During the writing of the second letter to Timothy, Paul is once again in Rome. This time he is a prisoner in chains, not under house arrest. While we may want to think of Paul as having some amount of freedom and humane conditions while in prison, most likely that was not the case. For information on prisons at the time of Paul, go to this website.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/14354155/Life-in-Prison-in-1ad

2 Timothy 2:9
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained.

Praise God, His Word is not chained!

Paul warns Timothy (and all of us) about godless men who are teaching in the church. Some very stinging words follow. "Their teaching will spread like gangrene." Could he be talking about the myths that he mentioned earlier? Paul hoped that God will lead them "to a knowledge of the truth" and "escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." Again Paul warns about quarreling over such matters. Arguing a case is one thing, but quarreling is going too far.

Paul warns us that there will be terrible times in the last days.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Sound familiar???  Having a form of godliness but denying its power is the description of the apostate church, church for the sake of church (churchianity or religiosity).

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What a powerful piece of Scripture this is! Check out the definitive words ALL, THOROUGHLY, and EVERY. All Scripture is God-breathed! That would include the Old Testament - after all the only Scripture they had at the writing of this letter would have been the Old Testament scrolls. And this mostly for the Jews. Many of the Gentiles had no background of the scrolls. The leaders of the early church really had their work cut out for them.  So often we want to focus on only those parts of Scripture that make us feel good.  But what about those verses that rebuke and correct?  First we are taught the right way to live and then it is through rebuking and correcting that we are trained in how to live a righteous life.

Paul mentions that he was "delivered from the lion's mouth". Was he delivered from being sent to the arena where Christians were thrown to the lions?

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

What a great statement of faith, from Paul or from any Believer in Jesus!

Paul mentions several people who had deserted him.  Luke remains with him. He asks Timothy to join him if possible, bringing with him Mark, as well as his cloak, the scrolls and especially the parchments. Scrolls had writing. Most likely the parchments were blank to be written on.

We would urge you to re-read 2 Timothy 4:9-18 and weep in remembrance of Paul!