The Apostle no one understood- Paul we never knew you!

Understanding the Theology of Paul The Apostle

by
Denis O’Callaghan Ph.D., D. LITT., Th.D., D.D.

An reexamination of Paul's hermeneutics in light of Old and New

Testament traditions. A consideration of further revelation and the
beginnings of ecclesiocentric hermeneutics for the New Testament
followers of Yeshua. It was Pauline truth and teaching from which all had
"turned away." It was this turning away from the truth as taught by the
Holy Spirit through Paul, especially as contained in the Epistle to the
Ephesians, that led necessarily: To the loss of the teaching concerning
the Mystery; that truth concerning the One Body of Christ.

As a historian and theologian I have lectured on Paul and his theology

for more than forty years, constantly drawn back to him as I tackled a
series of different subjects, the lectures, I hope, becoming steadily
richer as I probed more aspects of Paul's theology.

To present Truth may I respond

With all my heart and mind
Then ever reach to truth beyond
And further Treasures Find

1
It will be my contention in these chapters that the main lines of
Pauline interpretation - and hence both conscious and unconscious
reading and quoting of Paul by scholars and lay people alike-have for
many centuries been out of touch with one of the most basic of the
questions and concerns that shaped Paul's thinking in the first
place: the relation between Jews and Gentiles.

The business of Theology is to make sure that our questions to the

Scriptures of any religious tradition will be directed in such a way as
to allow ourselves to be challenged and even shaken at the deepest
levels of our existence by what the text says.

Who then was Paul ?

"Read to me Grandmother" I would say in my best Irish, drawing

myself up to my imposing two and a half feet tall for I was only two
years and a few days old when I had this conversation. And in her

2
fluent German Ist das, wie Sie bitte sagen? "Is that how you say
please?" Bitte Großmutter "Please Grandmother" Grandmother
Callaghan was one of those “old fashion” teagaisc teaching
grandmothers the kind you loved and who could generate the best
from even a stick of wood.
And so would begin my lessons in the classics from Don Quixote
(1605) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Last Days of Pompeii (1834)
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Macbeth (1606) by William Shakespeare,
Great Expectations (1861) by Charles Dickens, Treasure Island
(1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson, Faust (1808/1832) by Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, The Iliad (962 B.C.) Homer. And all of the best
known Irish authors and writers such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde,
George Bernard Shaw, C.S. Lewis, Samuel Beckett. And her reading
continued with the Latin authors for example Lucius Apuleius best
known for The Metamorphoses often referred to as The Golden Ass,
is written in a Grecizing style, with fairly involved syntax, couched in
a large vocabulary. These things make Apuleius slightly difficult
reading to make my education well rounded Grandmother would read
the classics in the original language, which I had to learn if I were to
keep up.

Grandmother Callaghan would read until her voice broke and become
raspy and hoarse. And Gentle reader, I grew up loving reading books,
loving the histories of Ireland Lebor Gabála Érenn ( The book of
takings ) Purporting to be a literal and accurate account of the
history of the Irish, Lebor Gabála Érenn an attempt to provide the
Irish with a written history comparable to that which the Israelites
provided for themselves in the Old Testament. Drawing upon the
pagan myths of Celtic Ireland — both Gaelic and pre-Gaelic — but
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reinterpreting them in the light of Judaeo-Christian theology and
historiography, it described how the island was subjected to a
succession of invasions, each one adding a new chapter to the
nation's history. Biblical paradigms provided the mythologers with
ready-made stories which could be adapted to their purpose. Thus we
found the ancestors of the Irish enslaved in a foreign land, or fleeing
into exile, or wandering in the wilderness, or sighting the "Promised
Land" from afar. Rome, the mythologies of Greece and others which
for a small lad was quite exciting. And the Bible which was my
favorite and of course the apostles, Paul being the foremost.

I was to find much later in life that I was considered a Wunderkind

(from German: "wonder child") is sometimes used as a synonym for
prodigy, particularly in media accounts, although this term is
discouraged in scientific literature. Wunderkind also is used to
recognize those who achieve success and acclaim early in their adult
careers. I didn’t find it unusual to be teaching linguistics at the
University at age fourteen until much later in life, with two earned
Ph.D’s by the age of sixteen, I thought that this was the norm.

My father was a University man would work all day and come home at
night to tell us of the latest activities of the I.R.A. ( Irish
Republican Army ( Poblachtach na hÉireann Arm) and to be perfectly
frank to this day I do not know if he was a member or not he never
said. But he was a solid Roman Catholic and never missed a chance to
attend Mass and contribute the coffers of the church. I attended
Catholic school taught by very strict nuns and priests who insisted
that we learn several languages Latin being the foremost. The reason

4
was so that the little boys would grow up to be priest and the girls
to be nuns. We learned about guilt catholic style and let me assure
you that the nuns put guilt and the "fear" of God into everyone,
including the priest and Bishop in our little community of Mallow
Ireland. My favorite priest was Father Dan who convinced me about
God in our catechism class when he told us about how God created
the heavens and the earth out of nothing and I told him "you can't
make something out of nothin" much to the dismay of sister
Consortia. Finely Father Dan told me that God was like Superman and
He could make "somethin outa nothin" that had me and I became to
believe Father Dan was God's right hand man.

Those were the days in our little village that I look back on fondly
and with a wee bit of regret now as I have grown older, a wee bit
wiser and, would hope kinder and gentler.

I miss the soft days (rain so soft that it was like being kissed by a
faery Daoine Sidhe (theena shee). A name for the faery people or as
you would know them as wee folk) when we would walk the streets of
Mallow looking for our special tea shop. And both my Grandfather
and Grandmother would caution me if I would misbehave "Remember
who you are!" Something I could never forget and was a sense of
great pride in our family "descendent from the first Kings of
Ireland" my father would say with a bit of pride swelling in his voice.
"Remember who you are!"
Everyone has something in their history or family which brings to
them a sense of Pride. We Irish pride ourselves on the education
that we gain and now I have managed to accrue six or seven

5
doctorates in various theological/ historical disciplines. As I use to
tell my students a diploma or a degree is just a piece of paper that
tells others that your smart. What matters is what you have learned.
Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original
dimensions.

So was the Apostle Paul, to the Roman Catholic Church who have
enshrined him as next to Peter (who everyone has heard was the
First "Pope") Paul was the preeminent Apostle. To James Dunn " Paul
was " first " in the other sense of being preeminent among Christian
theologians.1
But was Paul and was he as the RCC (Roman Catholic Church) claims
a "Christian" ?

Lets look at Paul's claims first, and his background. Where did he
come from, and what was he saying that stirred up so much animus
among those that he came into contact.

Our first question has to be who is this Paul the Apostle and where
did he come from? It might be best if at first we allow Paul to speak
for himself.

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other

man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I
more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the

1
James Dunn "The Theology of Paul" pg. 2

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tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law,
a Pharisee2; (Philippians 3:4-5)3

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet

brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according
to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous
toward God4, as ye all are this day. (Acts 22:3)5

2
The usual view is that one speaks of Pharisaism up until 70 c.e. With the demise of the
parties consequent upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the name becomes inappropriate. Those
who reconstituted Judaism at Jamnia and their successors are Rabbis (if ordained, as most of the
leaders were). It is noteworthy that sages from before 70 c.e. are not called 'Rabbi' in Rabbinic
literature; thus 'Hillel' rather than 'R. Hillel'.
For a brief summary of theories on the origins and nature of the Pharisees, see Wolfgang Beilner,
'Der Ursprung des Pharisaismus', B Z 3 , 1959, pp. 235-51.
3
Circumcised the eighth day" this was done in strict accordance with the Law (Gen.
17:12; Lev.12:3. Ishmalaelites were circumcised in their thirteenth year (Josephus, Antiquities.
1.12.2) While Gentile proselytes were circumcised as adults.
4
Most Jews in this period were highly self-consciously monotheistic,
and had certain very familiar and well-defined ideas as to how the uniqueness of the
one God should be understood. In other words, they drew the line of distinction
between the one God and all other reality clearly, and were in the habit of
distinguishing God from all other reality by means of certain clearly articulated
criteria. So-called intermediary figures were not ambiguous semi-divinities
straddling the boundary between God and creation. Some (such as God's wisdom and
God's word) were understood as aspects of the one God's own unique reality. Most
were regarded as unambiguously creatures, exalted servants of God whom the
literature often takes pains to distinguish clearly from the truly divine reality of the
one and only God.
5
The Hebrew name Gamaliel means "reward of God'. He was a highly respected Pharisee
and a knowledgeable Teacher of the Jewish Law. The body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law
known as Talmud says, "Since the Rabban Gamaliel died, the glory of the Law has ceased."

"A Hebrew of the Hebrews"

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Paul stated that he was "of the stock of Israel" . He was neither a
heathen nor an Ishmaelite. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they
Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
(2 Corinthians 11:22)
Paul was a member of the covenant nation; he was not of mixed
inheritance, as many who dwelt in Palestine. To be of the seed of
Abraham was to be considered to have absolute racial purity.

"Of the tribe of Benjamin" (Rom 11:1) By the first century many
could not trace their genealogy or were descended from proselytes.
Paul knew that he was not from the "lost tribes" of Israel.
Not from one of the lost tribes, but from that which gave to Israel
its first king; which alone was faithful to Judah at the separation
under Rehoboam, and which had always held the post of honor in the
army.

While we could examine each of Paul's statements about himself. We

will discover much more if we consider what was the revelation that
caused Paul to change his direction and his mind set. Consider if you
will:

The (Hebrews) of the A.V. gives a wrong coloring to the phrase, as if Paul were claiming to be
preeminently a Hebrew among other Hebrews. He means a Hebrew from Hebrew parents. Rev.,
a Hebrew of Hebrews, which is no special improvement. The expression implies characteristics
of language and manners. He might be an Israelite and yet a child of Greek-speaking Jews: but
his parents had retained their native tongue and customs, and he himself, while understanding
and speaking Greek, also spoke in Hebrew on occasion. See Acts. 21:40; Acts 22:2

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 Paul the letter & Spirit

All of my friends and most of my nearest colleagues know that for

the past forty years I have been a Pauline scholar and devotee. One
reason is that we have at minium seven Pauline corpus and at
maximum fourteen New Testament books in which not only to read,
study and Ruminate over his thinking, insights and writings. As Mr.
Spock would say from "Star Trek" "Fascinating ". My question has
always been. If one thinks one knows the "truth" of a matter, what
changes them?

And then when come to a deeply held belief system such as

spirituality , religion. Not only a personal understanding but a national
perception of their faith.
For example Shema Yisrael – "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God (s),
the Lord is One" – is perhaps the most famous of all Jewish sayings.

The Shema is a declaration of faith, a pledge of allegiance to One

God. It is said upon arising in the morning and upon going to sleep at
night. It is said when praising God and when beseeching Him. It is the
first prayer that a Jewish child is taught to say. It is the last words
a Jew says prior to death.

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The Talmud says that when Jacob was about to reveal the end of
days to his children, he was concerned that one of them might be a
non-believer. His sons reassured him immediately and cried out,
"Shema Yisrael."

The Torah records Moses including the Shema in his farewell

address to the Jewish people.

Further, as written in a Torah scroll, the letters "Ayin" and "Daled"

of the first verse are enlarged – encoded to spell out the Hebrew
word Aid – "witness." When we say the Shema, we are testifying to
the Oneness of God.

Why is "oneness" so central to Jewish belief? Does it really matter

whether God is one and not three?

The Shema is a declaration that all events are from the One, the only
One. The confusion stems from our limited perception of reality. One
way of understanding God's oneness is to imagine light shining
through a prism. Even though we see many colors of the spectrum,
they really emanate from one light. So too, even though it seems that
certain events are not caused by God, rather by some other force or
bad luck, they in fact all come from the One God. In the grand
eternal plan, all is "good," for God knows best.

This runs contrary to the Zoroastrian doctrine of dualism, which

propounds the idea of two conflicting powers – good and evil.

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Undoubtedly the oldest fixed daily prayer in Judaism is the Shema.
This consists of Deut. 6:4-9, Deut. 11:13-21, and Num. 15:37-41. Note
that the first paragraph commands us to speak of these matters
"when you retire and when you arise." From ancient times, this
commandment was fulfilled by reciting the Shema twice a day:
morning and night.

So when Paul the Apostle had an epiphanic episode (A term in

literary criticism for a sudden realization--a flash of recognition in
which someone or something is seen in a new light). In Stephen Hero
(1904), Irish author James Joyce used the term epiphany to
describe the moment when the "soul of the commonest object . . .
seems to us radiant. The object achieves it epiphany." Novelist
Joseph Conrad described epiphany as "one of those rare moments of
awakening" in which "everything [occurs] in a flash."

It was described in this manner And as he journeyed, he came near

Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven: (Acts 9:3) and it took him three days to recover his sight
(but was the sight physical or indeed perhaps a description of a
spiritual awakening?)6

6
With regard to ecstatic trance experiences, such as the three reports of Paul’s experience
in Acts 9; 22; 26, traditional exegesis tends to focus on the question of historicity and
interpretation. Can one know what really happened? Did it really happen this way?
What in the report is simply the result of reflection and/or the author’s literary activity?
Can a reader separate all of these elements? Cultural anthropology and cognitive
neuroscience suggest that a different set of questions needs to be asked. Dr Felicitas
Goodman remembers two key ideas she heard as a graduate student in stimulating lectures from

11
We know from history Paul was rejected by the Jews (for the most
part) because of his inclusion of the Gentiles . And of course there
are some who hold today that Jews were replaced by those Gentiles
[which means they either do not understand the Scripture or are
woefully ignorant of the plan of God-which I'll not deal with in this
wee study].

Paul saw something that for unknown reasons (although in what was
to become Scripture latter, we have Paul's own explanation as well as
Dr. Lukes version) had never been seen before. Those of the strict
sect [Ebyons] called Paul a Liar! Because they thought wrongly Paul
had abandon his heritage and faith and thrown in with the" Goy of
Israel". Which is one of the reasons that Paul was defending his call

Dr Erika Bourguignon at Ohio State University. One, altered states of consciousness are normal;
two, they are institutionalized in many societies as part of religious observances. Thus instead of
attempting to determine the facts of the biblical report, or to separate fact from interpretation in
the report, the exegete ought to attempt – as in this paper – to understand how this report would
be received and understood by the original readers or listeners.
It is not only plausible but highly probable that Paul like many others in the Bible had ecstatic
trance experiences. Acts of the Apostles reports more than twenty such experiences. The
research, publications, and ongoing experiences of the religious anthropologist, Dr Felicitas
Goodman and the Cuyamungue Institute, provide ample information on how to induce and
interpret ecstatic trance experiences (see Gore 1995).
New insights from cognitive neurosciences especially as reported by d’Aquili and Newberg
explain why ecstatic trance is a pan-human experience. Moreover, cognitive neuroscience helps
to understand that some of the elements reported in the Bible are not just literary devices (e g the
association of God’s glory with light) but the result of the normal functioning of the brain and
nervous system. As these scientists indicate, God has hard-wired human beings for such
experiences, and they are God’s preferred mode of communication with human beings. No one
of Paul’s contemporaries denied his
experiences. They all had to decide how to respond to the experiences and Paul’s
interpretation of them. Some accepted his change as authentic and honest, while others
sought to have him put to death. (Paul’s ecstatic trance experience near Damascus in Acts of the
Apostles John J Pilch Georgetown University, Washington, DC )

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and Apostleship virtually everywhere he went.

Here is just one example of that Do we begin again to commend

ourselves? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to
It was a common practice in antiquity to carry with one letters of
recommendations as proof of their legitimate right to carry forth
his message.

What we have found is that certain passages such as Rom 15:4 and
1 Cor 10:11, where Paul explicitly states his conviction that Scripture
is in fact a word addressed to not only to one Nation but to an
eschatological community. But they didn't address the theoretical
problem of continuity and discontinuity, a problem that later came to
be known as a relational issue between the old covenant and the new.

The heart of the matter lies exposed to us in 2 Cor 3:6 where Paul
states that God " Who also hath made us able ministers of the new
testament; not of the letter [gramma ], but of the spirit: for the
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life". It was this new covenant
ministry that entailed a new form of reader competence.. By gramma
[letter) and pneuma (spirit) Paul is thinking of two different
authorities In Paul's mind his brethren the "sons of Israel" as he
states "have a veil" over their minds eye when Moses is read But in
Christ the veil has been removed.
So when Paul is attacked by opponents in 2 Corinthians as to why Paul
in like manner has not presented recommendations from other
churches [ we might call this the "papers please law"]. Paul turns the
question around (epistole systatike) that shifts attention from his
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qualifications to the Corinthian community as proof of the Spirits
work
You are our letter, having been written in our hearts, being known
and being read by all men; being made known that you are the letter
of Christ, which was ministered by us, having been written not with
ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not in tablets of stone but in
tablets of flesh, namely in hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)
Paul’s proof of his call and apostleship in the new covenant. Recalling
Jer. 31:33. Paul mention of the Law and the letter killing is not to
mean that the Old Covenant was done away with but it had no force
upon a person. Whereas the Spirit was now within him written on his
heart.

Paul’s message was it understood or just ignored?

This book gives us a whole new perspective of the Apostle Paul

from a Jewish scholar who is well versed in first century
Judaism. By placing Paul in his own time and culture rather than
trying to identify him with the church which canonized him as
a saint hundreds of years after his death, we get a much better
understanding of a man who, although a prolific writer, remains
an enigma.

We’ll try to understand Paul as a fellow Jew and neither lionizes him
as the hero of Christendom nor disparages him as a self seeking
adventurer who turned Christianity into a Hellenistic mystery

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religion. Paul was a Pharisaic Jew who converted to an apocalyptic
form of Judaism ( what we would call a form of primitive
Christianity) based upon his revelation of the risen Christ and his
years spent in Syria living with a community of gentile (see my
monograph on the apocalypse ) believers who enabled him to
interpret the meaning of his revelation.
It is a mistake to identify Rabbinic Judaism with the first century
Pharisees7 and to use the Mishnah and the Talmud to understand the
Jewish opposition to Jesus., "it is a pity that few Jewish writers
have attempted to understand Paul " and " Paul is, ironically, one of
the most fruitful and reliable sources for first century Jewish
religious life."

Paul's revelation can be understood in the same light as what was

known later as Jewish Merkabah mysticism which, in the first
century, was linked with apocalyptic beliefs (ie Qumran). Pauls risen
Christ can be identified with the human figure on a throne acting as

7
Cf. E. Rivkin, 'Defining the Pharisees: the Tannaitic Sources', HUCA 40-41,1969-70,
pp. 234-8.
Rivkin notes that perushim in T . Sotah 15.nr. / / Baba Bathra 60b; Pesahim 70b; and T .
Berakoth 3.25 means 'heretics', not 'Pharisees'. It would seem that perushim in the main
'anti-Pharisaic' text, Sotah 22b,
should also not be translated 'Pharisees'; see Rivkin, pp. 24of. One may further observe the date
of the groups referred to: after the destruction of the Temple in T . Sotah 1 5 . 1 1 ; contemporary
with Rab Ashi in Pesahim 70b (352-427 c.e.; see the JE, s.v. Ashi). In T . Berakoth 3.25 the
perushim are identical with the minim (heretics) who are cursed (euphemistically, 'blessed') in
the birkat ha-minim, which dates from after the destruction of the Temple. The discussion of the
seven types of perushim, all bad, in Sotah 22b is attached to a phrase in the Mishnah (Sotah 3.4)
which is attributed to R. Joshua. In no case is there any reason to suppose that any of these anti-
perushim passages refers to a group which existed before 70 c.e. On the need for caution in
identifying the perushim of Rabbinic literature with the Pharisees, see further J. Bowker, Jesus
and the Pharisees, pp. 1-37.

15
a heavenly mediator who carries the name of the Lord and reflects
the glory of God which was inspired by the books of Ezekiel, Daniel,
and Enoch. This figure was known by various titles such as Son of
Man, Melchizedek, and Metatron.

Like Enoch, Paul claims to have gazed upon the glory of God and was
thus transformed into a spiritually resurrected being. It was the
gentile community in Syria which helped Paul understand the meaning
of his revelation. To me Paul's writings are important evidence for
the existence of first century Jewish mysticism.

Years later, Rabbinic Judaism repudiated the idea of two powers in

Heaven (ie a divine heavenly mediator) which is why Jewish
Christianity was branded as a heresy in the synagogue.

Even though the inclusion of gentiles was an anathema to other

Jewish apocalyptic groups like the Qumranites, Paul's theology
parallels many ideas found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The idea of
justification, whereby all humans are sinful and require God's grace
for salvation is practically mirrored in a passage of 1QS11. Paul's
dualism of flesh versus spirit is similar to the Sons of Light versus
the Sons of Darkness. I suggest that Paul may have been aware of
Essene teachings prior to his conversion.

Paul believed that believers who were baptized into the body of
Christ would be transformed into the image of Christ as he had been.
As an apocalypticist, Paul believed in the imminent return of Christ

16
which would complete the transformation.

Paul's revelation and spiritual transformation radically altered his

ideas about salvation. Paul felt the Torah was from God and was
useful as a moral guide for all believers but that the observance of
ceremonial laws like circumcision, which distinguished Jews from
gentiles, were irrelevant for salvation and should not be imposed on
gentile converts. To Paul, spiritual transformation through faith in
the risen Christ was the key to salvation (ie resurrection in the life
to come).8

As a Pharisee, Paul felt that adherence to the Torah was an

all-or-nothing proposition. He especially disdained individuals who
tried to impose circumcision as a requirement for gentile converts
when these very same individuals didn't adhere to the law as
stringently as he had done as a Pharisee. Paul preferred faith and
spiritual transformation over a watered-down version of Jewish
observances.

I attempt to explain Paul's dilemmas regarding the law which are

difficult to comprehend. By the law, a man condemned as a criminal

8
It was recently pointed out the the individualist interpretations of Paul’s “new creation”
language promoted by most English translations of 2 Cor. 5:17 ...” he is” is not found in Paul’s
elliptical Greek sentence: hoste ei tis en Christo, kaine ktisis. In view of the fact that Paul
characteristically uses ktisis and its cognates in a cosmological frame of reference (e.g., Rom.
8:19-23) and in view of of the scriptural subtexts from which Paul derives this language, it would
be far better to complete the ellipsis in a way that would demonstrate that Paul is writing here not
of individual spiritual renewal but of the reconciliation of the world to God (cf.2Co 5:17 )
Therefore if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation.

17
and ignominiously crucified cannot be the messiah, which had been
the Jews' primary rejection of Jesus from the beginning. However,
Paul's own revelation of seeing the glorified risen Christ told him the
opposite. Thus, the Torah as a means of salvation had been replaced
by the appearance of Christ.

According to Judaism, the law is only binding during one's mortal life
in the present age. In Paul's way of thinking, those who have been
baptized into the body of Christ have "died in Christ" and therefore
have died to the ceremonial requirement of the law. To Paul, the new
age had already arrived with the resurrection of Jesus and the
ceremonial laws were no longer binding. The appearance of the Son
of Man, according to the Book of Daniel, was a sign that the end
times had been inaugurated.

Paul tried to accommodate himself to the Jerusalem apostles. He

commends the Thessalonians for imitating the churches in Judea by
enduring the same kind of persecutions. He implied that he became
a vegetarian so as not to offend Jews or gentiles when he ate with
them. He even circumcised one of his followers, Timothy. During his
final journey to Jerusalem he brings an offering from his gentile
converts as a sign of goodwill.

Likewise, the Jerusalem apostles were willing to accept gentile

conversions based upon adherence to the Noahide laws and the
majority of Jewish Christians endorsed Paul's mission to the

18
gentiles.9

9
According to the sages of the Talmud, there are 70 families with 70 paths within the
great Family of Man. And each individual has his or her path within a path. Yet, there is one
universal basis for us all.

At the dawn of human history, G-d gave man seven rules to follow in order that His world be
sustained. So it is recounted in the Book of Genesis as interpreted by our tradition in the Talmud.
There will come a time, our sages told us, that the children of Noah will be prepared to return to
this path. That will be the beginning of a new world, a world of wisdom and peace.

At the heart of this universal moral code is the acknowledgement that morality - indeed,
civilization itself - must be predicated on the belief in G-d. Unless we recognize a Higher Power
to whom we are responsible and who observes and knows our actions, we will not transcend the
selfishness of our character and the subjectivity of our intellect. If man himself is the final arbiter
of right and wrong, then "right", for him or her, will be what they desire, regardless of its
consequences to the other inhabitants of earth.

At Mount Sinai, G-d charged the Children of Israel to serve as His "Light unto the nations" by
bringing all of humanity to a recognition of their Creator and adherence to His laws.

For most of Jewish history, however, circumstance did not permit our people to spread these
principles, other than by indirect means. When the Lubavitcher Rebbe began speaking about
publicizing them as a preparation for a new era, he was reviving an almost lost tradition.

What is most beautiful about these laws, is the breathing room they provide. They resonate
equally in a hut in Africa or a palace in India, in a school in Moscow or a suburban home in
America. They are like the guidelines of a great master of music or art: firm, reliable and
comprehensive -- but only a base, and upon this base each people and every person may build.

"The Seven Noahide Laws" are a sacred inheritance of all the children of Noah, one that every
person on the face of the earth can use as the basis of his or her spiritual, moral and pragmatic
life. If enough of us will begin to incorporate these laws into our lives, we will see a different
world very soon. Sooner than we can imagine.

THE 7 LAWS

1
Acknowledge that there is only one G-d who is Infinite and Supreme above all things. Do not
replace that Supreme Being with finite idols, be it yourself, or other beings. This command
includes such acts as prayer, study and meditation.

19
What Jewish Christians did not accept was Paul forcing the issue of
unity between Jewish and gentile believers by breaking down the
barriers which distinguished them. Just as gentiles had to forsake
immorality and idolatry, it was implied that Jews would have to
forsake those ceremonial laws which distinguished them as Jews.

Paul's efforts to unify Jews and gentiles by erasing the boundaries

between them ultimately led to his demise. The imminent return of
Christ, which would solve this problem, did not occur. His vision of a

2
Respect the Creator. As frustrated and angry as you may be, do not vent it by cursing your
Maker.

3
Respect human life. Every human being is an entire world. To save a life is to save that entire
world. To destroy a life is to destroy an entire world. To help others live is a corollary of this
principle.

4
Respect the institution of marriage. Marriage is a most Divine act. The marriage of a man and a
woman is a reflection of the oneness of G-d and His creation. Disloyalty in marriage is an assault
on that oneness.

5
Respect the rights and property of others. Be honest in all your business dealings. By relying on
G-d rather than on our own conniving, we express our trust in Him as the Provider of Life.

6
Respect G-d's creatures. At first, Man was forbidden to consume meat. After the Great Flood, he
was permitted - but with a warning: Do not cause unnecessary suffering to any creature.

7
Maintain justice. Justice is G-d's business, but we are given the charge to lay down necessary
laws and enforce them whenever we can. When we right the wrongs of society, we are acting as
partners in the act of sustaining the creation.

20
new chosen people, both Jew and Greek, into a single body of Christ
was never realized. In that respect, Paul's life was a tragedy which
ended in failure. Paul did not foresee nor did he intend for an
entirely new entity, the church, to emerge completely separate from
Judaism. It was never Paul's intention to be canonized as a saint in
a gentile church based in Rome hundreds of years after his death.

When the Apostle Paul preached the good news concerning Christ
and His Church, at Ephesus, his ministry continued in Asia for the
space of two years (Acts 19:10). We read that the Word of God grew
mightily and prevailed, and that "all they which dwelt in Asia heard
the word of the Lord Jesus." And yet, at the close of his ministry,
and of his life, he writes his last Epistle to Timothy, when he says "I
am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand" (II Timothy 1:15): "This thou knowest that all they that be in
Asia10 have turned away from me."

We are told, on every hand, today, that we must go back to the first
three centuries to find the purity of faith and worship of the
primitive church! But it is clear from this comparison of Acts 19:10
and II Timothy 1:15, that we cannot go back to the first century. No,
not even to the apostle's own lifetime!

This turning away could not have been merely personal; but must have
included his teaching also. For in chapter 2, verse 18, he speaks of

10

It seems as if the apostle must refer to the Asiatic Christians which were then at Rome, or had
been lately there. Finding the apostle in disgrace, and thinking it dangerous to own him or his
cause, they neither visited him, or confessed Christianity. He cannot be speaking of any general
defection of the Asiatic Churches, but of those Asiatics who had professed a particular friendship
for him.

16
those "who concerning the truth have erred." In chapter 3, verse 8,
he speaks of those who "resist the truth." In chapter 4, verse 4, he
speaks of those who "turn away their ears from the truth" and are
"turned unto fables."

It was Pauline truth and teaching from which all had "turned away."
It was this turning away from the truth as taught by the Holy Spirit
through Paul, especially as contained in the Epistle to the Ephesians,
that led necessarily:

To the loss of the teaching concerning the Mystery; that truth

concerning the one Body of Christ. The effect of this was at once to
put everything wrong ecclesiastically, and to make room for all the
various and different "Bodies," so-called, with all the consequent
divisions and schisms of the church. Instead of recognizing "the One
Body"11 which God had made, men set about making their own "Bodies"
and Sects! and with this ecclesiastical confusion came the loss of the
truth as to the Christian's perfect standing in Christ as having died
and risen in Him.

Next, after this, went the truth of the Lord's promised return from

11

The body metaphor for the people of God is a powerful image that bespeaks the new historical
reality brought about in Christ. It surfaces in only four New Testament epistles, but in a
bewildering array of associations.
Union with Christ in Ephesians and Colossians Ephesians and Colossians reflect a further stage
of development. The imagery shifts from horizontal unity among members (one out of many) to
vertical union with Christ (the many in the One). No longer is the head merely one body part
among many, but Christ's role as head over the church entails organic unity.

17
heaven12; and of resurrection, as the one great and blessed hope of
the church. Other hopes, or rather fears, came in their place, and
"death and judgment" took the place of those lost hopes. Having lost
the truth of what God had made Christ to be unto us, and the joy as
to our standing thus given, in looking for that blessed hope,
preparation for death and judgment was the necessary result, and therefore:
The next thing to go was the truth as to what God had made us to be
in Christ; and "justification by faith" and by grace was lost. The way
was now open for the full tide of error to come in: and it came in, like
a flood, with all the corruption and superstition which ended in
centuries which have the significant description "the dark ages."
Everyone is familiar with the term, and with the fact. But what were
the dark ages? How did they come? They were not brought on
suddenly by some untoward event. There must have been some cause,
something that made them possible. The corruption was historical.
The Eastern churches today are in similar darkness. And the
Western churches, where the Reformation has not removed it, are
in the same darkness.

The Reformation itself, what was it, but the beginning of a recovery
of these great truths? The remarkable fact is that the recovery of
these truths has taken place in the inverse order to that in which
they were lost.

Justification by grace through faith was the first great truth

recovered at the Reformation. This was the truth over which that

12
N. T. Wright proposes in His work on Paul that Paul’s apocalyptic theology was rooted
within and referring to, actual historic events. Paul held which could be called a covenantal and
apocalyptic theology in which, he found in surprising fulfilment of the covenant. God had
revealed His plan, His character, and not least His saving restorative justice through the events
concerning Jesus the Messiah.

18
great battle was fought and won, though the victory was far from
complete. Any attempt to define church membership by anything
other than allegiance to Jesus Christ is simply idolatrous. For not
until the nineteenth century had well begun did the Lord's return
from heaven begin to become again the blessed hope of His church.
In later years the subject has become more and more precious to
increasing numbers. But this great and "blessed hope" is not yet
really learned, because it ought to be the natural outcome of truth
received and held, instead of being treated as an independent
subject artificially produced. It must come from the heart into the
life, and not be merely held and retained in the head, if it is to be
productive of the blessed results seen in the Thessalonian church. It
must be learned experimentally as a vital and essential part of our
standing as Christians, and not be studied as if it were an extra
subject, in order to produce Thessalonian fruit. Hence, it is that we
more often see prophecy taken up as a study, rather than as the
result of waiting for God's Son from heaven.

The last of the three truths to be recovered is the truth taught in

Ephesians; and it is only in our own day that we see any real sense of
the loss, with any real effort to recover it.

The truth of the Mystery,13 as it was the first to go, so, it seems, is

13

In Paul's writings, Notice the frequent use of the term 'mystery'. Now, at least in Paul's usage, a
hidden truth about God’s plan is called a 'mystery' not because it cannot be known today, but
because it was kept by God as a secret in past ages, before it was supernaturally revealed by God
through the apostle Paul at the start of the church age. In fact ‘musterion’, the Greek word
translated ’mystery’, actually means ’secret’. God kept these wonderful truths secret until this age
of grace. The mystery was made known only to Paul by revelation. It was not made known to the
sons of men in other ages. It concerns the Church and God's great eternal plan of redemption.

19
the last to be recovered.

It is with the hope of doing something to recover this truth that

these papers have been written on the Church Epistles. May the Lord
use them to bring back vital truths to their proper place, that their
power may be felt in the hearts and seen in the lives of an increasing
number of the members of the Body of Christ.

Probing a little deeper into Eph 3:8-10 as cited above, we see that the revelation of the secret is a
demonstration to the ‘powers and principalities’ -- angelic powers -- of God’s ‘manifold
wisdom’. The Greek word for ’manifold’ means ‘much variegated’ or ‘multifarious’. What is
that? What kind of wisdom is demonstrated to the angels by the Church? Peter said that angels
are intrigued by it: [1 Pet 1:12] ‘...the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have
preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the
angels desire to look into’ And to make all men see - Και φωτισαι παντας· And to illuminate all;
to give information both to Jews and Gentiles; to afford them a sufficiency of light, so that they
might be able distinctly to discern the great objects exhibited in this Gospel.
What is the fellowship of the mystery - The word κοινωνια, which we properly translate
fellowship, was used among the Greeks to signify their religious communities; here it may
intimate the association of Jews and Gentiles in one Church or body, and their agreement in that
glorious mystery which was now so fully opened relative to the salvation of both. But instead of
κοινωνια, fellowship, οικονομια, dispensation or economy, is the reading of more than fifty
others; both the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonian, Vulgate and Itala, with the chief
of the Greek fathers. Some of the best printed editions of the Greek text have the same reading,
and that in our common text has very little authority to support it. Dispensation or economy is far
more congenial to the scope of the apostle's declaration in this place; he wished to show them the
economy of that mystery of bringing Jews and Gentiles to salvation by faith in Christ Jesus,
which God from the beginning of the world had kept hidden in his own infinite mind, and did not
think proper to reveal even when he projected the creation of the world, which had respect to the
economy of human redemption. And although the world was made by Jesus Christ, the great
Redeemer, yet at that period this revelation of the power of God, the design of saving men,
whose fall infinite wisdom had foreseen, was not then revealed. This reading Griesbach has
received into the text.

20
The cause of all the confusion around is that thousands of those who
profess to be Christians know little or nothing of these Church
Epistles. There is no other profession which they could enter without
being able to pass a satisfactory examination in the text books set
forth for that purpose. There is no position in life that anyone could
apply for without being asked how much one knew of its duties and
responsibilities. But the Christian "profession" is treated in quite a
different manner, and as quite a different matter. Anyone may
undertake that, and all the while be totally ignorant of these Church
Epistles: -- "The Creed, the Lord's prayer, and the Ten
Commandments" are considered as sufficient for Christian position
and profession. Hence the almost total neglect of these Epistles. The
four Gospels and the Sermon on the Mount are taken as the essence
of Christianity, instead of the Epistles14 specially addressed to

14

Distinctive Emphases of Paul’s Epistles

An overview of each of Paul’s epistles, it would be well to note in a nutshell the distinctive
emphasis and contributions of each of Paul’s epistles.

The Emphasis on the Lord Jesus:

Romans: Christ the power of God to us.

1 Corinthians: Christ the wisdom of God to us.

2 Corinthians: Christ the comfort of God to us.

Galatians: Christ the righteousness of God to us.

Ephesians: Christ the riches of God to us.

Philippians: Christ the sufficiency of God to us.

Colossians: Christ the fullness of God to us.

1 Thessalonians: Christ the promise of God to us.

21
Churches. Hence the great ignorance of Christians as to all that God
has made Christ to be unto His People, and all that He has made them
to be in Him. Not knowing their standing in Christ, and their

2 Thessalonians: Christ the reward of God to us.

The Emphasis on the Gospel Message:

Romans: The Gospel and its message.

1 Corinthians: The Gospel and its ministry.

2 Corinthians: The Gospel and its ministers.

Galatians: The Gospel and its mutilators.

Ephesians: The Gospel and its heavenlies.

Philippians: The Gospel and its earthlies.

Colossians: The Gospel and its philosophies.

1 Thessalonians: The Gospel and the Church’s future.

2 Thessalonians: The Gospel and the Antichrist.

The Emphasis of the Gospel on the Believer’s Union:

Romans: In Christ—justification.

1 Corinthians: In Christ—sanctification.

2 Corinthians: In Christ—consolation.

Galatians: In Christ—liberation.

Ephesians: In Christ—exaltation.

Philippians: In Christ—exultation.

Colossians: In Christ—completion.

1 Thessalonians: In Christ—translation.

2 Thessalonians: In Christ—compensation

22
completeness and perfection in Him, they are easily led into error
concerning their state and their walk. Many, who know they are
justified by grace, yet seek to be sanctified by works.

Nothing but full knowledge of what is revealed for our instruction in

these Church Epistles will effectually deliver us from all the new
doctrines and schools of thought which find an entrance into our
midst.

May the great Head of the Body the Church, own this effort, and use
it and bless it to the deliverance of many from all the variable winds
of doctrine, and build them up in their most holy faith.

It's time to get up off our fat Amens and learn what God wanted us
to learn, don't you think ?

Paul we hardly knew you

"The devotion to the Apostle Paul in the Church has been

23
universal, constant and powerful. Yet in some way it can be said
that this devotion has not been as popular as that to many other
saints. The reason is that St. Paul is not known or popularized well
enough". - Rev. James Alberione

Paul -The Man, the Mission, The Message

“Paul’s understanding of salvation involves a rather astounding (at

least to modern ears) scheme of "mass apotheosis" and imminent
cosmic takeover. We must turn to the essential passages which
more fully treat the content of this salvation which Paul offered
his followers. “ Dr. James D. Tabor

24
S
ometimes I think that I bit off more that I can chew! For
example we find such a wide variety of readers who have as my
Rabbi friends say “You get 6 Jews together and you have 12
opinions.” This is the Roman Catholic Year of St Paul15 and since I
am a Pauline Scholar I am going to jump on the coattails of the
Catholic Church share with you some thoughts about what is the
“truth” concerning your Apostle Paul.
Where do we begin? Ah yes a hot steaming cup of Irish coffee to
clear your head!

Many have no idea that there has been a great controversy about
the author of 14 books of the New Testament. Nor, the fact that
some even believe that Paul was the founder of “Christianity” and
that Paul’s idea of the church and Christ’s were totally different.16

15
June 29, 2008-June 29, 2009

16

The Apostle Paul is the greatest teacher of the Christian Church. True, he has not always been
fully understood. The legalism that he combated during his lifetime soon established itself among
his converts, and finally celebrated a triumph in the formation of the Catholic Church. The keen
edge of his dialectic was soon blunted. But however his ideas may have been injured in
transmission, they were never altogether destroyed. Much was forgotten; but what remained was
the life of the Church. And the great revivals were revivals of Paulinism. Protestantism—in its
practical piety as well as in its theology—was simply a rediscovery of Paul.
Yet Paul has never been accepted for his own sake. Men have never come to him for an
independent solution of the riddle of the universe. Simply as a religious philosopher, he is
unsatisfactory; for his philosophy is rooted in one definite fact. He has been listened to not as a
philosopher, but as a witness—a witness to Jesus Christ. His teaching has been accepted only on

25
On top of that who do you believe? This authority or that one?
Many people think that Judas was the supreme betrayer of Jesus.
But others say that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) holds that title.
Judas gave Jesus over to be tortured and put to death (isn’t that
just like mankind if you can’t silence them “kill em” ) Paul it is
claimed buried His spirit . Paul was charges with substituting his
theology for the simple teachings of that itinerant preacher from
Galilee. So lets get all the trash out of our thinking by looking first
at the accusers of Paul and then in this 1st Chapter and Paul’s
[Sha’ul ] own testimony.
It was our own president Thomas Jefferson who said to his friend
in a letter that Paul was “the first corrupter of the doctrine of
Jesus” Now remember that while Jefferson was a deiist [The
belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe
and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no
influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural
revelation. ] he in fact, cut the parts of the Bible he didn’t like out.

one condition— that he speak as a faithful disciple of Jesus of Nazareth.

The question of the relation between Jesus and Paul is therefore absolutely fundamental. Paul has
always been regarded as the greatest disciple of Jesus. If so, well and good. The Christian Church
may then go forward as it has done before. If however as some have said Paul is independent of
Jesus, he can no longer be a teacher of the Church. Christianity is founded upon Christ and only
Christ. Paulinism has never been accepted upon any other supposition than that it reproduces the
mind of Christ. If that supposition is incorrect—if Paulinism is derived not from Jesus Christ, but
from other sources—then it must be uprooted from the life of the Church. But that is more than
reform—it is revolution. Compared with that upheaval, the reformation of the sixteenth century
is as nothing.

21
 Next we have G. B. Shaw who said basically the same thing in the
preface to his play “Androcles and the Lion”
Nietzsche called Paul in the AntiChrist - “the Dysangelist” (Bad
news bearer) and “ The man with the Genius for hatred”. Shaw told
a reporter that it would have been better if Paul had never been
born. What a contrast from Paul’s own words, and Christ’s.

What we find fascinating that God uses the as it were Mankind’s

cast-offs for his work. One evening when my Partner in evangelism
Ron Bridgewater [ A huge man of over 6 ½ feet tall and 350 pounds]
as we were coming back to the church after a night out on visitation
where we were able to share Christ with a whole family, father,
mother, two children and all of them accepted Christ as their
personal Saviour, Ron was in tears as he said to me “Denis, I just
don’t understand how God can use a sinner like me to share the
wonderful grace of Christ!” To which I replied as I tried to put my
arm around his shoulder in comfort “Ron, He’s desperate!”

In 1 Corinthians 1:27 we read But God hath chosen the foolish

things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1 CO 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are: God chose Moses and then allowed Him to
mature on the back side of the desert to mature. He chose David a
little Shepherd boy to become a King, and He chose the 12 disciples
along with Peter to preached the message of the Kingdom of
heaven. (Who would have picked that rag-tag bunch of smelly old
fishermen and a tax collector. Why, He chose you and me! And Paul

27
(Saul of Tarsus), but I am getting ahead of my narrative Turn with
me to Acts Chapter 9 ACTS 9:1-8 And Saul, yet breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went
unto the high priest,
9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that
if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he
might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven:
9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him,
Saul, Saul,17 why persecutest thou me?
9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city,
and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless,
hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened,
he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into
Damascus.
Just think of that Paul (Sorry, Saul) struck blind on the way to
destroy this young group of believers (Jews his own people) why?
Because he wanted to keep pure God’s honor. But we’ll leave that
for next time.

17
(Psa 62:11) God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto
God. It would seem that God must speak to us several times, perhaps to get our attention.

28
"Paul's conception is, that believers in mysterious fashion share the
dying and rising again of Christ, and in this way are swept away out
of their ordinary mode of existence, and form a special category of
humanity. When the Messianic Kingdom dawns, those of them who
are still in life are not natural men like others, but men who have in
some way passed through death and resurrection along with Christ,
and are thus capable of becoming partakers of the resurrection
mode of existence, while other men pass under the dominion of
death. And similarly, those who have died in Christ are not dead as
others are, but have become capable through their dying and rising
again with Christ of rising before other men." Albert Schweitzer
“The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle”

he religious experience and the theology of Paul are blended in

T a union which no critical analysis can dissolve. Furthermore., if

it is impossible to separate Pauline piety and Pauline theology in
the life of Paul himself, it is just as impossible to separate them in
the life of the Church of today. Thus far, at least, all attempts at
accomplishing it have resulted in failure. Liberal Christianity has
sometimes tried to reproduce Paul's religion apart from his
theology. But thus far it has produced nothing which in the
remotest degree resembles the model.

In determining whether Paul was a disciple of Jesus, the whole Paul

must be kept in view—not the theology apart from the warm
religious life that pulses through it, and not the religious emotion
apart from its basis in theology. Theology apart from religion, or
religion apart from theology—either is an empty abstraction. The
religion and the theology of Paul stand or fall together. If one is

29
derived from Jesus, probably the other is also.
In discussing the relation between Jesus and Paul, it is better to
begin with Paul. For, in the first place, Paul is more easily known
than Jesus. That will be admitted on all sides. Jesus wrote nothing;
all the extant records of his words are the reports of others. The
trustworthiness of the records of his life is at present a matter of
dispute. Yet even if the most favorable estimate of the Gospel
narratives be adopted, Jesus remains far more incomprehensible
than Paul. Indeed it is just when the Gospel picture is accepted in
its entirety that the sense of mystery in the presence of Jesus
becomes most overpowering.18

“Paul was a theologian in that he reflected on his gospel, he was not

a systematic theologian, not even when he wrote Romans. His
theology is not his religion, but his own effort to express it in the
circumstances which the various letters reflect.” E. P. Sanders

The formation of the theology of the Apostle Paul

18
Jesus and Paul by J.Gresham Machem (1881-1937)

originally published in Biblical And Theological Studies by The Members of the Faculty of
Princeton Theological Seminary now in public domain.

30
Many have neither the idea that there has been a great controversy
about the author of 14 books of the New Testament. nor the fact
as some even believe that Paul was the founder of “Christianity” and
that Paul’s idea of the church and Christ’s were totally different.
Considering the deistic who would you believe?
Many people think that Judas was the supreme betrayer of Jesus.
However others say that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) holds that title.

Judas gave Jesus over to the authorities to be tortured and put to

death (isn’t that just like mankind if you can’t silence them “kill em”
) Paul it is claimed buried His spirit . Paul was charges with
substituting his theology over the simple teachings of that itinerant
preacher from Galilee19. So lets get all the detritus out of our
thinking by looking first at the accusers of Paul and then in this 1st
century at Paul’s own testimony.

We have pointed out recently our past president Thomas

Jefferson that wrote in a letter to his friend that Paul was “the
first corrupter of the doctrine of Jesus”. Now remember that
while Jefferson was a deistic [The belief, based solely on reason, in

19
The Jewish concept of what we call theology was as we look back, rather simple. In the
Old Testament we have the two intertwining themes ‘creation and covenant’. This was the
foundation in Paul’s thought and his starting place. It was God as Creator and as covenant maker
and keeper . It the risk of pointing out the obvious. Paul did not have at his disposal what we call
the “New Testament”. Paul understood that the messianic events of Jesus death and resurrection
was the fulfilment of all of the covenant promises- the end of the “present age” and the beginning
of the “age” to come. The parousia often rendered “coming” in Christian scholarship, actually
means “presence”, as opposed to “absence. Within the implicit cosmology of “apocalyptic”
Judaism, heaven and earth are not different locations within the same spatial continuum, but
overlaping. It was not Jesus coming from a great distance but His “personal presence”.

31
a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no
control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and
giving no supernatural revelation. ] he in fact, cut parts of the Bible
he didn’t like.20

And G. B. Shaw said basically the same thing in the preface to his
play “Androcles and the Lion”.

Nietzsche called Paul, in the Antichrist, “the Dysangelist” (Bad news

bearer) and “ The man with the Genius for hatred”. Shaw told a
reporter that it would have been better if Paul had never been
born. What a contrast from Paul’s own words, and Christ’s own call
to Paul.

Over the years of Study Pastoring and lecturing, I have heard

more than a few derogatory and hateful comments about Paul. Most,
believe it or not were from Christians so-called, partly because of

20

Done with his official work for the day, Thomas Jefferson sat in the new presidential mansion in
Washington in 1803 and opened his Bible--not to pray, but to cut. He scoured the text for Jesus'
greatest teachings, sliced out his favorite portions, and glued them into an empty volume. He
called it "The Philosophy of Jesus." That book was lost to history.
In 1819, he started over and created a new version called "The Life and Morals of Jesus of
Nazareth," commonly referred to now as the Jefferson Bible. This volume was kept largely secret
and passed among Jefferson's relatives until 1895, when it was discovered by the librarian at the
Smithsonian. In 1904, it was published by Congress.

In 1819, he started over and created a new version called "The Life and Morals of Jesus of
Nazareth," commonly referred to now as the Jefferson Bible. This volume was kept largely secret
and passed among Jefferson's relatives until 1895, when it was discovered by the librarian at the
Smithsonian. In 1904, it was published by Congress.

32
lack of understanding of early Christians times and cultures. One
lady ( and I use that word in the most charitable sense) stated that
“Paul is not God”, when some of Paul’s statements went counter to
her cherished views. According to this woman, Paul was either 1) a
chauvinist 2) a homophobe 3) or that he was an infiltrator who
was delivering a message so divergent from their archaic philosophy
as to the teachings of Jesus1 that they would not or could not
accept that Paul could have been a “believing one”. Paul is and was
problematic to those opposed to Christianity as we call it today
those who claim Christianity and those who don’t! Let’s set the
record straight Paul was not leaving the faith of his fathers behind!
He was, as my Rabbi friends would say, becoming a “completed Jew”
by means of further revelation given to him by no other the risen
and ascended Lord Christ Jesus!21

From Paul’s conversion to his death he never thought that he was

"starting a new religion"! Paul had the authentic understanding of
the Tanakh [Old Testament] and the passing of the old economy,
giving way the new spiritual reality.22

21

Paul's theology was modified by later first- and second-century Christians--notably Ignatius and
the author of John's Gospel--to adapt it to the changed circumstances faced by these theologians,
namely that the world had not ended with the first generation after Christ appeared, and the
necessity of countering Gnosticism. This is when Hellenism first appeared in serious Christian
thought. Paul read those writings that the average Christian today would not be aware of, such as
1 Enoch 69 and 4 Ezra 13:1-11 (Apocrypha) or 2 Esdras KJV ( Apocrypha).

22

In Paul's conception of an ethic inspired by the spirit of the resurrection the immediacy of this
ethic combines with the supernatural character of the Messianic mode of existence in opposition
to the Law. Paul is convinced in the same way as Jesus that the Law can only remain in force up
to the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom. And since he holds that the Elect, so soon as they

33
 Paul came from Cilicia (specifically Tarsus) and became a follower
of Jesus in Syria (Damascus). Paul didn’t even go to Judea for 3
years after he professed his allegiance to Jesus, and then he
spent only 2 weeks. After this first visit it was 14 years before
he returned. Paul was by his own account first a Jew " Though I
might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe

of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

Concerning zeal23, persecuting the church; touching the

righteousness which is in the law, blameless." (Phil. 3: 4-6 ).

How then could he have known the risen Christ beyond his private
revelation on the Damascus road. You have the answer right in
front of you, for he was a Pharisee and a teacher of the Law
[The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew prushim from
parush, meaning "separated", that is, one who is separated for a

are 'in-Christ', no longer belong to the natural, but henceforth to the Messianic world, he is
necessarily led to the conclusion that they are now no longer under the Law.

23
Zeal to the first century Jew was something you did with a knife. Zeal was violence,
close to a holy war to be fought by individuals committed to the cause. Which leads one to
surmise that Paul may have been a Shammaite Pharisee, one of the strictest of the strict.

34
 life of purity. The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a
political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among
Jews that flourished during the Second Temple24 Era (536 BC–70
AD). After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Pharisaic
sect was re-established as Rabbinic Judaism — which ultimately
produced normative, traditional Judaism, the basis for all
contemporary forms of Judaism and even the Karaites use the
Rabbinic canon of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.]

Excurcus
Origins and Basic Beliefs of the Pharisees

. The Pharisees descended from the hasidim, the ‘pious ones’ of

the Galilee region in the hundred and fifty years prior to Jesus’
birth. These intensely religious people returned to the land of
Israel after 300+ years in Babylon, after the Seleucid Greeks
were defeated in the Hasmonean (Macabee) Revolt, and settled
in the relatively unpopulated region around the Sea of Galilee.

These intensely religious people differed greatly from the

Judeans to the south, who were primarily of the
Sadducee/Priestly persuasion and believed only in the Pentateuch

24
The one God of Second Temple Jewish belief was identifiable as unique by two kinds
of identifying features. The first concerns his covenant relationship with Israel. He
is the God of Israel, known from the recital of his acts in Israel's history and from the
revelation of his character to Israel (Exod 34:6). He has revealed to Israel his name
YHWH, which was of great importance to Jews of the Second Temple period because
it names precisely the unique identity of their God. As well as such identifications of
God from his relationship with Israel, this God was also characterized as unique by
his relationships to the whole of reality: especially that he is the only Creator of all
things and that he is the sole sovereign Ruler of all things. Such identifications of
YHWH are extremely common in Second Temple Jewish literature

35
as God’s Word, and not the entire TaNaKh (which is our modern
day Old Testament). The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed
in all of the TaNaKh as God’s inspired Word, and had a theology
developed around the coming of a Messiah and the Kingdom of
God. They also believed in the future resurrection of the dead,
which the Sadducees denied.

In the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Jerusalem, there were 70

seats, of which 65 belonged to the Sadducee party and 5
belonged to the Pharisees. Interestingly, during the time of
Jesus, 3 of the 5 pharisees on the council were named in the
Christian Scriptures, all three of whom were either followers of
Christ – or at least sympathetic to His followers. These three
were Niccodemus, Joseph of Aramathea, and Gamaliel (the
grandson of the rabbi Hillel).

The Pharisees were also the first Jewish sect know to send out
missionaries and to proselytize – which is how the Jews of the
diaspora and the Jewish converts in Asia Minor had been
restored to the Jewish faith prior to the arrival of Christian
missionaries in the first century. Their message was well
accepted by many, though primarily by women (as men would have
to be circumcised to become Jewish).

Additionally, like Jesus, the Pharisees were the most popular of

the religious ’sects’ among the common people. They brought the
practice of worshipping in synagogue to Israel with them from
their captivity in Babylon. The Sadducees taught that God could
only properly be worshipped in the temple, whereas the Pharisee
rabbis led the synagogue schools and taught that God could be
worshiped wherever His people gathered.

36
 The Pharisees Believed . . .

When delving too deeply into doctrine, it really cannot easily be

said that “the Pharisees believed X” on a number of topics,
because – like Christianity today – there was a diversity in
interpretation, with seven primary rabbinic schools of thought.
The most conservative school of thought – which held many
beliefs in common with the Sadducees (though not their
Hellenism) – was the School of Shammai. The most ‘liberal’ (not in
the modern sense) school of thought was the School of Hillel –
who by modern Jews is still considered to be one of the greatest
Rabbis of all time, and he probably was.

It was Hillel who gave the ruling, prior to Jesus’ ministry, that
one’s enemy was also a neighbor (except for Samaritans, who
were apostates), and “do not do to your enemy that which you
hate” – which Jesus later expanded in a positive way to “do to
others that which you would have them do to you.” Additionally,
Jesus uses the same illustration as Hillel did several years earlier
of a cup being clean on the outside but filthy on the inside (Luke
11:39-40) when replying to Pharisees (most likely from the school
of Shammai, who argued in favor of ceremonial washing as a work
of righteousness) about ceremonial hand-washing before meals.

In the eight debates that Jesus entered with the Torah

teachers and the Pharisees, it is interesting that he sided with
Hillel – or took the interpretation farther, in the case of ‘Who is
my neighbor?’ – seven times, and only with Shammai once (on the
subject of divorce).

Additionally, Jesus’ primary criticism of the Pharisees is not so

37
much their theology, but their practice of their beliefs.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers
of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey
them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do,
for they do not practice what they preach.” ( Matthew 23:1-3)

In terms of the theology of any of the Jewish sects of his day

(Essene, Sadducee, Pharisee, and Zealot), Jesus’ theology is most
closely aligned with that of the Pharisees. There are dozens, if
not hundreds, of examples of Pharisee teachings which are
mirrored in the words of Jesus, and vice-versa (after his death
and resurrection). It only makes sense that Jesus would be most
critical of those who most closely knew the truth, but did not live
it.

Which brings us to the primary topic of this article – the Seven

Types of Pharisees.

The Seven Types

Within the Pharisee circles, just prior to the coming of Jesus, it

was taught that there were (at least) seven ‘types’ of Pharisees,
of which five (some say six) were bad and only two (or one) were
good. A number of scholars now believe that Jesus’ criticisms
were primarily aimed at the ‘bad’ types of Pharisees – who were
cursed more deeply and violently by Hillel and other Rabbis, than
even Jesus did – and that he drew a large number of his followers
from the ranks of the ‘good’ Pharisees and their followers.

. The Shoulder (or Shechemite) Pharisee: This type of

pharisee was one who wore his good deeds on his shoulder –
on display for all men to see. Jesus opens his primary
38
 criticism of Pharisees in Matthew, with the mention of the
shoulder – possibly a reference to this commonly-labeled
type of Pharisee

They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s

shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to
lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23:4)

. The Wait-a-little Pharisee: This type of pharisee

would want to wait to see how a situation played out
before acting in any matter. While he agreed with
Pharisee theology, he would always fall short in
practice of his ‘belief’ because he wasn’t sure if he
should/could/wanted to act. This type of Pharisee
liked the prestige brought about by being a religious
leader, but didn’t like what it actually required.

Everything they do is done for men to see: They

make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on
their garments long; they love the place of honor
at banquets and the most important seats in the
synagogues; they love to be greeted in the
marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
(Matthew 23:5-7)

. The Blind (or Bruised and Bleeding) Pharisee: This

type of Pharisee was typified by the idea of him
walking with his head down or turned away to avoid
looking at, or bumping into women (who might be on
their menstrual cycle) or other unclean folks. So,
because they weren’t looking where they were going,

39
 they would end up bruised or bleeding from their
avoidance of small things (cleanliness laws) – all the
while forgetting the more important laws. Jesus
refers to some Pharisees as ‘blind guides’, possibly
referring to this type of Pharisee.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices –
mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the
more important matters of the law – justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced
the latter, without neglecting the former. You
blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a
camel. (Matthew 23:23-24)

. The Pestle (or Hump-backed) Pharisee: Similar to

the Blind Pharisee, the Pestle Pharisee was known
for walking around with his eyes averted for the
purpose of avoiding visual temptations. Avoiding
temptation is one thing, but this type of Pharisee’s
heart was wrong, because it was the importance of
making a show of his avoidance of temptation (and
piety) which was to be criticized.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,
which look beautiful on the outside but on the
inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything
unclean. In the same way, on the outside you
appear to people as righteous but on the inside
you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

40
 (Matthew 23:27-28)

. The Ever-Reckoning Pharisee: Here was a religious

person who was always keeping score – trying to
make sure that his good deeds always outnumbered
his bad ones. He wanted this so that God would be in
his debt with the attitude of God oweing him
something for being good. Their belief was truly one
of works-based righteousness.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets
and decorate the graves of the righteous. And
you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our
forefathers, we would not have taken part with
them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So
you testify against yourselves that you are the
descendants of those who murdered the
prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of
your forefathers!” (Matthew 23:29-32)

. The God-fearing (or Timid) Pharisee: He was

considered to be a ‘God-fearer’ in the manner of
Job. While he had great reverence and respect for
God, it was out of fear of punishment, he made sure
to follow all of God’s commands in order avoid curses
from God and, ultimately, hellfire. Unlike the
previous types of Pharisees, both his belief and
practice were correct, but his motivation was out of
fear of God. It is possible that Jesus’ expressed
woe in Matthew 23:13 is directed at this spirit of

41
 fear that then prevents others from enjoying the
eternal life provided by God

Woe to you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of

heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not
enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying
to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you (Matthew 23:13)

. The God-loving Pharisee: This type of Pharisee was

considered to be the ideal – a person who obeyed
God out of true love and affection for Him, as in the
manner of Abraham. A minority of Pharisees were
believed to have been of this type, though Pharisees
from the School of Hillel (who died just prior to
Jesus’ ministry) may have comprised a majority of
this type of Pharisee. Nicodemus, Joseph of
Arimathea and Paul (and most likely Gamaliel, as well,
from both Biblical and extra-Biblical accounts) were
all Pharisees who would have fit into this category.

Interestingly, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70

A.D., and after the Bar Kochba revolt in 135 A.D. was
thrown down by the Roman empire, the only remaining
sect of Judiasm remaining was that of the Pharisees –
which became Rabbinic Judiasm. Additionally, it is the
School of Hillel that dominated (and still does to this
day) in religious Judiasm. Many Jewish-Christian scholars
see this as God’s provision of a remnant – a common
theme in the scriptures – and may or may not figure into
eschatology.

42
 Paul was a scholar and taught by scholars25 and why he
went at once to begin to preach "For I delivered unto you
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas,[ Peter] then of the twelve:

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren

at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out
of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to
be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God." 1 Cor.15:3-9

25
Gamaliel the Elder or Rabban Gamaliel I (‫ ;ןקזה לאילמג ןבר‬Greek: Γαμαλιήλ ο
Πρεσβύτερος), was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the Mid 1st century CE. He was the
grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder, and died twenty years before the
destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). He fathered a son, whom he called
Simeon, after his father and a daughter, whose daughter (i.e., Gamaliel's granddaughter) married
a priest named Simon ben Nathanael. The name Gamaliel is the Greek form of the Hebrew name
meaning reward of God.
In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is celebrated as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish law. The Acts of
the Apostles speaks of Gamaliel as a man of great respect who spoke in favor of arrested
Christian apostles and the Jewish Law teacher of Paul.

43
 The thing to notice here that according to Luke26, Paul’s
biographer is that Jesus "appeared " to Paul from the
Greek Optanomai ophthe "he was seen" which means in
English to allow one's self to be seen. Paul put his
experience along with others that "saw" the risen Christ!
"Paul, an apostle, (not from men, neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from
the dead ) Gal. 1:1. Called to be an apostle by the “Very
One” whom he persecuted. What a beautiful testimony for
us to emulate. That is forgiveness !

No wonder Paul could write in Romans Chapter 5 verse

eight "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, [ sinners by nature] Christ
died for us." The word sinners is Hamartolos (ham-ar-to-
los'); which has the force from the figure of speech
called in [Greek Cat-a-bas-is or Gradual Descent {see Phil.
2: 6-8} used to emphasize humiliation, sorrow ] where
Paul uses in verse 10 as enemies."For if, when we were
enemies,( by practice) we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall
be saved by his life” ( Romans 5:10). Which, then I have
translated that verse in this manner, “But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet enemies” see Romans Chapter 5 verse ten, Christ died
for us." .

26
According to Rev. Raymond E. Brown, S.S. Luke may not have been Paul’s companion
and may not have known him personally. This thesis is based as a product of late second-century
scholarship. When that thesis is challenged by twentieth scholarship, it is an academic not
religious question.

44
 Now think of your most hated enemy. Would you die for
them? Christ did and that was not lost in the life and
teaching of the Apostle Paul. Also note the word
Reconciled, we’ll look at this concept at another time.

There are several reasons why Christians have never fully

grasped the importance of the New Testament writings
of Paul.27 First, many Christian Pastors don’t understand
him and as a result, never bother to acquaint themselves
with the 14 books that we have in our Bible as worth
studying! Which should not surprise us as even Peter
said28 (2Pe 3:16) As also in all his epistles, speaking in
them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their

27

The remarkable point, therefore, is that the post-Apostolic writers, though they are acquainted
with the works of the Apostle of the Gentiles, make no real use of them. His ideas remain
foreign, lifeless, so far as they are concerned.

28

Peter taught that Paul was hard to understand, and that was before the some of the problems
listed above came into being. Peter wrote that there would be those who would twist Paul's words
to mean something incorrect. What kind of people would do that? Peter said these are lawless
men (2 Peter 3:17). By "lawless," Peter did not mean people who were without Roman law.
Lawless, in this religious context (understanding Paul's writings and other Scriptures correctly),
refers to being without God's Law - the Torah. Peter is saying that those who twist Paul's
writings are those who don't have (know/follow) Torah. They will approach these letters, in
(often willful) ignorance, and incorrectly interpret them.

45
 own destruction.

We have seen the same mentality in our Seminaries. I

once ask one of my students about his studies in regards
the Apostle’s writings and he replied "Oh yes I had a
semester of all Paul’s books"! A semester!!! And in another
occasion I ask an older Bible teacher ( my Mentor) the
same question and he replied " I have been studying the
Epistles of Paul for 35 years and I think I am beginning
to get a handle on understanding him a little bit"!

When God called Paul, I am sure that Paul had some idea
that things would be a bit difficult. But He had studied
with some of the very best theologians of his day and was
a scholar as he had given himself over to the study of
"the Law" which is all that the Jewish believers had at
that time. Now, there were several groups Paul could have
chosen to aline himself.

The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded

in the second century BC, possibly as a political party.
They ceased to exist sometime after the first century
AD. While little or none of their own writings have been
preserved, the Sadducees seem to have indeed been a
priestly group, associated with the leadership of the
Temple in Jerusalem. Possibly, Sadducees represent the
aristocratic clan of the Hasmonean high priests.29

29

We find the Sadducees established in the highest office of the priesthood, and possessed of the

46
 The Essenes were, strictly speaking, an ascetic Jewish
religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC
to the 1st century AD. Many separate, but related
religious groups of that era shared similar mystic,
eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These
groups were collectively referred to by various scholars
as the "Essenes". 30The Essenes may have emerged as a
sect of dissident priests. They are believed to have
rejected either the Seleucid appointed high priests, or
the Hasmonean high priests, as illegitimate. Ultimately,
they rejected the Second Temple, arguing that the
Essene community was itself the new Temple, and that
obedience to the law represented a new form of sacrifice.

greatest powers in the Sanhedrin: and yet they did not believe in any future state, nor in any
spiritual existence independent of the body. The Sadducees said that there was "no resurrection,
neither Angel nor Spirit." ( Acts 23:8. See Matthew 22:23-34.) They do not appear to have held
doctrines which are commonly called licentious or immoral. On the contrary, they adhered
strictly to the moral tenets of the Law, as opposed to its mere formal technicalities. They did not
overload the Sacred Books with traditions, or encumber the duties of life with a multitude of
minute observances. They were the disciples of reason without enthusiasm,

30

There was a sect in Judaea which is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but which must have
acquired considerable influence in the time of the Apostles, as may be inferred from the space
devoted to it by Josephus and Philo. These were the Essenes, who retired from the theological
and political distractions of Jerusalem and the larger towns, and founded peaceful communities
in the desert or in villages, where their life was spent in contemplation, and in the practices of
ascetic piety. It has been suggested that John the Baptist was one of them. There is no proof that
this was the case: but we need not doubt that they did represent religious cravings which
Christianity satisfied.

47
The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result
of the discovery of an extensive group of religious
documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, commonly
believed as being their library. These documents include
preserved multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible untouched
from as early as 300 BC until their discovery in 1946. The
multiple copies of the Old Testament in the original
Hebrew confirmed that the Old Testament has remained
relatively unchanged since it was redacted in 450 BCE,
with some slight changes in wording but not meaning.
Among the scrolls recording each "book" of the Bible
separately, only the Book of Esther did not survive the
effects of time. This library also included many other,
diverse religious texts, adding significant historical
insights into various social and religious movements and
events around the region.

The main source of information about the life and belief

of Essenes is the detailed account contained in a work of
the 1st century Jewish historiographer Flavius Josephus
entitled The Jewish Wars written about 73-75 AD (War
2.119-161) and his shorter description in his Antiquities
of the Jews finished some 20 years later (Ant. 18.11 &
18-22). Claiming first hand knowledge (Life §§10-11), he
refers to them by the name Essenoi and lists them as the
followers of one of the three sects in "Jewish
Philosophy" (War 2.119) alongside the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. The only other known contemporary accounts
about the Essenes are two similarly detailed ones by the

48
 Jewish philosopher Philo (fl. c. 20 AD - c. 54 AD; Quod
Omnis Probus Liber Sit XII.75-87, and the excerpt from
his Hypothetica 11.1-18 preserved by Eusebius, Praep.
Evang. Bk VIII), who, however, admits to not being quite
certain of the Greek form of their name that he recalls
as Essaioi (Quod Omn. Prob. XII.75), the brief reference
to them by the Roman equestrian Pliny the Elder (fl. 23
AD - 79 AD; Natural History, Bk 5.73). Pliny, also a
geographer and explorer, located them in the desert near
the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead
Sea Scrolls31 were discovered in the year 1947. The Dead
Sea Scrolls, found in caves at Qumran, are believed to be
the work of Essenes or to reflect Essene beliefs.

Then there were the Zealots 32 The Zealots were a

"fourth sect", founded by Judas of Galilee (also called
Judas of Gamala) and Zadok the Pharisee in the year 6
against Quirinius' tax reform, shortly after the Roman
state declared what had most recently been the territory

31

"Probably the Dead Sea Scrolls have had the greatest Biblical impact. They have provided Old
Testament manuscripts approximately 1,000 years older than our previous oldest manuscript. The
Dead Sea Scrolls have demonstrated that the Old Testament was accurately transmitted during
this interval. In addition, they provide a wealth of information on the times leading up to, and
during, the life of Christ”—Dr. Bryant Wood, archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research.

32

The Zealots were as politically fanatical as the Essenes were religiously contemplative, and
whose zeal was kindled with the burning desire to throw off the Roman yoke from the neck of
Israel.

49
of the tribe of Judah a Roman Province, and that they
"agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but
they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say
that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord." (18.1.6)

The Zealots were a Jewish political movement in the 1st

century which sought to incite the people of Iudaea
Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it
from the country by force of arms during the Great
Jewish Revolt (CE 66-70). When the Romans introduced
the imperial cult, the Jews unsuccessfully rebelled. The
Zealots continued to oppose the Romans due to Rome's
intolerance of their culture and on the grounds that
Israel belonged only to a Jewish king descended from
King David.

And then we had Paul’s chosen group. Perhaps the

"fundamentalist" of the day. The Pharisees ,the Pharisee
("separatist") party emerged largely out of the group of
scribes and sages who harked back to Ezra and the Great
Assembly, were one of at least four major schools of
thought within the Jewish religion around the first
century and were most prominently in opposition to the
Sadducee sect. [The only two that we read about in our
Bible are the Pharisees and the Sadducees]. They were
also one of several successor groups of the Hasidim (the
"pious"), an anti-Hellenistic Jewish movement that
formed in the time of the Seleucid king, Antiochus
Epiphanes (175–163 BC). (This group is distinct from the

50
Hasidism established in 18th century Europe.) The social
standing and beliefs of the Pharisees changed over time,
such that the role, significance, and meaning of the
Pharisees evolved as political and social conditions in
Judea changed. The sages of the Talmud [The Talmud is a
record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law,
ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of
Rabbinic Judaism, second only to the Hebrew Bible in
importance ] see a direct link between themselves and
the Pharisees, and historians generally consider Pharisaic
Judaism to be the progenitor of Rabbinic Judaism, that is
normative, mainstream Judaism after the destruction of
the Second Temple.

For most of their history, Pharisees considered

themselves in opposition to the Sadducees. Conflicts
between the Sadducees and the Pharisees took place in
the context of much broader conflicts among Jews in the
Second Temple era, which followed the Babylonian
captivity of Judah. One conflict was class, between the
wealthy and the poor. Another conflict was cultural,
between those who favored hellenization and those who
resisted it. A third was juridico-religious, between those
who emphasized the importance of the Temple, and those
who emphasized the importance of other Mosaic laws and
prophetic values. A fourth, specifically religious, involved
different interpretations of the Bible (or Tanakh), and
how to apply the Torah to Jewish life, with the
Sadducees recognizing only the written letter of the

51
 Tanakh or Torah and rejecting life after death, while the
Pharisees held to Rabbinic interpretations additional to
the written texts.33

In short the Pharisees believed in the resurrection and

the Sadducees did not.
Paul was a Pharisee and zealous of the "law." "Though I
might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man
thinketh that he hath reason to trust in the flesh, I
more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; with
respect to the law, a Pharisee;
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; with respect to
the righteousness which is by the law, blameless." [

33

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the enthusiasts of the later Judaism. They "compassed sea
and land to make one proselyte." Their power and influence with the mass of the people was
immense. The loss of the national independence of the Jews, — the gradual extinction of their
political life, directly by the Romans, and indirectly by the family of Herod, — caused their
feelings to rally round their Law and their Religion, as the only center of unity which now
remained to them. Those, therefore, who gave their energies to the interpretation and exposition
of the Law, not curtailing any of the doctrines which were virtually contained in it and which had
been revealed with more or less clearness, but rather accumulating articles of faith, and
multiplying the requirements of devotion; — who themselves practiced a severe and ostentatious
religion, being liberal in alms-giving, fasting frequently, making long prayers, and carrying
casuistical distinctions into the smallest details of conduct; — who consecrated, moreover, their
best zeal and exertions to the spread of the fame of Judaism, and to the increase of the nation’s
power in the only way which now was practicable, — could not fail to command the reverence of
great numbers of the people. It was no longer possible to fortify Jerusalem against the Heathen:
but the Law could be fortified like an impregnable city. The place of the brave is on the walls and
in the front of the battle: and the hopes of the nation rested on those who defended the sacred
outworks, and made successful inroads on the territories of the Gentiles. Such were the
Pharisees.

52
 Philippians 3:4-6] As to all Jewish privileges, he
possessed them in the highest degree. He had
outstripped every one in holy zeal against innovators. But
when Saul became Paul all that changed. It was as if he
had been given ears to hear and eyes to see what God
really wanted from not only his chosen people but
mankind as a whole. And thus Paul set out with his
renewed understanding of Scripture and a mission that
would change the world!"

The mission of Paul and his theology is so clear to me that

I am amazed that more Pastors/Bible teachers have not
picked up on what seems to me to be an obvious truth
[Note: on reflection perhaps they have but to keep their
position in whatever denomination they belong to, rather
than Christ] . Paul was chosen to reach not only his own
people but those of a non Jewish persuasion {i.e.
Gentiles}34 and so he had not one but two commission. And

34
The leaders of the "Jerusalem Church" James and Peter in Antioch did not regard
themselves as founders of a new religion or for that matter connected with any Gentile
fellowships that appeared on the scene after Paul’s teachings. They were and regarded
themselves as Jews (from the house of Judah) while the Gentiles were (Israelite foreigners). The
Jews were from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi. While the Gentile believers that Paul
was bringing into the Fellowship of Christ were from the tribes of Israel: Gad, Ephraim,
Naphtali, Manesseh, Reuben, Asher, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar. These were the two joining
together of Jews and Gentiles in Ephesians is the binding of the two twigs spoken of in the Old
Testament. It is the joining together of the twelve tribes. These are the "Gentiles" that we read
about throughout Paul’s writings, and who he was sent to in the commission of Acts chapter 9
There are times when the Scriptures address the total nations of the earth but most times in the
singular the Scripture is speaking about the race of 12 tribes called by the southern tribes "goy"
Israel. Goy (Hebrew: regular plural goyim ) is the standard Hebrew biblical term for a "nation,"
including the "great nation" of Israel. Use of the plural, "nations," to refer to non-Jews is found
from "I will cast out the nations before thee" (Exodus 34:24) and long before Roman times it had

53
 as we begin to read in the book of Acts, we can see some
of this when we recognize when Paul wrote to the various
groups for example “For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek. “ [Romans 1:16 written around A.D. 58 From
Corinth Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote this
epistle (1:11-15). He intended to go to Rome after visiting
Jerusalem (15:23-28). This was his purpose in Acts 19:21.
This gives us a time setting. He was going to bear a
collection of alms from Macedonia and Achaia to
Jerusalem (15:26, 31). He carried the collection from
Corinth to Jerusalem at the close of this three months'
visit (Acts 24:17). When Paul wrote this epistle,
Timotheus, Sosipater, Gaius and Erastus were with him
(16:21-23). Out of these four, Luke mentions three in the
Acts as being with him at Corinth during the three
months' visit (Acts 20:4).]

The first record of Paul’s public witness is given in Acts

Chapter 9 where we read: And immediately he preached
Christ in the synagogues, [ Note: always to the Jew first]
that he is the Son of God. But Saul increased the more in
strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt at

also acquired the meaning of "gentile" Now look at the second chapter of Ephesians verses 12-14
and see the barrier between the two tribes and the ten coming together by the preaching of Paul.

54
 Damascus, proving that this is very Christ [verse 20, 22].
Incidentally these last references show that, to any Jew
acquainted with the Scriptures, the fact that Jesus was
the Christ would also prove that He was the Son of God35
( John 20:31, Matt 16:16 ), although to the untaught mind
such a connection would be neither necessary or obvious.
Later in Acts 17 we learn that this was his usual
procedure “And Paul, as his manner was, went in to them,
and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of
the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that it was needful
that Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead;
and that this Jesus, whom I preach to you, is Christ.
[verses 2-3]

Note: the following that at Antioch the Jews withstood

the gospel and were stricken with judicial blindness “Be it
known to you therefore, men, brethren, that through this
man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; And by
him all that believe are justified from all things, from
which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is
spoken in the prophets;
Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work
a work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise
believe, though a man declare it to you. And when the

35
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I
begotten thee. (Psa 2:7)

55
Jews had gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them
the next Sabbat (Sabbath). Now when the congregation
was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes
followed Paul and Barnabas; who speaking to them,
persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the
next Sabbath came almost the whole city together to
hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the
multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against
those things which were uttered by Paul, contradicting
and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas became bold,
and said, It was necessary that the word of God should
first be spoken to you: but seeing ye reject it, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the
Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I
have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou
shouldst be for salvation to the ends of the earth. And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and
glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were
ordained to eternal life, believed. ( Acts 13: 38:48 ).

Notice also that Paul’s first miracle contrasts with

Peter’s first miracle. Peter heals a Jew; Paul blinds a Jew.
This Jew withstands the truth, and a Gentile, [ Paulus]
who bears the same name as the apostle believes.
Resulting from the opposition of the Jews at Antioch,
there is a local turning from the Jew to the Gentile and
Paul utters that word of warning which anticipates that
dreadful quotation of Isaiah 6 with which the Jew [the

56
 whole of the nation ] was to be set aside as we can so
easily see and read in Acts Chapter 28 “ 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.

And some believed the things which were spoken, and

some believed not.
And when they agreed not among themselves, they
departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well
spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall
hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and not perceive: For the heart of this people [The
Jewish leaders] is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and should be converted,
and I should heal them.36
Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God
is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
When the Jewish leaders representing the nation
refused, Paul turned to the (Gentiles) as God had

36
This prophecy is of deepest importance in Israel’s history. Written 7 times (Matt.!3:14,
Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, John 12:40, Acts 28:26-27, Rom.11:8 ) Quoted in three great
dispensational crises. Twice by Christ as coming from Jehovah on the day a council was held “to
destroy Him”and coming from Messiah in His glory after council taken to “put Him to death”.
The last time by Paul as coming from the Holy Spirit after they “believed not”.

57
 foretold hundreds of years before. (see the book of
Hosea where Israel became Lo-ammi = "not my people")
Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my
people, and I will not be your God. [Hosea Chapter 1 verse
9].

Establishing Paul an Apostle37 with an independent

ministry. Paul was an apostle but not one of the 12.

When the Apostle Paul preached the good news

concerning Christ and His Church, at Ephesus, his
ministry continued in Asia for the space of two years
(Acts 19:10). We read that the Word of God grew
mightily and prevailed, and that "all they which dwelt in
Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus." And yet, at the
close of his ministry, and of his life, he writes his last

37

The word "Apostle", from the Greek apostello "to send forth", "to dispatch", has etymologically a
very general sense. Apostolos (Apostle) means one who is sent forth, dispatched--in other words,
who is entrusted with a mission, rather, a foreign mission. It has, however, a stronger sense than
the word messenger, and means as much as a delegate. In the classical writers the word is not
frequent. In the Greek version of the Old Testament it occurs once, in1 Kings 14:6 (cf.1 Kings
12:24). In the New Testament, on the contrary. it occurs, according to Bruder's Concordance,
about eighty times, and denotes often not all the disciples of the Lord, but some of them specially
called. It is obvious that our Lord, who spoke an Aramaic dialect, gave to some of his disciples
an Aramaic title, the Greek equivalent of which was "Apostle". It seems to us that there is no
reasonable doubt about the Aramaic word being seliah, by which also the later Jews, and
probably already the Jews before Christ, denoted "those who were despatched from the mother
city by the rulers of the race on any foreign mission, especially such as were charged with
collecting the tribute paid to the temple service" (Lightfoot, "Galatians", London, 1896, p. 93).
The word apostle would be an exact rendering of the root of the word seliah,= apostello.

58
 Epistle to Timothy,38 when he says "I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand" (II
Timothy 1:15): "This thou knowest that all they that be in
Asia have turned away from me.".

We are told, on every hand, today, that we must go back

to the first three centuries to find the purity of faith
and worship of the primitive church! But it is clear from
this comparison of Acts 19:10 and II Timothy 1:15, that
we cannot go back to the first century. No, not even to
the apostle's own lifetime!
This turning away could not have been merely personal;
but must have included his teaching also. For in chapter
2, verse 18, he speaks of those "who concerning the truth
have erred." In chapter 3, verse 8, he speaks of those
who "resist the truth." In chapter 4, verse 4, he speaks
of those who "turn away their ears from the truth" and
are "turned unto fables."

It was what we now know as Pauline truth and teaching

from which all had "turned away." It was this turning
away from the truth as taught by the Holy Spirit through
Paul, especially as contained in the Epistle to the

38
We might also point out that there is some evidence that Timothy was possibly not the
last of Paul’s writing as we note that Colossians 1:25 clearly states:
To fulfill the word of God - The Greek πληρωσαι τον λογον του Θεου may be translated, fully
to preach the doctrine of God. Were we to take the word in its common meaning, it might
signify to accomplish the purpose of God, as predicted by the prophets. “To complete the word of
God.” which would seem to indicate that Paul wrote the “last” word.

59
Ephesians, that led necessarily:

To the loss of the teaching concerning the Mystery; that

truth concerning the One Body of Christ. The effect of
this was at once to put everything wrong ecclesiastically,
and to make room for all the various and different
"Bodies," so-called, with all the consequent divisions and
schisms of the church. Instead of recognizing "the One
Body" which God had made, men set about making their
own "Bodies" and Sects! and with this ecclesiastical
confusion came the loss of the truth as to the Christian's
perfect standing in Christ as having died and risen in Him.

Next, after this, went the truth of the Lord's promised

return from heaven; [see notes on Matthew 24] and of
resurrection, as the one great and blessed hope of the
church. Other hopes, or rather fears, came in their place,
and "death and judgment" took the place of those lost
hopes. Having lost the truth of what God had made Christ
to be unto us, and the joy as to our standing thus given, in
looking for that blessed hope, preparation for death and
judgment was the necessary result, and therefore:

The next thing to go was the truth as to what God had

made us to be in Christ; and "justification by faith" and
by grace was lost. The way was now open for the full tide
of error to come in: and it came in, like a flood, with all
the corruption and superstition that ended in centuries
that have the significant description "the dark ages."

60
 Everyone is familiar with the term, and with the fact. But
what were the dark ages? How did they come? They were
not brought on suddenly by some untoward event. There
must have been some cause, something that made them
possible. The corruption was historical. The Eastern
churches today are in similar darkness. And the Western
churches, where the Reformation has not removed it, are
in the same darkness.

The Reformation what was it? The beginning of a

recovery of these great truths? The remarkable fact is
that the recovery of these truths has taken place in the
inverse order to that in which they were lost.

Justification by grace through faith was the first great

truth recovered at the Reformation. This was the truth
over which that great battle was fought and won, though
the victory was far from complete. For not until the
beginning of the nineteenth century did the Lord's
return39 from heaven begin to be understood as the

39
There are at least four approaches to prophetic interpretation of the return of Christ in
Christianity 1) Preterism (from the Latin praeteritus meaning “gone by”) which sees prophecy as
having been fulfilled in the past.
2) Historicism says that Biblical prophecies provide us with a broad view of history, as well as
an explanation of the religious significance of historical events. Historicists attempt to identify
prophetic passages with major events in history.
3) Futurism which states that parallels may be drawn with historic events. But most events have
not yet been fulfilled but will take place at the end of the age during a time known as the “Great
Tribulation.
4) Idealism, also known as "spiritual" or "symbolic", the events described in prophecy are neither

61
 blessed hope of His church. In later years the subject
became more and more precious to increasing numbers.
However, this great and "blessed hope" is not yet really
learned, because it ought to be the natural outcome of
truth received and held, instead of being treated as an
independent subject artificially produced. It must come
from the heart and developed into the life, and not to be
merely held and retained in the head, if it is to be
productive of the blessed results seen in the
Thessalonian church. It must be learned experimentally
as a vital and essential part of our standing as Christians,
and not be studied as if it were an extra subject, in order
to produce Thessalonian fruit. Hence, it is that we more
often see prophecy taken up as a study, rather than as
the result of indwelling of God's Son from heaven.
The last of the three truths to be recovered is the truth
taught in The book of Ephesians; and it is only in our own
day that we see any real sense of the loss, with any real
effort to recover it. The truth of the Mystery, as it was
the first to go, so, it seems, is the last to be recovered.

past, present, nor future, but are representative of larger ideals and principles. Eschatological
prophecy deals with the ongoing struggle between the forces of light and darkness, and the
ultimate triumph of good over evil. Its message is purely a spiritual one, an allegory of the
spiritual path, which is equally relevant in all ages and for all people.

62
It is with the hope of doing something to recover this
truth that this book has been written on the Theology of
Paul and his Epistles. May the Lord use them to bring
back vital truths to their proper place, that their power
may be felt in the hearts and seen in the lives of an
increasing number of the members of the Body of Christ.

The cause of all the confusion around is that thousands

of those who profess to be Christians know little or
nothing of these Pauline (Church) Epistles, that have
produced Paul’s theology. There is no other profession
they could enter without being able to pass a satisfactory
examination in the text books, set forth for that
purpose. There is no position in life that anyone could
apply for without being asked how much one knew of its
duties and responsibilities. The Christian "profession" is
treated in quite a different manner, and as quite a
different matter. Anyone may undertake that, and all the
while be totally ignorant of these Pauline Church Epistles:
-- "The Creed, the Lord's prayer, and the Ten
Commandments" are considered as sufficient for
Christian position and profession. Hence the almost total
neglect of these Epistles. The four Gospels and the
Sermon on the Mount are taken as the essence of
Christianity, instead of the Epistles specially addressed
to Church which is His Body. Hence the great ignorance
of Christians as to all that God has made Christ to be
unto His People and all that He has made them to be in
Him. Not knowing their standing in Christ, and their

63
completeness and perfection in Him, they are easily led
into error concerning their state and their walk. Many,
who know they are justified by grace, yet seek to be
sanctified by works.

Nothing but full knowledge of what is revealed for our

instruction in these Church Epistles will effectually
deliver us from all the new doctrines and schools of
thought which find an entrance into our midst.

May our great Head of the Body the Church, own this
effort, and use it and bless it to the deliverance of many
from all the variable winds of doctrine, and build them up
in their most holy faith.

The Conversion of [Shaul] Saul to become Paul, your

Apostle

PAUL'S MINISTRY
Song by: Kitty Wells
The Lord said, "Stand up, Paul, and dry up your tears,
You must preach my Gospel for many long years.
Go to Damascus, the street that's called Straight.
You'll meet Ananias, and there you must wait.

64
 CHORUS:
I counted on Jonah, I counted on Cain,
I counted on Adam, but he was the same.
I counted on Judas, but he proved untrue.
So go tell the world, Paul, I'm counting on you."
2. Three days have gone by, Lord, and yet I don't see,
But here stands my brother talking with me.
He said, "Brother Paul, the Lord in the sky
Has sent me to heal you and open your eyes.
CHORUS:
3. "I'll send you to the Gentiles, I'll send you to Rome,
But Paul, you must suffer till I call you home.
You'll sleep in the desert, you'll be shipwrecked at sea,
But keep right on preaching my Gospel for Me."

What was the reason that God chose [Sha’ul ] Saul? Read
the following verses and then we’ll talk :
"And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat
nor drink.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named
Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And
he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street
which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

65
 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in,
and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his
sight.
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of
this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at
Jerusalem:
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to
bind all that call on thy name.
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:" Acts 9:9-15
First of all note the order in which Paul was to go sent by
God: the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:"
and as you read the Book of Acts you will find that there
is a problem for Paul first went to the Children of
Israel,40 then to the kings and then finely to the Gentiles
(non Jewish people) just the opposite of what we just
read together! Why? Because I believe that the Holy
Spirit of God wanted us to sit up and take notice of the
commission that Paul was to receive. Called by God to a
High calling To go to the world (the world outside the

40
While I am completely aware of the potential immensity of pages that could be written
on this subject, and in fact have been, I will attempt to keep it as succinct as possible. If nothing
else, after reading this, I hope to have shaken your theology and your understanding of who
Paul was and the life he lived. I hope to show you that Paul kept the Torah of God his entire life,
and in fact, went to extremes to prove that he did so. Finally, I will show that Paul never taught
the new believers to forsake the Torah (the Tanach being all he had to preach from,) but instead,
encouraged them to live it by the power of the Spirit. As Paul himself said, “So then, the Law
(Torah) is holy, and what it commands is holy and upright and good. (Romans 7:12) . . In my
inmost self I dearly love God's law (Torah)

66
little country of Israel). Remember what Jesus told the
12? 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:” (Matthew 10:5)
Each step and stop that we take is ordered by the Lord
Christ Jesus. It was necessary that the "Lost Sheep of
the house of Israel" be given the chance first to receive
their Messiah [their anointed one-sent by God to rescue
the 12 tribes as was promised in the Hebrew scriptures].
So the 12, Peter, James, John and the others were sent
out with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Even as John the
baptizer proclaimed in the wilderness " In those days
came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of
Judea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand." (Matthew 3:1-2) And after John was thrown into
prison Christ came on the scene and began to preach Now
when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he
departed into Galilee;
And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,
which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon
and Nephthalim:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, saying,
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the
way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to
them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is

67
sprung up.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew
4:12-17)
What was this Kingdom that John and Jesus were
preaching about?
The Kingdom (or Sovereignty) of HEAVEN
Has Messiah for its King;
It is from heaven; and under the heavens upon the earth;
It is limited in its scope;
It is political in its sphere;
It is Jewish and exclusive in its character;
It is national in its aspect;
It is the special subject of Old Testament prophecy;
And it is dispensational in its duration.
Preaching {THE KINGDOM} This was the message given
by the Messiah and by the 12 apostles and by John the
Baptist to the nation of Israel. And what about Paul....?
But that is enough for you to think about for now...

Enemies of God- Paul

68
 From Paul’s conversion to his death he never thought that
he was "starting a new religion"! It seems that Paul had
the understanding of what we call the Old Testament (or
better the Hebrew Scriptures). Paul came from Cilicia
(specifically Tarsus) and became a follower of Jesus in
Syria (Demascus). Paul didn’t even go to Judea for 3
years after he professed his allegiance to Jesus, and
then he spent only 2 weeks. After this first visit it was
14 years before he returned. Paul was by his own account
first a Jew.41 Though I might also have confidence in the

41
Do we really have examples of Paul going out of his way to prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that he continued to follow the Torah? Yes! The writer of Acts gives us an
account of Paul completing his Nazirite vow, and paying for four other men to buy their
sacrifices in order to fulfill their vows. In this passage we find James telling Paul, “Take them
[the four men] and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their

69
 flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he
might trust in the flesh, I more:

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any

other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust
in the flesh, I more:

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the

tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as
touching the law, a Pharisee;

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the

tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as
touching the law, a Pharisee;

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the

righteousness which is in the law, blameless." (Phil. 34-6 ).
2
How then could he have know the risen Christ beyond his
private revelation on the Damascus road. You have the
answer right in front of you dear Saint of God! He was a
Pharisee a teacher of the Law [The word Pharisees comes
from the Hebrew prushim from parush, meaning
"separated", that is, one who is separated for a life of
purity. The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a
political party, a social movement, and a school of thought
among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple

heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are
nothing, but
that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law (Acts 21:21-25) Not only do we learn from
this that Paul is following Torah, but also, he is still involved with the sacrifices in the Temple!
SEE ENDNOTES on Nazirite

70
Era (536 BC–70 AD). After the destruction of the
Second Temple, the Pharisaic sect was re-established as
Rabbinic Judaism — which ultimately produced normative,
traditional Judaism, the basis for all contemporary forms
of Judaism and even the Karaites use the Rabbinic canon
of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.]

Paul was a scholar and taught by scholars and why he

went at once to begin to preach "For I delivered unto you
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas,[ Peter] then of the

twelve:

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren

at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep.

After that, he was seen of James; then of all the

apostles.

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out

of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to

be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God." 1 Cor.15:3-9

The thing to notice here that according to Luke Paul’s

71
biographer is that Jesus "appeared " to Paul from the
Greek Optanomai ophthe "he was seen" which means in
our English to allow one's self to be seen. Paul put his
experience along with others who "saw" the risen Christ!
"Paul, an apostle, (not from men, neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from
the dead ) Gal.1:1. Called to be an apostle by the Very one
whom he persecuted. What a beautiful testimony for us
to emulate Saints, That is forgiveness! No wonder Paul
could write in Romans Chapter 5 verse eight "But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, [ sinners by nature] Christ died for us." The
word sinners is Hamartolos (ham-ar-to-los'); which has
the force from the figure of speech [Greek Cat-a-bas-is
or Gradual Descent {see Phil. 2: 6-8} used to emphasize
humiliation, sorrow ] where Paul uses in verse 10 as
enemies."For if, when we were enemies,( by practice) we
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 5:10 Which then we translate that verse But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet enemies see Romans Chapter 5 verse ten, Christ died
for us." . Now think of your most hated enemy. Would you
die for them? Well Christ did and that was not lost of
our Apostle Paul. Also note the word Reconciled we’ll
come back to that latter.

But for now think on these things. God died on the cross
through Christ that He might give to you eternal life.

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 An Apostle= a "Sent One"

We have been considering the man that many have never

heard of, and those that have heard of Him would rather
follow a time before he came on the scene. That is Paul
the Apostle to the Gentiles (now unless you’re a person of
the Jewish persuasion, this is the man you should follow).
There are several reasons why Christians have never fully
grasped the importance of the New Testament writings
of Paul. First, many Christian Pastors don’t understand
him and thought that their studies in Seminary was all
about being a good “manager” as a result never bothered
studying the 14 Books given to us by God through the
Apostle Paul, which we have in our Bible as worth
studying! We have the same mentality in our Seminaries.42

I once ask a student about his studies in regards the

Apostle’s writings and he replied "Oh yes I had a
semester of all Paul’s books, and he is too old fashioned
for me I am past all that stuff"! Duh! a semester!!! I ask
an old Bible teacher the same question and he replied " I
have been studying the Epistles of Paul for 35 years and

42
Although many in our Seminaries have learned about Sha’ul (Paul) and his writings
few if any dare teach correctly Paul’s theology for fear of losing their position. See my article on
“Ten things your Pastor is afraid to tell you”.

73
I think I am beginning to get a handle on understanding
him a little bit"! And in my case, after teaching for more
than forty (40) years in several languages, in numerous
countries to thousands of scholars, I feel as though I
have just taken off my water wings and stepped into the
deep part of the swimming pool. What about you? In my
opinion readers not to try to understand Paul is like
trying to drive a automobile without first putting petrol
in the tank or even siting on the drivers side and never
putting the key in the ignition. So the first reason Paul is
not understood is that he is seldom read with any
thought. For example Paul wrote this: For it hath been
declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are
of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among
you.

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul;

and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is
Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye
baptized in the name of Paul?
( 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 )The reason was that those first
century Christian were as divisive as what you see around
you today. “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as
unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in
Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto
ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you

envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and

74
walk as men?

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of

Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by

whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? (1
Corinthians 3:1-5).

But the issue was even greater than that of playing

"Whose my favorite Apostle" Because the issue was that
many (including some of the 12 didn’t believe that Paul
was an apostle . An Apostle[ Greek Apostolos (ap-os'-tol-
os); was one that was especially delegated by the sender
in this case it was God Himself that picked out Paul for
this mission;
Paul styles himself "an apostle", as he was, having seen
Christ in person, and received his commission, doctrine,
and qualifications immediately from him, with a power of
doing miracles to confirm the truth of his mission. This
he chose to make mention of, partly because the false
teachers everywhere insinuated that he was not an
apostle; and partly to give the greater sanction and
authority, and command the greater regard and credit to
what he should say; as well as to excuse his freedom in
writing to them whom he had never seen, since he was an
apostle of the Gentiles,

Ro 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an

APOSTLE, separated unto the gospel of God,

Ro 1:5 By whom we have received grace and

75
APOSTLEship, for obedience to the faith among all
nations, for his name:

Ro 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the

APOSTLE of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

1co 1:1 Paul, called to be an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ

through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

1co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the
APOSTLEs last, as it were appointed to death: for we are
made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to
men.

1co 9:1 Am I not an APOSTLE? am I not free? have I not

seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the
Lord?

1co 9:2 If I be not an APOSTLE unto others, yet

doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine APOSTLEship
are ye in the Lord.

1co 9:5 Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife,

as well as other APOSTLEs, and as the brethren of the
Lord, and Cephas?

1co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first
APOSTLEs, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues.

1co 12:29 Are all APOSTLEs? are all prophets? are all
teachers? are all workers of miracles?

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1co 15:9 For I am the least of the APOSTLEs, that am
not meet to be called an APOSTLE, because I persecuted
the church of God.

2co 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ by the will of

God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God
which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all
Achaia:

2co 11:5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very
chiefest APOSTLEs.

2co 12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have

compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of
you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest
APOSTLEs, though I be nothing.

2co 12:12 Truly the signs of an APOSTLE were wrought

among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and
mighty deeds.

Ga 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE, (not of men, neither by man, but

by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him
from the dead;)

Ga 1:19 But other of the APOSTLEs saw I none, save

James the Lord's brother.

Ga 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the

APOSTLEship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in
me toward the Gentiles )

Eph 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ by the will of

77
God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus:

Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto
the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy
APOSTLEs and prophets And he gave some, APOSTLEs;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; by the Spirit;

Eph 4:11

Col 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ by the will of

God, and Timotheus our brother,

1ti 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ by the

commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope;

1ti 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an

APOSTLE, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not a
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

2ti 1:1 Paul, an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ by the will of

God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus,

2ti 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an

APOSTLE, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

Tit 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an APOSTLE of Jesus

Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the
acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness

It was this very fact that Paul had to fight to be heard.

78
 And today, Who hears Paul? In every book that bears
Paul’s name he has to strive to be heard. More this next
time.

Paul’s Party and his opposition

When God called Paul, I am sure that Paul had some idea
that things would be a wee bit difficult (understatement
for those who need help in thinking this through). But He
had studied with some of the very best theologians of his
day and was no mean scholar as he had given himself over
to the study of "the Law"43

43

For Paul, the facts were matter of common knowledge; it was the interpretation of the *facts
which was in dispute. Paul was living in Jerusalem only a very few years at the latest after the
crucifixion of Jesus. The prophet of Nazareth had certainly created considerable stir in Jerusalem
as well as in Galilee. These things were not done in a corner. The general outlines of the life of
Jesus were known to friend and foe alike. Even indifference could hardly have brought
forgetfulness. But Paul was not indifferent. Before his conversion, as well as after it, he was
interested in Jesus. That was what made him the most relentless of the persecutors.
The bare facts of the earthly life of Jesus did not, therefore, constitute in Paul's mind a "gospel."
Everyone knew the facts—the Pharisees as well as the disciples. The facts could be obtained
through a thousand channels. Paul did not reflect as to where he got them. Before the conversion,
he heard the reports of the opponents of Jesus, and the common gossip of the crowds. After the
conversion, there were many eye-witnesses who could be questioned—perhaps in Damascus and
even in Arabia as well as in Jerusalem. It never occurred to Paul to regard himself as a disciple of

79
 which is all that the Jewish believers had at that time.
the men who merely reported the facts, any more than the modem man feels a deep gratitude to
the newspaper in which he reads useful information. If that particular paper had not printed the
news, others would have done so. The sources of information are so numerous that no one of
them can be regarded as of supreme importance. For us, the sources of information about the life
of Jesus are limited. Hence our veneration for the Gospels. But Paul was a contemporary of
Jesus; the sources of his information about Jesus were so numerous that they could not be
counted.

Thus, when Paul says that he received his gospel from the risen Christ, he does not mean that the
risen Christ revealed to him the facts of the life of Jesus. He had known the facts

before—only they had filled him with hatred. What he received at his conversion was a new
interpretation of the facts. Instead of continuing to persecute the disciples of Jesus, he accepted
Jesus as living Lord and Master. Conceivably, the change might have been wrought through the
preaching of the disciples; Paul might have received his gospel through the ministrations of
Peter. But such was not the Lord's will. Suddenly, on the road to Damascus, Jesus called him.
Paul had heard, perhaps, of the call of the first disciples; he had heard of those who left home and
kindred to follow the new teacher. He had heard only to condemn. But now it was his turn. Jesus
called, and he obeyed. Jesus, whom he knew only too well—destroyer of the Temple, accursed
by the law, crucified, dead and buried—was living Lord. Jesus called him—called him not
merely to revering imitation of the holy martyr, not merely to a new estimate of events that were
past, but to present, living communion with himself. Jesus himself, in very presence, called him
into communion, and into glorious service. That, and that only, is what Paul means when he says
that he received his gospel not from man but by revelation of Jesus Christ.
Neither by Paul himself, therefore, nor by the original apostles was Paul regarded as an innovator
with reference to Jesus. On the contrary he regarded himself and was regarded by others as a true
disciple. The presumption is that opinion was correct. For both Paul himself, and the early
Christians with whom he came into contact were contemporaries of Jesus, and had every
opportunity to know him. If Paul had detected any fundamental divergence between his own
teaching and that of Jesus of Nazareth, then he could not have remained Jesus' disciple. Unless,
indeed, the conversion was supernatural. But the conversion was not supernatural if it left Paul in
disharmony with Jesus. For it purported to be wrought by Jesus himself. If supernatural, the
conversion could not have left Paul in disharmony with the historical Jesus, because it was
wrought by an appearance of Jesus; if not supernatural, it would have been insufficient to make
Paul regard himself as a disciple of one with whom he did not agree. That the original apostles
had every opportunity for knowing the historical Jesus requires no proof. Yet undoubtedly they
accepted Paul as a disciple.

80
Now there were several groups to chose from The
Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in
the second century BC, possibly as a political party. They
ceased to exist sometime after the first century AD.
While little or none of their own writings have been
preserved, the Sadducees seem to have indeed been a
priestly group, associated with the leadership of the
Temple in Jerusalem. Possibly, Sadducees represent the
aristocratic clan of the Hasmonean high priests.

The Essenes were, strictly speaking, an ascetic Jewish

religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC
to the 1st century AD. Many separate, but related
religious groups of that era shared similar mystic,
eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These
groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as
the "Essenes". The Essenes may have emerged as a sect
of dissident priests. They are believed to have rejected
either the Seleucid appointed high priests, or the
Hasmonean high priests, as illegitimate. Ultimately, they
rejected the Second Temple, arguing that the Essene
community was itself the new Temple, and that obedience
to the law represented a new form of sacrifice.

The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result

of the discovery of an extensive group of religious
documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, commonly
believed as being their library. These documents include
preserved multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible untouched
from as early as 300 BC until their discovery in 1946. The
multiple copies of the Old Testament in the original
81
Hebrew confirmed that the Old Testament has remained
relatively unchanged since it was redacted in 450 BCE,
with some slight changes in wording but not meaning.
Among the scrolls recording each "book" of the Bible
separately, only the Book of Esther did not survive the
effects of time. This library also included many other,
diverse religious texts, adding significant historical
insights into various social and religious movements and
events around the region.

The main source of information about the life and belief

of Essenes is the detailed account contained in a work of
the 1st century Jewish historiographer Flavius Josephus
entitled The Jewish War written about 73-75 AD (War
2.119-161) and his shorter description in his Antiquities
of the Jews finished some 20 years later (Ant. 18.11 &
18-22). Claiming first hand knowledge (Life §§10-11), he
refers to them by the name Essenoi and lists them as the
followers of one of the three sects in "Jewish
Philosophy'" (War 2.119) alongside the Pharisees and the
Sadducees. The only other known contemporary accounts
about the Essenes are two similarly detailed ones by the
Jewish philosopher Philo (fl. c. 20 AD - c. 54 AD; Quod
Omnis Probus Liber Sit XII.75-87, and the excerpt from
his Hypothetica 11.1-18 preserved by Eusebius, Praep.
Evang. Bk VIII), who, however, admits to not being quite
certain of the Greek form of their name that he recalls
as Essaioi (Quod Omn. Prob. XII.75), the brief reference
to them by the Roman equestrian Pliny the Elder (fl. 23
AD - 79 AD; Natural History, Bk 5.73). Pliny, also a

82
geographer and explorer, located them in the desert near
the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead
Sea Scrolls were discovered in the year 1947.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in caves at Qumran, are

believed to be the work of Essenes or to reflect Essene
beliefs.

Then we had the Zealots The Zealots were a "fourth

sect", founded by Judas of Galilee (also called Judas of
Gamala) and Zadok the Pharisee in the year 6 against
Quirinius' tax reform, shortly after the Roman state
declared what had most recently been the territory of
the tribe of Judah a Roman Province, and that they
"agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but
they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say
that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord." (18.1.6)

The Zealots were a Jewish political movement in the 1st

century which sought to incite the people of Iudaea
Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it
from the country by force of arms during the Great
Jewish Revolt (CE 66-70). When the Romans introduced
the imperial cult, the Jews unsuccessfully rebelled. The
Zealots continued to oppose the Romans due to Rome's
intolerance of their culture and on the grounds that
Israel belonged only to a Jewish king descended from
King David.

And then we had Paul’s chosen group. Perhaps the

"fundamentalist" of the day. The Pharisees The Pharisee
("separatist") party emerged largely out of the group of
83
scribes and sages who harked back to Ezra and the Great
Assembly, were one of at least four major schools of
thought within the Jewish religion around the first
century and were most prominently in opposition to the
Sadducee sect. [The only two that we read about in our
Bible are the Pharisees and the Sadducees]. They were
also one of several successor groups of the Hasidim (the
"pious"), an anti-Hellenistic Jewish movement that
formed in the time of the Seleucid king, Antiochus
Epiphanes (175–163 BC). (This group is distinct from the
Hasidism established in 18th century Europe.) The social
standing and beliefs of the Pharisees changed over time,
such that the role, significance, and meaning of the
Pharisees evolved as political and social conditions in
Judea changed. The sages of the Talmud [The Talmud is a
record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law,
ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of
Rabbinic Judaism, second only to the Hebrew Bible in
importance ] see a direct link between themselves and
the Pharisees, and historians generally consider Pharisaic
Judaism to be the progenitor of Rabbinic Judaism, that is
normative, mainstream Judaism after the destruction of
the Second Temple. For most of their history, Pharisees
considered themselves in opposition to the Sadducees.
Conflicts between the Sadducees and the Pharisees took
place in the context of much broader conflicts among
Jews in the Second Temple era, which followed the
Babylonian captivity of Judah. One conflict was class,
between the wealthy and the poor. Another conflict was

84
cultural, between those who favored hellenization and
those who resisted it. A third was juridico-religious,
between those who emphasized the importance of the
Temple, and those who emphasized the importance of
other Mosaic laws and prophetic values. A fourth,
specifically religious, involved different interpretations
of the Bible (or Tanakh), and how to apply the Torah to
Jewish life, with the Sadducees recognizing only the
written letter of the Tanakh or Torah and rejecting life
after death, while the Pharisees held to Rabbinic
interpretations additional to the written texts.

In short the Pharisees believed in the resurrection and

the Sadducees didn’t that is why they were Sad U see.

Sorry, but after that wee history lesson we needed a

break! Paul was a Pharisee and zealous of the "law."
"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any
other man thinketh that he hath reason to trust in the
flesh, I more:

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the

tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; with
respect to the law, a Pharisee;

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; with respect to

the righteousness which is by the law, blameless." [
Philippians 3:4-6]
As to all Jewish privileges, he possessed them in the
highest degree. He had outstripped every one in holy zeal
against innovators. But when Saul became Paul all that

85
 changed. It was as if he had been given ears to hear and
eyes to see what God really wanted from not only his
chosen people but mankind as a whole. And thus Paul set
out with his renewed understanding of scripture and a
mission that would change the world!"44

Next time...

We’ll look at that mission.

44
In essence, the Gospel Paul preached was in fact the original Gospel given in the Torah
itself. However, over the course of time the sages had distorted and added much to it. So much
so, that when Paul preached the true ways of God, many thought he was actually preaching
against the Word of God itself. They weren’t able to make the distinction between Written and
Oral Torah. Although, as already noted above, the leading apostles understood the differences
and knew Paul was preaching truth. The best way to understand the prevailing view of how a
person was saved it to quote the Mishnah passage which states, “All Israel have a portion in the
world-to-come, ( In Jewish understanding there were two worlds -the present, and the world to
come) for it is written, ‘Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”Sanhedrin 10.1 The quote
from the Mishnah says that a place in the word-to-come is based upon a status of righteousness.
Israel has a place in the world-to come because ‘Your people are all righteous.’ What did they
mean by this statement? . . . righteousness is attributed to all who are members of the covenant.
Righteousness is a matter of God’s willingness to reckon the pious deeds of the fathers to their
offspring and to forgive and show mercy when Israel sins. Thus, the place in the world-to-come
which belongs to all of Israel is a matter of God’s grace, not something earned or merited.

86
 The Mission of Paul

“All roads lead to Rome”

Note: The Study of Scripture for me encompasses a

restudy of everything that I have learned before just to
make sure that what has been learned is and fits with the
new enlightenment. God provides new truth as we grow in
grace. It is as we begin to understand deeper truth that
we follow the leading of the Spirit of God. Sometimes it
comes as a flash of intuitive knowledge other times it
comes through the exhaustive study of hard subjects.
But rest assured it will come as you are ready and
prepared.

Dear Saints,
So where does this logic lead to? It leads to either
having to be born by Jewish parents, or, to become a Jew
in order to have a place in the world-to-come.
Therefore, the only way a Gentile could become a part of
Israel was to go through the ritual of becoming a
proselyte. This included, but was not limited to
circumcision, mikvah (baptism,) along with several other
practices that the sages had instituted. After the
ceremony, the person was considered Jewish, and

87
therefore, had a place in the world-to-come. This whole
process of becoming a Jew (proselyte) was referred to as
circumcision.
However, no where in the Word do we see God outlining a
process
whereby Gentiles were to become Jews in order to be
saved.

Though sanctioned by the Sages, it was not God’s way.

God never
intended Gentiles to become Jews. What He had revealed
was that the Gentiles would attach themselves to Israel
by faith in God, and that in their attachment to Israel
they would be blessed in the covenant, bearing both the
responsibilities as well as the privileges and blessings of
the Torah.
Indeed, it is clearly stated in the Torah that there would
be one and the same Torah for both the native born and
the resident alien.
This is what caused Paul so many problems. It wasn’t that
he was
preaching anything new, in fact, it was the original Gospel.
He himself states, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that
God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the
gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the
nations shall be blessed.’ 45

45
Galatians 3:8, NKJV

88
However, in his time, this was a teaching that went
against the
accepted grain of rabbinical interpretation, not to
mention that in some ways he was lessening the
importance of being a Jew. Nationality wasn’t what
mattered when it came having a place in the world-to-
come. He tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.46

I had a deacon one time who ask me after I had finished

a study and told the group “check me out”! “Pastor, Don’t
you know what you believe?” I replied “Yes, but you need
to know and learn from God what you believe. ” So much
of the time many take what someone else teaches and
never question the truth of what is taught. I want you to
check out everything I teach and if you are able try to
find a flaw or an inconsistency in what I present. If you
do let me know so that I my adjust my thinking. That will
make us both better Christians and students of God’s
most Holy Word. What I teach I believe is 99% correct
but I leave 1% for the possibility of error.

One expects that at some point there will be

disagreement remember “You get 6 Jews together and
you’ll have 12 opinions”! This wee part of our study has
caused many a pastor to stomp out of the hall, cancel

46
Galatians 3:28, NKJV

89
 their subscription to “boys life” and run home to hide
under the blanket! Why you may ask? Go ahead, I’ll wait!
Because, when one begins to go deep in history and deep
in Scripture it’s a wee more that a child’s prayer before
eating “Rub, a dub, dub thanks from the grub”.

My contention is that the closer you get to the original

languages, and the deeper you go in your studies ( the
meaning is rather like peeling an onion, it has layers) and
other times there are gems hidden in plain sight!.

The mission of Paul is so clear to me that I am amazed

that more Pastors/Bible teachers have not picked up on
what seems to me to be an obvious truth. Let alone teach
their respective fellowships the “Truth of the Truth”.
Paul was chosen to reach not only his own people but
those of a non Jewish persuasion {i.e. Gentiles} and so he
had not one but two commission. Add to that as N. T.
Wright47 suggests that as Paul learned or perhaps we
would say, re-learned Scripture again (for if at one
reading you think you have arrived, when you haven’t even
left the bus station) Paul was labouring under three world
views.

First, was that of Judaism. Second-temple Judaism was

comprised of religion, culture and politics. Quite similar in

47
N. T. Wright is the Bishop of Durham for the church of England. He previously taught
New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford, and has continues to write and speak
on Biblical Theology and Christian History.

90
many ways to what we observe in the 21st century here in
America. All clamoring over the same issues, but from
their myopic viewpoint.
Looking for the “Age to come” Note: According to the
Jewish belief at the time there were two ages 1) the
present Age, and 2) the Age to come. In the present age,
it was according to Scripture and the Jewish experience
(remember the exile to Babylon and the constant wars
with Assyria) it was necessary to keep religious purity
and separate from the ever encroaching pagan world of
Rome.

Second, we note a Greek influence or the Hellenistic

culture. 300 years previous, Alexander the Great and the
Greek culture had by Paul’s day permeated most of the
Eastern Mediterranean. Greek had become everyone’s
second language. The style of Greek rhetoric was so
pervasive that the culture and philosophy would be useful
to Paul in his task of reaching the Gentile nations for
Christ. Paul made the Jewish tradition, which taught him
the God of Abraham was the creator of the whole earth
and that all human beings were made in His image. And
therefore Paul was able to utilize the Jewish
understanding to address the common man as well as the
rulers of the rest of the world.
Third, the world view that Paul dealt with was that of
the Roman imperial ideology. Where the Jewish view point
had a tradition dating back nearly one thousand years to
the captivity in Egypt and the Exodus narrative. The first
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 century Hebrew had no problem in remembering the
flight from Egypt, the Passover and the telling of
oppression and liberation -of Esther and the Purim
celebration.
Rome and the Roman world had coopted from each of its
conquered neighbors the best of what the nations had to
offer. And so the Roman world spoke Greek as its first
and sometimes only language. Paul made full use of the
pagan language and imagery while infusing it with fresh
new meaning. Paul had become all things to all people. He
had been entrusted with the message of the Jewish
Messiah to take to the nations of the world -and so he
did!
And when we begin to read in the book of Acts. We can
see some of this when we recognize when Paul wrote to
the various groups for example “For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. “ [Romans 1:16 written around A.D.
58 From Corinth Paul had never been to Rome when he
wrote this epistle (1:11-15). He intended to go to Rome
after visiting Jerusalem (15:23-28). This was his purpose
in Acts 19:21. This gives us a time setting. He was going
to bear a collection of alms48 from Macedonia and Achaia

48
Alms-Any material favour done to assist the needy and prompted by charity. Which
every Hebew knew was part and parcel of the “law” Maimonides gives is as follows, who
observes: that
"we are bound to take heed to the commandment of alms more than all the affirmative
commands; because alms is a sign of a "righteous" man, the seed of Abraham our father; as it is
said, in Gen:18:19. Nor is the throne of Israel established, nor can the law of truth stand, but by

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 to Jerusalem (15:26, 31). He carried the collection from
Corinth to Jerusalem at the close of this three months'
visit (Acts 24:17). When Paul wrote this epistle,
Timotheus, Sosipater, Gaius and Erastus were with him
(16:21-23). Out of these four, Luke mentions three in the
Acts as being with him at Corinth during the three
months' visit (Acts 20:4).]

alms; as it is said, Pro.6:19. Nor shall Israel be redeemed, but by alms, according to Isa 1:27
There are (says he) eight degrees in giving alms, the one above another; the highest, than which
there is none higher, is this; when one relieves an Israelite, and gives him a gift, or lends to him,
or takes him into partnership, or finds him work, so that he strengthens his hands before he
stands in need of asking; and of this it is said, and "thou shalt relieve him, a stranger and a
sojourner, that he may live with thee": which is as much as to say, relieve him before he falls, and
is brought to necessity. The next to this is, when a man gives alms to the poor, and he knows not
to whom he gives; nor does the poor man know of whom he receives; for, behold, this is doing it
for the sake of it; as the chamber of secrets, which was in the sanctuary, into which righteous
men privately put, and the poor children of good men were privately supported: and the next to
this is, when a man puts into the alms chest: and a man does not put into the alms chest except he
knows that the governor is faithful and wise, and knows how to manage as should be; such an
one as R. Chananiah ben Tradion. The next to this is, when the giver knows to whom he gives,
but the poor man does not know from whom he receives; as the great ones of the wise men, who
used to go secretly, and cast their money at the doors of the poor; and this is right to do, and a
good method it is when the governors of alms do not dispose aright. The next to this is, when the
poor man knows of whom he takes, but does not know the giver; as the great men among the
wise men, who used to bind up their money in linen cloths, and put them behind them, and the
poor came and took them, that they might not be ashamed. The next to this is, when a man puts it
into his hands before he asks. The next to this is, when he gives to him after he has asked. The
next to this is, when he gives to him less than is proper, with a pleasant countenance. The next to
this is, when he gives with grief.''

Now this work, or duty, they magnify at a very great rate: not content to say , that
"he that does alms, does that which is more excellent than all offerings;'' they further affirm,
that "giving of alms and beneficence ‫הלוכ הרותה דגנכ‬, "are equal to the whole law";''

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The first record of Paul’s public witness is given in Acts
Chapter 9 where we read: And immediately he preached
Christ in the synagogues, [ Note: always to the Jew first
]that he is the Son of God. But Saul increased the more
in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt at
Damascus, proving that this is very Christ [verse 20, 22]
Incidentally these last references show that, to a Jew
acquainted with the Scriptures, the fact that if Jesus
was the Christ, it would also prove that He was the Son
of God ( John 20:31, Matt 16:16 ), although to the
untaught mind such a connection would be neither
necessary or obvious. Later in Acts Chapter 17 we learn
that this was his usual procedure “And Paul, as his manner
was, went in to them, and on three Sabbath days
reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and
alleging, that it was needful that Christ should suffer,
and rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I
preach to you, is Christ. [verses 2-3]

Please Note: the following that at Antioch the Jews

withstood the gospel and were stricken with judicial
blindness “Be it known to you therefore, men, brethren,
that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness
of sins;
And by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is
spoken in the prophets;
Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a

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work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise believe,
though a man declare it to you.
And when the Jews had gone out of the synagogue, the
Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to
them the next Sabbath.
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews
and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who
speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of
God.

And the next Sabbath came almost the whole city together
to hear the word of God.
But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with
envy, and spoke against those things which were uttered by
Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Then Paul and Barnabas became bold, and said, It was
necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to
you: but seeing ye reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of
everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee
to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for
salvation to the ends of the earth.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and
glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained
to eternal life, believed. ( Acts 13: 38:48 ).

Notice also that Paul’s first miracle contrasts with

Peter’s first miracle. Peter heals a Jew; Paul blinds a Jew.
This Jew withstands the truth, and a Gentile, [ Paulus]
who bears the same name as our apostle, believes.
Resulting from the opposition of the Jews at Antioch,

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there is a local turning from the Jew to the Gentile and
Paul utters that word of warning which anticipates that
dreadful quotation of Isaiah 6 with which the Jew was to
be finely set aside as we can so easily see and read in
Acts Chapter 28 “ 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.

And some believed the things which were spoken, and

some believed not.
And when they agreed not among themselves, they
departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well
spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall
hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and not perceive:
For the heart of this people [The Jewish leaders who
represented the whole nation] is waxed gross, and their
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;
lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them.
Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God
is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
Note: this is the third occasion of the quotation of these
words see Matthew 13:14,15 and John 12:40.

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When the Jewish leaders representing the nation
refused, Paul turned to us (Gentiles) as God had foretold
hundreds of years before. (see the book of Hosea where
Israel became Lo-ammi = "not my people") Then said God,
Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will
not be your God. [Hosea Chapter 1 verse 9].
Establishing Paul an Apostle with an independent ministry.
Paul was an apostle but not one of the 12.

Note:
This is just a a brief introductory Primer/study many
issues and concepts have been. deliberately by virtue of
necessity, left out. I merely hope to provide a jumping
off place for those who want more than "Sunday go to
meeting Christianity"

We would like for you to remember that the Christian

movement during its first century of existence was a
continuing quest to follow after its crucified leader the
one called “The Messiah, the anointed of God” not only
the son of man but God’s Son”.

The quest was the apocryphal quest of the “kingdom of

God” by Jesus, Paul and the earliest Christians should be
understood as both a spiritual journey and what was to
become an evolving political response to mindless acts of
violence, inequality and injustice that characterized and
still does all too often the kingdoms of men.

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Christianity was a movement that challenged the
heartless and arrogance of a vast Roman governmental
bureaucracy, which all the while denying to men, women,
and children the freedom, opportunity and integrity that
was given to the cynical special interests.

Chapter 4

A letter from Paul

Sometimes we find that God teaches up by inspiration, or

by hard work through the study of Divine Scripture. In
Paul’s case, as he wrote his words which were given to
others and interestingly enough from a linear perspective
is that we can see through internal evidence how Paul was
lead to write the (13) Books that bear his name (Hebrews
while not bearing Paul signature does also seem to reflect
his thoughts) . Many don’t understand the reason for
theses books and still more have never observed that
they were placed in the same order from the 1st century

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 onward.

After the book of Acts49. We find the Inter-relationship

of the Seven Church epistles in this manner.

Romans "Justification and the Cross" it is a Book of

"Doctrine and Instruction" The Gospel of God; never
hidden, but ‘promised afore". God’s justification of Jew
and Gentile individually- dead and risen with Christ
(Chapters 1-8 ).

Then we have the books of 1st and 2nd Corinthians

books of "Reproof" dealing with practical failure to
exhibit the teaching of Romans through not seeing their
standing as having died and risen with Christ (Leaven") in
practice. (1 Cor. 5:6 ).

Following that we have the Book of Galatians A book of "

Correction" Which deals with the Doctrinal failure as to
the teaching of Romans. Beginning with the truth of the
nature of the "spirit" These believers were soon removed
Chapter 1:6 [I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ, to another
gospel] and were trying to make perfect the old human
nature (flesh) Chapter 3:3 Galatians has to do with leaven
in Doctrine (5:9 ) We will stop here in order for those

49
A rather interesting observation is that Luke omits all reference to Peter, the great
Apostle, after the meeting at Jerusalem in Acts 15 and never tells about Peter’s subsequent career
or death. Even more disconcerting is at the close of the book when Paul gets to Rome there is no
reference to his career or his death. What was missed was the failure to notice the parallelism of
Paul with Peter. Luke seems to be more interested in showing the witness to Christ in Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. One of the distinguishing features of Lucan
ecclesiology is the overshadowing presence of the Spirit.

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who wish to read these book again and understand their
order. More on this later.

Here then is the internal evidence as to the Epistles of

Paul and the dates of their writing. Note that all are
written in the 1st Century before the destruction of the
Temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. [Note: Not all scholars agree
that the New Testament books were all completed prior to the
destruction of Jerusalem but this controversy will continue for years to
come. However until satisfactory evidence is forthcoming on the side
of late dating of the New Testament book, I personally would rather
side on internal evidence that I have found. ]

After believing for many years that 2 Timothy was Paul's

last letter, I found myself dismissing my solid proof. My
reason for 2 Timothy being the last letter was taken
from chapter 4, verses 6 & 7: "For I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith." This seemed to be my rock-hard proof of
the conclusion to his ministry. To me, this had to be his
last epistle. My other reason for this conclusion was that
in Acts 13:25 I read that Paul used similar word
describing John the Baptist finishing his course or work
up until that time.

My commanding problem was that in Acts 20:24, Paul

speaks of finishing his course also, but unlike John, he
still had a long way to go. Paul also spoke of "dying daily"
or being appointed to death, etc. long before he wrote
these words to Timothy of finishing his course. This
made me look again at the order of Paul's epistles. Maybe

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2nd Timothy was not the last.

No one I have read after has the final word on a

chronological order of the Apostle Paul's Epistles. That
is, because it is difficult to be precise about the order of
the events during his last days after the Acts period.
However, in comparing the Epistles with the historical
book of Acts, we find somewhat of an order of his early
Epistles. As we establish the epistles written during the
Acts period, we have those later epistles selected for us.

Paul's 8 Epistles written during the Acts period (AD 30 -

62)

AD 52 & 53 - (1st & 2nd letters) -

First & Second Thessalonians

from Corinth

These first two epistles of Paul were written soon after

the conversion of the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:8,9). The
news of their conversion was spreading (present tense
verb) through Macedonia and Achaia. Paul was taken from
them for a brief period (1 Thess. 2:17) and was recently
at Athens (1 Thess. 3:1). He had already preached in
Achaia (1 Thess. 1:7, 8 ) . Timotheus and Silas just
returned (1 Thess. 3:6) from Macedonia, which happened
(Acts 18:5) soon after Paul's first arrival at Corinth.
Then about four years later he writes......

AD 57 - (3rd letter) -

First Corinthians from Ephesus

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The date of this epistle is established more accurately
than Paul's other epistles. Apollos had been working at
Corinth, and was now with Paul in Ephesus (1 Cor. 1:12;
3:4,22; 4:6; 16:12). During the writing of this epistle Paul
resides at Ephesus (Acts 19:1), during the days of
unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:7) and intended on remaining
at Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor. 16:8 ) . He met with a
disturbance in the theatre. Aquila and Pricilla were with
him at Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:19) and had taken up their
residence at Ephesus just before the visit of Paul (Acts
18:26). After leaving Ephesus, Paul arranged to go
through Macedonia to Achaia (1 Cor. 16:5-7). Also, at that
time, the Great Collection was going on in Achaia (1 Cor.
16:1-3). When he wrote to the Romans from Corinth
during his three months' visit there (Acts 20:3), the
collection was concluded in Macedonia and Achaia (Rom.
15:26). Now, Paul hopes to go by Corinth to Jerusalem,
and then to Rome (1 Cor. 16:4 & 15:25-28 ) . The time he
entertained this personal plan was at the close of his
Ephesian residence (Acts 19:21).

AD 57 - (4th letter) -Second Corinthians from Macedonia

Paul was exposed to a great danger in Proconsular Asia,

i.e. at Ephesus (2 Cor. 1:8 ) . This happened in Acts 19:23-
41. Paul traveled from Troas after staying there for some
time and then made his voyage to Macedonia (Acts 20:1).
Paul was in Macedonia at the time of the writing (2 Cor.
9:2). The verb is in the present tense. He intended (2
Cor. 13:1) shortly to visit Corinth. This was the course of

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his journey in Acts 20:2.

AD 58 - (5th letter) -Galatians from Corinth

It is my understanding that this letter was not written

before Paul's second visit to the Galatians. He spoke of
their conversion as having occurred at his first visit
(4:13). This hints of two visits. "Am I now become your
enemy by speaking truth among you?" (4:16) implies a
second visit in which he had offended them. He was
welcome on his first visit. However, Paul marvels that
they forsake his teaching so quickly (1:6). A comparison
of the structure of the doctrine of Galatians and Romans
indicate that they were written around the same time.
However, there is nothing in this epistle to fix the date
of it. Nor is there any external evidence of a conclusive
nature supplied by other epistles. The content of this
letter is my basis for believing that it was written within
a few months of the Roman epistle.

AD 58 - (6th letter) -Romans from Corinth

Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote this epistle

(1:11-15). He intended to go to Rome after visiting
Jerusalem (15:23-28 ) . This was his purpose in Acts
19:21. This gives us a time setting. He was going to bear a
collection of alms from Macedonia and Achaia to
Jerusalem (15:26, 31). He carried the collection from
Corinth to Jerusalem at the close of this three months'
visit (Acts 24:17). When Paul wrote this epistle,
Timotheus, Sosipater, Gaius and Erastus were with him
(16:21-23). Out of these four, Luke mentions three in the
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 Acts as being with him at Corinth during the three
months' visit (Acts 20:4).

AD 59 - (7th letter) -Philippians from Caesar's prison

Paul drops his Apostleship from this Philippian letter and

the letter to the Hebrews. This epistle was obviously
written during his first imprisonment (AD 59) in a Roman
prison (Acts 24:27). The success of the gospel among the
praetorian guard (Phil. 1:13) relates to Paul preaching the
kingdom of God in Acts 28:31.50 Paul has hope of soon
sending Timothy to Philippi and also the hope of his
release (Phil. 2:23, 24). Philippians must have a prior date
because the new themes of Ephesians and Colossians do
not appear in the epistle. This would place Philippians at a
time long ghbefore Ephesians and Colossians and the late
revelation of the mystery. The lack of internal evidence
in Philippians of the new and all important theme of "the
mystery" gives weight to an early writing, long before
"the mystery" was revealed.

AD 59 - (8th letter) -Hebrews from prison in Italy (Heb.

13:24)

I am fully persuaded that the author of this critical

epistle to Hebrew believers was the apostle Paul.
Although he was distinctively and essentially the "apostle
of the Gentiles" (Rom. 11:13), his ministry was by no

50
We might point out the Luke does not write of the death or the end of either Peter or
Paul. It is not his goal but to show continuity of the message given through the prophets to Jesus
and from Peter to Paul.

104
means confined to them, as the book of Acts clearly
indicates. At the time of Paul's arrest, the Lord said, "He
is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My Name before the
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts
9:15). It is note worthy that our Lord mentions Israel
last. This corresponds with the fact that Paul's Epistle to
the Hebrews was written after most of his epistles to
the Gentiles. It is clear from 2nd Peter 3:15 that this
epistle was written by Paul. Peter wrote to the Hebrews
as the opening verses of his first epistle indicates. Then
in 2nd Peter 3:1, he says that this second epistle was also
addressed to the same people as his first epistle. In
verses 15, he declares that his beloved brother Paul
"also...hath written unto you." If Hebrews is not that
epistle, where is it? Although this Epistle was Paul's
crowning connection with to the Jews, it was his last.

A great change is approaching. In the Acts of the

Apostles, Paul says to the leaders of the Jews (Acts
28:17), "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your
fathers through Isaiah the prophet (Isa. 6: 9, 10): 'Go to
this people, and say, You will indeed hear but never
understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their
ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have
closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with
their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and
I would heal them'." (Acts 28: 26, 27). Then Paul
declared to them, "Therefore let it be known to you that
this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they

105
will listen."

This is when the Jewish leaders walked out on Paul (28:

25) and then he turned his back on the nation that he had
first gone to (Romans 2:10; 3:1-6). Now, he "welcomed all
(Gentiles) who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of
God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all
boldness and without hindrance" because he no longer
ministered to the Jews first who had been a trouble to
him.

This same passage from Isaiah was used by the Lord

Jesus Christ in Matthew 13: 10-17. After the Jews
blasphemed (Matt. 12: 22-25) the work of the Holy
Spirit, Jesus told them that "the blasphemy against the
Spirit will not be forgiven.... in this age or in the age to
come." (12: 31, 32). This is when Jesus turned His back on
the Jews and started teaching the public (13: 1, 2). He
severed all connections with His physical family (12: 46-
49) and "went out of the house" (a picture of natural
ties) "and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered
about him..." THEN, Jesus changed the method of
teaching. He started using parables. His disciples asked,
"Why do you speak to them in parables?" (Matt. 13: 10)
and Jesus explained that He did not want the Jews to
understand (13: 11-17). So, he took the disciples aside and
explained the parables to them. He wanted them to
understand. The prophecy of parables is seen in Matthew
13: 34, 35.

So, what we have here is... two men, Jesus and Paul,

106
turning their backs on the Jews and going to the
multitudes AFTER they quote the passage from Isaiah 6:
9, 10. The Jews had forfeited everything in Matthew 12
and as the apparent second chance was given to them
during the Acts period, Paul saw that there was no use in
prolonging what was apparently dead and over, he turned
his back on them also. These next epistles Epistles that
follow are under the new administration of Paul, based on
his second commission . (Quotes here are from the ESV.)
Which we will pick up next time.

Support your local Apostle

We have seen that the book of Acts can be visualized

into the 3 R’S that is:

Restoration Jerusalem Jews only - Peter

Reconciliation Antioch Jews and Gentiles -Paul and others

Rejection Rome Gentiles only -Paul

Where Peter open the understanding by accepting

Cornelius in acts Chapter 10 "Then Peter opened his
mouth, and said, In truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons:

But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh

righteousness, is accepted with him." Acts 10: 34-35. And
now we read not only Jews but Jews and Greeks, Acts
18:4, 19:10, 20:21. The possibility of the salvation of the

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Gentiles does not seem to have been entertained by the
apostles at Jerusalem. Peter himself confessed that the
Gentile salvation was never in his thoughts either at
Pentecost or after. To the seeking Cornelius he said-"And
he said to them, Ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a
man that is a Jew to keep company, or come to one of
another nation; but God hath shown me that I should not
call any man common or unclean." [Acts 10:28]. The word
reconciliation which has been suggested is one of intense
significance as it is found only in the epistles of Paul.
Here are Paul’s words to the Gentiles where the apostle
speaks of the long centuries of Gentile darkness during
Israel’s ascendancy, but where he also indicates that the
time had arrived when the Gentiles would come back into
favor.

Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to
idolatry.

Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews,

and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with
them that met with him.

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the

Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this
babbler say? some others, He seemeth to be a setter-
forth of strange gods: because he preached to them
Jesus, and the resurrection.

And they took him, and brought him to Areopagus, saying,

May we know what this new doctrine is, of which thou
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speakest?

For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we

would know therefore what these things mean.

(For all the Athenians and strangers who were there,

spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to
hear some new thing.)

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars-hill, and said, Ye

men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too
superstitious.

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an

altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I to
you.

God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing
that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in
temples made with hands;

Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he

needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things;

And hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on

all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel
after him, and find him, though he is not far from every
one of us:

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For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as
certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also
his offspring.

Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think

that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone graven
by art and man's device.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now
commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17;16-
30. And another place where Paul explains what is and has
happened. Romans 11:11-15 I say then, Have they
stumbled that they should fall? By no means: but rather
through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, to
provoke them to jealousy.

Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and

the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how
much more their fullness?

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle

of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:

If by any means I may incite to emulation them who are

my flesh, and may save some of them.

For if the rejection of them be the reconciling of the

world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from
the dead?

And now the last few verses of Acts Chapter 28 are

associated in Rome. The keyword is Rejection, for Israel
now passes off the scene; they become Lo-ammi from the

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prophetic book of Hosea Israel has become at last "Not
my people" so ends the book of Acts and the end of the
1st ministry of the apostle the Gentiles who went always
the Nation of Israel (Jewish) first.

Next we’ll start to see that even in the failure of Israel

God through Paul has an even better plan! What is called
"the Church which is His Body" and where we fit in to the
wonderful plan of God.

Chapter 5

Paul, the Testimony of the Lord’s Prisoner

From the end of the book of Acts until his death Paul
spent more time in prison than most do even today (I
believe that Paul received his greatest revelation of all
during his imprisonment). In his understanding of what
God was doing. It’s when God suspends all of our activity
(running around being busy) that we stop and hear that
still small voice speaking love to us in our inactivity. First
let’s get the time line out of the way. Again I turn to my

111
 colleague and friend Dr. Jerry Wayne Bernard51 from
Scripture Research and a Director of Scripture Institute
for the dating of the 6 letters that are considered the
"Prison Epistles" of the apostle Paul. Paul's 6 Epistles
written after the Acts period (AD 64 - 69) are:

AD 64 - (9th letter) -1st Timothy out of prison & from

Macedonia

Now, after Paul's release from prison (AD 64-67) he

writes his first epistle as an Apostle to Timothy. The
epistle to Titus is soon to follow. The two young ministers
must have the correct organizational set up (for each
local assembly) with order and structure.

AD 65 - (10th letter) -Titus out of prison & from

Macedonia

Following his release, Paul begins his unrecorded 4th

missionary journey. His travel takes him east to
Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:3) where he preaches the hope of the
eternal life promised long ages ago (Titus 2:1). During this
period, he wrote two pastoral epistles, 1st Timothy and
Titus. Both of these young men needed further
instruction by the apostle concerning organization and
structure of the local assemblies.

AD 67 - (11th letter) -2nd Timothy from prison in Rome

51
Dr Bernard has as his major goal to restore old truths that have been forgotten or
neglected through the years His research conducted at the Library in the Palms research center,
located in Glendale, California. He has earned a Doctorate of Literature and a Doctorate of
Philology (linguistics). from Scripture Institute. He also received a Doctorate of Philosophy from
Southern Christian University.

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Here we find Paul in prison (AD 67-69) for the second
and last time. Throughout Paul's imprisonment, the
activities of the young preachers still banded together
with him. He would send them out to various places with
messages from him and then they would return with news
from the churches. However, at the writing of 2nd
Timothy, Paul replaced Titus (at Crete) with Artemas
(Titus 3:12). Then Titus was sent to Dalmatia after his
visit with Paul at Nicopolis, the winter before Paul's last
imprisonment (Titus 3:12 and 2 Tim. 4:10). Tychicus is
sent to Ephesus to visit and obviously reports back to
Paul with one more important visit to Ephesus coming
later (2 Tim. 4:12). Luke remained a companion of Paul in
his final imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). Finally, Timothy is
told to come and be with Paul in his last imprisonment (2
Tim. 1:8; 2:3). Paul wanted Timothy's fellowship badly (2
Tim. 4:9, 21). Remember, Timothy was with him in his
first imprisonment. He is told to bring with him Mark,
who now can be of great use. Paul's attitude in 2nd
Timothy is one of quiet resolve, waiting for his final
appointment of death. He still speaks of the promise of
life as his main message (2 Tim. 1:1, 10, 11).

AD 68 - (12th letter) -Ephesians a prison epistle &

circular letter

AD 69 - (13th letter) -Philemon a prison epistle to one

man

AD 69 - (14th letter) -Colossians a prison epistle to

complete the Word of God

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Timothy must have completed his journey to see Paul
(Colossians 1:1 & Philemon 1:1) and bring his friend Demas,
whom he picked up in Thessalonica. This caused great joy
for Paul (Col.4:14). These last epistles contain further
truth that was revealed by the Holy Spirit only to Paul.
The divine (and very important) revelation of "the
mystery" of the Body was given only to Paul and is
explained in Ephesians (a circular letter to be carried to
several churches), and Colossians. This truth is put into
practical application in the epistle to Philemon concerning
his run away slave. This subject, "the mystery" is the cap
stone of Church teaching.

Paul was the only one who received the revelation of "the
mystery" (Eph. 3:3). If it had been known before Paul's
calling, it would have been mentioned by someone. It was
not to be taken to the Jew first. This new revelation of
"the mystery" of the body (Eph. 3:9) must be made known
to all men because it "had been hid in God." Every
mystery in the Word of God was taught and revealed as
it was received from God. The "mystery of Christ" was
revealed little by little until it became very clear (Eph.
3:5). Paul sent the message to Ephesus (or Laodicea) and
Colossae by the hand of Tychicus (Col. 4:7 & Eph. 6:21).
For Tychicus had previously spent time in Ephesus and
would be the likely candidate to carry the letter to
Ephesus (or Laodicea) and Colossae. So the 14 epistles
close with the high and heavenly revelation of this new
Body of Christ. Paul's life did not end in discouragement.
It ended in great joy and peace as was found in Philemon.

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 The fact is, Paul is optimistic of his release by their
prayers and a miracle of God (Philemon 22).

The concluding statement of Paul in Colossians 1:25 is,

"...to complete the Word of God." I heard my friend and
colleague , Russ Schaefer52 say that this statement
should be enough for us to conclude that Colossians is the
last writing of Paul, the Apostle. Paul's last words were
about GRACE. In Colossians we find that the Christian is
"complete in Christ," the Word of God is complete and
that there is nothing to be added to the Christian
experience. This epistle closes the fourteen epistles with
the high and heavenly revelation.

There are identifying mark of Paul's 14 epistles which

then we can use to Paul’s writings:

These fourteen epistles are identified as Paul's in 2nd

Thessalonians 3:17, 18. He says, "The salutation of Paul
with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle:
so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all. Amen." This is the way that Paul signed "every
epistle." His "mark" was: "The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you." And here are the fourteen
references that mark Paul's epistles.

1st Thess. 5:28 - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be

52
Russell Schaefer was instrumental in teaching me the Grace of God and taught the
deeper truths in the “Word of God”...an expression he used over and over again. His ability to
expound “The Word” surpassed that of many of his peers and I am deeply grateful that God gave
me the privilege of hearing, learning and knowing this dear man of God. “There were Giants in
those days” (Genesis 6:4) Russ Schaefer was one of those “Giants”

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with you. Amen."

2nd Thess. 3:18 - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be

with you all. Amen."

1st Cor. 16:23 - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be

with you."

2nd Cor. 13:14 - "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be
with you all. Amen."

Gal. 6:18 - "Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with your spirit. Amen."

Rom. 16:20 & 24 - "...The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

be with you. Amen."

Phil. 4:23 - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with

you all. Amen."

Heb. 13:25 - "Grace be with you all. Amen."

1st Tim. 6:21 - "Grace be with thee. Amen."

Titus 3:15 - "Grace be with you all. Amen."

2nd Tim. 4:22 - "Grace be with you. Amen."

Eph. 6:24 - "Grace be with all them that love our Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

Phile. 1:25 - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with

your spirit. Amen."

Col. 4:18 - "Grace be with you. Amen."

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Next time we’ll look a wee bit deeper into this wonderful
message given only to our Apostle, Paul!

The Forest and the trees

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for

others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

It is hard to see the forest for the trees, allow me to

show you first of all the forest and then we’ll examine a
few trees as we study the events and the exciting times
of our Apostle, Paul.

The book of Acts closes with Paul imprisoned for two

years in Rome (Acts 28:30). There he awaited his
audience with the emperor Nero, to whom he had
appealed against the charges brought by his religious
enemies in Jerusalem.

It is no doubt significant that the Jewish leaders in the

capital had heard nothing about him from Judea, nor had
anyone spoken evil of him to them. It was, after all, a
trumped-up charge that had seen no resolution over
several years. On the other hand, the Jewish leaders in
Rome had heard of the "sect" to which Paul belonged. It
was "spoken against" everywhere, they said, and they

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solicited his opinion about it (verses 21–22, English
Standard Version throughout). But when Paul explained,
the result was a dispute, followed by rejection. Recalling
a prophecy of Isaiah that "this people . . . will indeed hear
but never understand" (verses 26–27), Paul announced
that he would concentrate on giving out his message to
non-Jewish peoples (that’s where you and I come in
Gentle Reader ) . He also no doubt continued to meet his
fellow believers, the brethren, who had come out to meet
him as he approached Rome on the Appian Way (verses 13–15).

During those two years in prison, the Roman authorities

allowed Paul considerable freedom to pursue his calling.
He was able to welcome "all who came to him, proclaiming
the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus
Christ with all boldness and without hindrance" (verses 30–31).

This is an interesting division of responsibilities and

provides food for thought. Paul had a twofold role: he was
entrusted with both a public and a private work. His
public work was that of preaching about, or announcing or
proclaiming (in Greek, kerusso), the coming of the
kingdom of heaven on the earth. It was the same work
that Jesus had done in His public role (see Mark 1:14). By
contrast, the Greek word for teaching or instructing is
didasko. This was the second aspect of both Jesus' and
Paul's role. They taught a way of life to those who
believed the announcement about the kingdom of Heaven
to prepare them for its establishment on the earth.

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PAUL”S LETTERS FROM PRISON

During his time in Rome, Paul wrote several instructional

letters that give an insight into both his pastoral care of
the churches and his attention to a matter at the
individual level.

He wrote to a wealthy Church member and friend named

Philemon (Philemon 1), and also to congregations in three
cities: Colossae, Ephesus and Philippi (see Colossians 4:3,
18; Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; 6:18–20; and Philippians 1:7, 12–17).

What can we learn from this ? GRACE

Paul introduced himself to Philemon as "a prisoner for

Christ Jesus" and well on in years (Philemon 1, 8–9)
before asking for his indulgence in resolving a problem
with one of his runaway slaves. The wrinkle in the
situation was that the slave, Onesimus, had become a
convert through Paul's prison ministry (verse 10) and was
now returning with Paul's letter in hand (verse 12).
Though the apostle could have used his authority to
persuade Philemon to forgive his slave-become-brother
and take him back, he rather entreated his friend,
offering to cover any out-of-pocket costs or debts
incurred by Onesimus (verses 18–19). Since the slave is

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mentioned as known to the church in Colossae—"who is
one of you" (Colossians 4:9)—it is likely that Philemon also
lived there.

PAUL”S COMPANIONS IN ROME

As he signed off, Paul recorded for Philemon the names

of several helpers, indicating that this imprisonment was
not solitary. They include Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus,
Demas and Luke (verses 23–24). In his introduction, Paul
had also mentioned Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith
(see also Philippians 2:19, 22).

Epaphras was a tireless minister in the Colossian area,

which also included congregations at nearby Laodicea and
Hierapolis (Colossians 4:12–13). He had arrived in Rome
bringing news of the state of the congregation at
Colossae (Colossians 1:3–8). This caused Paul to compose a
letter to them, which was carried back not by Epaphras,
who stayed with Paul in Rome as his "fellow prisoner"
(Philemon 23), but by Tychicus, "a beloved brother and
faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord," and the
slave Onesimus (Colossians 4:7–9). Tychicus had traveled
with Paul from Greece to Jerusalem and was possibly an
Ephesian (Acts 20:4). Perhaps this is the reason that Paul
also entrusted him (Ephesians 6:21–22) with what is
known to us as his letter to the Ephesians, though

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originally it may have been a circular letter destined for
the churches in the Roman province of Asia (western
Turkey) that were centered around the capital city (early
manuscripts do not contain the words "in Ephesus"
[Ephesians 1:1], and its content is more general).

Mark was likely John Mark, who had separated from Paul
and Barnabas about 12 years earlier (see Colossians 4:10,
where he is described as "the cousin of Barnabas"; see
also Parts 3, 4 and 5 of The Apostles). This was an
encouraging development in itself, and Paul later wrote to
Timothy that "Mark . . . is very useful to me for ministry"
(2 Timothy 4:11). An early tradition holds that Mark
wrote the Gospel by his name for the Romans. Being
present in Rome with Paul gives some support for that belief.

Aristarchus was a Thessalonian convert who had

accompanied Paul on various other journeys (see Acts
19:29; 20:4), as well as on the voyage to Rome. Paul
mentioned him also as "my fellow prisoner" in Rome
(Colossians 4:10).

Demas, later described as "in love with this present

world," eventually deserted Paul (2 Timothy 4:10),
whereas Luke, "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14)
and author of both the Gospel by his name and the book
of Acts, remained faithful to the end. He traveled with
Paul to Rome on this occasion and also for his second and
final imprisonment there.

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In Colossians, Paul commends another helper, the Jewish
convert Jesus (Justus), who was also close to him in his imprisonment.

Sometime during his stay in Rome, Paul was visited by

Epaphroditus from Philippi. This resulted in the letter
known to us as Philippians. Paul commended his visitor for
his extraordinary assistance, "for he nearly died for the
work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was
lacking in your service to me" (Philippians 2:30). Once
recovered, Epaphroditus returned to his home
congregation with Paul's letter (verse 25).

Thus we know that Paul was not alone in Rome in such

difficult circumstances but was surrounded by several
faithful and true brothers, not to mention the Church
members who were residents of Rome (see Romans 16).

A PRISONER FOR THE LORD

Despite the limitations on his freedom, Paul was intent on

finding ways to continue the work of proclaiming the good
news about God's coming kingdom and the role Jesus had
played in making reconciliation with the Father possible.
He asked the members in Colossae and Ephesus to "pray
also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word,
to [boldly] declare the mystery of Christ, on account of

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which I am in prison" (Colossians 4:3; see also Ephesians
6:19). He also mentioned to the Philippians that "it has
become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to
all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ"
(Philippians 1:13–14). Paul was likely chained to various
guards day and night in rotation (see Ephesians 6:20 and
Acts 28:20, which mention a chain, or manacles); thus his
every word would have been overheard.

And it was not only among the imperial guard that Paul's
message became known. At the close of his letter to the
congregation at Philippi, he wrote, "All the saints greet
you, especially those of Caesar's household" (Philippians
4:22). Were these newly converted people Nero's
servants or relatives? Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing.

Paul fully expected that he would be released from his

imprisonment. Hence his comment to Philemon, "Prepare a
guest room for me" (Philemon 22), and to the Philippians,
"I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also"
(Philippians 2:24).

PAUL'S UNIQUE MESSAGE

In the three congregational letters, Paul covered several

overlapping themes. In Ephesians and Colossians, there is
the reminder that it is only by special revelation from

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God that the Church understands what it does of His
great purpose in creating humanity and sending Jesus
Christ. Paul referred to this as THE MYSTERY (in Greek,
musterion) never before revealed in Scripture or to any
one else until Paul. The word signifies a secret, a hidden
truth that is God's alone to reveal if and when He
chooses and to whomever He chooses. Paul emphasized
that God had called certain individuals from the Gentile
world, as well as the Jewish world, to participate in a
relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. This
development had been hidden until the first century,
when God chose to reveal it. It was, as Paul said, "the
mystery hidden for ages and generations but now
revealed to his saints" (Colossians 1:26), "which was not
made known to the sons of men . . . as it has now been
revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit"
(Ephesians 3:5). It was Paul's specific responsibility to
let this be known to those whom God had called in the
Gentile world, and as a result he was now a prisoner
(Ephesians 3:1).

All three letters make reference to the need for

boldness in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of
God and Jesus Christ. As we have seen, Paul asked that
the members in Colossae pray for him to be able to speak
his message plainly and openly (Colossians 4:3). Similarly,
he asked those to whom the Ephesian letter went for
prayers that he would speak out boldly (Ephesians
6:19–20). He commended the members in Rome for doing

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just that themselves as a result of his imprisonment
(Philippians 1:14) and expressed his hope that he, too,
would act with boldness in answer to their prayers for
him (verses 19–20).

Further, Paul was joyful in his suffering, because he knew

that it had a great purpose not only for himself but also
for the membership (Colossians 1:24; Ephesians 3:13). He
did not want them to be discouraged by his situation,
because he believed that it would all turn out for the
good (Philippians 1:19).

Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon contain general

instruction for the God-fearing family and for masters
and slaves (Ephesians 5:22–6:9; Colossians 3:18–4:1;
Philemon 10–18). Husbands and wives and children are
encouraged to treat each other with mutual respect (Paul
demonstrates in his letters to the Ephesians and the
Colossians that he was far from the woman-hater that
many have painted him to be). Converted masters are to
treat slaves with fairness, and converted slaves are to
work honorably.

SPECIFIC MESSAGES

While there are overlaps in the letters, when it comes to

the specific reasons for each letter, there are also

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 differences. As we have seen already, Paul responded to
the circumstances that were presented to him in respect
of the congregations in Colossae and Philippi.

Judging by Paul's letter to the Colossians, Epaphras had

come with some serious concerns about their spiritual
well-being. It seems that the brethren were being
swayed by Greek philosophical ideas (Colossians 2:8). One
of the central precepts concerned spirits who were said
to rule the world and mediate between humans and God53.

53
The prevalent group was the Gnosticism belief system
In most gnostic systems, there were 30 æons. That number was mystical to them, too, being the
number of days in a month. These æons dwelt in a place called the pleroma, the Greek word for
fullness.
That's the spiritual realm. Spiritual realms will always be described in strange terms, no matter
what religion you belong to. However, it's on the earthly realm that gnostic beliefs really get far
out …

The Demiurge
Keep in mind that there were many gnostic belief systems. They shared some things in common,
but because gnostic teachers could form their own schools and obtain fame from some new
insight, there were always new "insights" coming from them.

Irenaeus tells us, for example:

Let us now look at the inconsistent opinions of these heretics—for there are some two or
three of them … they do not agree when discussing the same points. (Against Heresies
I:11:1)

Basically, however, the creation of the world by gnostic beliefs goes like this:

Sophia, one of the æons, whose name means wisdom, deeply wanted to know Bythus, the
unknowable Father. Because she could not find him or know him, she left the pleroma and the
other 29 æons to look for him.When she could not find him she mourned that she was all alone
and that she could not know God.Unbeknownst to her, her travails and sorrows produced a being,
called the "Demiurge," who would become the God of this world and of the Israelites.
"Demiurge" is derived from the Greek word for artisan and refers to the fact that the earth is his

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 According to this philosophy, such beings deserved
worship, which included ascetic practices (Colossians
2:18). Paul sought to free the Colossians from this error
by reminding them that followers of Jesus had no need
for such human beliefs and practices. He wrote, "If with
Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world,
why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit
to regulations—‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not

handiwork.Sophia finally returned to the pleroma, completely unaware that the Demiurge had
been produced.

Sophia Creates the Demiurge

The Apocryphon of John describes the creation of the Demiurge by Sophia in these words:

Something imperfect came out of her, different in appearance from her. … She gave rise
to a misshapen being unlike herself. Sophia saw what her desire produced. It changed
into the form of a dragon with a lion's head and [its] eyes flashed thunderbolts.

In The Apocryphon of John, Sophia did at least know she produced this Demiurge, but she hid
him:

Sophia surrounded him with a brilliant cloud … so that no one would see it. She named
him Yaldabaoth.

But just in case you were going to think that Yaldabaoth might be a good guy, the writer adds,
"Yaldabaoth united with the thoughtlessness within him. He begot ruling authorities."
The rest of the story is in the apendex.

The Demiurge was left alone. He was as ignorant of Sophia as Sophia was of him. He knew
nothing of the great God Bythus, nor anything of the pleroma.

He then decided that he must be God and created the world, something that by gnostic beliefs
should never have happened.

From there, according to gnostic beliefs, everything taught in the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old
Testament, happened. Yahweh, however—the God of Israel—was really the confused Demiurge.
He thought he was the one who created all things and was from the beginning, but he wasn't. As
a result, his laws were useless and not beneficial.

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touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are
used)—according to human precepts and teachings?"
(Colossians 2:20–22). This, he insisted, is "self-made
religion" (verse 23) that might look appealing but is in
fact an "empty deceit" (verse 8).

Philippians was written in response to Epaphroditus

visiting Paul in prison and bringing news of the
congregation. It is a letter filled with gratitude on Paul's
part for the brethren's spiritual development. He took
the opportunity to teach them about the mind and
attitude of Christ, which they should emulate. It is a
humble mind that does nothing from motives of rivalry or
conceit and seeks the good of others, willing to lay down
life itself for them (Philippians 2:1–8). As followers of
Jesus Christ, the Philippians were to live honorably on
earth as citizens of the kingdom of heaven yet to come
(Philippians 1:27).

As already mentioned, the letter we know as Ephesians

was possibly meant for circulation in the region around
the city, including places such as Laodicea, Hierapolis and
Colossae, where Paul mentioned that church
congregations existed and letters were exchanged
(Colossians 4:13, 16). It is a more general letter than
either Colossians or Philippians and deals with expansive
themes in God's plan. It explains the centrality of Jesus
Christ's life, death and resurrection to that plan
(chapter 1) and includes His calling some to conversion in

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this life, ahead of others (chapters 2–3). It teaches the
vital importance of unity among the believers and how
they are educated and protected in God's way (chapters 4–6).

Thus we see that Paul's two-year house arrest in Rome

was not spent idly, nor did the congregations in his care
suffer from lack of attention from the aged apostle. And
there is yet more to report.

Next time, The Words that Paul uses and doesn't use!

Paul a man of few words

"Words are the voice of the heart." - Confucius

Dear Saint of God,

We come to that part in this wee effort study in which

we will separate the “men from the boys” or if you like
the ‘women from the girls” or better still those who love
the Word from those who play with the baby things of
what we call Christianity!

If your in the habit of reading the 4 Gospels then you

have never in your life meet someone like Paul the
Apostle! He wanted everything that he could receive
from God. Now I would like to say that I wish that I
could put myself in that category but I am just beginning
to understand Scripture even after teaching not only
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Scripture, but Hebrew and Greek and a dozen other
languages for more than (do I have to tell?) Well let’s
just say a lot of years. What the average believer doesn’t
realize is there is a depth of meaning that is hard to
translate into English but the better teachers/pastors do
try to get it across to those who are truly interested in
learning more about this One that we have committed to
follow all the days of our life. Paul (thank God for a
teacher who understood not only the Jewish mind and
Scriptures but could bring to bear for us Gentiles the
deep truths hidden in plain sight). For example the Greek
word: The word κοινωνια, which we properly translate
fellowship(s), [ what we call churches today] was used
among the Greeks to signify their religious communities;
here it may intimate the association of Jews and Gentiles
in one Church or body, and their agreement in that
glorious mystery which was now so fully opened relative
to the salvation of both.

Paul addressed the believers in those days as Brothers or

[Adelphoi] This was the normal term, both in Paul and
Luke, for the followers of Jesus. In the short 1st letter
to the Thessalonians, Paul uses it 3 times in direct
address and 3 times in description. Though the masculine
noun was used generally for the whole Brotherhood, Paul
addresses specific woman followers of Jesus as Sister
[Adelphe] the wife of Peter and the Lord’s brothers 1Co
9:5 “have we not authority a sister--a wife--to lead

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about, as also the other apostles, and the brethren of
the Lord, and Cephas?”

The term of Christian was first used by pagan opponents

of Christianity- by Pliny the Younger, for instance, or
Tacitus, or Lucian. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles says
that the followers of Christ were first called Christians
at Antioch. Act 11:26 and having found him, he brought
him to Antioch. And it came about that for a whole year
they assembled with the church and instructed many
people. And the disciples were first called Christians in
Antioch. Religious groups often ended up being called by
names that were initially derisory. But neither Luke or
Paul uses it of the fellow in the faith . King Agrippa is the
only person quoted by Luke as referring to a Christian
Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, “Almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian”. People we now call
Christians had a number of expressions for each other.
Stressing their affective bonds. And we find so many
terms precisely because Christian had not been accepted
to adsorb them all. More next time....

Love to all of my brothers and Sisters in Christ

The Words of Paul and the meaning God gives

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 It is God who gives us not only the words but the
thoughts behind them. When I search for a word to
convey a meaning to to my wife sometimes I get
frustrated because my mind is working faster that my
tongue can get the words out. But when we write even the
act of putting quill to keyboard will provide the Lord to
give us just the “right expression” for God to get through!

Paul uses several words to express God’s thoughts to his

readers, for example: Paul calls believers (or rather God
through Paul) the Holy [ Greek Hagioi, or Hegiasmenoi]
These believers were the holy because they had been
incorporated into the body of Christ by baptism54 (Rom
12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to
hospitality) So we all become one in Christ by virtue of

54

The Jewish mikva, or ceremonial bath, is the origin of the Christian baptism. A mikva could not
be done in a tub or pool of stagnant water. It had to be flowing through the mikva pool. Flowing
water sustains life, and often gurgles and bubbles at it flows giving it a “voice”. Thus it was said
to be “living” water.
Jewish tradition holds that the first instance of ceremonial cleansing occurred just prior to the
giving of the covenant at Mt. Sinai. In Exodus 19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people
and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments.” They believe that
the consecration and the washing of the garments being mentioned together indicates that both
the people and the garments were washed.

Originally the mikva cleansing was an act of preparation. Today many Churches uses the baptism
as a ceremonial act to confirm that the person being baptized has already met the Lord and been
cleansed. A mikva had to be performed over and over to restore a person’s ceremonial
cleanliness before entering into the presence of God. However in this dispensation, called the
age of Grace, those called have been washed in the Blood of Christ Jesus, once for all time, and
have been cleansed forever, have no need for a man made ceremony. See the principle of
identification in Romans 6:3

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Identification with the death, burial and resurrection of
Christ Jesus Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism

into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life. Through the action of the Spirit
of God, whether we are Jew or Gentile. God brings us into
His family. Whether we are slaves or free, all were given
to drink that living water of that same Spirit.
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Another term that Paul uses is “Those in Messiah [Hoi en

Christo (I)] Because they are baptized into Christ, the
Holy (Saints) can be said to be “in Christ”- or in Messiah-
Jesus or in Jesus-Messiah. So Paul can say Gal 1:22 “And
was unknown by face unto the *churches of Judaea [*or a
better translation the Judaean gatherings] which were in
Christ: “ Or similarly 2 Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in
Christ,[ khris-tos'] he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new

And in another place Paul refers to “the called” [Kletoi]

Paul thinks of the Brothers as summoned to holiness Rom
1:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for

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good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. 1Co 1:24 But unto them which
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God, and the wisdom of God.
House fellows [Oikeioi]: Since the followers meet mainly
in each others homes [oikoi], Paul calls them, in general
house fellows of our trust Gal 6:10 As we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto
them who are of the household of faith.

Those of the Path or Way (Hoi tes Hodou ) This term has
become common by the time of the Acts of the Apostles.
Therefore Luke can speak of detractors or persecutors
of the path Acts 22:4 And I persecuted this way unto
the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men
and women. Of debating or understanding the Path/Way.
Acts 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir
about that way. Acts 24:22 And when Felix heard these
things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he
deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain
shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your
matter.

So you can begin to see , that the name that God gave is
far better than we would give ourselves. Which reminds
me of another name. Which we find in the Book of
Revelation Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and HIS
name shall be in their foreheads. Which I take the
liberty of developing the thought “Property of the Most

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High God".
So much to think about Saints, finish your Irish coffee
and last one who leaves make sure that we leave a light on
for those late comers.
See you next time...

Misunderstood directions

The Words we use sometimes of time are confusing to

some of the Saints, we have been looking at some words
and expressions that out Apostle, Paul has used we come
to one now that has been corrupted that to even try to
explain what it means will force some to have their eyes
ripped out for the heresy, that I now will share.
(However heresy is only heresy if it’s not true, and there
is a truth that is truer than truth- Get that?)

Eph 1:22 (21) And hath put all [things] under his feet, and
gave him [to be] the (b) head over all [things] to the
church, Our word is Church which is the Greek ekklesia
which simply means " a gathering"or assembly. The
meeting place of the brothers was almost always in Paul’s
time the house of a Brother or Sister or both- as in 1 Co
16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla
salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in
their house.

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house.

Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits

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of Achaia unto Christ.

But! Hang on Saints, Ekklesia is comprised of ek ‘out’ and

kaleo "to call" and truly means a "called out asembly" in
Classical Greek from the 5th century BC onward and was
used for the assembling of "citizens" of the city (polis)
for legislation and other public business. We find the
word used in the Septuagint for the gathering of Israel
for some definite purpose, the usual word is Sunagoge
Heb. (Synagogue) When Christ used the word that you
read as church He was transforming the word to mean
His assembly (of believers) making it distinct from
Judaism. He was not starting a new work, or a new
Religion, or a new church! He was as God calling back
people to himself. In Jesus time He was calling the
Jewish people out of their prescribed rituals and
formalities - back into the relationship that God had
wanted when He walked in the cool of the day with Adam
and Eve.

It was Paul that saw beyond the Jewish scope of Christ

Ministry (of course Paul had to be blinded first to see
that God wanted all of mankind to come to Him). It is
extremely significant that Paul states that there is only
ONE body Eph. 4:4 which is the "real" universal church".
Some teach that unless you belong to this denomination
or that one, you just haven’t arrived yet! Other teach
that their local assembly, along with other local
assemblies who agree with them are "The Church" and
that no one else is part of the church no matter what
they believe. Biblically however, no earthly denomination
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or group can be called "The Church." Christ called His
family {a gathering together} not "churches"! Many
groups that hold a Sunday meeting are (I am sad to say)
not taught in Scripture and many more in fact are
inherently weak in either theology and method (choosing
rather methods from this man or that person rather than
the Word and the Words that God has given. God called
Paul to begin bringing others Jew and Gentile alike into
the Family of God which makes up the "Body of Christ"!

for those who want a wee bit more here is some food for
thought.

Mat 16:18 (5) And I say also unto thee, That thou art (l)
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the
(m) gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(5) That is true faith, which confesses Christ, the virtue

of which is invincible.

(l) Christ spoke in the Syrian tongue, and therefore did

not use this discourse to distinguish between Petros,
which signifies Peter, and Petra, which signifies a rock,
but in both places used the word Cephas: but his meaning
is what is written in Greek, in which the different word
endings distinguish between Peter, who is a piece of the
building, and Christ the Petra, that is, the rock and
foundation: or else he named him Peter because of the
confession of his faith, which is the Church's as well as
his, as the old fathers witness, for so says Theophylact.

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That confession which you have made, shall be the
foundation of the believers.

Our man in the Middle East

While volumes have been written about Paul the Apostle

and I would like to go on for more days than you have on
this earth expounding on how much we owe that man I
feel that you have at least an idea of what the apostle is
all about. 14 Books no mean feat even by today’s
standards . I mean it’s been like pulling teeth to get my
little effort out. But Paul not only reaches down to where
we live (have you taken the time to read any of his work
yet)? The last word that we want to consider is the best
as far as I am concerned and that is Reconciliation
Apokatallasso (ap-ok-at-al-las'-so) in the Greek.

It seems to me that words must be very important for

several reasons men can not live together in harmony
unless they can depend on others to provide the things
we need to survive. And for men to live together they
must be able to communicate with each other. Before the
advent of telephones, computers, email mail and others
means of talking to one another, the only means available
was writing. And it seemed good that the Lord God would
provide a means to communicate with His Creation! Thus
writing became most important and following on the heels
of writing was the understanding of the written word.

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Now all of this seems obvious were it not for the fact
that more wars, disputes, arguments have started over
one man misunderstanding another. Even in the 21st
century we still find that men don’t truly understand one
another . And even more so when it comes to Religion.

But unfortunately even among the most well meaning

people there seems to be a problem in understanding
what God has said much less what He means when He
writes to us for our understanding. God’s word can be
compared to an onion once you peel off the first layer
there is another and then another and another until you
get down to the center. Now each layer is complete in
itself but it does not become the center until one strips
away each layer to reach the very center.

What does it mean to be reconciled?

To ask what reconciliation means strikes fear into any
theologian or Bible scholar who would dare to bring up the
subject of reconciliation and even more so, since the
doctrine of so many denominations, groups and creeds are
based on teaching of some head, who while not holding
the Scriptures as unable to speak for themselves and
only if we were to listen to the man rather than to be a
Berean and to "search the scriptures" to see if these
things are so.

Our desire is to study the scripture and to let God’s word

speak! Like Ezra of old we wish "to open the Book" and
learn from it. Let us begin to see what God has said.

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ROMANS 5: 10 "For if, when we were enemies, we were
RECONCILEd to God by the death of his Son, much more,
being RECONCILEd, we shall be saved by his life."

1co 7:11 "But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried,
or be RECONCILEd to her husband: and let not the
husband put away his wife.’

2co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath

RECONCILED us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath
given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as

though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's
stead, be ye RECONCILED to God.

Eph 2:16 And that he might RECONCILE both unto God in

one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to RECONCILE all things unto himself; by
him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in
heaven.

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and

enemies in

your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he

RECONCILED

For if, when we were enemies, we were RECONCILEd to

God by the death of his Son, much more, being
RECONCILEd, we shall be saved by his life.

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Reconciliation is a change from enmity to friendship. It is
mutual, i.e., it is a change wrought in both parties who
have been at enmity. God rather than punish one who has
offended Him rather brings the person who has been an
enemy to the place where with "no strings attached" can
now become a friend- a best friend!

In Colossians 1:21,22, the word there used refers to a

change wrought in the personal character of the sinner
who ceases to be an enemy to God by wicked works, and
yields up to him his full confidence and love.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 the apostle beseeches the

Corinthians to be "reconciled to God", i.e., to lay aside
their enmity.

Romans 5:10 refers not to any change in our disposition

toward God, but to God himself, as the party reconciled.
Romans 5:11 teaches the same truth. From God we have
received "the reconciliation" (RSV), i.e., he has conferred
on us the token of his friendship. So also 2Cor. 5:18,19
speaks of a reconciliation originating with God, and
consisting in the removal of his merited wrath. In
Ephesians 2:16 it is clear that the apostle does not refer
to the winning back of the sinner in love and loyalty to
God, but to the restoration of God's forfeited favor.
This is effected by his justice being satisfied, so that he
can, in consistency with his own nature, be favorable
toward sinners. Justice demands the punishment of
sinners. The death of Christ satisfies justice, and so
reconciles God to us. This reconciliation makes God our

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friend, and enables him to pardon and save us.

So it was given to the Apostle Paul, the theologian to

bring to light the fact that it was God bringing us to
Himself, for in fact we would not, you would not come to
God on your own. Let’s face it , if left to ourselves we
would never come to the Father on our own!

The picture that Paul wants us to understand is that in

the Greek apokatallasso is to exchange hostility for
friendship. In other words God wanted you to come back
to the point where we could walk together as friends just
as Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden in "the
cool of the day" (Gen. 3:8 ). No longer do we have to
fight, or war, or kill. Nor do we have to do anything to
please God. You should also pay attention to the fact that
it is only Paul and in his epistles that we learn about the
fact that we have been Reconciled!

What do we have to do to get this great gift? It’s so easy

that it becomes hard for many- accept! Just accept God
at His word! God accepts us.

How that for a finish dear saints of God?

That’s why I constantly tell you over and over that "You
are accepted, you are valued, you are loved, By God and
Gentle Reader by me also!
Conclusion: At some point it is necessary for one to
conclude even with such a topic before us as Pauline
theology. And so we shall. But before we do I think it is
incumbent upon me to explain what was in the mind of

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 Paul as he wrote perhaps the longest love letter in
history.

Remember that Paul was first of all a proud person, proud

of his heritage as a Jew, who had not succumbed to the
ways of the world as others had. He was not, in to days
parlance, “Going along to get along”! He was proud of his
faith. He was serious as to devote his life as he knew it to
the dissemination of what he had spent a lifetime learning.
But as we say Paul had an epiphany (Koine Greek: ,
epiphaneia, "manifestation", "striking appearance") or
Theophany (Ancient Greek Theophaneia meaning "vision of
God") So what was he to make of this new information that
had been revealed to him? There was the problem of “Time”
in Jewish understanding. There were only two ages “the
present evil age” and the age to come” His training from a
wee lad on was in The Sefer ha-Chinuch (Hebrew) "Book of
Education"), often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which
systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the
portion and the work is structured correspondingly "Book of
Education"), often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which
systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the
Torah.55 Being a classically taught Hebrew, there was the

55
It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain. The work's enumeration of the
commandments (Hebrew: mitzvot?; sing. mitzvah) is based upon Maimonides' system of
counting as per his Sefer Hamitzvot; each is listed according to its appearance in the weekly
Torah portion and the work is structured correspondingly

143
 rabbinic midrash to be considered.56 Post biblical
Midrashists were haunted in their different ways by a
common perception. that the present world was somehow
discontinuous with the Torah, and the Torah’s simple
consequential view of the workings of God could not be
extended in linear fashion to cover all of history. While
their hermeneutical strategies varied diversely all of them
betray the awareness that the present time could no longer
be considered as contiguous with the “God dominated
events of the Torah. We might note here that Midrash
generally views Scripture as a world unto itself, without any
direct connection to our own times; as one critic has phased
it, “God acted (in the past), will act (in the eschatological
future), but is not acting in between.” Messianism, however
important it may be, never becomes the bridge between the
biblical past and the midrashist’s present. Such a bridge, if

56
Midrash is a form of rabbinic literature. There are two types of midrash: midrash aggada
and midrash halakha.

Midrash aggada can best be described as a form of storytelling that explores ethics and values in
biblical texts. ("Aggada" literally means "story" or "telling" in Hebrew.) It can take any biblical
word or verse and interpret it to answer a question or explain something in the text. For instance,
a midrash may attempt to explain why Adam didn’t stop Eve from eating the forbidden fruit in
the Garden of Eden. One of the best-known midrashim (plural of midrash) deals with Abraham’s
childhood in early Mesopotamia, where he is said to have smashed the idols in his father’s shop
because even at that age he knew there was only One God. Midrash aggadah can be found in both
Talmuds, in midrashic collections and in Midrash Rabbah, which means "Great Midrash."

Whereas midrash aggada focuses on biblical characters as they pertain to values and ideas,
midrash halakha focuses on Jewish law and practice. Midrash halakha attempts to take biblical
texts that are either general or unclear and to clarify what they mean. A midrash of this nature
may explain why, for instance, tefillin are used during prayer and how they should be worn.

144
 it exist is the halakhic one: The Bible informs the present
as the source of those practices which Jews undertake to
adhere to. But there is no bridge between the Bible’s time
and out time: God has acted and will act, but for now his
activity is suspended in a majestic state of kingship.57
From the Rabbis who engendered a since of time

57
in Judaism, the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to
regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people. Quite distinct
from the Law of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), Halakhah purports to preserve
and represent oral traditions stemming from the revelation on Mount Sinai or evolved on the
basis of it. The legalistic nature of Halakhah also sets it apart from those parts of rabbinic, or
Talmudic, literature that include history, fables, and ethical teachings (Haggadah). That Halakhah
existed from ancient times is confirmed from nonpentateuchal passages of the Bible, where, for
example, servitude is mentioned as a legitimate penalty for unpaid debts (2 Kings 4:1).

Oral traditions concerning Jewish law passed from generation to generation, and eventually it
became apparent that they required organization. The work of gathering opinions and
interpretations was begun by Rabbi Akiba in the 1st–2nd century ad and carried on by his
disciples, such as Rabbi Meïr. Early in the 3rd century, this new compilation, the Mishnah, was
complete, arranged in its final form by Judah ha-Nasi. Though the Mishnah contained the most
comprehensive collection of Jewish laws up to that time, it was not meant to settle issues
involving contradictory interpretations. Almost immediately, however, Jewish scholars in
Palestine and Babylonia began to elaborate extensive interpretations of the Mishnah that were
called Gemara. When the work was completed several centuries later, the Mishnah and the
Gemara, taken together, were called the Talmud.

Centuries later, social and economic changes presented new problems of interpretation and
required new applications of the law. This gave rise to new compilations of Halakhah by such
outstanding scholars as Moses Maimonides in the 12th century, Jacob ben Asher in the 12th and
13th centuries, and Joseph Karo in the 16th century.

Though Judaism acknowledges a continuous development of Halakhah, the law is always viewed
as an explication or extension of the original Law given on Mount Sinai. Conservative rabbis
tend to adapt certain Halakhahs to fit conditions in the modern world, as, for instance, the
Halakhah regarding observance of the sabbath. Reform Jews tend to disregard Halakhah, though
some of them adhere to certain of its precepts. Interpretations and discussions of law directly
related to Old Testament texts are referred to as Midrash Halakhah.

145
dramatically opposite from Paul. They held in their
divergent interpretations of Scripture see Deut. 30: 11-
14 that we discussed previously that God’s word was and
is a deposit stored up in time past and entrusted to the
community’s ongoing interpretation. For Paul God’s Word
was alive and active in the present time. The Spirit
empowering and life giving. In both the work of
interpretation went forward but their temporal
sensibilities engender radically different norms of life
and totally different modes of reading Scripture.

For Paul he understood that time and space exist but not in
the same time and space I tried to find that elusive
formula that would graphically depict what I am trying to
explain but my computer is not up to the task. So I came up
with this poor attempt

T = Time S=Space T(1) = Physical time S(2) = physical

space So our formula looks something like this T(1) + S (1)
‡ T(2) + S(2)

Time and space exist but not in the same Time and Space.
Confused? Well you’r not alone. When I tried to explain this
what I thought was a very simple formula to my Graduate
students. More than a few left with that expression which
said “What did I get myself into?”

Simply stated, if I can try one more time. Paul was seeing
perhaps for the first time, the way God sees things. For

146
God there is no past nor future but just the all
encompassing NOW!. But from our human experiences we
see things as being past or present and then way off we see
as it were the future. We are not surprised that the
weather person can forecast the weather days in advance
well in the same way, somewhat, we find Paul seeing the
spiritual side from God’s perspective. Once the soul
awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From
then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will
never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and
partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are
loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you
back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.

Paul was awakened by this very process of understanding

time as God perceived it. When time is reduced to linear
progress, it is emptied of presence. Paul began to
experience present time as a time of God-dominated
events. He sees his own ministry as part of the
consequential flow of time from Abraham to the present.
He does believe that God is speaking through him. So what
we see lacking in Paul is the dutiful desire to preserve and
repeat the precise words of a holy ‘once upon a time” when
God was present and spoke to his people; in Paul’s now newly
awaked understanding God is speaking NOW! This is
nowhere more compellingly expresses that in Therefore we
are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as if God were
imploring you through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God. . . . Now because we are fellow

147
 workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God
in vain. For he says, "At the acceptable time I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is the
acceptable time;58 behold, now is the day of salvation! (2
Corinthians 5:20-6:1-2)

The closest analogy within first-century Judaism to Paul’s

temporal sensibility is to be found in the Qumran texts,
especially the hodayot and the biblical commentaries
(pesharim).59

What we have now discovered was that the Dead Sea

covenanters, with their self-interpretation as a privileged
eschatological community now granted the true readings
of Scripture, present significant parallels to Pauline
hermeneutics.60 Late Jewish apocalyptic literature had a
profound influence on Paul. It is the “mother of Christian
theology”61 and it is “the driving element of Pauline

58
Rather than repeating the dektos of the Isaiah quotation, Paul writes euprosdektos, thus
subtly heightening the assertion of God’s superabundant gracious favor:: the karios is not
just dektos as Isaiah had prophesied, but euprosdektos
59
Thanksgiving Psalms
60
Which would have indicated that Paul and the Qumran community had much closer ties
than was preciously thought. See my work on the dating of the Apocalypse especially chapter 9
“I knew a man.... “
61
E. Käsemann, “On the Subject of Primitive Christian Apocalyptic” in New Testament
Questions Today(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), 137.

148
theology and practice.62

We should also consider that there were differences

between the Theology that Paul understood and the
Qumran community. Where Paul considers Scripture as a
justification for the inclusion of uncircumcised Gentiles
in the people of God and to relativize the Law’s ritual
requirements, verses the Qumran communities exegesis
which operated on the premise that the mainstream
Jewish practices were ritualistically lax and required
that the community be an exclusively sectarian form of
Judaism. The Qumran community had no parallel to Paul’s
own conviction that the decisive eschatological event had
already occurred. While the Qumran community took the
stance of an apologetic vindication of the community’s
practices against outsiders, while Paul used Scripture to
warn and nurture the community.
In spite of these obvious differences both the Qumran
community and Paul had a “sense of Time” and Paul’s
urgency and revisionary boldness. In both cases we find
neither a conscience awareness of a disjunction from
Israel’s past or a reluctance to speak of God’s activity in
the present.

Reading Scripture at the culmination of the ages, Paul has

found his message which he shares with his readers as to

62
E. Käsemann, Römer, 294.

149
God’s redemptive purposes. It was and is through Jesus
Christ, as Paul declares “my gospel”!

Paul’s message of the “mystery or secret” hid in God

from ages past now revealed “ That the Gentiles should
be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of
his promise in Christ by the gospel: (Ephesians 3:6) God
had preordained from all eternity that a people called by
Him whose whole vocation was and even now is to proclaim
the message of reconciliation by embodying the
righteousness of God Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians
5:20-21).

The correct understanding of the whole of Scripture

according to Paul was and will be enacted through the
metaphorical correspondence between biblical text and
the eschatological community.

If you wish to read Scripture as Paul read Scripture, you

would learn to read it as primarily as a narrative of
election and promise. As a witness to the righteousness
od God and His faithfulness in His dealings with Israel
[Deuteronomy 32 and Isaiah 40-55] .

150
If you wish to read Scripture as Paul read Scripture, you
would learn to read it ecclesiocentrically, as a Word
about a community of Faith, where it is the Holy Spirit at
work. So that Paul’s understanding is an interpretation of
a retrospective activity in which the communities reading
is constantly being shaped by the Spirit of God through
grace in their midst.

If you wish to read Scripture as Paul read Scripture, you

would learn to read it as participants in the eschatological
drams of redemption. Paul’s perception of his community’s
identity was inextricably bound together with his
perception of its temporal location.

If you wish to read Scripture as Paul read Scripture, you

would learn to appreciate the metaphorical relation
between the text and our own reading of it. As we proclaim
the Word we grant a broad space to allow for the echo and
allusion, and if our own communities were sufficiently
rooted in Scripture’s symbolic soil for metalepsis.

151
 Biography

Dr. O'Callaghan has specialized and taught in the fields

Linguistics, Theology, History of Christianity and is a
historical and theoretical theologian, who specializes in the
study of the early Church, particularly the development of
Christian doctrine from A.D. 30 to the second and third
centuries. Contributing a number of articles for scholarly
journals on ancient Christology, Trinitarian theology and
eschatology.

A consummate New Testament scholar Dr O'Callaghan has

amassed a brilliant educational background
Contributing author for 5 Internet on line studies daily
reaching more that 1.5 millions readers monthly. Professor
O'‘Callaghan has taught in Europe as well as Universities in
America, and has been a mentor for numerous doctoral
candidates at Universities throughout the East and
Midwest. His educational background encompassed:
Educated at Cambridge University England, Oxford
University England, Trinity College Ireland, Milligan College
Tenn., Southern Christian University Louisiana., Indiana
University, Vincennes University, Purdue University,
Hebrew University, Notre Dame University with earned
degrees in Theology Th.D., Linguistics Ph.D. Hebrew studies
MAJS, PhDJS.Jewish Studies, Religious Education M.R.E.
Philosophy, D.Phil, Doctor of letters, D.Litt., Early Christian
History, Ph.D. Ancient Biblical Philology Ph. D. [linguistics]
Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Psycholinguistics

152
Attended Harvard and Princeton auditing classes in my
spare time.
Teaching background includes Teaching Biblical Background,
in Church History, New Testament Theology, Textural
criticism in Hebrew and New Testament Greek,
Hermeneutics, Biblical Archeology, Paleography, Philology.
Biblical Preaching/Teaching Experience - World wide -
Europe, Asia, United States and Canada college and
university level Seminars/teaching. On Understanding the
words and the Word found in the Bible

Author of thirty-six monographs on Biblical topics

translated in seven Languages.

1960 Fellow, Theological Research Centre London

1964-65 "Who's who in Colleges and Universities
Voted outstanding professor of the year by faculty
members and Student body 1981-1986
2009-2010 "Who's Who" in the Cambridge Registry
2011-2012 "Who's Who" in the Cambridge Registry
2012-2013 "Who's Who" in the Covington Registry

Nominated and accepted for 2009-2010 "Who's Who" in

the Cambridge Registry
Nominated and accepted for 2011-2012 "Who's Who" in the
Cambridge Registry

153
 Bibliography

Allison, Dale C. Jr., Resurrecting Jesus the earliest

Christian Tradition and its Interpreters (t&t Clark, 2005).

Barclay, William, The Mind of Saint Paul (Harper & Row,

1958)

Baur, F.C., Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ His Life and
Works, His Epistles and Teachings; A Contribution to a
Critical History of Primitive Christianity. (Hendrickson
Publishers German edition 1845)

Brown, Raymond E., The Churches the apostles left behind

(Paulist Press, 1984).

Brown, Raymond E., & Meier, John P. Antioch & Rome (

Paulist Press, 1982).

Bruce, F.F., Paul: Apostle of the Heart set free (Wm. B.

EERDMANS Publishing Co., 1977)

Conybeare, W. J., & H owson, J. S., The Life and epistles of

St. Paul (WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978).

Crossan, John Dominic, God and Empire Jesus against Rome,

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then and now ( HarperSanFrancisco, 2007).

Crossan, John Dominic, The Birth of Christianity ( Harper

SanFrancisco, 1999).

Eisenbaum, Pamela Paul was not a Christian The original

message of a Misunderstood Apostle (Harper One, 2009).

Grant, Michael The History of Rome ( Charles Scribner’s

Sons, 1978)

Hays, Richard B., Echoes of Scripture in the letters of Paul

(Yale University Press, 1989 ).

Horsley, Richard A., & Silberman, Neil Asher The Message

and the Kingdom (Grosset/Putnam, 1997).

Longenecker, Bruce W., ed. Narratives Dynamics in Paul

(Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).

Meeks, Wayne A., The first Urban Christians The social

world of the Apostle Paul (Yale University Press, 1983).

MacCulloch, Diarmaid, Christianity the first three thousand

years (Viking 2009).

Morgan, Robert, ed., The Nature of New Testament

Theology (Alec R. Allenson Inc. 1973).

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Pilch, John J., Paul's ecstatic trance experience near
Damascus in Acts of the Apostles ( Paper presented at the
International Context Group Meeting at the University of
Pretoria, June 2001.)

Pagels, Elaine, Gnostic Paul - Gnostic exegesis of the Pauline

letters (Trinity Press International 1992).

Rall, Harris Franklin, New Testament History (Abingdon

Press 1914).

Sanders, E. P., Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Fortress Press

1977).

Tatum, Gregory, New Chapters in the Life of Paul ( The

Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 41) 2006.

Weiss, Johannes, Earliest Christianity -A history of the

period A.D. 30-150 ( Wilson-Erickson Inc. 1937)

Wright, N. T., Paul in Fresh Perspective (Fortress Press,

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Associations and the Early Jesus-Group at Thessalonike."
Pages 49–72 in From Roman to Early Christian Thessalonike:

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Studies in Religion and Archaeology. Edited by Laura Salah
Nasrallah, et al. Harvard, 2011.

———. Paul's Macedonian Associations: The Social Context

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Mohr Siebeck, 2003.

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1997.

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Sheffield Phoenix, 2010.
Edson, Charles. "Cults of Thessalonica (Macedonia III)."
HTR 41, no. 3 (1948): 153–204.

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Dissertation Presented to the Sisters College of the
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Archaeology, Historiography, and the Elusive Wo/men of 1
Thessalonians." Pages 73–108 in From Roman to Early
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1996.

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Amme Kinder Versorgen'." NTS 55 (2009): 115–20.

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159
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Testimonial:

"Dr Denis O'Callaghan is one of the greatest scholars of

this era. He is also my friend and colleague. He served as
mentor, friend, teacher and sometimes even as an analyst.
He is absolutely fantastic as a sounding board. Always
patient and encouraging Dr O'Callaghan provided not only
copious information, but reflection and insight on every
subject anyone would care to study about the Bible.

Let me just give you a glimpse of this great man and some
of his many achievements.
Dr O'Callaghan was raised by an Irish Roman Catholic
mother and father in Mallow, County Cork Ireland. He
traveled extensively and was educated both in Europe and
America. One of the wisest things he did was married Dr.
Marti O'Callaghan (Ed.D., Ph.D.). Just to have a hobby I
guess, Dr Callaghan invested more than 45 years teaching
Biblical concepts including theology, Early Christian History,
linguistics, and Christian ethics in Major Universities and
Churches of Europe and America". Dr Ley Rose Ph.D. Th.D.
Ask the Experts

"Rev. Dr. Denis O'Callaghan Ph.D., Th.D., Litt.D., D.D.

160
Linguist/Pastor/ Teacher/Theologian/Historian. Professor
of Linguistics, Old and New Testament, Early History of
the Church. His breezy style lends itself to a wide variety
of Scholars, students and average readers. Ph.D. Candidate.

"He is a contributing author for 5 Internet on line studies

daily reaching more that 1.5 millions readers monthly.
Mentor for doctoral candidates at various Universities. Dr.
O'Callaghan has taught in the fields of History of
Christianity and is a Historical Theologian, who specializes
in the study of the early Church, particularly the
development of Christian doctrine from A.D. 30 to the
second and third centuries. Contributing a number of
articles for scholarly journals on ancient Christology,
Trinitarian theology and Eschatology". Irish Times, Dublin
Ireland

His Education has been extensive and world wide:

Educated at Cambridge University England, Oxford
University England, Trinity College Ireland, Milligan College
Tenn., Southern Christian University Louisiana., Indiana
University, Vincennes University, Purdue University, Notre
Dame University and Yale University.

Interests: Christian studies, Science, Creationism Time,

Space , Infinity, Eternity, String theory, Chaos theory
Ancient and modern History, Linguistics.

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 Employing a research-laden approach to the analysis of
God's Word in the Old and New Testaments, Dr Callaghan
unfolds and presents teaching in context with history and
the sciences. A linguist with command of many ancient
languages, digging deeply into a vast collection of ancient
manuscripts to find and communicate the purest
understanding of what the original inspired writers of the
Bible had to say.

Author of "Which Church?" A definitive study on the

abandonment of the teachings of the Apostle Paul by the
early and modern Church; "Biblical Faith and contemporary
culture"; "How to be a upright Christian in a upside down
World"; Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes: "Old Testament
Words of Wisdom for New Testament Saints" [Xwh
Howshea and ymm[ Lo' `Ammiy "Not my people"; Romans: a
verse by verse study of the "Gospel of God"; Philippians:
"Joy for the Believer" Ephesians: The "Mystery and the
Body of Christ" Colossians: A Verse by verse study of the
believers completeness in Christ Paul and The Prison
epistles: "The Mind of the man, the message, the means and
the method"; Studies in the plhvrwma Pleroma; "The
Fulness"; Studies in ";Body truth";The Church which is His
Body"; ejkklhsiva Ekklesia Studies in "Time, Space and
Eternity "; Studies in "Anhypostasia"; God was in Christ
Studies in the "Untraceable Riches of Christ"; "What you
father didn't know and your mother wouldn't tell you" Early
Christian History - "where Anti-Semitism began." "The
stealing of the Bible", "The early centuries and the truth";

162
"The Dumbing down of Christian America"

Testimonies
Man has always desired back a oneness with what he lost in
"the fall". How he goes about reincorporating this
relationship always been the problem. I enjoyed that you
discuss the reasoning behind the languages and the
theories. Maybe it's central focus was between mans timing
and Elohiym's timing, because according to Genesis 6:3, and
for reasons that are now apparent to us, this further
separation was a design to a greater plan. Also can this
attitude of Babel's thinking apparent today? All we have to
do is look around.
Stay Blessed and as always thorough teaching with many
areas to take avenues for further thinking. - Dr Donna
Dixon Hebrew Scholar and teacher

What we have learned shows Dr Callaghan is one of the

foremost Bible scholars and interpreters for not only
Christians but non-Christians as well. If you get a chance to
hear him or at least read his body of work you will not be
disappointed. -Dr Wesley Rose Ph.D., Th.D.

I read about Gilgamesh years ago, you've reminded me how

much I enjoyed it. If I remember correctly weren't some
other biblical stories related to this story? Sometime when
I finish with you I need a brain massage (smile) enjoying
every minute - Professor of Old Testament studies

163
Cambridge University England

First of all, allow me to say that I will never forget your

message in Indiana concerning the idea of two natures in
man as being wrong and that man had one nature with
positive and negative poles. It cleared up a lot of questions
in my mind. I wish I could hear you teach one more time.
"there were giants in those days", and you are a giant in the
field of Biblical study!- Dr Jerry Wayne Bernard Scripture
Research

Dr. Callagahan has been acknowledged as one of the top

Expositors and teachers of Biblical scholarship in the U.S.-
London Times

I learned more in twenty-five minutes from Rev. Callaghan

than in ten years in my old church Just wish that other
Pastors were as committed and devoted as he.

Denis,
You are a dear friend and encouragement to me. I wish we
were closer to each other. I would love the fellowship and
vast knowledge you have gathered through the years. If
people just knew how smart you are, your doorsteps would
be full all the time... with people hungry for knowledge of
our Lord.
Love, Jerry Wayne Bernard Ph.D., D.Litt.

Denis,

164
It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I write this
‘thank you' note for your LinkedIn endorsement of me.

Within any group, the participants we encounter come from

a variety of backgrounds and knowledge. Rarely do we find
someone with the similar interests . It was in The League of
Philosophical Theologians that I first conversed with you.
I was pleasantly amazed that there was another who could
discuss philosophical theology with me. You are a rare man.

I am also vividly aware of your ability to soften group

member conflicts, as well as an occasional verbal
confrontation. Pardon my tardiness on this but "thank you
for the times you rescued me from negative altercations by
other group members." It did not go unnoticed.

As for the recommendation, I am honored that you had the

thought. I am grateful and pleasantly surprised that you
took the time out of your busy day to write an endorsement
of me. I am, whole-heartedly, surprised to have received an
outstanding recommendation from you. Your words are
awe-inspiring and I am going to share them in my LinkedIn
profile.

Thank you, Denis, so very much.

Kind Regards,

Ava Crockett

165
Denis is my pastor and of the many acquaintances in my life,
a friend. I wish those that may see this could understand
the weight of my first sentence. I have enjoyed Doc’s
company for almost 10 yrs now. We have shared our love of
animals, the loss of friends and family, the enjoyment of a
joke or two and more.
His open mindedness is rare in this world of frozen
opinions. There is enjoyment in listening where agreement
is not as important as the interchange of thought. I have
been known to thoroughly disagree with Doc and enjoy
every moment. Most people like to plant seeds or harvest
but few seem to understand that a garden needs tending
between planting and harvest. It is the tending of a garden
that is the real work, gentle watering, carefully pulling a
weed or two, adding some food/fertilizer, shielding your
crop from the early freeze…these are the lost arts of
Christianity and the true characteristics of a gardener. Doc
is a gardener.
Take it from an old plumber, time spent with Doc is time
well spent. Kevin Buckley

Maggid ben Yoseif

Founder of Jerusalem Torah Voice in Exile, editor of "el

Huerfano" (The Orphan) at Eldersgate-Standing Tree A.I.C.

166
Denis is one of the more open-minded theologians I have
encountered.

Dr. Jimmie Willingham

Minister, Historian, Counselor,

“
It is a pleasure and a privilege to write a recommendation
for Dr. O'Callaghan. His education and training are superb.
His devotion to duty is commendable and remarkable. He
demonstrates a cheerful spirit in the face of difficulties,
and his theological wherewithal to respond appropriately
and effectively to a given situation far exceeds anything
that I have seen in fifty years in the ministry and based on
my observations of his comments on the internet and upon
our personal correspondence.”

Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg

Scholar-in-Residence, eTeacherBiblical, Jewish Studies for
Christians - http://jewishstudies.eteacherbiblical.com

“
Dr. Denis O'Callaghan to my mind is gentlemen and scholar,
brother and father, healer and counselor, cheerleader and
guide. His life itself is what the Scriptures call simply - "a
living letter".

167
Rev. Linda Smallwood

Founder/President/Counselor at My Redeemer Lives

Christian Ministry

“
Dr. Denis has provided much detailed reference information
for lessons pertaining to Christian history and the original
languages of the Bible. I trust whatever he contributes to
be of the highest quality and free of error. I have
thoroughly enjoyed the time we've worked together and
look forward to working with him again, whether on this
project or another.

Rev. Dr. Calvin Drake

PASTOR at WAY INTERNATIONAL OF CLEVELAND

CHURCH

“
Denis O'Callahan a theologian of studies of Old testament
studies and linguist, This distinguished educator has made
a on going contribution to many in the area of a theological
nature in his teaching. I, recommend him in the areas of
academics and education. A outstanding individual and a
distinguished honorary.

168
Clinton Stockwell

Administrator and Professor

“
Independently minded scholars today are a rare breed, and
few there are who pursue learning for its own sake. For too
few of us on this planet, learning and education is life itself.
It is the air we breathe, the culture we make and the world
we envision. Dr. O'Callaghan is among those who are pointing
the way to a better world through his work and shining
example....

Janice Robinson

Ordained Minister

“
Denis is highly strategic theologian and writes in depth
Bible studies, using Scripture as the Lord has ordained,
that it is to be "rightly divided."

169
 Addendum and Endnotes
The Prayer of Paul the Apostle
from The Nag Hammadi Library

(Approximately two lines are missing.)

... your light, give me your mercy! My Redeemer, redeem me,

for I am yours; the one who has come forth from you. You
are my mind; bring me forth! You are my treasure house;
open for me! You are my fullness; take me to you! You are
(my) repose; give me the perfect thing that cannot be
grasped!

I invoke you, the one who is and who pre-existed in the

name which is exalted above every name, through Jesus
Christ, the Lord of Lords, the King of the ages; give me
your gifts, of which you do not repent, through the Son of
Man, the Spirit, the Paraclete of truth. Give me authority
when I ask you; give healing for my body when I ask you
through the Evangelist, and redeem my eternal light soul
and my spirit. And the First-born of the Pleroma of grace
-- reveal him to my mind!

170
 Grant what no angel eye has seen and no archon ear (has)
heard, and what has not entered into the human heart
which came to be angelic and (modeled) after the image of
the psychic God when it was formed in the beginning, since
I have faith and hope. And place upon me your beloved,
elect, and blessed greatness, the First-born, the
First-begotten, and the wonderful mystery of your house;
for yours is the power and the glory and the praise and the
greatness for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Paul (the) Apostle.

In Peace.
Christ is holy.

1. Paul's christological interpretation of scriptural passages about

YHWH, taking the name YHWH (kuvrio" in LXX) to refer to Jesus
Christ, is an important phenomenon that has often been
under-estimated both in extent and in significance. The basic data
are set out here:
(1) YHWH texts with Jesus Christ as referent:
(1a) Five quotations including kuvrio"
Rom 10:13 Joel 2:32
1 Cor 1:31 Jer 9:24 (= 1 Kdms 2:10)
1 Cor 2:16 Isa 40:13
1 Cor 10:269 Ps 23(24):1
2 Cor 10:17 Jer 9:24 (= 1 Kdms 2:10)
(1b) One quotation to which Paul adds levgei kuvrio"
Rom 14:11 Isa 45:23

171
(1c) One quotation not including kuvrio"
Rom 9:33 Isa 8:1411
(1d) Nine allusions including kuvrio"
1 Cor 8:6 Deut 6:4
1 Cor 10:22 Deut 32:21 (kuvrio" not in LXX)
2 Cor 8:21 Prov 3:4 (kuvrio" in LXX, ìyhla in MT)
Phil 2:10-11 Isa 45:23

1 Thes 3:13 Zech 14:513

2 Thes 1:7 Isa 66:15
2 Thes 1:9 Isa 2:10, 19, 21
2 Thes 1:12 Isa 66:5
2 Thes 3:16 Num 6:26
(1e) Six stereotyped OT phrases including kuvrio"
'to call on the name of the Lord'
1 Cor 1:2 (cf. Rom 10:13)
Joel 2:23; Zeph 3:9; Zech 13:9; Jer 10:25 etc.
'the day of the Lord'
1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thes 5:2; 2 Thes 2:2
Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; Amos 5:18; Isa 13:6, 9 etc.
'to serve the Lord'
Rom 12:11; 16:18
1 Kdms 12:20; Pss 2:11; 99(100):2; 101(102):22 etc.
'the word of the Lord'
1 Thes 1:8; 2 Thes 3:1
Isa 2:3 etc.
'the Lord be with you'
2 Thes 3:16 Ruth 2:4; 1 Kdms 17:37; 20:13 etc.
'the fear of the Lord'
2 Cor 5:11 Isa 2:10, 19, 21 etc.
(2) YHWH texts with God as referent:
(2a) Nine quotations including kuvrio"
172
Rom 4:7-8 Ps 31(32):1-2
Rom 9:27-28 Hos 2:1 + Isa 10:22-2316
Rom 9:29 Isa 1:9 (kuvrio" sabawvq)
Rom 10:16 Isa 53:1 (kuvrio" in LXX, no equivalent in MT)17
Rom 11:3 3 Kdms 19:10 (kuvrio" not in LXX, no equivalent in MT)18
Rom 11:34 Isa 40:13
Rom 15:11 Ps 116(117):1
1 Cor 3:20 Ps 93(94):11
2 Cor 6:18 2 Kdms 7:14, 8 (kuvrio" pantokravtwr)
(2b) Three quotations to which Paul adds levgei kuvrio"
Rom 12:1919 Deut 32:35
1 Cor 14:21 Isa 28:11-12
2 Cor 6:17 Isa 52:11 + Ezek 20:34
(2c) Twelve quotations in which the speaker ('I') is identified as
YHWH in the OT context
Rom 4:17 Gen 17:5
Rom 9:9 Gen 18:14
Rom 9:13 Mal 1:2-3
Rom 9:14 Exod 33:19
Rom 9:17 Exod 9:16
Rom 9:25 Hos 2:25
Rom 9:33 Isa 28:16
Rom 10:19 Deut 32:2120
Rom 10:20 Isa 65:1
Rom 10:21 Isa 65:2
Rom 11:26-27 Isa 59:20-21
2 Cor 6:2 Isa 49:8

How are these phenomena of Paul's usage to be understood? We may

quickly discount two possible interpretations: (1) It is not plausible
that where Paul takes the kuvrio" of the LXX to refer to Jesus he is
not aware that kuvrio" is functioning as a reverential substitute for
173
the divine name. Paul certainly knew the Hebrew text as well as the
Greek, but in fact even a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian who knew
the
Jewish Scriptures only in Greek could not have been unaware of the
function of kuvrio" as representing the tetragrammaton. In many
manuscripts of the LXX what appeared in the written text was not
kuvrio" but the Hebrew letters of the tetragrammaton or a Greek
equivalent (PIPI) or a Greek transliteration (IAW). Readers
substituted kuvrio" in reading (whether to themselves, since ancient
readers
usually pronounced the words when reading alone, or in public reading).

When kuvrio" was written in manuscripts as the substitute for YHWH,

it was usually differentiated from other uses of kuvrio" by its lack of
the article, indicating that it was being used as a proper name. In a
phrase such as 'the name of the Lord' this is particularly clear, since
its Greek form in the Septuagint (to; o[noma kurivou) breaks
the normal rule that in such a construction either both nouns should
have the article or both nouns should lack it.

2.NAZIRITE, person who vows for a specific period to abstain

from partaking of grapes or any of its products whether
intoxicating or not, cutting his hair, and touching a corpse (6:3–9).
Such a person is called a Nazirite (Heb. nazir, ‫ )ריִזָנ‬from the root
nzr (‫)רזנ‬, meaning to separate or dedicate oneself (e.g., nifal, Lev.
22:2; hifil, Lev. 15:31; Num. 6:2, 5, 12). The subject is dealt with in
the Priestly Code (Num. 6:1–21) and the purpose of the law is to
prescribe the proper ritual if the Nazirite period is aborted by
corpse contamination (Num. 6:9–12) or if it is successfully
completed (6:13–21).
In the person of the Nazirite, the layman is given a status

174
resembling that of the priest, as he now is "holy to the Lord" (Lev.
21:6; Num. 6:8; cf. Philo, I LA, 249). Actually, in his taboos, he
approximates more the higher sanctity of the high priest in that
(1) He may not contaminate himself with the dead of his immediate
family (Lev. 21:11; Num. 6:7; cf. the ordinary priest, Lev. 21:1–4);
(2) For him, as for the high priest, the head is the focus of
sanctity (Ex. 29:7; Num. 6:11b. Note the same motive clauses, Lev.
21:12b; Num. 6:7b and compare the dedication of the ordinary
priest, Ex. 29:21); (3) He abstains from intoxicants during his
term (Num. 6:4)–a more stringent requirement than that of the
high priest, whose abstinence, like that of his fellow priests, is
limited to the time he is in the Sanctuary (Lev. 10:9).
A more instructive parallel to the Nazirite is the case of the
dedication of land to the Sanctuary (Lev. 27:16ff.). Both result
from a votive dedication (Lev. 27:16; Num. 6:2), and both
dedications are for limited periods, the land reverting to its owner
on the Jubilee if not redeemed earlier (implied by Lev. 27:21; Num.
6:13). In both cases the period of dedication can be terminated
earlier–the Nazirite's by contamination (Num. 6:9–12), the land's
by redemption (Lev. 27:16–19). In the case of premature
desanctification, a penalty is exacted: the Nazirite pays a
reparation offering (ʾasham) to the Sanctuary, and the owner of
the land pays an additional one-fifth of the redemption price to
the Sanctuary. If the dedication period is completed, no
desanctification penalty is incurred. True, the Nazirite offers up
an array of sacrifices together with his hair (Num. 6:13–20), but
the sacrifices are mainly for thanksgiving, and the hair, which may
not be desanctified, is consumed on the altar. Similarly, dedicated
land (so the text of Lev. 27:22–24 implies) reverts to its original

175
owner on the Jubilee without cost. In the case when the Nazirite
period is interrupted by contamination, the following ritual is
observed: the Nazirite must undergo sprinkling with purificatory
waters on the third and seventh day (inferred from Num.
19:14ff.); he shaves his hair on the seventh day; and on the
following day three rituals are prescribed: he is purified of his
contamination by a purification offering, his hair is reconsecrated
and his Nazirite period begins anew, and a reparation offering is
brought to expiate his desecration.
The uncut hair of the Nazirite is his distinction. (In this respect
the priest differs; though forbidden to shave his hair, he is
compelled to trim it; cf. Ezek. 44:20.) Its importance is indicated
by the root of the term Nazirite, ‫רזנ‬, which refers at times to the
hair (Num. 6:6, 7, 12, 18; Jer. 7:29. Note the parallelism in Gen.
49:26; Deut 33:16). Since hair continues to grow throughout life
(and apparently for a time after death), it was considered by the
ancients to be the seat of man's vitality and life-force, and in
ritual it often served as his substitute. A ninth-century B.C.E. bowl
found in a Cypriot temple contains an inscription on its outside
surface indicating that it contained the hair of the donor. It was
placed there, if the reconstructed text is correct, as "a memorial"
to Astarte (cf. Ex. 28:12, 29; 30:16; Num. 10:10; Zech. 6:14), i.e.,
as a permanent reminder to the goddess of the donor's devotion.
The offering of hair is also attested in later times in Babylonia
(Pritchard, Texts, 339–40), Syria (Lucian, De dea Syra, 55, 60),
Greece (K. Meuli), and Arabia (W.R. Smith).

2. What happened to Paul in Rome?

176
Festus was sent by Nero to be Felix's successor. Under him
Paul, having made his defense, was sent bound to Rome.
Aristarchus was with him, whom he also somewhere in his
epistles quite naturally calls his fellow-prisoner. And Luke, who
wrote the Acts of the Apostles, brought his history to a close
at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at
Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God
without restraint.

Thus, after he had made his defense, it is said that the apostle
was sent again upon the ministry of preaching, and that upon
coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.
In this imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy, in
which he mentions his first defense and his impending death.

But hear his testimony on these matters: "At my first answer,"

he says, "no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray
God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding
the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the
preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might
hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."

He plainly indicates in these words that on the former occasion,

in order that the preaching might be fulfilled by him, he was
rescued from the mouth of the lion, referring, in this
expression, to Nero, as is probable on account of the latter's
cruelty. He did not, therefore, afterward add the similar
statement, "He will rescue me from the mouth of the lion"; for
he saw in the spirit that his end would not be long delayed.

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Then he adds to the words, "And he delivered me from the
mouth of the lion," this sentence: "The Lord shall deliver me
from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom," indicating his speedy martyrdom; which he also
foretells still more clearly in the same epistle, when he writes,
"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand."

In his second epistle to Timothy, moreover, he indicates that

Luke was with him when he wrote, but at this first defense not
even he. Whence it is probable that Luke wrote the Acts of the
Apostles at that time, continuing his history down to the period
when he was with Paul.

Taken from Book 2, Chapter 22, of Ecclesiastical History by

Eusebius Pamphilus

3. Women in the early ministry that were called Apostles

Did you know the Book of Romans speaks of an outstanding
female apostle named "Junia"? It’s true: there was a female
apostle – at least if you believe Greek and Latin commentators
of the first thousand years of the Church such as Origen, John
Chrysostom, Jerome, Peter Abelard, Ambrose and others!
In Romans 16 Paul lists more than two dozen important
colleagues in ministry with seven women and five men singled out
as those contributing most. And in Romans 16, verse 7, we read:
"Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow
prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles ...."
The 4th Century church father John Chrysostom reiterated

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Paul’s praise when he spoke highly of Junia, saying, "To be an
apostle is great. Glory be. How great the wisdom of this woman
must have been that she was deemed worthy of the title of
apostle." (In ep. ad Romanos 31.2; PG 60.669-670)
Apostle was the highest office in the church – some say
equivalent to a priest or bishop in our time. And Paul did not
seem squeamish about a woman anointed by the Spirit to fulfill
such a high leadership role in the church. In his writings Paul
affirmed women as prophets, house church leaders, evangelists,
hard-working ministers, prayer intercessors and deacons. In
listing female Junia as "outstanding among the apostles," St.
Paul was being true to his already- established egalitarian model
for ministry. (For a discussion on the two Pauline passages which
seem to contradict this egalitarian model, go to
http://1211ministries.com/ministrytowomen.html )
Junia was a common name for women in the Roman world and all
English New Testament translations up until 1833 including
Tyndale’s (1525-1534), Cranmer’s (1539) and the King James
Version of 1611 agreed that Junia was indeed female! Even
Greek New Testaments used for textual study rendered her a
woman apostle almost without exception until the early 20th
Century! But if you look up Romans 16:7 in your Bible, it is
possible that instead of reading
"Junia," your translation may mention a masculine name "Junias"
– a name which research shows never existed! In over half of
the English translations used today, Romans 16:7 shows the
female
"Junia" including the KJV, NAB, NKJV, NRSV, Oxford and NLT.
Others using the psuedo-male name "Junias" include the NASB,
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NIV, Amplified and The Message.
So, when and how did Junia the female apostle become Junias
the male apostle? How did she get lost? Well, research shows
Junia remained (solidly) female until the 13th Century when
Giles (or in Latin, Aegidius) of Rome masculinized her name in
his commentary on Romans. He didn’t give an explanation, but
simply changed Junia’s name to a masculine version, even though
that name did not exist in antiquity. Giles of Rome was heavily
influenced by his mentor Thomas Aquinas and Aquinas was
influenced by Aristotle who believed that women were inferior
to men in all ways. So Giles of Rome interpreted the teachings
of St. Paul through Aquinas’ and Aristotle’s biased filters.
Because he could not believe that a leader on the level of
apostle could ever have been a female, without regard for the
Greek text or ancient commentaries, Giles "gender reassigned"
Junia from female to male. Junias the male apostle is quite
simply a figment of the imagination of a 13th Century man
named Giles of Rome!

Sadly, the commentary by Giles of Rome was the one which

Martin Luther used for his study and the anti-female
perspective gained momentum in the Reformation period.
Luther’s lecture on Romans followed this male-only apostleship
model which gave the male Junias wide-spread exposure for
centuries, virtually burying the female Junia, rendering her the
Lost Apostle for hundreds of years!

Now why is Junia, the Lost Female Apostle important for us as

current-day Believers? As we hold to Biblical authority, and it is

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important that we are well-informed concerning the
interpretation of Holy Scripture. This is especially true when an
error has resulted in a long- held misperception and incorrect
teaching regarding who is called and anointed by the Spirit to
serve the Church in ministry and leadership. To be true to the
authority of Scripture, we are wise to acknowledge the original
Greek text, affirmed by ancient commentators – there was a
female apostle and her name was Junia. It is time the Church
"find" the lost Junia whose wisdom was so great she was, in the
words of St. John of Chrysostom, "deemed worthy of the title
of apostle."

If you have been following my teaching (or not! Then why not)
Anyway I have tried to present a balanced approached to the
subject “Women in the Church” Pastors/deaconess or just
church mice?

A lot of you waded in I was deluged with differing opinions

(which are like noses, everybody has one …except no nose
Mcgerk whose noise was bitten off by a shark but that another
story for another time)

The issue seems to be around good and sincere men and women
who take the Bible literally and yet can not seem to read the
same passage and get the same understanding. I could fix that
but most won’t listen because as one of my deacons said “Pastor,
don’t confuse me with the facts…my mind is already made up!”

Let me say this first before I tackle the issue before us. These
men and women who struggle with issues like this and others are
trying to live lives that are in God’s sight Good, kind (for the
most part) and honest before God. I am not talking about those
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few who are so closed minded that if you were to talk with them
you could be arrested for breaking and entering.

The problem as I understand it is that so many want to force

God into a box (or temple, sound familiar?) Not allowing the
Spirit of God to work. They (those who stand firm against
women holding positions of leadership) are looking at a text that
was written in the 1st century and trying to make it fit into the
21st century. If one is really interested in understanding the
Bible (I mean really interested) they must first get their mind
around the
HISTORICAL CONTEXT!

If American Religious organizations wish to practice sexual

discrimination the First Amendment provides for and shields
them from intrusive government regulations, including hiring
practices. Religious freedom is after all a fundamental part of
the arrangement of American society.

But to misunderstand Scripture under the guise of “The Bible

said it! I believe it! That settles it!” ought to make even to most
conservative Christian stand up a shout “Where does it say that
in Scripture” and show me where you got that”

To many times men (mostly) have read something or worse

heard someone else say such and such and that makes it easy to
take a stand on an issue that does not effect them.

For example The Bible speaks of slavery (do we acknowledge

that slavery is permissible in the USA today?) Of course not
but a long time ago it was. Did the writers of the Scripture
advocate the abolishing of slavery altogether? I think that the

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only thing that would have accomplished would have been the
blood of a lot of slaves. No! it was not time nor were the
average person ready for abolishing slaves however if you want
to see haw God dealt with the issue read the little book of
“Philemon”

It is in History that we find God working and while it will take

some serious soul searching on all of our parts I believe that
you will have a better idea about what the role of women ought
to be with the “Church”

Next we should take up this burning issue. Remember that it is

in the eyes of the beholders that we see people as they are The
rabbis in the times of the first century use to pray barring the
women from the inner courts of the Temple and prayed daily “I
thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast not made me a Gentile or a
woman.” See you next time with the conclusion to this topic.
Women in the role of leadership (in the church).

We have come a long way in our understanding of what “Is a

Christian” As a historian, Linguist, and a student of ancient
cultures and languages, I have spent most of my adult life
fighting for the right of reasonable people to think for
themselves. I want to be allowed to make my decisions based on
understanding and reason. I also want the same for you.
Everyone has an opinion some are more intelligent than others,
some are more reasoned, still more are based on the opinions of
others. But and the end of the day. We all would like to think
that we are right (about whatever that stirs you in your heart
of hearts.)
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However as our atheists friends say more damage has been
done in the name of religion e.g. Christianity than one could
imagine. Their right of course however (there is that little
word) It is not Religion that is the cause (religion is man
reaching to God) [Another subject for another time] it is man’s
inhumanity toward his fellow man! Or in this case, woman.
Everyone uses the Bible to “prove” their point or disprove
someone else. The bad part of those who use the Bible is that
the best they can do is to parrot someone else or point out the
discrepancies (I told a atheist one time “I search for
discrepancies and contradictions and inconsistencies in the
Bible” How many have you found?” In forty years I have found
none! ” I replied. The problem is that the lack of an educated
mind and the willingness to take the short cut or easy road.
“The Words of Scripture are for Children The thoughts are
for men” Seed of the Women” Dr. Arthur Custance once
pointed out It is not enough merely to read one book or
study in one area and then decide “this is what I believe!”
many come to the forefront and state “The Bible Says it, I
believe it, and that settles it!!!”

Dear, Saint of God that is the worst kind of education, we have

a Book dare I say “the Book of Book” which is able to make our
lives and the meaning of life understandable. Many refuse, many
more choose to go their own direction. For some they choose
rightly but never enter the door of understanding!

You need to understand yourself before you can understand

others (even then there are a Myriad on different choices).

We are looking at just one dot in a sea of human understanding,

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that is the role of women in the ministry.

In brief, we have had in the 1st century a patriarchal society in

which women were no more that property they were little
better than slaves and sold and treated without regard. This
was the society in which Jesus of Nazareth came the radical
rebel from a little backwater village that would become an
historical land make in the future. This peripatetic [itinerant]
preacher took the Jewish Religion and elevated it to
astronomical proportions.

With difficultly Jesus brought dignity and respect to

womankind! Born of a little girl, raised and guided by a woman of
amazing strengths and abilities. He worked hand in hand with
the women who recognized

First century life was at best [the worst] for women. Women
had no rights! Under Hebrew law, a woman was a thing to be
bought and sold. Things were little better in Greece and Rome.
A woman was owned by her father in Roman law, as an adult to
her husband. Both had the power of life and death over her.
She could not even speak to a man without his permission.

Little wonder the Apostle Paul instructed women as he did

for no self-respecting Jew or Roman of the first century
would allow a woman to teach him anything (sounds like today
in some areas doesn’t it?). It is remarkable that Paul gave
women the recognition that he did. By first century
standards, he was a liberal. (Sorry, Ann Coulter, but not all
liberals are “godless.”)

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What I find within Christianity is the desire after becoming
Christian is to sit back and watch the life around them (the
Christians) to go by with out so much as a “by your leave”

It is not only a shame but to my way of thinking to accept a

“gift” and then put away and never even look at it.

The “Gift I am speaking about is not merely Salvation, or grace

(important as they are) but the opportunity to “really, really” (2
reallys -Really important stuff to follow) get to know our
heavenly Father. Paul prayed in Philippians Chapter 3 and verse
10…

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death”

written almost 30 years after Paul meet the risen Christ on the
Damascus road! You see Saint of God even after all that time
Paul’s supreme desire was “To know Him”

The story goes that a little girl was sick in bed and at the foot
of the bed was a mirror at the head of the bed was a picture of
Jesus. When she felt so ill that all she could do was lift her
little head to look in the mirror, she called out to her mother “I
can see Jesus!” But when she felt better and could crawl down
to the foot of her bed to look at Jesus reflected in the mirror,
she exclaimed “I can’t see Jesus any more” Some times Saints ,
we see ourselves so big that we don’t see Jesus any more or for
that matter what he is trying to do in us and for us.

Now to those verses that some (many) use to deny the Lord His
place and what He wants for the body of Christ. “Submitting
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yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the

Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the
head of the church: and he is the Savior of the body.”
(Ephesians 5:21-23)

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over

the man, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:11-12)

How can you understand these verses with the verses in

Corinthians? Verses where Paul makes provisions for women to
prophesy (i.e. preach) in the church . In the book of Romans Paul
sends greetings to his friend Phoebe, a deacon. And throughout
his ministry he works with women who he mentions by name
(Euodia and Priscilla). The respect didn’t start with Paul but
Jesus! {For those who really want to “know Him” read Romans
the 16th Chapter where Paul speaks of a woman apostle
(overlooked by so many in the church today)

“Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow

prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in
Christ before me.” Verse 7 Chapter 16 of Romans.

No, Paul was not giving the “church” license to dominate women.
Nor was he telling women in the 21st century that they are
second-class citizens who must bow and scrape to the whim of
their husbands. Paul’s ultimate hope was for both men and
women was that as he put it “We have the mind of Christ” that

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as God see each of us there is no distinction! He said this in no
uncertain terms in the book of Galatians, Chapter 3 and verse
28

“There is neither JEW nor GREEK, there is neither bond nor

free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.” Now that Saint of God, is radical stuff! That is
the way God sees you and me.

The fact is that the “Church which is the body of Christ” was
years ahead of the time in its treatment of women. While
society was keeping women enslaved,

the church was appointing them to positions of responsibility

and leadership. Female deacons and apostles were prominent in
the early church, their qualifications for office being set down
in 1 Timothy 3:11. (Note: the Greek word often translated as
“wives” would be better translated as “women”).

Female preachers were also commonplace . Despite the

overwhelming evidence to the contrary some Christians still
maintain that woman cannot adequately serve as ministers. The
problem is that God cannot be locked into the culture of the 1st
century whether we like it or not. If God exist (I use the Greek
prepositional “if” if and it is true) He is alive today and revealing
Himself and continuing to reveal Himself to those who truly
want to “know Him”.

Next time we look at evidence how men (good? Perhaps!

Misinformed? Definitely! Not well taught, unlearned?
Certainly!!!!) Have veered from what God wanted and For those
of you who intend to preach this message in your Assemblies I’ll

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give you facts that are irrefutable that you can check me out!
How’s that?

What I had expected to take a couple of paragraphs has taken

me (counting this one) 4. Will this be my last part on the role of
women in the church (we’ll see).

Last time I pointed out that fact that were women in positions
of leadership in the church. Not only as deacons but in fact
(take this home and show your pastor/Bible teacher…you may
not be popular after you do.) Apostles!

But something happened (even in the best of organizations) Men

interfered (remember it should have taken only 40 days to
cross the desert but took instead 40 years. (Men never ask
directions! ) “But Denis,” you may say “Pastor says… [fill in the
blank] ” Remember what I said earlier about “Everyone wants to
be right especially when it comes to our belief system] well
pastors for the most part teach what they have been taught in
[Cemetery sorry Seminary] some never do anything but read a
few book and get a sermon off the Internet and run off to a
business meeting (Sorry guys, Pastors [but if (the Greek
prepositional if …and it could be true) you have been called by
God they you job is two fold to “teach and to preach” and to do
that you have to do two things “Study and pray”!] If your doing
anything else then your working for yourself and not for God
and you are “cheating those in your church who count on you!

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Sorry Saint of God but someone needs to set the record
straight And since your best friend won’t tell you…

Now what happened is that somewhere in the 1st century

through the 4th century men began to see that they had the
power to influence people and control men and women the
“clergy so called” so what your about to read can be checked out
and if you find something different let me know (because I’ll
want to check you out!) We are told that women as ministers
were seen as characteristic of heretical groups. No one wants
to be called a heretic!. Women were vehemently opposed and
suppressed! We have evidence that some women served as
heads of widows’ ministries and even as deacons, bishops, and
elders. But these roles steadily were diminished.

The Council of Nicea, in 325 C.E., decreed that woman were no

longer to be ordained along with the clergy for leadership roles
but were to remain among the laity.

The council of Laodicea, in 352 forbade women from the

priesthood and presiding over churches. The council also barred
women from approaching the altar.

The Fourth Synod of Carthage, in 398 said woman may not

teach men in assembly and may not baptize.

The Council of Chalcedon, in 451, ruled that no women under 40

years of age could be ordained a deacon, and then only close
scrutiny.

The secular world dear Saint, is ready (for the most part) to

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give women equal rights. So I have to ask my male counterparts
will we do the same? Will God’s own people prevent it? As some
quote “proof texts” written in the 1st Century to people living in
the 21st century, do we not sound like the southern forbears
who tried to stop the abolitionist movement (and later the civil
rights movement) by quoting the Bible . Is that not the “blind”
leading the “blind”?

The time has expired for men to lord authority over women ,
whether inside or outside the church. Instead, we should be
working together as equals, for in God sight we are “There is
neither JEW nor GREEK, there is neither bond nor free, there
is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In light of the fact that 90% of the work in most churches is

done by women I have a question. Ladies, have you considered a
strike?

4.

WOMEN IN ANCIENT ROME

In theory Roman women were little better off than their
sisters in Athens. Under Roman law women went from the
authority of their fathers to the authority of their husbands,
and even a wealthy, old widow needed a male to supervise her
finances, but by the beginning of the First Century BCE women
began to achieve greater freedom in practice if not in theory.

Generalizations on the status of women in the ancient

world are always difficult, and never more so than in the
case of Rome where theory and practice were often so

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far apart. Athenian men regarded their wives as at best
essential inconveniences, but Roman men placed a very
high value on marriage, home and the family and this
made quite a difference to society's treatment of
women.

At no time in Rome's history were women allowed to

hold office. In the early days of the Republic women
were not even allowed to make suggestions. By the
beginning of the Empire many men were seeking and
following the advice of their wives. It was all right to do
so, provided the advice was given in private and the
husband did not make a big deal of it. Respectable
women were not supposed to be wandering around alone
outside, but somehow they managed to have a life
beyond the home.

Outside of the lower classes women could not work but

they did not want to do so either. In fact "work" was
seen as something to be done by slaves and low class
people who did not know any better. Nevertheless
women were demanding and getting greater freedom.
Some men objected, of course, but their cries of
protest were in vain. Emperor Augustus introduced a
series of laws to promote traditional values but even he
was unable to stem the tide of progress. It is
interesting to see the same issues being argued about
two thousand years later.

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 LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN IN ANCIENT ROME
Equality was a foreign concept in the Roman mind. Citizen and non-
citizen, freeborn, freed and slave, father and children, male and
female---each had a different standing in law. Adultery by a low
class women was not considered a problem, while it was a serious
crime by all other women. Children by parents of differing classes
acquired the legal standing of the lower class parent. A slave
might be given her freedom, but she would then become a freed
woman, not a freeborn woman.

The traditional idea was to center control of all of the assets of a

family in the hands of one person. We have noted elsewhere that
throughout the ancient world the group was more important than
the individual. Family members were expected to work for the
entire family, not for themselves. The best way to achieve this
unity of effort, it was believed, was to give authority over every
aspect of life, not just economic, to one person in the family. That
one person was called pater familias. The control of the
paterfamilias was absolute in law, but in practice was much more
benevolent than it sounds and was usually confined to economic
matters. (Choice of a spouse for a daughter was one such economic
matter.)

A paterfamilias was any man, married or unmarried, with or

without children, who did not owe obedience to a paterfamilias of
his own (ie., a father, grandfather, etc.). A mater familias was any
married or widowed woman (with or without children). At marriage,
a woman in the Republic went from the authority of her father, or
his paterfamilias, to the authority of her husband, or his paterfamilias.

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Adultery in Rome, as elsewhere in the Ancient World, was defined
as sexual activity between a married woman and a man not her
husband. If a married man strayed it might have created a
problem with his wife, but it was not a matter for the state unless
his extracurricular partner was married to someone else. In the
Republic a husband might kill his wife if he caught her committing
adultery; he was certainly required to divorce her.

The invasion of Italy by the Carthaginians under Hannibal and

many years of foreign wars led to a number of social changes in
the final century or two of the Republic, particularly in the
attitudes toward women. Many women were forced to manage the
family estate or business while their husbands were away at war.
Battles kept many husbands away, but victories brought new
wealth to Rome and some of that wealth ended up in dowries that
passed to widows. The result was to give women greater
prominence and more authority in practice if not in theory. Many
leading citizens spoke against the new status of women, but the
forces of change were too great.

One very important change was the growing popularity in the last
century of the Republic and throughout the Empire of a form of
marriage which did not place a wife under the authority of her
husband. She remained under the authority of her family, but that
was often more benevolent, and certainly more distant. Upper
class women were often able to achieve release from family
control and then hire an agent to manage their finances: of course,
the hired agent simply did as he was instructed. Women had more
money and more freedom and so had the opportunity to meet

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other men. One critic claimed that the only chaste women in Rome
were the ones who had not been chased. Another said that
husbands were just being silly if they got upset about a little
adultery.

Once Augustus has established the Empire he became concerned

about what he saw as the bad example being set by the upper
classes for the rest of the country. Lower moral standards, a
reduced birth rate and weakened family values were leading people
to be more interested in personal pleasure and less interested in
their duty to the community. Augustus' reforms were not popular
and it is doubtful they had much impact. It is ironic that his own
daughter, Julia, was caught in adultery and exiled.

Bar Code for ISBN 978-1-304-49245-6

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