SOME BACKGROUND ON PAUL:
THE BOOKS OF ROMANS, CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, THESSALONIANS, TIMOTHY, TITUS, PHILEMON, AND HEBREWS WERE ALL WRITTEN BY OUR BELOVED BROTHER PAUL AND CONTRIBUTE TO A HUGE CHUNK OF FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING IN THE EARLY NEW-COVENANT FELLOWSHIP. AND WHILE WE’RE ALL LEARNING FROM PAUL’S LETTERS, THEY DON’T ACTUALLY TELL US WHO HE IS, WHERE HE CAME FROM AND WHY HE THINKS THE WAY HE DOES, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY WHAT HIS EXPLANATIONS AND TERMS MEAN TO HIM. ONLY IN THE BOOK OF ACTS DO WE SEE WHO PAUL ACTUALLY IS.
SAUL WAS BORN IN TARSUS OF CILICIA FROM THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN (FROM RACHEL, NOT JACOB'S HANDMAID), SO HE WAS OF PURE HEBREW ORIGIN, NOT HALF-CASTE. HE WAS A PHARISEE (THE STRAITEST SECT), PASSIONATE AND ZEALOUS AGAINST ANYONE WHO DIDN'T FOLLOW THE ORAL LAWS AND TRADITIONS THAT HAD BEEN HANDED DOWN. HE WAS A MORALLY RIGHTEOUS MAN (IN THAT HE FOLLOWED MOSES' TORAH) AND WAS A TENT-MAKER BY TRADE. HE ALSO HAD A ROMAN CITIZENSHIP AS WELL AS BEING HEBEW. SAUL'S NAME MEANS 'DESTROYER' ... WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY YAHUSHA WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE IT TO 'PAUL'.
BENJAMIN WAS A TRIBE THAT JUDAH HAD CENTURIES EARLIER ABSORBED AND SO THOSE OF BENJAMIN WERE CALLED BY THE SAME NAME AS THOSE OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH: JEWS (CIRCUMCISED). BUT IT IS ALSO INTERESTING TO NOTE HOW AFTER ALL THIS TIME, AT LEAST SOME JEWS CONTINUED TO STILL IDENTIFY WITH THEIR ORIGINAL TRIBAL FAMILY HERITAGE EVEN WHEN THEY LIVED OUTSIDE OF YERUSHALIM.
ACTS. 9
1In Yerushalim Saul was still breathing threats and murder against YAHUSHA’S Followers, in an attempt to kill them all. He went to the High Priest 2and asked him to write letters to the Synagogues in the City of Damascus, for Saul wanted the High Priest to give him the authority to hunt down people in Damascus who were followers of ‘the Way’. And if he found any believers there (men or women) he would arrest them and bring them back to Yerushalim.
4Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“SAUL, SAUL! WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?”
6And both trembling and completely astonished Saul asked, “Master, what do you want me to do?”
7The men traveling with Saul just stood there, speechless, for they heard the voice speaking, but could not see YAHUSHA. 8Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but he was blind. So the men with him held his hand and led him into Damascus.
9And for three days, Saul could not see, and he did not eat or drink either.
13“Master, many people have told me about this man, and about the many evil things he did to your set-apart people in Yerushalim.
17So Ananias left and went to the house of Judas. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, the Master YAHUSHA who you saw on the road coming here, has sent me to you, so that you might see again and be filled with His Set-Apart Spirit”. 18And immediately, something that looked like fish scales fell off Saul’s eyes, and he was able to see!
“This is the same man who was in Yerushalim trying to kill the people who trust in YAHUSHA and call on His Name! And that’s why he’s really here, to trick us and arrest the followers of YAHUSHA, and take them back to the Chief Priests.”
23Paul went to Arabia for a time, before returning to Damascus, and after many days, some Jews made plans to kill Saul. 24They were watching the city gates day and night. They wanted to kill him but Saul learned about their plan. 25So one night some followers that Saul had taught helped him leave the city. They put him in a basket and lowered it down through a hole in the city wall.
3And having attained the documentation, Saul set out for Damascus. But when he came near the city, a very bright light from Heaven suddenly flashed around him.
5And Saul said, “Sir, who are you?”
“I AM YAHUSHA, THE ONE YOU'RE 'HATING ON'. IS IT HARD FOR YOU TO KICK AGAINST THE GOADS?"
“GET UP NOW AND GO INTO THE CITY, AND SOMEONE THERE WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO NEXT.”
10There was a follower of YAHUSHA in Damascus named Ananias. And in a vision YAHUSHA said to him, “ANANIAS!”
“Here I am, Master.”
11“Get up now and go to Straight Street. Find the house of Judas and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He is there now, praying. 12He has seen a vision in which a man named Ananias comes and lays his hands on him so that he can see again.”
14Now he’s come here to Damascus? The Chief Priests have given him the power to arrest anyone who trust sin you and speaks in Your Name … and you want me to go to him?”
15“YES … Go! For Saul is a chosen vessel of mine and I have chosen him for a very important work. I want him to carry my Name into nations, telling rulers and the people of Yisharal about Me. 16And I will show him all that he must suffer for My Name!”
Then he got up and was immersed. 19After that he ate, and began to feel stronger again. Saul stayed with the followers of YAHUSHA in Damascus for a few days. 20And soon he began to go to the Synagogues and tell people about YAHUSHA, telling them “YAHUSHA is the Son of Alahim!” 21All the people who heard Saul were amazed, saying ...
22But Saul became more and more powerful in proving that YAHUSHA is the Messiah. Infact his evidence was so strong that the Jews who lived in Damascus could not argue with him.
26Saul then went to Yerushalim to meet YAHUSHA’S original followers (IT HAD BEEN 3 YEARS NOW SINCE MEETING YAHUSHA), but they were all freaked out and scared of him. They didn’t believe that he was really a follower of YAHUSHA. 27But Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to Peter and James. He told them how Saul had seen the Master on the road and how the Master had spoken to Saul. Then he told them how boldly Saul had spoken for the Master in Damascus. 28So Saul stayed with Peter for two weeks and went all around Yerushalim speaking boldly for the Master. 29He often had arguments with the Greek-speaking Jews, so much so that they began making plans to kill him. 30When the other Followers learned about this, they took Saul to Caesarea, and from there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.
31The Fellowships in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. And with the help of YAHUSHA’S Spirit, these groups of believers became stronger in belief and showed their respect for the Master by the way they lived and behaved. So the Assembly of believers everywhere grew in numbers. 32Peter was traveling through all the areas around Yerushalim, and he stopped to visit the believers who lived in Lydda. 33There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralysed and had not been able to get out of bed for the past eight years. 34Peter said to him, “Aeneas, YAHUSHA MESSIAH heals you. Get up and make your bed!”
Then he stood up immediately. 35And all the people living in Lydda and on the plain of Sharon saw him, and they also decided to follow YAHUSHA.
36In the city of Joppa there was a follower of YAHUSHA named Tabitha. Her Greek name, Dorcas, means “a deer.” She was always doing good things for people and giving money to those in need. 37While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died.
They washed her body and put it in an upstairs room. 38The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, which was not far away. So they sent two men, who begged him, “Hurry, please come quickly!” 39Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around him. They were crying and showing him the coats and other clothes that Tabitha had made during her time with them.
40Peter sent all the people out of the room. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to Tabitha’s body and said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up.
42People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Master. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for many days at the home of a man named Simon, who was a leatherworker.
41He gave her his hand and helped her stand up, then called the believers and the widows into the room, showing them Tabitha, alive!
SAUL WAS HUNTING THOSE OF `THE WAY' ... THEN HE WAS BLINDED BY YAHUSHA'S LIGHT ... AND THE ENCOUNTER LEFT HIM FOREVER CHANGED AND FROM THEN ON HE COULD NOT ONLY SEE 'THE WAY' ... HE BECAME ONE OF IT'S GREATEST BEHAVIOURAL TEACHERS !!
SO WHAT IS 'THE WAY'?
HEBREW UNDERSTANDING :
Search results for "WAY":
6 to wander away, lose oneself; to perish (destroy), fail, lose, be undone, have no way to flee.
1870 a road as trodden, a course of life or mode of action, conversation, custom, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward.
1979 a walking, procession or march, a caravan:--company, going.
5047 to flow (through the idea of clearing the way).
5110 to nod, i.e. waver; to wander, flee, disappear (from shaking the head in sympathy), to console, deplore, or (from tossing the head in scorn) taunt:--bemoan, flee, get, mourn, make to move, take pity, remove, shake, skip for joy, be sorry, vagabond, way, wandering.
5265 to pull up, especially the tent-pins, i.e. start on a journey, be on his (go their) way.
5674 to cross over; transition (intensive), to cover .
6607 an opening i.e. door (gate) or entrance way, entering (in), place.
SCRIPTURE UNDERSTANDING:
GEN 3 He drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard 'the Way'.
JOHN 14 Yahusha said to him, “I am the Way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"..
ACTS 24 But this I confess to you, that according to 'the Way', (which they call a sect) I serve the Alahim of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Laws and written in the Prophets.
ISAIAH 30 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the Way, walk and behave in it.”
'The Way' has always been to maintain direct access to the Tree of Life (YAHUSHA). Adam and Eve were perfect anointed PRIESTS chosen to GUARD & KEEP the House (GARDEN) in Yahuah's perfect order so that they could eat of the Tree of Life. 'The Way' was clean, and the requirements minimal: "OBEY ME AND LIVE, DISOBEY ME AND DIE". Adam and Eve chose their own way and were disconnected from life, wandering, perishing, failing and lost.
'The Way' was hidden to this fallen creation, but for 4000 years Yahuah left breadcrumbs (SHADOWS), revealing 'the Way' back to life THROUGH LIVING SACRIFICES.
Yahuah separated and delivered a nation from the world and anointed PRIESTS were chosen once again to GUARD & KEEP the House (TABERNACLE & THEN TEMPLE) in Yahuah's perfect order THROUGH LIVING SACRIFICES so that Yisharal could access the Tree of Life (THE ARK) once more (THOUGH ONLY FROM A DISTANCE).
'The Way' was clean, and the requirements minimal: "OBEY ME AND LIVE, DISOBEY ME AND DIE". Yisharal chose their own way and were disconnected from life, wandering, perishing, failing and lost.
Then Yahusha came in the flesh and said 'I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE - NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME'. Yahusha was the perfect anointed PRIEST THROUGH A ONCE AND FINAL LIVING SACRIFICE. Yes! He was both the Priest and the Sacrifice Who was chosen to GUARD & KEEP the House (HIS HUMAN BODY) in Yahuah's perfect order so that mankind could eat of the Tree of Life (HIMSELF) once more. 'The Way' was to EAT OF HIS FLESH AND DRINK OF HIS BLOOD, FOR HE IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
After Yahusha rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven's Throne, anointed PRIESTS were chosen once more to GUARD & KEEP the House (HUMAN BODIES) in Yahuah's perfect order so that mankind could eat of the Tree of Life again. 'The Way' was clean, and the requirements minimal: "OBEY ME AND LIVE, DISOBEY ME AND DIE". But after a few hundred years the Early Fellowships chose their own way and were disconnected from life once again, wandering, perishing, failing and lost.
Nearly 2000 years have passed and today 'the Way' is still hidden to mankind unless Yahusha personally reveals Himself to us, and when He does, SCALES FALL FROM OUR EYES AND WE NOT ONLY SEE HIM, BUT OUR EVIL WICKEDNESS IN HIS SIGHT. Such a shocking revelation causes a person to repent and `cross-over' from one Kingdom into another through a DIVINE HEART OPERATION, where the flaming sword that once guarded the tree of life is used to cut into us, killing our old self, allowing a rebirth and PORTAL CONNECTION to eternity. We become the anointed PRIESTS chosen to GUARD & KEEP the House (OUR HUMAN BODY) in Yahuah's perfect order so that we can eat of the Tree of Life again THROUGH BECOMING LIVING SACRIFICES. 'The Way' is still clean, and the requirements still minimal: "OBEY ME AND LIVE, DISOBEY ME AND DIE".
So 'The Way' is a pathway of clean, obedient behaviour, a mode or course of communication whereby we are trained to mature and STAY CONNECTED & PARTAKING OF YAHUSHA at all times, guarding our Gardens (TEMPLE BODIES) with His Words in our heart and keeping the enemy out. This is how we ready ourselves for the final consummation where everything is restored to a BRAND NEW Garden of Eden and we will be partaking of Him as eternal anointed BRIDAL PRIESTS forever.
'THE WAY' IS HAVING DIRECT ACCESS TO YAHUSHA THROUGH CLEAN BEHAVIOUR, AND REVIVAL ONLY OCCURS WHEN THE SCALES FALL FROM PEOPLE'S EYES AND THEY CAN TRULY SEE HIM AND WANT HIM.
CAN YOU SEE HIM? DO YOU WANT HIM? PAUL DID!