In this video we start to dive deep into a hotly debated topic within Christian theology: the apostleship of Paul. Throughout history, there have been countless discussions regarding Paul’s legitimacy as an apostle, with some questioning the authenticity of his teachings and claiming that he was not chosen by Jesus himself.

In this video, we are taking a rigorous approach to examine the evidence surrounding Paul’s apostleship. We will explore key scriptures, historical accounts, and scholarly perspectives to weigh the arguments for and against Paul’s apostolic authority.

Are his writings inspired by divine revelation, or are they merely the opinions of a self-proclaimed apostle? Through careful analysis and critical thinking, we aim to provide clarity on this contentious issue.

Whether you’re a believer seeking to deepen your understanding of scripture or a skeptic questioning the foundations of Christianity, this video is sure to challenge your perspectives and provoke thought-provoking discussions.

So let us delve into the heart of this theological debate together and test whether or not Paul is a true apostle. Join us as we learn the God Honest Truth about Paul of Tarsus.

Transcript

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The Apostle Paul has been a very influential figure throughout all of church history ever since the very first century. But is he actually a true apostle or is he a false apostle that is spoken of in scripture itself? What does scripture say about the number of apostles there are to be and was Paul outside of this number thereby making him a false apostle? Those are the two points that we’re going to be examining tonight that is commonly brought by anti-Paul advocates, is how many apostles are there supposed to be? Is there only to be 12? And also, was Paul rejected by churches in Asia and by Yeshua himself? All that coming up in this episode of God Honest Truth.

So this drash or teaching is going to be about the Apostle Paul. This is the third in a series on the Apostle Paul. And needless to say, regardless of what we do, it’s only going to be a scratch on the surface of what we could go into. So as always, we invite you to go even further than what you see here in these teachings and study for yourself all about the Apostle Paul. The first video in this series, if you’re just now joining us, was a basic scriptural dossier about Saul of Tarsus, who he was, where he came from, some of the events and things that happened in his life.

The second video was a very, very short one. And it just outlined some of the things that we’re going to be covering in this video series. Now in this third video, we are going to start examining some of the arguments brought against the apostleship of Paul, especially the two main arguments, what we consider to be the top two arguments. As we continue on into the series, we’re going to be getting into some more of those arguments.

Obviously, we won’t bore you by making too long of videos. We’ll try to keep it about the normal length that we usually do. But we’re still, we’re going to try to expound as much as we can on each of these points and examine whether or not Paul was a true apostle or a false apostle. As always, if you’re listening or watching this video and you would like more information, you can go to our website at www.GodHonestTruth.com, click on the post for this episode, or you can go right down below in your description box, regardless of whether you’re watching on video platform or an audio platform.

And down there in that description box is going to be a direct link to that post on our website. And there on the post, you’ll be able to get the draw slides that you’re seeing here on your screen. You’ll also be able to watch the on-demand video. You’ll get the notes that we took for this subject, as well as the transcript, if that’s something that is useful for you. All can be located for you right there on that link down in the description, or go to www.GodHonestTruth.com.

Like I said, this is going to be the third video in the series, but it’s going to be the first video in testing the arguments against Paul of Tarsus. We’re going to be examining what we consider the top two arguments that we came across during this research, coming from those who opposed the Apostle Paul. The first one up is the argument that goes something like, Paul could not be an apostle because there were only supposed to be 12 apostles, because that’s what Yeshua chose.

So were there to be only 12 apostles? One of the opponents of the Apostle Paul comes from JudaismVersusChristianity.com. And in the paper they put out there, the short PDF, they state that there were to be exactly 12 apostles, not one more and not one less. From a PDF called the Paul paper, which we, as far as we can tell, was done by a gentleman named Justin Best. The author’s name is not on the copy that we have, just the copyright in the year 2019.

But as far as we can tell, it came from a gentleman named Justin Best, so that’s why we’ve attributed his name to this paper. But anyways, in this paper called the Paul paper, he writes, The significance of the New Jerusalem is truly beautiful. 12 foundations, 12 apostles, where does the 13th Apostle Paul fit in? Again, quote, it still does not change that the foundation of the New Jerusalem has written 12 names of the 12 apostles on it that are the foundation for the church, unquote.

And finally, the third quote that we have here is, quote, if these offices of apostles constantly had to be replaced and Paul merely took another vacancy, why didn’t others fill these specific offices as they opened up? And where are these 12 apostolic seats of authority now? So there’s the overall argument against the Apostle Paul is that there’s to be only 12 apostles because that’s what Yeshua originally chose. We’ll get into that in just a moment, but let’s lay some foundations and define two different terms real quick, just so you know what we’re talking about as we go through these scriptures and arguments tonight.

First one is going to be Strong’s G3-101, methetes, if I’m pronouncing that right, methetes. Strong’s definition defines this as a learner or a pupil. This is the word that’s normally translated as disciple. There’s Greek lexicon, pretty much the same thing, a learner, pupil, disciple. Greek English lexicon of the New Testament says this is referring to someone as who has learned or to be instructed, a person who learns from another by instruction. So that’s the Greek word for disciple.

Now as you read through the Brit Hadashah, you see that Yeshua did not have just 12 disciples. He had numerous disciples. There was a whole bunch of them, men and women alike were disciples of Yeshua. They were learners from Yeshua. They were pupils of Yeshua. They were instructed by Yeshua. So they were his disciples and he had many of them. So that’s disciple. But what we really want to get to tonight is Strong’s G6-5-2, apostolos, apostolos.

And Strong, you can already figure out the word there from the Greek. But Strong’s definition defines apostolos as a delegate, a delegate, specifically an ambassador of the gospel, officially a commissioner of Christ. There’s Greek lexicon states it as a delicate messenger, one sent forth with orders. Now remember these definitions here because they’re going to come into play as we go through the scriptures tonight. Greek English lexicon of the New Testament for apostolos defines it as the role of one who has been commissioned and sent as a special messenger.

And also one who fulfills the role of being a special messenger. And then the Abbott Smith manual Greek lexicon of the New Testament defines apostolos as a messenger or one sent on a mission. So now we know what disciple means, what it actually is. We know what apostle means and what it actually is. Disciple is someone who is learned from someone else, a pupil of someone else. And apostle is someone who is sent forth with a message, a messenger.

That’s disciple and apostle. So now let’s get into some scripture about the apostles, who Yeshua chose, the number of them, so on and so forth. First up Luke chapter 6 verse 13. And when it became day, he called near his taught ones, or disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he also named emissaries, or apostles. So here in Luke chapter 6, we can clearly see that Yeshua took his group of disciples, which was numerous, and specifically chose twelve out of them to be his apostles.

Moving on into Matthew chapter 19 verse 28. And Yeshua said to them, Truly I say to you, when the Son of Adam sits on the throne of his esteem, you who have followed me in the rebirth shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It doesn’t specifically say apostles here, but I do believe it’s actually referring to the apostles because it states the number twelve. Yet again, he had numerous disciples, but only twelve apostles that he chose.

And they’re going to be judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Now some things to note real quick. Back in Luke chapter 6 when we read that, and also here in Matthew chapter 19, he’s speaking about the twelve apostles that he specifically chose. Remember, this original group of twelve included the betrayer, Judas Iscariot. So keep that in mind. When you think about this, and he says, you shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel, consider, was he actually saying that Judas would be one of those judges? Something to think about.

Or would it be someone else? Or is he speaking here metaphorically? Revelation chapter 21 verse 14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve emissaries or apostles of the Lamb. Now once again, which twelve is this referring back to? The original twelve that included Judas? Or is it another set of twelve? Either way, we can see there’s a reference to twelve. But also keep in mind the metaphorical nature of the book of Revelation.

Much of Revelation does not refer to actual literal things. So that’s just something to keep in mind as you go here. But also, the main point is that there are twelve foundations, and it’s the names of the twelve apostles of Yeshua. Now once again, is this referring to Judas, the original twelve also? Because the betrayer would have been included in that original twelve. Is he one of the foundations that’s referred to here as the foundation of the city of the New Jerusalem? Well later on we see in Matthew chapter 27 verses 3 and 5.

Then Yehudah, or Judas, he who delivered him up, having seen that he had been condemned, repented, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and to the elders. And throwing down the pieces of silver in the dwelling place, he left and went and hanged himself. So it seems like here that Judas actually had a change of heart, says he actually repented after he had been condemned, after his conscience got a hold of him, what he realized that he had done.

He gave back the money, or tried to give back the money anyways, so they didn’t actually take it. It’s not recorded that they took it, it just went on the floor. But then after trying to give back the money, he went and committed suicide after he comes to the realization of what he had done. So, is this recompense for what he had done, and he is now back in that original twelve where he’s going to be one of the twelve judges of the twelve tribes, is he back now being one of the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem, just something to think about.

But when you’re referring to the number twelve, and there’s only to be twelve apostles, which set of twelve are we referring to? Is the original twelve is to be only twelve seats at any one time? We can’t really say it’s only restricted to the original twelve, because obviously Judas hanged himself, he’s done. Some might say that because of his betrayal, he will not be included. So we cannot say that it would include the original twelve, but that brings us to the point, does that mean that there’s only to be twelve at any one time? Well, the apostles sort of thought so, they went on that kind of idea almost.

We see in Acts chapter one, for it has been written in the book of Tehillim, or Psalms, let his dwelling lie waste, and let no one live in it, and let another take his office. And of course, this is referring to Judas in the office of apostle. And it goes on saying, and they put forward to Yosef, called Barsabba, who was also called Justice in Matthew, and praying, they said, You, Yahweh, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two you have chosen.

And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthew, and he was numbered with the eleven emissaries. So here we can see that the eleven apostles that are left of the original twelve took it upon themselves to elect or decide upon a twelfth apostle. And of course, they had their qualifications for doing so. They had to be, whoever they were going to be selecting was going to be someone who was with Yeshua throughout his ministry, who was there when he died, and saw his appearance after he resurrected.

And it fell after casting lots, which is another issue, but they cast lots, and they decided upon Matthew. So now they’re back at twelve. Was this something ordained and commanded by Yeshua? Was it something ordained and commanded by Yahweh? Now they pray here that Yahweh would select the one, or help them know which one they were supposed to choose. But that does not indicate that they had to choose. They could have stuck with eleven, they could have had more than that.

There is no commandment saying you have to have twelve at any one time, and if you don’t have one, select another one to fill that twelfth position. Not to say that it was wrong of them to do this, just pointing out that there is no command that there has to be twelve. You have to make up that number, or you have to cut down that number so that you get to twelve. Here we see they took it upon themselves to fill that office, and they are referring back to the Psalms, saying, let one live in it, and let another take his office.

And they are putting this forward as a sort of, almost prophecy about the life of Judas. So then moving on into Acts chapter 14. Now the book of Acts is traditionally attributed to the apostle Luke. So, there is some controversy amongst those who oppose Paul about Luke, but just let it be known that this is not referring to any of Paul’s writings right now, this is referring to someone else’s writings. We are going to attribute with everyone else that it was written by Luke.

Acts chapter 14, verse 14. And when the emissaries Barnabas and Shaul heard this, they tore their garments and ran in among the crowd, crying out. Notice there at the very beginning where it says, and when the emissaries or apostles Barnabas and Shaul, this is the apostle Paul that we are talking about here, and also another gentleman named Barnabas, or Barnabas. Well, now we started to venture into some more territory about the number of apostles. What we’re examining right now is the question of whether Paul was a true apostle because in the context of our section right now, I can’t even think tonight, is there to be only twelve apostles? Well, here the apostle Luke is referring to two more apostles in addition to the twelve we previously read about, both Barnabas and Shaul.

So Luke is referring to Shaul as an apostle, or the apostle Paul, and he’s also referring to Barnabas as an apostle as well. So that would bring, if we’re keeping count, just during this drash so far, that would be referring to fourteen apostles at this time, fifteen in total if you add in Judas and all the apostles that’s come up since the beginning. So is it looking like there’s only to be twelve apostles at any one time? Take into account what we, the foundation we laid at the very beginning, what apostle actually means.

It means someone who is a messenger, someone who goes out with a message to deliver a message. It’s a big, big world out there. Why would there only be twelve? It would contain the number of people even back then in a territory that you had to cover at any one time. We don’t have, they didn’t have planes back then, they couldn’t hop on a plane and travel to Europe within a day from America. It would, much slower travel, it would take days or even weeks sometimes to travel from one location to another.

You would need traveling companions, you would need people to go different places at different times, sometimes at the same time, so you would need multiple messengers or multiple apostles with this message. Would twelve be sufficient? I would tend not to think so. And scripture, as we can see here clearly, refers to more than just the twelve as being apostles. And it’s not just Paul or Shaul, it’s also referring to other people like Barnabas. Do you know who else is called an apostle in scripture? Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1, Therefore, set-apart brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, closely consider the emissary or apostle and high priest of our confession, Messiah Yeshua.

So Yeshua is referred to as an apostle. So again, is there to be only twelve? No. Apostle is something that is used in a much looser kind of way. It’s used, like we defined, as someone who goes out with a message, a messenger. The apostles that we refer to, Luke and Peter and James and Paul even and Barnabas and probably even Timothy, were apostles of Yeshua. You can also see here that Yeshua is called an apostle because he was sent forth as a messenger with a message from Yahweh.

So he is considered an apostle as well. So apostle doesn’t just mean one twelfth of a certain group. Apostle means someone who is sent forth with a message as a messenger of someone else. That’s what an apostle is and as such, it’s not limited to just twelve apostles. Paul himself even uses this very same meaning of the word apostle when he writes to the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11. And he himself gave some as emissaries or apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers.

So given these various offices that people are called to, one of those offices that Paul addresses and puts forth is the office of apostles or emissaries depending on which translation you look to. So scripture does not at all point us toward the conclusion that there’s only to be twelve apostles. In fact, when we read here and from the rest of scripture, the office of apostle would even travel on down to our day. Now with that being said, especially in our day, having the office of apostle does not make you higher and mightier than anyone else.

I’ve seen some churches who claim that a certain person has the office of apostle and therefore they rule and control the entire congregation. That’s not the example of apostle that we get from scripture. Example of apostle that we get from scripture is someone who travels from place to place like Paul did, like Peter did, etc., etc. They don’t stay in one place ruling and dictating a certain congregation. So to get back on track, as we can see here from scripture, it’s using the term apostle as someone with a message and not just one twelfth of a particular group.

Something else to also consider, a few more points anyways. There are various meanings to various numbers within scripture. You can look some of those up for yourself or some of the other numbers. Twelve generally within scripture means something like being symbolic of God’s power and authority, referring to something like a perfect governmental foundation. And again, from Bible study tools, it means something like a perfect government, God’s government or divine order. Is this defined in scripture? No, but this is what various scholars have come up with as they’re looking at the number twelve going all throughout scripture.

You can look back at the twelve tribes of Israel, but even then, when you look back at Moses and Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, when he comes up to him, he tells him to establish various judges over hundreds and thousands and etc., etc. Given the number of people that were there in the wilderness with Moses, there would have to be many more than twelve. So the number twelve would not definitely illustrate the perfect number for government and organization, but it could represent the perfect number for a ruling council.

All the same, the word apostle still means someone who is a messenger or with a message. Now speaking about the twelve tribes of Israel, in scripture, especially the Tanakh, when you read about the twelve tribes of Israel, and sometimes it will actually say the twelve tribes, right? But when it lists out the names of each of those twelve tribes, you actually get thirteen names. Did you know that? There are thirteen that are actually spoken of when you read through scripture.

You know who it is of the original twelve that is not spoken of? The tribe of Joseph. You’ll never hear the phrase tribe of Joseph used. You’ll hear the tribe of Benjamin or Benjamin. You’ll hear the tribe of Judah or Yehudah. You’ll hear the tribe of Dan, but you’ll never hear the tribe of Joseph. The reason for this is because he got a double blessing and this double blessing went to his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

So when it lists out the tribes of Israel, and there’s thirteen there, you’re going to hear the half-tribe of Manasseh and the half-tribe of Ephraim. Not trying to make any connection or correlation between this and Paul as the thirteenth apostle, but I did think it was something rather interesting to think about. So as you’re studying this out further after tonight’s drash, consider that. Keep that in mind. See if there’s any relevance there. If you find any connection or if you find anything further on this, by all means write into us.

Let us know so we can add it to our notes and be further educated as well. The second point we’d like to examine tonight is was Paul rejected? According to the opponents of Paul, he was rejected not only by various churches within what he established and ministered to, but also by Yeshua himself. According to the Judaism versus Christianity website, that paper I was referring to earlier, they state, Paul was the very false apostle Yeshua commended the Ephesians for rejecting as a liar in Revelation 2 verse 2.

And then again from the Paul paper by Justin Best, he writes, quote, the actual apostles rejected Paul and admonished others to do the same, end quote. And again, quote, all of these churches were, according to Revelation, genuine churches of following Christ, some better than others. But one thing they seem to have had in common is they rejected Paul because Paul is very clear that all those in Asia had turned against him, end quote. Again, quote, he ends up being nearly completely rejected by the entirety of Asia, end quote.

And finally, quote, all those in Asia rejected Paul, end quote. Let’s look at that real quick in the book of Revelation and also those churches in Asia that he’s referring to here as well. Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 through 2. To the messenger of the assembly of Ephesus write, he who is holding the seven stars in his right hand, who is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands says this, I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil ones and have tried those who say they are emissaries or apostles and are not and have found them false.

So is this referring to Paul as the opponents of Paul put forth? Well, number one, Yeshua is the one given the revelation here and John’s just writing it down, but it says here, I know your works, you are not able to bear evil ones, have tried those who say they are emissaries or apostles and are not and have found them to be false. So who is named here as the false apostles and the evil ones they’re speaking of? There’s no names given here.

So the connection between Paul and what’s being stated here is simply conjecture. It’s very, very loosely circumstantial at best. It is certainly not definite. It talks about them rejecting false apostles, but it doesn’t say who specifically. In fact, it doesn’t even refer to just one, it’s referring to multiple ones by the use of the words they say there. You have tried those, indicating more than one, using the plural emissaries or apostles, meaning more than one, have found them, again, plural, meaning more than one.

So if it was true that they were rejecting Paul, then Paul could have been counted amongst others, but again, that’s all completely conjecture because no one is named and we’re actually not told anywhere in the rest of Scripture, even by non-Paul writers, that Paul was a false apostle, that he taught anything against that’s not or otherwise. In fact, all of the other books besides Paul, 2 Peter actually tells us about the apostle Paul, calling him brother.

Remember when he gives us that warning that Paul is sometimes hard to understand and those who are lawless twist his writings to their own destruction? So they considered Paul to be a brother in the faith and a fellow apostle. We read back in the book of Acts where Luke is describing Barnabas and Paul as apostles. So Paul was considered an apostle. Given all this evidence from the rest of Scripture, we can confidently conclude that what Yeshua is saying here in Revelation chapter 2 is not referring to Paul.

Apparently there were some false apostles that came about and the church of Ephesus rejected them. But when we take the rest of Scripture into context and consider it in light of the Scripture, we can confidently say that it was not Paul that they were rejecting here as a false apostle. Also, in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15, this is a writing of Paul. You know this, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phugolos and Hermogenes.

So is he saying that all of Asia turned against him? Or is he using hyperbole? Now one thing I want you to notice is that in the Paul paper, Justin Beth does not include the entire verse or the entire context. He just writes or quotes from 2 Timothy 1 verse 15, quote, this you know that all those in Asia have turned away from me, end quote. And leaves it there. But if you’ll notice at the end of this verse, he specifically names specific individuals, Phugolos and Hermogenes.

He’s not talking about all his churches, the congregations. He’s talking about specific people. Also, 2 Timothy was written by Paul at the end of his life on the eve of his martyrdom. So he’s probably down-spirited, maybe, and thinking that no one has come to his aid and he’s feeling depressed, maybe. I’m just thinking out loud here. This is not coming from scripture. But just thinking out loud that more than likely he could be using rhetorical techniques like hyperbole.

You know, if you’ve ever been married or been in a relationship or have kids, something like that, you say extremes like this all the time, both you and other people in that relationship. Well, you never do the dishes. You never take out the trash. Right? This is a common human thing. Paul was human. And he was at a very tough time in his life here. So it’s very likely he was talking in hyperbole, not meaning every single person, every single congregation.

Because we can see here that he names two specific individuals and not congregations. You look through his epistles when he writes the various congregations, he calls them out by name, you, the church at Ephesus, you, the church at Corinth, et cetera, et cetera. But he doesn’t name congregations here. He’s naming individuals, which leads me to think that he’s speaking in hyperbole and just kind of depressed and naming specific individuals. Just my thoughts. But it certainly does not mean that every single person in Asia had turned away from him because we see in other places that they received him with gladness and welcomed his input and his advice and his ministry.

We can see this from history as well because we have more writings from Paul than anyone else. Like we covered in the very first episode, 13 of the 27 books of the Brit Hadashah were written by Paul. Could possibly be 14 if you include the book of Hebrews, but the authorship is debated, so we’ll leave that up in the air, but 13 of the 27. They widely accepted him from the evidence that they preserved his writings.

They copied them and sent them on down. So did everyone reject him? Was it all of Asia? No. The evidence does not bear that out. Also in considering too, like we said before, the other apostles considered him to be a brother in the faith and a fellow apostle. There are instances where people have tried to come against Paul in scripture, but they defended him and we do not see any evidence that the other apostles speak about every single person in an entire region rejecting him.

We see in the book of Acts where these false witnesses come against Paul and saying that he’s teaching against the Torah. And these other apostles, the brothers in the faith, come to him and say, help us to prove that you actually do teach Torah and that you do keep the commandments by taking this Nazarite vow. And Paul took the Nazarite vow to prove that he kept the Torah, that he taught the Torah, and that he kept the commandments.

So they were on his side. They took up for him when people came against him, but we don’t have evidence that they ever heard a claim that people all over an entire region rejected him. So again, I think here in 2 Timothy chapter 1, Paul is speaking in hyperbole because he’s at literally the end of his life, he’s on the eve of his martyrdom, and he’s feeling alone. A lot of times like we do in our own lives.

So yes, Paul was human as well. Reading on in Acts chapter 19, verses 1 through 12, again, a book traditionally attributed to Luke as being the author. And it came to be, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Shaul, having passed through the upper parts, came to Ephesus. And when Shaul had laid hands on them, the set-apart spirit came upon them, and they were speaking in tongues and prophesying, and all the men were about twelve. And having gone into the congregation, he spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the reign of Elohim.

But when some were hardened and did not believe, speaking evil of the way before the crowd, he withdrew from them and separated the taught ones, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannos. And this took place for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the master Yeshua, both Yehudim and Greeks. And Elohim worked unusual miracles through the hands of Shaul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the wicked spirits went out of them.

So here we can see the set-apart Holy Spirit working through Paul, even what we can assume here from the last part of this passage, even going into some of his garments, which would then be taken to the sick, and they would be healed because those garments were placed near them or upon them. Pretty amazing stuff. Would Yahweh work through someone who was a false apostle like that? Now we can see from the example of Egypt, when Moses went in to Pharaoh, that Pharaoh’s magicians did similar things to what the miracles that were going on the plagues.

They did similar things, but they weren’t exact. They were enough to fool everyone, but they could not replicate even the last one. This is not what we’re seeing here. This is not what Scripture, what the Apostle Luke is writing. He’s not saying that Paul was a magician who was imitating various works of Yahweh. No, Luke, the Apostle Luke, is saying that the set-apart Spirit, the Holy Spirit, was working through Paul, the actual, true Holy Spirit. Would that have been done for a false apostle? Because Yahweh would be able to see his heart.

He would know. But what we see here is that the Holy Spirit, that Yahweh, was working through Paul, not rejecting him. And you can see here that those who were in Ephesus, those who were in that area, that region of what they called Asia back then, that a lot of them did believe. They were speaking in tongues and prophesying because of what Shaul, or Paul, was ministering to them, telling them about Yeshua, telling them about the gospel and things like that.

A lot of them believed. However, it says that a few, some, let me find that real quick. But when some were hardened and did not believe, it doesn’t say all, it doesn’t say most, it doesn’t say a vast majority. It said some were hardened and did not believe. And that’s just the nature of reality. You can go out with some kind of truth, say it’s the gospel. Go out on the street, start preaching. There’s going to be some who respond, but there’s always, at least in my experience, there’s always going to be some who reject it.

Anyone who’s got a hundred percent track record in evangelism, I would love to come learn from you. I just don’t see that as happening. We can look at various evangelists on the internet who record their evangelism. People like Ray Comfort and others who go out and evangelize. You can see there are some who reject the gospel that they’re being presented with. But there’s also some who accept and respond to the gospel. It’s just always not going to be everybody.

But again, it was not the entire region of Asia. It was not everyone who rejected Paul. It was only some, only a few. And Yahweh worked mighty workings through the apostle Paul. And of all people, Yahweh would have known whether or not he was a true or a false apostle. So those are the two points that we’ve covered tonight. In summary, there was no restriction on the number of apostles that there could be. Again, the number 12 in scripture kind of refers to the perfect number for a governmental organization.

But the word apostle is someone that is a messenger who is sent out with a message. Even the Messiah, Yeshua, is referred to as an apostle. There are more than 12 apostles that are referred to in scripture. We read where both Barnabas and Shaul were referred to as apostles. So once again, there is no restriction on the number of apostles that there could be. Also, Paul was not rejected by Yeshua, nor by all the congregations he ministered to, but only by a few individuals, only by some, not all. Again, the rest of scripture bears that out, as well as historical evidence. And that’s just the God-honest truth.