Footsteps # 393. By march AD 61 the long-hoped-for dream of Paul was realized. In the 7^th year of the reign of Nero, Paul entered Rome. Nero had become emperor in AD 54, and had assassinated his mother in AD 59 (she herself had assassinated her rivals, thinking to rule through the 16-year-old Nero.) Up until then, his reign was positive, after the matricide, his rule declined and he seemed to lose all sense of right and wrong.  

Paul became a prisoner in Nero’s house. His trial was indefinitely postponed, but providentially (all things work together for good remember,) this afforded him time to write what we now know as the epistles of the first imprisonment: Colossians, Philippians, Philemon, and Ephesians. The biography of Paul in the book of Acts has now run out and the remainder of his story we must glean from his own epistles.  

Sometime in AD 63 Nero, contrary to his character declared Paul innocent. Paul’s bonds were removed and he was again a free man. The only clue we have to this short freedom is what we find in 1 Timothy and Titus which he wrote during this time. My conviction is that the Sermon on Hebrews was also preached in this time frame. Hebrews is a sermon preached by Paul and written down by someone else. Paul had long planned to go to Spain. Whether he ever got there is unknown and unlikely. 

It was during this period between the two imprisonments that the great fire of Rome occurred in AD 64. This marked the beginning of the persecution of Christians. We assume that Paul was once again arrested in Troas (in modern Northern Turkey & north of Pergamum.) This assumption is based on the fact that he asked Timothy to bring his cloak and precious books that he had left in the house of Carpus. This would seem to indicate a hasty and involuntary departure. He was tried at Ephesus and once more appealed to Caesar. Paul sitting in his dreary & desolate confinement in Rome recalls with gratitude the streaming tears of that farewell from Ephesus. At Ephesus, he left Timothy who was to him like Melanchthon was to Luther. The only one who went with him to Rome was Luke. It was now a dangerous business even to be a friend of the prisoner. From this imprisonment, we have only one letter – the last, 2 Timothy. Considering the conditions of this dungeon that Paul was hurled into, this is understandable. It was a vaulted room carved from rock and the only light there was entered through a small hole in the roof from where the prisoner was lowered. These are the dungeons where people slept with the prospect of being eaten by starving rats. Paul spent his time not knowing when His execution would be decided by Nero. 475 #393 Jan 25, 2022.