The Cult of Paul

Fortunately for all those interested (Christians and non-Christians alike), there are two other
instances in the Bible where Jesus speaks to the nature of his Gospel – two instances where he
actually did so with remarkably clear specificity. The first of these two mentions is found in Matthew
10:7, where the NRSV Bible has him telling his disciples, “As you go forth, proclaim [this] Good
News: the Kingdom of Heaven is even now at hand.” 64 As such, this verse shows that the first portion
of Jesus' two-part Gospel is his contention that his followers are to focus not on the future but rather
on the Here&Now – essentially the truly good news that “The Kingdom of God is not coming with
things that can be observed; nor will they be able to say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ For,
in fact, the Kingdom of God is [already] within you” (Luke 17:20-21 – the only instance in the entire New
Testament where Jesus speaks both specifically and non-metaphorically about Heaven). Even more
importantly, the second facet of Jesus' Gospel is delineated in Matthew 24:12-14, where Jesus
describes how his followers (and indeed, the rest of humanity as well) could attain entrance into the
Kingdom of Heaven of which he so often spoke – saying, “the Love of many will grow cold, and yet
the one who endures [in Love] to the end shall be saved. And this Good News of the Kingdom will
be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations.” (see also Luke 6:46-49)
So in essence then, it can now be readily & clearly seen that whereas Paul's “gospel”
concentrated on tempting his adherents into “saving” themselves by worshiping Jesus as the Messiah
(the one & only Son of God – a status Jesus repeatedly denied & indeed firmly decried), Jesus' very different
“Good News” encouraged his followers to live fully blissful lives by selflessly Caring for others.
Indeed, as has been touched on previously, Paul was undeniably a man of faith 65 – believing without a
doubt that Jesus was the incarnate resurrected Son of God (see Acts 9:20, Acts 17:18, Acts 24:21, Romans
1:1-4, 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 2 Corinthians 4:5-6, & Colossians 3:1), that Jesus was the Messiah and as such
the one true source of spiritual salvation (see Acts 9:22, Acts 18:5, Acts 18:28, Acts 19:17, Acts 28:30-31,
& Colossians 2:8-9 et al), and that the only individuals who had access to said salvation were those who
worshiped Jesus Christ faith-fully – those who believed with their hearts and professed with their
mouths that Jesus was the Heaven-sent Savior of all those who adored him accordingly. For Paul, that
faith in Jesus' divinity was enough for salvation, and indeed that faith was the only viable path thereto
(see Acts 16:29-31, Acts 28:23, Romans 3:21-25, Romans 4:5, Romans 5:1-11, Romans 5:17-18, Romans 6:4-
5, Romans 7:22-25, Romans 8:1-11, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 14:8-9, & 2 Corinthians 5:14-15) …
Of course, Jesus would have none of such nonsense, renouncing any hint of his own special
divinity at every turn (see Mark 10:18, John 5:41, John 7:16, John 8:50-54, & John 12:44 et al). He
repeatedly told his followers that they possessed just as much divine potential as he did (see Matthew
5:9, Matthew 5:44-48, John 10:34-35, John 14:12, & John 14:20 et al), he rebuked disciples and demons
alike whenever they claimed that he was the Messiah – the one and only Son of God (see Mathew
16:20, Mark 5:7, Mark 8:30, Luke 4:35, Luke 8:28 & Luke 9:20-21 et al), and he rejected all temptations to
public reverence or personal leadership (see Matthew 20:28, Matthew 23:12, Mark 10:44-45, Luke 22:24-
27, & John 13:12-15 et al) – including calls from his followers to become king (a la John 6:15),
announcements from regional leaders that he was a king (a la Luke 23:3), and even promises of
immortality & unlimited royal power 66 from Satan himself (see Matthew 4:1-11 & Luke 4:1-13).
64 It is admittedly true that neither the majority of the ancient manuscripts nor the King James Version of the Bible
contain the words “this/the Good News” in this verse, and yet this does not make the NRSV (or any other similar
translations) inaccurate for inserting them. Indeed, the very same Greek word translated as “proclaim” (kerusso, here
conjugated as keryssete – Strong's #2784) is also found in Matthew 4:17's “Jesus began to proclaim: Repent, for the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”, Matthew 4:23's “Jesus went throughout Galilee … proclaiming the Good News of the
Kingdom”, & Matthew 9:35's “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages … proclaiming the Good News of the
Kingdom” – all verses relaying a similar message, all in similar contexts.
65 And this, despite his unusual (and seemingly contradictory) statement in Galatians 5:6 that “the only thing that counts
is faith enlivened by Love”, with the word translated here as “enlivened” being the Greek term energoumene (Strong's
#1754 – often translated as “working”) – a term that is without question one that describes operation, activity, &
accomplishment, not mere thought or feeling.
66 Interestingly, the very same gifts that were awarded to & received by the messianic “Son of Man” in Daniel 7:13-14.
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