The subject of the present study is verses 1-10 of chapter 5 of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul.

This is one of the most important, widely discussed, and at the same time difficult passages of the New Testament, which has received a whirlwind of conflicting interpretations due to the metaphorical nature of Paul's words in it and, mainly, the perception of certain interpreters that the passage represents a classic point of change in the Apostle's previous eschatological views.