There are two things that impressed my mind while reading this chapter and I'll talk about them in reverse order. I'm impressed with what Paul went through. Without the vision, without the divine calling, I don't think anyone would put themselves through what he did for something he knew was false. When threatened to the point of the loss of life, those who purposely teach falsely or lie, will admit to the truth if it will save their life. Paul was beaten with a rod five times, four of those were for forty stripes. He was in prison more than that, three times he was ship wrecked and one time spent a day and a half in the sea. He says he has been exhausted, in pain, in hunger and thirst, cold and naked. At some point, unless you were demented in some way, you would say it isn't worth it. But Paul knew he had the truth. He knew he had seen a vision, and he knew he was called of God and having accepted that calling, his integrity would not allow him to deny it.
Evidently there are false teachers attempting to lead the people and Paul is urging them to not be beguiled by Satan like Eve was. The world would have you believe that there cannot be one true church. Plain and simple, that would mean they are wrong and the true church is right. No one likes to be wrong. Good people are killed for telling the truth. Martin Luther King told the truth about racial injustice and there were those who were so sure he was wrong, and so threatened by what he said, that they murdered him. In ancient and modern times, prophets are killed for telling the truth. Something that is true always stands apart from everything else around it. When truth bears its light, it is hard for some to see light shine on, and make obvious and clear, that they have believed is false. Truth will always stand in and of itself. It is something to embraced or to break ourselves against.
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