The Netsar, Netsarim, and Fruit

The Netsarim in the Land of Israel “…were first called, Christians, at Antioch…”[¹] Acts 11:26b
The Apostle Sha’ul was a Jewish “leader of the sect of the Netsarim (Nazoraios).” Acts 24:5

The Lord Yeshúa of Natsareth ² said to his disciples:
“I am the true Vine … (the true Netsar) [³]
and my Father is the Gardener (“the only true God” John 17:3)
… and ye are the Branches (the Netsarim, plural of Netsar);
he who abides in me and I (and my words) in him, the same shall bear much fruit … “

The above metaphor might provide a sense of familiarity for those familiar with the Gospel of John. But, the assumptions within the brackets and footnotes might make you pause and think a little deeper if you are not familiar with the added information and Hebrew words. If you are studious, you would look up the references and meditate upon them asking for insight from the Almighty. Many more brackets and footnotes could be added and you will find them in this website. The truth contained in this metaphor is like a tiny seed that produces a great tree. So, please return and re-read and ponder and seek wisdom, understanding, and experiential-knowledge.

In accord with the above metaphor of the Supernal-Gardener who planted the True Vine (with its’ Branches and Fruit), I am Netsarian Fruit^[1]which some spell as Nazarean, and there are various sects today with that name.. A “traditional” Christian might call me a Jew and a “traditional” Jew might call me a Christian–I have commonalities with both and sharp differences with both. Like all religions, they are hybridized religions containing truths and errors. I have learned from and appreciate the good people in all; I am part of all and yet, I am neither! How so? you might ask.

The difficulty in answering this question is this: What I actually say, may not be what you hear; for, we all hear in accordance with our own inherited life orientations, assumptions, definitions, biases, and maybe even studied opinions. We all have colored glasses like internal creeds through which we view the world. We easily make false-assumptions and jump to wrong conclusions.

Historical events and circumstances created different kinds of peoples spread out into the world, with each preserving parts of the original truth of God. But, we tend to produce short labels to categorize peoples and dismiss them. Not wise! And, some, become confused and give up. Not wise either! Rather, one must be an eclectic, gradually sorting out the truth from false like sifting ‘chaff from the wheat’ and rightly ordering the truths they contain without falling prey to false or adjusted narratives, inserted by deviant priests and philosophers. There are records and scriptures that most religious people are not aware that are worthy of consideration.

The Netsarim “…were first called, Christians, at Antioch…” in Syria, north of Israel. Acts 11:26b
What were once synonymous terms, diverged into various paths after the first century. ⁴

In 375 A.D., A Roman Bishop wrote a book^[2]Brackets are mine, inserted to clarify, reorder, and simplify his descriptions in various chapters and narrow in on the pertinent statements. We have used the Prophet Isaiah’s Hebrew term, Netsar … Continue reading about various denominations from the perspective of his own Roman denomination.

“This sect of
– The Netsarim or Nazoreans … ^[3]We have used the Prophet Isaiah’s term, Netsar (Is 11:2), instead of the Bishops’ Greek translation, Nazoreans, a term which is also confused in the New Testament with the similar sounding … Continue reading [They possess the Original Gospel of Yeshua written in Hebrew.] This sect is to be found in Beroea near Coelesyria, in the Decapolis near Pella, and in Bashanitis at the place called … Khokhabe in Hebrew … [The Bishop says, in his disgust,] They are nothing but Jews [except for their fidelity to Iesous (Jesus) the Christos = the Hebrew means: Yeshúa the Anointed One [Is. 61:1: Lk. 4:16-19] … [since, unlike his own Roman sect who had altered the Calendar, changing the Sabbath Day from Saturday to Sunday, they observe the Biblical 7th Day Sabbath, Festival Days, and other practices of “the Jews”.]

[Likewise, the Essene (Assayin) Sect of]
– The Nasareans... [“Eagles” Ex. 19:4 & Is 40:31] ^[4]Nasharim or Nasareans comes from the word for Eagle (Nashar and rooted in the word, Nasa – to Ascend; Strongs #’s H5404, H5376), from Exodus 19:4 “You have seen what I did to the … Continue reading They are Jews by nationality, from Gileaditis, Bashanitis and the Transjordan as I have been told, but descendants of Israel himself.” There are only a handful of Nasharians [left as such, for] … they have been united with the sect of

– The Ebionites [“the Poor” due to their consecration; Matthew 5:3], who also possess the Original Gospel of Yeshua written in Hebrew. They both also reject animal sacrifices and flesh eating claiming that it was part of a fraudulent edit of the Scriptures or something only grudgingly & temporarily permitted by God because of “the hardness” of their hearts, and thus, they also read the Scriptures with discernment and have other Sacred Writings as well. ^[5]Some of them at some point rejected the Apostle Paul’s writings, which probably meant they, in reality, simply rejected the twisted interpretation of Paul’s letters by later Christians. … Continue reading

Similarly,
– The Ossayin are “the Doers of the Law” James 1:22. They also abstain from eating the flesh of animals.

And have you ever read the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions? also called by this Bishop, The Travels of Peter? These books contain the same teachings as those above.

Bishop Epiphanius, The Panarion (c. 375 AD)
A Nicene Bishop, an enemy of the Netsarim who was on the outside trying to look in and describe them!
Remember the Victors of war write or re-write the story in their own favor.

---

Obviously, these groups were interrelated if not identical and were at odds with the doctrines of what won out as “orthodox” Judaism and “imperial” Christianity. We ourselves have attempted to re-write what was already re-written by them. We place these other groups under the one title: The Netsarim, disciples of Yeshua, The Netsar/The Nazarene.

A wealth of implications are contained in this synopsis that are elucidated on this website. I have learned over the decades when going through a spiritual or mental “paradigm shift”, that it is a matter of rethinking and fine-tuning my knowledge rather than becoming disillusioned and “throw the baby out with the bathwater”. My Faith, Trust, and Faithful-Obedience (Emunah) has remained strong as I have sought Yahweh, the Most High every step of my path. Short answers are not sufficient. Thus, my Lord Yeshua said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The one who has ears is the one who is willing to do the same.

Welcome to Netsarim.com

The Netsarim “…were first called, Christians, at Antioch…” in Syria, north of Israel.

Isaiah 11:1 A shoot (choter) will come out of the stock of Jesse,
and a branch (netsar) out of his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of Yahwéh* will rest on him …
Isaiah 42:6 … I, Yahwéh will give you [Yeshua the Netsar]
as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations…
Isaiah 58: 12 Those [The Netsarim & their Fruit] who shall be of you [The Netsar]
shall be called …’ “Repairer of the broken walls” … “Restorer of paths to walk in‘
who “rebuild the ancient ruins” and “erect the ancient foundations” …

* “I Am that I Am” (Aheyéh asher Aheyéh) is speaking in first-person-singular of an absolute state of Being that we as creatures cannot comprehend. We can only use metaphors to compare our own reality to “It” — Infinite Being. Reflecting this, the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus chapter three was, Yahwéh (Yahuéh, Yahuwéh, Yehowah, variously annunciated) It is a third-person-singular name that translates as,
“He-who-is”, and even, “He who causes to be”; “The Eternal One” or The Only Eternally-Self-Existent One,
The Source from whom all other existence exists!

1. The Book of Acts was written in about AD 62–about the same time that Ya’aqob (James, the Brother of Yeshua, and the Leader of the Netsarim) was murdered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The earliest manuscript of a portion of Acts, is about AD 200-250. Obviously, they were called by the Hebrew name, Netsarim (Grk: Nazaraios). They were later, at some point, called by the Greek term for Messiah, Christianos, at Antioch. The question is, When was the first time and when did it become the dominant term? Was it original to the writing of Acts or was this phrase a parenthetical note added by a later copyist? And, if so, what was the motivation for inserting it; and, what is the latest date that it could have been inserted? AD 70? 100? 135? Could it have been polemical, as an effort to disassociate themselves from the Jewish Netsarim and their continued practice, not of the priestly “works of the Law” but of “the righteousness of the Torah-Law”—the moral laws including, Sabbaths, Festivals, clean Foods, etc.? Can one find evidence of a split and a broadening gap between Netsarim and Christianos in the 2nd Century? How wide did the gap between them eventually get? We only find in the New Testament the term, Christian, three times: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16. Were these terms changed from Netsari to Christian as part of an effort to make a distinction and widen the gap? Maybe, maybe not. But, it is clear that later “Christians” criticized the “Netsarim” as different from themselves. Christian is not at all a bad term and can be a natural progression with the Greek language–Christ & Christians and perhaps was so. But, when and if a designation becomes loaded with specific historic developments, one may not want to be associated with that designation. They were also called “The Way”. The term most used to designate them in the New Testament is Saints or Holy Ones — those consecrated and set apart to follow Yeshua the Netsar, the Messiah (Christos), and walk the Path of Righteousness and Holiness that he outlined. It was a path that separated one from those on other paths. ↩︎
2. The name, Jesus, comes from the Biblical Hebrew name, Yahushúa, from whence we also get the form, Joshua.
   Yahushúa was abbreviated to, Yeshúa, and Aramaic as, Yeshu, then into Greek & Latin as Iesous, and into Spanish as Hesus. Joshua, Jesus, Iesous, Hesous, Yeshu, Yeshúa, Yahushúa or Y^ǝhoshúa. All derive from the merger of two words: Yahuwéh–yeshuat:
   
   “O Yahuwéh, I wait for your yeshuat (salvation).” Genesis 49:18
   
   Let us illustrate this further. If we abbreviate the Greek name, Timotheos, to Timothy to Timmy to Tim, we may be talking about the same guy, but we lose the meaning of his name: Timay and Theos: Valued by God. Many Hebrew words have a full form and an abbreviated form.
   
   Yeshu part of his given name, Yeshu-Maryá (Yeshumaryá). Maryá is the emphatic form of Mar and means: The Lord or The Master. It is taken from Psalm 110, which is one of the cornerstones of the New Testament. He is thusly identified in King David’s prophetic vision as The Lord to whom Yahuwéh (The Eternal One) spoke:
   
   ¹“Yahwéh said unto my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet‘.
   
   In the original Hebrew of Isaiah 11:1, he is metaphorically called, a Choter and Netsar (a Shoot and Branch) that will spring-up out of the Shoresh or Root of his Hebrew ancestors, Jesse and King David); He was to be Anointed (Authorized & Empowered) in Is. 11:2 & Is. 61:1 (compare: Rom. 15:12 ; Luke 4:16-30 ; Rev. 5:5 ; Rev. 22:16). When he says, “I am the true Vine” he is commenting on Isaiah 11:1. In Revelation 5:5, he clarifies that though he is the Root and Branch springing out of Jesse & David, he is more than that—he is actually the Root that precedes all others in time and status! ↩︎
3. (John 15 ; GHT 73) Yeshua is the Netsar from the root of Jesse; (Isa. 11:1 ; Ruth 4:22). He was a descendent of King David (John 7:42) He is from the Tribe of Judah/Jewdah (Hebrews 7:14) He is the firstborn son of God among “the sons of God” (Job 38:7). He is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek, maybe even Melchizedek himself—in contrast to the later temporary Aharonic priesthood established following the ‘sin of the golden calf (Hebrews 5:6; Gen. 14:18; Ps. 110:4) The nation of Israel was compared to a Vine planted by God also in Isaiah 5. But, Yeshua says that he is the True Vine. Just as YHWH had threatened to destroy the idolatrous Israelites after the Golden Calf incident and start over with Moses, that is exactly what is happening in Yeshua with the Jewish “remnant” who united to him. ↩︎
4. Was this phrase original to the Book of Acts written about AD 62 or was it added? There is a curious gap with almost no information about the churches between the time of about AD 70 to 110. When information picks back up in the middle of the 2nd century, there is a distinct sect that has taken shape at war with so-called, “Judaizers”. It is one different from the original–a hybrid mixture of scriptural and unscriptural views. Was the phrase inserted “they were first called, Christians, at Antioch” inserted to distinguish and further the separation between the original Netsarians and the new developing hybrid? The term “Christianos” is only used 3-times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26 ; 26:28 ; 1 Peter 4:16). The Apostle Sha’ul (aka, Paul) never uses this word in any of his Epistles nor Ya’aqob (James) nor John nor Jude nor any of the Gospels nor the Book of Revelation nor the Book of Hebrews. It would have been quite easy for a Scribe to insert these. ↩︎