INTRODUCTION.

...his anointed. But when this new lawgiver and victorious leader failed to appear at the expected time, the Jewish-Christian sect eventually concluded that the deliverer promised by the prophets could not have been a physical ruler original: "a deliverer with an arm of flesh".

They developed the more refined original: "nobler" idea that it was a spiritual savior—one who would set them completely free from the burden original: "bondage" of ceremonial laws, which had become almost unbearable. A certain number of his countrymen soon original: "anon" convinced themselves that they recognized this great deliverer in Jesus, who had forcefully declared that his kingdom was not of this world.

Like all religious reformers, Christ was inevitably offensive to the priesthood of his time. As the New Testament writers tell us, he was put to death as a blasphemer and a rebel against original: "subverter of" the law of Moses. Long afterward—once several generations had passed and this sad, though natural, end to the religious reformer’s career was fading into the distant past—ancient Hebrew and Pagan influences began to take root original: "bear fruit".

The pure heart that Christ had preached and the holy life he had taught original: "inculcated" were no longer considered enough to make a person acceptable to God. The Deity, it was felt, must be appeased original: "propitiated" in a more physical and dramatic way. In ancient times, sacrificial victims were chosen for being without spot or blemish. Since Christ—the pure and holy—had died while standing up for his noble principles, what sacrifice could be more fitting than the noblest human form ever seen on earth: Christ himself?

Therefore, Christ was regarded as the sacrifice. He died, and his death was seen as an offering to an offended God for the sins of the people. This led to the doctrine of the Atonement; and, as a natural result original: "corollary" following established customs, the Communion.

As their reverence and admiration grew original: "waxing" over time and their numbers increased, and having virtually no guide other than intense emotion and the amazing stories passed down from father to son original: "sire to son", Christ's followers next assumed him to have been not a man, but God. The ancient pagan gods, such as Bacchus and Hercules, etc., had often appeared on earth in human form—as