The inscription was a warning to pagan visitors to the temple not to proceed further. Both Greek and Latin inscriptions on the temple's balustrade served as warnings to pagan visitors not to proceed under penalty of death.[3][7] Two authentic tablets have been found, one complete, and the other a partial fragment with missing sections, but with letters showing signs of the red paint that had originally highlighted the text.[7] It was described by the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1872 as being "very nearly in the words of Josephus".[8][9][10]
The inscription uses three terms referring to temple architecture:[11]
1 Timothy 4Holman Christian Standard Bible
The inscription was a warning to pagan visitors to the temple not to proceed further. Both Greek and Latin inscriptions on the temple's balustrade served as warnings to pagan visitors not to proceed under penalty of death.[3][7] Two authentic tablets have been found, one complete, and the other a partial fragment with missing sections, but with letters showing signs of the red paint that had originally highlighted the text.[7] It was described by the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1872 as being "very nearly in the words of Josephus".[8][9][10]
The inscription uses three terms referring to temple architecture:[11]
Demonic Influence
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
Paul's contacts with the Corinthian church can be reconstructed as follows:[4]
- Paul visits Corinth for the first time, spending about 18 months there (Acts 18:11). He then leaves Corinth and spends about 3 years in Ephesus (Acts 19:8, 19:10, 20:31). (Roughly from AD 53 to 57, see 1 Corinthians article).
- Paul writes the "warning letter" in his first year from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 5:9).
- Paul writes 1 Corinthians from his second year at Ephesus.
- Paul visits the Corinthian church a second time, as he indicated he would in 1 Corinthians 16:6. Probably during his last year in Ephesus. 2 Corinthians 2:1 calls this a "painful visit".
- Paul writes the "letter of tears".
- Paul writes 2 Corinthians, indicating his desire to visit the Corinthian church a third time (2 Cor 12:14, 2 Cor 13:1). The letter does not indicate where he is writing from, but it is usually dated after Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia (Acts 20), from either Philippi or Thessalonica in Macedonia.[12]
- Paul presumably made the third visit after writing 2 Corinthians, because Acts 20:2–3 indicates he spent 3 months in Greece. In his letter to Rome, written at this time, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of the church to the Romans.[12]
While there is little doubt among scholars that Paul is the author, there is discussion over whether the Epistle was originally one letter or composed from two or more of Paul's letters.[1]:8
Although the New Testament contains only two letters to the Corinthian church, the evidence from the letters themselves is that he wrote at least four and the church replied at least once:
- 1 Corinthians 5:9 ("I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators", KJV) refers to an early letter, sometimes called the "warning letter"[2] or the "previous letter."
- 1 Corinthians
- The Severe Letter: Paul refers to an earlier "letter of tears" in 2 Corinthians 2:3–4 and 7:8. 1 Corinthians does not match that description, so this "letter of tears" may have been written between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.
- 2 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 7:1 states that in that letter Paul was replying to certain questions regarding which the church had written to him.
The abrupt change of tone from being previously harmonious to bitterly reproachful in 2 Corinthians 10–13 has led many to infer that chapters 10–13 form part of the "letter of tears" which were in some way appended to Paul's main letter.[3] Those who disagree with this assessment usually say that the "letter of tears" is no longer extant.[4] Others argue that although the letter of tears is no longer extant, chapters 10–13 come from a later letter.[5]
The seemingly sudden change of subject from chapter 7 to chapters 8–9 leads some scholars to conclude that chapters 8–9 were originally a separate letter, and some even consider the two chapters to have originally been dstinct themselves. Other scholars dispute this claim, however.[6]
The Severe Letter or Letter of Tears was a letter written to the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul. It is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:4: "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you." This description does not match First Corinthians, so there are two main theories on the Severe Letter:
- The first theory is that the Severe Letter is lost.
- The second theory is that the "Severe Letter" is preserved in 2 Corinthians 10–13.[1] [2]
For more discussion on reconstructing Paul's correspondence with the Corinthians, see Second Epistle to the Corinthians.
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