<p>4:9- see on Ex. 7:4; Rom. 3:19; 1 Cor. 12:28; Acts 23:6.</p><p><i>For I think God has sent us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men- </i>The Roman spectacles included men doomed to death who were made to fight as gladiators to the death, either against each other or wild animals. The &quot;last of all&quot; compares with the idea of the Corinthians wanting to be 'first' (:8). Paul is saying that apostles like him were hardly worth following in a cultic sense; for they were indeed on the stage in front of all men, but were set to die a sad death, in shame and rejection. It would seem from 2 Tim. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:32 and 2 Cor. 1:10 that Paul was indeed thrown to the lions at Ephesus but was miraculously delivered. With typical spiritual culture, Paul only alludes to the incident indirectly, and in order to make points for the edification of others. Remember that Paul wrote this first letter from Ephesus. See on :11.</p><p>There is a sense in which the Angels have limited knowledge about our spiritual capacities; &quot;We are made a spectacle... to Angels&quot;&nbsp; implies that the Angels look on at the sufferings God has brought on us through our guardian Angel, and intensely scrutinize how we are acting as if earnestly watching a theatre play (so the word &quot;spectacle&quot; implies). Thus they are anxiously looking for the outcome of their trials on us, not knowing the final result. The fact that only at the judgement will the names of the worthy be confessed to the Angels by Jesus (Rev. 3:5) makes it appear that the ultimate outcome of our probations is not known to our guardians, hence their eagerness in our lives to see how we react. It is not until the harvest that they are sent out to root out of the Kingdom all things that offend (Mt. 13:41).</p>