When Did Paul Go To Jerusalem?
After his famous experience on the road to Damascus, Paul the pharisee went on into Damascus. At some point after he left Damascus, Paul the pharisee went to Jerusalem. Though seldom mentioned in Sunday sermons, there is a very simple question that is extremely difficult to answer based on the information we have available. When did Paul the pharisee go to Jerusalem after his “road to Damascus experience”? The pertinent passages are given below…
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Acts 9:19-27
…& when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples at Damascus & straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues… & confounded Jews which dwelt at Damascus… & the Jews took counsel to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night & let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him & believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, & brought him to the Apostles, & declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Lord Jesus.
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Acts 9:19-27 indicates that Paul went to Jerusalem immediately after he left Damascus. The passage even has him leaving Damascus, then entering Jerusalem in the very next sentence! In addition, that passage tells us that Paul tried to “join himself to the disciples”. The disciples were skeptical of Paul & his vision. Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles, & explained about Paul’s “vision”, etc. Perhaps the disciples were wary of Paul’s “vision” because they recalled YAHUSHA’s words of Matthew 24:24-27!
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Matthew 24:24-27
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Messiah, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
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Note also that the previous passage reveals that Paul was with the disciples in Damascus for a period of “certain days”. Acts 9:19 has him in Damascus for “certain” days, & Acts 9:23 has him there for “many” days. Even “many days” is probably not an extended period of time. Certain or many days is probably less than a month, at the most a few weeks perhaps. Otherwise, his time in Damascus could have been more accurately given as “certain weeks” or “certain months”. At any rate, it seems he was in Damascus for certainly less than a month or two before he went on to Jerusalem.
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The next verse dealing with this question is...
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Acts 22:16-17
And now why tarriest thou? Arise & be baptized, & wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance:
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In his explanation before the men of Jerusalem, Paul is speaking in the first person. He indicates that after he was advised to be baptized in Damascus, he went to Jerusalem. The sentence in which he was advised to be baptized is followed immediately by his description of being in a trance in the temple at Jerusalem. This again clearly indicates that he went to Jerusalem straight after he left Damascus.
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The last account from the book of Acts dealing with this question is found in...
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Acts 26:19-20
Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, & throughout all the coasts of Judaea, & then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
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In his defense before Agrippa, Paul the pharisee is clearly giving an explicit chronology of where he went to preach his message following his experience on the road to Damascus. In chronological order, Paul lists Damascus, Jerusalem, all the coasts of Judaea, & then to the Gentiles.
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The three descriptions of Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus have been reviewed from the book of Acts. They all clearly indicate that Paul the pharisee went to Jerusalem fairly soon after his conversion & subsequent time spent in Damascus. In two of the three passages just reviewed, Paul the pharisee is speaking in the first person. Consequently, it seems extremely clear from these passages that Paul the pharisee went to Jerusalem right after he left Damascus. While there are significant variations between the three different accounts of Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, they are all in agreement that Paul went to Jerusalem immediately after his departure from Damascus. No reason or room for any possible confusion in that regard until we get to the following verse...
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Galatians 1:16-18
… immediately I conferred not with flesh & blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were Apostles before me: but I went into Arabia & returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem…
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Hmm, that’s odd! Paul the pharisee is telling the Galatians that after his conversion in Damascus, he definitely did not go up to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles. This is precisely what the book of Acts indicated that he did! All three of the road to Damascus accounts indicate that after he had his experience on the road to Damascus, Paul went into Damascus, & subsequently left Damascus for Jerusalem. Yet, Paul is telling the Galatians that after he left Damascus, he went into Arabia. He claims he then returned again to Damascus (which he had been forced to escape earlier according to the Acts account, as the people there were trying to kill him.) According to Paul the pharisee’s claim to the Galatians, he did not go to Jerusalem until three years after his experience on the road to Damascus!
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The three accounts above from Acts indicate that Paul went to Jerusalem immediately after leaving Damascus, following his road to Damascus experience. If the Acts accounts of Acts 9:19-27, Acts 22:16-17, & Acts 26:19-20 are correct, then Paul has to be making a false claim in Galatians 1:16-18. Conversely, if Paul is correct in Galatians 1:16-18 that he didn’t go to Jerusalem for 3 years after his road to Damascus event; then the 3 Acts accounts are all wrong, & Paul lived in gross violation of Deuteronomy 16:16-17 for three whole years after he received his vision from Heaven!
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Deuteronomy 16:16-17
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which He shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before YHWH empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of YHWH thy Elohim which He hath given thee.
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If Paul is telling the truth in Galatians 1:16-18, then he is basically admitting that he received a vision & instructions from a Heavenly voice. He subsequently lived in open violation of YHWH’s Torah commandment that all men of Israel must go to appear before YHWH (at the temple in Jerusalem during Paul’s time) for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot, and for the Feast of Tabernacles each year.
When Paul claims in Galatians 1:16-18 that he didn’t go to Jerusalem for the next three years following his road to Damascus experience, he is basically admitting that for the next three years he failed to keep YHWH’s feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Paul admits he lived in open disobedience of YHWH’s Commandment of Deuteronomy 16:16-17 for the next three consecutive years following his vision!
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Actually, Paul’s version gets even worse! According to Paul in Gal 1:16-2:1, following his vision on the road to Damascus, he failed to go to Jerusalem for the next three years. He then went to Jerusalem for a 15 day visit, but then failed to return to Jerusalem to keep YHWH’s Feasts for the next fourteen years straight! According to Paul’s version in Gal 1:15-2:1, following his heavenly vision on the road to Damascus, he failed to keep YHWH’s feasts in Jerusalem for at least seventeen of the next eighteen years!
Galatians 1:15-2:1
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
When Paul subsequently claims his perfectly conscientious Torah observance in three different judicial type proceedings {as recorded in Acts 23:1, Acts 24:14-16, & Acts 25:8}, he has to be knowingly & intentionally lying in each different instance according to Gal 1:16-2:1 & Deuteronomy 16:16-17!
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Acts 23:1
And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
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Acts 24:14-16
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
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Acts 25:8
While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
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Furthermore, if Acts 9:19-27, Acts 22:16-17, & Acts 26:19-20 are all wrong according to Gal 1:16-2:1, then there is not a single reliable or correct account of Paul’s alleged road to Damascus experience, as Paul has repeatedly contradicted them all in different ways! This only further erodes & destroys any credibility of Paul’s claims of being YAHUSHA’s Apostle!
It is so much easier to infer that Paul’s claim in Galatians 1:16-18 is false; however that would still make Paul a false witness, or liar. This is exactly what YAHUSHA was indicating in his message to the church in Ephesus of Rev 2:2.
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Revelation 2:2
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
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So the question remains, when did Paul the pharisee go to Jerusalem after his time in Damascus? Did he go to Jerusalem immediately after he left Damascus, as is clearly indicated in Acts 9:19-27, Acts 22:16-17, & Acts 26:19-20? Conversely, following his experience on the road to Damascus did Paul spend three years wandering back & forth between Arabia & Damascus(as Paul himself claims in Galatians 1:16-18), prior to making his trip to Jerusalem a full three years after his conversion?
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The single most important event in the life of pharisee Paul was his experience on the road to Damascus. How unfortunate that Paul was unable to consistently describe that event without repeatedly contradicting himself in so many different ways! After this single most important event in his life; he still seems to have great difficulty consistently describing where he went, & what he did next after that important life changing event!
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Why did Paul the pharisee apparently have such extreme difficulty in keeping the simple, basic facts straight? Is Paul the pharisee a reliable witness on when he went to Jerusalem after his conversion? It is very difficult for readers to ascertain from Paul the pharisee simple concrete information like what the voice from Heaven told Paul, or when he went to Jerusalem after his conversion. Would it then be wise for readers to depend on Paul the pharisee for more important abstract spiritual matters like our very salvation?
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Was Paul the pharisee telling the truth in Acts 22:16-17 & Acts 26:19-20? Then he could not have been telling the truth to the Galatians in Galatians 1:16-18, & vice versa. If Galatians 1:16-18 is true, then Paul’s testimonies in three different judicial settings of Acts 23:1, Acts 24:14-16, & Acts 25:8 must all be intentionally false testimonies according to Deuteronomy 16:16-17! If Galatians 1:16-18 is false, then Paul is still documented as lying to the Galatians about when he went to Jerusalem following his experience on the road to Damascus! Is Galatians 1:15-2:1 the dishonesty that pharisee Paul was repeatedly admitting to in Romans 3:7 & 2 Cor 12:16?
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