On the strength of his vision Paul continued his bold verbal witness among the Corinthians for 18 months. Then a strong united attack was mounted by his opponents (See Acts 18:12-18). Still, Paul continued the ministry to which he had been called for some time. Then he left, making his way back to Jerusalem to see the disciples there, to his home church in Antioch for some rest and relaxation, I suppose, and then to the churches he had founded in Galatia and Phrygia in order to strengthen and encourage them.
I'd like to know how Paul discerned the term of God's promise in his vision, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Perhaps it was as simple as this: God's promise was in effect until the time when someone did attack and harm him, although Paul did stay for some time afterward.
Some of God's promises have no length of term, for example, Jesus' promise, "...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20b) Other promises remain in force for a definite span of time, for example, the way God dealt with Zechariah:
Still other promises of God have indefinite duration terms, such as the promise made to Paul at Corinth, and the "life span" of such promises must be discerned by the receiver of the promise.
How have you discerned the terms of God's promises to you, reader?
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