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📜 Historical Analysis

The Jerusalem Assembly

הדרך - HaDerekh
The Original Hebrew Gathering of The Way
🏛️ Founded 30–33 AD

🔹 Foundation Details

Founded
Around 30–33 AD
Immediately after the events surrounding Yeshua's death and resurrection, the original disciples gathered in Jerusalem to continue His teachings.
Location
Jerusalem
The spiritual center of Judaism, where the Temple stood and where Yeshua taught. The natural gathering place for His Hebrew followers.
Language
Hebrew and Aramaic
The native languages of Yeshua and His disciples. All teachings, scriptures, and gatherings conducted in these Semitic tongues.
Leadership
Ya'aqov (James)
The brother of Yeshua, who led the Jerusalem Assembly with apostolic authority and deep understanding of Torah.
Name of the Group
HaDerekh (הדרך) — "The Way"
They called themselves followers of "The Way" - never "Christians." This Hebrew term emphasized the path of righteous living.
Core Belief
Torah Obedience & Following Yeshua
Torah obedience, repentance, love of YHWH, and walking as Yeshua walked — No blood sacrifice for sin, No worship of Yeshua as a god
🕊️ What They Believed
The original disciples of Yeshua did not create a new religion. They:
✅ They Believed & Practiced
  • Kept the Shabbat (7th-day Sabbath)
  • Followed the Torah and the Prophets
  • Rejected animal sacrifice as central (Micah 6:6–8, Hosea 6:6)
  • Believed Yeshua was a prophet and servant of YHWH
  • Held that each soul is judged for its own sin (Ezekiel 18)
  • Saw the New Covenant as Torah written on hearts
❌ They Rejected
  • Worship of Yeshua as YHWH Himself
  • Blood sacrifice as requirement for forgiveness
  • Cancellation or replacement of Torah
  • Greek philosophical concepts
  • Roman religious authority
  • Trinity doctrine
📚 Their Scriptures
✅ They Used YHWH's Word Only
Paleo-Hebrew scrolls

Original ancient Hebrew script preserving the earliest texts

Aramaic writings from exile

Including portions of Daniel and Ezra in Aramaic

Early Square Script copies

Hebrew texts without vowel pointing, preserving original consonantal text

❌ They Rejected
The Greek Septuagint

Greek translation that altered meanings

Paul's letters

Later writings that contradicted Torah

Trinity doctrine

Greek philosophical concepts foreign to Hebrew thought

⚔️ Conflict With Rome and the Corrupt Temple System
🏛️
Rejected Roman authority over worship
⚖️
Opposed the corrupted temple priesthood
🔥
Believed the destruction of the Temple (70 AD) was divine judgment (Jeremiah 7)
🏃‍♂️
Escaped to Pella before the Roman siege (Eusebius, Church History 3.5.3)
🔥 Suppression and Erasure
70 AD
Temple destroyed. Jerusalem Assembly flees to Pella, preserving their Hebrew scrolls and teachings.
135 AD
After the Bar Kokhba revolt, Jews (including followers of The Way) were banned from Jerusalem.
325 AD
Roman Christianity under Constantine declared The Way heretical. Systematic persecution began.
325-400 AD
Hebrew scrolls and gospels were burned or rewritten in Greek. Original texts systematically destroyed.
400+ AD
Only fragments survived, quoted by church fathers like Origen, Jerome, and Epiphanius.
📌 The True Legacy
✅ The Jerusalem Assembly: True Root
  • Torah-based faith and practice
  • YHWH-centered worship
  • Hebrew-speaking community
  • Righteous living emphasized
  • Yeshua as prophet and servant
  • Preserved original teachings
  • Called "Ebionites" ("the poor") by opponents
  • Used Gospel of the Hebrews
  • Identified as "Followers of The Way"
❌ Roman Christianity: Replacement System
  • Greek theological philosophy
  • Pagan customs integrated
  • Paul's gospel emphasized
  • Trinity doctrine imposed
  • Torah observance abandoned
  • Imperial authority established
  • Hebrew texts destroyed
  • Original teachings corrupted
  • Called themselves "Christians"