I am SO excited! I finally found an up-to-date translation of the "Laws of Kings and Wars." It is at
http://halakhah.com/rst/kingsandwars.pdf.
I invite you to peruse this masterpiece of Torah Mishnah (the Oral Torah given to Moses) to get a flavor of how the Apostles, particularly St. Paul would have comprehensively viewed the Mosaic Law in debating and finalizing the Decree from the Council of Jerusalem. No doubt, the following would have had an immense and controlling impact on the Decree from the Council of Jerusalem. There is no chance that the Apostles would been able to change ANY of this on behalf of their Gentile Christian converts, nor is there any evidence that I can find that any of the Early Church Fathers ever tried such a thing. Based on the following, there is no chance that the Early Church Fathers would have ever attempted to add more Mosaic Laws to the existing Decree from the Council of Jerusalem. The following would have controlled every action of either a Gentile or a Jewish convert in the Second Temple period.
"8.1
Moses our Teacher did not bequeath the Torah and the Commandments to anyone but to Israel, as it says, “the Heritage of the Congregation of Jacob” (Deut. 33:4), and to anyone from the other nations who wishes to convert, as it says, “as you, as a convert” (Numbers 15:15). However, no one who does not want to convert is forced to accept the Torah and the Commandments."
"8.13 Moses our Teacher was commanded by the Almighty to compel the world to accept the Commandments of the Sons of Noah ("the Noahide" laws). Anyone who fails to accept them is executed. Anyone who does accept them upon himself is called a Convert Who May Reside Anywhere. He must accept them in front of three wise and learned Jews. However, anyone who agrees to be circumcised and twelve months have elapsed and he was not as yet circumcised is no different than any other member of the nations of the world."
"8.14 Anyone who accepts upon himself and carefully observes the Seven Commandments is of the Righteous of the Nations of the World and has a portion in the World to Come. This is as long as he accepts and performs them because (he truly believes that) it was the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Who commanded them in the Torah, and that is was through Moses our Teacher we were informed that the Sons of Noah had already been commanded to observe them. But if he observes them because he convinced himself logically, then he is not considered a Resident Convert and is not of the Righteous of the Nations of the World, but merely one of their wise."
"9.1 Adam, the first man, was commanded with six commandments: 1) idolatry, 2) “blessing” (euphemistically) the Name (of G-d), 3) murder, 4) illicit sexual relations, 5) thievery and, 6) establishing a system of justice."
"9.2 Even though all of these have been received as a Tradition from Moses our Teacher and we can understand the rationale for them, nevertheless, from (verses in) the Torah (we learn that) it was these that they were commanded. A seventh commandment forbidding the eating of a limb torn from a live animal was added for Noah, as it says, “Even flesh, life is in the blood, do not eat of it” (Genesis 9:4)."
"9.3 These commandments were universally applicable - until Abraham. With Abraham, circumcision was also commanded and he prayed Shacharis (the Morning Prayer). Isaac separated out a tithe and added another prayer in the afternoon and, with Jacob, the prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve was
added, as was the Maariv (Evening) Prayer. In Egypt, Amram was commanded with other precepts and, with Moses our Teacher, the Torah was completed."
"10.4 We ignore the request of a non-Jew who had converted and was circumcised and immersed, and now wishes to turn away from G-d and change his status to Resident Convert as he was before. Rather, he is to conduct himself like any other Jew, or he will be executed. A child can annul his conversion when he grows up if he had been immersed by the Court when he was a minor. He may only become a Resident Convert. However, if he didn’t annul his conversion at that time, he cannot do so later, and he becomes a Righteous Convert."
"10.11
A non-Jew who busied himself with Torah is liable with his life. He must involve himself in their Seven Commandments only.
Similarly, a non-Jew who “rested” as one would on Sabbath, even on a weekday, is liable with the death penalty. There is no reason to mention (that he is culpable) if he invented his own holiday."
"10.12 The principle here is that we do not permit them to make a new religion and create new commandments for themselves based on their own reasoning. They may only become Righteous Converts and accept upon themselves all the Commandments, or they must observe their own (Seven) Laws only, and not add or detract from them.
If a non-Jew busied himself with Torah or made Sabbath or made up something new, we give him lashes and punish him and tell him that he is liable with the death penalty for doing this. But he is not executed."
This would have been the State of the Art in the Mishnah Torah at the time of the Second Temple and at the time the Decree was issued from the Council of Jerusalem. The Mishnah Torah excerpts that I have provided simply preclude the addition of any more terms and rules to Decree. There is no chance that Gentile Christian converts ever kept the Sabbath, followed the Mosaic food laws, or any other part of the Mosaic Law in First Century Christianity. The language of this ancient Mishnah Torah, that was given to Moses simultaneously with the written Torah, are a complete and direct repudiation of any inference that the Sabbath was a creation ordinance. Look especially at the laws governing Adam, later amended for Noah. .
