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"I call to witness your sanctuary, and the holy angels of God, and this country
common to us all, that I have not kept back anything that is for your preservation" (Wars
of Jews, Bk. 2: 16).
The reader will not only see that this adjuration was common, but he will also see a
parallel with Paul's words of Acts 20: 20:
"I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you."
A somewhat parallel charge, at least in its solemnity is found in first Timothy:
"O man of God . . . . . fight the good fight of faith . . . . . I give thee charge in the sight
of God, Who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, Who before Pontius Pilate
witnessed a good confession: that thou keep this commandment without spot,
unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Tim. 6: 11-14).
The reader will not fail to see that the references to "the Man of God" and "the
appearing" and the "good fight" connect this passage with II Tim. 4: 1-8.
We bring with us now, something of what Timothy would have realized without so
much research, when he read "the charge" of II Tim. 4: 1.
The judgment of "the quick and the dead" may refer to the judgment of all, whether
saved or unsaved, as in Acts 10: 42 and I Pet. 4: 5, or it may be limited to the judgment
seat of Christ when living and dead saints shall stand before Him to receive His approval
or otherwise of their service. The nature of the case settles the matter for us, for Timothy
had no fear of "condemnation" (Rom. 8: 1) and, as the context proves, Paul was
thinking of the "righteous Judge" in connexion with the awards for faithful service "at
His appearing" (II Tim. 4: 8).
We must now examine both the wording and the intention of the Apostle in the
remainder of this charge to Timothy.
"Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing, and His kingdom"
(II Tim. 4: 1).
The first matter that demands attention is a question as to what is the correct reading.
The Authorized Version reads "Who shall judge the quick and the dead AT His
appearing, and His kingdom", whereas the Revised Version reads "Who shall judge the
quick and the dead, AND by His appearing and His kingdom", which reading and
rendering is endorsed by the Companion Bible.
It may seem a slight and insignificant thing, as to whether we read kata "AT" or kai
"AND", but an important doctrinal point that belongs to the hope of the church is
involved. Accepting the Revised reading, and with Alford, reading kai instead of kata,
we now face the question of interpretation. Did Paul simply mean that he adjured
Timothy by two great events, namely in view of the judgment of the quick and the dead,
and in view of the approaching manifestation and kingdom? Shall we translate with
Rotherham: