The New Testament · The Letters of St. Paul · Book 61 of 73
Prophecy in 1 Timothy
A letter of pastoral care for a young bishop: how to pray, whom to ordain, how to guard sound teaching. Its prophecy is quiet but clear. Some will turn away from the faith, and the Church is to keep the commandment until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In progress: 3 passages so far
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The book at a glance
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus are called the Pastoral Letters. They come in Paul's name to two trusted co-workers, Timothy at Ephesus and Titus on Crete, and deal with the order and teaching of local churches. Tradition holds them to be Paul's own; many modern scholars think a disciple wrote them in his name. The Church receives them as inspired Scripture either way.
1 Timothy looks forward in two ways. It gives a prophecy of turning away “in the last times,” which the Church reads as a description of her whole life between the comings of Christ, and it gives the promise of his appearance. Both serve the letter's aim: a Church that is “the pillar and foundation of truth” (3:15) while she waits.
Key to the labels
How a passage stands
Fulfilled Accomplished in history, above all in Christ.
Unfolding Being worked out now in the life of the Church.
Future Clearly still to come at Christ's return.
Mystery Its meaning or moment is not yet settled.
What kind of passage it is
Prophecy God's word through a prophet, or Christ, about what will come.
Promise A pledge God makes, kept over generations.
Type A person or event that foreshadows Christ or the Church.
Image A picture Scripture returns to and completes at the end.
Apocalypse A vision unveiling history from heaven's side, in symbols.
More on the labels
| Passage | Subject | Standing |
|---|
| 2:3–6 | One mediator, a ransom for all | Fulfilled Unfolding |
| 4:1–3 | In the last times some will turn away | Unfolding |
| 6:14–16 | Until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ | Future |
The passages
“For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.”
- Reading
- God “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (2:4). That will is carried out by one mediator, who is both God and man, and who gave himself on the cross. The Catechism cites this verse when it teaches that the cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men” (CCC 618), and cites 2:4 for the Church's mission to bring the Gospel to all (CCC 74).
- Why two labels
- The ransom has been paid once for all: “This was the testimony at the proper time” (2:6). The testimony is still being carried to the whole human race, and the Church prays “for everyone” (2:1) until it is complete.
- See also
- Mark 10:45; Hebrews 9:15.
“Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions…”
- Reading
- The prophecy comes from the Spirit, perhaps through Christian prophets in the churches. The errors named are specific: “They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving” (4:3). The letter answers that “everything created by God is good” (4:4). The NABRE note compares Paul's farewell warning in Acts 20:29–30.
- Why unfolding
- For the New Testament, “the last times” began with Christ. The Catechism cites this verse when it describes the present age as a time of witness and of trial, marked by watchfulness (CCC 672). Turning away has happened in every century, and each time the Church has answered by holding to the goodness of creation and the truth of the Gospel.
- See also
- 2 Timothy 3:1–5; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 John 2:18.
“…to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time…”
- Reading
- The letter's last charge to Timothy has a horizon: the epiphaneia, the appearance of Christ. Its timing is God's: he “will make manifest at the proper time.” The verse breaks into praise of “the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light” (6:15–16).
- Note
- “At the proper time” leaves the date with God (CCC 673). The same title, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” is the name written on the cloak of the rider in Revelation 19:16.
Still to come on this pageFurther passages to add: the hymn to the mystery of devotion, “taken up in glory” (3:16), the hope set on the living God (4:10), and storing up “a good foundation for the future” (6:17–19).
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