In preparing for this Bible Study
and in anticipating it from Acts 21, I was quite assured that
I would go through the entire grand message delivered by that
mighty apostle, Paul, to the enraged mob of 'religious' people,
fuming and vengeful, utterly convinced of his being heretical
and their righteous indignation, as they agitatedly stood in the
plaza area of the Temple. Since they were so avowedly faithful
to their religion, their Temple (cf. Jer 7:4,14; Mt 24:2), and
their Jerusalem, they knew that Paul, who was a threat to their
cherished beliefs, was a dangerous man rampaging
against God's Truth and God's Religion! He had to be gotten rid
of, this enemy of Truth!
In Acts 20 we read Paul's address
to the gathering of elders, (which included Sopater, Aristarchus,
Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus, Luke (vs4-6), who
were travelling companions and helpers with Paul). Elders from
Asia (western Turkey today), with Ephesus as its centre, were
there also. One might presume that there were more than the number
who came with Paul. He tells them that "chains and
tribulations await" him (v23). He prophesies that "savage
wolves will come in among" them and that from among them
heresy and perversities would be taught. There would also be splintering
of the Church (vs29-30). I perceive the indications that such
things are within sight today and will continue to ravage the
flocks until the fullness of the prophecies in Jer 23, Ezk 34,
and similar prophecies, come to pass right until the Return of
Jesus Christ. Christ's question in Lk 18:8: "Will I find
faith on the earth?" is even now being revealed for what
it means. It is anticipated that in this study some highly
relevant matters, pertinent to current situations around the world,
will be addressed.
Paul left the ministerial gathering
with prayers and tears having told them that it is more
blessed for the ministry to give than to receive (vs34-8;
also see 18:1-4; 1Cor 4:12; 1Cor 9:7-18; 2Cor 11:7-15; 12:13-5;
1Thess 2:7-9; 2Thess 3:7-10; Lk 10:1-8 which speak of how Paul
and his companions were supported financially). He and his
companions sailed down the coast of Asia, past Cyprus to Tyre,
where they stayed with brethren for a week (21:1-6). Again we
were moved by the love, solidarity, and sacrifice revealed in
this gathering of the saints! The entire church escorted Paul
and the ministers with him to the beach until he boarded ship
(v5). Then it was on to Caesarea, to the home of Philip (Was
Cornelius, the centurion, still there?) and his four daughters,
where Agabus prophesied of Paul's arrest in Jerusalem (vs10-20).
Paul's account of his travels up to the gathering of elders in
Jerusalem (v17ff) is put by Luke as: "He told in detail
those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his
ministry." The response of James and the Jerusalem
elders was that they "glorified the LORD" but added
(v20): You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there
are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law.
The irony is that Paul had said nothing about the conversion
of Jews in the Dispersion (Mt 10:6; 15:24; Jn 7:35; 1Pet
1:1; Jas 1:1; Rev 7:1-8; 14:1-5 help define what the N.T. says
about the sheep of Israel, the dispersed tribes of Israel).
Had the decisions made and recorded
in Acts 15 slipped backwards? Had what is perceived as the headquarters
Church gone adrift in the Truth? Perhaps that great statement
by Peter to the conference of elders (15:7-12) was forgotten?
Circumcision is of the heart
(Moses knew it: Lev 26:41-2; Dt 30:6; Jeremiah knew it: Jer 4:4;
6:10; 9:26; Stephen knew it: Acts 7:51; and Paul knew it: Rom
2:24-29).
THE FOUR PROHIBITIONS (Acts 15:20,29)
May I quote from two renowned 19th
century scholars, Conybeare and Howson, who published, in 1852,
a fairly large book, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul.
There is some quite interesting expression regarding the matters
we wish to further discuss:
WHAT IS TRUTH?
The Truth each of us believes and
acts upon shall be put to the test (cf. Eph 6:13). If those truths
are true, and we endure in them by the power and grace of God,
we shall win the good fight of Faith. If cherished beliefs are
erroneous in any way, and we refuse to change them, then falsehood
shall be the basis of that faith. What happens when falsehoods
are smashed in the heads of believers? Another problem that
has been revealed for its devastating effects is the scoffing
of the ministry, in the past, at the dogma of the Trinity. Numerous
ministers would deride the dogma, but with little understanding
of its historical and philosophical origins. In consequence, most
have come to accept it. Unfortunately, as with the general membership,
the biblical education of the ministry went little further than
articles and booklets written by church leaders and writers poorly
founded in the solidity of the Truth of the Scriptures.
Conybeare and Howson continue:
Continuing with the quotation:
Let's look at Heb 12:22,23:
With all that as a partial background
let's begin in Acts 22.
THE WAY
Ps 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be
angry, and you perish in the Way, when His wrath
is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put
their trust in Him.
Ps 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your
righteousness because of my enemies; make Your Way straight
before my face.
Ps 18:30 As for God, His
Way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He
is a shield to all who trust in Him.
Ps 25:4 Show me Your Ways (Heb derek),
O LORD; teach me Your Paths (Heb orach).
Ps 37:5 Commit your Way to the LORD,
trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
Ps 51:13 I will teach transgressors
Your Ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.
Ps 67:2 That Your Way may be
known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
Ps 77:13 Your Way, O God, is
in the sanctuary; who is so great a god as our God?
Ps 95:10 For forty years I was grieved
with that generation, and said, 'It is a people
who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My Ways.'
Ps 103:7 He made known His Ways
to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
Ps 107:7 And He led them forth by
the right Way, that they might go to a City (as opposed
to the city of Babel/Babylon) for a dwelling place.
Ps 119:5 Oh, that my ways were directed
to keep Your statutes!
Ps 139:24 Examine me to see if there
is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the Way everlasting.
Ezk 18:25 You say, 'The Way of the
Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My Way
which is fair, and your ways which are not fair
(fair: Heb. takan; lit. 'not adjusted to the right standard')?
[Same in v29; 33:17,20].
Mal 2:8 "You have departed
from the Way. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You
have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:1 "Behold, I send My
messenger, and he will prepare the Way before Me. And the Lord,
Whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple, even the Messenger
of the covenant, in Whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,"
says the LORD of hosts (The Father speaking of Jesus Christ!).
Mt 3:3 For this is he who was spoken
of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying
in the wilderness: 'Prepare the Way of the LORD; make His
paths straight.'" (cited from Isa 40:3)
Mt 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate;
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Mt 21:32 John came to you in the
Way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax
collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw, you did
not afterward relent and believe him.
Mt 22:16 They sent to Him their
disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that
You are true, and teach the Way of God in truth; nor do
You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men."
(also Mk 12:14; Lk 20:21).
Acts 9:2 (Saul) asked [for] letters
[warrants] from him [the high priest] to the synagogues
of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way,
whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 18:25 This man [Apollos] had
been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and being fervent
in spirit spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him,
they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more
accurately.
Acts 19:9 Some were hardened and
did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude,
so Paul departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning
daily in the school of Tyrannus.
2Pet 2:15 They have forsaken
the right Way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam
the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Jude 11 Woe to them! For they have
gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error
of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Rev 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured
out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried
up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be
prepared (cp. magoi who came from the East; Mt 2:1).
WHO IS THIS GOD?
Both Christ and Paul tell us that
the religious leaders of the Jews did not know God. In Mt 23:13
we are told that they suppressed/hid the knowledge of the Kingdom
of God; in Rm 1:18 we are told that in coming to know God
they denied Him and suppressed the Truth. I am horrified in seeing
the parallels with today.
Acts 5:30-2 (Peter to the Sanhedrin):
The God of our fathers (The fathers whose belief system
they distorted, but used their names for their own ends.) raised
up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him
God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to
give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we
are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy
Spirit which God has given to those who obey Him (according
to the Faith).
Acts 7:51 (Stephen to the Sanhedrin):
You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!
You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did,
(Kings and false prophets of Israel and Judah rejected the true
prophets, fathers of the Faith.) so do you. 52 Which
of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those
who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have
become the betrayers and murderers.
Acts 22:22-30: The reaction of
the "religious" mob in the Temple plaza!
Acts 15:7-11 When there had
been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men
and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us,
that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of the Gospel
and believe (Here Peter is very likely thinking of the
meaning of his vision recorded in Acts 10 with the interpretation
given in vs28,34-5,45-7). 8 So God, who knows the heart,
acknowledged them (i.e., the Gentiles) by giving them the Holy
Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10
Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the
neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we
were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner
as they."
Why is it that the application
of these decisions in Acts 22 is avoided?
Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude
kept silent [the stunned silence of being confronted with their
erroneous thoughts about how and with whom God is dealing] and
they listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many
miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
They were stunned by God's very evident
graciousness in offering salvation to all - Gentiles included
- without distinction in any practices. We should recognise that
the Jerusalem Church (Acts 15) had been influenced against the
Will of God because of the way they dealt with Paul and Barnabas'
disagreement with Pharasiac perceptions of what was required of
Jews and Gentiles in terms of salvation (v5). Though they finally
came to agreement with Paul and Barnabas, after much disputing,
they were again adrift, as we find in their request to Paul to
go along with the "traditions of the fathers"
in ch 21.
These were to be understood in terms of their greater spiritual implications:
1) 'Abstain from meat offered
to idols': (cp. Lev 17:7 and Rev 2:14,20); "What
accord has Christ with Belial? What part does a believer have
with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the Temple
of God with the temples of idols?" (See 2Cor 6:14-8).
Let's notice in Revelation:
2) 'Abstain from (eating) blood'
(Lev 17:11-4; Gn 9:4-7); and
3) Abstain 'from (eating animals
that had been ) strangled' (i.e., unbled; Lev
3:17; 7:26-7; 19:26; Dt 12:16,23; Hanging: Dt 21:22-3; Gal 3:13).
Since life is in the blood, the Life of every Christian is
alien to false religious practices, is utterly dependent on
the life of Christ in them (2Cor 4:10-1), by the eating
of the Bread of Life and drinking the Life of Christ, His Life,
which the Father had given Him (Jn 1:14; 4:14; 5:26; 6:27,33,48,53,54).
4) 'Abstain from sexual immorality',
or fornication, which spiritually is idolatry.
Rev 17:1-2,6 Then one of
the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with
me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of
the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the
kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants
Are we supposed to believe that all
the kings of the earth literally fornicate with the Harlot in
her brothel (cf. Mt 5:27-8)?
of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
Rev 18:3,23,24 For all the
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance
of her luxury.
In Jn 6:48-58 we read that
the Son of God is our food and drink, our Bread of Life, and His
life (life is in the blood) gives us life. We are to always
be holy, as He is holy, so we must be ever aware of our priestly
separation from all idolatries which offer deceiving alternatives
to spiritual life (Hag 2:11-4). The Gentiles, with their deeper
exposure to paganism, would need a stronger reminder of their
Christian life style which is to be no different to those whose
cultural background was Jewish.
23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you
anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard
in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth,
for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in
her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who
were slain on the earth.
We have already had occasion
to remark upon the peculiar composition of the Church in Jerusalem,
and we have seen that a Pharasiac faction was sheltered in its
bosom, which continually strove to turn Christianity into a sect
of Judaism. We have seen that this faction had recently sent emissaries
into the Gentile Churches, and had endeavoured to alienate the
minds of St. Paul's converts from their converter. These men were
restless agitators, animated by the bitterest sectarian spirit,
and although they were numerically a small party, yet we know
the power of a turbulent minority. But besides these Judaising
zealots, there was a large proportion of the Christians at Jerusalem,
whose Christianity ... was yet very weak and imperfect. The 'many
thousands of Jews who believed' had ... a Jewish Messiah.
This was not the Messiah of Ps 2,
8, 22, 45, nor of Zechariah 13:7-9; but as with too many breakaways,
formerly WCG people, a Messiah who is equal to God the Father,
(based on misunderstanding Phlp 2:6: "Jesus Christ did not
consider it robbery to be equal to God." [cp Jn 5:18; 10:33,36]).
Apparently He 'chooses' to be inferior in knowledge to His God
and Father. Do you notice the anomaly, i.e., He is told to be
perfect (Mt 5:48), but 'chooses' to be inferior (1Cor 3:23; 15:24,28).
Perhaps this is the philosophical absurdity behind there being
so much spiritual laziness in too many people. Following Christ's
example, people choose to be more ignorant than their
ministry, their spiritual fathers. Funny, isn't it, how minorities
always seem to claim that the majority can't be right? A new group
forms, and the majority view within the 'new' body becomes the view
upheld as truth. How is truth determined? This problem is going
to be a cause of further splintering in the flocks.
Didn't someone ask that question? What is the answer? The
Word of God is Truth (Jn 17:17)! God is a God of Truth, righteousness,
and perfection (Dt 32:4). Jesus Christ, the Light in this world
of darkness, leads us into all Truth by the Spirit of Truth (Jn
8:12; 14:6,17; Ps 43:3). But who has problems with these verses?
Those who cannot stand, nor answer according to Scripture, questions
based on Scripture! Truth withstands, logically and coherently,
all questions.
Their minds were in a state of transition between the Law and
the Gospel, and it was of great consequence not to shock their
prejudices too rudely, lest they should be tempted to make shipwreck
of their faith, and renounce their Christianity altogether.
We too have seen, and see, the ongoing
wrecking of the Faith so that large numbers have come to the place
that they trust no-one, not even their own capacities to discern
between Truth and Falsehood. Truth is defensible, tolerates
hard questioning, does give logical and provable answers from
the Scriptures, and is not opinion-based. Falsehoods are,
at best, seemingly based on Scripture, but are in fact
intolerant to hard questioning based on Biblical logic, and are
the fruits of imagination.
Their feelings would be easily
excited by an appeal to their Jewish patriotism.
This would be akin to the false appeals
made by statements urging people not to leave the Church [WCG
or other] on this basis: "To whom did God bring you? To where
were you called?" The falsity of intent in such questions
is too often the assumption that the human instrumentality or
corporation is that to which you are called. Each who is called
(Jn 6:44-5,63-8), is drawn by and to God the Father through
Jesus Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14-7;
Eph 2:19-22; Heb 12:22-3)
Heb 12:22-23 But you have come to
Mount Zion (Where is Mt Zion) and to the City of
the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Where is the City of
God, the New Jerusalem?), to an innumerable company of angels
(Where are the angels?), 23 to the general assembly (i.e.,
the Festival Assembly, or 'those assembled for festival)
and church of the firstborn (Where is the Church of the
Firstborn?)who are registered in heaven (in
the Book of Life), to God the Judge of all, to the spirits
of just men made perfect.
Where are the firstborn of God? Where
is the Assembly of the saints of God? Where are the spirits of
righteous people who are being made perfect by the power and grace
of God? Where is Mt Zion? Each of us must answer those sorts of
questions for our selves - based on Biblical Truths!
Against St. Paul their dislike
had been long and artfully fostered; and they would from the first
have looked on him perhaps with some suspicion, as not being,
like themselves, a Hebrew of the Holy City, but only a Hellenist
of the Dispersion. ... we cannot doubt that the same elements
were to be found amongst the Elders also. (p. 572; Eerdmans,
Grand Rapids, 1980).
Paul, after all, is not from headquarters.
He's from the boondocks, and out of touch! We're at the place
where Christ actually walked. Christ kept the Feast here!, And
He was killed here! Some of us here were witnesses! Paul is out
there influenced by those pagan Greeks! I agree. Paul is out
there with the pagans. He's not at headquarters. He was probably
not a witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And
he probably was most unfortunate in that he wasn't at the
place where so much more of the Spirit of Truth was eminently
prevalent (Jer 7:4; Mt 23:37-24:2)!
Acts 21:40-Acts 22:4
So when he (the military tribune over the Roman garrison) had
given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with
his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he
spoke to them in Hebrew, saying, 22:1 "Men, brethren,
and fathers, (John in 1Jn 2:12-14 speaks to children, young
men, and fathers presumably as categories of spiritual strengths
and talents.
This is an unusual way of starting a public address.
Stephen had started with the same greeting in 7:2. Stephen
(probably 34 AD) gives a history of the spiritual lives of Abraham
through to Solomon and says in Acts 7:47-51:
Acts 7:47-52
Solomon built Him a house. 48 However, the Most High does not
dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says (Is 66:1-2a):
49 "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.
What House will you build for Me?" says the LORD, "Or
what is the place of My rest? 50 Has My hand not made
all these things?" 51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised
in heart and ears (How decorous of Stephen and how unprovocative?)!
You always resist the Holy Spirit (How accommodating to say
to someone who is 'a believer' that the Spirit of God is quenched
and grieved by him!); as your fathers did so do you
(How non-inciting to say that their fathers are not the true
fathers of the Faith!). 52 Which of the prophets did your
fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the
coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers
and murderers (Did he intend to provoke malice by calling them
treacherous and murderous?).
This is a most becoming delivery,
self-evidently designed to minimise antagonism, and maximise politeness.
This is the gentlemanly and ethical thing to do in such trying
circumstances. Since Stephen died in sin, he won't go to heaven!
Acts 22:1 "Men, brethren, and
fathers, hear my defense before you now." 2 When they heard
that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the
more silent. Then he said: 3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in
Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of
Gamaliel (i.e., here in Jerusalem by the most respected theologian
of the day), taught according to the strictness of our fathers'
law (Notice the cunning psychology used for identifying with
them), and was zealous toward God as you all are today (He
did not add that their zeal was not according to the knowledge
of God [Rom 10:2]). 4 I persecuted this Way to the
death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,"
The concepts behind the Way
need recalling. Was the Way something that characterised
only Christianity? What did zealous Jews have in their culture
that helped them identify with this expression?
An ancient concept that
is part of many cultures:
In Greek: hodos; German:
Weg; Old English: weg; Old Frisian: wei;
Syrian: urcha; Chinese: tao; Arabic: as-sabil;
Sanscrit: marga; pathin; and path comes from Old
English: paeth; Old High German: pfad. Hebrew uses
two words: derek (TWOT 453); orach (TWOT 161).
The first use is in:
Gen 3:24 So He drove out the man;
and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and
a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the Way to
the tree of life. [This was not a footpath of some kind].
Moses, in prayer asked God for
the Way:
Ex 33:13 Now
therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show
me now Your Way, that I may know You and that I may find grace
in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.
Moses, after the incident of the
Golden Calf (the Egyptian god, Osiris, when depicted as a
bullock, represented the Saviour of the Egyptian pantheon),
said to Israel:
Dt 9:16 I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your
God; you made for yourselves a moulded calf! You had turned
aside quickly from the Way which the LORD had commanded you.
Throughout the OT there are references
to the Way:
Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the
path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
USE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
6 For the LORD knows the Way of the righteous, but the
way of the ungodly shall perish.
Ps 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep
His Way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the
wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
14 I have rejoiced in the Way of Your
testimonies, as much as in all riches.
27 Make me understand
the Way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your
wondrous works.
30 I have chosen the Way of truth; Your
judgments I have laid before me.
37 Turn my eyes away from
looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your Way.
It's use begins with:
Mt 2:12 Then, being divinely warned
in a dream that they (Mary and Joseph in Egypt) should not return
to Herod, they departed for their own country another way (not
the regular road, but a different Way; a Way in which God guides
and protects. An interesting spiritual parable here!).
The last references and allusions are in:
Mt 7:14 Narrow is the gate
and difficult is the Way which leads to life, and
there are few who find it.
Acts 19:23 About that time there
arose a great commotion about the Way.
Rev 15:3 They sing the song of Moses
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great
and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true
are Your ways, King of the saints."
Now back to Acts 22:
4 I persecuted this Way to
the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men
and women, 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and all
the council of the elders , from whom I also received
letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains
even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
In Acts 22:5-14, Paul speaks of his
conversion (see Acts 9:1-18):
5 The high priest bears me witness
(He may have been visible in the crowd as Paul spoke.),
and all the Council of the elders, from whom I also received letters
to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even
those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 Now it happened,
as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly
a great light from heaven shone around me (Friedrich Nietzsche,
the philosopher who coined the phrases "God is dead",
"The will to power", "Superman", had a similar
experience by a lake where a great light came upon him. He went
home to write, automatically, "Thus Spake Zarathustra",
a philosophical work that has profoundly influenced religion,
philosophy, and politics. Plato's "The Republic" and
Machiavelli's "The Prince" were precursors to this kind
of perverse ideology permeating modern civilization. Zarathustra
is the Persian messiah who is to come to save the world as Sosiach.
Satan comes as an angel of light [2Cor 11:14; 2Thess 2:9]).
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 8 So I answered, 'Who
are You, Lord?' And He said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom you are persecuting." 9 Those who were with me saw the
light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him
who spoke to me (It is also common for demoniacs, mediums,
clairvoyants, channelers, recipients of demonic 'appearances'
to see and hear all while others see or hear part of the manifestation(s).
See Gal 1:8). 10 So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the
Lord said to me, "Get up and go to Damascus, and there you
will be told all the things which are appointed for you to do."
11 Since I could not see for the glory of that light, I was led
by the hand of those who were with me, and I came into Damascus.
12 There a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the Law,
who had good testimony with all the Jews who lived there,
13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive
your sight.' At that same hour I looked up at him. 14 Then he
said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that
you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice
of His mouth.'
We need to notice, as we proceed,
that the god of the fathers of the Sanhedrin is closer
to what Plato and Philo taught, and is a different God to those
whose spiritual fathers are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, et al. See Mt 23:29-34; Jn 8:37-44.
Did the Pharisees know Him? The answer is a very loud: NO!
Do we really know the God and the
Son of God that Paul knew? Here is a selection of N.T. Scriptures
that should be carefully considered for their simplicity as against
a very few more difficult Scriptures some wish to misuse to redefine
all the Scriptures into either trinitarian dogma or binitarian
misrepresentation: Jn 20:7; Rom 1:1-5; 15:6; 1Cor 1:1-4; 3:23;
15:24,28; 2Cor 1:2,3; 11:31; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:3,17; Phlp 1:2; Col
1:3,15; 1Th 1:2,3; 1Tim 1:2; 2Tim 1:2,3; Heb 1:1-13; 2:5-18; 1Pet
1:2,3; 2Pet 1:2,3; Rev 1:1,5,6; Jn 1:18; 5:37-9; 6:44-6; 1Jn 4:12;
1Tim 6:16 and cross-references such as Ps 8.
Note: Binitarianism
is a biblically insupportable and absurd belief, both logically
and philosophically, that essentially says that God and the Son
of God are co-equal, co-eternal, and therefore of equal powers
in all respects, the only difference being that the Son chose to limit
Himself, as a Son in the incarnation, and forever. These Scriptures,
despite the distortion of the meaning of Philippians 2:6, are
conclusive. A very simple and convincing case will be made in
a subsequent paper explaining Phlp 2:6.
Jn 5:18-23 The Jews sought all the
more to kill Him (He had healed a paralytic), because He
not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His
Father, making Himself equal with God (When
did Christ claim equality with God? Never!). 19 Then Jesus
answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father
do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20
For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He
Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these (e.g.,
Rev 1:1,5,6), that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises
the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son
gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no
one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should
honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not
honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him.
In Jn 10 we have another example
of distorting the Truth of what the Servant of God was sent to
teach:
26 For
as the Father has life in Himself, so He has
granted the Son to have life in Himself
30 I can of
Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous,
because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father
who sent Me.
John 10:32-6 Jesus answered them,
"Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which
of those works are you going to stone Me?" 33 The
Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone
You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make
Yourself God." [Jesus Christ consistently claimed
to be the Son of God!] 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it
not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'
(Ps 82:6)? 35 "If He called them gods (Gk. theoi;
Heb. elohim), to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture
cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified
and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I
said, 'I am the Son of God'?
THE PROBLEM OF RECOGNITION OF THE TRUE GOD:
Further examples from the Book of Acts:
Acts 3:13 "The God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers,
glorified His Servant Jesus (cf. Is 42:1-9; Ps 8 and
45), whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of
Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
At the end of the Book of Acts,
Paul speaks to Jewish leaders in Rome:
Acts 28:25-31 When they did not agree
among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word:
"The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet
to our fathers, 26 saying, 'Go to this people and say: "Hearing
you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see,
and not perceive; 27 for the hearts of this people have grown
dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their
eyes, lest they should come to see with their eyes and
hear with their ears, lest they should understand with
their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them (Is
6:10; see Jer 5:21,31).' 28 Therefore let it be known to you
that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles,
and they will hear it!" 29 When he had said these words,
the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. 30
Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house, and received
all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching
the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence,
no one forbidding him.
Acts 22:15-21: Paul continues
telling of his conversion experience.
Notice where the Sanhedrin reacts
very badly, and consider why!
Acts 22:15-21 "For you will
be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16
And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." 17 Now
it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the
temple, that I was in a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, "Make
haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not
receive your testimony concerning Me." 19 So I
said, "Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned
and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your
martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to
his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing
him." (This Paul did in zeal without knowledge, in ignorance,
in a blind sincerity. The Sanhedrin were, however, responding
in hypocrisy, in hatred, in knowing rejection [Mt 23:13-5]. There
is perhaps irony in the fact Ananias of Damascus was well-known
to them.).
There are many O.T. Scriptures, known
to but rejected by these leaders, that speak of the Truth going
to the Gentiles: Dt 32:43; 2Chr 6:32-5; Ps 117:1; Is 11:10; 60:3.
21 Then He said to me, "Depart, for I will
send you far from here to the Gentiles."
22 They listened to him until this
word (Gk. logos; i.e., This part of the discourse),
and then they raised their voices and said, "Away
with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!"
(Malice, hatred, good riddance, conspiracy to expel, to kill
are characteristics of bigoted persecutors!) 23 Then they
cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into
the air. (Doesn't this reveal some of the better characteristics
of genteel behaviours? What justifications can we think of for
them?) 24 The commander ordered him to be brought into the
barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging,
so that he might know why they shouted so against him (This
too sounds like intelligent behaviour. Beat someone badly to make
him tell you what you want to hear!). 25 And as they bound
him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is
it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?"
(There is no real cause for arrest, no trial as yet, no legal
conviction). 26 When the centurion heard that, he went
and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for
this man is a Roman." 27 Then the commander came and said
to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."
28 The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this
citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."
29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew
from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out
that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him (Roman citizens
got a far better deal in terms of justice in the legal system.
Paul exploited this advantage!) 30 The next day, because he
wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews,
he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief
priests and all their Council to appear, and brought Paul down
and set him before them.
Chapter 23 of Acts develops these
remarkable themes further.