Paul's Different Gospel Part 7

 Paul's Different Gospel 7

Jesus came to reform Judaism and would therefore have come into conflict with its priests and leaders. Yet he never preached against the Mosaic Law, only how it was being (wrongly) implemented. Jesus gave it the spiritual dimension that was lacking. And he also had another mission.

Judaism had by that time also become polluted by paganism, particularly of Roman and Greek origin and the Essenes and Nazarenes under Jesus were intent on purging it of these influences, yet all still within the context of Mosaic Law, which Jesus himself never abrogated or taught that it had to be done away with.

Today's Christians may say that Paul didn't bring anything new to this antagonism toward Judaism of his day, which was foreshadowed by the Old Testament by the promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34 of a new covenant and a new law written in the heart to supersede the law of Moses:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34

For good measure they could throw in Daniel as well and many other "unfulfilled" prophecies. These prophecies which the Jews expected to be fulfilled in the real sense and not merely spiritual, never did happen.

We must be aware of the "pesher" process of reworking of biblical passages whereby the scroll writer studies or examines a book of the Bible, usually a prophetic work, and reinterprets it in terms of the events of his own time.

Using such a technique, what you propose can also be reinterpreted to refer to the Prophet Muhammad rather than Jesus or perhaps even to both of them.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has given us even more ample material for this purpose, what with their references to The Messiah who was both Ruler and Priest and the Two Messiahs who will appear towards the end of time, one the Messiah of Israel (the Royal or King Messiah) and the other the Messiah of Aaron (the Priest Messiah)* (See note below).

Are these to be found in Christianity? The answer is "No". Are they to be found in Islam? The answer is "Yes". But that is perhaps another subject entirely, although perhaps connected in a way to Paul's different gospel.

Yes, indeed, and this New Covenant which God made with them would only be fulfilled in the time of the Prophet Muhammad. And part of Jesus's mission was to prepare the way for the coming of "that Prophet".

During the time of Jesus, the division was not only between the righteous (Jews) and unrighteous (Pagans) but more between the Jews and the different Jewish sects themselves.

Jesus was to reform Judaism and thereby restore the Divine link between Creator and Created.

In this context, the Pauline doctrine about overcoming the very nature of sin "which is death itself" and for which he had to die and be resurrected sounds a bit convoluted.

How can death be the very nature of sin, unless Pauline Christians mean it in a metaphorical way like sin being "spiritual" death? But surely this is not a sufficient reason or method for God to require the death and resurrection of Jesus? What would that prove?

No "sacrifice" of anything by God can in any sense be a real "sacrifice" since God has nothing to "sacrifice" anything for nor should He need to, being above all needs or wants.

The relationship between God and His Creation was not limited only to Israel, although the Jews would have liked to believe so, and perhaps still like to believe so. The Jews were God's "Chosen People" only in so far as they obeyed His Commandments and His Law and they lost that birthright because of their own arrogance, hard-heartedness and disobedience, as Jeremiah himself makes very clear.

They were supposed to be the examples for the rest of the world, but does this mean that the rest of the world was left entirely without guidance until Jesus came? Christians may like to believe so, but that is not the case.

There were of course zealots at the time who desired Jesus to lead them against Roman occupation.

But they were not at war all the time. There were relative periods of calm and peace when a certain level of co-existence and tolerance had to be in place until some spark lit another flame. Obviously the Jews did not think that Jesus was the Messiah who would lead them against the Romans or were disappointed when he didn't. Either way he could not play that role.

Pauline Christianity had to find a reason for this and this is where the Messiah became merely a spiritual concept and the "Kingdom of God" became merely the "Church of God".

Jesus's followers' presence in the Temple was generally tolerated and James their leader had access even to the Holy of Holies. Because to them there was only One Law. Any Jew would know what it meant when speaking of the Law. Any follower of Jesus would too. 

Paul also knew what Law it was he was accused of speaking against. The fact that Paul denied it, in spite of all evidence to the contrary (even his own letters, as we know later), while the Apostles insisted on it showed just how different their teachings were.

Or was it merely fate in the form of the Romans that changed everything, leading to the complete marginalization of Jesus's original disciples and their substitution by the Roman Catholic Church.

Discussing something like "Paul's Different Gospel", will inevitably draw in many elements of how the entire basis of Christianity itself came about and its relationship with the original disciples of Jesus.

On one hand, we have assertions by Paul himself that he got his gospel not through or from the original disciples, but by direct revelation from Jesus and he makes it very clear just how different his gospel was by arguing with Peter and the other disciples over the enforcement of the Mosaic Law, which it was then agreed did not apply to the Gentiles whom Paul was preaching to.

On the other hand we have Jesus's disciples still praying in the Temple and continuing to adhere to the Mosaic Law. Unfortunately not much remains of the teachings of the original disciples and what remains are the present 4 gospels which may represent more Pauline teaching than Nazarene teaching.

We may never be able to reconcile the two, but I believe that a fairly objective study of whatever evidence we have, placed in the historical context and without the baggage of any theology, can reveal to a great extent the truth of the matter.

Paul really did go to extraordinary lengths to "deny" the Law and to be as offensive as he could to those who adhered to it (including Jesus' s original followers) and who still kept to its dietary and other requirements? What was Paul trying to show here?

*Note:

https://christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a023.html

"The men of Qumran fervently believed in a doctrine of "last things." They had fled to the desert and were readying themselves for the imminent judgment when their enemies would be vanquished and they, God's elect, would be given final victory in accordance with the predictions of the prophets. It was in connection with these end-time events that one of the most fascinating teachings of the sect emerges. The messianic hope loomed large in the thought of the brotherhood. As a matter of fact, evidence shows that they actually believed in three messiahs -- one a prophet, another a priest and the third a king or prince.

In the document mentioned earlier called the "Manual of Discipline" or the "Rule of the Community," it is laid down that the faithful should continue to live under the rule "until the coming of a prophet and the anointed ones [messiahs] of Aaron and Israel" (column 9, line 11). These three figures would appear to usher in the age for which the community was making preparation.

In another document found in Cave Four and referred to as the "Testimonia," a number of Old Testament passages are brought together which formed the basis for their messianic expectations. The first is the citation from Deuteronomy 18:18-19 where God says to Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee." Next comes a quotation from Numbers 24:15-17, where Balaam foresees the rise of a princely conqueror: "a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab," etc. The third passage is the blessing pronounced by Moses upon the tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe) in Deuteronomy 33:8-11. The way in which these three quotations are brought together suggests that the writer looked forward to the advent of a great prophet, a great prince and a great priest.

There were three individuals in the Old Testament writings that were referred to as "my anointed ones" -- the prophet, the priest and the king (refer to Ex 29:29; 1 Sam 16:13, 24:6; 1 Kg 19:16; Ps 105:15). Each of these was consecrated to his work by an anointing with oil. The Hebrew word for "anointed" is meshiach, from which we get the word Messiah."

However, they then come to the absurd and contrived conclusion that "The marvelous truth of the New Testament doctrine of the Messiah is that each of these three offices found fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth!"

In reality, throughout history up to this day, it is a well-known fact that only the Prophet of Islam has been known as "The Prophet" (the Messiah in whom were combined the offices of King and "Priest"), while there is a belief in Islam that Jesus (the King Messiah) will come towards the end of the world to rule as a just ruler (King) around the same time as the Imam Mahdi (the "Priest" Messiah).