How did the Great Divide occur?
As the book of Acts depicts, the early congregations were viewed as a sect within Judaism, and referred to as the “sect of the Nazarenes.” (Acts 24:5) They embraced the teachings of Jesus, which were all taken from a Jewish context. They were fully convinced that that the appointed time of the Spirit-born community as prophesied by Joel had arrived. (Joel 2:28-29) Many Gentile believers were embracing the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, and assimilating into these messianic communities. It didn’t take long for conflict to arise—on many fronts. First, there was conflict between the traditional Rabbinic Jewish sects and the emerging Messianic sects. As the number of Gentile believers began to outnumber the Jewish believers, confusion and conflict grew due to various interpretations of Scripture, practice of traditions, and influence of Greco-Roman philosophies. The issue of diversity in plurality came to the forefront. Is there anything new under the sun? In some areas, like Ephesus and Corinth,
