A Torah Verse By Verse Commentary Of Paul's Epistles by Re'tzon Ha'El - HTML preview

Introduction

Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy from his second incarceration in Rome. Following the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero had vilified the Christians, labelling them as incendiaries, snowballing into the great persecution which ensued. With a target on every believer’s back, multitudes deserted the faith, denying Yeshua for the sake of their lives. Young Timothy, based in Ephesus, undoubtedly feared for his life too, and would have found himself in a quandary, being tempted to throw in the towel as his former fellow saints had done. It is with much urgency then, that Paul felt obliged to deliver his protege from so sure eternal damnation through an emotional plea penned in this very personal epistle to Timothy. 

Paul in his great wisdom acquired through many years of Holy Spirit led ministry, fraught with trials and tribulations, multiple brushes with death, debates, floggings, robberies, hunger, imprisonment, despair and disappointment all for the furtherance of the gospel, had much experiential and evidential exhortation to impart to his fellow beloved son in Messiah. Paul, aware of his impending execution, so desperately wished to see Timothy one more time and implored for Timothy to hastily visit him before his appointment with death. Timothy was encouraged to continue in the faith inherited from his mother and grandmother, and to shun fear and place all his faith in Yeshua, his source of power, love and a sound mind. Timothy was to emulate the likes of Onisepherus, who had embraced the bigger picture, understanding that greater rewards in the afterlife awaited those who persevered in the faith in the most troubling of times.

Timothy was to turn his back on the pleasures of this world and focus on the gospel and its evangelism in all quarters, never denying Messiah. Using and rightly dividing Bible as the only source of truth, Timothy was further encouraged to extricate himself from pointless debates which attracted division within the body of Messiah. He was furthermore to be wary of impending apostasy and the infestation of charlatan leaders within the ecclesia, who would bring great evil. These men were not be tolerated but resisted using knowledge from scripture, with the hope of even winning back these depraved souls for the Kingdom. Paul closes by reminding Timothy to visit him at his earliest convenience, and by exchanging salutations from other saints, as was his custom.