The First Anti-Nomians, The Marcionites (Replacement Theology)

The word 'nomos', is a Greek word meaning for 'law' or 'torah' -but depending on its context.
The word 'torah' means teaching and or instruction. We commonly called the first 5 books of the Tanach the 'Torah.'

In early history, I states the first 'anit-nomians' were the Marcionites. They were around 110 C.E., and this was the beginning of the false doctrine called Law verses Grace. In this false doctrine was a real twisting of Shaul's teachings.

This guy Marcion, was a Bishop's son, born in Sinope (which is nowadays northern Turkey), in 85 C.E. He died in 160 C.E.

He traveled to Rome, Italy, and he became a student of Cerdo, a Gnostic Christian. He believed that there was a difference between the God of the Tanach and the God of the Brit Chadashah. He was convinced that through the misinterpretation of the Writing of Shaul, that Torah was done away with Yeshua. It was his thinking that all the things of the Jewish beliefs must also be done away with the believers in Mashiach. That all these things must be done away with. He even went so far as to have the believers remove the Torah from the Scriptures because in his view, "the Law" was done away with Yeshua, and that no one was under it anymore. So through this he had followers to support his view.

So, he through all this rejected all things Hebrew, he rejected the Tanach, calling it the 'Old Testament'. He was the first one to make distinction in the 'Old and the 'New' testaments. He also rejected other books, such as Matthew, Mark, and John, as they too had Jewish influences and tones. But he accepted the book of Luke, but he edited it, and removed any Jewish influences. He also claimed that Shaul was the only true 'apostle.'
He got together 10 of Shaul's writings, but excluded the 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and Hebrews.
The 10 that he got together, he edited them though, and he removed anything Jewish in them. He said about the other apostles that they corrupted the teachings of Yeshua by mixing them with legalism. He rejected teaching and replaced it with his own words and ideas of love and grace.

In the year of 138 C.E. he was in Rome, Italy, he gave his opinions and his doctrine before the early Kehila leadership. At first they did not rule these, and thought they would go away and be forgotten. But it didn't go away, the followers of these teachings just increased, and began to create a lot of strife and division within the believers.

This misled doctrine was throughout the entire Empire, and it insisted that the teaching of the 'Law was done away with', and not for true Believers (Christians). They had a misunderstanding of what 'Grace' was and it was actually a complete rejection of YHWH's Torah, which was given to us for teaching and instruction. And by the terms of 'old and new' testaments, that the 'old' was now replaced by the 'new'. This is what we call "Replacement Theology."

And so on is then the thought that the Church replaces Israel. He wrote his own 'gospel' and he presented it at meetings with the Church of Rome. He gave money to the amount 200,000 sesterces (1400 pounds (7000 dollars)), which then was a very large sum of money. The Church read his edited edition of the gospel, and refused it, and gave his money back. He was ruled as a heretic and was excommunicated. After being rejected by the church of Rome he returned to Asia Minor where he continued spreading his message. He created a strong ecclesiastical organization, parallel to that of the Church of Rome, with himself as bishop. His edited version was void of all Hebrew references, due to the listing of acceptable books by him, the Church was then forced to determine of which books going around the Church would be authorized. This was what spurned the canonization of the New Testament. Most was finalized by 200 C.E. and is was Justin Martyr who said that the Marcionites were 'The Most dangerous sect.' But, on the case of the size of the Empire, many secretly held to these heretical teaching without being seen.

"This Heretical sect founded in A.D. 144 at Rome by Marcion and continuing in the West for 300 years, but in the East some centuries longer, especially outside the Byzantine Empire. They rejected the writings of the Old Testament and taught that Christ was not the Son of the God of the Jews, but the Son of the good God, who was different from the God of the Ancient Covenant. They anticipated the more consistent dualism of Manichaeism and were finally absorbed by it. As they arose in the very infancy of Christianity and adopted from the beginning a strong ecclesiastical organization, parallel to that of the Catholic Church, they were perhaps the most dangerous foe Christianity has ever known." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09645c.htm

Today, we see, and have for the most part, experienced or come in contact with 'Replacement Theology', some to a greater degree and some to a lesser degree. I would say all churches teach this 'Theology', and some without even knowing of their error. It is a blatant offence to YHWH.

April 8, 2002
Kathy Ann Prell Martonosi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion_of_Sinope
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09645c.htm