“And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”
And not frightened in anything by your opponents—this is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God — the opponents (antikeimenoi, those arrayed against) are external persecutors; Paul urges non-fear (ptoieō, to frighten). The paradox: their fearlessness is itself a sign (sēmeion) of eschatological judgment—the opponents' destruction and the Philippians' salvation are both revealed in present witness. Fear betrays lack of faith; courage reveals alignment with God's purpose. The cosmic drama unfolds in their steadfastness.
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