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Letter of Paul to Titus
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Letter of Paul to Titus

Author: Michael Scott Robertson

Published: 28th October 2021

Robertson, Michael Scott. 2021. "Letter of Paul to Titus." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. 28 October 2021. Retrieved from https://www.cdamm.org/articles/titus

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Introduction

As discussed in another entry, the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are letters found in the New Testament which claim the apostle Paul as their author, though they are typically understood in scholarship to be pseudonymous compositions which develop Pauline theology for a new audience. This entry described the relationship between the Pastoral Epistles and Pauline apocalypticism, and four aspects of apocalypticism were identified as important elements for comparison between the apocalypticism found in the undisputed Pauline letters and the Pastoral Epistles. These elements are: the eschatological coming of Christ; divine revelation; presence of divine beings; and a two-age periodisation of history. Rather than compare the undisputed Pauline letters to the Pastoral Epistles as a unified corpus, this entry will focus on apocalypticism in Titus as compared to Pauline apocalypticism in order to allow possible differences between Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy to come to the fore. These letters have their own constellation of apocalyptic elements. Titus will be shown to differ not only from Paul but also from 1 and 2 Timothy.

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Titus

The eschatological appearing of Christ in Titus is confined to essentially one passage—Titus 2:13. Here, the author mentions the expectation ‘of the appearing of our great god and saviour, Jesus Christ’ (translation mine. The translation of this verse is highly contested; see Harris 1980, 262–77; Brox 1989, 300). As seen with 1 and 2 Timothy, the temporal setting of Titus 2:13 is at an undisclosed point in the future. There is no expectation in this passage that the coming of Christ is imminent.

Regarding the divine disclosure of mysteries, Titus is silent if one insists that the term ‘mystery’ is necessary. Titus 1:2–3 mentions that God revealed eternal life in ‘his word through preaching’ with which the authorial Paul ‘was entrusted’ (see Harding 2017, 268). Here, something previously unknown was revealed to the authorial Paul. Like 1 and 2 Timothy, however, Titus does focus upon the handing down of tradition from one generation to the next (1:5–15). These two forms of disclosure—divine revelation and passing on of tradition—stand together in Titus.

Other than God and Jesus Christ (see 2:13), there are no divine beings present in the letter to Titus. This is in contrast to 1 and 2 Timothy which both discuss such beings.

Titus presents a periodisation of history in 2:11–14. This passage mentions two ‘appearings’ of Christ. The passage describes one ‘appearing’ as in the past (2:11) and the second ‘appearing’ as in the future (2:13), placing the reader between the two appearances (Oberlinner 1980, 201; Towner 2006, 750). As Towner says, this is ‘essentially to place brackets around the present age’ (Towner 1989, 69; see also Downs 2005, 656). In this way, the letter creates a period before the first appearing, the present age, and an age after the second appearing. The periodisation of history exists but in a very different form from that found in the undisputed Paulines.

Titus’s apocalypticism emphasises the future ‘appearing’ of Jesus Christ and divine disclosure of eternal life. The future ‘appearing,’ in contrast to the undisputed Paulines, is not imminent. It also has a periodisation of history, but now it is around three ages rather than two. Thus, although there are clear apocalyptic themes in Titus, it is different from the undisputed Paulines.

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Conclusion

The Pastoral Epistles evidently contain elements of apocalyptic thought. Not all of the documents, however, contain these elements in the same constellations. Titus has an expectation of a non-imminent ‘appearing’ of Christ, but over a period of three ages instead of two, and a lack of divine beings. In addition, Titus has an element of divine revelation. All three of the Pastoral Epistles differ from Paul in the relative imminence of the future coming of Christ and the relations of the ages (see entry on 1 and 2 Timothy). Paul sees the future coming as imminent, whereas the Pastoral Epistles do not. Paul divides time into two overlapping ages, but Titus presents three sequential ages. Titus has no divine beings in contrast to Paul. Titus also contains divine revelation as does Paul. The apocalypticism of the Pastoral Epistles, therefore, is markedly different from that of Paul. Further, apocalypticism within the Pastoral Epistles is not the same across all three documents.

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References

Brox, Norbert. 1989. Die Pastoralbriefe, 5th ed. RNT 7. Regensburg: Pustet.

Downs, David J. 2005. “‘Early Catholicism’ and Apocalypticism in the Pastoral Epistles.” CBQ 67 (4): 641–61.

Harding, Mark. 2017. “Apocalypticism in the Pastoral Epistles.” In The Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition and the Shaping of New Testament Thought, edited by Benjamin E. Reynolds and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, 259–73. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Harris, Murray. 1980. “Titus 2:13 and the Deity of Christ.” In Pauline Studies: Essays Presented to Professor F. F. Bruce on His 70th Birthday, edited by Donald A. Hagner and Murray J. Harris, 262–77. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Oberlinner, Lorenz. 1980. “Die ‘Epiphaneia’ des Heilswillens Gottes in Christus Jesus: Zur Grundstruktur der Christologie der Pastoralbriefe.” ZNW 71: 192–213.

Towner, Philip H. 1989. The Goal of Our Instruction: The Structure of Theology and Ethics in the Pastoral Epistles. JSNTS 34. Sheffield: JSOT Press.

Towner, Philip H. 2006. The Letters to Timothy and Titus. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Article information

Robertson, Michael Scott. 2021. "Letter of Paul to Titus." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements. 28 October 2021. Retrieved from https://www.cdamm.org/articles/titus

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144,000

144,000 refers to a belief in an elect group, often at end times or in an imminent transformation of the world. The usage typically derives from the book of Revelation. In Revelation 7:1–8, 144,000 refers to the twelve tribes of Israel who have the seal of God on their foreheads. They are also presented as virgins, blameless, ‘redeemed from the earth’, and expected to sing a new song at Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1–5).

Apocalypticism

In popular usage, 'apocalypticism' refers to a belief in the likely or impending destruction of the world (or a general global catastrophe), usually associated with upheaval in the social, political, and religious order of human society—often referred to as an/the 'apocalypse'. Historically, the term has had religious connotations and the great destruction has traditionally been seen as part of a divine scheme, though it is increasingly used in secular contexts. See the Apocalypticism article for a more detailed discussion.

Armageddon

In popular use, ‘Armageddon’ involves ideas of great cataclysmic events or conflict. The term has long been used to refer to a future battle or ongoing war at the end of time or civilization, whether understood generally as a cataclysmic final battle or specifically as a battle at a place called Megiddo (a location in modern Israel), or a more flexible understanding of Megiddo as a coded reference to an alternative location. ‘Armageddon’ derives from the book of Revelation where it appears just once (Revelation 16:16) with reference to the location of a great cosmic battle associated with the end times. See the Armageddon article for a more detailed discussion.

Beast of the Apocalypse

In popular terms, the 'Beast' or the 'Beast of the Apocalypse' refer generally to a violent and destructive creature that emerges at end times. Such understandings of an end-time beast or beasts derive from the book of Revelation (also called the The Apocalypse) and its long and varied history of interpretation. Revelation refers to 'beasts' on different occasions, including beasts in opposition to God: one emerging from the sea or a pit (Revelation 11:7; 13:1; 17:8; cf. Daniel 7), one from the earth (Revelation 13:11), and another scarlet in colour (Revelation 17:3). The beast from the earth is also associated with the number 666 (alternatively: 616) (Revelation 13:18) and Revelation 19:20 claims that the beast will 'thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur' (New Revised Standard Version).

Eschatology

‘Eschatology’ concerns the study of end times and is derived from the Greek term ἔσχατος (eschatos), meaning ‘final, ‘last’, ‘end’, etc. Eschatology is a label that can incorporate a cluster of related beliefs which differ according to tradition (e.g., end of the world, resurrection, regeneration, Day of Judgment, Antichrist).

Kingdom of God

In the Bible, the ‘Kingdom of God’ (sometimes synonymous with the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’) refers to notions of ruling and kingship which are often understood to have a spatial or territorial dimension, whether in heaven or on earth. According to the book of Daniel, such ‘kingdom’ language is used to describe the claim that God rules the universe eternally (Daniel 4:34) but will also intervene in human history to establish a kingdom for his people (Daniel 2:44). According to the Gospels, Jesus predicted the coming Kingdom of God or Heaven and these predictions have been influential in the history of speculations about end times or the benefits of the kingdom being experienced in a present time and place. Across different traditions, such language has also been used to describe communities deemed holy or places deemed sacred, as well as being understood with reference to personal or ‘spiritual’ transformation.

Messianism

Messianism refers to ideas about a redeemer figure or figures who transform the fortunes of a given people or the world as a whole. The term ‘Messiah’ is derived from the Hebrew משיח (mashiach), meaning ‘anointed one’. In the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, it is a term used to denote people such as kings, priests and prophets anointed to carry out their duties on behalf of God. In early Judaism, the term took on a more precise meaning as a future redeemer figure, including a king in the line of David. New Testament texts made such clams about Jesus where a Greek equivalent of the Hebrew, Χριστός (christos), became part of his name: Jesus Christ.

Millenarianism

In popular and academic use, the term ‘millenarianism’ is often synonymous with the related terms ‘millennialism’, ‘chiliasm’ and ‘millenarism’. They refer to an end-times Golden Age of peace, on earth, for a long period, preceding a final cataclysm and judgement—sometimes referred to as the 'millennium'. The terms are used to describe both millenarian belief and the persons or social groups for whom that belief is central. ‘Millennialism’ or ‘chiliasm’ are chronological terms derived from the Latin and Greek words for ‘thousand’. They are commonly used to refer to a thousand-year period envisaged in the book of Revelation (20:4–6) during which Christ and resurrected martyrs reign prior to the final judgment. More recently the terms have been used to refer to secular formulas of salvation, from political visions of social transformation to UFO movements anticipating globally transformative extra-terrestrial intervention. See the Millenarianism article for a more detailed discussion.

Prophecy

‘Prophecy’ can be broadly understood as a cross-cultural phenomenon involving claims of supernatural or inspired knowledge transmitted or interpreted by an authoritative recipient, intermediary, or interpreter labelled a ‘prophet’. The term is also used in a more general and secular way to refer to individuals who simply predict or prognosticate future events, or those leading principled causes or in pursuit of a particular social or political vision without any special association with inspired or supernatural insight. The language of ‘prophet’ and ‘prophecy’ in English derives from the Greek προφητης (prophētēs) found in the Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and in the New Testament. See the Prophets and Prophecy article for a more detailed discussion.

Son of Man

‘Son of man’ simply means ‘man’ in biblical Hebrew and Aramaic and is a title for Jesus in the Greek New Testament. While the ancient idiom is gendered, some scholars prefer to bring out the generic implications and reflect inclusive language today in their English translations (e.g., 'son of a human being', 'son of humanity'). The phrase sometimes took on a more titular function before Jesus because of the book of Daniel. In Daniel 7, Daniel is said to have had a vision of four destructive beasts representing four kingdoms and who stand in contrast to a human-like figure—‘one like a son of man’. The ‘Ancient of Days’ then takes away the power of the beasts and Daniel sees ‘one like a son of man’ approaching, ‘coming with the clouds of heaven’ (Daniel 7:13; New International Version). Daniel 7 claims that this ‘son of man’ figure will be given ‘authority, glory and sovereign power’, ‘all peoples’ will worship him, and his kingdom will be everlasting. The precise identification of the ‘one like a son of man’ in Daniel 7:13 is not made explicit and there has been a long history of identification with a variety of candidates in apocalyptic and millenarian movements, sometimes without reference to the book of Daniel.

Zion

‘Zion’ is an alternative name for Jerusalem and the ‘city of David’ (2 Samuel 5:7; 1 Kings 8:1; 1 Chronicles 11:5; 2 Chronicles 5:2), though it is also used with reference to Israel. Zion can also refer to ‘Mount Zion’, a hill located in Jerusalem which was the site of the Jewish Temple (destroyed 70 CE) and is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Zion and Mount Zion are sometimes interpreted as coded references to an alternative geographical location or to something ‘spiritual’ and otherworldly. In some religious traditions, Zion plays a central role in expectations about end times or the benefits associated with end times being fulfilled in the present.

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