The apostle Paul in Jerusalem:
And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great cry: and the scribes there were part of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.-Acts 23:1-15***Paul (Saul) was an Israelite, a Pharisee, Roman citizen, and tentmaker from the tribe of Benjamin. Sometime after Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was betrayed, arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, and returned to heaven, Stephen, an Israelite believer, was being stoned to death by Israelites who did not believe Jesus to be the Christ, and Paul was guarding the garments of the assailants. Throughout Jerusalem, Paul began persecuting and imprisoning any Israelite who believed Jesus to be the Christ of God. When Paul was journeying to the synagogues in Damascus in Syria to find, bind and take to Jerusalem any Israelite believers he found, Paul and those with him saw a light from heaven flash around them. Paul heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him, and Paul spoke to Jesus and obeyed Jesus. In Damascus Paul was baptized. From thenceforward, Paul the apostle journeyed and wrote divinely inspired letters, teaching the good news of Jesus the Christ and everlasting life to Israelites and Gentiles, people not born into the Israelite tribes. Paul and those with him were sometimes attacked, taken into custody or imprisoned. In Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas were ejected from the region. In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas were plotted against, so they immediately left. When Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, some Israelites from Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra. Paul was pelted with stones, and the pelters dragged Paul beyond the city gates, and thought Paul was dead. In Philippi, Paul and Silas were grabbed, taken to the authorities and placed in prison. In Thessalonica, a mob went searching for Paul and Silas. Some of the Thessalonians went to Berea to cause trouble for Paul and Silas. The Israelites in Corinth became blasphemous. However, in a vision, the Lord spoke an encouraging message to Paul. In Ephesus, Gaius and Aristarchus were snatched. In Jerusalem, Paul was snatched and dragged from the temple of the Lord. Before the crowd was able to kill Paul, Roman commander Claudius Lysias arrested Paul and placed Paul in chains. After speaking to the crowd, Paul was taken to the castle grounds and about to be flogged and interrogated when he identified himself as a Roman citizen. The next day, Lysias set Paul before the Sanhedrin, the high court of the Israelites (Hebrews/Jews), and the next night the Lord Jesus stood near Paul and spoke a message to him.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 8:1-40, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, 6:1-8:4, 9:1-31, 11:19-28:31, Romans, 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Reference Scripture:
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.-Exodus 22:28