The Second Book of Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle he wrote before his death. Although the pastorals are written under Paul's name, they are different from his other epistles, and since the early 19th century, scholars have increasingly seen them as the work of an unknown student of Paul's doctrine. They do not address Paul's common themes, such as the believers' unity with Christ, and they reflect a church hierarchy that is more organized and defined than the church was in Paul's time.
