Theophylact of Ohrid, on 2Tim 4:18

“The Lord hath delivered me from every evil work: and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

“Before this He delivered me from bodily death; but since I have already preached sufficiently, henceforth, I hope, He will deliver me not from bodily death, since I am already "being poured out as a drink offering," but from every sin, that is, He will not allow me to grow weak before death, but will grant me to resist sin to the point of blood, which means to be delivered from the noetic lion. Thus, this last deliverance, when he was about to be handed over to death, is more important than the first, when he escaped death. That is, He will deliver me from every sin and preserve me there. For to be saved for the Heavenly Kingdom means to die for it here. "He who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (Jn. 12:25). This is true salvation, when we shine forth in this way. Here is a doxology to the Son, as also to the Father; for He is the Lord.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.