2Corinthians

The Epistles of Paul - 2 Corinthians Part 2: Comfort and Mercy

In the opening chapter of his second epistle to the Corinthians, on several occasions Paul had referred to encouragement, or comfort as the word may alternately be rendered. He also spoke about affliction. Ostensibly, the encouragement was being referred to because of the affliction which he had described, as he told his readers that “just as you are partners of the sufferings, in that manner also of the encouragement.” As we had seen from the prophet Isaiah, the Word of Yahweh had mentioned several times that children of Israel were to be afflicted for their apostasy from Yahweh their God, and then at some point in the future they were to be comforted for their affliction. That comfort was to be manifest in the message of the Gospel of Christ. Paul's ministry is the announcement of these things to the “lost” children of Israel, and he described them in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 as they were to be found among the pagan nations of ancient Europe, which he said were “Israel according to the flesh”.

Why is it that what we call Christian Identity is such a fantastic thing to most so-called Christians if Paul of Tarsus, who was chosen by Yahshua Christ to be the minister to the nations, was teaching precisely this very thing in the first century? Paul taught this throughout his epistles, and this was his entire worldview: that his ministry was to reconcile the prophesied nations of the lost children of Israel back to Yahweh their God. The so-called Roman Catholic Church which began to develop three hundred years after Paul may have preserved Paul's epistles, but at the same time it corrupted their interpretation with a universalist and replacement theology that Paul's own words do not support.

The Epistles of Paul - 2 Corinthians Part 1: The Affliction of the Anointed

According to the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians is attested to in 2 ancient Great Uncial manuscripts dating to the 4th century (א and B), 4 dating to the 5th century (A, C, I 016, and 048), and 7 dating to the 6th century (D, H 015, 0186, 0223, 0225, 0285 and 0296). It is also attested to in the Chester Beatty papyrus labeled P46, which is esteemed to date to circa 200 AD. The 28th edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece adds to that list the more recently discovered papyrus P99, which is dated to around 400 AD and in which are preserved considerable fragments of chapters from throughout the epistle, as well as the 5th century papyrus P117 which contains portions of chapters 7 and 8, and the 6th century papyrus P124 in which is preserved fragments of chapter 11. Therefore the contents of the epistle are well attested from ancient sources.

After spending approximately three years in Ephesus, Paul of Tarsus had departed from the city in 56 AD. We can date his departure by reckoning backwards from the time of his detention in Caesareia which is given by Luke in the final chapters of the Book of Acts, in relation to the tenures of office of the Roman procurators Festus and Felix which are known from secular history. For this the primary witness in Luke's writing is at Acts 24:26-27 which states of Antonius Felix that “He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.” While historians are divided over whether it was 58 AD or 59AD, the one year difference in the chronology is close enough for us. We cannot be absolutely certain, but for various historical reasons we are confident that the year was 59, and we can count back through the Book of Acts to this point in 56 AD.