提摩太后书 2 Timothy

提摩太后书是保罗的绝笔。写信时他第二次被囚于罗马，处境与前次大不相同：这一次是死囚的牢狱，「我现在被浇奠，我离世的时候到了」（提后 4:6）。许多同工或离开或变节，只有路加在他身边。在生命的尽头，保罗最挂念的是福音的传承——他写信给属灵的儿子提摩太，要他速速赶来，更要他接过火炬，把所学的真道继续传下去。

信的核心是一连串恳切的嘱咐：要将神借按手所给的恩赐再如火挑旺起来，因为神赐的不是胆怯的心；不要以给主作见证为耻，要为福音同受苦难；要把真道「交托那忠心能教导别人的人」，使传承延绵四代（提后 2:2）；末世必有危险的日子，而抵挡的根基是「圣经都是神所默示的」，能使人因信基督有得救的智慧。

第四章是基督教历史上最动人的告别之一：「那美好的仗我已经打过了，当跑的路我已经跑尽了，所信的道我已经守住了。」保罗坦然面对殉道，因为知道有公义的冠冕为他存留，也为凡爱慕主显现的人存留。读这卷书，就是聆听一位老战士最后的托付：务要传道，无论得时不得时。

Second Timothy is Paul's last surviving letter. He writes from a second Roman imprisonment, far harsher than the first — this time a condemned man's cell: "I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near" (2 Timothy 4:6). Coworkers have deserted or scattered; only Luke is with him. At the end of his life, Paul's deepest concern is the survival of the gospel itself. So he writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, urging him to come quickly — and, more importantly, to take up the torch.

The letter is a chain of urgent charges: fan into flame the gift God gave you, for God's Spirit does not make us timid; do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, but join in suffering for the gospel; entrust what you have heard "to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others" — four generations of transmission in a single verse (2 Timothy 2:2). Against the terrible times of the last days stands one sure foundation: all Scripture is God-breathed, able to make a person wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Chapter four contains one of the most moving farewells in Christian history: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Paul faces martyrdom unafraid, certain that the crown of righteousness awaits him — and not him only, but all who long for the Lord's appearing. To read this book is to hear an old soldier's final commission: preach the word, in season and out of season.