Paul, Indeed a False Apostle comments

Was Paul A False Apostle?

After many years as a Christian not really understanding Paul (or Saul) I asked God for understanding about Paul and whether he is or was a real apostle. Here is what God revealed to me.

Point One - There Is No Witness - There Are Only Twelve Apostles

All through his epistles Paul stridently claims that he is an apostle appointed by Jesus Christ himself. But elsewhere in the Bible (not including Paul's epistles) the Bible is silent. There are only twelve appointed apostles mentioned elsewhere, not thirteen. Nowhere else in the bible is there any confirmation that Paul is in fact an apostle. The Bible requires a witness before we are to believe anybody. The only witness Paul has is himself. He only claims his 'signs and wonders' as his witness. But Jesus has explicity warned us not to accept 'signs and wonders' as a witness.

Point Two - Paul's Account Is Contrary To Jesus' Explicit Warnings

We know from Acts that Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection before returning to heaven.

It was not long after this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching., and he disappeared into a cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white robed men suddenly stood there among them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there staring at the sky. Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven and someday, just as you saw him go, he will return." Acts 1:9-11

This is reiterated in the psalms:

The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet". Psalm 110:1

Jesus himself also spoke of this, that at the end of the age he will appear on the clouds in great glory:

And then at last the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be a deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Mathew 34:30-31

The message from the Bible is very clear: that Jesus has ascended to the father and is sitting at his right hand in heaven, waiting until he returns to earth at the end of the age.

Jesus warned us about anyone who claimed to see him before his glorious return at the end of the age:

Then if anyone tells you, 'Look here is the Messiah,' or 'There he is,' don't pay any attention. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. See I have warned you.

So if someone tells you, 'Look the Messiah is out in the desert,' don't bother to go and look. Or, 'Look he is hiding here,' don't believe it. For as the lightning lights up the entire sky, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. Mathew 24:23-27

Jesus is telling us that when he returns to earth it will be clear and unmistakable to everyone, and that we are not to believe any other accounts of people who claim to have seen the Messiah.

Paul, completely contrary to Jesus' account claims to have seen Jesus by the side of the road leading to Damascus.

As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him "Saul Saul why do you persecute me".

"Who are you sir?' Saul asked.

And the voice replied, "I am Jesus the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do." Acts 9:3-6

Now while it was a startling event, Paul's account is completely contrary to Jesus' explicit warning to the apostles. Jesus' warning could be restated:

Or, if somebody tells you, 'I saw him by the side of the road leading to Damascus,' don't believe him.

Note that Acts was written by Luke, a devoted follower of Paul.

Point Three - Paul Does Not Meet The Requirements For Being An Apostle

Peter clearly set down God's requirements for apostleship at the time that Mathias was chosen as apostle to replace Judas:

Peter continued. "This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, 'Let his house become desolate, with no one living in it.' And again, 'Let his position be given to someone else.'"

"So now we must chose another man to take Judas's place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus- from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness to Jesus resurrection." Acts 1:20-22

Paul cannot possibly fulfill these requirements. So was Peter wrong, or is Paul not an apostle?

Point Four - Paul Acted Independently From The Apostles

Paul by his own admission states that he did not visit Jerusalem until three years after his 'conversion' experience, and that he returned a second time fourteen years later.

It was not until three years later that I finally went to Jerusalem for a visit with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. And the only other apostle I met at that time was James, our Lords brother. Galatians 1:18-19

One day after I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I fell into a trance. I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, 'Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won't believe you when you give your testimony about me.'

'But Lord,' I argued, 'they certainly know that I imprisoned and beat those in every synagogue who believed in you. And when your witness Stephen was killed, I was standing there agreeing. I kept the coats they laid aside as they stoned him.'

But the Lord said to me, 'Leave Jerusalem, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' Acts 22:17-21

The fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas, and Titus came along too. Acts 2:1

Paul by his own admission had almost no contact with the twelve apostles. Interestingly Paul's spirit guide pulled him out of Jerusalem, rather than have Paul's teaching exposed to the scrutiny of the apostles, and those who had actually heard and seen Jesus. It is likely that had Paul stayed in Jerusalem he would have been found out. Paul was kept isolated from the apostles and the other believers living in Jerusalem so that they were not properly aware of his activities and his doctrine. The Gentiles had little or no background knowledge of the scriptures, and little or no exposure to Jesus' teaching, so that they would have been much easier to deceive than the believers in Jerusalem. Very very few Gentiles would have actually heard or seen Jesus. And we know that Paul's teachings did clash with the Gentiles who did know about Jesus, such as Apollos.

Paul even split with Barnabas:

After some time Paul said to Barnabas, 'Lets return to each city where we previously preached the word of the lord, to see how the new believers Are getting along.' Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not shared in their work. Their disagreement over this was so sharp that they separated. Acts15:36-39

Paul was the original lone ranger. He acted completely independently of the twelve, and relied entirely on his own personal revelation, whatever that was. This is entirely inconsistent with God's careful choosing and training of the twelve. It would also be out of God's character for God to blind side Peter and the apostles in this way. God appointing Paul in this way would imply a severe reprimand to Peter and the apostles, and a lack of trust in them.

Point Five - Only One Of Paul's Gentile Churches Listed In Revelation

Paul himself claimed to be God's chosen apostle to the Gentiles. However, the list of seven churches in Revelation only includes one church which Paul had visited, the church in Ephesus. According to Acts, there was already a Christian church in Ephesus when Paul first visited. Paul and Barnabas visited Ephesus claiming to be apostles. Interestingly, the message to Ephesus in Revelation refers to false apostles:

I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. Revelation 2:2

There is no direct link to Paul, but Paul and Barnabas are the only people mentioned in Acts who visited Ephesus while claiming to be apostles.

Point Six - Conflict Between The Gospel Of Paul And The Gospel Of Apollos

Apollos was baptized by the holy spirit in Ephesus (Acts 18:24), then moved to Corinth (Acts 19:1). We read in Paul's letters to the Corinthians about conflict between the gospel of Apollos and the gospel of Paul.

Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter," or "I follow only Christ." 1Corinthians 1:12

This seems to indicate that their were different teachings by Apollos and Paul.

Point Seven - Paul's Teachings Directly Contradicted By James

In James letter he directly contradicts two of Paul's teachings. Firstly on faith:

Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was declared right with God because of what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? You see he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. James 2:21

On salvation:

Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God. Well even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. James 2:19

Compare with Paul's teaching on faith and salvation:

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, 'the righteous shall live by faith.' Romans 1:17

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10

The gospel is good news for those who repent of their sins and turn to a life of faithful obedience to God. Paul's teaching is the root of Arminianism: that we are saved simply because we believe in Jesus resurrection, and confess that we believe. God demands that we act in obedience to him, not that we simply display some esoteric 'faith'. The faith that God requires is 'faithful' obedience to him.

Point Eight - Paul's Epistles Are The Origin Of Virtually Every Christian Heresy

Virtually every Christian heresy can be traced back to an interpretation (or so-called misinterpretation) of Paul's epistles. Some argue that the fault is with those who 'misinterpret' Paul. My belief is that Satan deliberately used a complicated and obscure gospel message through Paul so that the error could not be easily discerned. Satan is trying to deceive, and in order to deceive you have to be dishonest and cunning. It is too easy to exonerate Paul and blame others for the error that is hidden in his gospel (Paul called his gospel my gospel).

If Paul is in fact a real apostle why is Paul's teaching so open to misinterpretation? Does God not speak plainly?

Point Nine - Paul Is An Arrogant Egoist

In his epistles, Paul writes constantly about himself, his gospel, his apostleship, and his personal revelation from Jesus. He boasts that he is equal if not superior to the 'other' apostles. He boasts about dressing down Peter in public, instead of speaking privately with him. That is a just a very wordly and devious ploy to avoid talking to Peter about Peters concerns over Pauls teaching (attack is the best defense).

He misrepresented the outcome of the Jerusalem Council to the churches.

When on trial before the Council, he reverts to a subterfuge to avoid discussing his teaching. Instead he changes the subject to the resurrection (Paul was arrested after Trophimus, a Gentile Greek from Paul's church in Ephesus had entered the Jewish section of the Temple where Gentiles were forbidden to enter). The council would presumably have been very interested to know about Paul's teaching, as Trophimus was a member of Paul's church. Instead of explaining his teaching Paul used a subterfuge to create an uproar amongst the Council over the resurrection.

Paul has displayed himself as a tricky character. Hardly what we should expect from an apostle. Certainly not an imitator of the character of Christ.

Having said that, the modern day, self proclaimed apostles would outdo even Paul with their shameless and arrogant disregard for God.

Point Ten - Funny Doctrine and Outright Error In Paul's Teachings

Paul's letters are full of funny teaching and errors:

• Baptism for the dead.
• Woman covering their hair for the sake of the angels.
• Misunderstanding the nature of Melkizedek. He was a Priest King. King of Salem (Jerusalem) and Priest of the most high God. Jesus will also fill this double role of King and High Priest when he returns.
• That loving others is the fulfillment of all God's commandments. The bible is clear that we are to love God first, with all our mind, spirit, and soul, AND our neighbours as ourselves. Loving others is secondary to loving God.

This is from an apostle who had no direct contact with Jesus teachings, and yet claims to be not only an apostle, but a superior apostle.

Point Eleven - Paul's Conversion Is Out Of Character For God

Paul's account of his conversion implies that God forcibly converted him, almost against his will. Paul was blinded for three days before he received his sight. How many Christians would there be in the world today if God used the same approach on everyone.

But that is contrary to God's plan. God could force everyone in the world to obey him, but he deliberately does not do that. God is searching for those with a true heart, who will obey him without being forced to, because those are the people God can trust for eternity. Those are the people that God wants to share heaven with.

While Paul's conversion was dramatic, it was not in God's character to convert Paul in that way. It was also not in God's character to go behind the backs of the apostles in Jerusalem, and appoint Paul over their heads to preach to the Gentiles. That would have been a huge reprimand to the apostles.

Conclusion

Paul is a satanically inspired tare who was planted into the early Christian church. The light that Paul encountered by the side of the road to Damascus was Satan himself or one of Satan's angels. Paul has preached another gospel, filling up Christianity with false tare churches and false tare believers. Paul's requirements for salvation are much easier than God's requirements (you just have to believe), so that the tares are far more numerous than the true followers of Yeshua (Jesus). Modern Christianity is built on Paul's, not on Jesus the rock.

Paul's tare church has succeeded in choking and overcrowding God's real church, just as weeds choke the good plants in our gardens. But this is also part of God's plan. God is using Paul and Satan to help thresh the harvest, and to help him separate the wheat from the chaff. God will only gather the real wheat into his barn. Satan is helping God to achieve that. Isn't God wise?

First Published Saturday, June 19, 2010

Posted by eskimo at 5:34 PM