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											<p><a href="/Audio/music-store-manager.html">Only Jesus</a> (great song by Big Daddy)</p>
<p><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/justjesus0ece-20">Just Jesus: His Living Words (2011)</a></p>
<p><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jesusonchurchstructure-20">Jesus' Words on Church Structure</a> by S. Rives</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jesusfocusedpublishers.com/"></a></p>
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<h2>Chapter Three: Must We Apply The Bible's Tests For a True Prophet to Paul?</h2>
<h3 class="Heading1">Test for Valid Prophets</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464128"></a> Only a true prophet from God can add text to the Bible. (Deut. 18:15.)  The Bible itself lays out the tests for such authorized additions to the  Bible. These tests are spelled out in Deuteronomy chs. 4, 12, 13 &amp;  18. A key test is that no prophet could be legitimate who tried to  "diminish" (subtract) any command previously given. (Deut. 4:2; 12:32  (quoted in inset).) This was true even if they had "sign and wonders  that came to pass." (Deut.13:1-5.) This is reiterated in Isaiah 8:20.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464131"></a> However, no Christian council or scholar has ever systematically applied  the Bible's tests for false prophets to any writing in our New  Testament. This is especially true when Paul's teachings are in  question. Of course, this is partly because other than for Paul, there  is no need to be concerned about canonicity. The apostles John and Peter  along with bishops Jude and James never say anything remotely  contradictory of Jesus. Yet, Paul is in a different category. Paul makes  statements at apparent odds with Jesus. For example, Paul says the law  is abolished while Jesus says this will not happen until heaven and  earth pass away. Matt. 5:18.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464132"></a> If the issue of a conflict between Paul and Jesus is raised, one  frequently hears a knee-jerk response. There is consternation that  anyone would want to test the canonicity of Paul's writings. `How can we  even consider throwing out half the New Testament!' There are murmurs  of shocked dismay. Yet, such a response presupposes an affirmative  answer to the very question posed: does Paul belong in the New  Testament?</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464133"></a> My answer to such a response is simple: if Paul truly belongs, then  prove it! Simply use the Bible's test for adding to Scripture and show  everyone that Paul passes its tests. Is this asking too much?</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464134"></a> The Bible insists that a Christian demand an answer. We are duty bound  to ask our Christian brothers: where is the proof that Paul is to be  treated as an inspired prophet? Where is the case Paul has ever been  tested and proven a true spokesperson of God by the rigorous demands of  Deuteronomy chapters 12, 13 &amp; 	18? No one wants to go there but the  Bible commands it!</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464153"></a>If these tests are to be ignored as to Paul in particular, then why do  you think a decade prior to Paul's entry into Christian circles that <em><strong> Jesus emphasized repeatedly that false prophets were to come</strong></em>? (<a name="marker=464154"></a>Matt. 7:15, 24:11, 24.) Why do you think Jesus warned us these false  prophets would come with true signs and wonders? So we would lower our  guard and never apply Biblical tests for false prophets? Why would <strong><em>Jesus  warn us these <a name="marker=464155"></a> false prophets would come in His name</em></strong>? (Mark 13:22-23). Wasn't Jesus  trying to encourage distrust of Christians who claimed to have a  prophetic office? How could we obey Jesus by refusing to apply the  Biblical tests of a true versus a false prophet to Paul? Did Jesus  provide us tests of orthodoxy so we would blindly accept someone like  Paul who came with signs and wonders (<em>i.e.</em>, healings, jails opening in  earthquakes, etc.)? Of course not. Jesus made no exception for Paul.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464158"></a> The <a name="marker=464156"></a> Bereans in <a name="marker=464157"></a> Acts 17:10-15 knew this. They tested a sermon by Paul																	  against Scripture. Yet, they had little written material available to  them. By comparison, today we are privileged to examine all of Paul's  letters. The Bereans only had a single sermon whose contents are  unknown. But if Luke presents the Bereans as<em><strong> doing something  appropriate</strong></em>, then why would we think we don't have to test Paul in the  same manner? We <em><strong>cannot</strong></em> just trust the Bereans'<em><strong> one-time test resolved  the issue for all time</strong></em>. Paul could become a <a name="marker=464159"></a> <strong><em>Balaam: an evil man converted into a true prophet who later apostasizes</em></strong>.  (For further discussion on the Balaam issue, see heading below <em>Paul Could Still Be A Balaam Who Initially Has True Prophecy</em>.) Just because Balaam passed the test for a true prophet  initially does not guarantee he remained forever a true prophet. Balaam  apostasized later and became a false prophet. Accordingly, the Bereans'  conclusion about Paul proves nothing. Rather, we need to follow their  example of testing Paul to see whether he seduces us from following the  commands from prior Scripture and known Prophets (including Jesus).</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464163"></a> We thus have an inescapable command from God to test Paul.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464164"></a> Moreover, we shall see Jesus reiterated these tests almost verbatim from  Deuteronomy. He intended us specifically to use them to test the  writings of anyone which the community wanted to add as inspired canon.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464165"></a> The first test of a valid prophet is they must make a specific prophecy  using the name of the Lord. (<a name="marker=464166"></a> Deut. 18:20-22.) If the speaker will not say God told them this secret  about the future, the alleged prophetic statement is insufficient to  validate the speaker as a true prophet even if it came true. The reason  for such strictness is the test has both a positive and negative side.  On the positive, if valid, we treat such a speaker's words as from God.  Thus, the speaker's words must squarely come within God's definition of  valid prophecy. On the negative side, we must impose the death penalty  if the speaker used God's name for a prophecy and it did not come true.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464167"></a> Therefore, if the speaker attributed as his source someone other than  God,<em> e.g.</em>, an angel alone was his source, we cannot impose the death  penalty on the speaker for false prophecy. We must follow Scripture  strictly. In this example, the speaker did nothing worthy of death  because he claimed his prophecy came from an angel alone, without God's  voice confirming it. Thus, unless the would-be prophet says thus sayeth  the Lord at some meaningful point as his source in conjunction with his  prediction, he cannot be a prophet in the Biblical sense if his  prediction just so happens to come true. For the same reason, if what he  said proves false and he did not ascribe his source to God personally,  we cannot kill him. Because he did not dare make the prophecy in the  Lord's name, he suffers no penalty. No risk, no gain. No risk, no loss.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464168"></a> Likewise, if the event is easily predictable, such as the sun will come  up or a plane will safely weather a storm, there is nothing highly  improbable in such an outcome. The predicted outcome, while not  guaranteed, is predictable. It has a significant probability it would  have happened anyway. The Bible says such predictions are not prophetic  material. Jeremiah chapter 28 tells us that predictable events are no  basis to regard their prediction as true prophecy.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464172"> 1</a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464173"></a> In summary, divine prophecy implies necessarily that the prediction must  be something specific and highly improbable that only God would know.  If it does not happen, the false prophet is to be killed. Of course, to  repeat, the would-be prophet had to first use the words <a name="marker=464174"></a> thus sayeth the Lord or an equivalent, e.g., Jesus claimed to speak as I  AM Himself (John 8:58). The speaker must clearly claim divine  inspiration from God Himself for a highly specific and unlikely  prediction. Otherwise, imposing a death penalty would be unjust. (<a name="marker=464175"></a> Deuteronomy 18:20-22.) However, once exposed as false prophecy, God  says: "Thou shalt not be afraid of him." (<a name="marker=464176"></a> Deut. 18:22.) The necessity to follow this testing of their words comes  from the command to not add to canon (Deut. 4:2) unless it passes the  Bible's test for valid prophecy.</p>
<div>
<h1 class="Heading1"><a name="pgfId=464177"></a>
<div></div>
</h2>
<h3>Second Level Test: False Despite True Prophecy and Signs</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464178"></a> The Bible then has a second level test. Jesus clearly repeats this test.  (<a name="marker=464179"></a> Matt. 7:15, <a name="marker=464180"></a> 24:11, 24.) It is set forth in Deuteronomy 4:2 and 13:1-5. A false  prophet can include someone who tries to "diminish" the words of a prior  validated prophet. (Deut. 4:2.) While a valid prophet can add to  Scripture (Deut. 18:15), he is invalid if he "diminishes" from prior  Scripture. (Deut. 4:2.) Thus, the Bible warns that even if someone comes  with what otherwise appears to be valid true prophecy, they are invalid  if they "diminish" the words of a prior valid prophet. Deuteronomy  13:1-5 teaches if they come with true <a name="marker=464181"></a> "signs and wonders" which "come to pass," they are still a false prophet  if they thereafter try to "seduce you from the way in which the Lord  your God commanded you to walk." (<a name="marker=464182"></a> Deut. 13:5.) This is reiterated in Isaiah 8:20, which states: "To the  Law [of Moses] and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this  word, it is because there is no light in them." (KJV). Thus, God tells  us one who teaches contrary to the commands in the Law is a false  prophet despite his having true prophecy and real signs and wonders. As  Barnes comments on Isaiah 8:20: "By this standard all doctrines are  still to be tried."</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464184"></a> <a name="marker=464183"></a> Balaam is an example of this type of prophet. At one point he provides  true prophecy that indeed came from God. He was filled by the Holy  Spirit during those times. (<a name="marker=464185"></a> Numbers 24:1-2.) However, later he teaches people it is permissible to  do acts which the Law flatly prohibits. He tells them they can eat meat  sacrificed to idols and they can commit fornication. (Numbers 31:16;  Rev. 2:14.) Thus, he is a false prophet under the <a name="marker=464186"></a> Deuteronomy 4:2 and 13:1-5 test. Despite this kind of prophet being  inspired for a time, you must ignore everything he thereafter said. You  must brand him a false prophet once he ever tries to "seduce you from  the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk." (<a name="marker=464187"></a> Deut. 13:5.) (For a full discussion on Balaam, see Chapter Seven.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464191"></a> Thus, Balaam went from a true prophet to a false prophet solely by the  content of his teachings.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464193"></a> <a name="marker=464192"></a> God explains why he allows such men to speak prophetically and have  signs and wonders "that come true." God allows them to come to seduce  you as a test of your Love for God. The Lord explains this precisely in <a name="marker=464194"></a> Deuteronomy 12:32-13:5:</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464195"></a> Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to<em><strong> nor take away from it</strong></em>. If a<strong><em> prophet</em></strong> or a dreamer of dreams arises among  you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and <em><strong>the sign or the wonder comes  true, concerning which he spoke to you</strong></em>, saying, `Let us go after other  gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' you shall not  listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for <strong><em>the  Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God  with all your heart and with all your soul</em></strong>. You shall follow the Lord  your God and fear Him; and you shall <em><strong>keep His commandments</strong></em>, listen to  His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer  of dreams shall be put to death, because he has <em><strong>counseled rebellion  against the Lord your God</strong></em> who brought you from the land of Egypt and  redeemed you from the house of slavery, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>to seduce you from the way in  which the Lord your God commanded you to walk</strong>.</span> So you shall purge the  evil from among you. <a name="marker=464196"></a> (ASV.)<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464406"> 2</a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464200"></a> If some would-be prophet seeks to "seduce" us "from the way in which the  Lord your God commanded you to walk," you must reject him. His god  cannot be the true God. His god must be an idol even if he calls on  Yahweh. This is true even if he comes with <a name="marker=464201"></a> signs and wonders. God tells us to ignore such a prophet's words or  otherwise we are joining his rebellion. Isaiah instructs us to apply a  similar content-oriented test to determine a true prophet.</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464202"></a> [Compare teachers] [t]o the Law and the Testimony [and], if they speak  not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them. (<a name="marker=464203"></a> Isaiah 8:20).</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464205"></a> Norman <a name="marker=464204"></a> Geisler, a conservative Christian scholar and President of the Southern  Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, concurs on the essential meaning of  Deuteronomy. He agrees that if Paul seduces us from following what God  already commanded in previous Scripture, he must be rejected:</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464206"></a> [A]ny teaching about God contrary to what the people already knew to be  true was to be rejected....<em><strong>If the teaching of the apostle [Paul] did not  accord with the teaching of the Old Testament, it could not be of God</strong></em>.  (Norman Geisler, "The Canonicity of the Bible, Part One," <em>Baker  Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics</em> (Baker Book House: 1999).)[<a href="http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/historical-Jesus/DaVinci/PDF/The-Canonicity-of-the-Bible.pdf">reprint</a> at 5, hosted at Ankerberg.com]</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464207"></a> Thus, if any New Testament writer tries to seduce us from the way in  which God commanded us to walk in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Bible  brands him a false prophet. Geisler, a conservative defender of  Scripture, agrees that Paul must be measured by whether his words accord  with what God commanded in the original Hebrew Scripture.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464210"></a> Jesus says so likewise in <a name="marker=464208"></a> Matthew 7:15-23 and <a name="marker=464209"></a> 24:11, 24. So does Deuteronomy 4:2 and 13:5.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464212"></a> As to Paul, the <a name="marker=464211"></a> Bereans were on the right path. They compared Paul to Scripture. (<a name="marker=464213"></a> Acts 17:11.) The Bereans simply did not have the later words of Paul.  They did not have access to Paul's letters that we do. Paul's later  words must be tested by Scripture that God delivered by the prophets  before him. Paul's words must also be tested by the words of Jesus who  is both Prophet and Lord.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464215"></a> <a name="marker=464214"></a> Before we examine this Deuteronomy test, let's see what test is commonly  used instead.</p>
</div>
<div>
<h1 class="Heading1"><a name="pgfId=464216"></a>
<div></div>
</h2>
<h3>Does Paul Get A Free Pass Because of His Fiery Spirit, Zeal, and Long  Acceptance?</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464217"></a> When it comes to the question why was the canon put together to include  Paul, Paulinists typically give unbiblical justifications. They retreat  to a justification of inclusion based on our feelings, our perception of  a good purpose, and long tradition. These grounds are set forth as an  independent test which can validate something as canon despite the  writing not otherwise satisfying the proper Biblical test.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464219"></a> For example, <a name="marker=464218"></a> Josh McDowell in his famous <em>Evidence that Demands a Verdict</em> says the <a name="marker=464220"></a> criteria for New Testament canon are: "Is it authoritative....  prophetic.... authentic.... dynamic? Was it received, collected, read  and used...?"<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464223"> 3</a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464224"></a> However, the only proper test in the Bible is whether the prophecy:</p>
<ul>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464225"></a> Was a predictive prophecy of an unlikely event;</li>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464226"></a> Was made in the name of the Lord;</li>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464227"></a> Came true; and </li>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464228"></a> The would-be prophet's teachings at all subsequent times are 100%  consistent with prior tested and tried Scripture, and do not negate any  commands in such Scripture. </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<h1 class="Heading1"><a name="pgfId=464229"></a>
<div></div>
</h2>
<h3>The Origin of McDowell's Test</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464230"></a> Where did the Josh McDowell test come from? Such a criteria to assess  canon clearly first appears in a work called the <a name="marker=464231"></a><em> Shepherd of Hermas</em>. This work was written near 125 A.D. The Shepherd was  part of Christian canon for about two hundred years thereafter. In the  <em>Codex Sinaiticus</em> from the late 300 A.D. period, the <em>Shepherd</em> was printed  right after the book of Revelation. Numerous church leaders said it was  "divinely inspired."</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464232"></a> The <em>Shepherd</em> taught in what it calls the <em>Eleventh Commandment</em> that "a  true prophet" is someone who changes their hearers for the better, whose  message is lofty, and who is meek and peaceable himself. By contrast,  the false prophet will "shun" teaching the righteous. His listeners will  be as empty as before they heard their message.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464235"> 4</a> Under this loose test of the prophetic, the <em>Shepherd</em> itself was allowed  to pass into the NT canon for two hundred years of early Christianity.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464236"></a> However, then in the late 300s, the <em>Shepherd</em> began to be dropped from  canon productions. It was removed apparently because it said adultery  could be forgiven. Tertullian had in the 200s insisted the book should  be removed from canon for this reason. He said its position on adultery  being a pardonable sin was impious. The <em>Shepherd</em> then disappears from  Christian canons beginning in the 300s. It never returns.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464237"></a> This adultery-as-unpardonable principle may seem an odd criteria to  determine canon. However, it is the very same reason why pious  Christians in the 300s tampered with Jesus' words in John 7:53-8:11.  This is the passage where Jesus pardons the woman accused of adultery.  Most versions of John's Gospel in the era of the 300s removed this  passage. Augustine in 430 A.D. skewers them for deleting the text.  Augustine mentions his contemporaries wrongly thought Jesus could not  forgive the woman charged with adultery.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464241"> 5</a> As a result of this deletion, most of us have read the NIV's note which  says the most "reliable" manuscripts of that era omit the passage.  While the manuscripts that delete this are generally reliable, this  particular deletion is not itself reliable. What this demonstrates is  the removal of the adultery passage in John coincides with the departure  of the Shepherd from canon. The reasoning behind both changes are  identical. A false Christian piety grew up in the 300s which not only  threw out the Shepherd, but also deleted words of our Lord.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464243"></a> This history is important on the issue of canon formation. While the  <em>Shepherd</em> properly was excluded from canon in the 300s, it was removed  for the wrong reason. The right reason is that it was not prophetic. It  lacked a predictive prophecy to validate it. Also, it contradicted  Deuteronomy on how to define and recognize a prophetic statement. The  <em>Shepherd</em> was a false prophetic work. Yet, the <em>Shepherd</em> was rejected on  the wrong-headed notion that adultery was an unpardonable sin. The same  wrong-headed thinking caused Jesus' words in John 7:53-8:11 to be cast  off in the 300s by sincere well-meaning but misdirected Christians.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464244"></a> As a result, when the <em>Shepherd </em>was ejected, it already had spread its  erroneous notion about what is prophetic. During those two-hundred early  years (125-325 A.D.), the <em>Shepherd</em> was accepted as a divinely inspired  message. It redefined the test of what is prophetic canon. Then when the  <em>Shepherd</em> was ejected, it unfortunately did not cause anyone to  re-evaluate the notion of how to define valid prophetic canon.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464245"></a> The <em>Shepherd</em>'s test of canon is the same as Josh McDowell's test quoted  above. Under this test, we use our subjective impression of how  authoritative it feels to us. We look to see if it has a positive  effect, as we subjectively evaluate it.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464246"></a> If presence in canon implied early-on that a book was `inspired', then  the clearest proof of the effect of the <em>Shepherd</em> on early canon lists is  the presence of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It actually was written by <a name="marker=464247"></a> Barnabas.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464250"> 6</a> Then what explains its presence in the NT canon of that era even down  to the present time? There is no prophecy in Hebrews. There is not even  apostolic authority involved. The only test that justifies its inclusion  comes from the Shepherd's loose canon test. The Epistle to the Hebrews  is inspiring, lofty, and can change its hearers. Otherwise, it has  nothing to justify any kind of inclusion in the NT canon. It passes the<em> Shepherd</em>'s test of prophetic. However, nothing from the word of God  endorses the inclusion of the Epistle to the Hebrews in our NT canon.</p>
</div>
<div>
<h3><a name="14479"></a> Did Paul Have A Predictive Prophecy in The Lord's Name Come True?</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464253"></a> This leads us back to our main point. Under Deuteronomy, if we examine  what belongs in the New Testament, there is no case to add anyone to  canon except Jesus. He alone made a significant prophecy that came true,  <em>i.e.</em>, the fall of the Temple at Jerusalem and His own resurrection.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464255"></a> <a name="marker=464254"></a> Paul, by contrast, has merely one arguable prophecy that came true.  However, the claim for it is weak. In the middle of a terrible storm,  Paul claimed an angel, without God simultaneously present in the vision,  told him that no one would lose their life in a ship crash. However, he  predicted the ship would be lost. (Acts 27:22-25.) Paulinists never  cite this as an example of Paul's predictive prowess. This is because in  the same context, Paul's lack of constant inspiration is also exposed.  Why? Because when Paul brought the warning initially, he said the  opposite.</p>
<p class="Body"><a name="pgfId=464273"></a> <a name="Marcion Faith alone"></a></p>
<div>
<map name="chapter 3html-4">
</map>
</div>
<p class="Body"><a name="pgfId=464292"></a> See Table 1 below.</p>
<table>
<caption>
<h6 class="TableTitle"><a name="pgfId=464276"></a> <a name="20618"></a> Paul's Words Are Not Always Prescient</h6>
</caption> 
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>
<p class="CellHeading"><a name="pgfId=464280"></a> <em> Paul Predicts Loss of Life</em></p>
</th> <th>
<p class="CellHeading"><a name="pgfId=464282"></a> <em> Paul Predicts No Loss of Life</em></p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464284"></a> Acts 27:10</p>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464285"></a> [A]nd said unto them, Sirs, I perceive (theoreo, perceive with the eyes,  discern) that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of  the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.</p>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464286"></a></p>
</td>
<td>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464288"></a> Acts 27:22-24</p>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464289"></a> (22) And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no  loss of life among you, but only of the ship.</p>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464290"></a> (23) For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am,  whom also I serve,</p>
<p class="CellBody"><a name="pgfId=464291"></a> (24) saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God  hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464293"></a> More important, Paul claims the source of this second contradictory  prediction is an angel who relays God's decision to save all on board.  This takes away from it any claim that it is a prophecy at all. To be a  prophecy that can be valid, it must take a risk of being a prophecy that  is invalid. To be a prophecy of such kind, it had to be In the Name of  God (Yahweh or `I am')<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464296"> 7</a> Somewhere, there must be a claim God was present giving confirmation of  the angel's words. We read in Deuteronomy 18:20-22:</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464297"></a> (20) But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name,  which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the  name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464298"></a> (21) And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which  Jehovah hath not spoken?</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464299"></a> (22) when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow  not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken:  the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of  him.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464300"></a> Thus, had Paul's prediction been false, Paul could not fall under the  false prophecy penalty of death in the Mosaic Testament. This is because  the prophet must claim the prophecy is going to come true in God's  name:"Thus speaketh Yahweh...." or some equivalent.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464303"> 8</a> If it is attributed directly to an angel without God simultaneously  present in the encounter, it does not qualify. By claiming instead it  will come true and you use God's name, the prophet-claimant thereby  takes the risk that if his words do not come true, then he can be  regarded as a false prophet and be put to death. That's obviously why  the old prophet in 1 Kings 13 carefully attributed his false prophecy to  an angel alone. It spared his life.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464304"></a> This requirement of using God's name arises from practical reasons. If  the `prophecy' had not come true, Paul would have been able to say `some  darker angel' must have given him the message that proved untrue. `The  angel deceived me.' There is wiggle room to avoid the death penalty if  his prediction had proven untrue. Thus, to make a valid prophecy, one  must by definition not only have a prophecy that comes true, but one  must in advance say the message is directly from God. You cannot receive  the reward of recognition as God's prophet unless one is willing to use  His name initially in giving the prophecy. "No pain, no gain" embodies  the principle. Thus, if one claims an angel gave it, and you do not  claim it came with God's direct presence, it cannot be treated as a  valid prophecy ab initio even if it later happens to come true.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464305"></a> This brings up a second problem with Paul's prediction about the storm  as prophecy. Angels in the Hebrew Scripture make birth announcements and  explain visions of the future with God present. They are heralds of a  very limited nature. For example, in Daniel, they show and explain  visions of the future with the "Son of Man" (Jesus) present. They speak  God's words only when God is described as simultaneously present.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464308"> 9</a> Paul's attribution of predictive words to an angel without God present  in the vision is therefore most peculiar.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464309"></a> In sum, the prediction Paul makes in Acts chapter 27 suffers from  several defects:</p>
<ul>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464310"></a> It does not predict an outcome that is so highly unlikely that absent  God's foresight it would be unimaginable.</li>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464311"></a> It is not in the name of Yahweh or an equivalent expression. It is  attributed to an angel without God present.</li>
<li class="Bulleted"> <a name="pgfId=464312"></a> It attributes to an angel a predictive statement that angels did not  make in the Hebrew Scripture outside of birth announcements or in vision  presentations with God simultaneously present.</li>
</ul>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464314"></a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=466035"></a> Yet, even if we grant this one prophecy as validating Paul as a prophet,  he could still become like Balaam who prophesied with the Holy Spirit  but later apostasized. Thus, one cannot rest Paul's validity solely upon  the claim this `angel-vision' mentioned in Acts chapter 27 is prophecy.</p>
</div>
<div>
<h3>Paul Could Still Be A Balaam Who Initially Has True Prophecy</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464317"></a> To be a true prophet, Paul must prove also not to offer teachings that  negate what came before. (Deut. 4:2; 13:1-5.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464318"></a> Jesus was completely consistent with what came before. Jesus upheld  every jot and letter of the Law, and insisted upon an ongoing necessity  to teach and follow the Law. (<a name="marker=464319"></a> Matt. 5:18.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464320"></a> Consequently, Jesus' words qualify as (a) prophetic (i.e., predictive  and confirmed); (b) valid (i.e., consistent with and never negating what  preceded); and (c) in the name of I am because Jesus claimed to be I  am. (<a name="marker=464321"></a> John 8:58.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464322"></a> By contrast, Paul's predictive statement is certainly not invoking  Yahweh's name. Instead, Paul relied upon an angel alone. Even if Paul  had a prophecy in God's name, there is a substantial question whether  Paul's words were also valid, i.e., consistent with and not negating  what preceded. Paul must be examined to determine if he started true,  turned false and apostasized later. The example from history that proves  this is a correct test of Paul is the story of Balaam. Despite Balaam  prophesying with the Holy Spirit (Numbers 24:1-2) and believing in the  Coming Messiah (Christ) to rule the world (Numbers 24:17), Balaam later  apostasized and was lost!</p>
</div>
<div>
<h3>Balaam's Star Prophecy of Messiah (1290 B.C.)</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464324"></a> Most Christian commentators acknowledge the false prophet Balaam did  originally give true Messianic prophecy in the <a name="marker=464325"></a> Star Prophecy. (See <em>Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge</em>, Wesley, Henry,  JFB, and Gill.) This is why Matthew identifies the Magi following the  star to Bethlehem. (Matt. 2:1, magos.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464326"></a> Let's see how amazing is Balaam's prophecy of Numbers 24:17 to realize  how Balaam was a true prophet of Christ at one time but																	 																																																																								 																																																																								 																																																																								 																															 who later turned false. In Numbers  24:17, we read Balaam's words:</p>
<p class="Quote" style="padding-left: 30px;"><a name="pgfId=464327"></a> I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there shall step  forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and  shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of  tumult. (ASV).</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464328"></a> Friedman, in the modern Jewish translation, renders the first key part  "a star has stepped from Jacob...." (<em>Commentary on the Torah, supra</em>, at  511.) The "scepter" implied this star would identify a new king. The  last part on someone ruling the "sons of tumult" was interpreted by  ancient Jews as meaning "rule the world." The <em>Targum of Onkelos</em> from  circa 150 A.D.--the Aramaic interpretation of the Law--restates this  passage to have a Messianic application: "a king shall arise from the  house of Jacob, and be anointed the Messiah out of Israel." Clearly,  Numbers 24:17 was deemed a Messianic prophecy by Jews long before Jesus  appeared.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464347"> 10</a></p>
<div>
<h3 class="Heading2"><a name="pgfId=464348"></a> Balaam Was Not Saved Despite Believing in Messiah To Come</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464350"></a> The fact Balaam uttered a <a name="marker=464349"></a> Messianic prophecy has important meaning in salvation doctrine. It  answers the question whether believing in a Messianic prophecy and  knowing about Christ, as did <a name="marker=464351"></a> Balaam, saves you. Balaam's destruction at Moses' request proves such  belief alone did not save Balaam. Yet, indisputably, Balaam was one of  the first under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to believe in and  prophesy specifically about the Messiah. He saw Christ and believed in  Him. Yet, Balaam later apostasized by teaching Jews that they could eat  meat sacrificed to idols and they could fornicate. (Num. 31:8, 16; Rev.  2:14.) (See Ch. 7.) Balaam clearly became lost. (Rev. 2:14.)</p>
</div>
<div>
<h3 class="Heading2"><a name="pgfId=464355"></a> Why Do Paulinists Ignore Balaam's Prophecy?</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464356"></a> Why would Paulinists not want to focus upon this amazing Messianic  prophecy in Numbers 24:17? You rarely hear any discussion of it in  Paulinist-oriented congregations. It actually is necessary to know about  this story to make sense of why the Magi arrived at Bethlehem and why  they were following a star. There is no excuse to not help people  understand the Star of Bethlehem and its key role in the nativity.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464357"></a> This prophecy is ignored for three reasons. First, it shows how one of  the most amazing inspired prophecies of Messiah came from a man who  later apostasizes and is certainly lost. Such a possibility is denied by  <a name="marker=464358"></a> eternal security advocates, relying principally on Paul for their  teaching. Thus, any mention of Balaam's prophecy causes embarrassment to  proponents of eternal security.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464359"></a> Second, the background on the Star Prophecy shows that people steeped in  error and pagan practices, like the Magi, could still hold onto true  Messianic prophecy of the Bible. Yet, believing in Messianic prophecy  did not make them saved Christians. It likewise does not make someone a  Christian who thinks they can believe the intellectual side of a  prophecy with no change in the heart. The Magi's doctrines (<a name="marker=464360"></a> Zoroastrianism) taught them they were saved if they used the right  verbal formula for belief, known as a mantra. They also believed they  could pray to those in the afterlife. (Lucian, Mennipus 6-9.) Their  teachings about mantras thereby violated the Law given to Moses, which  preached salvation by repentance from sin, atonement, and faithfulness.  Moreover, the Magi's teachings about talking to the dead also violated  the Law given to Moses. (Deut. 18:11; cf. Isaiah 8:19; 19:3.) Thus, for  those steeped in eternal security, it is difficult to mention the Magi  were unsaved people who believed in Messianic Prophecies.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465387"></a> Lastly, the Magi (from Babylon) in Matthew 2:1 make us uncomfortable for  another reason. Their presence proves how Jesus wanted us to understand  the symbolism of Babylon in the Book of Revelation. The Magi of Babylon  came from a culture steeped in a certain type of doctrinal error. They  must have correctly worshipped the God of Daniel. First, Nebuchadnezzar  acknowledged Yahweh. Lastly, King Darius also later specifically decreed  that "the God of Daniel" was the true God and that his entire vast  empire had to acknowledge this. (Dan. 4:34-37; 6:26). Thereafter, Daniel  obviously had ample opportunity as the chief officer over the Magi to  inculcate faith in the true God among the Magi. (Dan. 6:1-2.) Based on  Matthew 2:1's mention of the magos (Greek for magi), there is every  reason to be believe this Jewish component of Babylonian religion  continued. Babylonian religion must have absorbed this as part of  Zoroastrianism--a monotheistic religion. In it, Daniel's God must have  continued to be their one true God for some significant period.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464429"></a> So what does Babylon represent? A pagan religion? No! <a name="marker=464365"></a> Babylon represents a faith with the right emphasis on the true God and  the true Christ but adulteration by adding salvation and legal  principles at odds with God's Law.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465393"></a> How do we know the Magi had the right emphasis on the true Christ? That  they were waiting for Messiah's birth?</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464460"></a> Because Babylon's spiritual &amp; political leaders (the Magi) were  clearly aware of Daniel's prophecy of Messiah's date for being cut-off  (i.e., killed). (Dan. 9:25-26.) Daniel was the chief of the Magi, by  appointment of the king (Dan. 6:1-2). Thus, Daniel's prophecy would be  well-known by the Magi. This prophecy, uttered in 604 B.C., said the  Messiah shall come and be cut-off after sixty-nine "periods of sevens"  (viz., a sabbath cycle of seven years)<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=464446"> 11</a> -- 483 years -- from the "order to restore and to build Jerusalem."  (Dan. 9:25-26.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464480"></a> The <em>Jewish Encyclopedia</em> says this order went forth in 444 B.C. Nehemiah  "arrived in Jerusalem in 444 BCE with an appointment as governor of  Judah... [and his] first action was to rebuild... Jerusalem [including  the temple]." ("Nehemiah," <em>The Jewish Encyclopedia of Judaism</em> (1989) at  520.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464484"></a> What year could the Magi deduce Messiah's being cut-off?</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465412"></a> The year 33 A.D. The Jewish calendar year is a lunar-based year. There  are only 360 days in the "year" of which Daniel is prophesying. Daniel's  prophecy of 483 lunar years thus represents 173,880 days (483 x 360).  This equates to 476 solar years in our calendar. If you subtract 476  years from 444 B.C., you hit square on 33 A.D. How amazing!</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465175"></a> Thus, from Daniel's prophecy, the Magi would know the date of the  Messiah's being cut-off is 33 A.D. The Magi then could piece this  together with the Star Prophecy of Balaam to determine his approximate  time of birth.</p>
<h3 class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465431"></a> How did the Magi know of the Star Prophecy?</h3>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465325"></a> Again, the Magi no doubt were also trained by Daniel in the Messianic  Star Prophecy from Numbers 24:16-19. Daniel mentions his continued use  of the Law of Moses while living in Babylon. (Dan. 9:11-13.) Daniel  would then have shared this Star Prophecy in the Law of Moses with his  Magi.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465197"></a> Why would this Star Prophecy tell the Magi that a star's rising would  mark the birth of the Messiah? After all, the word birth is not  mentioned in Numbers 24:16-19?</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465176"></a> For two reasons. First, a star rising (which for ancients included  planetary conjunctions) was ordinarily claimed by the ancients to mark  the birth of important future rulers. This is why the Romans understood  the Star Prophecy in the First Century A.D. to signal such a birth. For  example, Suetonius tried claiming a star in that period augured the  birth of one of their own emperors who would rule the world in  fulfillment of the Star Prophecy from the East.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=465281"> 12</a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465204"></a> Second, history proves the Magi understood the Star Prophecy as a birth  augur. Christian historians have traced the prophecy of Balaam after 600  B.C. within the Babylonian religion. Abulfaragius (1226-1286) in his  <em>Historia Dynastarium</em><a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=465758"> 13</a> says that Zoroaster<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=465359"> 14</a> was a student of Daniel, and that Zoroaster taught the Magi that a new  star would one day signal the birth of a mysterious child whom they were  to adore.<a class="footnote" href="file://///tsclient/C/Writings%20in%20Process/JWO%20Redo%20Formatting/Final%20Framemaker%20Archive/chapter%203html.html#pgfId=465447"> 15</a></p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465203"></a> Thus, the Magi would understand the Star Prophecy to be talking of the  birth of the same person who is cut-off in 33 A.D. in Daniel's Prophecy.  Therefore, the Magi of Babylon would be naturally looking backwards one  adult life-time (40 years approximately) prior to 33 A.D. This would  identify the birth-time for this Messiah to be approximately 7 B.C.  Thus, the Magi were on the look-out for this star precisely at about the  time Jesus was born in about 3 B.C.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=465319"></a> The Magi of Matthew 2:1 are thus following Balaam's Star Prophecy and  Daniel's Messianic Prophecy to the letter. This is what squarely allows  them to arrive at the right time in Bethlehem to give presents to the  infant Jesus.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464503"></a> Yet, throughout Revelation, Babylon is synonymous with the harlot. What  does this mean? God is telling us that Babylon, led by its Magi rulers,  was a nation whose faith is like that of Balaam: it knew the true God  and His Christ but it taught its people to violate God's commands. It  taught salvation by mere mantras (<em>i.e.</em>, verbal formulas). Furthermore,  it was a nation built on legal apostasy. In other words, Babylon had the  correct faith in the true God and waited for the true Messiah and even  rejoiced at finding Him. Otherwise, it had the wrong salvation  principles and all its behaviors were contrary to God's Law. Babylon is  thus depicted in Revelation as a harlot--prostituting itself to base  desires.</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464366"></a> Consequently, the lessons of Balaam for us are many. We need to examine  how important it is that we can alone say the right mantra of faith, and  be sincere, and want to know Christ, like the Magi did. But what  happens if we trust a mantra (like the Magi did) to save us despite our  rejection of the Law which "I Am" (Jesus) gave Moses?</p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464368"></a> Balaam was a true prophet who was later convicted as a false prophet  under Deuteronomy 4:2 and 13:1-5. Balaam truly had the Holy Spirit when  he blessed Israel and gave the Star Prophecy of Messiah. Moses expressly  says so. Yet, Balaam is an apostate and lost. The Bible, through Moses  and Jesus, tells us this too. Balaam's error was later telling Israel  they could eat meat sacrificed to idols and they could commit  fornication. (Rev. 2:14.) He diminished the Law. (Deut. 4:2.)</p>
<p class="BodyAfterHead"><a name="pgfId=464369"></a> The story of Balaam is proof that we cannot just assume that if someone  like Paul gave a true prophecy one time that he has passed every test or  that he can never apostasize later.</p>
</div>
<hr />
<div class="footnotes">
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 1.</span> <a name="pgfId=464172"></a> See, <a name="marker=464171"></a> Jer. 28:8-9. As Knudd Jepperson (D.D., University Lecturer) points out  on this verse: "The prophet who in the name of the Lord foretold misery  and misfortune, however, would sooner or later be right. If the time had  not yet come, one could rest assured that eventually there would be so  much evil, that misery necessarily had to come." (Jepperson, On False  And True Prophets in the Old Testament, at  http://www.theonet.dk/spirituality/spirit95-6/prophesy.html (last  visited 2005.)</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 2.</span> <a name="pgfId=464406"></a> In context, Deuteronomy 13:1-5 does speak of the false prophet trying to  lead them to `other gods.' Some assert this passage could never  invalidate a person who uses Yahweh's name and teaches against the Law's  validity. This view argues that using Yahweh's name for Law-less  teaching somehow insulates the person from being viewed as a false  prophet. This is erroneous. A seduction to disobey God's commands and to  listen to the signs-and-wonder prophet is the same as trying to lead  you to other gods--the prophet himself. He becomes a demi-god. His god,  even if called Yahweh, cannot be the true Yahweh. In accord, Isaiah 8:20  demonstrates that the alleged prophet's validity turns on consistency  with prior valid Scripture, starting with the Law of Moses and moving  forward.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 3.</span> <a name="pgfId=464223"></a> Josh McDowell, <em>Evidence that Demands a Verdict</em> (San Bernardino: Here's  Life, 1979) Vol. 2 at 29.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 4.</span> <a name="pgfId=464235"></a> See the <em>Eleventh Commandment</em> at  http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/shepherd.html (last accessed  2005).</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 5.</span> <a name="pgfId=464241"></a> The NIV footnote reads: "The earliest and most reliable <a name="marker=464240"></a> manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have <a name="marker=464242"></a> John 7:53-8:11." This makes it appear this is a forgery. However, the  NIV comment is misleading by lacking context. It is also patently false  as to the claim "ancient witnesses" do not have the passage. First, the  passage is in numerous uncials, including Codex D (Bazae  Cantabrigiensis), G, H, K, M, U, and G. It also is in early translations  such as the Bohairic Coptic version, the Syriac Palestinian version and  the Ethiopic version, all of which date from the second to the sixth  centuries. It is also in the Latin Vulgate (404 A.D.) by Jerome.  Further, the passage is cited by a number of the patristic writers.  Among them are Didascalia (third century), Ambrosiaster (fourth  century), and Ambrose (fourth century). It is also in <em>Apostolic  Constitutions</em>, which is a collections of writings from Antioch Syria  that is dated between 220 A.D. and 380 AD. Augustine (430 AD) reveals  that the reason some were deleting this passage in later manuscripts was  because of its message that adultery could be forgiven. Augustine  writes: "This proceeding, however, shocks the minds of some weak  believers, or rather unbelievers and enemies of the Christian faith:  inasmuch that, after (I suppose) of its giving their wives impunity of  sinning, they struck out from their copies of the Gospel this that our  Lord did in pardoning the woman taken in adultery: as if He granted  leave of sinning, Who said, Go and sin no more!" (Saint Augustine,<em> De  Conjug. Adult.</em>, II:6.). Thus, one can see in Augustine's day, there was a  sentiment that Jesus' pardoning this woman of adultery was a wrong  teaching. Augustine says this is why it was edited out of various copies  of John's gospel.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 6.</span> <a name="pgfId=464250"></a> Tertullian in about 207 A.D. points out that Barnabas is the author.  Origen twenty years later claimed that the author is unknown.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 7.</span> <a name="pgfId=464296"></a> God actually identifies Himself by two names and variations on the name.  The first is Yahweh (and variants) and the second is "I am." See,  Exodus 3:14 ("And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus  shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto  you.") Jesus used this name for Himself. In John 8:58: "Jesus said unto  them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am."  Thus, everything Jesus predicts is in the name of the Lord since He was  claiming to be I Am.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 8.</span> <a name="pgfId=464303"></a> An example of a false prophecy in Scripture is Hananiah in Jeremiah  28:2, battling Jeremiah, the true prophet. In Jeremiah 28:2, Hananiah  begins, "Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I  have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon." Thus, by invoking God's  name as the direct source of the prophecy, Hananiah was taking the risk  of being found a false prophet if he was wrong. Otherwise, Hananiah  could not be taken seriously if a prophecy happened to come true.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 9.</span> <a name="pgfId=464308"></a> When an angel appears to Gideon, God is present talking; the angel makes  no prediction. (Judges 6:21-23.) An angel tells Manoah and his wife  about their son Samson to be born. (Judges 13:9-21.) In Daniel, the  prophet sees the "son of man" who receives kingdoms, and then a "man's  voice" tells Gabriel to "make this man understand the vision." (Dan.  8:15-16.) The angel then explains the vision of the future.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 10.</span> <a name="pgfId=464347"></a> The oracle of Balaam is quoted four times in the Dead Sea scrolls in  conjunction with Messianic prophecies: the War Scroll (1QM 11.6-17);  Damascus Document (CD 7.19-21); Messianic Testimonia (4Q175 1:9-13), and  Priestly Blessings for the Last Days (1QSb 5:27). (See Wise, Abegg,  &amp; Cook, <em>The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation</em>.)</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 11.</span> <a name="pgfId=464446"></a> This is often mistranslated as<em> weeks</em>. The word is <em>shebu'im</em>. In the  feminine form, it means a "period of seven days." However, in the  masculine, as is present here, it means simply "a time period of seven  units" (e.g., month, year, sabbath cycle of seven years). See,  <em>Theological Workbook of the Old Testament</em> (G.L. Archer, R.L. Harris,  &amp; B.K. Waltke, eds.) (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992) (2 Vols.) at  2:899; G.L. Archer, "Daniel," <em>The Expositor's Bible Commentary </em> (Gabalein, Ed.)(Grand Rapids) Vol. 7 at 112.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 12.</span> <a name="pgfId=465281"></a> Suetonius in <em>Lives of the Twelve Emperors </em>says: "There had spread over  all the Orient an old and established belief that it was fated at that  time for a man coming from Judaea to rule the world. This prediction,  referring to the emperor of Rome, as it turned out, the Jews took to  themselves, and they revolted accordingly [in 66 A.D.]." (Suetonius,  <em>Vespasian</em> 4.5.)</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 13.</span> <a name="pgfId=465758"></a> This is recorded by Oxford Professor, Thomas Hyde, in his masterpiece of  1700 A.D. entitled <em>Historia religionis veterum Persarum</em>.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 14.</span> <a name="pgfId=465359"></a> Zoroaster, according to traditional and conservative modern  practitioners of Zoroastrianism, lived around 580 B.C. He founded the  Magi.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p class="Footnote"><span class="footnoteNumber"> 15.</span> <a name="pgfId=465447"></a> George Stanley Faber (1773-1854)(Anglican theologian), <em>The Origin of  Pagan Idolatry Ascertained from Historical Testimony and Circumstantial  Evidence</em> ([London] F &amp; C. Rivingtons, 1816) Vol. 2 at 92.</p>
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