From Christ to Constantine
Christianity starts in Britain
Joseph of Arimathea to Britain, 37 AD — Caradoc’s Betrayal, Trial, Pardon 52 AD
By way of introduction to the whole subject of Christianity in Britain, the following is an overview of the major events, and personages found in the history of the period from 33 AD to 312 AD.
The persecution of Christians by the Jews and Romans following the resurrection of Christ resulted in the Sadducees forcing Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’ great uncle, and a small band of Jesus’ disciples into a small boat that drifted from the holy land to Marseilles (France). Having travelled from there to Britain many times during his trade as a tin merchant, Joseph lead the group north to the English channel and thence to Glastonbury, Wales. On many previous trips to Britain, Joseph had become friends with the Selurian King Arviragus. The king immediately granted Joseph and his followers 12 hides (160 acres each) of land tax free, upon which to live and work. And work they did.
Immediately Joseph built the first church above ground over the mud and wattle structure that Jesus built for His earlier stay at Glastonbury. This was to become the focus of Christian pilgrimage. Disciples literally poured into the area to be trained and sent out as missionaries, to Ireland, and all of Europe. And we must note here that Mary Magdalene, her sister Martha and brother Lazurus, founded churches in the south of France at this time. They were among the original group that were cast out with Joseph of Arimathea. Records show that Philip, Paul, Peter and other well known disciples visited and
refreshed in Britain. Seminaries were established to supply the steady flow of missionaries to the world.
At this same time many of the royal family were converted to the Faith, but in 42 AD an edict by Emperor Claudius made being a Christian a capitol crime. He also took up again the war against Britain started by Julius Caesar in 53 BC. Some of the events of this period are most astounding.
One would guess that there was no war, but a mutual admiration pact between the two countries. While Caradoc, being made military commander of the British, was making fools of all Rome’s best legions and generals, strange things were happening in the upper echelons of both sides. Contact between the two ruling factions had begun years earlier when then king Caswallon sent his two sons Cynvelin and Llyr (Lear) to Rome for their education. This was accomplished by none other than Emperor Augustus himself as he also taught his own nephews. This was during a time of truce between the two countries. But that was to end with Claudius’ edict.
As the war heated up and the Roman forces were taking a severe beating, there was called a short truce, during which Claudius offered Arviragus, the British King, his daughter Venus, They were married AD 45, but that didn’t accomplish the peace that Claudius hoped for, and the war was on again. But not before another liaison could be formed and consummated. The Roman Commander in Chief Aulus Plautius met and married the sister of the Pendragon Caradoc (Caractacus)! !
The Church at Rome and The Church at Home: 52-300 AD
Through betrayal, Caradoc is captured, and the war abated. Not only was the Pendragon taken captive, but his whole family to four generations. Llyr, the grandfather, Bran, the father, former Arch druid and King, Caradoc, and his children. These were all transported to Rome. Rome liked to gloat over it’s conquered enemy champions; before putting them to horrible deaths for the amusement of the populace. But this was not to be the case. Almost unique in Rome’s history, none of the family was executed. This was due to a short but moving speech made by Caradoc to the Roman Senate, in which he minded them that their
greatness would go down in history if they spared him and his family. So they did. And routinely this speech is taught in the classrooms of England today.
But the story doesn’t end there. Claudius goes on to adopt Gladys, the daughter of Caradoc, and changes her name to Claudia.
She shortly after marries Rufus Pudens, the son of Aquila Pudentius a Roman Senator. They were married at the Palatium Britannicum, the Royal residence in Rome. This also served as the gentile Christian church, where Paul ordained Caradoc’s fourth child Linus, the First Bishop of Rome in 58 AD. This gentile church was later to join with the Jewish Christian church at Rome headed by Priscilla and Aquila (Pudentius). These two are mentioned by Paul in the last chapter of Romans. Priscilla was Paul’s mother, Aquila his stepfather. And maybe you’ve noticed that through Rufus’ marriage to Claudia (Gladys), that
Paul became an in-law of the Emperor Claudius! ! !
While Claudia and Rufus are establishing the church at Rome, Caradoc’s second child Cylinus went home to take up the throne for his Dad. He will rule throughout the seven year “house arrest” of Caradoc.
Cylinus’ grandson Coel married a great granddaughter of Arviragus, and their granddaughter is Strada the Fair who married “Old King Coel”, that we’ve heard of. In 245 AD Strada and Coel’s daughter, Helen of the Cross, married a Christian Roman living in Britain named Constantius. Constantius, after putting down the tenth and worst Christian persecution begun by Emperor Diocletian, begun in 300 AD, moves up from Emperor of Britain, Spain and Gaul, to Emperor of the whole Roman Empire. Four years later Constantius died leaving his throne to his English-born son Constantine. Constantine beat the last Roman general, Maximian and received a hero’s welcome in Rome. Acting on a vision that “by this (the symbol of the Cross) will you conquer,” one of Constantine’s first acts was to Christianized the Roman Empire. He was a bit of a copy cat, however. Britain was already officially a Christian nation, by decree of Lucius in 157 AD.
The Question: Why England?
England seems to be the Womb and Wellspring of Christianity:
Jesus visits with Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea settles in England in 37 AD
The Apostles visit England
Seminaries are established for missionaries
There is an ongoing, unique persecution of England
The force that ends the persecution is England.
Backward Farther in Time:
The druids are so close to Christianity that they simply “melt” into the Faith on it’s arrival in England, As the Lost Tribes, the Celts/Scythians of the English populace trace their heritage back to Judea 721 BC.
The ruling class can trace their heritage back through Athens, Troy, Egypt, and Judea in 1830 BC.
Bible prophecy says these folks will settle in England and start over.
Jesus said “I am not sent but for the lost sheep of the house of Israel” – Matthew 15:24 KJV, the Lost Tribes.
Two Confirming Prophecies:
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
Jeremiah 51:20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.
Have you ever stopped to notice who has been responsible for putting down world-class tyranny throughout history? England, the United States and their allies; which usually consist of the northwest European nations. The Lost Tribes of the House of Israel. And these peoples have never been wholly subjugated or conquered by any other world power. The Romans gave up and built walls in Britain; which is doubly interesting. The very location where Jesus and Joseph lived and established Christianity, Glastonbury, (Avalon) was never afflicted by Rome; in spite of Roman occupation. And I guess being an island at the time made it not worth any effort. In Claudius’ time, Glastonbury lay on the very frontier, just across from Wales.
Here’s a relevant comment by R.W. Morgan in “Did the Apostle Paul Visit Britain?”
” It was not until the reign of Adrian, A.D. 120, that Britain was incorporated, and then by treaty, not conquest, with the Roman dorninions, the Britons retaining their kings, land, laws and rights, and stipulating in return to raise and support three legions to be officered by the Emperor for the defence of the common empire.”
He adds this footnote: “The accepting or circulating of Roman coin in Britain was made a capital offence by Arviragus; for such an act. according to the Roman construction, inferred the right of levying tribute, as we see in the Scriptures: ‘whose image and superscription is this? Caesar’s. Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar1s.” From the reign of Claudius to that of Hadrian no coins, therefore, of the intervening Roman emperors have been found in Britain. From Hadrian onward there have been found a nearly complete series.
Finally, let’s remember that when Joseph of Arimathea arrived in Britain, the first expeditionary force of Romans wouldn’t land on the other side of the Island for another five years. And just as Caradoc would become God’s “Protectorate” of the Roman Christian Church, Arviragus, King of England would become God’s “Protectorate” for the Cradle of Christianity, Glastonbury. It was Arviragus who gifted Joseph and his companions twelve 160 acre parcels of land, tax free forever.
What is the lesson of all this? God’s in control. We compare the Bible and history and it’s like some James Mitchner super-novel that weaves threads of history through some 3800 years of time. It’s no coincidence that England and the U.S. are the bastions of world Christianity. Or that those two countries are mainly responsible for Christianity’s worldwide dissemination. Israel, not the Jews, but the other eleven tribes, were God’s choice to tell the rest of humanity about His reality and Redemption. That one fact will point to the identity of those people. The people that proclaim God are the Israelites. The United States of America and Britain are Israelites. God’s in control.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
CHRIST in BRITAIN
Various and many historical documents indicate that, after Jerusalem, the first Christian church was established in England.
It’s founder, and founder as well of many seminaries, was Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of the Virgin Mary. He was Jesus’ great uncle. Joseph was a rich merchant with a large fleet of ships that ran the tin trade for the Roman Empire, between England and the Mediterranean.
As Jesus’ great uncle, Joseph became Jesus’ Guardian (by Law, as next of kin) when Mary’s husband Joseph died early in Jesus’ life. He took Jesus with him on his journeys to Glastonbury, England. The place we know as Avalon; the King Arthur Avalon.
This is the location of the first Christian church built above ground.
To paraphrase an old saying, “All Christian roads lead to England.”
The following information was taken from two of the many volumes on the subject of Jesus’ spending time in Britain. They are, the Traditions of Glastonbury, by E. Raymond Capt, and Did Our Lord Visit Britain, by C.C. Dobson.
ABSENT EVIDENCE
If Jesus was indeed absent from Judea from age twelve to age thirty, as some believe, we should be able to find evidence that this was the case. In Matt 17 Jesus was being asked for the Stranger’s tax. They seemed aware that Jesus lived in Capernaum.
They didn’t know if he was exempt from the tax, having been gone for a long time.
John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ cousin, and spent time with Jesus as they grew up, was very uncertain as to Jesus’ identity at his baptism. If Jesus had spent the “lost years” in Judea, he and John would certainly have seen each other at the three yearly Feasts.
Then we find two accounts of Jesus’ identity being questioned. “Is this not Joseph’s son?” “Brought up here?” (Luke 4) “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matt 14) And in John 1 we find that Nathaniel, who only lived five miles from Nazareth, doesn’t know Jesus. Capt says that Nathaniel was from Cana.
JESUS’ VISITS
Of Jesus’ visits to England, scattered evidence abounds. Here’s a short scenario from C.C. Dobson
“As a boy He was brought merely for a visit by Joseph of Arimathea on one of his voyages. Later as a young man He returned and settled at Glastonbury for the purpose of quiet study, prayer, and meditation. Here He erected for Himself a small house of mud and wattles. ” Dobson goes on to present historical evidence.
In a letter to Pope Gregory, St.Augustine states that there was a church “constructed by no human art, but divinely constructed (or by the hands of Christ Himself), for the salvation of His people.”
The historian, Gildas, says Jesus’ “Light and precepts” were “afforded…to this island during the …last year of the reign of Tiberius. Tiberius retired to Caprae in A.D. 27.
William of Malmesbury includes in his writings the contents of a letter given by King Ina to Glastonbury, 700 AD.”To the ancient church, situate in the place called Glastonbury (which Church the Great High Priest and Chiefest Minister formerly through His own ministry, and that of angels…..” This confirms Gildas’ statement that Jesus had a ministry at Glastonbury.
The historical records called the Domesday Surveys, also bear witness to Jesus’ presence in Glastonbury. These surveys state that Glastonbury contained 12 hides (160 acre parcels) of land that “have never paid tax.” This was because the King Arviragus gave these parcels to Joseph of Arimathea when he arrived in England in 37 AD.
TRADITIONS
Four of the many traditions of Jesus coming to England are discussed in Capt’s book.
Ancient carvings on the stone arch of Place Manor Church has an insignia of an anchor, a lamb and cross. The accompanying pictographs tell the story of Jesus and His uncle coming to Place for tin.
Another traditional story is that of Jesus teaching the miners of Cornwall how to smelt tin from ore.
Old Cornwall mining Ordinance maps show two interesting names. “Corpus Christi” (Body of Christ), and “Wheel of Jesus” (wheel is a Cornish name for mine). Also found in abundance in Cornwall’s mining area are “Tunic Crosses.” These crosses picture a Christian cross on one side and the image of a young lad dressed in a short tunic; obviously not a picture of a crucified or risen Christ.
This quote from Capt relates the Mendips mining area to Joseph and Jesus. “Traditions among the hill folk of Somerset relate that Joseph, after first seeking tin from the Scillies (islands) and Cornwall, came to the Mendips and was accompanied on several occassions by the boy Jesus. At the parish Church of Priddy, high on top of the Mendips, they have an old saying: ‘As sure as our Lord was at Priddy.’ And a carol sung by the children of Priddy begins: “Joseph was a tin merchant, a tin merchant, a tin merchant, and goes on to describe him arriving from the sea in a boat.”
Much has been written about the Lost Years of Jesus. Many accounts place him in India. One South American tradition sounds very much like Jesus visiting that continent. In fact, many say that the complete and speedy success of the Spanish invaders was due to this tradition; that the Visitor prophsied that He would return.
Consider. If Joseph had a fleet of ships, that gave Jesus access to worldwide travel. Do not doubt for even a second that world travel to ALL lands was possible. There is abundant evidence to prove the fact.
The traditions of Glastonbury and Cornwall form the following scenario:
Joseph of Arimathea was an uncle of the Virgin Mary, being a younger brother of her father. He gained his wealth as an importer in the tin trade, which existed between Cornwall and Phoenicia. On one of his voyages he took Our Lord with him when a boy. Our Lord either remained in Britain or returned later as a young man, and stayed in quiet retirement at Glastonbury.
Here he erected for himself a small house of mud and wattle. Later Joseph of Arimathea, fleeing from Palestine, settled in the same place and erected a mud and wattle church there.
You may find The Traditions of Glastonbury and a very nice video tape showing the locations around Cornwall at Mr. Capt’s website.
The titles used for the Britain pages may be found in the Bibliogrphy.
UNCLE JOSEPH – TRUSTEE of the GOSPEL
In Christ in Britain we established that a man named Joseph of Arimathea was the Virgin Mary’s uncle. It was he, along with St. John who buried Jesus after the crucifixion. Joseph, in the tin trade, made a lot of trips to Britain, where being a rich merchant made close contact with British Royalty; namely Kings Beli, Lud, Llyr and Arviragus, who gave Joseph and his companions some 2000 acres of land, tax free. On these trips to Britain, Joseph took Jesus, as we showed through many geographical, historical and traditional references. The details of this study are taken mainly from “The Drama of the Lost Disciples”, by George F. Jowett.
The four main topics of this page are God’s plan of Trusteeship, Joseph’s Company of disciples coming to Britain, the outflow of Missionaries from Glastonbury, and why England was chosen for the sanctuary of Christanity.
Historians William of Malmesbury, Maelgwyn of Llandaff and Polydore Vergil all place Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury. Even the four Church councils of Pisa 1409, Constance 1417, Sienna 1424 and Basle 1434, mention that “the Churches of France and Spain must yield in points of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain as the latter Church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the passion of Christ.”
GOD’S TRUSTEE PLAN
God works in the long term. He often takes centuries to set up certain events or circumstances. A neat little study is listing God’s Trustees or Protectorates throughout the last four thousand years. First came Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob. God sent him to Egypt twenty-one years before Jacob came with his family from famine ravaged Canaan. Twenty-one years!
Jeremiah was given Trusteeship of the Throne and the bloodline of David. He brought King Zedekiah’s daughter Tea Tephi to Ireland in order to join the two lines of Judah, the Pharez line in Tea and the Zarah line in Eochaidh, high king of Ireland.
This happened in 583 BC and was part of God’s preparation of the land to which the House of Israel would migrate. The Davidic bloodline would be woven through all the kings and queens of northwest Europe as a result of the marriage of those two. But five hundred years earlier, God had already placed Brutus in England. He founded New Troy (London) about 1100 BC. Talk about planning ahead!
We could also talk of Tobit, and especailly Queen Esther, whom God placed in Persia to protect the captive Jews. We might even mention English kings Arviragus and Caradoc. Arviragus would become God’s “Protectorate” for the Cradle of Christianity, Glastonbury. It was Arviragus who gifted Joseph and his companions twelve 160 acre parcels of land, tax free forever. Caradoc, Pendragon of England, would become God’s “Protectorate” of the fledgling Roman Christian Church; the church Paul wrote to. Caradoc spent seven years “house arrest” before returning to Britain. It was his children who were the core of the Roman church.
There are volumes be said about the pioneering of the Tribe of Dan, as they (the Phoenicians) established trade routes from China to south America, and reconoitered the migration route of the Lost Tribes west across Europe. Look at all the “Dn” names on the rivers. There’s the Danube, the Dneiper, the Don, and on. Why there are three Don rivers in the British Isles! Those Danite\Phoenicians tacked up their name everywhere they went. Just like they did in the Bible when they conquered a town and changed the name to Mahanedan (Judges 18:12)
Lastly, let me point to Daniel. God set up Daniel to run the Babylonian government during the time of the Exile.
God sticks to a winning plan. He set up a Trustee for Christianity as well. And please notice that these Trustees are highly educated, highly situated, and most of them were pretty good looking, too. Joseph of Arimathea has been called one of the richest men in the world. He inherited that tin trade from his fellow Israelites; the Phoenicians. They had been bringing ore from England for centuries. Joseph was well educated, a member of the ruling political body of the whole country. He was well placed as “Noblis Decurio”, a miniter of mines for the Roman empire, with direct access to Pilate himself. Joe was no slouch.
How better to protect Jesus, after Joseph the carpenter died, and insure the seeding and growth of the Gospel in England; the place to which the scattered House of Israel would continue to migrate for the next eleven centuries! ! ? The prophecies of this migration are in just about all the prophetic books of the Old Testament. But read the book of Hosea if you want to see the history of the Celts and Scythians/House of Israel/Lost Tribes. Or you can link to They Went Thattaway
JOSEPH AND COMPANY
The average person is so well inoculated with the belief that Christianity was first established by the Roman Catholic Chruch at Rome, and that Britain first received the faith through St. Augustine, AD 597, that they take it for granted. Wasn’t the Roman Catholic Church established in the fourth century, well after the death of Constantine? Between Christ’s death and the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church lay centuries. Was Christianity waiting around for Constantine to Christianize the Roman Empire and then die? Surely the missionary work begun by the Apostles continued. But where?
The history of the Roman Catholic Church itself testifies that England preceded itself in the establishment of Christianity.
The basic story of Joseph’s trip to England varies in some details from account to account. But the bare facts are that Joseph, with many disciples traveled from the holy land by boat and landed at Marseilles, in the Vienoise province of the Gauls (France). From there he went on to England established seminaries, sent out missionaries, and helped in the conversion of the Royal family. In his “Ecclesiastical Annals”, Cardinal Baronius, Curator of the Vatican library, gives this account.
“In that year the party mentioned was exposed to the sea in a vessel without sails or oars. The vessel drifted finally to Marseilles and they were saved. From Marseilles Joseph and his company passed into Britain and after preaching the Gospel there, died.” The reason for the boat having been set adrift, was that the Jews wanted to get rid of these Christians, but couldn’t get away with murder.
How many of the disciples were with Joseph of Arimathea during his short stay in Gaul, before going on to England, is hard to say. Various existing records agree in part with the Cardinal Baronius record, naming among the occupants of the castaway boat Mary Magdlene, Martha, the hand-maiden Marcella, Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, and Maximin the man whose sight Jesus restored. Other records state that Philip and James accompanied Joseph. Others report that Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were also in the boat. Here’s Baronius’ complete list of passsengers:
St. Mary, wife of Cleopas
St. Martha
St. Lazarus
St. Eutropius
St. Salome
St. Cleon
St. Saturninus
St. Mary Magdalene
Marcella, the Bethany sisters’ maid
St. Maximin
St. Martial
St. Trophimus
St. Sidonius (Restitutus)
St. Joseph of Arimathea
And true to God’s way, Philip was waiting for the travellers in France. There is a wealth of uncontroversial testimony asserting his commission in Gaul, all of which alike state that he received and consecrated Joseph, preparatory to his embarkation and appointment as the Apostle to Britain.
ENGLISH MISSIONARIES
Although there are some who would agrue for France being first, most records agree that Britain, at Glastonbury was the Root of the Christian movement. One would expect that history would show that the missionary activities would flow out of the well-spring of Christianity. And well does history record this. The Gaulic records state that for centuries the Archbishops of Treves and Rheims were all Britons supplied by the mother church at Glastonbury-Avalon. St. Cadval, a famed British missionary, going out from Glastonbury, founded the church of Tarentum, Italy, A.D. 170. Did you notice that this was four
hundred years before St. Augustine? And as we’ll see later, even this date was at least fourteen years after King Lucius Christainized all of Britain in A.D. 156! ! ! Nobody really wants to play “Who was First” with the British.
Converts literally flooded into Glastonbury for conversion, baptism, instruction and missionary assigment. Philip sent, from Gaul alone, one hundred sitxy disciples to assist Joseph and his team with the crowds. And it is surely known that helpers were sent from other places beside France.
One of the first to go out from Glastonbury was Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus. He headed straight back to Marseilles where he held the Bishopric for seven years. But that was only natural. France was a Family Thing for the Bethany household.
Mary and Martha both lived out their lives, preaching and teaching in the south of France. “The Coming of The Saints,” by Taylor is a good book on the subject.
Many famous names are recorded as having been associated with Glastonbury-Avalon.
Sidonis, Saturninus, and Cleon taught and supported other missionaries in Gaul, then returned to Britain.
Martial’s parents, Marcellus and Elizabeth were there along with St Zacchaeus. Many faithful Judeans moved to Britain.
Parmena, disciple of Joseph, was appointed the first Bishop of Avignon.
Drennalus, helped Joseph found the church at Morlaix. He was then appointed to Treguier as it’s first Bishop.
Beatus founded the church in Helvetia, after receiving his baptism and education at Avalon.
Beatus was baptised by St. Barnabas, the brother of Aristobulus, sent in advance by St. Paul to Britain. He is referred to in scripture as Joses, the Levite.
Mansuetus was consecrated the first Bishop of the Lotharingians A.D. 49, with his See at Toul. He also founded the church at Lorraine.
Historical note:
Mansuetus was a constant visitor at the Palace of the British at Rome after Claudia had married Pudens. He was a friend of Linus, the first Biship of Rome, and brother of Claudia. After the death of St. Clement, Mansuetus became the third official Bishop of the British Church at Rome. Thus we have three disciples of Avalon, instructed by St. Joseph, to become, in succession, Bishops of Rome.
Iltigius, in “De Patribus Apostolicis”, quotes St. Peter as saying; “Concerning the Bishops who have been ordained in our lifetime, we make known to you that they are these. Of Antioch, Eudoius, ordained by me, Peter. Of the Church of Rome, Linus, son of Claudia, was first ordained by Paul, and after Linus’s death, Clemens the second, ordained by me, Peter.”
WHY ENGLAND?
There are some very good superficial reasons why all this took place in England. Because of Joseph’s merchant business it was a known location, where Royal friends could help, and far from persecution. The deeper levels of meaning require broader levels of perspective.
Without going into detail again, I’ll mention that the Lost Tribes were headquartered in Britain. Ephraim and Judah, were already running the country. These folks, and their cousins that would come in later, are the very ones who God drafted to take His message to the world. We’re looking at a plan that God set up to run almost four thousand years ago.
He called Abraham to father the nation that would supply the stock and the wealth for the Zarah line to precede the Israelites into Europe, from whence they would take the Message of Christ to the rest of the world. Please remember when reading the following Bible references that the House of Israel is distinct from the House of Judah. All are Israelites (descendents of Israel/Jacob), but only the Tribe of Judah are the Jews.
Although many of the Jews were scattered, Jeremiah, in 50:17 is talking about the House of Israel. We know from the context, in which he clearly separates “the children Israel”, from the “children of Judah.” (v.4,20)
Hosea echoes the scattering in chapter 1 verse 4.
First Peter is addressed to the “scattered expatriates.” The places he names are just the locations of Israelite groups of the northeast Mediterranean.
An astounding prophecy is made by the High Priest Caiaphas in John 11:51-52. Jesus would die for the Jewish nation AND the ones scattered abroad.
Jesus says he has other sheep “not of this (geographical Israel) fold.” John 10:16.
Jesus says that he is sent, and he sends his apostles to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Why not just say Israel?
Jesus was specifying a particular group of Israelites.
Looking up the word gentiles in Strong’s reveals the definition, “a tribe; specifically a foreign(non-Jewish) one.” The Jews of Jesus’ time called the Celts and Scythians Gentiles, along with all the other folks that didn’t worship God. Yet a few understood. Like Peter and Paul.
Paul writes to the Roman Church. The church that was headed up by the Royal British family, a few of which were related to him by law. He says in, Romans 15:8-12, that Jesus, as well as minister to “the circumcision”, but also came that the Gentiles might Glorify God.
Can there be any doubt that Christianity flowed out of Britain in the first century after the crucifixion? But remember, Joseph of Arimathea was tied into the Royal British family. And as you can see on Royal Soap and Royal House of Britain, the ties went straight into the Royal Roman family as well.
It’s just an impossible piece of history. The Roman Emporer who decrees death to all Christians, becomes the wing under which the Church at Rome flourishes. He gives his daughter in marriage to the former British King, then adopts the daughter of his fiercest enemy, the British king Caradoc. And all this in the midst of the bloody war with Britain.
Glastonbury: The First Christian Church
Here’s a pop quiz:
1) Where did the Christian Church begin, after Jerusalem?
2) Locate the first Christian church built above ground.
3) What country first nationalized Christianity?
4) To whom was the book of Romans written?
5) Who founded the Christian Church of England?
Answers:
1) England
2) England
3) England
4) The Royal family of England
5) Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’ uncle.
Surprised? This is all well-documented history. History that very few of us have ever heard. Why? For the same reason that many in the USA never were taught about the massacre of the American Indian nations. People write history to suit themselves.
We’ll see this again and again as the history of the English church unfolds. We’re victims of the Greco-Roman version of history. They wanted folks to believe that they were the most important ones on the stage of history, and called everyone else barbarians. Well, it just ain’t so.
This first section is taken from Lionel Smithett Lewis’ St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury. “It is certain that Britain received the Faith in the first age from the first sowers of the Word. Of all the churches whose origin I have investigated in Britain, the church of Glastonbury is the most ancient.”: wrote sir Henry Spelman in his Concilia, and again he wrote in the same work: “We have abundant evidence that this Britain of ours received the Faith, and that from the disciple of Christ Himself, soon after the Crucifixion of Christ.”
Robert Parsons, the Jesuit, in his Three Conversions of England, admits that : “The Christian religion began in Britain within fifty years of Christ’s ascension.” His co-religionist, the very learned Alford, in his Regia Fides says: “It is perfectly certain that, before St. Paul had come to Rome, Aristobulus was absent in Britain.”
The discreet Fuller goes so far as to say: “If credit be given to these ancient authors, this Church without competition was senior to all Christian churches in the world.” “Britain,” wrote the erudite Polydore Vergil, “partly through Joseph of Arimathea, partly through Fugatus and
Damianus, was of all kingdoms the first that received the Gospel.” It is a matter of distinct interest, which we commend to modern Roman Catholics, that Cardinal Pole, twice over, when solemnly reconciling England to the Pope and the Church of Rome, at the beginning of Queen Mary’s reign, claimed that Britain was the first country to be converted to Christianity.
The Venerable Bede, writing about AD 740, says: “The Britons preserved the Faith which they had received under King Lucius uncorrupted, and continued in peace and tranquillity until the time of the Emperor Diocletian.”
It will be noticed that two distinct events are spoken of above: (1) The foundation of the Church in England by the Disciples of Christ. (2) The acceptance of Christianity by the British Nation under Good King Lucius about AD 170. Britain was the first of all nations to accept Christianity as its national religion. Few people realize that this is why the British King is called “our Most Religious King”.
Not many realize that the superior dignity and antiquity of our national Church has been decided by Church Councils. The Councils of Pisa in 1409, Constance in 1417, Sienna in 1424, and Basle in 1434. It was there contended that the Churches of France and Spain must yield in points of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain, as the latter Church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the Passion of Christ.
Gildas the Wise, the earliest Christian historian (AD 425-512) distinctly says that the Light of Christ shone here in the last year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, that is AD 37. This falls in with the claim recorded above, which gave precedence to British Bishops at the Church Councils on the ground that Britain was converted “immediately after the Passion of Jesus Christ”. It fits in also with the statements of Fuller and Polydore Virgil already recorded that the Church of Glastonbury was the Senior Church of the world; with Sir Henry Spelman’s words that Britain received the Faith soon after the
Crucifixion; with Alford’s statement that Aristobulus was in Britain before St. Paul went to Rome; with the observance by the Greek Church of the martyrdom in Britain of Our Lord’s disciple, St. Simon Zelotes, on May 10, AD 44 (a date supported by Cardinal Baronius; and with Hippolytus’ (born about AD 160) inclusion of that Apostle in his lists as “Bishop of the Britons”. All these are testimony to the year AD 37 as marking the coming of the first Mission and not to the date AD 63.
Next we go to The Drama of The Lost Disciples, by George F. Jowett for some background on the journey and makeup of the party headed up by Joseph of Arimathea.
Ancient documents carefully preserved, and others recently recovered from dusty, long-forgotten archives referring to that epochal year, record him [Joseph] as having been cast upon the seas with a few faithful companions by their remorseless enemies, in an open, oarless boat without sails, on an ebbing tide over which they drifted far from the shores of their shadowed Judean homeland, to which they would never return.
The only man who the Sadducees dared not oppose was Joseph, the uncle of Jesus, known scripturally and in secular history as Joseph of Arimathea. He was the protector of that valorous little band of disciples during the perilous years following the crucifixion, the indefatigable head of the Christian
underground in Judea, and the guardian of Christ’s only earthly treasure, – His mother.
In actuality, Joseph of Arimathea was the Apostle of Britain, the true Apostle first to set up Christ’s standard on the sea-girt little isle, five hundred and sixty-two years before St. Augustine set foot on English soil. He, with twelve other disciples of Christ, erected in England the first Christian church above ground in the world, to the glory of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Joseph of Arimathea was a man of refinement, well educated, and one who possessed many talents. He had extraordinary political and business ability and was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in the world of that time. He was the Carnegie of his day, a metal magnate controlling the tin and lead industry which then was akin in importance to that of steel today.
He is reputed to have owned one of the largest private merchant shipping fleets afloat which traversed the world’s sea lanes in the transportation of this precious metal. In St. Jerome’s translation, Joseph’s official title is given as ‘Nobilis Decurio’. This would indicate that he held a prominent position in the Roman administration as a minister of mines.
According to the Talmud, Joseph was the younger brother of the father of the Virgin Mary. He was her uncle, and therefore a great uncle to Jesus. Chiefly from the secular reports we learn that Joseph was a married man and his son, Josephes, left a mark of distinction in British history. It is quite obvious that the husband of Mary died while Jesus was young. Under Jewish law such a circumstance automatically appointed the next male kin of the husband, in this case Joseph, legal guardian of the family. We know that Joseph never forsook his nephew. He stood by Him as a bold, fearless defender at the notorious trial, and defied the Sanhedrin by going to Pilate and boldly claiming the body when all others feared to do so. It is commonly taught that Jesus was poor and of obscure relatives. His relationship with the affluent Joseph of Arimathea proves otherwise.
In His own right He was a property owner but long before He took up His mission He forsook all material wealth.
And now we turn to Rev. C.C. Dobson’s booklet, Did Our Lord Visit Britain? This will give us some historical background of both the tin trade in England and Jesus’ relationship with Joseph. I am aware that this section is somewhat of a hybrid, and crosses over the lines of a couple of these Britain pages.
That such a trade (tin) existed is too well attested to need proof. Herodotus as early as 445 BC speaks of the British Isles as the Tin Islands or Cassiterides. Pytheas (352-323 BC) mentions the tin trade, as does also Polybius (circa 160). Diodorus Siculus gives a detailed description of the trade. He tells us that the tin was mined, beaten into squares, and carried to an island called Ictis, joined to the mainland at low tide, which is generally held to be Mount St. Michael in Cornwall, although some have identified it with Falmouth. Thence it was shipped to Morlais, and transported across France on pack
horses to Marseilles. From Marseilles it was again shipped to Phoenicia. Innumerable ancient workings in Cornwall still attest the trade, and tin is still mined there today. Lord Avebury and Sir John Evans held the opinion that the trade existed as early as 1500 BC, and Sir Edward Creasy in his History of England writes: “The British mines mainly suppled the glorious adornment of Solomon’s Temple”.
Joseph of Arimathea was an uncle of the Virgin Mary, being the younger brother of her father. He gained his wealth as an importer in the tin trade, which existed between Cornwall and Phoenicia. On one of his voyages he took Our Lord with him when a boy. Our Lord either remained in Britain or returned later as a young man, and stayed in quiet retirement at Glastonbury.
Here he erected for himself a small house of mud and wattle. Later Joseph of Arimathea, fleeing from Palestine, settles in the same place and erected a mud and wattle church there.
Tradition holds that Joseph’s mud and wattle church was replaced with Lady Chapel. The only writing to survive the abbey’s destruction is located in the wall of Lady Chapel. It seems to give silent testimony to the presence at Glastonbury of the mother of our Lord.
Several questions come to mind concerning the time when Jesus was found by his mother at the Temple, engaging in discourse with the learned men there.
How came Joseph and Mary to start off home without assuring themselves that He was with their party?
How came He to allow them to start without informing them?
Where was Jesus staying during the visit?
If He was with them until the day of departure, where was He staying during the subsequent three days that intervened before they found Him?
Who was giving Him food and shelter?
Before tracing out the details of the story based on these suggestions we should first consider the locality of Arimathea.
Leading authorities identify this place with Ramah, or Ramallah as it is called today. It was the birthplace of the prophet Samuel, and is called in the Septuagint, Arimathaim. Josephus calls it Amartha. The identity seems clear. Now Ramah lay about eight miles due North of Jerusalem on the Jerusalem-Nazareth road. It was the first stopping place of caravans travelling North from Jerusalem. It would be the stopping place of the Holy family, both to and from the city.
Joseph is always spoken of as belonging to Arimathea, which implies that it was his existing place of residence. He was a wealthy man, and his duties as a councillor would bring him frequently to Jerusalem, where he had also a town residence. He would certainly be in Jerusalem at the time of the feast. [of Passover] The whole story now becomes clear. As the uncle of the Virgin Mary he probably knew all about the wondrous story of Our Lord’s birth. Year by rear, when Joseph and Mary attended the feast, he would enquire about the mysterious child. He would eagerly look forward to His first visit.
The Holy family would arrive at Ramah on their journey down. They would spend the last night of the journey there at their uncle’s house. Joseph would either have already preceded them to the city for the feast, or be expecting them there, and conduct them for the remaining eight miles of their journey. He would welcome Our Lord and take charge of Him, and take Him to Zacharias’ residence to join John.
The full period of the feast lasted seven days, but many only stayed for the three or four main days and Joseph and Mary apparently set out on the fifth day for their return journey. They probably planned to stay a couple of nights at their uncle’s house at Arimathea. This would give time for all members of their party to gather, some of whom perhaps desired to remain more than four days at the feast. Jesus, in the safe keeping of Joseph, their uncle, would they thought, in due course join them here before resuming their journey. Either Joseph of Arimathea or his servants would bring Him along. Thus they
planned. Here they arrived towards evening, and quietly spent the night in Joseph’s house. The next day is passed resting, and in expectation the Jesus would arrive, but there is no sign of Him. They are now anxious, and visit the homes of acquaintances in the village in search of Him. They enquire among recent comers of their party in vain. Another night is passed, and then they retrace their steps. It is now the last day of the feast, and Jesus, is attending one of the lectures which the Rabbis were wont to give during the days of the feast.
Such would appear to be the simple explanation of the whole story, if indeed Joseph of Arimathea was a relative of the Virgin Mary, as seems so probable. Although the fact may be inferred, as mentioned above, also from Joseph’s action in burying Our Lord, the Eastern tradition actually exists, and the present writer would by glad if any reader can supply him with information as to its source.
Any treatment of Glastonbury would not be complete without the mention of the legendary King Arthur. Tradition has it that Arthur was a relative of Joseph of Arimathea, and that the Knights of Arthur’s Round Table were also all Joseph’s relatives.
I haven’t seen verification for the Knights, but there is plenty of evidence linking Arthur to Glastonbury, and Joseph.
There is little doubt among those who have looked at the evidence, that England was the Cradle of Christianity, having been established by Jesus’ uncle Joseph of Arimathea, along with many of the Lord’s disciples, shortly after the Resurrection.
British Royalty
Founders of the Roman Church
Royal Soap. You couldn’t make it up. If you took the story of the establishment of the Christian church at Rome to MGM, they’d throw it out as incredible. In the midst of a bloody war, the two ruling families intermarry. One minute, it’s the whole Roman Empire against Christianity, the next minute, the Emporer adopts his fiercest enemy’s daughter. Only God could pull strings that big. It’s a real life Soap Opera, better than Dynasty or Dallas. There’ll be a short quiz later, so be thinking about what God was accomplishing with all of the amazing events that follow. Even though our Royal Soap Opera is acted out by real people, there was still a Director. This subject is so much fun! You’ll see.
The information on this page was taken mainly from R.W. Morgan’s “Did the Apostle Paul Visit Britain?”, and George F. Jowett’s, “Drama of the Lost Disciples.” I’ll be freely switching from one book to the other, interweaving paragraphs as we look at a roughly one hundred year period of time. Starting with the Roman war against England in 53 BC, headed by Julius Caesar, to 62 AD and the death of Paul outside Rome.
In all the solid essentials of humanity, British ancestry will compare to great advantage with the best eras of Greece or Rome. In war the Briton, after the Julian invasions, walked the streets of Rome the only freeman in Europe, pointed at as the exception to the world
‘Invictus Romano Marte Britannus’
For ninety-seven years no Roman again ventured to set foot on the island, and when the eagle of Romulus once more expanded its pinions to the stormy winds of ocean it was when no other enemy, unconquered, confronted its gaze from the Euphrates to Gibraltar, and the forces of the whole empire were ready to follow its leading against the solitary free nationality of the West.
Augustus sent ambassadors to Britain demanding the restoration of the three Reguli of the Coritani, or Coraniaid, Dumno, Belaunus, and Jernian, to their estates, confiscated for treason. Tenuantius, the son of Caswallon, a mild, pacific monarch, had sent his two sons, Cynvelin and Llyr (Lear), to be educated at Rome, where they were brought up with his nephews in his palace by Augustus himself, who made a rule, as Suetonius informs us, of teaching the younger branches of his family in person. Cynvelin subsequently served in the German campaigns under Germanicus. He had now succeeded his father, and received the Roman ambassadors with courtesy, but peremptorily rejected the interference of a foreign potentate in the affairs of the island. Augustus moved half the disposable forces of the empire to the Gallic harbors on the Channel, but he never entertained serious intentions of an invasion.
A conference with the imperial friend and tutor of his youth was solicited. The result was the triumph of British diplomacy, a much rarer success than that of British arms. Not only did the emperor abandon his demands, but the heavy duties previously levied on British goods were reduced to a very light tariff (Strabo lib. iv.C. 5). Friendly relations were restored, British nobles again took up their residence at Rome, and were to be seen dedicating their offerings at the shrines of the Capitol.
The infancy, childhood. and youth of the future emperor, Claudius, were spent under the strictest state of surveillance. He was regarded as but one remove from an idiot. “He is as imbecile as my son Claudius” was an ordinary phrase in his mother Livia’s mouth when she wished to imply an extraordinary degree of stupidity. His appearance did not belie his character.
Tall and full in person, and possessed, when seated, of the external show of dignity, in motion his knees shook, his head perpetually trembled, his tongue stuttered, his laughter was outrageously violent, and his anger marked by profuse foaming at the mouth. Cruel and bloodthirsty by nature, as indeed every Roman was, he insisted on being present whenever any criminal was put to the torture. He never failed to give the sign of “no quarter” against disabled gladiators, and delighted with a horrible voracity to gloat over the dying expression of their faces. He sat from morning to night, neglecting the ordinary
hours of refreshment, at the bestiaria or combats of wild beasts, and yet personally was the rankest and most contemptible of cowards.
Whatever the deficiencies of the Emperor himself might he, at no time were the great offices of state fiIled by men of higher administrative capacity, or better able to wield the vast military resources of the empire. Aulus Plautius a general who emulated the Scipios in the rigor of his discipline and the rapidity of his marches, was appointed to the command of the army of invasion.-
Early in the war, a battle was fought in which King Guiderius fell. He was succeeded on the throne by his brother Arviragus, but the national emergency requiring the establishment of the pendragonate, or a military dictatorship, Caradoc was unanimously elected to that high office, Arviragus giving his vote first in his favour and consenting to act under him.
It tells well for the abilities of Caradoc that in this first battle as pendragon he was able to hold his ground for two days of incessant fighting against three such generals as Plautius, Vespasian, and Geta. Undismayed, he collected his forces again, and Plautius, on attempting to follow him, was so roughly handled that messages were sent to Rome for instructions and reinforcements. Claudius himself immediately quitted Rome, and passing through Gaul landed at Richborough, with the second and fourteenth legions, their auxiliaries, and a cohors of elephants brought over for the express purpose of neutralizing the British chariot charges.
Tacitus, the Roman historian, writing of the Claudian campaign that lasted for nine years, except for one brief six months’ pause, dismally wrote that, although Rome hurled at the British the greatest army in her history, it failed prevail against the military genius of Caractacus and the reckless fierceness of the British warrior. May drawn battle were fought and the fames Legions of Rome frequently suffered defeat with terrible slaughter. On occasions when the British suffered severe reverses Tacitus said, “She fierce ardor of the British increased.”
After two years of ceaseless warfare Claudius, recognizing the futility of the struggle and the terrible drainage on his finest Legions, took advantage of a reverse against Caractacus, at Brando Camp, AD 45, to seek peace through an armistice. A six-month truce was declared in which Caractacus and Arviragus were invited to Rome do discuss the possibilities for peace.
The facts that followed prove that Claudius went to great lengths to come to satisfactory terms with the obstinate British leaders.
Hoping to clinch the peace the Emperor Claudius offered to Arviragus, in marriage, his daughter, Venus Julia. And, amazing as it appears, they were married in Rome during the truce period, AD 45.
Here we have the strange instance of a Christian British king becoming the son-in-law of the pagan Roman Emperor Claudius, who had sworn to exterminate Christianity and Britain.
Surely one is justified in asking would the Emperor of a nation, then the most powerful in the world, high in culture and intellectual pursuits, have sacrificed his natural daughter in marriage to by the wife of a “crude barbarian,” just for the sake of peace? Impossible.
During the six months’ truce while Caractacus and Arviragus were at Rome discussing peace terms and the latter was getting married, Aulus Plautius, the Roman Commander, remained in Britain maintaining the truce on behalf of Rome. During this interval another strange alliance took place in Britain. Gladys (Celtic for Princess), the sister of the British war lord Caractacus, was united in marriage to the Roman Commander-in-Chief, Aulus Plautius! Again we witness the amazing spectacle of a member of the Silurian royal family, a Christian, married to a Roman pagan.
Gladys had been personally converted by Joseph of Arimathea, together with her niece, Eurgain, Guiderius, Arviragus and other members of the British aristocracy. Like her father, the ex-King and present Arch Druid, she was devoutly religious, completing her religious instruction at Avalon and in association with the Bethany women. Considering all this, one is immediately intrigued by this unusual situation. It is made more exciting as we realize that her brother and husband were wartime opponents.
The marriage of Gladys and Plautius is brought into the Roman limelight by Tacitus in his Annals, wherein he relates with humor the peculiar circumstances and results of a Roman trial in which Gladys, the wife of Plautius, is accused of being Christian. On her marriage Gladys took the name of Pomponia, according to Roman custom, which was the name of the Plautium clan. Later the name Graecina was added, so that she is thereafter known as Pomponia Graecina Plautius. The added name was a distinctive academic honor conferred upon her in recognition of her extraordinary scholarship in Greek.
Another amazing puzzle-piece in this unusual royal scenario is Pomponia’s trial. Tacitus informs us: “Pomponia Graecina, a woman of illustrious birth, and the wife of Plautius, who, on his return from Britain, entered the city with the pomp of an ovation, was accused of embracing the rites of a foreign superstition. The matter was referred to the jurisdiction of her husband. Plautius, in conformity to ancient usage, called together a number of her relations, and in her presence, sat in judgment on the conduct of his wife. He pronounced her innocent.” And got away with it!
Towards the end of the campaign in the autumn of AD 52, the battle which terminated the career of Caradoc in the field was fought close to the confines of the Teme and the CIune in Shropshire. The Roman victory was complete. The wife of Caradoc and his daughter Gladys fell into the hands of the conquerors, and were conveyed to the castra at Urechean (Uriconiun, Wrekin).
Caradoc himself took refuge at her repeated solicitations, at Caer Evroc (York), with Aregwedd, or Aricia, the Cartismandua of Tacitus, queen of the Brigantes, and grand-niece of the infamous traitor in the Julian war, Mandubratius, or Avarwy. Here by her orders, with hereditary treachery, he was seized while asleep in her palace, loaded with fetters, and delivered to Ostorius Scapula.
We learn from the contemporary Roman reporters that Caractacus was the first captive kingly enemy not cast into the terrible Tarpeian dungeons. Why? The Roman conquerors were never noted for their clemency. They delighted in humiliating their adversaries, satiating their bestial nature in the most feindish forms of torture. The greater the renown of their unfortunate victim the less chance he had of escaping the horrors and incarceration of the Tarpeian. Neither Caradoc nor any member of the British royal family was subject in the least to any physical indignities.
On the day of Caradoc’s trial Tacitus tells us that his daughter Gladys refused to be separated from her father, though it was against the Roman law for a woman to enter the Senate. Voluntarily she walked by the side of Caractacus, up the marble steps into the Senate, as brave and as composed as her father.
The report continues, the Pendragon stood before the Emperor full chest, a noble figure, fearless, calmly defiant, unconquered in spirit. The Senate was crowded to capacity and here again we note another breach of Roman law in the presence of another woman. History tells us that the great Queen Agrippira sat on her throne, on the far corner of the Dais, a fascinated witness to the most famous trial in Roman history.
This man who should have been the most hated as the leader of the Christian army drew admiration from all sides as he stood poised before his sworn enemy, the Emperor Claudius.
Such was the fame of the gallant Christian Briton Caractacus.
As the trial proceeded he spoke in a clear voice, trenchant with the passion of righteous vigor, as he vindicated the rights of a free man. He replied to his prosecutors with words that have lived down through the ages. Probably it is the only episode in this great Christian warrior’s life that is remembered by posterity. Free men the world over may read his epic address with blood-warming pride as the pen of Tacitus worded it.
In the words of Tacitus, Caractacus addressed the Senate:
‘Had my government in Britain been directed solely with a view to the preservation of my hereditary domains, or the aggrandizement of my own family, I might long since have entered this city an ally, not a prisoner: nor would you have I disdained for a friend a king descended from illustrious ancestors, and the dictator of many nations. My present condition, stript of its former majesty, is as adverse to myself as it is a cause of triumph to you. What then? I was lord of men, horses, arms, wealth; what wonder if at your dictation I refused to resign them? Does it follow, that because the Romans aspire to universal domination, every nation is to accept the vassalage they would impose? I am now in your power – betrayed, not conquered. Had I, like others, yielded without resistance, where would have been the name of Caradoc? Where your glory?
Oblivion would have buried both in the same tomb. Bid me live. I shall survive for ever in history one example at least of Roman clemency.’
The preservation of Caradoc forms a solitary exception in the long catalogue of victims to this dastardly and nefarious policy; nor can it be accounted for, considering the inflexibility of Roman military usage, in any other way than by an immediate and supernatural intervention of Providence.
The life of Caradoc was spared, on condition of his never bearing arms against Rome again. A residence of seven years in free custody at Rome was imposed upon him. His father Bran was accepted as one of the hostages, and he was allowed the full enjoyment of the revenues of the royal Silurian domains, forwarded to him by his subjects and council.
Twenty years after the Crucifixion, the trial and pardon of the British royal captives took place, in the year AD 52 Peter first went to Rome twelve years after the death of Jesus, in the year AD 44, eight years after Joseph and his Bethany companions arrived in Britain and two years after the Claudian campaign of persecution began against Christian Britain. Paul did not arrive at Rome until AD 56. This is the date given by St. Jerome, and considered the most authentic. This does not mean that there were not Christians in Rome before the two Apostles arrived, or even before the British Silurians came as
captives. There were a number of them present and they are scripturally referred to as ‘the Church’. This must not be taken too literally. It did not refer to a material institution; it was a spiritual body in Christ. The number of Christians then at Rome were unorganized, treading in fear. They met secretly in small groups at the homes of various converts to worship, though most of them went underground. The Tiberian and Claudian ban that inflicted death on all who professed the faith was
still in effect.
Following the pardon of Caractacus, a close relationship developed between the two former enemies and their households evolving into a startling climax. Claudius greatly admired the character and extraordinary beauty of Gladys, the daughter of Caractacus. It grew into a deep paternal affection with the result that Emperor Claudius adopted Gladys as his own daughter, a girl who was an exceptionally devout Christian!
The Emperor was well aware of the strong Christian convictions of Gladys, and what strikes one forcibly is the fact that the record states that the terms of her adoption did not require her to recant from her faith.
Gladys was not to remain long under the royal roof. The year after her adoption was to see a beautiful romance destined to culminate later in heartbreaking tragedy. In her teens, Claudia was betrothed and married. In the year AD 53, she became the wife of Rufus Pudens Pudentius, an epochal event history could well make as momentous.
Pudens, as he is most commonly referred to, was a Roman Senator and former personal aide-de-camp to Aulus Plautius. Pudens went to Britain with the Commander-in-Chief at the commencement of the Claudian campaign AD 42.
What could be a stranger circumstance than that of the British Pendragon Caractacus permitting his favorite daughter to become adopted by the remorseless enemy who had brought about his defeat at Clune and see his sister and daughter married to Plautius and Pudens, the leaders he had opposed in battle for nine long years?
Claudia was seventeen years of age when she married Rufus Pudens. The nuptials did not take place at the Imperial Palace of her adopted father, as one might expect, but at the palace of her natural father, the Plautium Britannicum, a Christian household. It was a Christian marriage performed by the Christian Pastor, Hermas, which proves that Pudens was already a Christian convert. It is interesting to note that they continued to live at the Plautium Britannicum; interesting because Pudens was an extremely wealthy man, owning vast estates in Umbria, but he chose to live at the Place of the British, where their four illustrious children were born.
The first Christian Church at Rome, known first as the “Titulus,” is now called St. Prudentiana. Here the nuptials of Claudia and Rufus Pudens Prudentinus were celebrated AD 53. Four children were the issue of this marriage– St Timotheus, St. Novatus, St. Prudentiana, St. Praxedes. Of the sons of Caradoc, Cyllinus and Cynon returned to Britian, the former succeeding on his death to the Silurian throne. The second, Lleyn, or Linus, remained with his father, and was subsequently, consecrated by St. Paul first bishop of the Roman Church.
We now see residing at the Plautium Britannicum the High Priest Bran, King Caractacus and the Queen, his wife; his daughter, the Princess Eurgain and her husband, Salog, lord of Salisbury; her brother, the immortal Prince Linus, now a Christian priest; The Emperor’s adopted daughter, Claudius, and her husband the Senator Pudens; his mother, Priscilla; Pastor Hermas, kinsman of Pudens. Cyllinus and Cynon, the eldest and youngest sons of Caractacus had already returned to Britain. There were other members of the Pudens’ Christian household dedicated to the faith but those mentioned are the important figures to
remember. The talented sister of Caractacus, the ex-Princess Pomponia Graecina, and her influential husband Aulus Plautius,
resided nearby. All were spiritually confirmed Christians except Caractacus and Bran, who were soon to experience the laying
on of hands by St. Paul, climaxing their confirmation in the faith in the same manner as is performed by the Priesthood today
in the Church of the Anglican Communion.
The palace, indeed, of the British King formed a focus and rendezvous, and perhaps the safest they could frequent, for the
poets and authors of Rome. Nor did it cease to be so on return to his native country; it continued to be the residence of
Pudens and Claudia and their children. Some conception may be formed of its size and magnificence from the number of servants
who constituted its ordinary establishment. These, as we learn from the Roman Martyrology, were two hundred males and the
same number of females, all born on the hereditary estates of Pudens, in Umbria.
St. Jerome places Paul’s arrival in Rome at AD 56. He writes, “St. Paul went to Rome in the second year of Nero.” Nero
succeeded Claudius as Emperor. AD 56 being the preferred date, it allows eight years of contact with Rome in which St. Paul
did not reside in his personal home. This fact supports the statements of the contemporary writers who state that St. Paul
had his abode with the Pudens. There is a special and particular reason as to why he would prefer to reside with the Pudens
at the British Palace, apart from its Christian environment.
Startling as if may be to the reader, facts will prove that living with the Pudens family was the mother of St. Paul and that
Claudia Britannica was the sister-in-law of the Apostle to the Gentiles.
St. Paul, writing in his Epistles to those of Rome prior to his coming, says, ‘Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his
mother and mine.’
Some have sought to suggest that the woman was St. Paul’s spiritual mother. This is entirely out ruled by the facts. A
spiritual mother, or father, was one who had converted another. As we all know, Christ had converted Paul on the road to
Damascus, and Paul had not been to Rome since before the Judean persecution of Christ’s followers, AD 33.
Were Rufus and Paul half-brothers–the latter, the elder, by a Hebrew, the former, the younger, by a second marriage with a
Gentile, a proselyte Roman? This mother was a Christian living with Rufus, and is termed also his mother by St. Paul. When at
Rome, Paul spent most of his time in the palace of Rufus, though he had also his own hired house. The children of Claudia and
Pudens, as we learn from the Roman Martyrologies, were brought up on Paul’s knees, and we find in the last scene of his life
preceding his martyrdom, the only salutations sent by him to Timothy to be those of Eubulus, Claudia, Linus, and Pudens–the
same family evidently ministering and attending to him to the last.
Pudens was converted before St. Paul came to Rome, and by some other Christian than Paul. Hermas Pastor appears at this very
early date to have been the pastor at the Titulus, which constituted the place of meeting for the Gentile Church, or church
of the uncircumcision. The Hebrew Church, or Church of the circumcision, met at the House of Aquila and Priscilla.
Thus twenty-five years had elapsed before his arrival at Rome, an Apostle of Christ. By deduction, Pudens must have been in
his late twenties when he married the seveteen-year-old British Princess, and at the time of St. Paul’s salutation he must
have been near his mid-thirties, which shows a long separation between ‘his mother and mine’.
From all this we realize that St. Paul and Rufus Pudens Pudentius were half-brothers, each having the same mother. In turn,
this made the British Princess Gladys, the Emperor Claudius’ adopted daughter, now known as Claudia Britannica Rufina Pudens
Pudentius, sister-in-law to the Apostle of the Gentiles! And lastly, through Gladys’ adoption, St. Paul is the
half-brother-son-in-law (if there can be such a thing) to the Emperor Claudius!! Now you see why I call this page “Royal
Soap.”
Christianity was first introduced into Britain by Joseph of Arimathaea, AD 36-39; followed by Simon Zelotes, the apostle;
then by Aristobulus, the first bishop of the Britons; then by St. Paul. Its first converts were members of the royal family
of Siluria–that is, Gladys, the sister of Caradoc, Gladys (Claudia) and Eurgen his daughters, Linus his son, converted in
Britain before they were carried into captivity to Rome; then Caradoc, Bran, and the rest of the family, converted at Rome.
The two cradles of Christianity in Britain were Ynys Wydrin, ‘the Crystal Isle,’ translated by the Saxons Glastonbury, in
Somersetshire, where Joseph settled and taught, and Siluria, where the earliest churches and schools, next to Ynys Wydrin,
were founded be the Silurian dynasty. Ynys Wydrin was also commonly known as Ynys Avalon, and in Latin “Domus Dei,” “Secretum
Dei.”
There! Didn’t I tell you that would be fun? That’s a better story than any Payton Place. But, remember the quiz I mentioned
at the beginning? Did you get an answer? I asked you to be thinking about what God was accomplishing with all of these
amazing events. Here’s the answer: God’s Protectorate.
God always has a backup plan. You might even say God is a Backup Plan. All these unusual events accomplished one very
important over-riding goal. The advancement, preservation of Christianity; which translates into bringing God’s message of
His coming Kingdom to the world . The Christians are the ones who are doing that. And that should be no surprise. The
Christian nations of the world are the Israelites, the Lost Tribes. Those folks have always worked for God, getting out His
Word.
The whole purpose of starting up a world population group with Abraham was to send the message around the world. You need a
lot of kids to do a job as big as that.
Well, when it comes to His word, God makes sure that all the bases are covered. So He sets up Protectorates ahead of time, to
make sure His plan comes out the other side of any adversity. He sent Joseph to Egypt to get a place ready for the family
when they fled the famine. He set up Esther so she would have the King’s ear and be able to save her people from old Haman’s
Holocaust. He sent Daniel to rule Babylon to make it easier for the captive Jews. On a wider scale, He sent the tribe of Dan,
as the Phoenecians, all across Europe to scout out the route to be taken when the Lost Tribes made their migrations to
northwest Europe and the British Isles, centuries later. Why not set up a Protection Zone at Rome?
Maybe you noticed that those were pretty rough times in Rome. Life was held very cheaply in the heart of Satan’s dominion. If
Christianity was to survive, it would only be accomplished by efforts of kingly proportions.
It’s interesting that instead of grease to lubricate these historical events, God used soap.
Royal Soap.
PAUL in BRITAIN
What country was never brought to total submission by the great Roman Empire? A country like that is unique in history. There
must be something very special about such a country. This page, like Royal Soap: Britains-Founders of the Roman Church deals
with the events surrounding the establishment of Christianity and the churches of England and Rome. We’ll also be looking at
29th Chapter of Acts
Isn’t it interesting that the Romans never meddled in their subjects’ religious practices. “Whatever your religion, fine.
Just don’t rock the Boat.” Even the feisty Jews were tolerated for a long time. Only two religions did the might of Rome try
to eradicate. Christianity, and it’s foster-mother Druidism. Nearly 80 years of war couldn’t do it. It’s an old fight between
twin brothers, Jacob (England) and Esau (Rome).
REVIEW:
Before we get into Paul going to Britain, let’s do a short review of some of the other pages in this section on Britain.
The evidence establishes the fact that much time was spent by Jesus in England, at a place called Glastonbury, England . His
visits and stays were overseen by his guardian and great uncle Joseph of Arimathea.
Joseph of Arimathea ran the tin trade between England and the whole Mediterranean area. He had a great fleet of ships, and
was a Minister of Mines for the Roman Empire. He was also one of the richest men in the world. After the Resurrection, he and
twelve others went to England. With the help of some of his companions, Joseph established seminaries and sent out hundreds
of missionaries to Europe, Ireland and elsewhere.
Roman Emperor Claudius took up the war against England that Julius Caesar began in 53 B.C.
British and Roman intermarriages: Arviragus, Silurian (Wales) King is given Venus, Emperor Claudius’ daughter during peace
negotiations at Rome in a six month hiatus of hostilities.
Gladys Pomponia Graecina, the sister of Caradoc, Pendragon and Military Dictator of England, marries Aulus Plautius, supreme
commander of the Roman forces in England.
Gladys-Claudia, the daughter of Caradoc, is not only adopted by Emperor Claudius after her father’s defeat, but marries Rufus
Pudens, the aide-de-camp of the Roman Commander, Aulus Plautius.
Caradoc’s family, four generations were taken captive to Rome, when he was betrayed by his cousin Aricia Queen of the
Brigantes.
Caradoc delivers his famous speech to the Roman Senate, and unlike any other captive in Rome’s history, is granted life and a
mere seven year “house arrest” in Rome, after which he is allowed to return to England with the promise never to fight
against Rome again.
Caradoc and his family establish residence at the already existing Palatium Britanicum (Palace of the British) nearby to the
Emperor Claudius’ home.
A couple of Caradoc’s children and the four sainted children of Claudia and Pudens establish the Christian sanctuary and
place of worship at the Palatium Britanicum. These are all eventually martyred.
Paul spent his time in Rome at the home of his mother Priscilla or the Palatium Britanicum. He taught the children of Claudia
and Pudens, and ordained Caradoc’s son Linus first Bishop of Rome.
To help get a wider perspective on these family doings, check out the genealogy chart which links the Royal family with
Jesus’ family.
Here is a passage that establishes Paul’s preaching on his first visit to Rome.
Acts 28:
17-And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together,
he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I
delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
18-Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
19- But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar: not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
20-For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I
am bound with this chain.
21- And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came
shewed or spake any harm of thee.
22-But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect we know that every where it is spoken
against.
23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the
kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening.
These last two verses of Acts have been in question since they appeared in the Bible.
Acts 28:
30-And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
31-Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus, with all confidence, no man
forbidding him.
It is well argued that Paul, the Firebrand of Christianity, would never have just sat around the house waiting for folks to
come and hear him. This is a man that walked 2000 miles preaching and establishing churches. This is a man that was “driven”
by the Holy Spirit. It is totally of of character for Paul to have done what these last two verses say he did.
Clemens Romanus, who is mentioned by St. Paul, states in his epistle, the genuineness of which has never been questioned,
that Linus was the brother of Claudia. “Sanctissimus Linus, frater Claudiae.” Clemens succeeded Cletus within twelve years of
the death of Linus, as third bishop of Rome. He had also been associated with the British missionary Mansuetus, in
evangelizing Illyria. His sources of information are, therefore, unquestionable. St. Paul lived, according to all evidence,
whenever he was at Rome, whether in custody at large (libera custodid) or free, in the bosom of the Claudian family. There is
no dispute that Claudia herself was purely British, and whether Linus was her son or brother, the British character of the
family, and the close, the domestic ties of affection between such family and St. Paul. are equally manifest.
It may be suggested that Linus, the first bishop of Rome, was, however, some other than the brother of Claudia, mentioned by
St. Paul. Not so; for if the above authorities permitted a doubt to remain, the evidence of Irenaeus as to their identity is
conclusive. “The apostles,” writes Irenaeus, A.D. 180, “having founded and built up the Church at Rome, committed the
ministry of its supervision to Linus. This is the Linus mentioned by Paul in his Epistle to Timothy.
Everything invited Paul to Britain, to follow the bishop he had already commissioned for the work of the Gospel therein, and
to be the guest of the royal parent of Claudia. Considering the combination of circumstances which now favoured the execution
of his long-cherished design of visiting the West of Europe, we should regard it much more extraordinary if the Apostle had
not come to Britain than we do his coming here. When to this circumstantial evidence we add the written testimonies we have
adduced of Eusebius, Theodoret, Clemens, and others, that he positively did preach in Britain, we see fair reason for
concurring in Bishop Burgess’s conclusion, though the bishop had but a part of the evidence we have collected before him,
“That we possess as substantial evidence, as any historical fact can require, of St. Paul’s journey to Britain.”
There are six years of St. Paul’s life to be accounted for, between his liberation from his first imprisonment and his
martyrdom at Aquae Salviae in the Ostian Road, near Rome. Part certainly, the greater part perhaps, of this period, was spent
in Britain, in Siluria or Cambria, beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire; and hence the silence of the Greek and Latin
writers upon it.
Paul’s greetings in both the books of Timothy and Romans indicate his relatives.
II Tim 4:
19-Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
21-Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
Here again in Romans are listed members of Paul’s family.
Romans 16:
3.Greet Priscilla and Aquila” my helpers in Christ Jesus:
4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the
Gentiles.
5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well beloved Epaenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto
Christ.
We must keep in mind Paul’s mind set when it came to preaching. Paul went with the Spirit. He showed no hesitation to act. He
didn’t persist in his idea of going to Asia. He didn’t question his vision of the Macedonian asking for help. He set out
immediately.
Acts 16:
6-Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in
Asia,
7-After they were come to Mysla, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
8- And they passing by Mysla!a came down to Troas.
9-And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
Macedonia, and help us.
10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endevoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had
called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia.
The following passage shows more than an idea of going to Spain. It looks to me as long time plan to visit that area. This
must have been a result of the Spirit’s direction.
Romans 15:
22-For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
23-But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;
24-Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my
way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.
28- When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit I will come by you into Spain.
Paul was definitely planning a trip to Spain. He was not going to sit around Rome for two years.
The general conclusion arrived at by the writers who have previously investigated this final part of our question may be
given in the words of Capellus: “I scarcely know of one author, from the times of the Fathers downwards, who does not
maintain that St. Paul, after his liberation, preached in every country in Western Europe, Britain included.” “Of St. Paul’s
journey to Britain,” writes Bishop Burgess, “we have as satisfactory proof as any historical question can demand.” The same
view is substantially maintained by Baronius, the Centuriators of Magdeburg, Alford or Griffith, next to Baronius the most
erudite of the Roman Catholic historians, Archbishops Parker and Usher, Stillingfleet, Camden, Gibson, Cave, Nelson, Allix,
etc.
But the question arises, So what if the Bible leaves out all that stuff? It doesn’t seem very basic or important to the
message of God’s Kingdom or His salvation. Why muddle our brains with all that history?
God has definite reasons for everything that He does. Not telling about England and Paul’s visit and work there is surely a
good way to make certain facts commonly unavailable. We even did that same thing in America. US history books used to leave
out the persecution of the Indians. Here’s what Dr. Gene Scott says in the introduction to Morgan’s book.
“Sometime in the late 1700’s and before 1800, C. S. Sonnini published his copy of Sonnini’s Travels in Turkey and Greece.
Interleaved was a copy of that manuscript found in the Archives of Constantinople presented to him by the Sultan Abdoul
Achmet. He was traveling during the reign of Louis XVI, who reigned from A.D. 1774 to A.D.1793. He published his travels
between those two dates, 1774 and 1793. It’s absurd to think that he deliberately invented the manuscript. He was a
Frenchman! What possible object could he have in glorifying the English, their mortal enemy? What did people know or care
about the message he was going to proclaim from this chapter? Moreover, if he had possessed the necessary knowledge to
perpetrate a literary forgery, would he, if he was that unscrupulous, have resisted the temptation to glorify his own country
in preference to England, particularly with the heritage of early Christians in the southern valleys of France, down to
Marseille?He obtained some ancient manuscript, hidden all those years.
In that manuscript, Acts had a 29th chapter. It reads, “And Paul, full of the blessings of Christ, and abounding in the
spirit, departed out of Rome, determining to go into Spain, for he had a long time proposed to journey thitherward, and was
minded also to go from thence to Britain.”
Now here is the kicker if you believe Lev. 26, the promise of God linked with the curse of God, that once his people entered
the Promised Land and disobeyed Him he would punish them seven times; seven times three hundred sixty or twenty-five hundred
and twenty years (write that on the margin of your Bible).
In 721 B.C. history records the fall of Israel to the Assyrian king. By my count, if we add 2520 years of hidden truth, it
brings us to 1800. You have to adjust that year as you go from I B.C. to I A.D., which is not two years, but one year. From
721 B.C. to 1800 is twenty-five hundred and twenty years. The seven times lost identity was destined to end in that year.
Sometime between 1774 and 1793, Sonnini, traveling in the Middle East discovered the manuscript in the archives of
Constantinople. It was published and translated into English sometime late in l799, available at the earliest about 1800. If
this manuscript had been allowed to circulate, the certain declaration of God through the prophet Hosea that the lost tribes
would be lost, be known as not having obtained mercy, scattered, known not as God’s people, the hiding and losing of these
people until the appointed time, would have been forfeited. Their cover would have been blown.” Dr. Gene Scott
Any scholar can determine that the gospel was to go to the Lost Tribes first; from which…to the world. Jesus says very
plainly that the focus of the Gospel was to be the Kingdom that was known as the House of Israel. He could have very easily
used the single word Israel. there is a reason for defining Israel with the word “House.” We are not to confuse the House of
Israel with the whole nation of Israel, which included all twelve Tribes. Too many ignorant scholars have blanketed the whole
nation of Israel with the name Jews. The Jews were only those from the Tribe of Judah. Not even Benjamin, technically, were
Jews; even though they were lumped for a while in with Judah before the Babylonian captivity.
MAT 15:
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
MAT 10:
5- These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying. Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the
Samaritans enter ye not:
6- But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel
Acts 22:
21-And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Acts 9:
15-But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings,
and the children of Israel:
16-For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Romans 15:
8- Now I say that ‘Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto
the fathers:
9-And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the
Gentiles, and sing unto thy name
10-And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
11-And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
12-And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall
the Gentiles put their trust.
John 10:
16-And other sheep have I, which are not of this fold: them also I must I bring and they shall
hear my voice; and there shall one fold and one shepherd.
John 12:
49- And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that year, said unto
them, Ye know nothing at all,
50-Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whoIe nation perish not.
51-And this spake he not of himself: but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that
nation;
52-And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered
abroad
I Peter 2:
25-For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Almost no one knew that England was the center of the Lost Tribes . But the 29th Chapter of Acts makes the folks of England,
people of Israel: the House of Israel. Remember, it’s Luke writing; and quoting some of the verses just mentioned.
What could be clearer than these first two verses of the 29th chapter of Acts?
Verse 1. And Paul, full of the blessings of Christ, and abounding in the spirit, departed out of Rome, determining to go into
Spain, for he had a long time proposed to journey thitherward, and was minded also to go from thence to Britain,
Verse 2. For he had heard in Phoenicia that certain of the children of Israel, about the time of the Assyrian captivity had
escaped by sea to “The Isles afar off’ as spoken by the Prophet Esdras, and called by the Romans – Britain.
In the following verses some verifiable events occur, by which we can take this lost chapter of Acts as authentic. The
location of St. Paul’s in England, the timing of the discovery of the Sonnini manuscript, and the census prophesied by Paul.
England, up to the prophesied time, had not taken a census. And please notice that none of the 29th chapter of Acts goes
against the Canon of Scripture. Here are the next ten verses.
Verse 3. And the Lord commanded the gospel to be preached far hence to the Gentiles [nations], and to the lost sheep of the
House of lsrael [Act 9:15, 22:21]
Verse 4. And no man hindered Paul; for he testified boldly of Jesus before the tribunes and among the people; and he took
with him certain of the brethren which abode with him at Rome, and they took shipping at Ostrium and having the winds fair
were brought safely into a haven of Spain.
Verse 5. And much people were gathered together from the towns and villages, and the hill country; for they had heard of the
conversion of the Apostles, and the many miracles which he had wrought.
Verse 6. And Paul preached mightily in Spain, and great multitudes believed and were converted, for they perceived he was an
apostle sent from God.
Verse 7. And they departed out of Spain, and Paul and his company finding a ship in Armorica sailing unto Britain, they were
therein, and passing along the South Coast, they reached a port called Raphinus. (This is the Roman name for Sandwich, in
Kent. In Saxon times there was, still standing in Sandwich, an old house called the “House of the Apostles” and tradition has
it that Paul was one of the Apostles).
Twenty-five hundred and twenty years from 721 B.C. when the capital of Samaria fell, a manuscript is discovered and the
prophet’s test is met. Peace, numbering, and in the seventh numbering an understanding of their inheritance is possible.
God is Faithful “His Word to perform.” A multitude of Old Testament prophecy is directed at the House of Israel. These
prophecies are unfulfilled in ANY population group but the Celts and Scythians; England, northwest Europe and the United
States. Scholars claim that five sevenths of Scripture is understood only by applying the information about the Lost Tribes.
Even full understanding of Jesus and his mission on earth can not be had without factoring in the Lost Tribes teaching.
All this to keep His word to the House of Israel and accomplish His purpose of bringing the message of His coming Kingdom to
the people of earth.
1-God hides away “seed” Christianity in the center of the Lost Tribes., England
2-He “damps” the effect of Rome through intermarriage between the top levels of the government and the military.
3-And establishes a haven for the Roman church.
4- He sends His main Apostle to the Lost Tribes in Britain.
Or is all this just coincidence? I’m telling you, God is Real and He keeps His word. Here’s a little capper: Jeremiah 51:20
is fulfilled in Constantine and the nations of the Lost Tribes. If one looks down the corridors of history, one finds that
the Israelites of England and the US and their traditional allies of northwest Europe have always been the ones to relieve
humanity of tyrannical oppression. Who beat up Napoleon? The Kaiser? Hitler, et al? There have been many who have decried the
fact that these Israelite nations have become the World’s Policemen, but there’s no denying that they are carrying out a 2500
year old prophecy.
The two main sources of information on this page: “The Drama of the Lost Disciples,” by George F. Jowett, and “Did the
Apostle Paul Visit Britain?,” by R.W. Morgan.
WHAT! ! ? ? THE 29th CHAPTER OF ACTS! ? ?
Sometime in the late 1700’s and before 1800, C.S.Sonnini published his copy of Sonnini’s Travels in Turkey and Greece.
Interleaved was a copy of the manuscript found in the Archives of Constantinople presented to him by the Sultan Abdoul
Achmet. He was traveling during the reign of Louis XVI, who reigned from AD 1774 to AD 1793. He published his travels between
those two dates, 1774 and 1793. It’s absurd to think that he deliberately invented the manuscript. He was a Frenchman! What
possible object could he have in glorifying the English, their mortal enemy? What did people know or care about the message
he was going to proclaim from this chapter? Moreover, if he had possessed the necessary knowledge to perpetrate a literary
forgery, would he, if he’s that unscrupulous, have resisted the temptation to grloify his own country in preference to
England, particularly with the heritage of early Christians in the southern valleys of France, down to Marseille?
If you believe Leviticus 26, the promise of God linked with the curse of God, that once his people entered the Promised Land
and disobeyed Him he would punish them seven times; seven times three hundred sixty or twenty-five hundred and twenty years.
In 721 BC history records the fall of Israel to the Assyrian king. By my count, if we add 2520 years of hidden truth, it
brings us to 1800. You have to adjust that year as you go from 1 BC to 1 AD, which is not two years, but one. From 721 BC to
1800 is twenty-five undred and twenty years. The seven times punishment of lost identity was destined to end in the year.
Sometime between 1774 and 1793 Sonnini, traveling in the Middle East, discovered the manuscript in the Archives of
Constantinople. It was published and translated into English sometime late in 1799, available at the earliest about 1800. If
this manuscript had been allowed to circulate, the certain declaration of God through the prophet Hosea that the lost tribes
would be lost, be known as not having obtained mercy, scattered, known not as God’s people, the hiding and losing of these
people until the appointed time, would have been forfeited. Their cover would have been blown because, “he had a long time
proposed to journey thitherward, and was minded also to go from thence to Britain.” Verse 1.
The above statement was taken from the introductory notes by Dr. Gene Scott in the book “Did the Apostle Paul Visit
Britain?”, by R.W. Morgan, available from Dolores Press.
ACTS 29:
1- And Paul, full of the blessings of Christ, and abounding in the spirit, departed out of Rome, determining to go into
Spain, for he had a long time proposed to journey thitherward, and was minded also to go from thence to Britain.
2- For he had heard in Phoenicia that certain of the children of Israel, about the time of the Assyrian captivity, had
escaped by sea to “The Isles afar off” as spoken be the Prophet [Esdra], and called by the Romans – Britain.
3- And the Lord commanded the gospel to be preached far hence to the Gentiles [nations], and to the lost sheep of the House
of Israel. [Act 9:15, 22:21]
4- And no man hindered Paul; for he testified boldly of Jesus before the tribunes and among the people; and he took with him
cetain of the brethren which abode with him at Rome, and they took shipping at Ostrium and having the winds fair, were
brought safely into a haven of Spain.
5- And much people were gathered together from the towns and villages, and the hill country; for they had heard of the
conversion to the Apostle, and the many miracles which he had wrought.
6- And Paul preached mightily in Spain, and great multitudes believed and were converted, for they perceived he was an
apostle sent from God.
7- And they departed out of Spain, and Paul and his company finding a ship in Armorica sailing unto Britain, they were
therein, and passing along the south Coast, they reached a port called Raphinus. (This is the Roman name for Sandwich, in
Kent. In Saxon times there was, still standing in Sandwich, and old house called the “House of the Apostles: and tradition
has it that Paul was one of the Apostles).
8- Now when it was voiced abroad that the Apostle had landed on their coast, great multitudes of the inhabitants met him, and
they treated Paul courteously and he entered in at the east gate of their city, and lodged in the house of an Hebrew and one
of his own nation.
9- And on the morrow he came and stood upon Mount Lud (Ludgate Hill and Broadway where St. Paul’s Cathedral stands in London,
England) and the people thronged at the gate, and assembled in the Broadway, and he preached Christ unto them, and they
believed the Word and the testimony of Jesus.
10- And at even the Holy Ghost fell upon Paul, and he prophesied, saying, Behold in the last days the God of Peace shall
dwell in the cities, and the inhabitants thereof shall be numbered (this first-ever census in England, prophesied in this
ancient manuscript, was taken in 1801): and in the seventh numbering of the people, their eyes shall be opened (this
“punishment” would include ignorance of their heritage), and the glory of their inheritance shine forth before them.(the
seventh census was taken in 1861, just as the irrefutable archeological evidence for the Lost Tribes was making it’s way into
history) The nations shall come up to worship on the mount the testifieth of the patience and long suffering of a servant of
the Lord.
11- And in the latter days new tidings of the Gospel shall issue forth out of Jerusalem, and the hearts of the people shall
rejoice, and behold, fountains shall be opened, and there shall be no more plague.
12- In those days there shall be wars and rumours of war; and a king shall rise up, and his sword, shall be for the healing
of the nations, and his peacemaking shall abide, and the glory of his kingdom a wonder among princes.
13- And it came to pass that certain of the Druids came unto Paul privately, and showed by their rites and ceremonies they
were descended from the Jews [Judahites] which escaped from bondage in the land of Egypt, and the apostle believed these
things, and he gave them the kiss of peace.
14- And Paul abode in his lodgings three months confirming in the faith and preaching Christ continually.
15- And after these things Paul and his brethren departed from Raphinus and sailed unto Atium in Gaul.
16- And Paul preached in the Roman garrison and among the people, exhorting all men to repent and confess their sins.
17- And there came to him certain of the Belgae to enquire of him of the new doctrine, and of the man Jesus; And Paul opened
his heart unto them and told them all things that had befallen him, howbeit, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; and they departed pondering among themselves upon the things which they had heard.
18- And after much preaching and toil, Paul and his fellow labourers passed into Helvetia, and came to Mount Pontius Pilate,
where he who condemned the Lord Jesus dashed himself down headlong, and so miserably perished.
19- Immediately a torrent gushed out of the mountain and washed his body, broken in pieces, into a lake. [ See. It was known
in Palestine and Aisia Minor that Pilate had committed suicide all the way over in Switzerland ! ! Neither Paul or Luke had
been there when Pontius Pulled the Plug.] Selah!
20- And Paul stretched forth his hands upon the water, and prayed unto the Lord, saying O Lord God, give a sign unto all
nations that here Pontius Pilate which condemned thine only-begotten son, plunged down headlong into the pit.
21- And while Paul was yet speaking, behold, there came a great earthquake, and the face of the waters was changed, and the
form of the lake like unto the Son of Man hanging in an agony upon the Cross. (Son of Man is the common term given in
Messianic Prophecy for the Deliverer to come. If Sonnini forged this document, then why not use Son of God, like any good
French, New Testament Christian?)
22- And a voice came out of heaven saying, Even Pilate hath escaped the wrath to come for he washed his hands before the
multitude at the blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus
23- When, therefore, Paul and those that were with him saw the earthquake, and heard the voice of the angel, they glorified
God, they were mightily strengthened in the spirit.
24- And they journeyed and came to Mount Julius where stood two pillars, one on the right hand and one on the left hand,
erected by Caesar Augustus.
25- And paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, stood up between the two pillars, saying, Men and brethren these stones which ye
see this day shall testify of my journey hence; and verily I say, they shall remain until the outpouring of the spirit upon
all nations, neither shall the way be hindered throughout all generations.
26- And they went forth and came unto Illtricum, intending to go by Macedonia into Asia, and grace was found in all the
churches, and they prospered and had peace. Amen!
Twenty-five hundred and twenty years from 721, when the capital of Samaria fell, a manuscript is discovered and the prophet’s
test is met. Peace, numbering, and in the seventh numbering an understanding of their inheritance is possible. If the
document had been published in 1820, it could easily been counted as a fraud; the first two censuses having been already
taken.
To clarify one point of confusion, let me acknowledge an apparent “hole” in the argument. The date of the 29th Chapter of
Acts is 61 years before the seventh census. But both events seem to be presented as “the” enlightening event. While it’s true
that the information of England’s heritage was available with the publishing of the MS, hard evidence didn’t exist until
Rawlinson did his work on Behistun Rock, and the Assyrian Tablets were translated.
Both these events occurred well after 1820, and the information wasn’t available until much later. So we need the archeology
to back up the MS. I’m sure that there were those Bible/History scholars who came to the conclusion, based on the Acts MS,
that England was part of the House of Israel. They were probably laughed at, as was Richard Brothers much later, when he
changed his name to a Hebrew one and demanded that the King step down in his favor. Brothers’ actions became the epithet,
“British Israelism.” The devil had installed yet another road block on the Path of God’s Truth.
The 29th Chapter of Acts in but one more piece of evidence in God’s tapestries of the Lost Tribes, and Cradle of Christianity, Britain.
Bibliography
RESURRECTION
Jesus Christ…Super-Nut? or Super-Natural!, Gene Scott, Ph.D, drgenescott.com
Who Moved The Stone, Frank Morison, ISBN 0-310-29561-0, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids MI
The Tryal of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, Bishop Thomas Sherlock, 1729, ISBN 1-57074-476-9, Capstone Books, 806 Chapelwood Blvd., Indianopolis, IN 46214
Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Josh McDowell, ISBN 0-918956-46-3, Pub. Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., P.O.Box 1576, San Bernardino, CA 92402
Trial of Jesus, William M. Chandler, publisher unknown
BRITAIN
St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury, Lionel Smithett Lewis (Glastonbury Vicar), ISBN 0-227-67868-0 Publisher, James Clarke & Co Ltd, Cambridge, England.
The Origin and Early History of Christianity in Britain, Andrew Gray, ISBN 0-934666-43-1, Artisan Sales – – http://www.artisanpublishers.com
LOST TRIBES
E. Raymond Capt:
Abrahamic Covenant
Our Great Seal
Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets
Jacob’s Pillar
Dan Pioneer of Israel, by Colonel J.C. Gawler
Iceland’s Great Inheritance by Adam Rutherford
The above from Artisan Sales – – http://www.artisanpublishers.com
The United States and Britain in Prophecy, by H.W. Armstrong (out of print)
Who are the Japanese?, by Prof. E. Odlum,
The World’s Greatest Throne, by John S. Fox.
Both from The Association of the Covenant People, P.O.Box 1478 Ferndale, WA 98248 or
http://www.britishisrael.co.uk/booklist.htm
Did the Apostle Paul Visit Britain?, by R.W. Morgan, from Dolores Press, Ic., 389 Church St, San Fransisco, CA 94114
Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright, by J.H. Allen from Destiny Pub., Box 177, Merrimac, Mass 01860
Barry Fell
America BC, Wallaby Books, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-79079-X
Saga America, Times Books, ISBN 0-8129-6324-5 (paperback)
Bronze Agae America, Ilttle, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, ISBN 0-316-27771-1 (hardcover)
THE GREAT PYRAMID
Great Pyramid, by D. Davidson, (out of print, go to the library)
The Great Pyramid: Miracle in Stone, by Joseph A. Seiss, Steiner Books, Multimedia Publishing, Blauvelt, NY (may be out of print)
The Great Pyramid Decoded, by Capt (see above)
Study in Pyramidology, by Capt (see above)
Pyramidology Book IV, by Rutherford, from Artisan Sales (see above)
The Orion Mystery, by Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert, from Crown Publishers, 201 E. 50th St., New York NY 10022
THE ZODIAC
The Glory of the Stars, Capt (see above)
The Gospel in the Stars, J.A. Seiss, from Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Star Names, by Richard H. Allen, from Dover Publications, New York, NY
STONEHENGE
Stonehenge a Closer Look, Bonnie Gaunt (see below)
Stonehenge and Druidism, by E. Raymond Capt.
The Druids, by Stuart Piggott, published by Thames and Hudson, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
GEMATRIA and NUMERICS
Bonnie Gaunt
Stonehenge a Closer Look
The Magnificent Numbers of the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge
The Stones Cry Out
Beginnings, the Sacred Design (first pick) The above from Bonnie Gaunt, 1117 Meadow Brook Dr. #7, Mountain Home, AR 72653 US
Ivan Panin
Verbal Inspiration of the Bible Scientifically Demonstrated
The Shorter Works of Ivan Panin
Bible Numerics
And any others listed
From Covenant People (see above)
God Counts, by W.E. Filmer, from Covenant People (see above)
The Arithmetic of God, Don Kistler, 1976, P.O.Box 573, Kings Mountain, North Carolina, 28086
THE SHROUD OF TURIN
Resurrected, Gilbert R. Lavoie, M.D., ISBN 0-88347-358-1, Pub. Thomas More, 200 E. Bethany Dr., Allen, TX 75002-3804 Shroud,
Robert K. Wilcox, ISBN 0-553-12016-6, Bantam Books 1978 The Holy Shroud, Rev. Edward Wuenschel, Pub. Redemptorist Fathers of New York
CATASTROPHISM
Immanuel Velikovsky
Worlds in Collision, ISBN 0-671-81091-X
Earth in Upheaval, Dell Publishing, 750 Third Ave, NY,NY10017-last edition 1972
Pole Shift, John White, ISBN 87604-162-4, A.R.E. Press
Joshua’s Long Day, C.A.L. Totten, M.A., Destiny Publishers, Merrimac, Mass. 01860