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Analyzing Pauline Traditions

Paul of Tarsus and the Origins of Syncretism in the Christian Church

—  Page 12  —

Chapter 4

Conclusion On Paul's Traditions

In 1 Corinthians 11:2 Paul wrote,

^11:2Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things, and hold firm the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:15,

^2:15So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter.

And in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 & 14 they wrote,

^3:6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our master Yeshua Messiah, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in rebellion, and not after the tradition which they received from us.

^3:14If any man doesn't obey our word by this letter, note that man, that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed.

  Paul and Timothy wrote in Colossians 2:6-8,

⁶ Therefore as you have received Messiah Yeshua the master, so walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. ⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Yeshua.

Interesting is to notice that Paul does not refer to the traditions of YHWH, but those of Yeshua, as if Yeshua's traditions were different and more important than HaShem's. Here, as in other places, Paul is replacing or substituting HaShem with Yeshua, something Yeshua never claimed.

Paul's Traditions Were Not Unanimously Accepted
By The Churches' Members

The traditions that Paul and his companions imparted to the assemblies were so important to them that they commanded assembly members to disfellowship those who rebelled against his concocted traditions or refused to walk in them. That they so wrote implies that these traditions were not unanimously accepted by assembly members.

All Assembly Members Should Be Wary Of Paul

Our examination above shows that many of the traditions that Paul and his companions delivered to the assemblies were not grounded in HaShem's Word, and were, in fact, contrary to HaShem's Word as revealed in the Law of Moses, the prophets and by Yeshua. It is ironical that Paul and Timothy in Colossians 2:8 warned assembly members to be careful that no one robs them, through their philosophy and vain deceit, after the "tradition of men, after the elements of the world", and not after Messiah. For our examination shows that it is Paul who, "through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Messiah", who all assembly members should be wary of! For it is he, through his contrived traditions, who has sought to draw HaShem's children away from HaShem and HaShem's Ways, and into following another path that he did not command them to follow.

Why HaShem Allowed Paul To Entice
Yeshua's Followers Into Idolatry?

Deuteronomy 13:1-11 reads,

¹ Be careful to observe ONLY that which I enjoin upon you — neither add to it nor take away from it.
² If there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner and he gives you a sign or a portent, ³ saying, "Let us follow and worship another god" — whom you have not experienced — even if the sign or portent that he named to you comes true, ⁴ do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner, because YHWH your Elohim is testing you to see whether you really love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and soul.
   ^5a  Follow NONE but YHWH your Elohim, and revere NONE but Him.
   ^5b  Observe ONLY His Commandments, and heed ONLY His Orders.
   ^5c  Worship NONE but Him, and hold fast to Him.
⁶ As for that prophet or dream-diviner, he shall be put to death because he urged disloyalty to YHWH your Elohim — Who freed you from the land of Egypt and Who redeemed you from the house of bondage — to make you stray from the Path that YHWH your Elohim commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst.
⁷ "If your brother — your own mother's son — or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your closest friend entices you in secret, saying, "Come let us worship other gods" whom neither you nor your fathers have experienced ⁸ from among the gods of the peoples around you, either near to you or distant, anywhere from one end of the earth to the other: ⁹  do not assent or give heed to him. Show him no pity or compassion, and do not shield him; ¹⁰ but take his life. Let your hand be the first against him to put him to death, and the hand of the rest of the people thereafter. ¹¹ Stone him to death, for he sought to make you stray from YHWH your Elohim, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

Paul, through his letters to the emergimg Christian assemblies, enticed them to go and serve other gods, away from HaShem's Way and Word. According to HaShem, what did he deserve? And what his writings and teachings deserve now?

HaShem allowed Paul to so entice them, and countless other throughout the centuries. Why? To try those who profess to be his people, to prove them, to know whether they love YHWH with all their heart and with all their soul. HaShem has already given those who profess to be his people his Voice and his Commandments, adjuring them to abide ONLY by these, and to fear Him above anything or anyone else. Will you do that?

Choosing Between HaShem And Paul

Those professing to be servants of HaShem must therefore choose whether they will abide by HaShem's Word and follow him, or whether they will be enticed by Paul's seductive but deceptive words and depart from HaShem and proceed to serve other gods and ways which different and contrary to HaShem's. It is a time of decision-making. Time to chose between HaShem on the one hand, and Paul on the opposite hand.

HaShem's Penalty For The Likes Of Paul

HaShem's penalty for the likes of Paul is DEATH — for he has sought to draw and entice HaShem's people away from serving and following HaShem and into serving and following another god different and contrary to HaShem. He has also attributed his own words and opinions contrary to HaShem's Word to HaShem !!! — thereby again incurring HaShem's DEATH penalty on another ground.

Paul was not a disciple of Yeshua, nor was he an apostle or a servant of the Life that HaShem offers. Rather, he was an apostle or servant facilitating DEATH to those he enticed to his way of rebellion against HaShem's Word and Way.

Yeshua's Warning To Those Who Believe In Him

Matthew 24:4-5 reads,

⁴ Yeshua answered them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray, ⁵ because many will come in my name saying, 'I am the Messiah' ('I am the annointed') and will lead many astray.

Paul supposedly came in the way of Messiah — verbally acknowledging that Yeshua indeed was the Messiah. Nevertheless, he has indeed led many astray — away from HaShem's Word and Ways — through his traditions which are totally contrary to HaShem's Word and Ways. It is the likes of Paul that those professing to follow HaShem should be VERY wary of.

Yeshua's Words Identify Paul As A False Prophet

Matthew 7:15-23 Yeshua says,

¹⁵ "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
¹⁶ "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will know them by their fruits."
²¹ "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Master! Master!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father Who is in Heaven will enter."
²² Many will say to Me on that Day, 'Master, master, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?' ²³ And then I will declare to them, 'I NEVER knew you. Depart from me, you who practice Law-lessness!' "

Paul's fruits, the traditions that he delivered to the various assemblies, have revealed the kind of prophet or servant that he was — A FALSE ONE! This is so because his fruits were not only different but contrary to those of YHWH and Yeshua! Looking at history we can clearly see that his fruits were not good at all — they were totally corrupt and evil! Through the revelation contained in YHWH's Word, including those of Yeshua, Paul can clearly be identified as a FALSE PROPHET!

Yeshua also reveals that prophesying by his name, or casting out demons by his name, or doing many mighty works by his name — such as those performed by Paul — is no guarantee to entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who enter are those who do HaShem's Will, rather than those who work rebellious iniquity. HaShem's people should therefore not be hoodwinked by the works performed by anyone, no matter how mighty they might be. What they should do instead is to assess the fruits of such ones. When they find their fruits to be good — in harmony with HaShem and his Word, they should receive such. But when they find that their fruits are bad — out of harmony with HaShem and his Word, they should do away with such ones — even if and when such ones perform many mighty works in Yeshua's name! It is HaShem that we are to ONLY serve, worship and follow, and not other gods or persons — much less a false prophet like Paul!

We Should Follow HaShem's Words Rather Than Contrary Human Traditions

Matthew 15:1-14 reads,

¹ Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Yeshua from Jerusalem and said, ² "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." ³ And he answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the Commandment of Elohim for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ Because Elohim said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.' ⁵ But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to Elohim," ⁶ he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And by this you invalidated the Word of Elohim for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me, ⁹ but in vain do they worship Me, teaching as Doctrines the precepts of men.' "
¹⁰ After Yeshua called the crowd to him, he said to them, "Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." ¹² Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" ¹³ But He answered and said, "Every plant which my Heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

HaShem's true servants should not worship him in vain — drawing near to him only with their mouths and honouring him with their lips, but with hearts far from him. They should not abide by rules made by men — such as Paul's. They should instead abide by all words proceeding out of HaShem's Mouth, thereby worshipping HaShem in spirit and in truth.

We Should Ignore The Offensive Reactions Of The Custodians Of Human Traditions
Which Are Contrary To HaShem's Word

HaShem's servants should also not fear the offensive reactions of the followers and custodians of human traditions contrary to HaShem's Words. These are "plants" not planted by the Heavenly Father HaShem, but instead planted by the Adversary — Satan the Devil. As they are blind guides, Yeshua advises his disciples to leave such satanic plantings alone — ignore them! HaShem will see to it that they are uprooted from his field at his appointed times!

The End