The Didache

The Teaching of men based loosely on the bible

Didache 1
Didache 1:1 There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great
difference between the two ways.

Didache 1:2 The way of life is this. First of all, thou shalt love the God that
made thee; secondly, Thy neighbor as thyself. And all things whatsoever thou
wouldst not have befall thyself, neither do thou unto another.

Didache 1:3 Now of these words the doctrine is this. Bless them that curse you,
and pray for your enemies and fast for them that persecute you; for what thank is
it, if ye love them that love you? Do not even the Gentiles the same? But do ye
love them that hate you that hate you, and ye shall not have an enemy.

Didache 1:4 Abstain thou from fleshly and bodily lusts. If any man give thee a
blow on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also, and thou shalt be perfect; If
a man impress thee to go with him one mile, go with him twain; if a man take away
thy cloak, give him thy coat also; if a man take away from thee that which is thy
own, ask it not back, for neither art thou able.

Didache 1:5 To every man that asketh of thee give, and ask not back for the Father
desireth that gifts be given to all from His own bounties. Blessed is he that
giveth according to the commandment; for he is guiltless. Woe to him that
receiveth; for, if a man receiveth having need, he is guiltless; but he that hath
no need shall give satisfaction why and wherefore he received and being put in
confinement he shall be examined concerning the deeds that he hath done, and he
shall not come out thence until he hath given back the last farthing.

Didache 1:6 Yea, as touching this also it is said; Let thine alms sweat into thine
hands, until thou have learnt to whom to give.

Didache 2
Didache 2:1 And this is the second commandment of the teaching.

Didache 2:2 Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt
not corrupt boys, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou
shalt not deal in magic, thou shalt do no sorcery, thou shalt not murder a child
by abortion nor kill them when born, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods,

Didache 2:3 thou shalt not perjure thyself, thou shalt not bear false witness,
thou shalt not speak evil, thou shalt not cherish a grudge,

Didache 2:4 thou shalt not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for the double
tongue is a snare of death.

Didache 2:5 Thy word shall not be false or empty, but fulfilled by action.

Didache 2:6 Thou shalt not be avaricious nor a plunderer nor a hypocrite nor ill-
tempered nor proud. Thou shalt not entertain an evil design against thy neighbor.

Didache 2:7 Thou shalt not hate any man but some thou shalt reprove, and for
others thou shalt pray, and others thou shalt love more than thy life.
Didache 3
Didache 3:1 My child, flee from every evil and everything that resembleth it.

Didache 3:2 Be not angry, for anger leadeth to murder, nor jealous nor contentious
nor wrathful; for of all these things murders are engendered.

Didache 3:3 My child, be not lustful, for lust leadeth to fornication, neither
foul-speaking neither with uplifted eyes; for of all these things adulteries are
engendered.

Didache 3:4 My child, be no dealer in omens, since it leads to idolatry, nor an

enchanter nor an astrologer nor a magician, neither be willing to look at them;
for from all these things idolatry is engendered.

Didache 3:5 My child, be not a liar, since lying leads to theft, neither
avaricious neither vainglorious; for from all these things thefts are engendered.

Didache 3:6 My child, be not a murmurer, since it leadeth to blasphemy, neither

self-willed neither a thinker of evil thoughts; for from all these things
blasphemies are engendered.

Didache 3:7 But be meek, since the meek shall inherit the earth.

Didache 3:8 Be long-suffering and pitiful and guileless and quiet and kindly and
always fearing the words which thou hast heard.

Didache 3:9 Thou shalt not exalt thyself, neither shalt thou admit boldness into
thy soul. Thy soul shall not cleave together with the lofty, but with the
righteous and humble shalt thou walk.

Didache 3:10 The accidents that befall thee thou shalt receive as good, knowing
that nothing is done without God.

Didache 4
Didache 4:1 My child, thou shalt remember him that speaketh unto thee the word of
God night and day, and shalt honor him as the Lord; for whencesoever the Lordship
speaketh, there is the Lord.

Didache 4:2 Moreover thou shalt seek out day by day the persons of the saints,
that thou mayest find rest in their words.

Didache 4:3 Thou shalt not make a schism, but thou shalt pacify them that contend;
thou shalt judge righteously, thou shalt not make a difference in a person to
reprove him for transgressions.

Didache 4:4 Thou shalt not doubt whether a thing shall be or not be.

Didache 4:5 Be not thou found holding out thy hands to receive, but drawing them
in as to giving.

Didache 4:6 If thou hast ought passing through thy hands, thou shalt give a ransom
for thy sins.

Didache 4:7 Thou shalt not hesitate to give, neither shalt thou murmur when
giving; for thou shalt know who is the good paymaster of thy reward.

Didache 4:8 Thou shalt not turn away from him that is in want, but shalt make thy
brother partaker in all things, and shalt not say that anything is thy own. For if
ye are fellow-partakers in that which is imperishable, how much rather in the
things which are perishable?

Didache 4:9 Thou shalt not withhold thy hand from thy son or from thy daughter,
but from their youth thou shalt teach them the fear of God.

Didache 4:10 Thou shalt not command thy bondservant or thine handmaid in thy
bitterness who trust in the same God as thyself, lest haply they should cease to
fear the God who is over both of you; for He cometh, not to call men with respect
of persons, but He cometh to those whom the Spirit hath prepared.

Didache 4:11 But ye, servants, shall be subject unto your masters, as to a type of
God, in shame and fear.

Didache 4:12 Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy, and everything that is not pleasing to
the Lord.

Didache 4:13 Thou shalt never forsake the commandments of the Lord but shalt keep
those things which thou hast received, neither adding to them nor taking away from
them.

Didache 4:14 In church thou shalt confess thy transgressions, and shalt not betake
thyself to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life.

Didache 5
Didache 5:1 But the way of death is this. First of all, it is evil and full of a
curse; murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magical arts,
witchcrafts, plunderings, false witnessings, hypocrisies, doubleness of heart,
treachery, pride, malice, stubbornness, covetousness, foul--speaking, jealousy,
boldness, exaltation, boastfulness;

Didache 5:2 persecutors of good men, hating truth, loving a lie, not perceiving
the reward of righteousness, not cleaving to the good nor to righteous judgment,
wakeful not for that which is good but for that which is evil-from whom gentleness
and forbearance stand aloof; loving vain things, pursuing a recompense, not
pitying the poor man, not toiling for him that is oppressed with toil, not
recognizing Him that made them, murderers of children, corrupters of the creatures
of God, turning away from him that is in want, oppressing him that is afflicted,
advocates of the wealthy, unjust judges of the poor, altogether sinful. May ye be
delivered, my children, from all these things.

Didache 6
Didache 6:1 See lest any man lead you astray from this way of righteousness, for
he teacheth thee apart from God.

Didache 6:2 For if thou art able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be
perfect; but if thou art not able, do that which thou art able.

Didache 6:3 But concerning eating, bear that which thou art able; yet abstain by
all means from meat sacrificed to idols; for it is the worship of dead gods.

Didache 7
Didache 7:1 But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize. Having first recited
all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit in living (running) water.

Didache 7:2 But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if
thou art not able in cold, then in warm.

Didache 7:3 But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Didache 7:4 But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized
fast, and any others also who are able; and thou shalt order him that is baptized
to fast a day or two before.

Didache 8
Didache 8:1 And let not your fastings be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the
second and the fifth day of the week; but do ye keep your fast on the fourth and
on the preparation (the sixth) day.

Didache 8:2 Neither pray ye as the hypocrites, but as the Lord commanded in His
Gospel, thus pray ye: Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy
kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth; give us this day
our daily bread; and forgive us our debt, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for Thine is the power and
the glory for ever and ever.

Didache 8:3 Three times in the day pray ye so.

Didache 9
Didache 9:1 But as touching the eucharistic thanksgiving give ye thanks thus.

Didache 9:2 First, as regards the cup: We give Thee thanks, O our Father, for the
holy vine of Thy son David, which Thou madest known unto us through Thy Son Jesus;
Thine is the glory for ever and ever.

Didache 9:3 Then as regarding the broken bread: We give Thee thanks, O our Father,
for the life and knowledge which Thou didst make known unto us through Thy Son
Jesus; Thine is the glory for ever and ever.

Didache 9:4 As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being
gathered together became one, so may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends
of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus
Christ for ever and ever.

Didache 9:5 But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanksgiving, but they
that have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the
Lord hath said: Give not that which is holy to the dogs.

Didache 10
Didache 10:1 And after ye are satisfied thus give ye thanks:

Didache 10:2 We give Thee thanks, Holy Father, for Thy holy name, which Thou hast
made to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality,
which Thou hast made known unto us through Thy Son Jesus; Thine is the glory for
ever and ever.
Didache 10:3 Thou, Almighty Master, didst create all things for Thy name's sake,
and didst give food and drink unto men for enjoyment, that they might render
thanks to Thee; but didst bestow upon us spiritual food and drink and eternal life
through Thy Son.

Didache 10:4 Before all things we give Thee thanks that Thou art powerful; Thine
is the glory for ever and ever.

Didache 10:5 Remember, Lord, Thy Church to deliver it from all evil and to perfect
it in Thy love; and gather it together from the four winds-- even the Church which
has been sanctified-- into Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared for it; for Thine
is the power and the glory for ever and ever.

Didache 10:6 May grace come and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of
David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Maran
Atha. Amen.

Didache 10:7 But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much as they desire.

Didache 11
Didache 11:1 Whosoever therefore shall come and teach you all these things that
have been said before, receive him;

Didache 11:2 but if the teacher himself be perverted and teach a different
doctrine to the destruction thereof, hear him not; but if to the increase of
righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord.

Didache 11:3 But concerning the apostles and prophets, so do ye according to the
ordinance of the Gospel.

Didache 11:4 Let every apostle, when he cometh to you, be received as the Lord;

Didache 11:5 but he shall not abide more than a single day, or if there be need, a
second likewise; but if he abide three days, he is a false prophet.

Didache 11:6 And when he departeth let the apostle receive nothing save bread,
until he findeth shelter; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet.

Didache 11:7 And any prophet speaking in the Spirit ye shall not try neither
discern; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven.

Didache 11:8 Yet not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet, but only
if he have the ways of the Lord. From his ways therefore the false prophet and the
prophet shall be recognized.

Didache 11:9 And no prophet when he ordereth a table in the Spirit shall eat of
it; otherwise he is a false prophet.

Didache 11:10 And every prophet teaching the truth, if he doeth not what he
teacheth, is a false prophet.

Didache 11:11 And every prophet approved and found true, if he doeth ought as an
outward mystery typical of the Church, and yet teacheth you not to do all that he
himself doeth, shall not be judged before you; he hath his judgment in the
presence of God; for in like manner also did the prophets of old time.
Didache 11:12 And whosoever shall say in the Spirit, Give me silver or anything
else, ye shall not listen to him; but if he tell you to give on behalf of others
that are in want, let no man judge him.

Didache 12
Didache 12:1 But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord be received;
and then when ye have tested him ye shall know him, for ye shall have
understanding on the right hand and on the left.

Didache 12:2 If the comer is a traveler, assist him, so far as ye are able; but he
shall not stay with you more than two or three days, if it be necessary.

Didache 12:3 But if he wishes to settle with you, being a craftsman, let him work
for and eat his bread.

Didache 12:4 But if he has no craft, according to your wisdom provide how he shall
live as a Christian among you, but not in idleness.

Didache 12:5 If he will not do this, he is trafficking upon Christ. Beware of such
men.

Didache 13
Didache 13:1 But every time prophet desiring to settle among you is worthy of his
food.

Didache 13:2 In like manner a true teacher is also worthy, like the workman, of
his food.

Didache 13:3 Every firstfruit then of the produce of the wine-vat and of the
threshing-floor, of thy oxen and of thy sheep, thou shalt take and give as the
firstfruit to the prophets; for they are your chief-priests.

Didache 13:4 But if ye have not a prophet, give them to the poor.

Didache 13:5 If thou makest bread, take the firstfruit and give according to the
commandment.

Didache 13:6 In like manner, when thou openest a jar of wine or of oil, take the
firstfruit and give to the prophets;

Didache 13:7 yea and of money and raiment and every possession take the
firstfruit, as shall seem good to thee, and give according to the commandment.

Didache 14Didache 14:1 And on the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and
break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your
sacrifice may be pure.

Didache 14:2 And let no man, having his dispute with his fellow, join your
assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled;

Didache 14:3 for this sacrifice it is that was spoken of by the Lord; In every
place and at every time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I ama a great king, saith
the Lord, and My name is wonderful among the nations.

Didache 15
Didache 15:1 Appoint for yourselves therefore bishops and deacons worthy of the
Lord, men who are meek and not lovers of money, and true and approved; for unto
you they also perform the service of the prophets and teachers.

Didache 15:2 Therefore despise them not; for they are your honorable men along
with the prophets and teachers.

Didache 15:3 And reprove one another, not in anger but in peace, as ye find in the
Gospel; and let no one speak to any that has gone wrong towards his neighbor,
neither let him hear a word from you, until he repent.

Didache 15:4 But your prayers and your almsgiving and all your deeds so do ye as
ye find it in the Gospel of our Lord.

Didache 16
Didache 16:1 Be watchful for your life; let your lamps not be quenched and your
loins not ungirdled, but be ye ready; for ye know not the hour the hour in which
our Lord cometh.

Didache 16:2 And ye shall gather yourselves together frequently, seeking what is
fitting for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall not profit you, if
ye be not perfected at the last season.

Didache 16:3 For in the last days the false prophets and corrupters shall be
multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned
into hate.

Didache 16:4 For as lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate one another and shall
persecute and betray. And then the world-deceiver shall appear as a son of God;
and shall work signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands;
and he shall do unholy things, which have never been since the world began.

Didache 16:5 Then all created mankind shall come to the fire of testing, and many
shall be offended and perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved
by the Curse Himself.

Didache 16:6 And then shall the signs of the truth appear; first a sign of a rift
in the heaven, then a sign of a voice of a trumpet, and thirdly a resurrection of
the dead;

Didache 16:7 yet not of all, but as it was said The Lord shall come and all His
saints with Him.

Didache 16:8 Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

The Didache along with other spurious letters are not from the Apostles:

Here are some other Piously fraudulent materials.

1. Clement of Rome (I Clement)

2. Ignatius of Antioch (seven epistles)
3. The Didache
4. Papias of Hierapolis (fragments of Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord)
5. The Epistle of Barnabas
6. Polycarp of Smyrna (Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians)
7. Hermas of Rome (The Shepherd of Hermas)
8. The so-called Second Epistle of Clement
Pious Fraud by one definition is: "Pious fraud was a common technique employed
by early Christian writers to make a point. One of the more persuasive methods was
to write a text and falsely tell others that it was written in first person."
Another is "Nothing stands in need of Lying but a LIE."

The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics:

As to Matthew 28:19, it says: It is the central piece of evidence for the
traditional (Trinitarian) view. If it were undisputed, this would, of course, be
decisive, but its trustworthiness is impugned on grounds of textual criticism,
literary criticism and historical criticism. The same Encyclopedia further states
that: "The obvious explanation of the silence of the New Testament on the triune
name, and the use of another (JESUS NAME) formula in Acts and Paul, is that this
other formula was the earlier, and the triune formula is a later addition."

Edmund Schlink, The Doctrine of Baptism, page 28:

"The baptismal command in its Matthew 28:19 form can not be the historical origin
of Christian baptism. At the very least, it must be assumed that the text has been
transmitted in a form expanded by the [Catholic] church."

The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, I, 275:

"It is often affirmed that the words in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost are not the ipsissima verba [exact words] of Jesus, but...a
later liturgical addition."

Wilhelm Bousset, Kyrios Christianity, page 295:

"The testimony for the wide distribution of the simple baptismal formula [in the
Name of Jesus] down into the second century is so overwhelming that even in
Matthew 28:19, the Trinitarian formula was later inserted."

The Catholic Encyclopedia, II, page 263:

"The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ to the words
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church in the second century."

Hastings Dictionary of the Bible 1963, page 1015:

"The Trinity.-...is not demonstrable by logic or by Scriptural proofs,...The term
Trias was first used by Theophilus of Antioch (c AD 180),...(The term Trinity) not
found in Scripture..." "The chief Trinitarian text in the NT is the baptismal
formula in Mt 28:19...This late post-resurrection saying, not found in any other
Gospel or anywhere else in the NT, has been viewed by some scholars as an
interpolation into Matthew. It has also been pointed out that the idea of making
disciples is continued in teaching them, so that the intervening reference to
baptism with its Trinitarian formula was perhaps a later insertion into the
saying. Finally, Eusebius's form of the (ancient) text ("in my name" rather than
in the name of the Trinity) has had certain advocates. (Although the Trinitarian
formula is now found in the modern-day book of Matthew), this does not guarantee
its source in the historical teaching of Jesus. It is doubtless better to view the
(Trinitarian) formula as derived from early (Catholic) Christian, perhaps Syrian
or Palestinian, baptismal usage (cf Didache 7:1-4), and as a brief summary of the
(Catholic) Church's teaching about God, Christ, and the Spirit:..."

The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge:

"Jesus, however, cannot have given His disciples this Trinitarian order of baptism
after His resurrection; for the New Testament knows only one baptism in the name
of Jesus (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:43; 19:5; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13-15),
which still occurs even in the second and third centuries, while the Trinitarian
formula occurs only in Matt. 28:19, and then only again (in the) Didache 7:1 and
Justin, Apol. 1:61...Finally, the distinctly liturgical character of the
formula...is strange; it was not the way of Jesus to make such formulas... the
formal authenticity of Matt. 28:19 must be disputed..." page 435.

The Jerusalem Bible, a scholarly Catholic work, states:

"It may be that this formula, (Triune Matthew 28:19) so far as the fullness of its
expression is concerned, is a reflection of the (Man-made) liturgical usage
established later in the primitive (Catholic) community. It will be remembered
that Acts speaks of baptizing "in the name of Jesus,"..."

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, page 2637, Under "Baptism,"
says:
"Matthew 28:19 in particular only canonizes a later ecclesiastical situation, that
its universalism is contrary to the facts of early Christian history, and its
Trinitarian formula (is) foreign to the mouth of Jesus."

New Revised Standard Version says this about Matthew 28:19:

"Modern critics claim this formula is falsely ascribed to Jesus and that it
represents later (Catholic) church tradition, for nowhere in the book of Acts (or
any other book of the Bible) is baptism performed with the name of the Trinity..."

James Moffett's New Testament Translation:

In a footnote on page 64 about Matthew 28:19 he makes this statement: "It may be
that this (Trinitarian) formula, so far as the fullness of its expression is
concerned, is a reflection of the (Catholic) liturgical usage established later in
the primitive (Catholic) community, It will be remembered that Acts speaks of
baptizing "in the name of Jesus, cf. Acts 1:5 +."

Tom Harpur:
Tom Harpur, former Religion Editor of the Toronto Star in his "For Christ's sake,"
page 103 informs us of these facts: "All but the most conservative scholars agree
that at least the latter part of this command [Triune part of Matthew 28:19] was
inserted later. The [Trinitarian] formula occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament, and we know from the only evidence available [the rest of the New
Testament] that the earliest Church did not baptize people using these words ("in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost") baptism was "into"
or "in" the name of Jesus alone. Thus it is argued that the verse originally read
"baptizing them in My Name" and then was expanded [changed] to work in the [later
Catholic Trinitarian] dogma. In fact, the first view put forward by German
critical scholars as well as the Unitarians in the nineteenth century, was stated
as the accepted position of mainline scholarship as long ago as 1919, when Peake's
commentary was first published: "The Church of the first days (AD 33) did not
observe this world-wide (Trinitarian) commandment, even if they knew it. The
command to baptize into the threefold [Trinity] name is a late doctrinal
expansion."

The Bible Commentary 1919 page 723:

Dr. Peake makes it clear that: "The command to baptize into the threefold name is
a late doctrinal expansion. Instead of the words baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost we should probably read simply-"into
My Name."

Theology of the New Testament:

By R. Bultmann, 1951, page 133 under Kerygma of the Hellenistic Church and the
Sacraments. The historical fact that the verse Matthew 28:19 was altered is openly
confesses to very plainly. "As to the rite of baptism, it was normally consummated
as a bath in which the one receiving baptism completely submerged, and if possible
in flowing water as the allusions of Acts 8:36, Heb. 10:22, Barn. 11:11 permit us
to gather, and as Did. 7:1-3 specifically says. According to the last passage,
[the apocryphal Catholic Didache] suffices in case of the need if water is three
times poured [false Catholic sprinkling doctrine] on the head. The one baptizing
names over the one being baptized the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," later
expanded [changed] to the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church:

By Dr. Stuart G. Hall 1992, pages 20 and 21. Professor Stuart G. Hall was the
former Chair of Ecclesiastical History at King's College, London England. Dr. Hall
makes the factual statement that Catholic Trinitarian Baptism was not the original
form of Christian Baptism, rather the original was Jesus name baptism. "In the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," although those words
were not used, as they later are, as a formula. Not all baptisms fitted this
rule." Dr Hall further, states: "More common and perhaps more ancient was the
simple, "In the name of the Lord Jesus or, Jesus Christ." This practice was known
among Marcionites and Orthodox; it is certainly the subject of controversy in Rome
and Africa about 254, as the anonymous tract De rebaptismate ("On rebaptism")
shows."

The Beginnings of Christianity: The Acts of the Apostles Volume 1, Prolegomena 1:

The Jewish Gentile, and Christian Backgrounds by F. J. Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp
Lake 1979 version pages 335-337. "There is little doubt as to the sacramental
nature of baptism by the middle of the first century in the circles represented by
the Pauline Epistles, and it is indisputable in the second century. The problem is
whether it can in this (Trinitarian) form be traced back to Jesus, and if not what
light is thrown upon its history by the analysis of the synoptic Gospels and Acts.

According to Catholic teaching, (traditional Trinitarian) baptism was instituted

by Jesus. It is easy to see how necessary this was for the belief in sacramental
regeneration. Mysteries, or sacraments, were always the institution of the Lord of
the cult; by them, and by them only, were its supernatural benefits obtained by
the faithful. Nevertheless, if evidence counts for anything, few points in the
problem of the Gospels are so clear as the improbability of this teaching.

The reason for this assertion is the absence of any mention of Christian baptism
in Mark, Q, or the third Gospel, and the suspicious nature of the account of its
institution in Matthew 28:19: "Go ye into all the world, and make disciples of all
Gentiles (nations), baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit." It is not even certain whether this verse ought to be regarded as
part of the genuine text of Matthew. No other text, indeed, is found in any extant
manuscripts, in any language, but it is arguable that Justin Martyr, though he
used the trine formula, did not find it in his text of the Gospels; Hermas seems
to be unacquainted with it; the evidence of the Didache is ambiguous, and Eusebius
habitually, though not invariably, quotes it in another form, "Go ye into all the
world and make diciples of all the Gentiles in My Name."

No one acquainted with the facts of textual history and patristic evidence can
doubt the tendency would have been to replace the Eusebian text (In My Name) by
the ecclesiastical (Catholic Trinitarian) formula of baptism, so that
transcriptional evedence" is certainly on the side of the text omitting baptism.

But it is unnecessary to discuss this point at length, because even if the

ordinary (modern Trinity) text of Matthew 28:19 be sound it can not represent
historical fact.

Would they have baptized, as Acts says that they did, and Paul seem to confirm the
statement, in the name of the Lord Jesus if the Lord himself had commanded them to
use the (Catholic Trinitarian) formula of the Church? On every point the evidence
of Acts is convincing proof that the (Catholic) tradition embodied in Matthew
28:19 is a late (non-Scriptural Creed) and unhistorical.

Neither in the third gospel nor in Acts is there any reference to the (Catholic
Trinitarian) Matthaean tradition, nor any mention of the institution of (Catholic
Trinitarian) Christian baptism. Nevertheless, a little later in the narrative we
find several references to baptism in water in the name of the Lord Jesus as part
of recognized (Early) Christian practice. Thus we are faced by the problem of a
Christian rite, not directly ascribed to Jesus, but assumed to be a universal (and
original) practice. That it was so is confirmed by the Epistles, but the facts of
importance are all contained in Acts."

Also in the same book on page 336 in the footnote number one, Professor Lake makes
an astonishing discovery in the so-called Teaching or Didache. The Didache has an
astonishing contradiction that is found in it. One passage refers to the necessity
of baptism in the name of the Lord, which is Jesus the other famous passage
teaches a Trinitarian Baptism. Lake raises the probability that the apocryphal
Didache or the early Catholic Church Manual may have also been edited or changed
to promote the later Trinitarian doctrine. It is a historical fact that the
Catholic Church at one time baptized its converts in the name of Jesus but later
changed to Trinity baptism.

"1. In the actual description of baptism in the Didache the trine (Trinity)
formula is used; in the instructions for the Eucharist (communion) the condition
for admission is baptism in the name of the Lord. It is obvious that in the case
of an eleventh-century manuscript *the trine formula was almost certain to be
inserted in the description of baptism, while the less usual formula had a chance
of escaping notice when it was only used incidentally."
The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. 1923, New Testament
Studies Number 5:
The Lord's Command To Baptize An Historical Critical Investigation. By Bernard
Henry Cuneo page 27. "The passages in Acts and the Letters of St. Paul. These
passages seem to point to the earliest form as baptism in the name of the Lord."
Also we find. "Is it possible to reconcile these facts with the belief that Christ
commanded his disciples to baptize in the trine form? Had Christ given such a
command, it is urged, the Apostolic Church would have followed him, and we should
have some trace of this obedience in the New Testament. No such trace can be
found. The only explanation of this silence, according to the anti-traditional
view, is this the short christological (Jesus Name) formula was (the) original,
and the longer trine formula was a later development."

A History of The Christian Church:

1953 by Williston Walker former Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale
University. On page 95 we see the historical facts again declared. "With the early
disciples generally baptism was "in the name of Jesus Christ." There is no mention
of baptism in the name of the Trinity in the New Testament, except in the command
attributed to Christ in Matthew 28:19. That text is early, (but not the original)
however. It underlies the Apostles' Creed, and the practice recorded (*or
interpolated) in the Teaching, (or the Didache) and by Justin. The Christian
leaders of the third century retained the recognition of the earlier form, and, in
Rome at least, baptism in the name of Christ was deemed valid, if irregular,
certainly from the time of Bishop Stephen (254-257)."

On page 61 Professor and Church historian Walker, reviles the true origin and
purpose of Matthew 28:19. This Text is the first man-made Roman Catholic Creed
that was the prototype for the later Apocryphal Apostles' Creed. Matthew 28:19 was
invented along with the Apocryphal Apostles' Creed to counter so-called heretics
and Gnostics that baptized in the name of Jesus Christ! Marcion although somewhat
mixed up in some of his doctrine still baptized his converts the Biblical way in
the name of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19 is the first non-Biblical Roman Catholic
Creed! The spurious Catholic text of Matthew 28:19 was invented to support the
newer triune, Trinity doctrine. Therefore, Matthew 28:19 is not the "Great
Commission of Jesus Christ." Matthew 28:19 is the great Catholic hoax! Acts 2:38,
Luke 24:47, and 1 Corinthians 6:11 give us the ancient original words and teaching
of Yeshua/Jesus! Is it not also strange that Matthew 28:19 is missing from the old
manuscripts of Sinaiticus, Curetonianus and Bobiensis?

"While the power of the episcopate and the significance of churches of apostolical
(Catholic) foundation was thus greatly enhanced, the Gnostic crisis saw a
corresponding development of (man-made non-inspired spurious) creed, at least in
the West. Some form of instruction before baptism was common by the middle of the
second century. At Rome this developed, apparently, between 150 and 175, and
probably in opposition to Marcionite Gnosticism, into an explication of the
baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19 the earliest known form of the so-called
Apostles Creed."

Catholic Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:

He makes this confession as to the origin of the chief Trinity text of Matthew
28:19. "The basic form of our (Matthew 28:19 Trinitarian) profession of faith took
shape during the course of the second and third centuries in connection with the
ceremony of baptism. So far as its place of origin is concerned, the text (Matthew
28:19) came from the city of Rome." The Trinity baptism and text of Matthew 28:19
therefore did not originate from the original Church that started in Jerusalem
around AD 33. It was rather as the evidence proves a later invention of Roman
Catholicism completely fabricated. Very few know about these historical facts.

"The Demonstratio Evangelica" by Eusebius:

Eusebius was the Church historian and Bishop of Caesarea. On page 152 Eusebius
quotes the early book of Matthew that he had in his library in Caesarea. According
to this eyewitness of an unaltered Book of Matthew that could have been the
original book or the first copy of the original of Matthew. Eusebius informs us of
Jesus' actual words to his disciples in the original text of Matthew 28:19: "With
one word and voice He said to His disciples: "Go, and make disciples of all
nations in My Name, teaching them to observe all things whatsover I have commanded
you." That "Name" is Jesus.

Conybeare concludes: "It is clear, therefore, that [of all] the MSS which Eusebius
inherited from his predecessor, Pamphilus, at Caesarea in Palestine, some at least
preserved the original writing, in which there was no mention either of baptism or
of the words ' Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ' [in Matthew 28:19] " (Fred
Conybeare).

At least two texts have been found that make no mention of these things:

"Go forth into all the world and teach all the nations in my name in every place."
(Matthew 28:19 as cited in: E. Budge, Miscellaneous Coptic Texts, 1915, pp. 58
ff., 628 and 636)

"Go and teach them to carry out all the things which I have commanded you
forever." (Matthew 28:19, Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, translated by George Howard
from Shem Tob's Evan Bohan)

Let's now examine some writings of the other early "church fathers."

"The anonymous author of De Rebaptismate in the third century...dwells at length

on 'the power in the name of Jesus invoked upon a man in baptism' " (Smith's
Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. i, p 352, quoting De Rebaptismate 6.7).

In the Shepherd of Hermas (dated approximately 120 AD), it notes, "Before man
bears the name of the Son of God, he is dead, but when he has received the seal
[through baptism], he lays aside mortality and receives life." It also states,
"They are such as have heard the word and were willing to be baptized in the name
of the Lord" (emphasis mine)

The Hibbert Journal notes that Origen quotes Matt.28:19 three times---ending the
quote abruptly at "nations" each time and "that in itself suggests that his text
has been censored, and the words which followed, 'In my Name,' struck out."
(Conybeare).

"In Justin Martyr, who wrote about AD 130 and 140, there is a passage which has
been regarded as a citation or echo of Matthew 28:19 by various scholars, e.g.
Resch in his Ausser canonische Parallelstellen, who sees in it an abridgement of
the ordinary text. The passage is in Justin's dialogue with Trypho 39, p 258: 'God
hath not yet afflicted nor inflicts the judgment, as knowing of some that still
even today are being made disciples in the name of his Christ, and are abandoning
the path of error, who also do receive gifts each as they be worthy, being
illuminated by the name of this Christ.' The objection hitherto to these words
being recognized as a citation of our text was that they ignored the formula
'baptising them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.' But the
discovery of the Eusebian form of text removes this difficulty: and Justin is seen
to have had the same text ["in My name"] as early as the year 140, which Eusebius
regularly found in his manuscripts from 300 to 340." (Hibbert Journal F. Conybeare
- emphasis mine).

"Justin quotes a saying of Christ, ...as a proof of the necessity of regeneration,

but falls back upon the use of Isaiah ["Through the washing of repentance and
knowledge of God, therefore, which was instituted for the sin of the people of
God, as Isaiah says, we have believed, and we make known that the same baptism
which he preached, and which is alone able to cleanse those who repent, is the
water of life" (Justin's dialogue with Trypho)] and [so-called] Apostolic
tradition to justify the practice of baptism and the use of the triune formula.
This certainly suggests that Justin did not know the traditional [trinitarian]text
of Matthew 28:19." (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics).

Concerning Aphraates, of Nisibis, Conybeare states, "There is one other witness

whose testimony we must consider. He is Aphraates, ...who wrote between 337 and
345. He cites out text in a formal manner as follows: 'Make disciples of all
nations, and they shall believe in me.' The last words appear to be a gloss of the
Eusebian reading 'in my name.' But in any case, they preclude the textus receptus
with its injunction to baptise in the triune name. Were the writing of Aphraates
an isolated fact, we might regard it as a loose citation, but in the presence of
the Eusebian and Justinian texts this is impossible." (Conybeare).

"Now Eusebius, the great Ecclesiastical historian, died in 340 A.D., and his work
belonged, therefore, in part to the third century. Moreover, he lived in one of
the greatest Christian Libraries of that day. If the Greek MS. there contained
these words ["baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost"], it seems impossible that he could have quoted this verse eighteen
times without including them."

"Professor Lake...and Mr. Conybeare have called attention to this fact, and shown
that neither Justin Martyr (who died in 185 A.D.), nor Aphraates, of Nisibis (who
flourished in Syria, 340 A.D.), knew anything of these words."

"It looks, therefore, as though the words got into the text (perhaps from the
margin) in the Church of North Africa [possibly Alexandria, as we'll look at in a
moment]; and that the Syrian Churches did not have them in the MSS. at their
disposal." (Bullinger, Word Studies on the HOLY SPIRIT, pp.48,49)

Many reference works denote the skepticism of scholars concerning the accuracy of
this verse. The Encyclopedia of Religion And Ethics states: "It is the central
piece of evidence for the traditional view [trinitarian formula]. If it were
undisputed, this would, of course, be decisive, but its trustworthiness is
impugned on the grounds of textual criticism, literary criticism, and historical
criticism." It continues, "The facts are, in summary, that Eusebius quotes Matthew
28:19 twenty one times, either omitting everything between 'nations' and
'teaching,' or in the form 'make disciples of all nations in my name,' the latter
form being the more frequent." It also comments on the verse as such: "If it be
thought as many critics think, that no MS represents more than comparatively late
recensions of the text, it is necessary to set against the mass of manuscript
evidence the influence of baptismal practice [which was almost universally
performed with the triune formula in the post-apostolic days]. It seems easier to
believe that the traditional [trinitarian] text was brought about by the
[trinitarian baptismal] influence working on the Eusebian ["in My name"] text,
than that the latter arose out of the former in spite of it." (Encyclopedia Of
Religion And Ethics; article: Baptism). In fact, Sir William Whiston stated, "We
certainly know of a greater number of interpolations and corruptions brought into
the Scriptures by the Athanasians, and relating to the Doctrine of the Trinity,
than in any other case whatsoever. While we have not, that I know of, any such
interpolation or corruption made in any one of them [the Scriptures] by either the
Eusebians or Arians." (Second letter to the Bishop of London, 1719, p 15).
"Different from the post-apostolic and later Christian liturgical praxis, which is
marked by the trinitarian formula of Mt 28:19 (see Did. VII. i. 3; Just. Apol. LXI
3, 11, 13), the primitive Church baptized 'in' or 'into the name of Jesus,' (or
'Jesus Christ,' or 'the Lord Jesus'; see I Co 1:13,15; Ac 8:16, 19:5; Did. ix. 5).
(Dictionary of the Bible, James Hasting, 1963, p.88, article: Baptism). "...the
trinitarian formula (Matt. 28:19) was a late addition..." (Harper's Bible
Dictionary sixth edition, 1959, p.60 article: baptism). And in the eighth edition
of Harper's Bible Dictionary, it states, "While the earliest formula of baptism
seems to have been 'in the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 8:16, 10:48) the
trinitarian formula obviously became the standard at a very early time." "Critical
scholarship, on the whole, rejects the traditional attribution of the tripartite
baptismal formula to Jesus and regards it as a later origin." (The Philosophy of
the Church Fathers, Henry Austryn Wolfsan, p. 277).

"In the last half of the fourth century, the text 'in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' was used as a battle-cry by the orthodox against
the adherents of Macedonius, who were called 'pneumatomachi' or 'fighters against
the Holy Spirit', because they declined to include the Spirit in a Trinity of
persons as co-equal, consubstantial, and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.
They also stoutly denied that any text in the New Testament authorized such a co-
ordination of the Spirit with the Father and Son. Whence we infer that their texts
agreed with that of Eusebius [meaning, they lacked the triune reading of Mt
28:19]" (Hibbert Journal , F. Conybeare).

How did these spurious words get into the text and from whence did they come? Fred
Conybeare notes, "In the pages of Clement of Alexandria, a text some what similar
to Matthew 28:19 is once cited--but as from a gnostic heretic, named Theodotus,
and not as from the canonical text as follows--'And to the Apostles he gives the
command: Going around preach ye and baptise those who believe in the name of the
Father and Son and Holy Spirit' " (Conybeare quoting from Excerpta cap.76, ed
Sylb. p.287).

Alexandria was a hotbed of philosophical thought. Jewish philosopher, Philo, lived

in Alexandria and taught his false doctrines of Gnosticism there. He spoke of
"...one God, who in Himself is unity, yet appears in the likeness of a triad." He
stated that a "holy and divine vision" of the Rulership is perceived "...in such a
way, that a single vision appears to him [the one having the vision] as a triad,
and a triad as unity..." And again, he states that "...the intellect perceives
most clearly a unity although previously it learned to apprehend it under the
similitude of a Trinity." (E.R. Goodenough Light, By Light: the Mystic Gospel of
Hellenistic Judaism, p.33). Philo clearly taught the trinity doctrine, as did
fellow philosophers, Pythagoras and Plato - a doctrine which they all received
from the Mystery teachings of Babylon. These Mystery teachings were the source of
Theodotus' "Christianized" Gnostic trinitarian doctrine cited by Clement of
Alexandria.

When did the corruption of the baptismal formula arise? According to Canney's
Encyclopedia of Religion, the early church baptized in the name of Jesus until the
second century. Encyclopaedia Brittanica (11th ed., Vol 3, p365) agrees, stating
that baptism was changed from the name of Jesus to the words Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost in the 2nd century. And in Volume 2 of the Encyclopaedia of Religion and
Ethics, p.389, it notes that baptism was always performed in the name of Jesus
until the time of Justin Martyr.
It should now be clearly seen that all things are to be done in Jesus' name (Col
3:17), and that the words, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost," have been added to God's word to support the
trinitarian doctrine brought in by the philosophers and other pagan "converts" to
"Christianity". These words were not part of the original God-inspired text, much
like the added words recorded in I John 5:7 (which are not in any Greek MS. prior
to the 16th century).

"Until the middle of the nineteenth century the text of the three witnesses, 1
John 5:7-8, shared with Matthew 28:19 the onerous task of furnishing scriptural
evidence of the Trinity. [These added words of I Jn 5]...are now abandoned by all
authorities except the Pope of Rome. By consequence, the entire weight of proving
the Trinity has of late come to rest on Matthew 28:19." (Conybeare). And we have
just seen that in light of Scripture and the early "church" writings, that it too,
is unauthentic.

"In the course of my reading, I have been able to substantiate these doubts of the
authenticity of the text Matthew 28:19 by adducing patristic evidence against it
so weighty, that in future the most conservative of divines will shrink from
resting on it any dogmatic fabric at all, while the more enlightened will discard
it as completely as they have its fellow-text of the three witnesses [I Jn
5:7,8]." (Hibbert Journal F. Conybeare).

So what is the true "Great Commission" of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Matt
28:19,20 should read as such:

"Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations in My name: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, behold, I am with you all
the days until the completion of the age. Amen."