Abstract: On at least four occasions does the Vegan Christ prophesize the deceitfulness of false prophets. In Matthew 7:75, Jesus tells us to be on guard against false prophets as ravening wolves in sheep's clothing, and the Pharisees. In Revelation 2:2, Jesus talks about those who claim to be apostles but are not. In Matthew 24:22-25, Jesus foretells prophets who will perform great signs and wonders to deceive. In Matthew 24:26-27, Jesus warns us against believing anyone who claims He (Jesus) is out in the wilderness or in the inner rooms. Below it will be argued that all these four prophesizes refer to Paul the fake apostle, who corrupted Jesus' vegan church (cf. Shaw n.d.; Chen 2022d).
1. Beware of False Prophets, the Pharisees and Sadducees
In Matthew 7:15 KJV, Jesus warned, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves"! Here, Jesus was alluding to Genesis 49:27, where Jacob prophesized, "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder" (Genesis 49:27 NIV). In Matthew 16:6 NIV, Jesus cautioned His disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Now, Paul was a self-confessed Benjamite (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). And the first king of Israel, also named Saul, was a Benjamite who badly persecuted David (I Samuel 18-19). In addition, Paul was a relative of Herod Antipas (Romans 16:11; Acts 22: 26-29), who directly beheaded John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29 NIV) and indirectly caused the death of Jesus.
Paul's personal history fulfilled Jacob's prophesy. In his early life, Paul hunted and slaughtered Christians ("in the morning he devours the prey"); in his later life, he cut his own church off from the twelve disciples so that the former was responsible for converting the Gentiles, while the latter took care of the Jews ("in the evening he divides the plunder"). Moreover, in Acts 23:6 NIV, Paul admitted that after his conversion to Christian, he continued to be a Pharisee ("I am a Pharisee").
In the entire New Testament, the only person who's at the same time a self-proclaimed Christian in sheep's clothing, a Benjamite wolf and a Pharisee is Paul (cf. Tabor 2018; End Times Truther Wing Wong 2020) (Note 11).
2. Those who Claim to be Apostles but are NOT
Jesus said, "you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false" (Revelation 2:2 NIV).
This must refer to Paul who does not meet the eligibility requirements to be considered an apostle (Acts 1:21-23 NIV), i.e., having been with the 11 apostles the whole time Jesus was living among them, starting from John's baptism to Jesus' ascension, and having witnessed with the other apostles Jesus' resurrection. The twelve foundations of the wall of the new Holy Jerusalem do not include his name (Revelation 21:14 KJV). Paul was just a self-proclaimed apostle:-"Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia" (Galatians 11-2 NIV).
3. False Prophets who Perform Wonders
In Matthew 24: 22-25 and Mark 13:22-23, Jesus warns us against false prophets who will emerge and do so-called miracles to mislead:- “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time. (Matthew 24:22-25 NIV).
“If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. (Mark 13:22-23 NIV).
Again, this fits in with Paul. For Acts of the Apostles 19:11-12 NIV claims that "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, Paul's physician-underling.)
4. Was Jesus in the Wilderness or in the Inner Rooms?
Jesus warns us against believing anyone who asserts that Jesus is in the wilderness or in the inner rooms “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:26-27 KJV).
Paul claimed to have personally met Jesus twice. The first time was on his journey to Damascus (Acts 9:3-5 NIV), which was a desert according to 1 Kings 19:15; the second time was in the barracks of the Roman soldiers (Acts 23:10-11 NIV). Both of these locations are the places Jesus has warned about.
"As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,”" he replied. (Acts 9:3-5 NIV)
"The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”" (Acts 23:10-11 NIV)
5. The First Corrupter of Jesus' Vegan Church
According to US President Thomas Jefferson, St. Paul was the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus" (Washington 1854). As pointed out by Albert Schweitzer (1910) in The Quest for the Historical Jesus, Paul perverted the discourse of Jesus and "displace[d]" it. The perversion involves at least seven domains, namely, eating food sacrificed to idols, eating animal flesh, denigration of women, slavery, justification by faith alone, submission to the authorities, and debasement of Moses' Law. Here, we will confine our discussion to the first two domains only (For more details, see Aribisala 2016 ; Chen 2021b):-
5.1. Eating Food Sacrificed to Idols
In I Corinthians 8:4-13, Paul argues that eating meat offered to an idol is not immoral, because “an idol is nothing at all” (I Cor. 8:4 NIV). “Food,” he asserts, “does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (I Cor. 8:8 NIV). "To the pure, all things are pure" (Titus 1:15 NIV).
On the other hand, in the letter to the church of Thyatira, Jesus rebukes them for tolerating a prophetess who "seduce[s] my servants to ... eat things sacrificed unto idols" (Revelation 2:20 KJV). And The Jerusalem Council led by James the Just, Jesus' natural brother, wrote to Gentile converts the Council's "decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals" (Acts 21:25 NIV).
5.2. Eating Animal Flesh
Eating anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience" (1 Corinthians 10:25 NIV), advises Paul. For two thousand years, this has (mis)led numerous Christians to think that it is alright to slaughter innocent animals and eat their flesh.
Paul even defames vegans as weaklings in terms of faith:- "One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables" (Romans 14:2 NIV).
In contrast, Jesus warns against meat-eating:- “Be on guard, so that your hearts do not become heavy with the eating of flesh" (Luke 21:34, Evangelion Da-Mepharreshe — Old Syriac-Aramaic Manuscript of the New Testament Gospels). And He admonishes the Pharisees, quoting Hosea 6:6, "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13 CSB).
In the Gospel of the Ebionites, Jesus condemns animal sacrifice in the Temple of Jerusalem:- “I have come to abolish the sacrifices, and if you cease not from sacrificing, my wrath will not cease from you” (Panarion 30.16.5). Jesus also rejected the Passover meal :“I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you” (The Gospel of the Ebionites 22.4).
Throughout His human life, Jesus cared about animals, like sparrows (Matthew 10;29-31 NIV), "fowls of the air" (Matt. 6:26-33 KJV), sheep (Matt. 12:11), chickens (Matt. 23:37 KJV), yoked animals in general (Matt. 11:29-30), a donkey and her colt (Matt. 21:1-3 NIV). He even rescued and healed a badly beaten mule (Linzey and Dorothy 1998: 38-39; Linzey 2010: 60-61; Chen 2021).
Whilst Jesus showed compassion for animals, Paul sneered at exploited and downtrodden oxen:- "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?" (1 Corithians 9:9 KJV)
6. Conclusion
"Paul has surely nothing to do with the Sermon on the Mount.... The Sermon says: 'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves' (Matt.vii.15). This is generally understood as a warning against untrustworthy leaders in religion.... Does the verse express the experience of the primitive Church? Might it not be a warning against Paul and his followers?" -- Gerald Friedlander (1911).
Article link: https://www.hkbnews.net/post/the-vegan-christ-s-four-prophesies-about-paul-by-dr-chapman-chen-hkbnews Amen!
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