While Paul the Apostle served as the human author of at least two other Biblical books that follow 2 Timothy, it is generally agreed that 2 Timothy is the last New Testament letter Paul ever wrote.
Tradition holds that Timothy served as a Bishop in the city of Ephesus during the latter half of the first century. He was also someone who worked closely with Paul as evidenced by the mention of his name in the New Testament books of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and Philemon.
Nevertheless, there are a few mysteries that surround the circumstances of this letter. We can unravel a few of those mysteries with a look at the events of Paul’s life beginning around A.D. 63. You see, the Biblical book of Acts reports that Paul was under house arrest within the city of Rome during that period. However, it also appears that Paul was later released from detention and resumed his missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire.
Shortly thereafter, the city of Rome was devastated by a catastrophic fire in July, A.D. 64. Ancient historians tell us that The Great Fire Of Rome burned out of control within the city for almost a week. The fire was then subdued for a period of time but later broke out again in other areas and eventually destroyed large portions of the city.
This disaster inflicted great social and economic devastation upon the people of that area. It also plunged Roman leadership into a politically difficult position. To help deflect responsibility for this disaster, the Roman Emperor Nero elected to place the blame for the fire upon the members of the Christian church. That led to what has come to be known as the “The Neronian Persecutions,” the first large scale governmental action ever taken against the Christian community.
Since the letter of 2 Timothy indicates that Paul was imprisoned during the writing of this letter, it appears that he had been re-arrested following the events that took place in A.D. 64. As Paul will later indicate within this letter, he was fully aware that his execution was fast approaching. This, along with the conditions that likely accompanied his imprisonment, serve to account for the solemn and serious tone of this letter.
We’ll take a look at the environment conditions that Paul likely experienced as he awaited his fate in prison and see how those conditions may have impacted his message to Timothy next.