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Paul's letters
Acts 18:1 “After this, Paul left Athens and went to the city of Corinth“
The Pauline epistles, also known as the Letters of Paul, are generally considered the thirteen books of the New Testament (making up the bulk of the new testament), although the authorship of some is in dispute, especially the book of Hebrews, because of the difference in tone and style.
Chronological Date order of these letters, and their Location
48 AD – Galatians : Antioch (Turkey)
49–51 AD – 1 & 2 Thessalonians : Macedonia (Greece)
53–56 AD – 1 & 2 Corinthians : Macedonia (Greece)
57 AD – Romans : Rome (Italy)
62 AD – Ephesians : Ephesus (Turkey)
62 AD – Philippians : Macedonia (Greece)
62 AD – Colossians : Phrygia (Turkey)
62 AD – Philemon : Rome (Italy)
62–64 AD – 1 Timothy : Macedonia (Turkey)
62–64 AD – Titus : Nicopolis (Greece)
64–67 AD – 2 Timothy : Rome (Italy)
The rest of the New Testament looks as follows:
- Gospels : Mark (the original letters), Matthew, Luke and John
- History : Acts
- Letters of disputed authorship: Hebrews, Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus.
- Letters of Paul : Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
- Other Letters : James, Peter, John, Jude
- Prophetic : Revelation
We read in 2 Peter 3 with a warning about how to understand Paul, “about our dear brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught/ignorant and unstable (not strong in faith and the word) people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” Paul’s letters might seem confusing and contradictory from what was taught so far right from Genesis, with Yeshua and the other Apostles. That is why during the Daily Reading of the 1 Year Bible Program (click here to download the pdf), we are working through all the Scrolls and Manuscripts first, and then we will compare that to Paul last – to see if Paul is teaching a new religion, or is he agreeing with the rest of the Scriptures.
There are two important things to remember when reading the Bible, and listening to Teachers, or people who make prophecies, having dreams and visions:
- YHWH does not change, or change His mind – Malachi 3:6 (“For I am YHWH, I do not change”), Hebrews 13:8 (“Yeshua Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”), and Numbers 23:19 (“YHWH is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind”)
- The Scriptures teach us to beware of teachers who twist and turn words to fit their own agendas. The entire Deuteronomy 13 is dedicated on how to identify such people, and Yeshua also warned against them multiple times (click here to read more). Deut 13:5 says, “to make you stray from the way in which YHWH your Elohim commanded you to walk.” 2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.”
YHWH's Festivals
Acts 20:6 “After the Festival of Unleavened Bread..”
We rea in verse 16 “.. he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost“. One might make the mistake, and think Pentecost only happened after Yeshua – but Pentecost is actually a Greek word and means the “fiftieth day”, and is the translation for the Hebrew Word and Yearly Festival called Shavuot, which YHWH instructed to follow from Exodus! Go back to read our post from Acts 2, to learn the true meaning of Pentecost.
YHWH gave 7 days every year to be held as a Festival or Special “off-day“, click here to read our previous posts on the “7 Appointed Days”. These days include Passover (which most people know), but also the “Festival of Unleavened Bread“, as mentioned here in Acts 20:6, First Fruits, “Pentecost” or rather Shavuot, Trumpets, Atonement and Tents! So we clearly see here the Apostles, Disciples and Followers of Yeshua kept these days.
Not only that, but we read in Acts 17:2 as some translations put it, “on the day of worship“, but the original translation says, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures”. When we look at the original translations, it is clear that a lot of meaning gets lots, especially in the new testament. This is why people think the old and new testament are so different, and see them as separate! But that couldn’t be further from the truth. We should never read a book from the back, and then just get stuck in the last quarter of a book – that is not the whole story! We need to read this book – which is 1 Book – from the beginning, and then scrutinize the translations to see for ourselves, do we have a truly “new” book and ideas.. or is this still the same Elohim/God from the beginning..
Church, Big Translation Issue
Acts 20:17 “he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church“
The greek word translated to church is Ekklesia G1577 – ekklēsia. In other cases this same word is translated to “assembly“, like in Act 19:41, “And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly G1577“. But, when people talk about a “Church”, it is generally understood as one of two things, a building or a christian body of believers, referring to both a physical place and the community of people. The church community will have a hierarchy that structures its leadership and governance.
But did you know, Ekklesia, the greek word in the Manuscripts, is where we get the book of Ecclesiastes! Click here to go back and read the post about the meaning of this name, and how it relates to Yeshua! The root meaning of Ecclesiastes is to gather or assemble. As a matter of fact, the root Kaleo G2564 – kaleō (part of Ekklesia) means “to call”, and it’s base word is Keleou G2753 – keleuō, meaning to command or urge on.
So where does the word “church” comes from? The English word “church” is derived from the German word Kirche, which in turn comes from the Greek kuriakon. Kuriakon was used to describe a building that belonged to “the Lord”. This word, Kuriakon G2960 – kyriakos, is only mentioned twice in the Bible. Kuriakon is from the base word Kyrios G2962 – kyrios, which means “Lord”. Kuriokon means then “belonging to the Lord“. The two Scriptures on Kuriokon is about “the Lord’s supper” and “the Lord’s day” (1 Corinthians 11:20, Revelation 1:10). So “church” and “ekklesia” is not related at all. Click here to read more about previous posts about the word “Lord” and gods.
Here are some other language examples of the word Kuriakon translated: Scots – Kirk, Dutch – Kerk, Swedish – Kyrka, Norse – Kirkja, Russian – Tserkov. But, interestly in Roman Latin, the word church is ecclesia! So here is the smoking gun, where all the confusion comes from – from Rome Latin. By using the Greek word ekklesia to Latin ecclesia, but translating it to Greek Kuriakon meaning “church” in english. Kuriakon doesn’t even mean “church” as in building or group of people, but means “belonging to Adonai (Hebrew for Lord)”!
The word “Lord”, or Kyrios, really meaning Owner or Master, and is not Yeshua’s or YHWH’s Name.. but history have taught us now, that the name of YHWH have been removed from Scriptures, and talking about “Lord” or “God” could really mean any lord or god. The Hebrew similar word would really be Adonay H136 – ‘ăḏōnāy. Meanwhile, YHWH have declared His Name from the beginning, and we are told to call on HIS NAME (not call on the Lord). Even Yeshua’s name reveal YHWH’s Name, which is exactly what Yeshua said in John 17:6: “I have revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.” Yeshua’s Name means “YHWH Saves“. Click here to see many previous posts about YHWH’s Name, and click here about Yeshua’s Name. Here is also another interesting post on Adonay vs Lord from Ezekiel 14, click here to read more.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of YHWH, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven…Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!'”
