By 70CE
(AD), the Temple was destroyed, Jews were forced to flee Jerusalem, and
most of the leadership (of the followers of Yeshua), were dead. Between
70CE (AD) and 90CE (AD) there is very little recorded history, however,
when the record resumes, we see a very different group of people emerging
as the leadership within this messianic movement. The emerging leadership
was unfamiliar with and uneducated in the Torah. So they did what they
knew; and they understood their beliefs through a different perspective: a
Greek perspective.
Their
misunderstanding of the faith was not surprising since most of them didn’t
have the privilege of owning a Torah scroll. What they DID have were
copies of letters and testimonies written by certain Apostles. These
letters and testimonies were never intended to be understood as “law,” and
yet that is exactly what happened. The body of letters and testimonies
that became the “New Testament” were soon not only given equal status to
that of the law and prophets, they eventually became more important; a
reality that would have made the first followers of Yeshua shudder.
A significant amount of what was to
become the "New Testament" was written by one person; the
Apostle Paul.
Who was Paul
From any
account Paul was a controversial individual.
Although he is the
person credited as being the architect of many of the
doctrines of Christianity, he was not one of Yeshua's 12
chosen "apostles". Who was Paul anyway?
Saul of Tarsus
We are first introduced to the Apostle Paul
as "Saul of Tarsus", a fierce opponent of
"the Way". Saul (Paul) is there when Stephen is stoned as a leader
in opposing the new movement. Then suddenly he shows up saying that he
has had a change of heart.