Hello Fivesense,
My brother, the latest and last revelation came from St. John, not St. Paul. St. John wrote Revelations.
My brother, our Lord Jesus Christ told all His Apostles to baptize all the nations. Yes, that would include Samaria and all nations beyond it. He did say that the Gospel will be preached to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. That is what the Apostles including St. Paul had been doing. They preached to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.
From Fivesense: And in Acts 11:20-21, some of the Apostles went to Cyprus and Cyrene and Antioch to preach the Good News. Again, these are Gentile countries. So, St. Paul was not the only one preaching to the Gentiles"
This statement, concerning the scattered of the persecution, is in direct contradiction to the Word of God.
How is that statement in contradiction to the Word of God when everything written in the Bible IS the Word of God? :blink:
Where do you think Babylon is? In Jerusalem? St. Peter wrote his letters in Babylon, which is defintely not in Jerusalem or in Israel. Did you not know that Jesus did many things that were not recorded in the Bible (See John 21:25), but that certainly does not mean that Jesus did not do them. It was simply not recorded.
The fact that St. Peter wrote that letter in Babylon (Rome) is evidence enough that he was there.
As you can see,Babylon is referred to as "Rome" in the New Testament. In Revelations, St. John spoke of Babylon referring it to the Roman Empire (Rome) - the enemy of Christianity. St. Peter was the one who established the Christian Church in Babylon (Rome) He was the only one who spoke of this church.
1 Peter 5:13 The [church that is] at Babylon, elected together with [you], saluteth you; and [so doth] Marcus my son.
From Fivesense: I cannot see it because it does not say it. The Greek word for stranger is xenos, not parepidemois
My brother, the word "strangers" is proof enough showing that these strangers are not Jews whom St. Peter was addressing. And if you read further, St. Peter was addressing strangers who were santified and chosen by God.....in other words, pagans who were converted into Christians.
1C 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1C 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
1C 11:1 . Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ.
Are you saying that we should follow ONLY St. Paul and NOT Christ? Is St. Paul higher than Christ? Do you not see, that St. Paul also followed Christ. It says so and I placed it in bold in your quote above.
As you can see, even St. Paul followed Christ. If St.. Paul does not follow Christ, are we to follow him? I don't think so. Even the Bible says that we are to follow God rather than men (See Acts 5:29).
In Christ,
Selene
Ac 28:30 . And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him.
The death of Paul is not recorded in the Scriptures. No one knows when or where he died. It is never said his accusers saw his death, or that he was martyred for his faith. He may have outlived all the Apostles, and indeed was old, at the end of his ministry, which encompassed many years.
Ac 7:58 And cast [him] out of the city, and stoned [him]: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at
a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
Phm 1:9 Yet for love's sake I rather beseech [thee], being such an one as
Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
That he penned his prison epistles after John was exiled to Patmos is just as likely as not. You assume the Unveiling of John is the last revelation, you could not know that. John's Unveiling and revelation of Jesus Christ speaks to the Jews of the future, the nations being spoken of seldom in that revelation. It is prophetic and future and pertains to Israel's coming crisis and promise.
The Lord gave three commissions, in Jerusalem on the evening of the resurrection to the twelve and others (Luke 24:47), to the eleven as they sat at meat (Mark 16:15), and on a mountain in Galilee (Mat 28:19). That the apostles never went beyond "the limits of the land" is recorded and I have quoted the passages. It is irrefutable. It was Paul, called and chosen outside the land on the road to Damascus, who God chose to fulfill the evangel to the nations.
That "in Acts 11:20-21, some of the Apostles went to Cyprus and Cyrene and Antioch to preach the Good News" is false. It is contradicted by Acts 8:1 and even verse 19 of your quotation, the previous verse you left out.
AV Ac 8:1 . And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria,
except the apostles.
AV Ac 11:19 . Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
The word of God stands. Insertions do not. That the "Apostles went to Cypress and Cyrene and Antioch" is an insertion and addition to what is not written. It is false.
Jerusalem is Jerusalem, Rome is Rome, and Babylon is Babylon. Turning things into figures at a whim does not change the reality. Peter was in Babylon, no matter who says otherwise. Babylon is Babylon. No amount of conjecture or mental gymnastics changes truth.
I repeat what was overlooked, the Greek word for "stranger" is not parepidemois, it is xenos. The closest translation would render parepidemois" expatriates", not strangers. This can be seen through a concordant study of the words and the passages they are in (Heb 11:13, 1 Pe 1:1, 1 Pe 2:11).
Should God have elected not to provide Paul as our example, we would be in very difficult straits attempting to imitate the One Who cannot be imitated. The miracles, the healings, the words, the power, the glory, the humility, the slavery, the list is endless to which you nor I could ever hope to attain to. No, I think the desire to imitate Christ is wishful and desireable at it's core, and the drive to be conformed to His image is God-inspired in us. But imitation is all it would be. Paul's commands and doctrine are on par with our abilities, coupled with grace. It is through this Jewish prophet and priest that we have obtained all that we have, and Paul alone is the channel of Jewish blessing to the nations. Christ is the Head over all, but it is Paul's message what we believed on unto salvation, not the Lord's earthly message to His people while He was here. That is the Law, under the Son of David, the Heir to the throne, for the Lord never preached His message to the nations.
Mt 15:24-26 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast [it] to dogs.
The nations are the puppies, they are outside the house, they are not the children. This example of the future grace that would come with Paul's preaching is moving and prophetic. It is also a declaration of God the priorities of heaven, that salvation is of the Jews. It must always be this way on the earth. It is set in stone tablets.
Should an advanced and knowledgable saint you admire and respect advise and counsel you to do things a certain way in order to benefit you, would you refuse her instruction soley on the basis of her humanity? Would that be wisdom? Paul and the Lord are one, they are not divided, and you should not divide them on the basis of personal bias. They both spake the Word of God by Holy Spirit, and to dismiss one over the other is a mistake. But Paul in his wisdom knew the dangers of aspiring to the Lord "after the flesh" and modifies that with his command, not a request or selection, to be imitators of him, as he is of Christ Jesus. The Lord is not our example to follow, we are not Jewish, and are not headed for an earthly reward. Ours is in the heavens, where Christ is already, and our blessing are now, not in the future. The Jews will remain Jewish, in flesh, at His coming. We will be changed into the glorious image of the One Who is the Savior of all men, specially them which believe.
fivesense