Appointed season. Titus 1.

In 2 Timothy we looked at the timing of the "last days." In his letter to Titus, Paul talks about the timing of God, in the sense of events taking place at an appropriate moment, chosen by God. The NET Bible translation says, simply, "But in his own time ..." (Titus 1:3a) The NIV puts it more elegantly:

"... a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour ..." (Titus 1:2,3 NIV)

(A side note on the translations. As the NET Bible footnote indicates, in the Greek there is a strong contrast between v.1:2b and v.1:3a, which they emphasize with the word "But". The NIV uses "and", which makes a connection, but doesn't emphasize the contrast. The new version of the NIV, Today's New International Version, or TNIV, keeps the phrase "appropriate season", but adds the contrast in this way: "and which now ..." For those of you unfamiliar with it, this updated version (TNIV) of the NIV has much to commend it.)

The two thoughts Paul is expressing are that first of all, God has made decisions and extended promises before the dawn of time; and second, that it's His choice as to when those decisions come to fruition or when He fulfills His promises. The implication is that in both cases, it's His choice to make, and it will be good.

The best example I can think of is the same one Paul is talking about -- God's promise of eternal life was fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. There was no more fortuitous time for Jesus' entry into the world, than at the moment He did come. The Greek civilization had provided a common language. The Roman Empire had provided peace (enforced militarily), common economics, and a tremendous infrastructure (especially their roads). The message of the kingdom of God at hand could be taken throughout the civilized western world, and was. Even Paul's background -- trained Jewish scholar and Roman citizen -- enabled him to uniquely help in the spread of the gospel.

At the appointed season.

And for each of us, we can put our confidence in the God who does not lie, even when we're waiting for that appointed season. From Jesus' text:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 TNIV)

This verse, is the conclusion of the passage which begins, "To everything there is a season" and expresses a godly perspective on the passage.



And on that note, I'll end. Boy do I feel old.