Dave Pack: Failure 500+. (Part 2)

Failure 500+

After Abib 1, on April 8, 2024, failed to manifest the Kingdom of God, David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God had to face the harsh reality that he does not know the Bible as well as he claims he does. This should be no surprise to the brethren who are used to continual disappointment and redirection.

After confessing in “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 506)” on April 9, 2024, that he knew Abib 1 was a pipe dream and held that information back, reviewing Parts 504 and 505 on the Sabbath before it exposes his quality of character as a man and presumptive Elijah to come.

Part 506 – April 9, 2024
@ 05:36 Now, how did I know that Abib 1 was wrong?

@ 05:55 It wasn't the first time I had trouble. I wanna hold up a list of about 43 points I had developed…I had a lot of problems with Abib 1. This list was produced…nine days ago.

The expert after-the-fact turns being wrong into being right. Mangling the Bible, David C. Pack makes the Scriptures say what he wants when he wants. He can teach something for over six hours while he is deeply troubled and believe God is guiding him.

David C. Pack tells you everything you need to hear to know if he teaches the truth.

 

Parts 504 and 505 assaulted the Sabbath for the brethren of The Restored Church of God. The sermon and Bible study were three hours and eighteen minutes. Boy, some day of rest that was.

While the brethren in the field may envy those at Headquarters, it is an exhausting experience. Trying to make Date Night plans with your wife or having a small card game get-together on a Saturday night can be frustrating. All personal plans are subject to unexpected cancellation thanks to the selfish arrogance of David C. Pack, who has to preach whatever nonsense he is obsessed with.

Part 504 – April 6, 2024
@ 00:04 Good afternoon, everyone. We are still learning at a precipitous pace. We’re gonna have a lot of fun today. 

Wow, David C. Pack has officially reached Imbecile Status. Not only does he possess the most astonishing piss-poor reading comprehension skills, he also misuses words. He is like Vizzini but without being entertaining or funny.

Dave is in desperate need for a dictionary. He still thinks “dismal” means opaque, dark, and hard to see when it really means depressing, dreary, gloomy, and disgraceful.

By describing the Series as “precipitous,” he is accidentally correct.

precipitous
dangerously high or steep; (of a change to a worse situation or condition) sudden and dramatic; (of an action) done suddenly and without careful consideration

“The Greatest Untold Story!” is dangerously steep and done without careful consideration. David C. Pack unintentionally spoke the truth.

@ 00:49 And that will be totally different, and in order to cover it, we will have a short Bible Study. So, you can be planning for that.

Planning for that…when? During Services? Oh, the sea of suppressed rolling eyes in the Main Hall. The ladies had to pretend to not be irritated with the rushed kitchen duties ahead. So much for going to the movies after sunset.

@ 03:53 Now, it was only a few weeks ago that I introduced to you the the term the dismal swamp that certain theologians have used to describe the Seventy Weeks Prophecy.

Stop.

This is the first time he gave others credit for coming up with that term. Maybe he looked it up and now needs to blame somebody for what it really means to save face. But by doing so, he also reveals he stole it from someone else and passed it off as his own idea. They call that plagiarism, Dave. Plagiarism is a trait of thieves and liars.

Despite Dave’s deeply troubled feelings, the list of 43 doubts, and an extracted conclusion, see if you can spot his concerns in Parts 504 and 505.

@ 07:48 If God put in His word where it would be, then it removes all doubt that the Seventy Weeks began from Abib 1. So, the 69^th Week would’ve had to end at Abib 1, too. Would it not? That’s an extraordinary thing to understand.

@ 09:31 So, you can pretty much guess that Jesus Christ was anointed on Abib 1. You can pretty much guess it.

@ 09:48 The question would be when would God pick up the 70th week? Well, whatever year He would do it, you can be sure that He was gonna do it on Abib 1. Two days away.

@ 57:47 I can hold up these two two lists here. Here’s the 2024 proofs right here. And this is the Abib 1 proofs. You really don’t need them anymore. We’ve actually added a powerful Abib 1 proof and we’ve added a powerful 2024 proof, as well.

No matter how high he held up those lists, he did not reveal the one that truly mattered. The list of 43 items that he KNEW while he said those words that Abib 1 would not happen. Was David C. Pack mistaken or was he a liar?

@ 58:09 Christ died starting Abib 15. Where’s that leave us? ‘Cause the Abib 1 proofs go on and on and on forever.

@ 58:52 But I could never be shaken away from Abib 1. I told you that, and I'm still there.

Never shaken away until Part 506. Oh, excuse me, that is not accurate. Never shaken away until the unsigned CAD email the very next day. A mistake or a lie?

Knowing what he already knew, David C. Pack could not hide a nervous chuckle in his next statement.

@ 59:04 …could you be shaken away from Abib 1 this year? [chuckles] I know we know it’s Abib 1. Now, we’ve we can like I said, we can pile on Ezra and Nehemiah both and know that the the Seventy Weeks were from Abib 1. So, you got a lotta Abib 1 stuff.

David C. Pack throws prophetic ideas out to see which creates reality. The waste basket on the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium is running over with stupid ideas.

During the hurried meal, Dave had time to further contemplate if he should be completely honest with the brethren. Instead, he opted to keep that his little secret.

Part 505 – April 6, 2024
@ 00:07 Gotten some emails coming in. People are electrified. I am, too, and I’ve known this for a few days now.

That is not all he knew for a few days now.

@ 00:49 What date is the Day of the Lord? Is it simply Abib 1? WE gotta figure it out. Because everything has to be one week. Seven years starting from, presumably, WE would all say, from Abib 1.

Unexplainably, David C. Pack is determined to preach a corrupted Passover, claiming it is on Abib 15, not Abib 14, as the Bible instructs. This was part of his plan to remove Abib 1 as the date or the arrival of the Kingdom of God and refocus on Passover like he does every year.

Albeit with far more stammering and stuttering than in years past.

@ 04:29 Okay, for a long time, often muh-more muh-maybe a couple times couple years, WE believed that this would happen on Passover.

@ 04:54 I would say the last six months, we’ve learned more than than the than the eight years before that.So, we were nowhere near ready tuh to to that the Mystery of God was over, and everything was plain back when WE were bouncing around between three and four kingdoms. 

Repetitively teaching and un-teaching un-plain biblical nonsense is not actual learning.

@ 08:19 He [Jesus Christ] clearly says the Passover. Well, that’s Abib 15.

@ 08:40 Christ is not authorized by Law to move the Passover to Abib 1.

Then, why does David C. Pack believe he is authorized by Law to move the Passover to Abib 15? He cannot just be an ignorant idiot surrounded by spineless hirelings who are too afraid of losing their jobs to point out the Passover is Abib 14, as is posted in Member Services and email reminders from CAD.

@ 14:41 This inarguably depicts the wicked killed at the full moon of Abib 15, the chag. So, we’re starting to lock down the 15^th, and, believe me, I’m not gonna sneak up on you and change Abib 1. That’s locked.

Wow. That really does have renewed context. David C. Pack absolutely did sneak up on the brethren and changed Abib 1 and unlocked it. Was he mistaken or was he lying?

@ 38:18 My name is not David Abib 1, it’s David Passover, which is kind of interesting. I’ve thought about that many, many time. You’ve heard me cite it.

Oy vey. Dave cannot shut up about it.

@ 39:18 So, let's face it. We’re looking at Abib 1 to start and Abib 15 to end. And I was never looking for that.

 

Dave likes to have things both ways. He likes to declare what the Bible says that points to right now, but then also leaves himself wiggle room for when things fall apart. He can shrug and say he is just teaching what the Bible says.

No, he teaches what he thinks the Bible says, which has less value than unturned compost.

@ 1:14:29 I am not claiming 2024. I'm telling you, it's 2,000 years from 31 to 2031. I'm telling you absolutely before God, I still believe, as sure as I believe the Sabbath, holy days, tithing, clean and unclean meats, or the Gospel’s the Kingdom of God, that Abib 1 is the day God is gonna use. No one should be able to dynamite that out of you.

David C. Pack dynamited it out of them three days later during Part 506 when he shifted to a Passover fulfillment. There are two choices for current members: he was mistaken, or he lied. Both have implications.

@ 1:15:37 My enemies will say, “He prophesied this date.” I did not. I taught you that as surely as I taught you, I teach you to keep the Sabbath.

David C. Pack has perceived enemies but is his own worst enemy. That is the man who embarrasses him the most. That enemy exposes who and what he is to anyone willing to pay attention. David C. Pack reduces to ashes the teachings of David C. Pack.

@ 1:16:19 …and we all live by faith now. Now I I I don't know is there. I do read there’s some kind of a delay.I don’t know how to explain that delay.

Living by faith regardless of how often Dave changes his tune is one of the manipulation tactics RCG uses to keep brethren in their seats. Dave also exposed his ripcord for an April 8 failure, but only keen and alert members would have picked up on that.

@ 1:16:42 I I I don’t know how you could get past Abib 1.

Yes, he did. Part 506 spelled it out for 93 minutes when he explained his 43-item list. Do not miss that analysis. The entire message refutes many of his recent teachings, not just Abib 1.

David C. Pack exposes his own confusing contradiction in 3…2…1…

@ 1:17:28 Godspeed, whatever minute this is or hour in the upcoming days and the Series is officially over. You know by now there’s no time for more and there’s certainly no more kingdoms to add to the One Week, the Seven Years. That’s the only thing we’ve all been waiting for but just never knew it. Good night.

Stop.

Three minutes ago, he emphasized that he was not claiming 2024, yet it was happening in the upcoming days. Which is it, Dave? What comes out of his mouth must be determined by which spirit controls it at any given moment. Legion is of many, indeed.

 

@ 1:17:28 Godspeed, whatever minute this is or hour in the upcoming days and the Series is officially over.

Yeah, not so much. Since the Series was declared officially over again, David C. Pack has been busy obfuscating his failures, recycling old ideas, dreaming up new confused doctrines to spew, and spinning the RCG hamster wheel even faster.

Part 506, given on April 9, 2024, was 1:38:29.
Part 507, given on April 16, 2024, was 1:22:05.
Part 508, given on April 18, 2024, was 1:32:09.
Part 509 was scheduled for April 19 but was delayed.

The Series will never officially be over because David C. Pack cannot and will not ever be correct about the timing and sequence of the return of Jesus Christ. The only way "The Greatest Untold Story!" can end is by an "act of God," which David C. Pack would not like.

Abib 1 on April 8 failed. Was David C. Pack simply mistaken in his understanding of the Bible, or did he willfully lie to the brethren of The Restored Church of God?

Part 506 – April 9, 2024
@ 1:37:43 I used to say, if I knew, I'd tell you when the when the Kingdom comes. And I'd say, “Well, I don't.” Or “Now I do,” see? Now I do. I've always been uncomfortable knowing a date in advance. Always, always. Unless it involved absolute biblical proof beyond all doubt. And I'm still gonna give you a bombshell proof in four days. Fascinating. Unbelievable. But if it proves it beyond all doubt, then you have to live with it. So it's about thirteen days to Unleavened Bread and the Passover.

Once Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread move into the history books with unremarkable occurrences, we can add that to the growing list of David C. Pack’s failures that will grow beyond the 500s.

The brethren trapped in The Restored Church of God can look forward to Part 600, which will finally make everything pop clear with impossible-to-argue proofs emphasizing the simplicity in Christ because the Goodman of the House was faithful to keep his charge by rushing to call things out that nobody ever understood before.

Or they can leave now to spare themselves the torture of living through failure five hundred plus.

Marc Cebrain

See Failure 500+

Dave Pack: Failure 500. (Part 1)

 

Failure 500

If David C. Pack can be appreciated for anything, it is for his uncanny ability to completely fail at every turn at his most basic purpose. He is a consistently-documented failed apostle, failed prophet, and failed teacher. There appears to be nothing the Pastor General of The Restored Church of God cannot fail at openly and spectacularly.

The Kingdom of God did not arrive on Abib 1 (April 8, 2024) as he had been hammering for months.

David C. Pack rekindled his most recent Abib fetish during “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 487)” in December. At that time, Abib 1 in 2025 was the mistaken belief. He was so sure that he threw in a little blasphemy to prove his convictions.

Part 487 – December 23, 2023
@ 53:32 If the Day of the Lord comes on Abib, you’d have to have at least thirteen months in front of that. Or, you got lied to by God…

If Dave can do it once, he can do it twice.

@ 1:13:19 I’m just gonna tell you absolutely on God’s authority (I'll tell ya this much), and I'll tell you abso–I mean, just I I I will stand on this on this date: The Kingdom of God comes Abib 1 [2025].

Like all things David C. Pack, even after taking the Lord's name in vain, that did not last. Because Dave speaks on his own authori-tah and his god lies to him non-stop, a lack of sleep brought crystal clarity to the rushing know-it-all. The Big Deal Abib 1 came forward to 2024 during Part 491.

Part 491 – January 20, 2024
@ 1:38:38 But we now have a target date. So, lemme just explain. We’re looking at about, oh, 80-some days…whatever’s left from now till Abib 1.

It has been The Abib 1 Show since.

Part 492 – February 3, 2024
@ 29:33 This’ll tell you the Day of the Lord is absolutely Abib 1.

With Part 494, Dave graciously provided effective YouTube content.

 

Part 500 – March 23, 2024
@ 1:30:46 I believe Abib 1 to the same level I do the Sabbath, the Holy Days, tithing, unclean meats, or the very Gospel of the Kingdom of God or baptism by immersion or healing or the blessing of children. I put it right there.

Part 501 – March 30, 2024
@ 1:35:47 I can tell you that every space and every syllable in Daniel is unsealed, and you're supposta be at the time of the end. …I can you there’s nothing left to know.

@ 1:36:03 How could God wait another year? Daniel's not gonna grow more chapters or more spaces or more numbers. I know where they all fit, and so do you. And I know that they all fit off of an Abib 1. I can tell you that.

Even though Daniel was unsealed again and Abib 1 was compared to the Sabbath, Dave’s adamant beliefs did not survive the long journey to April 8.

Documented Failure Attempt #79 on the exrcg.org homepage was achieved when the Kingdom of God did not arrive on Abib 1. It was another notch on David C. Pack’s prophetic fraud belt with more holes than Swiss cheese. The man has made a career out of misunderstanding the Bible.

Before Abib 1 failed, everyone knew it was going to. I knew it. Dennis knew it. Gary knew it. Jessica knew it. Kevin knew it. Peter knew it. Every former Restored Church of God member knew it. Most current RCG members knew it. Believe me, Bradford Schleifer and Cardboard Denee knew it.

This time around, David C. Pack proudly knew it, too.

Pastor General David C. Pack of
The Restored Church of God
knew nothing would happen on Abib 1,
but withheld that from the church
until it was too late to matter.

He weaseled just in front of it to spare a bigger pie in his face during the next day’s total solar eclipse. This Pathetic Update slithered into email inboxes that Sunday evening.

April 7, 2024

Prophecy Update

Dear brethren,

We trust that this message finds you well!

The delay now appears it will be longer than we thought. Mr. Pack will explain it in great detail on Tuesday, April 9.

Be on the lookout for further communication tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Warm regards,
Church Administration

Even Jaco did not want to put his name on that one. Perhaps Salasi Jezhi drew the weekend short straw.

During “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 506)” on April 9, 2024, David C. Pack bragged about how he knew nothing was going to happen and spent the next 93 minutes selling the weakest excuses you can imagine while also planting the seeds for his annual “It has to be Passover!” delusion.

Part 506 – April 9, 2024
@ 05:36 Now, how did I know that Abib 1 was wrong?

@ 05:45 First of all, I didn't really discover it was wrong Saturday night and Sunday morning when I began to reinvestigate it. It wasn't the first time I had trouble. I wanna hold up a list of about 43 points I had developed, and it's “Uh, What If Uh April 8^th Passes?” I had a lot of problems with Abib 1. This list was produced…it would've been nine days ago.

@ 06:43 But I still…had not reached a point where I was convicted about Abib 1, so I wanna read to you.

@ 07:15 Now, remember, I was learning at Mach 20, delivering three messages in 28 hours, and I wish I'd had one more day to sort it out.

@ 07:53 One thing remains troubling (and here's my notes) deeply so to me in light of this delay, and I didn't wanna say what it was, but I suspect I know its length. If we are here Tuesday afternoon (and we are), I know exactly why, and I'll explain what I know. I suspect we will be here. Now, I had that as my conclusion until about an hour before I spoke on the Sabbath. And it had some to do with this list of doubts I had and concerns I had. And so, it wasn't entirely a shock to me that some things settled into my mind starting Saturday night.

David C. Pack tells you everything you need to hear for you to know whether he speaks the truth or not. You can discern if God is guiding him. You can perceive if he is moved by the Holy Spirit.

Based on just the first 150 seconds of his Abib 1 rejection sermon, David C. Pack revealed himself as an awful human being. He is a hypocritical, blaspheming liar, a false apostle preaching antichrist doctrines to a spiritually bankrupt organization.

He openly admitted to the brethren of The Restored Church of Another god:

·      David C. Pack knew nine days in advance but spoke anyway.

·      David C. Pack had a secret list of 43 points but spoke anyway.

·      David C. Pack delivered Parts 502, 503, 504, and 505, knowing that.

·      David C. Pack still spoke for six hours, one minute, and 46 seconds knowing that.

·      David C. Pack was “troubled deeply” but said nothing to the brethren.

·      David C. Pack wrote a conclusion expressing his concerns but cut it at the last minute.

·      Coward David C. Pack hid behind a nameless CAD email to inform the brethren. 

“The Greatest Unending Story!” is well into the 500s, and David C. Pack's failures will continue as they have.

 

Examining quotes from Parts 502-505 in this context will offer a unique perspective. Was the man simply mistaken, or is he a habitual liar? Was he trying to convince the brethren or convince himself?

Part 502 was already content-thin and a mostly skippable message. Fresh off his troubled discomfort, Dave avoided mentioning Abib 1 directly while still insisting time was short.

Part 502 – April 3, 2024
@ 00:18 More wonderful things keep coming to the front of the picture.

Wonderful things that would counterbalance the Abib 1 forty-three doubts.

@ 24:35 Jerusalem and Judah. Jerusalem and Judah. The trouble is there, which becomes an even more powerful proof there’s no way we’re going another year. It’s already over six months. You’re not gonna add twelve more.

@ 43:28 That’s why it to be so careful. And it’s this a just is just a challenge. And I’m not trying to make excuses, but I I, as I said, it's I I take great encouragement from what the prophets struggled with for longer than I have.

David C. Pack was trying to make excuses. He took great encouragement only to later admit how deeply troubled he actually was.

 

In Part 503, Dave made big promises for future messages, then focused on the completely pointless topics of the Bottomless Pit and identified the Two Witnesses as resurrected Haggai and Zechariah.

Nothing in this message helps a Christian spiritually improve to qualify to be part of the Kingdom of God. It was another example of David C. Pack wasting everyone's time teaching them what he thinks the Bible says today. Yet, still hiding his doubts of an Abib 1 fulfillment three days away.

Part 503 – April 5, 2024
@ 00:24 Per tomorrow, what if a proof so big and powerful existed that by itself locks in this year? Absolutely locks it in. While also revealing so much more than we we’ve ever saw. What if such a proof existed? I would have to give it its due diligence. Particularly, what if we've never seen or discussed it for one minute, and yet by itself, it's so big and powerful that it locks in it locks in completely this year?

The next big thing on the horizon is so impossible to dispute it cannot be argued against, and there is no way to deny the certainty of it.

David C. Pack has an awful habit of talking up the impenetrable nature of his next discovery, spending hours “proving it,” but later dismantling it in mere sentences.

During Part 503, Dave spent large portions preaching about his favorite topic: himself.

@ 54:38 In [Zechariah] Chapter 1:8, there are these four riders. One is Christ. One is Elijah. They’ve quieted the earth. …And I’ve explained in the past, this is Christ, Elijah, and two more, which, before the chapter is over, they’re called Four Carpenters.

@ 1:00:05 Ezra 5:1. Here’s what God says because, you know, Joshua builds the Temple as the Branch.

@ 1:05:33 Moses went to face Pharaoh and two others, three shepherds. He went with two prophets. One like him would go with two prophets, as well. Well, it not gonna be my brother and sister. I can tell ya that.

The voices in Dave's head are conflicted. He makes an accidental admission that is completely true but also soft-plants the idea that Abib 1 is not as solid as he has been preaching.

@ 1:11:04 So, if those [the Two Witnesses Haggai and Zechariah] iddn’t if that iddn’t true [chuckles] then, [chuckles] then I don't, and then I don’t know how to read the Bible. I wouldn’t know how to read the Bible.

@ 1:16:55 Now, regarding the message tomorrow, I wanna say it one last time. What if a proof so big and powerful existed that by itself locks in this year? You could take all the proofs we have of Abib and 2024, throw ‘em out the window and you’d be absolutely sure. And, as a bonus, it would reveal much more about God and His plan while also locking the year.

The brethren had to wait for Part 506 for their mistaken or lying Pastor General to “throw ‘em out the window.” But for the next few days, they were deceptively led to believe Dave was as convinced as they were.

Part 506 was an aggressive refutation of his own ideas and is worth listening to entirely. For those who would like to hear it, please write exrcgwebsite@gmail.com.

During Parts 504 and 505 is where David C. Pack really showed his true colors. He knew he was deeply troubled, he knew the list of 43 items was left sitting on the table in the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium, and he knew “nothing was gonna happen” on Monday. Yet, he held his unease.

"The Greatest Failures Ever Told!" Series is well beyond 500 Parts, with more coming.

Is David C. Pack a mistaken idiot, or is he a habitual liar? Read the following article to find out.

Marc Cebrian

See: Failure 500

Notes on the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15

The Council gathers; how it might have been.  (Fair Use)

 

Notes on the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15

By Scout

 

Preface

This is an excerpt from notes that I am making for myself on the disposition of the Law of Moses after Jesus.  While my account of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 accords with orthodox Christianity, it differs greatly from the Armstrongist interpretation.  I had hoped to find material on this topic in an archive of Armstrongist writings but could not locate anything documented.  I do recall oral interpretations of the Jerusalem Council from my WCG days.  The Jerusalem Council is an important event in church history that should not be neglected.  In it is found the view of the early church on the Law of Moses.  

Circumcision, the Law and the Council

Paul and Barnabas went through Asia Minor making disciples and establishing a congregational church infrastructure.  They taught in these churches and appointed elders.  This is chronicled in Acts 15:19-28.  But in the wake of all their missionary work, another group of men came along preaching a different gospel.  This group is broadly known as the Circumcision Party (Greek, tous ek peritomes, those of the circumcision).  Pulling together some fragments of information, one may determine that the group consisted of Jews who had some association with James in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:12) and who were in some cases Pharisees (Acts 15:5).  There is no evidence that they were in any way credentialed by James or the Jerusalem church.  

The congregations established by Paul and Barnabas would have been taught the Gospel (Acts 14:21).  These were Gentile congregations (Acts 15:12) but they apparently had some access to the Hebrew scriptures (Acts 15:21).  Other scriptures indicate that there were also some Jews in these early congregations.  The Circumcision Party was preaching to them that in order to be saved they had to 1) be circumcised and 2) keep the Law of Moses.  They were diligently trying to undo the work that Paul and Barnabas had done.  Paul and Barnabas opposed them vehemently (Acts 15: 2).  It is obvious from this sequence of events that Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel to these newly planted churches and the preaching did not include anything about being circumcised or keeping the Law of Moses.  This absence of the Law of Moses in Christianity engendered the conflict that led to the Jerusalem Council.  

It is worthwhile to consider the playbook that the Circumcision Party was following with these newly planted, mostly Gentile congregations.  These scattered congregations had a high view of Jesus.  The teaching of Paul and Barnabus would have assured this.  Jesus was the way to eternal life and the resurrection and participation in the divine nature.  And then the Circumcision Party sought out these congregations and brought them a different message.  It is impossible to know the precise message they brought but deductions can be made from Paul’s writings, especially Galatians.  They depreciated Jesus.  They said that Jesus was not the great person that Paul and Barnabus described.   In fact, salvation was not in Jesus alone.  Jesus was not an effective Savior. Christians would also have to qualify for salvation by being circumcised and keeping the Law of Moses.  This shifted attention away from the New Testament and back to the Law and the Prophets.  It also tipped the balance of power in the favor of traditional Late Second Temple Judaism and the Pharisees.  The new Christian Movement would become Judaized.  And if the effort were successful, the Phariseeism which was dominant in Judaism would also be dominant in Christianity.

The Circumcision Party seems to have been very persuasive in their anti-Christian operations in Asia Minor.  Paul pointed out to Peter that he buckled to this group in Antioch.  Paul observed to Peter that he lived like a Gentile.  Paul accused Peter and the other Christian Jews in the Antioch congregation of being hypocrites because they suddenly would not eat with Christian Gentiles.  Paul states that in their sudden return to the Law of Moses under the influence of the Circumcision Party, they stood condemned.  This is telling language – that taking up the Law of Moses again is worthy of condemnation.  Paul, taught by Jesus, believed that the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were abrogated as we know from his later writing.  But the Church as a whole had no official pronouncement on it. The work of Paul and Barnabas in Asia Minor occasioned the need for that pronouncement.  This was to prevent the newly established congregations from being pressured by two forces at work against Christianity: 1) the activities of the Circumcision Party and 2) the hostile effect of local Jewish synagogues (Acts 14:2, Acts 15:21).

[Note:  Paul was taught by Jesus personally and learned that the Law of Moses was cancelled.  Herbert W. Armstrong claimed to have been likewise taught by God in the Des Moines Public Library.  Yet, Armstrong came up with a view that contradicted Paul completely.  Paul taught salvation in Jesus alone with good works as a product of this.  Herbert W. Armstrong taught salvation in Jesus plus qualification through a lifetime of law keeping based on the doctrine that the Law of Moses is still in effect.  Paul taught that salvation was a real event in the life of the Christian now.  Herbert W. Armstrong taught that for the believer salvation was held in suspense until the believer’s life was over and judgment could happen.]

The outcome of the Council deliberations is that there were certain parts of the Law of Moses that Christians should observe with a particular sensitivity towards the Jewish community.  This would be in addition to the Law of Christ (later documented as the Sermon on the Mount and other behavioral principles found in the New Testament writings) as taught to them by Paul and Barnabus.  But it is important to notice that the Jerusalem Council did not discard the Law of Moses wholly.  This suggests that there would be some continuing value of the legislation in Christianity though not in soteriology. 

Excerpt Summation 

The Jerusalem Council was a milestone event in the cancellation of the Law of Moses as a pathway to salvation.  But the Jerusalem Council did not issue a blanket statement wholly discarding the Law of Moses.  It reflected, after all, the nature of God for a certain group of people during a certain time in history.  It had gravitas in other ways that will be addressed below.  [The further discussion “below” is not included in this excerpt.]

 

Note:  The photo at top is a picture of Mizrahi Jewish men having a discussion.  They are the most like ancient Jews in appearance.  I believe the artifact in the center is the scroll of the Torah wrapped in cloth.  I have chosen this because the art work showing scenes from the Bible in Western Christianity invariably portrays Western Europeans instead of Jews.