Getting the New Testament Straight

 

"Matthew-Mark-Luke-John-Acts-Romans..." Nope     The very FIRST book of the NT is I Thessalonians with Galatians and I Corinthians to follow.    One of the "ah ha" moments of my understanding of the NT came when it dawned on me, through much study, that the majority of the NT is about the Apostle Paul and not Jesus.    Epistle Approx. Date Authorship 1 Thessalonians 49-51 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted Galatians 50-52 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted 1 Corinthians 54-56 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted Philemon Mid-50s or 63-64 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted Philippians 56-63 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted Romans 56-57 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted 2 Corinthians 57 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Generally Accepted Ephesians 70-90 C.E. Traditionally Paul, Disputed by Many Scholars Colossians 70-90 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Disputed by Many Scholars 2 Thessalonians 70-90 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Widely Disputed 1 Timothy 80-120 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Widely Disputed 2 Timothy 80-120 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Widely Disputed Titus 80-120 C.E. Traditionally Paul; Widely Disputed It is the story of Paul for the most part and his interpretation of Jesus, who for him was more hallucinatory and cosmic in nature than the Jesus brought down to Earth by the Gospels which came later after Paul died.  Galatians makes the dispute between the Jerusalem Apostles and Paul very clear.  They were not on the same page and did not preach the same Jesus. Paul notes that he learned nothing from them and that anyone that did not preach his version was to be accursed.  The traditional order of the NT books is deceptive and does not reflect historical realities. The impression that the Gospels were first then Acts leads to Paul is exactly reversed from reality. Simply put, Paul lived, wrote and died before any of the Gospels were ever written, including Acts. All his authentic, and only 7 are considered actually written by Paul, were written before the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Paul died around 65 to 68 depending.  Acts ends with Paul under arrest but not dead. Perhaps because the author did not know when Paul died or the circumstances were too embarrassing to put into the story.  Ephesians and Colossians are Pauline like but written after Paul died. It was not uncommon for a follower to write in the name of and in the style of Paul to convey what Paul may have said or taught if he were still alive, which he wasn't. 2 Thessalonians, I and 2 Timothy and Titus are considered by few to be written by Paul due to their late date. (See below) Hebrews, James, 1,2 3 John, Jude and Revelation came much later and were not Pauline.  James, with a theme of "show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works" may have been a rebuttal of Paul's views in Romans. James and Paul were not birds of a feather and did not flock together.  Many do place Revelation as a failed prophecy written in the Summer of 69 CE , and not into the 90's CE, to encourage those under siege to Rome in Jerusalem to hang in and that Messiah would defeat Rome in 3 1/2 years. As it turned out, the Romans defeated the Militant Jews and Zealot Christians in 3 1/2 years from 70 CE to 73/74 CE ending with the fall of Masada.  Revelation can also bee seen as presenting Paul, hated by the Jewish Christians, as the False Prophet and Apostle of Ephesus, which they are commended for rejecting by Jesus.   and Vespasian as the Beast of the Day destroying Jerusalem.  Big topic but fascinating and more reasonable a view.  ====================== So of the 13 books attributed to Paul, only 7 are authentically Paul.  The dating of Acts, which appears to tie the Gospels to Paul is in dispute.  https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/when-was-acts-written This article concludes Acts to have been written between 60 and not later than 70 CE The Gospels dating is widely disputed but placed generally between 66 and 110 CE, with Mark just before the Fall of Jerusalem and the rest after.  The earliest date Acts could have been written would be within a few years of the last recorded event in Acts, which takes place probably in CE 62. The latest date Acts could have been written would have been immediately prior to the first references to the book from other literature. Irenaeus (Haer. 3.13.3; 3.15.1) contains some indisputable citations, as does Justin Martyr in Dial. 103.19. They were writing around AD 160, so that the latest possible date is around AD 160. That gives us a range of possible dates between AD 60 and AD 160. ================= All this to point out that Paul comes first and his Christ was not earthly as portrayed in the Gospels yet to be written after his death. He knew no earthly Jesus, tells no stories about him and never quotes him because all that had yet to be written in the Gospels.  The Gospels are placed first in the NT to give the impression that Jesus came to Earth, lived, died and rose again. AFTER this comes Paul, real and forged in his name books,  and the Church writings. This is simply not so in the timeline of Paul.  In reality and after Paul, Jerusalem Falls and the Gospels and a pacified Messiah Jesus and Orthodox Judaism emerges from the rubble evolving into the Pauline/Gentile version rooted in Roman Catholicism, with the Reformation included,  to this day.  The Jewish Christian Church, under Peter, James and John falls into oblivion.

Crackpot Prophet Has Given His Permission To Teach Your Children About Dinosaurs! What a relief!

 

Where would we all be if we did not have crackpot COG leaders telling us what to believe and what not to believe? Why do they even think anyone cares what they think? 

This brings us to our favorite crackpot prophet, the Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel, the world's greatest storehouse of knowledge. 

Yesterday, he had to weigh in on dinosaurs and whether children should be taught about them. Who cares what he thinks? 

...yes there were dinosaurs before Adam and Eve. 

God had dinosaurs go extinct before He created humans in Genesis 1:27.
One should not be afraid to teach children the truth about God’s creation, including dinosaurs.
The Bible is true and is not unscientific.
Yes, you can believe the Bible and teach your children from it, as well as answer questions about dinosaurs.


Were Dinosaurs Prior to Adam & Eve?
When did dinosaurs live? The ‘National Catholic Register’ had an article by Stacy Trasancos titled ‘What Do You Say When Kids Ask About Dinosaurs?’ She brought up some dangers with the ‘young earth creationists’ and stated that dinosaurs were prior to Adam and Eve. Yet, she basically said that the first few verses of Genesis 1 should not be trusted. Yet, that is not the case. Does the Bible support any type of time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? Is there a gap symbol shown in the Masoretic text? Did the KJV and NKJV translator err in translating a disjunctive as a conjunctive? Must the earth only be about 6,000 years old? Is billions of years possible? Getting to dinosaurs themselves, do the fossil records support them being prior to a time of replenishment? Could dinosaurs have been destroyed by a ‘dark ice age’ or does the Great Flood of Noah’s time make the most sense? Did the old Worldwide Church of God bring up several facts that ‘young earth fundamentalists’ misunderstand and discount? Is the Bible scientifically reliable? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Celtic Throne: God's Final Warning To The World?

What if Celtic Throne really was Gerald Flurry’s final warning to the world? 

In this parody of the Philadelphia Church of God’s Irish dance production, 

the apocalypse has arrived — and the only way to survive is to dance and sing. 

Featuring AI-generated “Gerald Flurry” audio, satirical jabs at PCG prophecy culture, and clips from the Celtic Throne stage show, this short film pokes fun at how tithes and time are poured into “commissioned works” presented as spiritual messages.

This is the brilliant work of The Dispel on X.

Also, with more in-depth articles: The Dispel