Questioning Paul
Chapter 2
part 8
Sha’uwl wants us to believe that God not only chose Him, but did so even before He was born. And yet since this only occurred with Yahowsha’, and only because He wasn’t actually born, Sha’uwl is lying by putting himself on par with God.
It is one thing for God to have known us before we were born, as that simply attests to the nature of His Light, where He can see the past, present, and future as if they were all right now. But choice is sacrosanct with God. The entire purpose of the universe, of life, and of the Towrah is for us to have the opportunity, and thus the choice, to know and love God. These options are ours and they necessitate freewill. Even with Abraham and Moseh, arguably the most important individuals in human history, Yahowah asked them. He did not appoint them.
That is not to say, however, that Yahowah was unaware of Sha’uwl. I have already shared two foreboding prophecies about him, and in due time you will be exposed to many more very specific predictions pertaining to the most influential man who ever lived.
Paul will soon speak of a three-year fanciful sojourn to Arabia, the heartland of the Torah, where he claims to have met with God. And yet while the timeline prepared by the historian Luke in Acts makes this trip impossible, the very notion of preparation is contrary to what this passage asserts.
While Paul’s message does not change, in that it is nothing more than reject the Torah and believe in my Gospel of Grace instead, and while Paul’s condescending attitude and circuitous style do not change, amongst his letters or between his letters and the book of Acts, it is readily apparent that Paul is a pathological liar with a faulty memory.
He began this letter in Galatians 1:1 with: "Paulos, an apostle and messenger who is dispatched not from men, not even by the means of man," which would only be true if Gamaliel, Yisra’el’s most acclaimed teacher, was not a man and if Judaism was not a man-made religion. Then in Galatians 1:12, when he continued with: "But I profess to you brothers of the beneficial messager which having been communicated by myself, because it is not in accord with man." This would mean that Paul was lying when he said that he was in full accord with strictest application of the religious traditions of Judaism in Acts 22:3. Also, his follow on statement, "But neither because I by man associating myself with it, nor was I taught," would have to be dishonest if he told the truth about the many years he spent in the classroom learning how to argue against the Torah in Rabbinical school at Gamaliel’s feet.
But forgetting for a moment that Paul contradicted himself in the book of Acts when he stood up on the stairs to promote his religious credentials, he undermined his credibility in the 13th and 14th statements in this letter when he spoke of his "practice of Judaism," stating that he "continued to progress in the practice of Judaism over any beyond his contemporaries," and that he was an "excessively enthusiastic to conform to the traditions and teachings handed down by [his] forefathers." So while it is possible to have been taught by both men and God, learning from each, Paul has both emphatically denied and enthusiastically embraced human teaching. And the notion that he was taught by God can only be considered valid if he, a known liar, is considered trustworthy.
So then now in Galatians 1:16, when Paul finally tells the truth, it only makes the situation worse. It is obsessively true that he: "did not ask the advice of or consult with flesh and blood." But only because the "aggelos – messenger" prodding and controlling him, was by his own admission, Satan’s messenger. Satan is not "flesh and blood."
It should also be noted that Paul’s unique path was completely unlike (if I may use the errant versions of some of their names for a moment to make a point) Adam, Enoch, Noah, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moseh, Aaron, Yahowsha’, Samuel, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Jonah, Hosea, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, Yahowsha’, or Yahowsha’s Disciples, none of whom received any religious training. There was nothing for them to reject or unlearn as a consequence. And perhaps that is the reason behind Sha’uwl’s conflicting story. There is no denying that he continued to be extremely religious, and it is especially difficult for religious people to deal with the truth because they first have to abandon most everything they have valued, and then change their attitude, perspective and thinking. Very, very few overtly religious people are capable of doing so. Paul wasn’t.
And it was because Sha’uwl’s past was so dissimilar to those who had previously spoken for Yahowah that he spent a considerable portion of his life promoting his credentials—but never as aggressively as in Galatians. Most new religions grow out of old religions. Buddha’s teachings were considered viable because they grew out of Hinduism, the most popular religion in that part of the world. Muhammad’s Qur’an derives all of its credibility from the Talmud, just as rabbis surreptitiously usurped their authority from the Torah. Religions are seldom made out of whole cloth, but are instead a patchwork of previous traditions. That is what makes them so seductive and ultimately popular. And there is no better example of one religion growing out of another than Pauline Christianity.
It is also interesting to note that with both Christianity and Islam, their inspiration became their enemy. Muslims turned on the rabbis who had provided the many hundreds of Talmud citations which were bastardized and plagiarized to form the Qur’an, ostensibly because they could prove that rabbis, not Allah, had served as Muhammad’s inspiration. Similarly I suspect, Sha’uwl turned on Judaism because had he not done so, it would have become obvious that he had stolen their strategy and style.
Shakespeare wrote the line in Hamlet, "the lady doth protest too much, methinks," to convey what is occurring here. By vociferously repeating his denial, we know that more than anything else, Paul wanted his audience to believe what he knew to be untrue: that his message came directly from God, as opposed to from man.
In truth, had Paul been telling the truth, he didn’t need to convey any of this ad nauseam. Yahowah had long ago established a method for us to determine who spoke for Him, and who did not. God’s test is detailed in Dabarym / Deuteronomy 13 and 18—so rest assured, we will determine with absolute certainty whether or not Paul can be trusted with regard to his claims of inspiration.
According to Scripture, there are three aspects to being a productive messenger. The first task is to cull the audience. There is no reason to waste time speaking to religious individuals because the truth will simply bounce off their veneer of faith as they struggle desperately to cling to their beliefs. Next, the ground must be prepared around those who remain. For the seeds of truth to take root, religious swamps must be drained of their stagnant waters, and the weeds of deception must be pulled. In this regard, the most effective weed pullers and swamp drainers are those who are cognizant of the delusions which permeate our societies and have polluted most people. This requires study. And speaking of preparation, we must come to understand Yahowah’s Torah before we try to educate others. Simply stated, to share the truth, you first must know the truth.
During my first pass through this material, I erroneously assumed that Sha’uwl had come to recognize the truth, and knew that his forefathers had crafted counterfeit rules and rituals, known as the Oral Law, to compete with Yahowah’s Torah. I had hoped, therefore, that Rabbinic tradition had become his primary foe, thinking that he was motivated to expose and condemn the suffocating religious regulations which had enslaved his people. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen him differentiate between man’s religious rites and the healing and beneficial message conveyed in the Torah—the one lived out in history by the Ma’aseyah Yahowsha’. But alas, it was not to be.
And since Sha’uwl’s story is not going to turn out well, I thought I’d substitute my own journey from Christianity to the Torah, from religion to relationship, from believing to knowing, and from faith to trust. I was like Paul in a way. In my youth, I was the youngest ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. I provided a keynote address while in my teens at the national assembly on denominational reconciliation. I taught evangelism at a very young age, and devoured Christian literature at a prodigious pace. But a time came when I could no longer prop up my faith. There were way too many obvious conflicts between religion and reason for me to believe in Christianity, the religion of my youth, any longer.
So a time came when I devoted my life to secular pursuits. As an entrepreneur, and with the help of others, I built three companies from business plans into corporations with sales exceeding one hundred million dollars. I had the privilege of taking two of those companies public. And as a result, at least for a brief moment, I became a billionaire. But a year after having left the management of my last enterprise, I found myself on the cover of an international publication, being publicly humiliated for things I had not done. It was my moment on the road to Damascus (albeit there were no flashing lights).
Fortunately for me, as I wished it had been for Paul, all of my prior experiences, the successes and failures, were refined during this crucible of life. It was then that a dear friend taught me to write, and together we wove a word picture of what had actually happened at Value America. That story became the book, In the Company of Good and Evil.
Then, almost the moment we were done, Yahowah, a God I barely knew, asked me if I would be willing to do to Islam what I had erroneously anticipated Sha’uwl having had done to Judaism—exposing and condemning it based solely upon its religious texts. After a brief negotiation, my literary friend and I were off to Israel to ascertain the mindset of Islamic suicide bombers. It was immediately after September 11th, 2001. Our meeting with al-Qaeda is retold in Tea with Terrorists. It was during this time that I began a journey which would lead me through the pages of the Towrah to the Covenant.
Unlike Sha’uwl, who was already an expert on Jewish scriptural literature, in my quest to expose Muhammad, I had to find and study the oldest Islamic sources in order to effectively condemn the religion. But like Paul’s alleged experience in Arabia, I actually spent three years preparing to engage in the spiritual battle against a satanic foe. The result of being immersed in the scriptures of mankind’s most repulsive swamp led to the production of Prophet of Doom—Islam’s Terrorist Dogma in Muhammad’s Own Words. I would ultimately invest five years of my life exposing and condemning Islam on behalf of Yahowah, doing nearly 3,000 hours of talk radio interviews, before God finally let me know that we had accomplished what we had set out to do.
But we were not finished working together. Having known what it was like to be a Christian, having traveled to over 150 counties around the world, having learned how Islam corrupts its victim’s ability to think, Yahowah encouraged me to engage in another mission: Yada Yah—A Conversation With God (www.YadaYah.com). Recognizing that I was utterly unqualified to contribute to what is known about God is perhaps one of the principle reasons that I was asked. Making flawed instruments shine is one of Yahowah’s specialties. It was manifest again in An Introduction to God (www.IntroToGod.org), which I would encourage you to consider. The first of these two books recounts Yahowah’s scientific, historic, and especially prophetic testimony to prove beyond any doubt that He exists and that He inspired the Torah and Prophets. The second book reveals what He wants us to know about Him.
I share this story with you because, initially, I thought that I understood Paul. I thought that his flaws were my flaws. I initially saw the best and worst of myself in him. But that is no longer the case.
I now see myself as more flawed than ever. After all, I was fooled by this man for a very long time. And yet the truth was blatantly obvious, even ubiquitous, but blinded by the religious indoctrination of my past, I missed it. Yet no longer. I now understand Sha’uwl. I know his mindset and strategy. And I recognize his character flaws and his inspiration. Turns out, I’ve written a book detailing the life of a slightly more perverted and violent version of Paul, but that’s a discussion for another chapter.
As I mentioned briefly once before, after coming to realize that Paul was a fraud, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I wrote another book, this one designed to clear all of the clutter away so that Yahowah could speak to you directly, Father to child, and reveal His Covenant relationship through His towrah teaching – just as He had with me. That presentation is available to you free at www.IntroToGod.org, which is why I’ve encouraged you to consider it.
As we return our attention to a more modern swamp, we find that the King James Version continues to render euangelizo inconsistently, preferring "gospel," unless the context precludes the use of this inaccurate designation. Further, their inclination to translate ethnos, the basis of the English word "ethnic" and "ethnicity," as "heathen" on some occasions and as "Gentiles" on others, is both incriminating and unprofessional. Moreover, there is no basis for the title "God" in the Greek text of this passage. This known, the KJV reads: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:" Since "grace" cannot be found in the original Greek manuscripts, the King James must have picked it up elsewhere. The Vulgate, perhaps…
Jerome wrote: "But, when it pleased him who, from my mother’s womb, had set me apart, and who has called me by his gratiam, to reveal his Son within me, so that I might evangelizarem him among the Gentibus, I did not next seek the consent of flesh and blood."
Should God have set Sha’uwl apart, right out of the womb, to conduct this mission, then God would have been with him when he was a pervert and when he was an assign. God would have been at his side when he was religious and when he was denouncing his religion. And that would make Paul’s god every bit as schizophrenic as his wannabe apostle.
The NLT, obviously infatuated with Grace, not only adds its alluring religious charm without any textual support, but calls Grace "marvelous." The idea of being "set apart" was evidently lost on these theologians. "But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being."
By way of review, here is the third stanza of Sha’uwl’s initial epistle:
"For because indeed you heard of my wayward behavior in some time and place in the practice of Judaism, namely that because throughout, showing superiority, surpassing any measure of restraint, to an extraordinary degree, and better than anyone else, I was aggressively and intensely pursuing, hastily striving toward, persecuting, oppressing, and harassing the Called Out of God, and I was and am devastating her, continuing to undermine, overthrow, and annihilate her. (1:13)
And so I was and continue to progress, accomplishing a great deal, I persist moving forward in the practice of Judaism, over and beyond many contemporaries among my race, excessively and over abundantly enthusiastic, zealous and excited, devoted and burning with passion, vehemently adherent to belong to the traditions and teachings handed down by my forefathers. (1:14)
But at a point in time when it pleased and was chosen enjoyable and better for God, the one having appointed me, setting me aside out of the womb of my mother (1:15) to reveal and disclose, uncovering and unveiling the Son of Him in order that I could announce the healing message and beneficial messenger among the races, immediately. I did not ask the advice of or consult with flesh or blood." (Galatians 1:16)
We do not have a copy of the report Sha’uwl received from the Galatians, but it is obvious from his response to them that they were, at the very least, highly suspect of his credentials and his preaching.
"I did not ascend (oute elthon – I did not travel) into (eis) Yaruwshalaim (Hierosoluma – a transliteration of the Hebrew name meaning Source of Information Regarding Reconciliation) toward the goal of being with or against (pros) the Apostles (apostolos – the messengers and enjoys who are sent out, from apo sent out, and stello prepared and equipped) before (pro) me (ego), but to the contrary (alla) I went away, withdrawing (aperchomai – I departed) to (eis) Arabia (Arabia – a transliteration of the Hebrew ‘arab, meaning to grow dark), and (kai) returned (hypostrepho) again (palin – also once more) to (eis) Damascus (Damaskos – a transliteration of the Hebrew Dameseq, meaning shedding silent tears in sackcloth)." (Galatians 1:17)
So that you know, Papyrus 46 uses elthon in the first clause, not anerchomai, as is suggested in modern compiled manuscripts. So less accurate and verbose perhaps, the Nestle-Aland’s Interlinear conveys: "But not I went up into Jerusalem toward the before me delegates but I went off into Arabia and again I returned into Damascus."
Nothing would have been more compelling, more reassuring, with regard to Sha’uwl’s credibility, than a trip to Arabia. It would put Sha’uwl in the same conversation with Moseh. Just as the Torah was revealed to Moseh and the Children of Yisra’el on Mount Sinai in Arabia, affirmations regarding its teaching and guidance would have been revealed to Sha’uwl for the benefit of the rest of the world. Only it didn’t happen.
The first of five compelling reasons to discount the Arabian sojourn is that Paul’s Galatians testimony cannot be reconciled with his own account in Acts nine, which was written a decade later. In his testimony to Luke, Paul’s portrayal of events following his experience on the road to Damascus does not include a trip to Arabia. In the historical account, he claims that his public mission began within days of his spiritual encounter. And since the book of Acts is far better attested and vastly more detailed than Galatians, logic compels us to favor the historian’s authenticated chronology over Galatians, which is uncorroborated, when they conflict.
In this regard, in the immediate aftermath of his so-called "conversion experience," Paul told Luke, the Greek historian who compiled Acts, that he was specifically instructed to spend time with an especially timid man named Ananias—an individual unknown to history apart from Paul’s telling of the events. And while we will consider Sha’uwl’s recollection of this meeting in a moment, the newly minted "Apostle" told Luke that, after spending a few days recovering in the home of his reluctant benefactor from the trauma inflicted by the harassing spirit who besieged him, he immediately began preaching in Damascus. We read: "He took some food and regained his strength. Now for several days he was with the Disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Yahowsha’ in the synagogues, saying that he is the son of God." (Acts 9:19-20)
There is a considerable difference between spending a few days in a home in Damascus regaining strength and a long sojourn across the desert to Arabia. As such, Paul either lied to Luke or to the Galatians. Beyond the discrepancy in time, if we are to believe that Sha’uwl met with the "Healing Messenger" as he has so often attested, why did such an encounter weaken him?
This says that Paul was "with the Disciples," which means that either he was meeting with two or more of the eleven surviving men who had walked alongside Yahowsha’, who just happened to be in Damascus, and who were so irrelevant to Paul’s story that they went unnamed, or Paul was lying once more. Moreover, recognizing that they are one and the same, in Galatians, Paulos specifically stated that he initially avoided all contact with the Apostles.
Also in direct conflict with Galatians, this time the chronology, the next line in Acts reads: "And all those who heard him continued to be amazed. And they said, ‘Is he not the one who in Yaruwshalaim destroyed those who called on this name and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’" (Acts 9:21) Annihilating people, as we were told Paulos had done, is very different than bringing them to trial. Also, since the Romans at this time were mostly ambivalent to a person’s perspective on God, inside the Roman province of Yahuwdah / Judea, the chief priests would have had no jurisdiction in such matters. Not in Yaruwshalaim, and most especially not in Galatia. This scenario is not only unattested in history, it is incongruous with the evidence.
But Paulos would have us believe: "And then Sha’uwl kept increasing in power (enedunamouto – in raw strength), confounding (sygcheo – baffling, confusing, and causing consternation among) the Jews who lived in Damascus." (Acts 9:22) Sure sounds like the same arrogant fellow we’ve been reading about in Galatians. All that mattered was that the world come to see Paul as great.
Well, and also that he wanted the world to come to see Jews as lesser life forms. After all, just as the rabbis had been with Muhammad, Torah observant Jews knew that he was lying. "And when many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, but their plot became known to Sha’uwl. And they were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death. But his disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when he came to Yaruwshalaym, he was trying to associate with the Disciples, but they were afraid of him." (Acts 9:23-26)
This also reads just like the Qur’an. In all of the early surahs, the Meccans are shown scheming against Muhammad, only to have Allah alert his apostle and foil the plot. It was never true, mind you, in that Muhammad was little more than a whiney nuisance, but the same could be said for Paul in Damascus.
Most of this was made up to make Paul seem important. Just like Yahowsha’, the Jews plotted to kill him. Just like the Ma’aseyah, he was spirited out of town to spare his life. And just like Moseh, he was lowered into a basket.
I’ve received over one thousand death threats after having compiled Prophet of Doom, but not once have I ducked for cover, sought the help of others to save me, or fled town. Yahowah protects those who work with Him.
Therefore, the detailed testimony in Acts, which like Galatians was provided by Paul, is in direct conflict with his first epistle: "I did not ascend into Yaruwshalaim toward the goal of being with or against the Apostles before me, but to the contrary I went away, withdrawing to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." (1:17) As such, the only possible conclusion is: Paul lied. And if Paul cannot be trusted to tell you about his own life, why would you trust him to tell you about Yahowsha’s life—or your life?
Please pause here a moment. If you are a Christian, the fate of your soul hinges upon your ability to process what you just read.
While Sha’uwl will self-inflict more than a thousand additional self-incriminating lashes on his credibility, this singular stroke was sufficient to undermine everything he had to say. And there is only one reason that Paul would lie about his calling and preparation: he was perpetrating a fraud.
And that is a serious problem considering what he has just written: "But nevertheless, I profess and reveal to you brothers of the beneficial message which having been communicated advantageously by and through myself, because it is not in accord with man. (1:11)
But neither because I by man associating myself with it. Nor was I taught or instructed as a disciple. But to the contrary, by way of a revelation, an appearance serving to uncover and unveil Iesou Christou. (1:12)
For because indeed you heard of my wayward behavior in some time and place in the practice of Judaism, namely that because throughout, showing superiority, surpassing any measure of restraint, to an extraordinary degree, and better than anyone else, I was aggressively and intensely pursuing, persecuting, oppressing, and harassing the Called Out of God, and I was and am devastating her, continuing to undermine, overthrow, and annihilate her. (1:13)
And so I was and continue to progress, accomplishing a great deal, and I persist moving forward in the practice of Judaism, over and beyond many contemporaries among my race, excessively and over abundantly enthusiastic, zealous and excited, devoted and burning with passion, vehemently adherent to belong to the traditions and teachings handed down by my forefathers. (1:14)
But at a point in time when it pleased and was chosen enjoyable and better for God, the one having appointed me, setting me aside out of the womb of my mother (1:15) to reveal and disclose, uncovering and unveiling the Son of Him in order that I could announce the healing message among the races, immediately. I did not ask the advice of or consult with flesh or blood. (1:16)
I did not ascend into Yaruwshalaim toward the goal of being with or against the Apostles before me, but to the contrary I went away, withdrawing to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." (1:17)
Paul wanted everyone to believe that he was more important and better prepared than Yahowsha’s Disciples, and that his calling superseded theirs. According to Paul, both the Disciples and he spent three years (based upon Paul’s testimony in the next verse) in Yahowsha’s presence, but Paul, unlike the others, received private, one-on-one instruction. And yet, since Paul’s testimony was false regarding the keystone of his credibility, the entire edifice of Pauline Doctrine crumbles—as does the religion based upon it.
If you are still a Christian, you may not be ready to process what all of this actually means. I rejected Christianity for a relationship with Yahowah around a decade ago, but until recently I couldn’t deal with the errors or the conflicts in Paul’s testimony either.
For example, the "enedunamouto – raw strength" Paul was said to have increased in was a term only he used. The other seven times this verb is found in the Greek texts, they are all in his epistles. Therefore, since it is not said by or of anyone else, we know that this rather egotistical personal evaluation came from Paul himself, not his audience or God. Apart from Paul, each time a unique capability is ascribed to an individual it comes from the Set-Apart Spirit and it is called: "dunamis – power," as it is in Acts 1:8 during the fulfillment of Shabuw’ah / Seven Sabbaths, not "enedunamouto – raw strength"
Also troubling, the first "achievement" Paul would claim on his own behalf was "sygcheo – confounding, baffling, and confusing" Jews. That is the antithesis of Yahowah’s purpose, which is to use His Towrah to teach His children. There is but one spirit who would boast about deceiving others.
A Christian apologist might say that the change in Paul’s behavior and message confused the Jews, but that excuse is undermined by Sha’uwl’s insistence that he remained true to Judaism. Moreover, Luke expressed two separate thoughts, initially saying that those who listened to him were amazed by his oratory. Then after telling us that Paul’s physical power increased, Luke said that Paul went on to befuddle his would be antagonists. The inference is that he was too clever for them to effectively refute, at least according to Paul.
The alleged plot, whereby the Jews conspired to do away with the self-proclaimed "messenger of god," which was foiled by way of a revelation and uncanny escape, as I’ve just mentioned, is virtually identical to the story Muhammad was inspired to tell six-hundred years hence at the inception of the Islamic Era. Then, in the immediate aftermath of quoting the Satanic Verses, Muhammad imagined that he had flown to Jerusalem (as opposed to the mythical journey to Arabia) at night, where he visited with Moses and Issa (the Qur’anic "Jesus" which is actually a transliteration of Esau) prior to visiting multiple levels of heaven (something Paul will also claim). Then after the so-called "messenger of god" told the Meccans this tall tale, they conspired to kill him, but Allah revealed their plot, and Satan’s messenger slithered out of town by miraculous means under the cover of darkness. It’s the same story. So perhaps it was authored by the same spirit. And that’s a problem, because in the Qur’an, Allah was modeled after Satan and he brags that he is the best schemer.
The other problems associated with Sha’uwl’s testimony begin with the realization that it is inappropriate for him to have his own disciples – should that be what he was inferring. It is as if he was trying to impersonate the Ma’aseyah. And further incriminating his account, as I’ve previously hinted, Jews under Roman dominion had no authority to put anyone to death—especially in Syria—and most especially a Roman citizen, like Paul. The Sanhedrin didn’t have the authority to kill Yahowsha’, which is why they begged the Roman authorities to do it for them. This whole sordid affair is preposterous from beginning to end.
If you are into fairytales, then embrace the notion that this self-proclaimed murderer, this man of enormous physical strength, was as a newborn prophet "lowered" "in a basket" to save him from baffled and marauding Jews, and not to replicate the story of Moseh, where God’s messenger was similarly spared from impending death.
The second of five proofs that the Arabian sojourn was a myth is a derivative of Paul’s purpose in writing his first epistle. Galatians was composed to accomplish two goals. Paul wanted to differentiate his message from the Torah, and to accomplish that feat, he would have to be an extraordinarily credible witness. Therefore, the first two chapters focus on establishing his personal qualifications. But since everyone knew that Paul didn’t walk in Yahowsha’s footsteps, and did not thereby benefit from three years of training at God’s feet as the Disciples had done, Paul had to make up a story which would appear to the unsuspecting mind to put him on similar footing. Three years in Arabia with the Ma’aseyah would do the trick—at least if it were true.
But if Paul’s claim to have met with God in the Arabian Desert was true then it would make God a liar. After all, while standing on the Mount of Olives Yahowsha’ warned us: "If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Ma’aseyah,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him." (Mattanyah / Yahowah’s Gives / Matthew 24:23) God, Himself, told us that if someone claimed that they had seen Him, just as Paul has done, that they were lying. Do not believe him.
Further impugning Paul, who is the only one we know of who made these claims, Yahowsha’ went on to say: "For false Ma’aseyahs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. If therefore they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the desert,’ do not go forth, or ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." (Mattanyah / Yahowah’s Gives / Matthew 24:24-28)
This is a deathblow to the veracity of Paul’s testimony. If Yahowsha’ has told us the truth, then Paul was lying about meeting with Him along the wilderness road to Damascus and in the Arabian Desert. And if Yahowsha’ was lying, then Paul’s witness on behalf of a liar would be worthless. So since both Yahowsha’ and Sha’uwl spoke about this specific happenstance, and since this issue is central to Paul’s credibility and to the merits of Yahowsha’s advice regarding the reliability of a false prophet claiming to have seen Him, a rational person can now close the book on Paul. It’s over. His credibility has been completely undermined by the very person he claimed to represent. If you have a bible, rip Paul’s letters from its pages.
Yahowsha’ told His Disciples that from the moment He left this world to the time He returned as brilliant as the stars and was seen by everyone at the same time that anyone who claimed to have seen Him, as Paul had now done, was a liar and should not be believed. And yet as clear as this is, as irrefutable as this verdict may be, this realization is but one in many thousands which bury Paul. All that is left is for us to do is to watch the vultures gather over his rotten corpse.
Returning to Paul’s desperate, irritatingly repetitive, and almost pathetic attempts at setting himself up as God’s lone authorized prophet to the world, if he had actually met with Yahowah as Moseh had done, his testimony would have been unassailable should he have described the experience and then produced a written narrative, recounting word for word what Yahowah had said—all in keeping with the Torah’s narrative. But we have nothing. Not a word from Paul or anyone else has ever been revealed regarding the lone event which would otherwise have authenticated Sha’uwl’s authority. So when you contrast this missed opportunity with Paul’s countless protestations that we should trust him because he was God’s chosen messenger to the world, there is a credibility gap the size of the Great Rift.
Third, in an upcoming chapter ("Yaruwshalaim – Source of Reconciliation"), we will juxtapose Acts 15 and Galatians 2 in order to demonstrate that Paul’s ability to accurately recount recent events in his life was highly suspect. In this regard, the entire fifteenth chapter of Acts is devoted to describing the Yaruwshalaim Summit, sometimes called the "Apostolic Conference," because this meeting was arguably the most important in Paul’s life, and in the history of Christianity. And yet Sha’uwl’s testimony in the second chapter of Galatians conflicts with the historical narrative provided by Luke in Acts in every imaginable way. In fact, it becomes readily apparent that had Paul not written Galatians, as his rebuttal to Yahowsha’s Disciples, his credibility would have been destroyed. But reason tells us that if Paul was willing to write a detailed revisionist account of a meeting, which was well attended and which had occurred within the previous few months, that his lone, unsupported assertion that he had gone to Arabia nineteen years earlier to meet with God—for which there were no witnesses nor corroborating testimony—is suspect in the extreme.
Fourth, as it turns out, the reason Sha’uwl was summoned to appear before Yahowsha’s Disciples in Yaruwshalaim was that his preaching was in irreconcilable conflict with the Torah. And since Yahowah’s Word was personally delivered by God to Moseh on Mount Horeb/Sinai in Arabia, the fact that Paul’s message was entirely different means that either the Source of Moseh’s inspiration was hopelessly unreliable or He was not the source of Sha’uwl’s. And this problem becomes insurmountable when we recognize that with His every word and deed Yahowsha’ affirmed the very book Paul was assailing.
That is a startling realization because the central thrust of Galatians is designed to meticulously belittle and then annul the Torah. Sha’uwl will say that the Covenant memorialized on Mount Sinai was of Hagar and that it was enslaving as a result. He will speak of the Towrah as being of the flesh, so as to demean it, calling it an outdated and outmoded taskmaster. He reports that the Towrah was a burden which no one could bear. He will say that the Towrah is incapable of saving anyone. And yet all of these things are in direct conflict with Yahowah’s testimony. Regardless, Sha’uwl will write that the Torah’s usefulness had come to an end, effectively annulling it – in direct conflict with Yahowsha’s testimony during the Sermon on the Mount. He will go so far as to say that there are two Covenants when God says that His one and only Covenant is everlasting. Therefore, since these messages are the antithesis of one another, Yahowah, who is the acknowledged Author of the Towrah, cannot be the same spirit who served as Sha’uwl’s inspiration.
And fifth, the timeline Paul provided in Galatians, delineating the number of years which transpired between his conversion and the Yaruwshalaym Summit is too great. According to Paul’s testimony in Acts 9, he spent a considerable period of time in Damascus amazing the locals while confusing the Jews after his conversion. (Acts 9:22-23) Let’s assume this took the better part of a year. Then he claims to have gone off to Arabia for three years before returning to Damascus (Galatians 1:17-18) only to be lowered down the wall in a basket. (Acts 9:24-25 and 2 Corinthians 11:32-33 where the story changed and he claimed to be fleeing a government official under the Arabian King Aretas who died in 40 CE) He then went to Yaruwshalaym to meet with Shim’own and Ya’aqob. (Galatians 1:18-19) His travelogue continues through Syria and Cilicia, a journey which collectively transpired over the course of a year. (Galatians 1:21) However, in Acts nine, Sha’uwl adds that he went to Caesarea, bypassing Syria, and then to Tarsus. (Acts 9:30) But then Paul tells us that he was summoned to the Yaruwshalaim ekklesia "after the passage of another fourteen years." (Galatians 2:1) That’s a total of nineteen years.
Dark years, as it would transpire, because we don’t have a record of any sermon or any letter from Sha’uwl during the decade after his alleged conversion. In fact during much of this period, it is apparent that god’s self-proclaimed messenger to the world went into hiding. And that is a far cry from the "immediacy" of his mission in Galatians 1:16.