman name Claudia, along with their children, Timotheus, Pudentiana, Praxedes, Novatus.

This gives new meaning to Paul’s writings, “salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.” (Rom. 16:3) Also the statement in the letter to Timothy, who was called after the first born son of Rufus and Claudias, Timothea, Paul send the following greeting; “Eubulus (Aristobulus) greeteth thee, and Pudens (Rufen Pudens), and Linus, and Claudia (Gladys) and all the brethren.” (II Timothy 4:21)

Even a more personal touch, we find this touching scene recorded in the Roman martyrologies, “The children of Claudia were brought up on the knees of Paul.”

58 AD - Linus - the first Bishop at Rome - Linus, the brother to Claudia (Gladys) , baptized at Avalon by Joseph of Arimathea, now a Christian teacher in Rome, was ordained by Paul to be the first Bishop of Rome. And therein started the famed succession of the Bishops of Rome.

Linus, the First Bishop (Pope) of Rome, ordained by Paul

For it was stated in the Apostolic Constitutions, “The first Christian Church above ground in Rome, was the Palace of the British. The first Christian Bishop was a Briton, Linus, son of a Royal Kind, personally appointed by St. Paul. AD 58)

Also in the Apostolic Constitutions (Bk 1, p. 46), the statement is attributed to the Apostle Peter, “Concerning those Bishops who have been ordained in our lifetime, we make known to you that they are these; of Antioch, Eudius, ordained by me, Peter, of the Church of Rome, Linus, brother of Claudia, was first ordained by Paul, and after Linus’s death, Clemens, the second ordained by me, Peter.” (Quoted in Jowett 125-6)

Annales Ecclesias by Cardinal Baronius (ad 19 Maii, Jowett 130) “It is delivered to us by the firm tradition of our forefathers that the house Pudens was the first that entertained St. Peter at Rome, and that there the Christians assembling formed the Church, and that of all our churches the oldest is that which is called after the name Pudens.”

Rufus Pudens, the Senator and Gladys Claudia Britannica

Pudentiana (Claudia), the Celtic Princess

58-66 AD - Roman authors on Pudens and Claudia:

Is this the only reference to the British mission in Rome? No, we can now look outside the literature of the Christian church, to the secular writer, Tacitus and Martial. Tacitus describes succinctly the arrival of the feared British Pendragon, Caractacus, and his whole family as hostages of Rome, the famous trial of Caractacus, his unprecedented speech to the Roman Senate where they stood in ovation at its finish and where his death sentence was pardoned to include seven years of city arrest and then a promise on his word of honor that he would never raise the sword again against Rome. He told also of how Caractacus’ daughter, Gladys, refused to leave her father, and became the first woman and child to stand in the Roman Senate, how she, Gladys, was adopted into the family of Claudius Caesar, renamed Claudia, and a year later married Rufus Pudens, the aide de camp of the Roman general, Aulus Plautonius, Aulus was married to Pomponia Graecinia (also named Gladys, “princess”), a sister to Caractacus and a convert by Joseph of Arimathea and Aulus was later baptized by Paul.

It was to Rome’s most famous gossip columnist, and epigrammist, Martial, known to articulate vividly of the vagrancy and vulgarity of Roman society, spoke of his friends he admired the most, Rufus and Claudia.

Listen to his works.

“Though Claudia Rufina sprang from the blue Britons, how Latin is her mind! What beauty of form! Italian mothers might believe her Roman, Attic mothers their own. Thank the gods, she has been fertile of offspring to her virtuous husband, and though but a girl, hopes for sons- and daughters-in-law. So may it please the High Ones that she rejoices in one partner and rejoice always in three children.” Martial Bk xi, p.49

Martial - on how high his esteem was of Claudia: “Claudia, you could measure up to the top of the Palatine colossus if you were shortened by a foot and a half.” Martial Bk viii, p. 211.

Martial - on how different the Pudens family, in marriage was to the Roman society. “The foreign Claudia marries my Rufus Pudens; she calls him Rufus her Holy husband.” (Martial Bk IV, XVIII)

“Claudia Peregrina weds, Rufus, with my own Pudens; a blessing, O Hymenaeus, be upon they torches! So well does rare cinnamon blend with its own nard; so well Massic wine with Attic combs. Not closer are elms linked to tender vines, nor greater love that the lotus for the waters, the myrtle for the shore. Fair Concord, rest thou unbroken on that bed, and may Venus be ever kindly to a bond so equal knit! May the wife live with her husband when anon he is grey, and she herself, even when she is old, seem not so to her spouse.” Martial Bk IV. Xiii.

Martial on how we valued the literary advice of his friends. “You compel me to correct my poems with my own hand and pen, Pudens. Oh, how overmuch you approve and love my works who wish to have my trifles in autograph!” Martial Bk vii, xii.

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles

Paul goes to Spain and Great Britain

AD 60-66 -Paul in Spain and Britain - The book of Acts closes its chapters (28^th) when Paul is released from house arrest. The canon does not have a discussion on where Paul resided between the dates of 60 - 66 AD, or for that matter the whereabouts of any of the other Apostles and especially Peter. It also is the only book in the New Testament after the Gospels which does not close with the work, Amen.

That is until the 29^th Chapter of the “Acts of the Apostles” was discovered in the archives of the Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul (former Constantinople). It was translated by C.S. Sonnini and presented by him to the Sultan of Abdoul Achmet. This chapter does close with the word, Amen.

With this last chapter, it tells of Paul’s trip to Spain and Britain, “and they took shipping at Ostium, and having the winds fair were brought safely into a haven of Spain…..And Paul preached mightily in Spain, …and they departed out of Spain, and Paul and his company finding a ship in Armorica sailing unto Britain. They were there in, and passing along the south coast they reached a port called Raphinus.” (Acts 29)

66 AD - Writing the Gospel of Mark Some scholars claim that Bartholomew was the same as John Mark and was of Alexandria when it was said, the Gospel of Mark was ‘written when the Jews were in full revolt.’ The intent of the Gospel of Mark was to spread the Good News, brotherly love, and independent salvation. Under the guidance of Paul, just prior to his death, the gospel of Mark was probably written. Its audience was the Hellenistic world, the gentiles of that era.

Martyrdom of the Apostle Paul

AD 66 - Paul was martyred at the height of the Neronian Persecution in the Circus of Nero, as a spectacle to thousands of Romans. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs (p.4),

“Abdias, declareth that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him word of his (Paul’s) death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptized at His sepulcher. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.”

Tombstone lid of Paul’s Tomb, built by Constantine (Mock)

The now Roman Senator Rufus Pudens and Claudia went to claim the martyred body of Paul, their brother, and placed him in their family cemetery on the Via Ostensia, upon which stands today the Basilica de Sao Paulo dela Mira. A courageous act, yes, even for a Roman senator.

Martyrdom of the British Roman Christians

AD 78 - Linus - murdered

AD 96 - Rufus Pudens

AD 97 - Gladys Claudia Britannica Pudentiana - died natural death age 61 in Samnios

AD 107 - Pudentianna - martyred in Third Christian Persecution Palladium Britannica - renamed in her honor about 150 AD as the Church of Pudentianna.

AD 137 - Novatus - martyred in 5^th Roman Persecution. Timothea was absent for he had gone to Britain to baptize his nephew, grandson of Argaviras, Lucius, king of Britain, known as Lucius the Great, at Winchester the site of the renowned Round Table of King Arthur.

AD 140- Timothea returned and was martyred at age 90.

AD 140 - Praxedes - martyred the same year - age 88-89

Tombs of Pudentianna and Praxedes in the Church of St. Prassedes - Rome (Mock)

Roman martyrologies “Rome was drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus”. Jowett.127

John Mark, Apostle to Egypt

The Mission of John Mark to Egypt

According to the history of the Christian Church in Alexandria, Egypt, the gospel of Christ was first brought there by the Apostle John Mark in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero (54- 67 AD) (Kamil 18) This would be immediately after the execution of Paul in Rome which occurred in 64-66 AD. The Coptic Christian church which split from the Rome and Byzantine Christian Church in the fourth century, traces its roots to the ministry and teachings of the Apostle Mark, whom they claim heads the list of the Patriarchs of the Alexandria Christian Church. The spiritual leader of the Coptic Christian Church, Pope Shenuda III (1997), is the 117^th successor of Mark. (Kamil xv)

The earliest coverts no doubt were from the large Jewish community keeping in tradition to send the gospel to the lost tribes of Israel. Tradition documents that the first convert actually was a Jewish shoemaker in Alexandria. (Kamil 18)

The spread of Christianity in Egypt is documented as spreading to Middle Egypt by the middle of the second century (100-150 AD) with the finding of the Rylands Papyrus, with is part of the Gospel of John written in Greek, dated from that era found near Bahnasa in Middle Egypt

The First Christian Church in Egypt and apparently the third Christian Church after Glastonbury, England and Rome, Italy, was constructed soon after the arrival of John Mark in Egypt in the mid fifties AD at Deir al Muharraq (“the Burnt Monastery’) . This site built north of the western desert at Asyut, is associated with the furtherest site visited by Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus when they fled to Egypt at the present site of the Monastery of Saint Mary. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a site of veneration and reputed healing to an estimated fifty thousand pilgrims who visit this site yearly. (Kamil 56)

Pagan vs. Christian Egypt

Archeologist and linguists have now demonstrated that instead of the wide gulf we imagine today between pagan and Christian ideas, the world in a state of oppression and disillusionment in the era of Roman oppression was ripe for the acceptance of the message of Jesus.

The following is an example: A first century document (1-100 AD), Insinger Papyrus, which now resides in the Museum of Leiden, was written as a pharonic document written as in the style of Egyptian instruction literature and copied as part of a collection of popular works in the demotic Egyptian textual style. It reveals concepts of a world-creator, the author of the order of nature, and that this cosmic order was the governing force of human nature. The twenty-fourth instruction, called “the teaching of knowing the greatness of the god, so as to put it in your heart,” stated the following:

“When people raise their hands the God knows it.

He knows the impious man who thinks of evil.

He knows the godly man and that he has the greatness of God in his heart.

He gives good judgment through the counsel which no one knows.

He creates abundant value without there being a storehouse behind him

It is He who makes the way safe without there being a guard.

It is He who gives the just law without there being a judgment.

The hidden work of the God, he makes it known on the earth daily.

He created light and darkness…

He created the earth, begetting millions…

He created day, month, year…

He created summer and winter…

He created food before those who are alive, the wonder of the fields.

He created the breath in the egg where there is no access to it.

He created sleep to end weariness.

He created remedies to end illness.

Great is the counsel of the God in putting one thing after another.

The fate and fortune that come, it is the God who sends them.

(Papyrus Insinger, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Lichtheim, M.,

Vol III, p. 184 f.) (Kamil 19)

Sites noted in Coptic History associated with the Flight of the Holy Family (Kamil 53)

The Cathedral of Saint Mark on Ramses Street in Cairo, Egypt was built to celebrate the martyrdom of Saint Mark in 1965. Five thousand members can worship in this edifice, which includes the patriarchal residence and library. (Kamil 44)

Death of John Mark:

The death of John Mark (Apostle Mark), reputed to be 65 AD, was originally buried in the church of Saint Mark in Alexandria. Around the year 828 A.D., two Venetian merchants took the bones and interned them the famous Cathedral of Saint Mark in Venice which was completed about 883 AD. Traditions claim that the head of the Apostle Mark stayed in Egypt and was taken to Wadi al Natrun, Cairo or Alexandria. The Coptic Church claims this skull remains were kept within an ebony box in the crypt beneath below the main altar of the Cathedral of Saint Mark in Alexandria, built in 1952.

John Mark (Apostle Mark), son of Mary

History: The Apostle John Mark is still an enigmatic character whose life is still being discovered. The following are the most accepted characteristics of his life:

He is most attributed by most New Testament scholars as the author of the synoptic gospel of Mark but that view is not universally accepted. He is accepted by tradition as the son of Mary, the mother of John Mark and the unnamed man who carried the jar of water (noted doing a woman’s role so he could be identified) into the residence that became the site of the Last Supper, the meeting place of the apostles after the death and resurrection of Christ, the site of the Pentecost revival, the site of where Peter went after being released from prison. By tradition, he was born in the Roman colony in North Africa of Cyrenaica to a mother who was a Jewess, and a father who was a Roman, hence his Jewish name Johanan (John) and his Roman name, Mark. (Stough 109)

In Mark’s gospel is an interesting side story. The night at Gethsemane, the cohorts of soldiers were in face to face confrontation with Jesus and the disciples were fleeing in all directions. Peter, reacting as the bodyguard of Jesus, and armed for the occasion, quickly drew a saber and in the melee, cut of the ear of Malcus, the servant of Caiphas. Within this large group, was a young man, an apparent bystander, who apparently was following Jesus? Thinking here would be an easy suspect, the soldiers grabbed him, only to have him slip out of their hands, leaving his linen covering, but otherwise “ran away naked” Mark 14:51-52) Many scholars believe this to be the young and now embarrassed John Mark.

John Mark’s home is recognized as the most famous home in Jerusalem identified with the followers of Jesus, the home with the “Upper Room”. Remember now the story, the Last Supper in a room which later was filled with over 120 people at Pentecost. Chances are that there were a lot of people there, the twelve, the seventy and friends of Jesus. If history is correct then, Jesus and the twelve, met for a Eucharist feast. If I was a young man, in my own home, I would be watching this scene with fascination. We can now see John Mark following Jesus and the disciples after dark to Gethsemene. And now you know the rest of the story!

Barnabus, Peter, and Aristobulus no doubt visited this house on many occasions. It was the location of the “Last Supper”, the meeting place of the disciples when they feared for their lives after the crucifixion, the place of the “Pentecost experience” (34 AD), the gathering place of many believers when Peter was imprisoned after the beheading of James the Greater (brother to the Apostle John) in 44 AD (Acts 12:12) Here Peter had to convince the door-maiden Rhoda, he was the real Peter.

John Mark is now identified by genealogical records as the cousin to the wife of the Apostle Peter, Perpetua. This makes Peter, Barnabus, Aristobulus, and John Mark all in the same family.

The Ministry of Jesus

So many try to identify Jesus with various philosophies and sects, to give him a single line mission, to encompass, to enclose and to encapsulate his life. Yet to understand, Jesus, one must understand the world he lived, breathed, walked, talked and loved. To make Jesus into a WASP, a modern radical, a homosexual, a passionate lover, denies historical Jesus. Jesus was foremost a Jew and came to present the full image of the Jewish All-Mighty God. Jesus was not born as a Jewish peasant, yet he shunned the material wealth which he could have possessed. Though His birth was simple, his family was not destitute. In light of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Essene life, all the facts of the Synoptic Gospels can fit into a life of communal Essene living.

Jesus came into very little contact with the Sadducees until the last week of his life, and then he was challenged the very core of their fragile political authority.

He had common intercourse with the Pharisees and Scribes and seemed to thrive in the legal dialogue with them, and the same time offered a liberation theology to the prison of their Judaic traditions.

He did not speak of the Essenes, yet he spoke their language, he used their symbols, motifs, and apocalyptic visions. A failure to understand this fact misses the depths of the messages he was presenting. His teachings reflect closely the secrets of their literature and teachings. He espoused their simplicity and rejection of materialistic possessions. He accepted many of their tenets, yet he rejected their secrecy, their exclusiveness, and their sectarianism.

To Jesus, if Truth was Truth, it should not be secret but open to all, not to the elite, nor to the selected initiates, but for all, rich and poor, the intellectual and the simple minded. Truth must be presented to all Mankind. And that to me is the message of Jesus.

The Friends and Disciples of Jesus

By limiting the historical resources available for our study, the Roman Christian Church in the 3^rd and 4^th century AD was able to affectively limit our understanding of the friends and associates of Jesus. It has been of interest that most New Testament scholarship ignores the vast wealth of early Christian church development in the British, Coptic and Gaulic literature, as well as the strong traditions that the Indians have preserved in the ministry of Philip. Traditional Christian history, as known today, appears to have been filtered by the Roman Church. Only today with manuscripts coming to light are we able to reconstruct what this author appears to be a fuller and more vibrant image of the life of Jesus and his disciples.

The disciples and associates of Jesus represent all classes of life whether economically, politically and socially. Jesus was able to reach through every class structures, social hierarchies and political caste systems by who He was and the through the disciples and associates that surrounded His life. And what a dynamic group they were. It must be recognized, that after Pentecost, the apostles seemed to limit their mission to the Lost Children of Israel who were scattered throughout the world. The Pauline mission to the gentiles was an additional but not the primary thrust. One wonders, if Jesus were here today, would He affirm the mission of the Christian church and the religious political hierarchy it has set up in His name? Would he accept the non-Jewish, or non-Hebrew face the modern Christian church has put on today?

Who were these Friends and Followers who formed the

Jerusalem Church?

The enclosed document is a “working document” to be used for even broader research by myself and our study group, with the Forum on Creation and Ancient History and the BibleSearchers. Even as such, there are limitations in our resources in which a call for broader research either from academic scholars and amateur researchers like us is in order. If this stimulates your personal interest for further investigation, we hope your will contact us.

Jesus and His Mission:

The enclosed picture of Jesus’ associates, I believe is historically defensible and still preserves the core and essence of Christian faith. This includes; (1) the historical Christ, (2) the Divine Son of God from birth, (3) and the literal death and resurrection of Christ.

This picture depicts a vibrant image of Jesus, who reached all levels of society and had broad and immense appeal mainly to the Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots, the Sicarii and the peasant population.

Text Box: From 36 to 62 AD, the Nazarene Church initially under the leadership of Peter, James the Just and John developed an alternative Temple service in which James the Just performed the services of the High Priest without the sacrificial services. To be accepted by the Essenes, he would have had to have a legitimate Zadokian lineage, the recognized authentic priestly lineage. I have avoided linking prophetic time to establish the date of crucifixion, but used a historical route more fitting to the social impact to Jewish life. The Jubilee Sabbatical Passover of 34 AD appears the most fitting and historically appropriate date for the crucifixion.

The Primitive Nazarene Christian Church –

The Christian Church today seems to look at the Early Christian or Nazarene Church with silence or awkward embarrassment. The historical facts are apparent: (1) All the apostles and family of Jesus accepted it as the legitimate organizational legacy of Jesus Christ. (2) The Half brothers or Cousins of the Half Blood, were the leaders of the Nazarene Church until the early years of Trajan reign (3) The organization of the church was by the democratic process of election and with consent of the electorate.

The historical picture unfolding depicts that from 36 to 62 AD, the Nazarene Church initially under the leadership of Peter, James the Just and John developed an alternative Temple service in which James the Just performed the services of the High Priest without the sacrificial services. To be accepted by the Essenes, he would have had to have a legitimate Zadokian lineage, the recognized authentic priestly lineage.

Peter eventually goes to Antioch and starts a second major center of Christianity. From here, he becomes the Ambassador of Christ to the entire world, following his triple commission, “Feed my sheep”, first to Jerusalem and Samaria, then to the East in Asia Minor, Armenia and Babylon and finally to Rome, Gaul (France), Spain and Britain. John, with his priestly heritage, ministers in Asia Minor at Ephesus.

By 62 AD, the threat to the Sadducean authority appears to be intensifying. The Essenes, probably a large group of Pharisees, including a majority of the priests living in the Ophel, plus the sympathetic support of the majority of the peasant class vaulted the Nazarene Church as the primary Jewish religious and religio-political authority in Jerusalem. The survival of the Sadducean authority was in question for they only retained the ear of the Roman rulership.

The Zealots and Sicarii preempted with a strike meant to topple the House of Annas, and assassinated Jonathan, son of Annas, who was the High Priest in 36 AD and responsible for the death of Stephen the Deacon. In revenge, Annas, son of Annas, the brother of Jonathan and current High Priest engineered the death of James the Just. This turns out to be the pivotal point in the beginning of the apocalyptic end of Jewish life as they knew it and Jerusalem.

Did the Nazarene Christian Church have a divinely ordained role in God’s Plan of Salvation? Was it a model for the Church at the End of Times or was it a fabricated man-designed religious entity?

Modern Christianity as Pauline Christians -

The modern Christian Church has been identified by most authors as following the legacy of the Apostle Paul and his teachings. Yet, a careful analysis depicts that Paul remained a Nazarene Christian and even on his last visit to Jerusalem, went to the Temple and in honest faith participated in the rites as a Nazarene Christian.

The Pauline Christians would be development in later years, which included Pauline beliefs excluding Nazarene beliefs and became typified by the Roman Christians formulated under the authority of Eusebius and Constantine in the 4^th century AD.

Most Christian scholars accept that modern Christianity is an heir of the Constantine Roman Church. The Reformation reformed a lot of the ecclesiastical and hierarchical trappings but the core religious philosophy remained intact.

Who is the True Church of Jesus?

The development of the Church of Jesus by his own Apostles depict a Hebrew Nazarene Church as the central authoritative church with the peripheral Gentile Christian Church as a broader mission. Look over Christendom today; does any Christian Church give at least a partial resemblance of the Primitive Christian Church in its total mission? Here are some of the fundamentals:

(1) Acceptance of the Seventh-day Sabbath.

(2) Acceptance of the Mosaic traditions, including the Prophets, Writings and a larger corpus of

(3) Acceptance of Jesus Christ the Messiah as fulfillment of the traditions of the Hebrew

Scriptures.

(4) Acceptance of Jesus as the Divine Son of God.

(5) Acceptance of the Hebrew faith as the legitimate preserver of the Revelation of God.

(6) Acceptance of Salvation by Grace and Faith alone as accepted by Peter, Paul and James the

Just and Salvation by Grace yet associated with good works as accepted by James the Just.

(7) Acceptance of the Hebrew dietary laws.

(8) Acceptance of progressive revelation thru Jesus, the Apostles and later Christian

Writings (including the New Testament) along with acceptance of the Hebrew Scripture as the most complete Revelations of God.

(9) Acceptance of Baptism by Immersion.

(10) Acceptance of the Eucharist Meal (Communion)

(11) Acceptance of a Role of the Devil.

(12) Acceptance of an Angelic Hierarchy.

(13) Acceptance of a dualistic conflict in heaven (not a dualistic God).

(14) Acceptance of End of Time Eschatology.

(15) Acceptance of the Origin and Nature of Evil.

(16) Acceptance of the end of evil with a lake of fire final destruction.

(17) Acceptance of the Decalogue as a Source of Moral and Spiritual Authority.

I believe, the only Protestant Church today that comes close to fitting this image is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, yet as a whole, they do not accept the literal role of Israel at the End of Times. Neither do they accept the return of the House of Joseph/Ephraim as the literal return of the House of Israel at the End of Times

It would seem that the Reformation from the apostasy of the Roman Church in not complete and there is still more Reformation to come? The Mormon Church on the other hand accepts the role of literal Israel and they feel that they are the Lost Tribes of Israel. Yet they do not accept the Torah, yet put their faith in another scripture, The Book of Mormon, which is outside the halachah of the Orthodox Jews.

The Messianic Jews or rather the Christians who believe in the literal role of Israel (Houses of Judah and Joseph) at the End of Times come closer to a gentile church which would come under the umbrella of the halachah of the Jews. Yet as a whole, they remain more identified with their Christian heritage than their Jewish/Israelite heritage.

Does the End of Time church exist today? Is it a Christian gentile church with a Jewish face, or is it a Hebrew church who with the acceptance of Y’shua (Jesus) as their messiah, now will accept their gentile brethren into the land (aliyah) to assimilate them into the life and culture of the Hebrews?

If you have any thoughts, articles or resources on the Early Christian Nazarene Church, I hope you will contact me at:

Robert D. Mock MD

robertmock@biblesearchers.com

Friends and Relatives of Jesus and place of their burial

Relatives of Jesus Place of Tomb or Death

Mary, the mother of Jesus Glastonbury, England

Joseph of Arimathea Glastonbury, England

Mary Cleopas Ste Maries in the Camarque

Cleopas - brother to Joseph not known

Mary Salome Ste Maries in the Camarque

Zebedee Not known

James, son of Zebedee (see disciples) Compostelo de Santiango, Spain

John, son of Zebedee (see disciples) Ephesus

James the Less (see disciples) Jerusalem

Simon Judea

Jude (Thaddeus) (see disciples) Not Known

Joseph (Barsaba) Judea

The Disciples (12) of Jesus

Simon Peter Rome possibly Canterbury, England

Andrew Edessa or Greece

James, son of Zebedee Compostelo de Santiago, Spain

John, son of Zebedee Ephesus, Asia Minor

Philip Heirapolis, Phrygia

Bartholomew (Nathanial) India

Thomas the Didymus Tamil Nadie, India, Cathedral - St. Thomas

Levi Matthew, son of Alphaeus Jerusalem

James the Less, son of Alphaeus - (see brother of Jesus) Jerusalem, tomb outside the walls

Jude (Thaddeus) son of Alphaeus - (see brother of Jesus) Jerusalem

Simon the Zealot - (see brother of Jesus) Caster, Lincolnshire, England,

Remains in Provence, France

Judas Iscariot, the Sicarii Jerusalem area

Matthias Jerusalem

Galilean and Judean Associates of Jesus

Place of Origin Name Place of Tomb or Death

Bethany Lazarus Marseilles, France

Mary Magdalene St. Maximinus, France

Martha Arles, St. Trophime’s Church

Marcella, the handmaiden Not Known

Emmaüs Cleopas Not known

Mary Cleopas Les Saintes Marie, France

Luke Greece

Mary Salome Les Saintes Marie, France

Jericho Zaccheus Rocamadour, France

Capernaum Aristobulus Tribe of the Ordovices, Britain

Perpetua, wife of Peter Capernaum

Galilee Ignatius, Bishop of Alexandria Alexandria, Egypt

Jerusalem Barnabus, Island of Cyprus

The Rich Young Ruler ‘Maximin’ St. Maximinus, France

Luke Greece

Theophilus

Sidonia - ‘Restitute’, the man born blind St. Restitute, France

Martial Limogenes, France

Saturninus Toulouse, France

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Addendum for James the Less (Just)

Authorities on the Nazarenes

Heggsippus

Clement of Alexandria

Julius Africanus

Clementine Literature (Quasi-Ebionite)

Origin

Eusebius

Jerome

Epiphanius (3^rd -4^th c)

Josephus (Antiquities XII, 43)

“Because of his piety towards God and his benevolence to these countrymen.”

Epiphenius, (Panarion LXXVII , in Schonfield 148)

James the Just “officiated after the manner of the ancient priesthood wherefore also he was permitted once a year to enter the Holy of Holies, as the Law commanded the High Priest, according to that which is written, for so many before us have told of him, both Eusebius and Clement and others. Furthermore he was permitted to wear the high priestly diadem upon his head,…”

Zaddik (Saint or Just)

Jacob (James) the Just, the brother of Jesus was “supreme ruler over all believers in Christ, remained the head of government for about a quarter a century until his death….followed the way of the Law….his nationalism pleased the Zealots….his asceticism pleased the Ebionite-Essenes….was respected by Pharisees….was beloved by Jewish population.” (Schonfield 148-9)

The End