Acts 28:30And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him, 31preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him.

The New Testament is silent about Paul’s final years. The Acts account ends with his two-year house arrest in Rome. Some scholars believe Paul’s career ended at that point, that his trial went badly and that he was martyred at that time.

Some have taken the position that Paul was released from this first Roman imprisonment and that he returned to work in the churches of the east. Some ancient sources like 1 Clement 5 and the Muratorian Canon indicate that Paul also worked for a while in Spain during this period, although we have no early narratives dealing with a Spanish mission.

In his Ecclesiastical History 2.22, Eusebius related the tradition of Paul’s release, saying that when he visited the city a second time he suffered martyrdom under Nero. The best evidence for Paul’s release is the existence of the three Pastoral Epistles. 1& 2 Timothy, Titus,

The personal details in the Pastorals are most easily accounted for as having occurred subsequent to the Roman imprisonment of Acts 28.

On this assumption, 1 Timothy and Titus would have been written during a further period of ministry in Asia and Macedonia after Paul’s release. The personal details in 2 Timothy point to a still later period, that of a second Roman imprisonment, when Paul’s prospects were far more ominous and another release was unlikely.

The opinion on the subject most widely held among scholars is that the Epistles to the Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, were written during the period of St Paul’s life at Rome of which St Luke gives us a glimpse in the closing verses of the Acts; just as it is agreed that the Epistles to the Churches of Thessalonica, Corinth, Galatia and Rome were written on previous missionary journeys.

Therefore, one can come to the conclusion that the Pastoral Epistles do not fit into the life of Paul as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. They presuppose a period of activity subsequent to the imprisonment in Rome mentioned by St Luke; they indicate certain events in his life which are not mentioned and for which no room can be found in the Acts.

In the Epistle to the Philippians, written during his first sojourn in Rome, probably about the year 62 or 63 A.D., Paul apparently anticipates that his captivity will not be prolonged much further. “I trust in the Lord,” he says, “that I myself also shall come unto you shortly” (Phil. 2:24).

Again, writing to Philemon under the same circumstances he bids him be ready to receive him: “Withal prepare me also a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you” (Philemon 22). Such anticipations might be falsified, but it is worth noticing that the tone of St Paul’s letters at this period is quite different from the tone of a letter like 2 Tim., which breathes throughout the spirit of resignation to inevitable martyrdom.

Was Paul granted Freedom?

The New Testament does not tell us directly. The scanty fragments of information that survive must be gathered from subsequent Christian literature.

In the letter of Clement, Bishop of Rome, addressed to the Corinthian Church about the year 95, there is a passage bearing on this question which is worthy of our attention.
“Paul,” says Clement (§ 5), “pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place.”

The passage is significant when you remember the date and position of the writer.

The Bishop of Rome, writing less than thirty years after Paul’s death, seems to know of trials and adventures of the great Apostle of which we have no record in the New Testament. The phrase “seven times in bonds” may not perhaps be pressed; we do not know of precisely so many imprisonments of Paul, but it is not impossible that Clement may be speaking in general terms, and the number seven serves well to round off a rhetorical sentence.

But what is to be made of the phrase “having reached the boundary of the West”?

The place where the words were written was Rome, under Whose dominion had now come Gaul, Spain, Britain. Rome itself, whatever it might seem to an Asiatic, was certainly not to a Roman the furthest Western limit of the Empire. Clement in this sentence distinctly implies that St Paul extended his missionary labors towards the western boundary of the then civilized world.

But it is plain from the history in the Acts that he had not travelled further West than Rome before the year 63 A.D. His appeal to Nero was the occasion of his first visit to Italy. So, it seems that Clement knew of some further journey of St Paul for which a place cannot be found in his life save by supposing that the result of the appeal was that he was set at liberty for a season.

Clement’s testimony is emphatic. He had the best opportunities for acquainting himself with the facts, and he mentions a journey of St Paul to the utmost limit of the West, not as if it were a little known expedition
Clement, then, is a witness for the release of St Paul from his first imprisonment.

The Second Imprisonment

If Paul was arrested a second time and eventually martyred, what would account for the change of mood between his two times in prison? The first imprisonment was brought about by the accusations of the Palestinian Jews against Paul. The narrative of Acts 28:17–31 may imply that Paul’s case never came to trial. In any event, it seems to have gone well with Paul, and he was released. The accusers at the second trial were probably not the Jews but the Romans. The different mood was due to the emperor himself and his effort to make the Christians a scapegoat for the great fire of Rome.

Gorden Fee suggest a possibility of Paul’s travel after his release.

First Timothy and Titus depict Paul traveling east of Rome after his release from an initial Roman imprisonment (Acts 28). These travels included a visit to Crete, with Titus, during which churches were planted; since opposition was encountered, Titus was left behind to see the work further along (Tit 1:5). Then, during a stopover in Ephesus on their way to Macedonia, Paul and Timothy discovered that false teaching had arisen due to the influence of some defected leaders (Hymenaeus and Alexander are named in 1 Tim 1:19–20). Timothy was subsequently left to sort these matters out, as Paul continued on to Macedonia (1 Tim 1:3). Paul wrote back to his coworkers (1 Timothy and Titus) from Macedonia (c. A.D. 62-65).

The Muratorian Canon and the Acts of Peter (1–3; 6), both written in the second century, indicate that Paul left Rome for Spain. Two books written before A.D. 200—the First Epistle of Clement and the Acts of Paul—assert that this happened. They indicate that Paul was beheaded in Rome near the end of the reign of Emperor Nero (ca. A.D. 67).

One of the most popular explanations for the abrupt ending of Acts argues from a supposed Roman statute of limitations of two years for a case pending trial, there is just no proof for it.

The personal references in the Pastorals are hard to fit into the account of Paul’s ministry given in Acts. They are best explained on the assumption that Paul was released in Rome and that the events referred to in the Pastorals took place in his subsequent ministry. Of course, it is always possible that the Pastorals mention details from Paul’s ministry which were not covered in Acts. Some would place these epistles during the first Roman imprisonment or even earlier in Paul’s ministry. Them being written after his first Roman imprisonment best accounts for their content, and we have accordingly placed them at this point in Paul’s ministry.

Paul’s Martyrdom

The tradition is well-established and probably reliable that Paul died a martyr’s death in Rome under Nero. Exactly when is uncertain. Nero died at his own hand on June 9, A.D. 68

According to Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea and “Father of Church History” (ca. 260–ca. 339 C.E.). Paul wrote 2 Timothy during his second Roman imprisonment. He noted how Paul indicated in the epistle that his martyrdom was at hand (Eccl. Hist. 2.22). Eusebius was undoubtedly referring to the familiar “fought the good fight passage” (2 Tim. 4:6–8). Paul reflected a spirit of resignation, of loneliness and abandonment in the epistle. At the same time he was ready to end the race. He felt good about his ministry and was ready to entrust the work to others like Timothy.

The fire broke out in the summer of A.D. 64. Tacitus gives a full account of the conflagration and its aftermath (Annals 15.38–44).2. Rumors quickly circulated that soldiers had been seen running here and there with firebrands and that the emperor himself had ordered the burning of the city to make way for his grandiose urban renewal program.

Nero sought a scapegoat and latched onto the Christians. Christians were rounded up and forced to inform on their fellows. Great numbers were arrested, summarily sentenced, and executed in the most cruel manner.

Nero’s persecution seems to have begun soon after the fire, as early as A.D. 65. The most likely explanation for Paul’s arrest is his association with the Christians during the period of persecution.

The earliest account of Paul’s martyrdom is the last portion of The Acts of Paul, an apocryphal writing of the late second century.

The reasons for Paul’s martyrdom are not clear.

He may have been executed in connection with Nero’s persecution of the Roman Christians. The excesses of that period were over by A.D. 67, but Paul in Nero’s mind may have stood out as a ringleader of the Christians and a continuing threat. It may have been Paul’s preaching which finally brought him at cross-purposes with the emperor, either as one who refused to participate in the imperial cult or as one who worshiped another king. The latter could be viewed by the Romans as maiestas (treason), an offense which demanded the immediate execution of the offender.

Some were enshrouded in the skins of wild animals and thrown to dogs that tore them to pieces. Others were impaled on stakes and set afire at night to serve as torches in Nero’s gardens. Tacitus did not himself have a very high opinion of the Christians. He considered them a pestilent lot, “loathed for their vices.” Still, he noted that the Roman populace were rightly revulsed by the excesses of Nero’s ferocity vented on the Christians (Annals 15.44).

Paul’s Legacy

Paul was what literary critics call a “round character”; he was many different things to many different people.
Paul, saw himself primarily as an apostle of Jesus Christ, apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul also described himself as a pastor, as one who had a daily concern for all his churches (2 Cor. 11:28).
Many would describe Paul as being primarily a theologian. Paul’s theology was greatly influenced by two factors: his mission and his call.

No description fits Paul better than that of missionary.

God gave us the letters below through the hand of Paul. They are still good for today.

Romans
1&2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1&2 Thessalonians
!&2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon

Paul’s letters were intended to be read aloud to his congregations. There were two reasons for this.

First, they were intended for the entire congregation and addressed to them.

Second, the literacy rate was low in Paul’s day; most people in his churches probably could not read.6 The oral presentation of his letters was a necessity. Colossians 4:16 reflects the practice: “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.” The verse also bears out the “encyclical” nature of Paul’s letters; churches were encouraged to exchange Paul’s correspondence among one another. Incidentally, the Colossian passage also reminds us that we do not have all of Paul’s correspondence today. The letter to the Laodiceans has evidently been lost.

Since Paul’s letters were intended to be read aloud, he utilized a number of “traditional” materials in his letters, like hymns and confessions of faith. These were memorable and easy to retain in an oral culture. Thus, his epistles are filled with benedictions (1 Thess. 5:28) and doxologies (Rom. 9:5; 11:36; 16:25–27). He may have used many hymns from the worship of the churches. Many scholars would see Philippians 2:6–11 as a hymn to Christ. The same is maintained for Colossians 1:15–20 and Ephesians 1:3–14, both of which praise God’s eternal purposes that have been fulfilled in Christ. This is the very stuff of hymns, and both passages have poetic characteristics, as one would expect with liturgical materials. To this day, hymns are often used in illiterate cultures as a major vehicle for transmitting the teachings of the faith. This was probably true in Paul’s churches as well.

Thank God for Paul and his trust in God’s plan. God in control of his life released him from prison to do more ministry and then brought glory to himself through Paul’s death.

God is still in control.