2 Timothy 4:1

This immortal chapter is indelibly stamped upon the conscience of all mankind. It may be called the last will and testament of the great apostle to the Gentiles. In view of the apostasy, even at that time working in the church, an event Paul had frequently mentioned, and in view of his own forthcoming death, Paul penned his solemn charge to Timothy to "preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:1-8); then he called for Timothy to hasten to be at his side for the end, requesting that he bring Mark and a few personal belongings, including in this some very interesting material regarding his personal affairs and the circumstances that pertained to his final imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:10-18). The final four verses (2 Timothy 4:19-22) contain a few salutations and the final apostolic benediction.

I charge thee in the sight of God and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: (2 Timothy 4:1)

Facing the immediate prospect of death, as were so many others of the faithful Christians, Paul declared his solemn charge to be "before," that is, "in the sight of" God and of Christ Jesus; but it was also very appropriate that his charge with attendant warnings should contain this powerful reminder of the eternal judgment to be faced by all men.

Who shall judge the living and the dead ... The living are those who shall remain and still be upon the earth at the time of the Second Advent (2 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:51); the dead, of course, are the myriads who sleep in death until the coming of the Lord.

And by his appearing and his kingdom ... These are not added here as witnesses along with God and of Christ of Paul's solemn charge, but merely for the "purpose of reminding Timothy of both."[1] The coming of Christ will be the occasion of the final judgment; and, as Lenski said, "There is no room for nor thought of a millennium"[2] in this passage.

His kingdom ... On Paul's very first missionary journey, he had stressed that "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); and, despite the fact that the false charges of his enemies who accused him of setting up a regime opposed to that of Caesar (Acts 17:7,8) had caused him to use other synonyms for the church of God, he never changed this basic concept of it as the kingdom of God." Evil men shall not inherit the kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:21); he wrote that both the Colossians and the Thessalonians had been called and translated into the kingdom (Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:12); Jesus is now reigning in his kingdom and will continue to do so until all enemies are put under foot (1 Corinthians 15:25). Despite the Pauline concept of the kingdom already being now and here, his teachings also recognized a higher and more exalted state of the kingdom to be realized in the future (2 Timothy 4:18), also speaking of this thus: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom" (1 Corinthians 15:50); "These only are fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God" (Colossians 4:11). All of this bears out fully Paul's own declaration that "I went about preaching the kingdom" (Acts 20:25); "He expounded the matter, testifying the kingdom of God" (Acts 28:23); "He abode two whole years ... preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus" (Acts 28:31).

[1] R. C. H. Lenski, Exposition of the Epistles of Paul ... 1Timothy (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1964), p. 851.

[2] Ibid.