Romans Lecture 7: Dating the Pauline Letters & the Question of Galatians

[Rebbe]

PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIANS [7]

Analytical Commentary on Romans
Dating the Pauline Letters & the Question of Galatians

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Copyright © BRI 2016 All Rights Reserved Worldwide by Les Aron Gosling,
Messianic Lecturer (BRI/IMCF)

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"The great Rabbi Gamaliel had among his disciples one who, according to a passage in the Talmud, gave his master a good deal of trouble, manifesting 'impudence in matters of learning.' But his name is not given; he is remembered simply as 'that pupil'" (F.F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, 1958, 81. See also J. Klausner, From Jesus to Paul, 1944, 310f; Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 30b).

I wish to state at the very outset of this particular lecture, that none of us can make the claim that we understand Paul unless we admit to the doctrine of progressive revelation. God never reveals all His truth at once on any one subject. Rather, God has chosen to sporadically and periodically reveal elements of His "Way, Truth and Life" gradually in stages to those He has chosen to share in such a magnitude of spiritual understanding. I can demonstrate this reality biblically in a number of ways, but due to time restraints I would suggest that any new students refer to our BRI/IMCF search engine on the private Members Forum and submit the term "progressive revelation" and follow the leads that can be located there, for I have referenced this concept on a number of occasions. But I will mention one glaring example (and there are a number of others) which involves Paul's recommendation that married couples restrain from having children because "the time is short" and he fully expected the Lord's Advent at any moment (1 Cor 7.29):

"The time is short: it remains that both they that have wives be as though they had none [sexual relations with the risk of ensuing pregnancy was outlawed].... for the fashion of the world passes away" (1 Cor 7.29, 31).

Paul penned this proscription based on the teaching of the Lord Yeshua, for had not the Messiah himself advised his talmidim (disciples) against having children as the end time dawned (Mt 24.19)?

Again, finally realising that Christ was not returning in the near future as he had previously thought, Paul rescinded his earlier proscriptions in 1 Corinthians 7 against the proposition of marriage. He wrote to Timothy, "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house" (1 Tim 5.14).

It can also be further pressed that Paul believed he and the Christians to whom he wrote in the later Second Temple Period would live until the return of the Lord Yeshua in the clouds of the heavens. He stated that this knowledge was directly shared by the "word of the Lord." Note please, "For this we say unto you by the WORD OF THE LORD, that WE who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord etc.," (1 Thes 4.15). He then needed to write a second epistle to these same people because of his altogether enthusiastic but erroneous perception.

There are some Christians really shocked to learn that their knowledge of the formulation of their beloved "NT" is not "up to scratch" , and not all it seems to be. If they knew the major issues (as another example of difficulties in Scripture) that exist among scholars over the original Letter from Paul to the Roman Christians , such as where it actually starts and when it actually concludes , they would be aghast at this knowledge. I will not at this juncture discuss these issues but a trip to the library or accessing GOOGLE would be in order if our students would like to stretch their mindscape to accommodate a new understanding of a few of the issues involved. I would recommend accessing Harry Gamble, Jr., The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans, A Study in Textual & Literary Criticism, 1977, in (ed. Irving Alan Sparks) Studies and Documents, Vol. 42. I recommend this volume, not to "shake" the faith of any of our students but rather to enable a deeper spiritual maturity among them and a greater appreciation for the awesome Ground of All Being who has called us into an educational program befitting our future. After all, much water has passed under the Christian Bridge over the past 2000 years, and we all should want (even crave for) a more authentic apprehension of the Holy Bible especially as it was inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh. This brings us to the dating of the epistles of Paul.

DATING THE PAULINE LETTERS

Scholars are divided as to [1] the dating of Paul's various letters, and certainly they remain contentious as to [2] the order in which they should be located, in the Greek Codex of the New Testament mss. I will not even attempt to outline the various arguments for and against both of these issues, because my input will not throw any further light on the subject , and nor do I find it necessary. What I will share with everyone is the overall consensus views as to the dating of the mss, and the place of origin (ie., where the letters were penned). A knowledge of dating is important because it allows us to view the progressive nature of God's revelations given to the great rabbi during his ministry to the Gentiles.

Although there are some who wish to subscribe to the notion that Galatians was the first letter Paul penned, I am of the opinion (with a host of scholars) that 1 Thessalonians was Paul's first epistle. Below is a list which will be of assistance to those who want to follow through with further research into the subject of ms chronology. You will note that there are in each case two dates for the writing of Paul's epistles. I have provided these dates from the two most influential consensus approaches.
                                            
1 Thessalonians 51/52 CE probably written from Corinth
2 Thessalonians 52/53 CE probably written from Corinth
Galatians 53/57 CE the latter date for its similarity to Romans. Probably penned in Antioch
1 Corinthians 55/57 CE from Ephesus
2 Corinthians 55/57 CE from Ephesus   
3 Corinthians 56 CE from Ephesus
4 Corinthians 56 CE from Philippi
Romans 57/58 CE from Corinth
Philippians   61/62 CE from Rome
Ephesians 61/62 CE from Rome
Colossians   61/62 CE from Rome
Philemon 62 CE from Rome
Titus   62/67 CE from Ephesus   
1 Timothy 63/67 CE from Macedonia
2 Timothy 63/68 CE from Rome   

Certainly you will all have noticed my inclusion of 3 and 4 Corinthians. This is a most unpopular stand, and I well admit that this is the case. However, even though Professor Hugh Schonfield was distanced from his colleagues because of his grasp of what he called "the Messianic vision" of first century Nazarene Christianity and his daring attempts to speak of Yeshua's "human side" as a normal human being, I maintain that he was correct in his assessment that Paul actually penned four letters to the Messianic Assemblies in Corinth. In view of this allow me to take the time to point out precisely how we are to read these Pauline Corinthian epistles by numbering each chapter and text as they would have appeared in the late Second Temple period. For, the two epistles to the Corinthians were originally four. Schonfield states:

"The first letter is referred to in 1 Cor 5:9, the second is largely represented by 1 Cor. The third is mentioned in 2 Cor 7:8, and the fourth corresponds to the greater part of 11 Cor. The original first letter dealt in part with the theme of association with immoral persons" (footnote in Hugh Schonfield's The Original New Testament, 1985, 297). Like Bible scholar and translator Moffatt (and a number of other biblical scholars and expositors) who realised there was an imperative need to realign textual mss with common themes, Schonfield not only succeeded in such a realignment of the Pauline letters but his efforts were rewarded with epistles that read more sensibly than they do now in our present Bibles.

1 CORINTHIANS
Excerpt One begins at 1 Corinthians 9.1-27; 10.1-22 and Excerpt Two begins at 2 Cor 6.14-18; 7.1

2 CORINTHIANS
1 Corinthians 1.1-8.13; 10.23-16.24

3 CORINTHIANS
Commencement is lacking. 2 Corinthians 10.1-13.14

4 CORINTHIANS
2 Corinthians 1.1-9.15 with conclusion lacking.

What I am illustrating here is how disjointed, distanced and dissociated we become when we actually restore the original writings of the apostles , due to the fact that we are so conditioned to the way our own personal Bible readings have programmed each of us.

It should also be recognised that in recreating or restoring the original four letters to the Christians at Corinth, we discover that Paul answers questions posed by the Greeks at certain intervals within the two restored mails to Corinth which scholars otherwise have to postulate as unknown letters to the Corinthian Christians which have now simply disappeared. But the holy Spirit does not jettison the answers to those questions , nor the original questions to which Paul gave answers , from the biblical record at all.

I also illustrated in the past existing problems confronting scholars who have thrown their hands up in despair concerning massive issues in Paul's letter to the Galatians. In my Real Apostle Paul series of lectures in which I stressed that the apostle's letter to the Galatians was penned by (perhaps) a disciple some years down the track as a compilation of extracts taken from previous mail Paul had sent to the assemblies in Asia Minor. (See Lectures 6 & 7 of the Real Paul.) Sadly this failed to suit everyone associated with the IMCF, but many responded at just how much better sense the letter made when Paul's thoughts were strung together. I have since found that other organisations have subtly copied some of my unique research work and put it up on their own competing sites absence accreditation. The Real Apostle Paul series went public for some years on our previous webmaster's own site , a mistake I will never ever again make.

ANALYSING GALATIANS... AGAIN

Let me explain! Back in 2001 through to mid-2003 I gave our students a series of lectures called The Real Apostle Paul. Lectures 6 & 7 covered an issue concerning Galatians and we posed the question of who actually wrote it. In those lectures I gave our students an extra-curricular activity that (I hoped) would stretch their minds a little bit into possessing a more curious desire to research some of the heavier issues in current (and past) biblical research. I am not afraid of the truth, but alas, many others are! I wrote:
"Without doubt the epistle under discussion contains some of the most profound Pauline sentiments ever put together in one document. Let me share one or two of these inspirational utterances.

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for the aeons of the aeons" (Gal 1.3-5).

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Yeshua the Messiah, even we have believed in Yeshua the Messiah, that we might be justified by the faith of the Messiah, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Gal 2.16).

"I am crucified with the Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but the Messiah lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then the Messiah is dead in vain" (Gal 2.20,21).

"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that does them shall live in them. The Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Yeshua the Mashiach; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal 3.11-14).

"For as many of you as have been baptized into the Messiah have put on the Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to the Messiah, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3.27-29).

"Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the Sonship. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through the Messiah" (Gal 4.1-7).

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith the Messiah has made us free" (Gal 5.1).

"Messiah is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Yeshua the Messiah neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which works by love" (Gal 5.4-6).

"For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love your neighbour as yourself.... Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation's, wrath, strife, sedition's, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Messiah's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another" (Gal 5.13-26).

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear you one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Mashiach. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in the Messiah Yeshua neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Yeshua. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with your spirit" (Gal 6.1-18).

"Brethren, these sentiments are Pauline through and through. They are sentiments largely verifiable from other letters the great apostle wrote.

"Now I want you to attempt an experiment... Reread Galatians in its entirety.

"Then read aloud the quotations we have utilised here in this lecture.

"Thirdly, LEAVING OUT of your reading all the above quotations..... read out of context the remainder of the letter starting right back at chapter 1 and don't stop until you've reached the end. But, I repeat! Remember to JETTISON from the letter all the above quotations (which are clearly and decidedly Pauline).

"And you are going to get the surprise of your life. You will find, as I did, that the writing style and the sentiments expressed are decidedly NOT Paul's. They are expressions authored by an alien hand. They are a clever argument inserted into the original document (or documents which may have been strung tightly together). Whatever the case with this latter proposition, the fact remains that the residue of the letter , fragmented apart from the authentic Pauline sentiments we have already noted , reveal a sinister hand, and it's not Paul's. Not in my opinion anyway.

"Whoever it was had a background knowledge of first century Jewish law, and used expressions currently in vogue during the same period which are, unfortunately, little understood in today's "Christian" supermarket. For instance, the phrase "under the law" meant "under the administration of the death penalty" which was a consequence of breaking or transgressing the law (or at the very least, walking on thin ice). It never meant what later Protestants and Catholics claim it meant: "keeping the commandments."...

 "While it is highly doubtful that Jews in the first century would misunderstand such terminology the very fact the author uses certain phraseology that arguably could convey another meaning or intent to those unskilled in appreciating Jewish thoughtform , i.e., Gentiles , makes these inclusions diabolic.

"I know of nobody who has ever conducted this experiment, other than myself. And I have done this because I was told to restore the truth about the real apostle Paul, warts and all, and I am obeying God in this matter (lately, with relish, and with much less apprehension and trepidation).

"Again, I am not suggesting for one minute that we throw the letter to the Galatians out of the Canon , for it is a valuable document reflecting the tensions and problems of the first century Jewish world of which James and Paul were very much an integral part.

"I am saying that we need to treat Galatians with the utmost caution. Indeed, we all need to approach the Word of God with a view to receiving a well-rounded biblical education, and not to read the Bible merely for a feeling of spiritual well-being and emotional comfort, which of course is needful but that ought to be of a secondary nature.

"Again, whoever wrote Galatians in its present form was aware of the tension which existed between two factions of disciples , those of James and those of Paul , which recognition surfaces again in early extra-canonical literature. Indeed, the German school of the 19th century went so far, based on these primitive extra-biblical writings, to espouse that Paul was the "wolf" concerning whom Yeshua had often warned.

"Now I have read a number of books by well-intentioned Christian authors which have the intention of resolving all the difficulties that I have already discussed... but it seems the rule rather than the exception that to solve these difficulties one has to mentally swing from a chandelier and perform other wondrous mental convolutions and gymnastics in order to squeeze all the conflicting details into a perfect little schema. We need to face reality: the difficulties one faces in Galatians are insurmountable.

"We cannot just sweep aside such conflicting information as Paul saying in Gal 2.21 that he visited Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus while Luke records that the Messianic Community of Faith in Antioch SENT Barnabas and Paul "as well as others" to Jerusalem. They were "brought on their way" or "escorted" (Ac 15.3) , an indication they had little say in the matter. This emphasis is most important to note, yet it is often overlooked or exempted as a potential problem.

"Paul says he went up "by revelation" while Luke claims the reason his attendance was warranted at Jerusalem was a theological controversy in Antioch instigated by some Jerusalem Messianic believers.

"In Gal 2.4 pseudo-Paul proffers false believers who "sneaked in" to "spy out" Antioch's freedom with the aim of bringing them into bondage to the Temple-oriented rituals and ceremonies. In Acts 15.24 James plays with words saying (literally in the Greek): "we gave no express injunction on the points [raised]" (See Vincent, Word Studies, Vol 1., 526).

"In Gal 2.10 James expects Paul to remember the poor and he recognises Paul's apostolate. Luke, strangely enough (or perhaps, as to be expected) mentions neither.

"Perhaps, more importantly, Luke narrates the imposition of a set of restrictions on the Gentile believers as an introduction for new believers for induction into the Community of Faith, and his mention of the availability of Moses in each city strengthens the case that God is vitally concerned about growth in character (holiness, in other words). See again Acts 15.20,29 for proof of this assessment. Yet pseudo-Paul claims nothing was imposed on his apostolate (Gal 2.6 Gk).

"James' final pronouncement is promulgated at the conclusion of the meeting, according to Luke, but pseudo-Paul insists that the Messianic Rabbinic Council was followed by Paul's complaint concerning Peter's behaviour in Antioch. Both Luke in Acts and pseudo-Paul in Galatians agree that the Rabbinic Council concluded with an acceptable agreement, and according to pseudo-Paul this went so far as to have the "right hand of fellowship" extended to the apostle to the Gentiles. Ooops, problem! The "right hand of fellowship" is a Roman custom, and I cannot for the life of me imagine the alternative High Priest of the Jewish nation (who controlled the Zealot and Messianic Movements) adopting the customs of rank idolatrous pagans and Romans to boot! His own brother, we recall, refused to even glance at a coin presented to Him with the portrait of Caesar inscribed thereon. It is at once apparent that Acts does not endorse Paul's claims of apostleship to the extent that Paul claims for himself.

"Whatever the case at our next Yeshiva we will look at some interesting information about James and his connection with the Zealots, and a surprising major event in the life of Yeshua which authorised James to later become the alternative High priest of the Jerusalem Temple. It is an event so shocking it sent Yeshua to His death. As a result of this event, the Zealot revolution was hammered into an explosive Roman alert. It's quite plainly recorded in the Bible, yet Christians have missed its significance entirely.

"We shall also review Paul's need for everyone to recognise his credentials. We will be staggered at the implications of restored early church history for the emerging Messianic movement in Gentile nations today. We shall preview the prophetic word and see what the future holds for a restored Nazarene Christianity in the state of Israel in these End of Days." (end quote)

I find it intriguing that we are now at this present time examining the Letter of Paul to the Roman Christians. Its intriguing because of the central fact that the rabbi believed he was living at the end of the age when he expected Yeshua to return in a blaze of glory to topple Rome and establish the Government of God over the earth. The time frame is remarkable as we here at this place are now living in the very time of the end, and we are analysing the letter which brought into a theatre of collision two warring parties , Y'hudah and Esau , for world domination. On the sidelines stands Ishmael ready for the slaughter which it has largely instigated to prepare for the final "War between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness"!

Whose side are we really on? Do we fund, and support, Satan's Kingdom or the Kingdom of Anochi I-Source in the Person of Yeshua the Messiah?

This is the question Paul's Letter to the Roman Christians also frankly asks.

Only we each individually can privately answer it.

THIS CONCLUDES LECTURE SEVEN

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