Where does the authority of Paul comes from?

Have you ever wondered how come Christianity, the biggest religion in the world, centered around the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, received its theology from the Apostle who never met Jesus, who wasn’t his disciple and never witnessed Jesus’ resurrection? Have you ever been suspicious of where does the authority of Paul comes from? Apostle Paul was not part of the original 12 disciples, he did not witness Jesus’ resurrection, he never learnt from Jesus, he was simply not there yet having such authority in early Christianity. How come?

The legitimacy of Paul has been a topic of debates ever since his appearance as a self proclaimed Apostle to the Gentiles. I am aware that this topic might be triggering to many people, because if the authority of Paul is false, then that would mean Christianity as we know it is also false. However, it is so important to challenge the foundation of religious system that perhaps keep billions of people in “error” for a sinister reason – to prevent their salvation.

In reality, when we examine Christian theology, we can see that Paul is in fact the creator of Christianity, which later converted into Catholicism, because Christianity is based mainly on Paul’s understanding of the events around Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul started the movement of the churches for the Gentiles which then spread across the globe. Now we have 31.6% of global population being Christian with 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, which makes Christianity the biggest religion in the world.

However, many people including myself see significant differences in the teaching of Jesus and teachings of Paul. This has started a Pauline theology:

“Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology (also Paulism or Paulanity), otherwise referred to as Gentile Christianity, is the theology and form of Christianity that developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by the Hellenistic – Jewish Apostle Paul through his writings and those New Testament writings traditionally attributed to him. Paul’s beliefs had some overlap with Jewish Christianity, but they deviated from this Jewish Christianity in their emphasis on inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s New Covenant and in his rejection of circumcision as an unnecessary token of upholding the Mosaic Law.” (source wikipedia) 

Apostle Paul appears in the Bible in the book of Acts, where we learn about his conversion and transformation. Originally Saul, he was a Jewish Pharisee who was persecuting early Christians. We also learn that he was full of hate towards followers of Jesus and eagerly persecuting them:

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Acts 9: 1-2

We can see that Saul was full of hate and resentment, which would mean he had unclean heart with unclean intentions. From the Bible we see this being a sin:

“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19: 17-18

As a devoted protector of the Mosaic Law and a Pharisee, this is something Saul should have been aware of to not breach and lead as an example. However a lot of Pharisees where only guards of the law from the outside and not actually walking the walk themselves. We see that Jesus was pointing this out, which made them angry:

“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show.” Matthew 23: 2-5

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23: 27-28

Jesus was clearly against this kind of behavior – outwardly following the law and correcting others, yet doing complete opposite what the law was asking to do. Jesus was clearly disliked by all Pharisees and viewed as their threat due to his religious movement and opening people’s eyes and with that lowering their authority. This is an important point because Paul was a Pharisee, which would make Jesus his direct enemy.

However, Paul had a heavenly and supernatural encounter with Jesus that changed him in a twinkle of an eye:

“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Acts 9: 3-9

There are few interesting facts from this conversion that I think we should challenge. First of all, Paul had no witnesses to his conversion with any testimonies. Yes, we read there were some men who journeyed with him and heard some voice, but we do not know what they actually heard and we have no witness testimonies to this event apart from the words of Paul. Therefore we can only hope that Paul wouldn’t want to deceive people to change his reputation as a hateful Pharisee and murderer of early Christians.

When it comes to witnesses and testimonies, God is very particular how important this is. Even God had witnesses to His creation, to His presence on earth and when God appeared Himself to Moses at Mount Sinai, there were witnesses who testified. God also appeared Himself to other Israelites and they all experienced the presence of the Lord, they all had testimonies. No one just believed Moses without any evidence or testimony. That is why God also warned in Deuteronomy:

“One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Deuteronomy 19:15

“You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.” Deuteronomy 13: 3-4

The second important factor is that when Jesus was leaving the earth, he highlighted that he goes to the Father and he will not come back until the appointed time:

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” Matthew 24: 26-27

Jesus knew that some will want to deceive others as soon as he will be gone, therefore he pre-warned his disciples that if anyone claimed that they saw Jesus, that Jesus appeared to them in any shape or form or even showed great signs – people should not believe. This warning wasn’t only reserved for the end times but at any time from the time of Jesus resurrecting to the time of coming back. If Paul claimed Jesus appeared to him, why Jesus did not pre-warn his disciples about selecting another Apostle? Why Jesus didn’t appear to one of his trusted disciples? And why would Jesus choose a Pharisee whom he was so against of, even if he wanted to redeem him? You really have to ask those questions and be suspicious.

And on the topic of redemption, we know that to be forgiven and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, one must repent and be baptized. We do not see in this conversion story that Paul immediately repented and apologized for his persecutions. We see he was “astonished” but not sorrowful and repentant. How come he received the gift of the Holy Spirit if the scripture says:

“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ” Acts 2:38

This makes me to believe that Paul could have been operating through a different spirit that was not a Holy Spirit. We see that Paul was breaking the law, he was full of hate towards Jesus who was against Pharisees and full of hate towards Jesus’ followers who he was persecuting, which makes this a perfect scenario for a demonic activity. Paul was also open with the fact that he was being tormented by demons:

“I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7

This should be concerning because if this was really demonic activity, then Paul could have been led by Satan himself to lead Gentiles into deception and error. We know that Satan could use anyone and even used Peter before, where Jesus recognized this straight away and demanded for Satan to go behind him. If Satan used Peter and Judas, he could have easily used Paul as well, especially knowing that Paul didn’t repent and was full of hate towards followers of Jesus with an unclean heart.

Another argument would be the location of Paul’s conversion – Damascus. Jesus also pre-warned his disciples about location, saying:

“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.” Matthew 24:26

Paul’s supernatural encounter happened on the way to Damascus, which is situated on the edge of the Syrian Desert. Moreover, prophet Isaiah prophesied against Syria and Damascus, where God warned:

“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.” Isaiah 17:1

During the reign of King Ahaz, Damascus was known as a place of the “gods of Damascus”. King Ahaz idolatry and unfaithfulness to God led to God’s judgement. Rather than repent, Ahaz sought to appease the gods who defeated him, the gods of Damascus. Not only this was idolatry, but he was ignoring the fact that Damascus had fallen to the Assyrians.

“He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.” 2 Chronicles 28:23

Why Jesus, knowing the scripture really well, would have chosen this location known as the location of the gods of Damascus to appear to Paul? Knowing about the idolatry of this location and pagan origins? This conversion of Paul’s trip to Damascus somehow mirrors the conversion of Muhammad and the start of the Qur’an. “Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira when he saw the Angel Jibril close Jibril. The angel Jibril (or Gabriel) is the angel who revealed the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammed”. Muhammad also didn’t have any witnesses or testimonies, yet people believed him. Both Paul’s and Muhammad’s encounters were private ones with no witnesses and testimonies. While I do not doubt that they both experienced some supernatural encounters, I am definitely doubting that they were of God.

Another interesting fact is that Paul specifically appointed himself to the Gentiles. Why Gentiles? Well, Paul knew he could not stand with the Jews, as they knew Torah very well. Gentiles on the other hand didn’t know Torah and could never correct him or object him. During Paul’s times of early Christianity, literacy was as little as 3%. People couldn’t read and write and they could only relay on someone else giving them information. For comparison, today we have 86.3% of people globally that can read and write. That’s an increase of 83.3%! and 2 thousand years of increased understanding, shaping consciousness and millions of writings, evidence and freedom of information. Today we have no blockages, the only blockage is our own understanding and our own interpretation of texts. Yet we are still battling with some understanding of Paul’s letters. Therefore imagine back then, 2 thousand years ago! How challenging it must have been for people and no one could challenge Paul because he had an advantage of education, literacy and knowledge of Torah.

Paul was clearly well educated, where his education was rooted in the Greek system. Paul’s writings were associated with thinkers like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Seneca – this shaped Paul’s theological arguments and his understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul’s education and philosophical understanding naturally transpired into his own teachings and understanding. His letters are full of philosophical approach and his interpretation of the events through the bias of his Greek education system. If today people are still analyzing, arguing and misinterpreting Paul’s letters, which were written almost 2 thousand years ago – imagine how it was for people back then with 3% literacy! Paul definitely used his education, lack of people’s literacy and lack of knowledge of Torah to his advantage.

That is why I question Paul’s sincerity, why Gentiles? Why separating himself from other disciples? Why taking on different approach to the teachings? The disciples of Jesus were simple and not educated men, clearly not deep thinkers. Peter was a fisherman and we don’t see any of other disciples’ writings apart from Peter, John and James. Why Jesus chose simple men to follow him and not well educated men who could preserve his message through various writings? Perhaps because Jesus wanted his message to be delivered in a simple way, without added philosophy, to reach out to more people and be more relatable.

Paul clearly separated himself from other disciples and took on different approach to them:

“But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” Galatians 2: 6-9

We also see that Apostle John was also suspicious of Paul because of this separation:

“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” 1 John 2: 19

“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1: 11-12

Paul is clearly having a difficulty to see any recognition in the disciples, who “whatever they were, it makes no difference to him” and who “seemed to be something added nothing to him”. He is elevating himself through the uniqueness of his encounter with the spirit and receiving the gospel, which according to him “neither received it from man, nor was I taught it“. It is clear that Paul is separating himself from the disciples’ ways, their messages, who “seemed to be pillars”, however his preference is his way and his gospel.

 “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” Romans 2: 12-16

We also cannot ignore the fact that Matthias was chosen as the 12th Apostle, making Paul the 13th Apostle, which is against the scripture as 12 representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

At the start of the book of Acts, we see the disciples gathering together to choose another Apostle to fulfil the scripture of 12 Apostles:

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.” Acts 1:12-18

However, there were few rules to this position:

“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” Acts 1: 21-22

“Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:24-26

Therefore Matthias has been chosen and filed the position of Judas and the group was complete. We can see Paul appeared much, much later where he was well known and active within the early Christianity as Saul – prosecutor of Christians.

“But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” Acts 8:3

So how did this happen, that from prosecutor of the church to the 13th Apostle who never fulfilled the rules of Apostleship, Paul was accepted by the disciples?

Did the disciples accepted Paul straight away?

The disciples were at first afraid of him due to his reputation as a persecutor of the followers of Jesus and they weren’t so quick to accept his transformation:

“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.” Acts 9: 26-28

Here we see Barnabas acting as Paul’s testimony, however Barnabas was not present at Paul’s conversion journey, therefore Barnabas only heard what Paul told him about the journey and convinced others about this event.

One of the arguments I’ve heard for the legitimacy of Paul is the fact that Paul was accepted by other disciples, who were filled with the Holy Spirit, therefore they couldn’t be in error. However, we see Peter rejecting Jesus three times, which makes him in error. Peter was just a man who can be in error, where God also warns:

“Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.” Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬

“Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭146‬:‭3‬ ‭

“Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?” Isaiah‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬

Paul did not cooperate with other disciples. He opposed teachings of Jesus, he opposed teachings of Peter and James, he appointed himself as a teacher to the Gentiles and used their lack of knowledge to his advantage. He knew he wouldn’t be able to deceive Jews because they knew the Law and Torah, however Gentiles who had no clue about the Law and the scripture were an easy target. He even confirmed of being “crafty”:

 “But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you?  I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?” 2 Corinthians 12: 16-18

We also see Paul constantly being challenged, questioned about his sincerity and not fully accepted by other Jews with his message:

 “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? ” Galatians 2: 11-14

Paul started quickly introducing his own rules, judging other disciples, pointing out “their hypocrisy” and convincing others that Jews have to follow the law but that does not apply to the Gentiles. And this has been the main topic of arguments between people even till today. This has caused division within Christianity and creation of different denominations due to different interpretations of this issue. To follow the Law or to not follow the Law? That is the question.

God clearly showed us that His covenant was an everlasting covenant, lasting forever and Jesus did not come to destroy the Law. The Law will be valid even in the new Kingdom of God.

“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.” Genesis 17: 7-9

“Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.” Malachi 4:4

 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5: 17-19

However, what we see Paul was doing is teaching everyone that the law is finished and no longer needed to be followed, especially by the Gentiles:

“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7: 6

“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Galatians 3:24

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;” Romans 3:20

Paul was discouraging from the Law by highlighting law’s ineffectiveness to receive any righteousness. In his eyes following the law was pointless if you can’t even reach righteousness so he was highlighting that only faith can save you.

‘”We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2: 15-16

Here I would like you to notice how Paul describes Gentiles, Jews are Jews but Gentiles are sinful Gentiles. It gives me a taste of his disgust towards Gentiles. This is a clear sign of his dislike towards the Gentiles and their lower status in his eyes.

Another point is that Paul was focusing on the location of Rome. He was focused on Rome and the Church there and wrote letters to Romans, which ended up being a foundational text of Christianity. Why Rome? A location of people who crucified Jesus? Jesus was perceived as a threat to the Roman empire by clamming to be the King of the Jews. Why would Paul chose this particular location for his teachings?

I don’t think it was random. Some believe Paul being a “secret Roman agent” and working for Roman empire. He was definitely Roman citizen and coming from a family lineage of the Pharisees, so I wouldn’t exclude that. But this is more of an assumption than a fact. But the fact is, his supernatural conversion in the twinkle of an eye was super suspicious. How come Paul changed so quickly and without repentance? God warned us that people do not change that quickly:

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.” Jeremiah 13:23

As much as we want to believe in a beautiful story of error and redemption, this however takes time, it’s not an overnight process and not a supernatural event like it was in the case of Paul. We are still human beings with our habits, our habitual thinking and our views that don’t change that quickly. We didn’t see Paul repenting and his humility towards his past actions. In fact Paul was quick to boast about his hardships and that he was chosen to preach to the Gentiles. And let’s not forget that he was 13th Apostle, which does not fit into the scripture!

How come we trust someone who only had spiritual revelations with no witness testimonies and who received the gospel by spiritual revelation? Paul never walked with Jesus, he never experienced Jesus in the flesh, he never learnt from other disciples about Jesus, how could he have full understanding of Jesus’ teachings and the gospel?

Paul seemed to believe that he was chosen, forgiven and this is where his authority came from – his own words only. His knowledge of Torah and the Law is somehow useless in his teaching to the Gentiles because he taught against the Law and Torah. If Paul was really chosen by Jesus, why Jesus didn’t appear to one of his disciples to pre warn about selecting Paul? How come he trusted Paul over other disciples to give this serious responsibility of teaching Gentiles to someone who was a Pharisee before, where we know Jesus was against Pharisees and to someone who never met him in the flesh? When it comes to comparing teachings of Jesus to the teachings of Paul, these are also two different stories.

You really have to ask yourself those questions and examine the foundation of religious systems who’s only goal is to keep people under control and in spiritual blindness relying on priests and churches. Jesus’ death and resurrection was a way to free us from those systems, where we have direct access to our Heavenly Father, without the need of priests and pastors. We have access to the Bible and the living word of God directly. If everything that we need to know is in the Old testament, why do we need Apostle Paul’s interpretation to understand? Paul’s education and Greek philosophical understanding naturally transpired into his own teachings. His letters are full of philosophical approach and his interpretation of the events through the bias of his Greek educational system. This gives a false message of salvation and a false doctrine with esoteric meaning. If Jesus was teaching out of Torah and he did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets, you have everything you need to know in the Old Testament and through Jesus’ sacrifice, you have direct access to God. You don’t need Paul or anyone else to translate this for you, you just need to ask God for understanding.

From this we see Paul’s legitimacy was questionable. People are afraid to question Paul because he is in the Bible and questioning Paul would mean questioning the word of God. However, you have to remember that God tests people:

“The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” Psalms‬ ‭11‬:‭5‬ ‭‬‬

The Lord tests the righteous and Paul is an ultimate test because you have to separate wheat from tares right in the Bible. Paul is the stop and wrinkle on the bridal gown, Paul is the wide gate with his gospel of grace. But ultimately this is personal journey of understanding and opening eyes to see. In your free time study those points below.

Why Paul is a FALSE Apostle:

1. Conversion on the way to Damascus had no witness testimonies, Barnabas that appears later haven’t witnessed the miracle, only heard from Paul directly (Acts 9:7-9)
2. God was clear that there needs to be two or three witnesses with testimonies (“A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬)
3. Matthias was chosen to replace Judas and to became 12th apostle, to become apostle one must have witnessed resurrection of Jesus (Acts 1:15-26)  
4. That makes Paul a 13th Apostle which contradicts scripture of 12 apostles. The number 12 was symbolic as it represented the twelve tribes of Israel
5. Jesus warned his disciples that he would not appear until the appointed time and especially not in the desert and Damascus is situated on the Syrian Desert (Matthew 24:26)
6. Damascus was known as the place of the gods of Damascus, the downfall of King Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:23) 
7. Why Jesus knowing scripture really well, would chose a place of pagan gods to appear to Paul? 
8. Paul was a Pharisee,therefore Jesus was Paul’s enemy because he was against Pharisees (Matthew 23:27-28)
9. Paul was prosecuting early Christians whom he hated so he broke the Law that he was an expert in as a Pharisee (Acts 9:1-2)   
10. Paul didn’t repent but was only “astonished” (Acts 9:6)
11. Because Paul never repented, he wasn’t operating in the Holy Spirit
12. Paul confirmed being tormented by the angel of Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7) 
13. Paul operated separately and not with disciples and on many occasions he belittled them (Galatians 2:6-9)
14. Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, never witnessed his resurrection, never learnt from Jesus (Galatians 1:11-12)
15. Apostle John warned about Paul (1 John 2:19) 
16. Paul was preaching the Law is finished (Romans 7:6)
17. He contradicted himself on many occasions and changed according to who he was talking to (Romans 7:12)
18. Jesus preached he did not come to finish the Law (Matthew 5:17-19) 
19. The Law is lasting forever (1 Chronicles 16:15-17) (Joshua 22:5) (Malachi 4:4)
20. Paul preached salvation through faith alone (Galatians 2:16)
21. Jesus preached it’s not only believe in him (Matthew 7:21) (John 14:12)
22. Paul preached to imitate him, not Jesus and compared himself to Jesus (Galatians 4:12-15) 
23. Paul preached according to HIS gospel (Romans 2:12-16)
24. Paul admitted to being crafty and cunning (2 Corinthians 12:16-18) 
25. Paul was questioned about finances by the church (2 Corinthians 11:8-10)
26. Paul criticised other disciples and created different rules to Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-14) 
27. God said all earth has the same rules (Isaiah 45:22-23) 
28. Paul seemed to have an inclusive knowledge no one else had, a mystery, however God was clear there are no secrets with God (1 Corinthians 15:51-54) (Luke 8:17) 
29. God warned us to only trust in His words, not a man’s words (Deuteronomy 13:3-4) 

By Dagmara Z.