This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
This is the third time I am coming to you - not merely preparing to come (2 Corinthians 12:14). This proves an intermediate visit between the two in Acts 18:1, etc.; 20:2.
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established - quoted from Deuteronomy 19:15, Septuagint 'I will judge, after having tested every statement by examining witnesses.' The apostle, where ordinary testimony was to be had, does not look for an immediate revelation, nor does he order the culprits to be cast out of the church before his arrival. So Alford, Meyer, Conybeare, etc. I prefer (with Chrysostom, Billroth, etc.) the "two or three witnesses" to mean his two or three visits. As surely as a statement supported by two or three witnesses is true, so will my present third journey bring my threats to realization.