Chapter
II
The
Word or the Term Gospel in the New Testament
The
contradictions, discrepancies and differences between the principles and
concepts of the Gospels and the principles and concepts of the Old Testament,
as is shown in the previous chapter, are insufficient and not enough alone to
prove that it's a new religion, unrelated with the religion of the prophets of
the children of Israel, and were not written by the revelation or inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, from the point of view of the churches. The Gospels authors
and the rest of the New Testament authors, especially Paul, who was fully aware
these contradictions, discrepancies and differences, or more precisely, he who
has founded them, for this he sought in his letters to justify these contradictions, discrepancies
and differences, as shown previously, and considered that this issue is not
because of difference sources, but the principles and the concepts of his
beliefs have been hidden from all of the former prophets, and has been revealed
to him and his followers! As in the following texts:
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God
was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached
among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
1 Corinthians
2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden
wisdom which God ordained
before the ages for our glory,
1 Corinthians
2:8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they
known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1 Corinthians
2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for
those who love Him."
Ephesians 3:1 For this
reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for
you Gentiles —
Ephesians 3:2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the
grace of God which was given to me for you,
Ephesians 3:3 how that by revelation He made known to me the
mystery (as I have briefly written already,
Ephesians 3:4 by which, when you read, you may understand my
knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
Ephesians 3:5 which in other ages was not made known to the
sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His
holy apostles and prophets:
Ephesians 3:6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the
same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
Ephesians 3:7 of which I became a minister according
to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working
of His power.
Ephesians 3:8 To me, who am less than the least of all the
saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through
Jesus Christ;
Ephesians 3:10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God
might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the
heavenly places,
Ephesians 3:11 according to the eternal purpose which He
accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Romans 16:25 Now to Him
who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery
kept secret since the world began
Romans 16:26 but now has been made manifest, and by
the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according
to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith —
In
these texts Paul says that the principles and concepts which based on
worshiping three gods, who incarnated in the flesh, or at least one of them,
according to the faith of every church of the various churches, and they had
been flogged, and mocked and spat on them, and crucified and died; was a secret
hidden from all Prophets, and that this mystery has not been revealed to anyone
else, but only to him and the saints!
This
is true in this sense only, because there is no one of the former prophets had
spoken about such as this perception about the LORD the Creator of the heavens
and the earth, but what is the reality of this mystery which Paul had spoken
about?
The
reality of this mystery can be recognized by comparing it with the other
mysteries which Paul had told to his followers, as in the following text:
1 Corinthians
15:51 Behold, I tell you a
mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed —
In
this text Paul reveals another mystery, which was not known by anyone else
before him, and has not been seen by anyone else after him, which is that he
and his followers would not pass away until the next coming of Jesus, which is
what he says more clearly in the following text:
1 Thessalonians
4:13 But I do not want you to
be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest
you sorrow as others who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians
4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will
bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians
4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we
who are alive and remain until the
coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
1 Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead
in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians
4:17 Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians
4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Yet,
unfortunately, the history has shown that this mystery was not true, and he and
his followers had fallen asleep, and after them dozens of generations, thus, the
failure to achieve this mystery shows that the first mystery is not true, and
is not from the Revelation or by the Word of the Lord, because if it was from
the Revelation or by the Word of the Lord; it should not contradicts the texts
of the revelation in the Old Testament that confirms the greatest fact in the
cosmos; which is the Oneness of the LORD the Creator, and worship Him alone,
and the lack of the true gods with Him or beside Him, and with the clarity of
this fact, but I will mention text from the Old Testament refutes all the words
of Paul and the others that the Lord the Creator of the heavens and the earth
hid some secrets from the former prophets, which is as follows:
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless
He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
The
Lord the Creator does not say any word unless it is a clear; and reveals His
secret to the prophets, especially His Oneness, and the lack of the true gods
with Him or beside Him, who participated with Him in creating the heavens and
earth, or deserve to be worshiped with Him or beside Him, thus, this text
invalidates all the words of Paul and the others about hiding the mystery of
the Trinity.
The
insistence of the New Testament authors and the churches considering that the
New Testament and their beliefs are an extension of the Old Testament and its
principles and concepts, requires us to examine the Gospels in the New Testament
objectively and subjectively, i.e., study the meaning of the word Gospel, and
the places mentioned therein, and the purpose of writing the Gospels, and the
methods and ways of writing, and the lost Gospels which are mentioned in the
Letters of the New Testament. As well as study the texts of the Gospels which
were quoted from the Old Testament. This will give us a clear idea of the
reality of the Gospels, and if they had been written by the revelation or the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit or not, and the sources that were relied on to
write the Gospels.
The
Word or the Term "Gospel" in the Letters of the New Testament
The
Letters of the New Testament are a collection of letters talking about the
disciples after Jesus ascension into heaven, whether by talking about their
lives and their activities as the letter Acts of the Apostles and some of
Paul's letters, or by trying to resolve the practical and theological problems
which they have faced at that time, such as a warning of the differences that were
taking place among the disciples and the followers, or to prove that Jesus is
the Christ, and he who was intended in the prophecies of the Old Testament, or
to prove that the Law no longer binding them, not only the circumcision, or the
Sabbath but even the rest of the laws, and other issues that summoned the
research and debate at that time, and the last letter is the book of
Revelation, which is talking about the signs of the End of Time, and the end of
life on Earth.
These
Letters will be significantly helpful in our search for the true meaning of
word "gospel", because they talk about how the disciples' preaching
was, and the sources which they had relied upon.
The
Word or the Term "gospel" in the Letter of James
In
this Letter there is no mention to the word "gospel", whether
linguistic or idiomatic sense!
While
in this letter there is a text for the meaning of the faith disagrees with the
meaning of the faith in Paul's Letters, as shown previously, also there is a
text contain information that contradicts what is written in the Old Testament,
as in following text:
James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for
three years and six months.
James 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the
earth produced its fruit.
In
this text James says that the rain stopped for three years and six months, and
this contradicts what is written in the Old Testament, as in the following
texts:
1Kings 17:1 And Elijah
the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my
word."
1Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the
LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present
yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."
As
we read that the rain came down in the third year and not as James wrote, and
this error also was written in the Gospel of Luke, as will be shown later.
Finally
he has quoted several texts from the Old Testament, while he did not quote any
text from the four Gospels, except one text consistent with what is written in
the Gospels on the lips of Jesus but he did not attribute it to Jesus! As in
the following text:
James 5:12 But above
all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other
oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No,"
lest you fall into judgment.
The
Word or the Term "gospel" in the Letters of Peter
The
word "gospel" was mentioned in the Peter's Letters four times, as in
the following texts:
1 Peter 4:17 For the time has
come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
New International Version
1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for
judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will
the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
In
this text Peter talks about the Gospel of God, which was not meant the four
Gospels, because this letter has been written before the four Gospels, and
previously Paul talked about the gospel of Peter, so why the churches did not
keep it? Is it not the word of the God? And if it is not the word of the God,
why Peter and Paul and their followers had preached from it?
Moreover,
Peter had refused to say that his gospel or his preaching is not the word of
God, as in the following text:
1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endures forever."
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
New International Version
1 Peter
1:25 But the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is
the word that was preached to you.
As
well as he considered that his words and his preaching is the true grace of
God, which is his testimony for his followers, as in the following text:
1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider
him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that
this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
King James Version
1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose,
I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true
grace of God wherein ye stand.
New
International Version
1 Peter 5:12 With the help of
Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging
you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast
in it.
So,
if Peter had considered that his gospel and his preaching as is the Word of
God, why the churches did not keep it?
And
if what was Peter saying is true, what are the sources which he relied upon?
Did
he rely upon the revelation or the inspiration that have been received through
the Holy Spirit, or relied upon the texts of the Old Testament?
In
fact, Peter, in his letters, did not say that he has received the revelation or
inspiration by the Holy Spirit, but it relied upon what he has written in his
letters and his words himself, as in the following text:
2Peter 3:1 Beloved, I
now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of
reminder),
2 Peter 3:2 that you may be mindful of the words which were
spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us,
the apostles of the Lord and Savior.
In
this text Peter says that he has written his letters to remind his followers
the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and did not say that
he has received a revelation or an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which will
be shown clearly in the following text:
2 Peter 1:19 And so we have the prophetic word
confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
2 Peter 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is
of any private interpretation,
2 Peter 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man,
but holy men of God spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit.
New International Version
2 Peter 1:19-21 And we have the
word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts.
Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the
prophet's own interpretation.
For
prophecy never had its origin in the will man, but men
spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
In
this text Peter says that they have the prophetic word and urged his followers
to pay attention to it; for they did not come by the will of man, but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, as well as the
interpretation of the prophecies of the scripture is not of any private
interpretation, and here we find that Peter talks about the prophecies of the
Old Testament, not about the four Gospels, because they have not been written
when he wrote this letter, and he considered that the prophecies of the
scripture are the basis to prove his faith.
In
addition, he said that what is written in the Old Testament of prophecies; they
were prophesying about Jesus, and named it the gospel! As in the following text:
1 Peter 1:10 Of this
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied
of the grace that would come to you,
1 Peter 1:11 searching what, or what manner of time, the
Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
1 Peter 1:12 To them it was revealed that, not to
themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now
have been reported to you through those who have preached the
gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things which angels
desire to look into.
In
this text Peter says that the prophetic books had prophesied about Jesus, which
proves that his gospel and his preaching relied upon the interpretation of the
texts of the Old Testament, not through a special revelation which he has
received, or the four Gospels, which were unwritten at that time, and the
evidence of this is that he quoted nearly twenty texts from the Old Testament
in his letters, while he has written only two texts that consistent with what
is written in the four Gospels, for this when he wants to urge his followers to
increase their knowledge of the truth of the things which he had preached; he did
not urge them to read the four Gospels, but to read the letters of Paul, as in
the following text:
2 Peter 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul,
according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
2 Peter 3:16 as also in all his epistles, speaking
in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand,
which untaught and unstable people
twist to their own destruction, as they
do also the rest of the Scriptures.
New International Version
2 Peter 3:15-16 Bear in mind that
our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also
wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
He
writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His
letters contain some things that are hard to understand,
Which
ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their
own destruction.
This
text indicates to one of two things, either that the four Gospels have not been
written at that time, or that Peter does not consider them as books in which a
man can find the truth about Jesus, especially as they contain a lot of errors
and contradictions, as we will see in the next chapter.
Finally,
there are two texts in his first letter show the true meaning of the word
"gospel", which means the way of preaching, not the four Gospels, as
many of the good people of the followers of churches believe, which are as
follows:
1 Peter 4:6 For this reason the gospel was preached
also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according
to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
New International Version
1 Peter 4:6 For this is the
reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now
dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the
body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
1 Peter 3:19 by whom also He went and preached to the
spirits in prison.
New International Version
1 Peter
3:19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.
These
two texts talk about Jesus and his preaching of the gospel to those who are
dead, and here he certainly did not indicate to the four Gospels, for they have
not been written at that time, because this story occurred after the crucifixion
and before the resurrection as the churches say. In addition that this story
was not mentioned in the four Gospels! So what is this gospel which was
preached by the Jesus, if it did not mean the four Gospels?
Hence,
through this careful reading of the texts of the Peter's Letters that have
mentioned the word "gospel", we conclude that he used it to refer to
his way of preaching, not to refer to a certain book, or the four Gospels,
which is based on his understanding and interpretation of the texts and the prophecies
of the Old Testament as is shown in his Letters.
The
Word or the Term "gospel" in the Letter of Jude
In
the Epistle of Jude there is no mention to the word gospel, whether idiomatic
meaning or linguistic meaning, although he has urged his followers to remember
the words of the apostles, and did not ask them to remember the words of Jesus!
As in the following text:
Jude 1:17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were
spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
New International Version
Jude
1:17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ foretold.
He
also says in his letter that he had to write, or "I found it necessary to
write to you", or "it was needful for me to write unto you",
according to the various versions, and did not say that he wrote it by the revelation
or the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as in the following text:
Jude 1:3 Beloved, while
I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I
found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago
were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our
God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
This
way of writing does not indicate that he had written by the revelation or the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit.
Moreover,
he had written two texts about Michael and Enoch which were not mentioned in
the Old Testament, but mentioned in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament! as in
the following texts:
Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending
with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring
against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord
comes with ten thousands of His saints,
Jude 1:15 "to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are
ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an
ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken
against Him."
Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain,
but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness for the judgment of the great day.
The
Word or the Term "gospel" in the Letters of John
As
in the Gospel of John also in his three Letters, there is no mention to the
word "gospel" by any means, whether idiomatic or linguistic.
Furthermore there are some verses which confirm that what has been written in
his Letters was not through the revelation or the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit including the following texts:
2 John 1:12 Having many
things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to
you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
3 John 1:13 I had many things to write, but
I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink;
In
these verses John says that he has many things to write but he did not want to
write with paper and ink, and such of
these words have never been heard from any Prophet in the Old Testament,
because what they had received from the Lord through the revelation or the
Spirit; they were speaking it, as shown previously, and this confirms that what
was written by John wasn't through the revelation or the inspiration, as well
as we read a text in his first Letter which is written in some versions, and
has been deleted from other versions, which is as follows:
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven:
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the
Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
New International Version
1 John 5:7-8 For there are three
that testify; the spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in
agreement.
This
text called the Comma Johannine (also called the Comma Johanneum) which has
raised a lot of controversy among researchers and scholars in the Western World,
and has been discussed the reasons for this difference between Manuscripts in
many books, which is not our subject in this book, but here I would like to
mention that the ancient scribes, whether intentionally or accidentally, or for
whatever reason, have the ability to add or delete the texts of the New
Testament, which indicates that it was not written by the revelation or the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because if so, no one dares to add to it or
delete from it, as shown previously.
The
Word or the Term "gospel" in the Revelation
The
word "gospel" was mentioned in the Revelation once, which shows the
true meaning of the word "gospel", which is the telling things that
will take place in the future, or in the present as the case with Jesus, by
relying on a certain thing like a revelation or interpretation of the texts and
the prophecies of the Old Testament, not as the churches say that they are the
books that had recorded the historical events of Jesus, i.e., the four Gospel,
as shown previously, and the text is below:
Revelation 14:6 Then I
saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people —
Revelation 14:7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give
glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made
heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
In
this text we read that the angel has the everlasting gospel and wants to preach
to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people,
and this gospel is certainly not the four Gospels, but the revelation which he
has received from God, for this he said "Fear God and give glory to Him,
for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and
earth, the sea and springs of water", and this indicates that any book or Letter;
the author of it does not announce that he has received a revelation from the
Lord is not a revelation or an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so how if it
contains lots of errors and contradictions, as John did in his Gospel and his Letters,
including what is written in the Revelation itself, since he did not write down
correctly the names of the sons of Jacob , (Revelation 7:4-8), as will be shown
in the next chapter.
After
this detailed and thorough study on the word "gospel" as is mentioned
in the four Gospels and New Testament Letters, which showed the lack of any
text indicating to the four Gospels, and the existence of other gospels which
were preached by the disciples, and the lack of any text refers to that they
had been written by the revelation or the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we
conclude that the word "gospel" or "good news" means the
texts or prophecies of the Old Testament, which the authors of the New
Testament have considered that they were talking about Jesus as Christ, and the
son of god, and he was crucified and died and rose from the dead.
So
are these texts or prophecies of the Old Testament really talking about Jesus?
And
have the Gospels authors quoted those prophecies only, or they have written the
rest of the events of Jesus' life in the Gospels according to the Old Testament
texts?!
Have
the Gospels authors written their books, or the Gospels, based on historical
events which they have seen, or received them by those who have seen them, or
they have written about these things away from all this, but through a special
method or way or approach, for this they have written many stories that
inconsistent with the recorded history, as we read in the Gospels?
These
questions and others I will try to answer them in the next chapter, which
discusses the way of writing the Gospels, and the texts which were quoted from
the Old Testament.
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