U-19. Luke 5:20-22. What does it TRULY mean? DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. Dd-73. Is PAUL a TRUE APOSTLE of JESUS? Part 1 Or more specifically “Is Paul a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ?” Now the purpose of this study in God's word is more than just merely answering the question of whether or not that Paul is a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ. This Bible study will indeed answer this question by first answering the question of “What is an Apostle of Jesus Christ”. For you see, some Christians are claiming that Paul is a FALSE Apostle and that he exalted himself to be an Apostle. And the ONLY REASON that they make this claim is because of the teachings of Paul expose what they teach to be FALSE teachings. And what they wrongly teach in that Christians MUST keep the Law of Moses under the Old Covenant written in the Old Testament and with FAITH in Jesus in order to PLEASE God. And after they see they they could not deny any longer they they were TWISTING the teachings of the Apostle Paul they deceived themselves by inviting the LIE that the Apostle Paul has to be a false Apostle because Paul teaches AGAINST the Law of Moses in the Old Covenant. So then, “What is an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ in the true sense of the word?” What I mean by this is that Jesus himself called ALL of his Apostles to be his Apostles and the Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus himself appeared in a vision to Saul on the road to damascus and personally CALLED Saul to his Apostle. And thus, for anyone to even thing to claim that Paul is supposedly a false apostle then one must DENY what is written in the New Testament as ALSO being FALSE teach that was invented by not only the Apostle Paul, but also by EVERY other Apostle of Jesus Christ. And SOME of these Christians who CLAIM that Paul is a false Apostle also claim that the ONLY words that can be trusted in the New Testament are the words of Jesus ONLY. And that is why they label themselves as “Jesus words ONLY” Christians. And even some of them have later deceived themselves even more by converting to Judaism to completely DENY the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And it was all because of the ONE reason, the ONE question of WHY would God give TEN Commandments and no longer REQUIRE Christians to keep the FOURTH commandment? They wrestled with the teachings of Paul and the SCRIPTURES to their OWN DESTRUCTION as the Apostle Peter WARNED them in 2 Peter 3:16-18. Let us go ahead and read 2 Peter 3:16-18. “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 wrestle with, (Which literally means that they PERVERTED the Scriptures and the teachings of the Apostle Paul because they could not understand WHY Paul taught AGAINST the keeping of the Law of Moses? And they STRUGGLED with the question of WHY would God give the children of Israel TEN Commandment under the Old Covenant and now not REQUIRE Christians to keep the FOURTH commandment. They would argue “Surely God would have TOLD us plainly if He INTENDED us to NOT keep the fourth commanded under the New Covenant as the Jews kept the fourth commandment under the Old Covenant? But God DID tells us! And God told us WHY we do not keep the seventh DAY of the WEEK as a DAY Holy by resting for 24 hours from sunset Friday to Saturday as the Jews under the Old Covenant, but the PERVERTED God’s TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of salvation to create their OWN PERVERTED gospel. The WRESTLED with the teachings of the Apostle Paul) as they do ALSO the OTHER SCRIPTURES, unto their OWN destruction. (Please notice that this is the Apostle Peter speaking here and Peter is SUPPORTING the Apostle Paul as teaching the TRUTH. Also notice that Peter warns the seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath DAY keeping Christians that they are not only perverting the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Scriptures that Paul uses to teach the TRUTH of the Gospel but they ALSO PERVERT the OTHER SCRIPTURES including the Scriptures in the Old Testament. And even the “extremely” deceived Jesus words ONLY Christians BEGAN as an averaged seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Christian with that ONE question of WHY would God give the children of Israel TEN Commandment under the Old Covenant and then NOT tell us that we do NOT have to obey the FOURTH commandment under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. But what they FAILED to do is to study and ready the Bible for themself to grow in GRACE just like Peter teaches us in the CONTEXT in the next two verses of Scripture) 17. You, therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, BEWARE lest you ALSO, being led away with the ERROR of the wicked, FALL from your own stedfastness. 18. But GROW in GRACE, and in the KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” In other words, do NOT grow in doing the works of the law and in the knowledge of the Law of Moses, but rather, GROW in GRACE and in the knowledge of what Jesus himself teaches us as Christians under the NEW COVENANT written in the New Testament. So I IMPLORE all Christians, even those who have not been deceived by seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Christians to read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< Now, for the remainder of this study in God’s word I will focus on what the word “Apostle” in the true Biblical sense means in the light of the whole word of Almighty God. We already learned that that an Apostle must be CALLED by Jesus in order to be an Apostle OF Jesus. But I also mean there were MORE than just the original TWELVE Apostles of Jesus Christ? So then, the question has arisen “Are these other apostles who were not of the originally TWELVE Apostles TRUE Apostles of Jesus Christ?” Or did all of the others who are called Apostles in the Bible simply appoint themselves to be Apostles of Jesus Christ as well? In other words, if Paul supposedly appointed himself to be an apostle as the Jesus words only Christians CLAIM, then he would not be a true apostle of Jesus Christ. But rather, Paul would be his OWN apostle, of his OWN gospel, having his OWN agenda, which would be another gospel and not the true gospel of Jesus Christ. And thus, the Jesus words ONLY Christians argue that Paul had a vision from SATAN and it was not Jesus who called Saul to be an Apostle. But they is their perverted “INTERPRETATION” of the words of the Apostle LUKE who wrote the Book of Acts. Can you not see, that they ERROR in “interpreting” the Scriptures? It is the seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath DAY keeping Christians who have PERVERTED the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel. Now, they truly LOVE God and His Son Jesus. They truly walk in LOVE but they also MAKE a LIE due to lack of KNOWLEDGE of the New Covenant established in the shed blood of Jesus. And Revelation 22:14,15 WARNS them and others that they will be cast into outer darkness and NOT be allowed to enter into the city of God to receive eternal life in the world to come to rule and reign WITH Jesus during the Millennium. Let us go ahead and read Revelation 22:13-15. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Now, to me, there is no doubt that Revelation 22:1-12 is Jesus doing the speaking, but it may very well be Almighty God the Father doing the speaking here in verses 13-15 and then changes back to Jesus speaking in verse 16. But no matter who is doing the speaking, the COMMANDMENTS in this context are the commandments in under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. So, if this is the Father speaking, then the Father is saying to us as Christians to obey HIS commandments, speaking of the TWO commandments of His Son Jesus that the Father put in his mouth to give to us. And if it is Jesus speaking, then Jesus is saying to keep His commandments which Almighty God the Father COMMANDED His Son Jesus to teach us, according to John. So as you read the next two verses of Scripture, please know and understand that the commandments that we are REQUIRED to obey in order to receive eternal life and NOT be cast into outer darkness are the commandments of Jesus under the NEW COVENANT written in the New Testament. In other words, the commandments in verse 14 do NOT mean the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross, according to Ephesians 2:-15 and Colossians 2:3-22) 14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (For a deeper understanding of this passage of Scripture please read the study Dd-25. What does REVELATION 22:14 TRULY Mean But for now, I want to read verse 15 and then I will explain WHY it includes SOME Christians who LOVE but yet they MAKE a LIE by being deceived to teach a FALSE Gospel that is VAIN and does NOT profit those who follow and obey that false perverted gospel that is ANOTHER gospel that Paul does NOT teach) 15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, AND whosoever LOVES and MAKES a LIE.” Did not Jesus say that many will say, Lord, Lord and he will say to them DEPART from me you workers of INIQUITY, I never knew you? So, while it is good to LOVE Jesus it is NOT good to teach a man MADE perverted Gospel that causes Christians to sincerely believe that they are PLEASING God, but in truth, that man made LIE is actually causing Christians to DISPLEASE God. For you see, to keep a LIE to obey what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross is like slapping God and His son in the face saying that the New Covenant is not good enough to save them. So again, I implore you to read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And again, even non Sabbath-keeping Christians can use more KNOWLEDGE on how to lead Christians out of the perverted gospel that is obeyed in VAIN and does not profit those who follow and obey what Jesus FULFILLED in order to take those ORDINANCES away by nailing them to the cross. Let us get back to the meaning of a TRUE Apostle in the Bible. Yes, I am fully aware that there are false teachers, false Christs and false self-appointed apostles in the church today, but the Apostle Paul is NOT a false Apostle. To say this another way, is it SOUND Biblical teaching to teach that Paul is a FALSE Apostle of Jesus Christ and thus Paul is a FALSE teacher by saying that Paul is NOT a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ by claiming that Paul appointed himself to be an apostle of Jesus Christ? Is not the opposite of something that is TRUE being something that is FALSE? If one says, “that is NOT TRUE”, then they are saying that it is FALSE. So then, to say that Paul is NOT a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ is to say that Paul is a FALSE Apostle of Jesus Christ. And to say that Paul is a FALSE Apostle of Jesus Christ is to say that Paul is NOT an Apostle of Jesus Christ at ALL in ANY sense of the word. And thus, according to that line of reasoning, Paul would be a false teacher. And that is the goal of the “Jesus words only Christians” who are claiming that Paul is not a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ. And the ONLY reason that they make that claim is because they listened to the LIE that God did NOT tell us that Jesus FULFILLED the ORDINANCES contained in the fourth commandment and ABOLISHED those ORDINANCES on the cross. But God DID tell us through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8-15 and Colossians 2:3-23, and the whole book of Gatalians. But the seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Christians REJECT the teachings of Jesus. Yes, the LOVE but they also MAKE a LIE. They are not LIARS, but rather, they MADE another gospel which is a LIE. Now, the main purpose of this study in God's word is NOT focused on whether or not the Apostle Paul replaced Judas Iscariot as being the TWELFTH chosen Apostle of Jesus Christ in order to have his name written with the TWELVE, on the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem and to sit with the TWELVE on the twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. But rather, the main purpose of this study is to see if Paul is actually a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ in ANY sense of the meaning of the word Apostle as it is used in the Scriptures. The Bible itself teaches us that Jesus himself personally chose TWELVE disciples originally and one of those ORIGINAL twelve disciples named Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Later, we learn that the remaining 11 disciples appointed Mathias to be numbered among the twelve apostles. But then even later, Jesus HIMSELF called Paul to be his Apostle to the Gentiles. We know that there are only TWELVE thrones and TWELVE foundations, so the question at the moment is will Matthias or Paul be that TWELFTH Apostle whom Jesus HIMSELF called? You see dear children of God, the Bible itself does indeed call, name or refer to OTHERS as being apostles, who are NOT one of the TWELVE Apostles. In other words, when the Bible ITSELF calls Paul and others “apostles”, then that is what the Bible means. So then, does this mean that Paul's teachings are SOUND Biblical teachings? I mean is that not the VERY REASON of WHY some Christians question whether or not Paul is a true Apostle of Jesus Christ, in order to try and prove that Paul is a FALSE teacher? Again, the focus of this study is not to prove whether or not that Paul is a false teacher or a sound Biblical teacher of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather, the main purpose of this study is to teach you, my readers and seekers of the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God, what the Bible ITSELF teaches us. And the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible clearly teaches us that Paul is indeed an Apostle of Jesus Christ along with others, who are also called apostles like it or not, it is the word of TRUTH. There are no GREATER and LESSOR Apostles of Jesus Christ in the eyes of Jesus. For you see, Jesus teaches us to NOT lord over each other, as in, for one to EXALT him or herself ABOVE their brothers and sisters in the Lord as if they are superior to them as some false self-appointed apostles in the church today wrongly do. And even some Christ lord over other Christians claiming that they are better than other Christians. Jesus himself teaches us this truth to NOT lord over each other, including the leaders in the church not to lord over their flock as if they have a “special” anointing in Luke 14:11. Luke 14:11. “For whosoever exalts HIMSELF shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.” Now the disciples of Jesus were LEARNING from Jesus the true character that God desires us to have. The word “disciple” means LEARNER or one who is being TAUGHT. Jesus continued to teach his disciples THROUGH the Holy Spirit even AFTER Jesus ascended into heaven. Brother Luke teaches us that Jesus had many disciples and that HE himself CHOSE twelve, who he ALSO called apostles. Please read Luke 6:12-17. “And it came to pass in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13. And when it was day, he called unto him his DISCIPLES: (Or LEARNERS, or his close followers who were being TAUGHT by Jesus) and OF THEM he CHOSE TWELVE, whom ALSO he named Apostles; 14. Simon, (Whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15. Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16. And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 17. And he came down with them and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;” Now the TWELVE Apostles of Jesus began to reason among themselves as to who was the GREATEST and here is what Jesus taught them and then THEY taught us as well by or through the teachings that they wrote down in the New Testament of the Bible. In other words, we would not know what Jesus taught his disciples and Apostles without them RECORDING as a written record of what Jesus taught them, which are combined together in the one book called the NEW Testament that are the words of Jesus of the NEW covenant. Even what is written in the four gospels was not written by Jesus himself. But rather, those words of Jesus were written by his disciples. And not ALL of what Jesus taught is found only in the four gospels. More on this in a moment, but first, let us see if Jesus taught us that some are greater than others. Please read Luke 22:23-26. “And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. 24. And there was also a STRIFE among them, which of them should be accounted the GREATEST. 25. And he (Jesus) said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26. But you shall NOT be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that does serve.” So then, Jesus clearly taught his disciples, who then taught us, the church, through what they recorded as a written record of what Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, taught them, both while he was with them in person and AFTER he ascended into heaven, which was for us to NOT exercise lordship over one another. Therefore, to ME, if so be, that Paul was exalting himself as those Christians that teach “Jesus Words Only” claim and, therefore, wrongly conclude that Paul is not a true disciple of Jesus, then the REST of the disciples, including the ELEVEN of the original twelve Apostles, failed miserably to obey the words of Jesus to warn Paul that he was not following the teachings of Jesus. And also, the disciples of Jesus failed to warn us as well that Paul was a false teacher because there is absolutely NO written record of them saying that Paul was a false teacher or a false apostle. Now I say, “and THEN THEY taught us” because Jesus taught the disciples MANY things that were NOT recorded or written down in the four gospels of Jesus Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but were written in the rest of the New Testament. So then, to make the claim that most of the New Testament is FALSE teaching by claiming that Paul, who is accredited for writing most of the New Testament, is not a TRUE apostle, is very dangerous ground. The only Christians who seem to be claiming that Paul is a false teacher are the Saturday seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Christians. And the only reason why argue that Paul is not a true apostle is that they NEED Paul to be a false teacher, For you see, it is Paul's teachings that contradict THEIR teachings, which they claim are Jesus Words ONLY. So, let me say this again as a stronger warning to anyone claiming that Paul is a false apostle. The ONLY reason that this is being done is for the sole reason of getting rid of Paul’s TEACHINGS. The Jesus words ONLY Christians EVOLVED from your average seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Chrisitian. In other words, they BEGAN with just merely attending church on Saturday like most Sabbath-keeping churches. But the more they focused on LEARNING the Law of Moses the DEEPER they FELL from GRACE. So the tiny little LEAVEN of Satan feeding them the QUESTION of WHY would God give TEN Commandments under the Old Covenant and no longer require Christians to keep the FOURTH commandment under the New Covenant? So at first, they wrestled with the teachings of Paul to try to argue that Paul was NOT teaching against keeping the Law of Moses. They would argue things like, “Well, what Paul is really saying is to not allow others to judge you for KEEPING the Law of Moses.” And when that no longer worked, they would evolve to argue that Paul is teaching us to keep the Law of Moses just to be better PLEASING to God. And eventually, when they could no longer REFUTE the sound Biblical teachings of Paul, Satan deceived them even further to make the LIE that Paul has to be a FALSE apostle because God would never give TEN Commandments and then ABOLISH the FOURTH commandment without TELLING us. But God DID tell us all through the NEW TESTAMENT which they PERVERTED and rejected as being the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of salvation of Jesus Christ. So then, to claim that Paul is a false teacher is extremely dangerous ground to be on. For you see, the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us that what Paul was taught, was NOT taught to him by man, but was taught to him by Jesus by way of the Holy Spirit. We will cover this more in-depth further on in this study of God's word. But first, let me prove to you that Jesus was yet teaching his disciples and apostles, THROUGH the Holy Spirit dwelling IN them, AFTER Jesus ascended into heaven. And thus, the apostles and disciples of Jesus were YET still LEARNING many years AFTER Jesus ascended into heaven. Please read John 21:25. “And there are also MANY OTHER THINGS which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” This teaches us two things, which are that there are MANY things that Jesus did that are NOT recorded in the gospels themselves, but again this does NOT rule out that at least some of the OTHER THINGS Jesus did are indeed recorded in other books of the New Testament. And HOW do we know this to be TRUE? Because Jesus HIMSELF told us so! Please read John 16:12-15 which teaches us that Jesus was still yet TEACHING his disciples, MANY THINGS, even AFTER he ascended into heaven which they could NOT bear or understand while Jesus was with them before his ascension. John 16:12-15. “I have YET MANY THINGS to say unto you, BUT you CANNOT bear them NOW. (In other words, Jesus is saying that if he had told them what he taught them through the Holy Spirit after he ascended into heaven, then they would have done the SAME thing that the Jesus words ONLY Christians have done with the Apostle Paul. They would have called Jesus a FALSE Messiah. For you see, Peter told the Holy Spirit straight to his face NO LORD I will NOT eat that unclean meat. And the Holy Spirit had to tell Peter THREE times before Peter obeyed the Holy Spirit. So God ALLOW the ALL Jewish church to keep on not eating the meats that were commandment not to be eaten UNTIL to was God’s time to turn the gospel to the Gentiles. So by the time Acts chapter 15 came along, the WHOLE church came into agreement that no such commandment is ever to be given for any reason to KEEP the Law of Moses. But yet, some Christians have listened to the LIE from Satan that the MUST keep the Law of Moses in order to PLEASE God to SHOW God how much they LOVE him. And then, they CHANGE the Scriptures to MAKE a LIE by incorrectly INTERPRETING even the Old Testament Scriptures. And that is why I have written so many studies to EXPOSE how they have incorrectly made ERRORS of interpretation of the Scripture. And if you truly love them, then you will share the TRUTH with them even if they call you the HERETIC) 13. Howbeit WHEN HE, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE will guide you into ALL TRUTH: for HE shall NOT speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. 14. He shall glorify ME: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15. All things that the Father has are mine: therefore said I, that HE (The Holy Spirit) shall take of MINE, and shall SHOW IT (Or the Holy Spirit shall show or TEACH you those MANY THINGS that I have YET to TEACH you that you CANNOT BEAR right NOW. The Holy Spirit will TEACH you those many things that I YET still have to teach) unto you.” Now some Christians argue that Jesus had plenty of TIME during the forty days after his resurrection to teach his Apostles and disciples everything they needed to know. But you see dear child of God, it was NOT the matter of how much TIME, but rather, that they could NOT BEAR or UNDERSTAND what Jesus yet desired to teach them, BECAUSE they did NOT yet have the Holy Spirit DWELLING in them to lead and guide them into all truth. In other words, the church was still YET LEARNING things THROUGH the teaching of the Holy Spirit giving them dreams and visions which was prophesied in the book of Joel in the Old Testament. And the Holy Spirit gave them understanding that parts of the prophecies were being fulfilled. I say parts of prophecies were being fulfilled because many times BOTH the FIRST and the SECOND coming of Jesus is prophesied in the SAME prophecy. And thus, at the FIRST coming of Jesus, is was only first the first PART of the prophecy that Jesus actually fulfilled. In other words, Jesus is coming again to fulfill that part of prophesied concerning the SECOND coming of Jesus. But Jesus fulfilled ALL of the ORDINANCES contained in the law of commandment on the CROSS as the TRUE MEANING for why those commandments were given to the children of Israel in the first place. They were a SCHOOLMASTER to lead them to Jesus. They were only added UNTIL faith in Jesus came. And those who believe in Jesus as being the NEW COVENANT then they are NOT UNDER the law that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross by fulfilling the law. Please read the study called Dd-23. What does MATTHEW 5:17,18 TRULY Mean? In that study you will learn the TRUE meaning of the phrase, “THESE least commandments”, which Sabbath-keeping Christians incorrectly INTERPRET as being the Law of Moses and the TEN Commandments. But for now, let us continue with this study in God’s word. The Holy Spirit also gave his Apostles and disciples REVELATION knowledge of many things hidden in the Scriptures by opening their eyes of understanding of the types, figures, allegories, and shadows pointing to Jesus and the NEW COVENANT.. So then, at times the Holy Spirit taught them through dreams and visions, and at other times they PERCEIVED what the Holy Spirit was teaching them while they READ the Scriptures. It is like us, when the light comes on in our minds and we wonder why we did not see that truth before. And at other times there is a perceiving in us that something is just not quite right but we have not seen the full revelation yet. We do not know what it is just yet and we cannot quite place or put a finger on it right at that moment. But we KNOW deep within us that the Holy Spirit is showing us something. We SEE something in God's word that causes us to QUESTION what we are being taught by our church denomination. There SEEMS to be a CONTRADICTION from what we have been taught and what we are NOW seeing by revelation from the Holy Spirit that we did not see before. And most of the time it is indeed the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into all truth. But there are times when Satan counterfeits that kind of QUESTIONING in our minds to lead Christians into ERROR. And that is why we must always COMPARE Scripture with SCRIPTURE because the Holy Spirit will never CONTRADICT the Scriptures. Please read Acts 2:14-18. “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, You men of Judah, and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you and hearken to my words: 15. For these are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. But this is THAT which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men (Saul or Paul was a young man. See Acts 7:58) shall see VISIONS, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy:” Now, when you take a concordance and look up the word “vision” you will find that the first place the word “vision” occurs in the book of Acts, also called the Acts of the Apostles, is found in Acts chapter 9 verses 10 through 20. Acts 9:10-20. “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. 11. 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 (Or BECAUSE), behold, he PRAYS, (Now the word behold means look and SEE. So Jesus may have opened the eyes of Ananias to see with his own eyes through a vision that Saul of Tarsus was PRAYING) 12. AND has seen in a VISION a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. (So then, at the same time that Jesus is appearing to Ananias in a VISION to REVEAL something new to him that Ananias had not known before, the Lord Jesus was also REVEALING something to Saul of Tarsus. And it was done at the same time through two different visions to two different people so that Paul would know that his prayer was heard and that the Lord was going to send him a man named Ananias to lay hands on him that he might receive his sight back) 13. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: 14. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on your name. (Here we see that Ananias doubted because of fear. Satan was lying to Ananias putting fear in him perhaps saying something like, “this vision is not of God, it is a trap, and if you go near Saul he will cast you in prison.”) 15. BUT the Lord (Jesus Christ HIMSELF) said unto him, Go your way: FOR (Or BECAUSE) HE is a CHOSEN VESSEL unto ME, to bear MY NAME before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16. For I (The Lord Jesus Christ) WILL SHOW him how great things he must suffer for MY NAME'S sake. (And Paul did indeed suffer many things for the SAKE of Jesus. So how many FALSE apostles would suffer persecution knowing that they appointed themselves as a false apostle? NONE, in my own opinion. The FACT remains that Paul did NOT write the Book of Acts, the Apostle Luke wrote that Acts of the APOSTLES and Luke says that Jesus CALLED Paul to be his Apostle to the Gentiles. Can you not see, just how DECEIVED the Jesus words only Sabbath-keeping Christians have become. Their DESIRE to be teachers of the LAW has grown in ERROR so much that they NEED Paul to be a FALSE teacher so that they can continue to MAKE a LIE) 17. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, EVEN JESUS, that appeared unto YOU in the way as you came, has sent me, that you might receive your sight, AND be FILLED with the Holy Ghost. (So then, was it Satan who sent Ananias to heal Paul or was it TRULY Jesus who sent him? It was Jesus who appeared to BOTH Ananias and to Paul. I show you these things so that you can see just how DECEPTIVE Satan can be to START with just a ting little LEAVEN by asking the ONE question, “How can God given TEN Commandments and then NOT tell you that He ABOLISHED the FOURTH commandment?” But again, God did TELL us many times, both in PROPHECY and in the New Testament. Please read the study called Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean?) 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, AND was baptized. 19. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days WITH the DISCIPLES which were at Damascus. 20. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” So then, here in Acts chapter 9, we have a record given to us by the disciple of Jesus named Luke, who is given the credit of writing the Book of Acts also called the Acts of the APOSTLES, and one of the four gospels of Jesus Christ named the gospel of Luke. This teaches us in clear, simple, easy to understand words, that it was INDEED the Lord EVEN JESUS Christ himself, who appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus and NOT Satan as the Jesus words only Christians CLAIM. But yet, some Christians who teach Jesus Words Only, are even today making the CLAIM that this was NOT Jesus who appeared to Saul. But rather, they claim that it was Satan himself who appeared to Saul of Tarsus. And the reason that they make this claim is that THEY sincerely believe that the teachings of Saul, now called Paul, contradict the words of Jesus in the gospels. And, therefore, to THEM, Paul could NOT be a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ. But in truth, those who claim that they believe and follow ONLY the words of Jesus are making a lie and I believe it is to their OWN DESTRUCTION. For you see, they are actually following the words of Moses under the OLD covenant written in the Old Testament which CONTRADICT the teaching of Acts chapter 15. Please read Acts 15:24. “Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, You must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:” In other words, ALL Saturday seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath-keeping Christians, INCLUDING Sunday Sabbath-keeping Christians, who teach that all Christians must, without fail, keep the DAY of the WEEK Holy by RESTING in order to PLEASE God to show that you LOVE God and His Son Jesus are MAKING a LIE. So then, is it not WRONG to follow and obey what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross. Yes, in fact Paul calls it a sin. And thus, whether it be that Sabbath DAY keeping Christians teach other Christians that must keep Saturday the SEVENTH DAY of the WEEK like the Jews under the OLD covenant lest they sin is teaching what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross. And the same in true with Sunday keeping Christians who wrongly teach that Christians must keep the FIRST DAY of WEEK, as the Roman Catholic Church, lest they commit a mortal sin. BOTH groups of Sabbath DAY keeping Christians are trying to keep BOTH covenants of God at the SAME time. Now while many SEVENTH day of the week Sabbath keeping Christians hate Paul's teachings with a passion they dearly love the teachings of Peter. But yet some have failed to see that it was PETER himself, who taught us that the Jews, including HIMSELF, who were born under the Old covenant before the cross could NOT bear or keep the OLD Covenant. Please read Acts 15:10. “Now, therefore, (Always find the reason of why the word therefore and wherefore are there FOR. Read the context to learn the reason Peter said) WHY tempt you God, to put a YOKE upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers NOR WE were ABLE to BEAR?” Now if you are truly seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God the Father, then I implore you to read the WHOLE matter and not base your faith on verses taken OUT of CONTEXT that are then wrongly INTERPRETED apart from the REST of God's word. For you see, by doing that you are making an ASSUMPTION that what Jesus taught in the four gospels was ALL that Jesus taught. And then that WRONG assumption will lead you to draw another wrong conclusion based on Paul's words not matching exactly with the words of Jesus in the four gospels which was BEFORE the CROSS. Jesus could not openly preach what he had not yet suffered and died to FULFILL. You see dear children of God, what ALL Sabbath keeping Christians, that keep a DAY of the WEEK, have failed to see is that Jesus was YET TEACHING his disciples and Apostles many years AFTER he ascended into heaven. In other words, after Jesus ascended into heaven, he CONTINUED to teach his disciples THROUGH the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them and NOW dwelling in us. Yes, Jesus is still yet teaching us the same way that he taught his Apostles and disciples in the first century and throughout the history of the church, which is TROUGH the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. Why do you think that there was the reformation of the church? Yes, there are those, who do indeed hear from the wrong spirit, the DECEIVER, and some of you who are “hardcore” Sabbath DAY keeping Christians sincerely believe that I am the one being deceived. And thus, to YOU, it is ME, who is not hearing from the Holy Spirit. But I tell you the TRUTH that you have focused all your attention on listening to only ONE side of this controversy if you still believe that I am the HERETIC and you are the only true Christians because you KEEP the Law Moses to be MORE pleasing to God. And that NON Sabbath DAY keeping Christians are supposedly DISPLEASING God in your eyes. You cannot know the truth by simply listening to only ONE side of this controversy of whether or not Paul is a false teacher, based on the argument that Paul is NOT a TRUE Apostle of Jesus. Can you not see dear children of God, that this argument that STARTED with just Paul as being a false apostle has EVOLVED to now be based on proving that ONLY Jesus is teaching the TRUTH. And, therefore, ALL the OTHER Apostles along with the Apostle Paul AND all of the disciples of Jesus are liars or false teachers. And therefore, none of their teachings from Acts to Revelation cannot be trusted. Even to claim that one Apostle of Paul is a FALSE teacher is to say that Luke is a LIAR as well because it was Luke, who called Paul and OTHER disciples of Jesus “APOSTLES”. So, one cannot prove that Paul is a FALSE teacher by CLAIMING that he is NOT a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ. This would be like saying that ALL other DISCIPLES of Jesus are NOT TRUE disciples of Jesus just because they were NOT the original TWELVE disciples of Jesus. It would be like saying that YOU are not a true disciple of Jesus, just because you personally did not hear the gospel preached directly to you in person by one of the TWELVE original Apostles of Jesus. The TRUTH is that you yourself believe in Jesus and are saved BECAUSE you heard the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ through the teachings of Paul. For you see, hearing a false perverted Gospel will NOT save you. So keep in mind that there are no instructions on HOW to be saved written in the four gospels which you CLAIM are the ONLY words you believe! So again, No! There is no gospel of salvation BEFORE the cross. And if you REMOVE what happened on the CROSS then you PERVERT the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Chrsit to teach another gospel that is NOT the Gospel that Paul preached. So the truth of the whole matter is that the WHOLE New Testament is the teaching OF Jesus. And Jesus taught much of the New Testament to his apostles and disciples AFTER Jesus ascended into heaven, THROUGH the Holy Spirit. It was Paul's teaching in Romans, who taught us that ALL have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. It was Paul's teaching again in Roman that the word of faith is nigh in our mouth and that it is our CONFESSION of faith that brings salvation. It was Paul's teaching that we are saved by GRACE and not by works. Another stumbling block to Sabbath DAY keeping Christians from seeing that Jesus did NOT abolish the fourth commandment ITSELF, but rather, Jesus only abolished the ORDINANCES contained in the fourth commandment and all of the other “ceremonial” commandments is another FALSE teaching called “Once Saved Always Saved. That group of Christians also know as Reformed Theology, Calvinism, and Grace Alone Christians have ERROR on the other extreme to MAKE a LIE by following yet another perverted gospel that WRONGLY teaches that Christians do not have to keep ANY commandments to receive eternal life in the world to come. But what they have failed to LEARN is that here is a huge DIFFERENCE between INITIALLY being saved and ACTUALLY receiving eternal life in the world to come. So yes, the Bible does teach us that we are saved WITHOUT works, but the Bible ITSELF ALSO teaches us that our receiving eternal life is CONDITIONAL that is based UPON our WORKS. Please read the studies F-1. CAN A CHRISTIAN LOSE THEIR SALVATION?, and F-2. Is ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED BIBLICAL? Now it is true that ONLY TWELVE Apostles of Jesus are given twelve seats to judge the twelve tribes of Israel and this we will cover further on in this study of God's word. But for now please read where brother Luke clearly teaches us that Paul and others are indeed called “APOSTLES”. Acts 14:1-28. “And it came to pass in Iconium, that THEY went BOTH TOGETHER into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke, that a great multitude BOTH of the Jews and ALSO of the Greeks BELIEVED. (Now we know that the “THEY” here is referring back to Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:2-5 where we are clearly taught by brother Luke that the Holy Spirit HIMSELF called and SENT both Paul and Barnabas to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, which is something NEW that Jesus did NOT teach any of his disciples nor his ELEVEN Apostles before his ascension into heaven, but is teaching them NOW by the Holy Spirit, because NOW they are able to BEAR this teaching being FILLED with the Holy Spirit. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. Acts 13:4 So they (Paul and Barnabas), being sent forth BY the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. Acts 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had ALSO John to their minister.” Also please notice that not only did the Holy Spirit HIMSELF call them but ALSO John, one of the ELEVEN disciples of Jesus, was WITH Paul and Barnabas as their minister. The Greek word translated here as their minister is Strong's # 5257 which means that the Apostle John was their subordinate. Now, this does NOT mean that John was under the apostles Paul and Barnabas, but rather John was their subservient, who was there to ASSIST them. So then, seeing that the apostle John himself was right there WITH Paul and Barnabas ASSISTING them, then surely if Paul was a false teacher as some claim, then the Apostle John failed miserably by NOT correcting what Paul taught. Even if this was another John who was not of the eleven he was still yet a true born again disciples of Jesus that was with Paul and Barnabas. Brother Luke as well, traveled with the Apostle Paul as we will see shortly) 2. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, (Much like the seventh DAYSabbath-keeping Christians are stirring up the Gentile Christians in the church today and throughout the history of the church) and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. 3. Long time, therefore, abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. (And if you notice, there are NOT many miracles being done in the Sabbath-keeping church denominations) 4. But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the APOSTLES. (Here we see that both Jews and Gentiles believed the Gospel of GRACE, but then the UNBELIEVING Jews stirred up the believing Jews and Gentiles so that it was needful for Paul and Barnabas to boldly speak the word of GRACE in the Lord for a long time. Then we see how the Lord HIMSELF gave testimony to the preaching of Paul and Barnabas by granting SIGNS and WONDERS that ONLY men OF God could do. And we ALSO see that Luke himself called Paul and Barnabas APOSTLES here in verse 4) 5. And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, 6. They were aware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lies round about: 7. And there they preached the GOSPEL. (Luke does NOT call Paul a false teacher but rather affirms to us that Paul is a teacher of the GOSPEL, the Gospel or the good news of GRACE, which ALL the disciples and Apostles of Jesus taught in order to be saved by GRACE. See Acts 15:11. I mean, think this through for YOURSELF dear children of God, if so be that the church, as in, ALL the disciples and apostles of Jesus, including Paul, taught what the JEWS taught, then there would be NO controversy between what the church taught and what the Jews taught. The TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus himself came to establish a NEW COVENANT in his shed blood. Please read the study Dd-1. Sabbath TRUTH! REMEMBER the Sabbath to keep HIM Holy!for a deeper understanding of the WHOLE word of God INCLUDING both the OLD Testament AND the NEW Testament on the subject of the Sabbaths. This study explains that Jesus did NOT abolish the fourth commandment ITSELF, but rather, Jesus abolished the ORDINANCES that are contained in the fourth commandment by FULFILLING those ORDINANCES which are SHADOWS pointing to Jesus as the TRUE MEANING for WHY the fourth commandment was given in the first place. You see under the NEW COVENANT we are to keep the SPIRIT of the law and NOT the OLDNESS o the LETTER of the law, according to Romans 7:6) 8. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: 9. The same heard Paul speak (Or this lame man heard the preaching of the Gospel being preached by the apostle Paul): who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10. Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked. (Paul had true FAITH in the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul did not whisper in the man's ear just in case or what IF God did not heal the man. But rather, Paul said in a LOUD voice for the man to be healed in the name of Jesus. Paul was not drawing attention to himself, but to Yahweh and to His Son Jesus.) 11. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. 12. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. 13. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates and would have done sacrifice with the people. 14. Which when the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 15. And saying, Sirs, WHY do you these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: (God did not heal this man so you would follow us. This man was healed by God so you would turn away from your false gods and follow the TRUE God by obeying the teachings of his Son Jesus. We preach this gospel of good news for you to be saved by turning to the living God) 16. Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. 17. Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 18. And with these sayings, scarcely they restrained the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them. (So the Gentiles wanted to exalt Paul and Barnabas to be the gods Jupiter, their main God and Mercury who was their messenger god, but the apostle said NO, do not do this for we are men like you preaching the Gospel or GOOD NEWS of how much the TRUE God loves you and wants to save you. Paul never boasted of himself. Some INTERPRET some verses that way, but if Paul was boasting in those verses as some CLAIM, we see here that Paul is doing everything he can so they do not start offering sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas) 19. And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. (Here come the JEWS again. So again we see the JEWS stirred up the people against the apostles of Jesus) 20. Howbeit (Or even though the JEWS left Paul for DEAD) as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. (In other words, the disciples all gather around Paul, probably praying, but as they surrounded Paul he stood up and the NEXT day he traveled with Barnabas to Derbe after being left for DEAD the day before. Some say it was 30 miles from Lystra to Derbe, which is a long walk on foot for a man left for dead the day before. Or maybe Paul drove himself in a Honda Accord. You know the joke, the Apostles were all in ONE Accord, the car, a Honda Accord. Just a little humor, a play on words to lighten things up a bit.. What I am teaching you here is that God was WITH Paul confirming His word being that the Apostle Paul preached. So how anyone could accuse Paul of being a false teacher, I personally can not see. But then again, I was NOT taught only ONE SIDE of this controversy. Yes, I have read the arguments to try and prove that Paul is a false teacher and I do indeed cover those arguments in another study called. “DO THE TEACHINGS OF PAUL CONTRADICT JESUS?” But for now in this study, I am showing you the evidence from the Bible ITSELF that Paul and others were indeed called Apostles, by Jesus himself, by the Holy Spirit Himself, and by the other Apostles. Even Satan said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you. And I STRONGLY WARN you to NOT CALL the miracles Paul did he did by the power of SATAN. That would be BLASPHEMING the Holy Spirit. And since Paul did indeed heal people in the NAME of Jesus BY the power of Almighty God CONFIRMING His word with signs following then Paul was a TRUE Apostle of Jesus Christ) 21. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22. Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. 23. And when they had ordained them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. 24. And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. 25. And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia: (Now if so be that brother Luke saw Paul as a false teacher, as the Jesus Words Only and other Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM, then Luke failed miserably to warn us that Paul was a false teacher, because Luke HIMSELF clearly teaches us that Paul was teaching the GOSPEL, the WORDS of grace, upon which many believed and many were healed and that God himself gave TESTIMONY to the preaching and teaching of the apostles Paul and Barnabas by granting MANY SIGNS and WONDERS to be done by their hands) 26. And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. (In other words, it was IN Antioch that the Apostles Paul and Barnabas were ENTRUSTED to the grace of God for or into the WORK that God called them to do and which they fulfilled not only in Antioch by everywhere that the Holy Spirit sent them) 27. And when they were come and had gathered the CHURCH together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he (Almighty God himself) had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. (So it was confirmed in them by God their calling to preach the GOSPEL of GRACE to the GENTILES in Antioch) 28. And there they abode a long time with the disciples.” The Apostle Paul did NOT do anything AGAINST the Jews or the customs of the Jews and their fathers but yet the Jews accused ALL of Christianity for teaching AGAINST the Law of Moses, including accusing Jesus of having a DEVIL. Please read the study Dd-59. WHAT DOES ACTS 28:17 TRULY MEAN? So then, brother Luke affirms to us that BOTH Paul AND Barnabas are without fail APOSTLES of Jesus Christ in Acts 14:4 and in Acts 14:14. But some Jesus Word Only Christians, as well as some other Sabbath-keeping Christians, CLAIM that the Greek word translated as an apostle, in these two verses, means minister and should not have been translated as an apostle. In other words, they demand that the translator made a mistake by translating this Greek word as an apostle and dogmatically demand that it should have been translated as a minister. They thus wrongly conclude that Paul and Barnabas were supposedly only ministers and not true apostles of Jesus Christ. And, therefore, they wrongly conclude that since Paul is NOT a TRUE apostle of Jesus Christ and only a minister, then Paul is subject to being wrong like every minister of Jesus Christ CAN be in error. This opens the door for them to now dogmatically demand that Paul is a FALSE teacher based on their saying that they have proved Paul to be a false apostle and not a TRUE apostle like the TWELVE. Clearly, their line of reasoning is NOT sound reasoning, because one of the original twelve apostles betrayed Jesus. Keep in mind that ONLY seventh DAY of the WEEK Sabbath keeping Christians make the CLAIM that the Bible translators made an error by supposedly incorrectly translating the Greek word apostoloi as APOSTLE when they should have translated it as a minister. However, if you look these words up in a concordance for yourself, then you will find that the Greek word translated as apostle in Acts 14:4 is apostolois, with Strong's # 652 and you will find that the Greek word translated in Acts 14:14 as apostles is apostoloi, with the SAME Strong's #652. Now they argue that these are NOT the SAME Greek words because they are not spelled EXACTLY the same way letter for letter. Now, this would be like arguing that words apostle, apostles, apostle's and apostles' are NOT the SAME word because they are not spelled exactly the same way letter by letter. The FACT is that they are the same word having the same meaning as being one who is SENT, but having different applications where one is singular, one is plural, one is singular possessive and one is plural possessive. The FACT is that they ALL have the exact same Strong's #652 giving the SAME meaning for this ONE Greek word with different endings and this fact clearly teaches us that the translators correctly translated ALL the Greek words having Strong's #652 as apostle and apostles. In other words, apostolois having Strong's #652 in Acts 14:4 translated as apostles, referring to Paul and Barnabas, is the SAME Greek word apostoloi having the exact SAME Strong's #652 in Acts 14:14 also translated as apostles again referring to Paul and Barnabas. And thus, it is the SAME Greek word apostolon having the exact SAME Strong's #652 translated as Apostle in Hebrews 3:1 referring to Jesus himself. Which again is the SAME Greek word apostolous having the exact SAME Strong's #652 translated as apostles referring to the TWELVE apostles of Jesus in Luke 6:13. So again, all of these words spelled differently are the SAME Greek words that mean the SAME as apostolOn having exact SAME Strong's #652 translated as apostles again referring to the TWELVE Apostles of Jesus in Matthew 10:2. So ALL of the Jesus words ONLY argument are smoke and mirrors that DECEIVE Christians to FALL from GRACE. And Christians who KNOW the TRUTH ought to be helping them come out of this deception of Satan to return to the TRUTH of the Gospel of salvation. Some Sabbath-keepers may still yet argue that these SAME Greek words are NOT the same Greek words, because they are not spelled exactly the same way. So for those Sabbath-keeping Christians desperate to make any claim they can in order to make the apostle Paul SEEM to NOT be a TRUE apostle of Jesus Christ please consider the EXACT SAME SPELLING apostoloi having the exact SAME Strong's #652, referring to both Paul and Barnabas as being apostles in Acts 14:14, and Mark 6:30, using this SAME Greek word apostoloi having the exact SAME Strong's #652 translated as apostles referring to the TWELVE apostles of Jesus Christ. So then, dear children of God, the CLAIM made by some Sabbath-keeping Christians that Paul is NOT a TRUE apostle of Jesus Christ by dogmatically demanding that the TRANSLATORS translated the Greek word apostoloi, having Strong's #652 in Acts 13:14 incorrectly as apostles, when it referred to Paul and Barnabas as apostles of Jesus Christ, are simply making a LIE. For you see, the EXACT SAME Greek word apostoloi having Strong's #652 is spelled the exact same way in Mark 6:30. And it is translated as apostles in Mark 6:30 referring to the TWELVE apostles of Jesus. The translators have it correctly translated in both Mark 6:30 and in Acts 14:14 as being apostles of Jesus Christ, but Sabbath-keepers MUST deny this TRUTH because it proves that their teaching of the Sabbath is in ERROR. See also Luke 9:10, using the Greek word apostoloi, the same as Acts 14:14. And Luke 17:5, again using the same Greek word apostoloi, the same as Acts 14:4, also see Luke 22:14 using the same Greek word apostoloi found in Acts 14:14 translated as apostles referring to both Paul and Barnabas as being apostles of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:33 apostoloi, Acts 5:29 apostoloi, Acts 8:14 apostoloi, Acts 11:1 apostoloi, Acts 15:6 apostoloi, Acts 15:23 apostoloi, 1 Corinthians 9:5 apostoloi, 1 Corinthians 12:29 apostoloi, 1 Thessalonians 2:6 apostoloi, Revelation 18:20 apostoloi. Now let us read 1 Corinthians 12:25-31 where Paul teaches that Almighty God himself set some in the church to be apostles translated from the Greek word apostolos, then Paul asks the question in the same passage of Scripture in the very next verse saying, SOME are set by God in the church as apostolos, but are ALL apostles or are ALL apostoloi? Regardless of how one interprets this verse that FACT remains those two different SPELLINGS of Strong's #652 are both translated as APOSTLES. In other words, Paul is not saying, God set in the church some as apostles, are ALL ministers? That makes no sense because both spellings of this SAME Greek word means APOSTLE and APOSTLES meaning one who is SENT. Let us all speak the same things dear children of God so that there should be no schism or division or factions in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. 1 Corinthians 12:25-31. “That there should be no schism (Or that there should be NO division or factions) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27. Now you are the body of Christ and members in particular. 28. And God has set SOME in the church, first apostles (apostolOn),{Of the three Greek texts that I have I am not sure where you get the ‘On’ from? There are no capitals and the endings that I can see is ‘ous’. I will highlight other endings of ‘On’. And you might check the other ‘on’ to make sure they are not ‘ous’ etc.} secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 29. Are ALL apostles (apostoloi)? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30. Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” The CONTEXT here 1 Corinthians 12:28,29 teaches us that ALL apostoloi are also apostolOn, but not ALL believers are apostles or not ALL believers are apostoloi. In other words, as we have already seen by comparing Mark 6:30 and Acts 14:14 that just because the Greek word for apostle is not spelled exactly the same every time it is used does not mean that apostoloi when referring to Paul and Barnabas are NOT true apostles. So now we have two witnesses and here is a third witness. In 1 Corinthians 9:1-6 Paul is still battling with DIVISION. That division was where some Christians want to follow Paul and Barnabas ONLY while others want to follow Cephas or Peter only. Some were saying I am of Paul. Others were saying I am of Cephas or Peter. And others were saying I am of Apollos. And Paul said brothers, this ought not to be so. Is Christ divided? Paul hates division and wants us all to speak the same things. Paul did not care WHO brought who to Jesus Christ. Let us read these verses and you will see that the OTHER apostles referring to the eleven are being called apostoloi. 1 Corinthians 9:1-6. “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not you my work in the Lord? 2. If I be not an Apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am (An apostle) to YOU: for the seal of my apostleship are you in the Lord. (Paul is saying here that those Christians he is speaking to here specifically are Christians because they heard the gospel from him and became believers on Jesus Christ, because of what Paul preached to them. So it was NOT Paul's disciples whom he begets by the gospel who were examining the apostleship of Paul. Remember that the word disciple means learner or one who is being taught. People follow who they TRUST are teaching them the TRUTH. And SOME Jewish believers did not trust Paul the same way that SOME of the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keepers do not trust the teachings of Paul.) 3. My answer to them that do examine me is this, (Now it was NOT his own disciples that he led to the Lord that were examining him) 4. Have WE (Myself Paul and Barnabas been called and separated by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Have WE) not power to eat and to drink? (Paul is EITHER being questioned by JEWISH Christians for his liberty to eat meat sacrificed to idols, OR he is being questioned about receiving rations or living expenses from his disciples, as if, he has NO right to do so, but YET the OTHER Apostles DO have that right) 5. Have WE (Paul and Barnabas) not power to lead about a sister, a wife, AS WELL AS the OTHER Apostles (Or as well as the OTHER apostoloi), and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas (Or Peter)? 6. OR (Is it) I ONLY and Barnabas, (Paul is EITHER saying here that ALL the Apostles share in the work of the gospel. Paul hates DIVISION and he wants us ALL to speak the SAME things. Paul is saying to them who are following HIM and Barnabas that the OTHER Apostles have the power to lead them AS WELL and calls them BROTHERS and even names them as being of Peter. But for those among them that do not fully trust Paul he adds again) have not we power to forbear working?” Because of the OLD English of the word “forbear”, I cannot say for sure, but I believe that Paul is saying for us to bear or endure with patience those who are teaching a false gospel. BUT if so be that Paul is speaking on living by the gospel ONLY, as in, he and Barnabas ALSO have the SAME right as the REST of the Apostles to live by the gospel. It depends on which context, the context above verse 6 or the context below verse 6 as to how one interprets verse 6. To me, it can go either way. I have no preference because we are to be patient with those who are false teachers and Paul did have the right to live by the gospel the same as the rest of the Apostles. But to me, Paul made every effort to NOT build on ANOTHER man's foundation or another Apostle's WORK. Also, Paul made every effort to NOT be a burden to his congregation. This means that Paul worked a job on the side to support himself as much as possible. And this means that Paul did not go around stealing Christians from other churches to build his own church following. Paul also was a tent maker and he tried never to be a burden on any of the churches he founded. Paul did NOT care WHO brought who to Jesus. Paul never sought the glory of MEN. Paul was indeed a TRUE apostle of Jesus Christ, but this does not prove that Paul was chosen by Jesus to replace Judas to be numbered with the ELEVEN to become the TWELFTH apostle. Now let us read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 where we see that there are MORE than just the twelve apostles, who are ALSO the apostles of Jesus Christ as well. This brings us to section two of this study called Dd-70. Is PAUL a TRUE APOSTLE of JESUS? Part 2 Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to read ALL the studies that I gave links to throughout this study concerning this subject on Sabbath TRUTH. My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Some Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM that the early church kept the Sabbath as the Jews, but I assure you that the early first-century church was accustomed to gathering together BEFORE the light of daybreak on the FIRST day of the week that THEY called the Lord's day. Please read all the studies linked within this study and all the studies linked below. This study was just the TIP of the iceberg of exposing the ERRORS of interpretation made by the Saturday seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches, and the Sunday first day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. All of the studies listed under the subject heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And also read Dd-20. Did The Early Church KEEP the Sabbath day to learn the truth of what the early church believed. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!
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