PAUL'S TRAVELS--IMPRISONED AT ROME--IS BEHEADED

PAUL'S TRAVELS--IMPRISONED AT ROME--IS BEHEADED
PAUL RELEASED
After Paul had continued at Rome upward of two years in a state of confinement, he obtained his liberty, but by what means we have not any account in history.[511] It may be presumed, that the Jews not having sufficient proof of the accusation they had laid against him, or being informed that what they alleged was no violation of any Roman law, they durst not implead him before the emperor; and therefore, of course, he was permitted to go at large.
[511] In consequence of Paul's appeal unto Caesar, he was conveyed to Rome, there to await his trial. On his arrival, A.D. 61, he was delivered to the praetorian prefect, whose official business was to keep in custody all accused persons who were to be tried before the emperor. By special indulgence he was permitted to remain in “his own hired house,” instead of being confined within the walls of the praetorian barracks. Still he was a prisoner under military custody--chained by the arm, both night and day, to one of the imperial body-guard--and subjected to the caprice of Roman soldiery. He was, however, permitted to receive all who came to him, and, without hindrance, to preach boldly the gospel of Christ.
For reasons unknown to us his trial was delayed at least two years. During this time he enjoyed free intercourse with his friends, and was allowed to occupy a house large enough to accommodate the congregation which came together to hear his teaching. Nor were his labors fruitless; for many were converted to the faith through his earnest ministrations. At the same time he wrote several of his epistles. At length his appeal came on for hearing before the emperor, Nero, and the trial resulted in his acquittal. He was pronounced guiltless of the charges brought against him, and set at liberty.
Being again at liberty to prosecute his missionary labors, he immediately left Rome, first visiting the churches in Asia Minor, and then extended his labors to other fields. It was not long before the first imperial persecution of Christianity broke out with cruel violence, in consequence of the great fire which burnt down almost half of the city. Nero, who was accused of causing this fire, in order to avert the rage of the populace from himself, charged the crime on the hated Christians, who had become numerous.
But a few years passed before Paul was again arrested at Nicopolis, as a leader of the despised sect. It is not known what charges were made against him. He was hurried to Rome in the winter season, and suffered an imprisonment far more severe than was his first, four or five years before. He was now not only chained, but treated as a felon. According to the legends of the mediaeval Church, Paul was imprisoned in the Mamertine prison, one of the most revolting prisons of Rome. It seems more probable, as we learn from 2 Timothy 1:16, that he was again under military custody, though of a severer nature than that of his former imprisonment.
It was not long probably before his trial came on. He made his defence unassisted by friends He says: “When I was first heard in my defence, no man stood by me, but all forsook me.” He anticipated that the issue of his trial would be his condemnation to death. Being a Roman citizen, he was exempted from the ignominious death inflicted on his martyred brethren, being executed by decapitation by the sword on the road to Ostia, the port of Rome, in May or June, A.D. 68--Ed.
The Mamertine Prison, Rome The subterranean cell in which St. Paul and St. Peter are said to have been confined
HEBREWS WRITTEN
Paul, having obtained his liberty, left Rome, and travelled into various parts of Italy, preaching the gospel with different success. In some places he made many converts, but in others he met with great opposition. Before he left Italy, he wrote his famous and most elaborate epistle to the Hebrews, that is, to the converted Jews who dwelt in Jerusalem and its neighborhood. His main design in this epistle is, “to magnify Christ and the religion of the gospel above Moses and the Jewish economy, that, by this means, he may the better establish the converted Jews in the belief and profession of Christianity. To this purpose he represents our Savior, in his divine nature, far superior to all angels, and all created beings; and in his mediatorial capacity, a greater lawgiver than Moses, a greater priest than Aaron, and a greater king and priest than Melchisedec. He informs them, that the ceremonies, the sacrifices, and the observances of the law, could have no virtue in themselves, but only as they were types of Jesus Christ; and being now accomplished in his person, and by his ministry, were finally and totally abolished. He insists upon the necessity of faith, and, by the examples of the patriarchs and prophets, proves that justification is to be had no other way, than by the merits of a dying Savior. And lastly, he lays before them many excellent precepts for the regulation of their lives; exhortations to trust and confidence in Christ, in all their sufferings; and strict cautions against apostasy from his religion, even in the hottest persecutions.”
PAUL GOES TO BRITAIN
A short time after Paul had written this epistle to the Hebrews, he left Italy, and, accompanied by Timothy, prosecuted his long-intended journey into Spain; and, according to the testimony of several writers, crossed the sea, and preached the gospel in Britain.[512] What success he had in these western parts is not known; however after going from one place to another for the space of eight or nine months, he returned again eastward, visited Sicily, Greece, and Crete (at the latter of which places he constituted Titus bishop of the island), and then went into Judea, where we shall for the present leave him, in order to take some notice of Peter, his fellow-laborer in the cause of Christ.
[512] Clements, in his famous epistle to the Corinthians, expressly tells us, that being a preacher both to the east and west, he taught righteousness to the whole world, and went to the utmost bounds of the west: and Theodoret and others inform us, that he preached not only in Spain, but went to other nations, and brought the gospel into the isles of the sea, by which he undoubtedly means Britain, and therefore he else where reckons the Gauls and Britons among the people whom the apostles, and particularly Paul, persuaded to embrace the doctrine of Christ.
PETER'S TRAVELS
In what manner Peter employed his time after his escape out of prison, we have not any certain account. It is, however, generally agreed, that about the second year of the emperor Claudius, he went to Rome, and there continued for some time, till at length that emperor, taking advantage of some seditions and tumults raised by the Jews, published an edict for banishing all the Jews from that city; in consequence of which Peter returned to Jerusalem. After staying some time in the capital of Judea, he visited the several churches which he had planted in the east, and carried the glad tidings of the gospel into Africa, Sicily, Italy, and even as far as Britain, in all which places he brought over great numbers to the Christian faith.
SIMON MAGUS SHOWDOWN
Having thus propagated the gospel in the western, as well as the eastern parts of the world, Peter, toward the latter end of the reign of Nero, returned to Rome, the Jews, after the death of Claudius, being permitted to reside in that city with the same freedom as before that emperor issued his edict for their banishment. On Peter's arrival at Rome, he met with his fellow-laborer Paul, who had just returned thither from Judea. The two apostles found the minds of the people strangely bewitched, and hardened against the doctrines of the gospel, by the subtleties and magical arts of Simon Magus, whom Peter had severely chastised for his wickedness at Samaria. This monster of impiety not only opposed the preaching of the apostles, but likewise did all in his power to render them and their doctrine odious to the emperor. Peter, foreseeing that the calumnies of Simon and his adherents would be injurious to the cause of his great Master, thought himself obliged to oppose him with all his might; and having discovered the vanity of his impostures in several remarkable instances, he at length worked him up to such a pitch of madness and desperation, that to give the people an evident demonstration of his having those supernatural powers he had pretended, he promised that, on such a day, he would ascend visibly up into heaven. Accordingly, at the time appointed, when prodigious numbers of people were assembled to behold so extraordinary a sight, he went up to the summit of a mount, whence he raised himself, and, by the assistance of some magic arts, seemed as if he was flying toward the regions of heaven. Peter and Paul, beholding the delusion, had recourse to prayers, and obtained their petitions of the Almighty, namely, that the imposter should be soon discovered, for the honor of the blessed Jesus. Accordingly, he fell headlong to the ground, and was so bruised by the fall, that in a short time he expired.
PETER AND PAUL IMPRISONED
The emperor Nero was a professed patron of magicians, and therefore, when he heard of this event, he was greatly irritated. He had a particular dislike to the doctrine of Christianity, as being totally repugnant to the lusts and passions which he indulged; and was highly offended at Peter for having made so many converts, among whom were several persons of distinction. In consequence of this, he ordered him and Paul to be apprehended and cast into prison, soon after which an event occurred, whence he took the opportunity of showing his resentment to the Jews, and that in the most severe manner. He issued out an edict, ordering Christian Jews to be persecuted in every part of his empire; in consequence of which, all orders and degrees of that people were treated with the greatest contempt and cruelty that could be invented.
PETER AND PAUL ESCAPE
But before the burning of the city, and the persecution commenced against the Christians, in consequence of Nero's edict, both Peter and Paul made their escape from confinement. Peter continued at Rome, but Paul left it, and went into Judea, where he stayed some time, after which he went into Asia, and met Timothy at Ephesus. Hence he paid a visit to the Colossians, whom he had never before seen, and after staying with them some time, returned to Ephesus, and excommunicated Hymenaeus and Alexander, for denying the resurrection of the dead, and other articles of the Christian faith. From Ephesus he went into Macedonia, but previous to his departure, enjoined Timothy, whom he had constituted bishop of Ephesus (see 1 Timothy 1:3), constantly to reside in that city, and to take the charge of all the pro-consular Asia.
I TIMOTHY WRITTEN
After Paul had visited several places in Macedonia, he went to Philippi (see Php_1:25-26), where he stayed some time, during which he daily preached to the people, made many new converts, and farther established those who had before embraced the faith in the principles of Christianity. Before he left Macedonia, he wrote his first epistle to Timothy, in which “he lays down the duties and qualifications of a bishop, as well in respect of his ministry, as of his private conversation, and instructs him in the office of a true Christian pastor.”
TITUS WRITTEN
Leaving Macedonia, Paul directed his course to Nicopolis, a populous city situated on a peninsula to the west of the bay of Actium in Epirus. During his stay here he wrote his epistle to Titus at Crete; wherein “he describes to him (as he had done to Timothy) the qualifications which a bishop ought to have, and more especially a bishop of Crete, where some sharpness and severity were necessary amidst a people of their perverse and obstinate tempers. He admonishes him not to suffer the flock, committed to his charge, to be led away by the delusions of Judaism; and lastly, lays down precepts for people in all conditions of life, even not forgetting servants, because our blessed Savior has poured out his grace upon all men.”
In the beginning of the spring Paul left Nicopolis, and went to Corinth. After staying a short time here, he crossed the sea into Asia, and went to Ephesus, and thence proceeded to Miletum. From Miletum he travelled northward to Troas, and lodged with Carpus, one of his disciples, where he left his cloak (see 2 Timothy 4:13), some books, and other articles. From Troas he went to Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, where he suffered those persecutions and afflictions, of which he makes mention to Timothy, and thanks God for his deliverance from them (2 Timothy 3:4).
PAUL AND PETER IMPRISONED IN ROME
After visiting these and many other places, Paul went again to Rome, knowing that the persecution which had taken place in that city, in consequence of the edict issued by Nero, was somewhat abated. Meeting with Peter, they conjunctively used their utmost endeavors to instruct the Jews in their synagogues, and to convert the Gentiles in all public places and assemblies. This, however, soon raised the malice and indignation of the magistrates, who were still inflamed against the Jews. Nero was at that time in Greece, and had left Helius to supply his place during his absence, investing him with exorbitant powers, which he exercised with the most unbounded rigor. It was a crime sufficient for these two apostles (in the eyes of Helius) that they were Christians. The particular prejudice he took against Peter was, his having defeated Simon Magus; and that against Paul, his having converted one of the emperor's concubines. He therefore ordered them both to be apprehended and committed to prison, where they spent their time in the most solemn acts of devotion, and, as opportunity offered, preached the gospel to their guards and fellowprisoners, among whom it is said they converted Processus and Martinian, two principal officers of the army.
II PETER WRITTEN
While they were in prison, Peter wrote his second general epistle to the converted Jews, who were dispersed in the several provinces of Asia. In this epistle “he endeavors, by earnest exhortations, to prevail with them to persevere in the doctrine which they had received, and to testify the soundness and sincerity of their faith by a Christian life. He forewarns them of the false teachers that would shortly spring up among them, foretells their sad and miserable destruction, and describes them by their odious characters, that they may avoid them. He vindicates the doctrine of Christ's coming to judgment, which the heretics of those times denied, that thereby they might encourage men the more securely to pursue their lewd courses. And lastly, he describes the great and terrible day of the Lord, when the elements shall melt, and the whole frame of nature be dissolved, thereby to excite them to become circumspect and diligent, in order to be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
II TIMOTHY WRITTEN
Much about the same time that Peter wrote this epistle to the converted Jews in Asia, Paul wrote his second epistle to Timothy, wherein “he informs him of the near approach of his death, and desires him to come to him before winter, because most of his companions, upon one affair or other, were departed from him. He exhorts him to discharge all the duties of a bishop and pastor, suitable to those excellent gifts he had received, and with a generous contempt of the world, and worldly things. He admonishes him not to forget the doctrine which he had taught him, not to be surprised or disturbed at the apostasy of some from the faith, but to preach the more zealously against such opposers as placed their confidence in those teachers who left the truth to turn unto fables. And lastly, he informs him, how, at his first appearing before Helius, all his companions, for fear of being involved in his punishments, forsook him, but that the Lord stood by him and strengthened him, to make his preaching more conspicuous and effectual to the Gentiles.”
PETER MARTYRED
When the two apostles had been in confinement several months, the cruel Nero returned from Greece, and entered his palace at Rome in great triumph.[514] Soon after his return it was ultimately resolved, that the two apostles should be put to death. Peter, as a Jew and foreigner, was sentenced to be crucified; and Paul, as a Roman citizen, to be beheaded. On the 29th of June (as it is generally supposed) these sentences were put in execution. Peter, after being first scourged, according to the Roman custom, was taken from the prison, and led to the top of the Vatican mount, near the Tiber, where he was sentenced to surrender up his life on the cross. On his arrival at the place of execution, he begged the favor of the officers that he might not be crucified in the common manner, but with his head downward, thinking himself unworthy to suffer in the same posture in which his Lord and Master had suffered before him. This request was accordingly complied with; and in this manner did the great apostle Peter resign his soul into the hands of Him who came down from heaven to ransom mankind from destruction, and open for them the gates of the heavenly Canaan.
[514] Subsequently to the burning of Rome, Nero built himself a glorious palace on Mount Palatine, which was named the Golden Palace. When the emperor saw it finished, he said, “Now I am going to be lodged like a man!” This splendid fabric was burnt and rebuilt in the reign of Commodus; and of the palace so rebuilt, in its present ruined condition, fringing the mount with its broken arches, a representation is given in our present engraving, on page 601. It still bears the name of Nero's Palace; and although of somewhat later origin than the time of St. Paul, it will be considered interesting from its approximation to his time, and from its furnishing the only idea attainable from actual remains of the palaces in which the Roman emperors abode.
Ruins of the Palace of Nero

PAUL MARTYRED
While Peter was suffering on the top of the Vatican mount, his fellow-apostle Paul was conducted to a place on the road to Ostia, about three miles from Rome, in order to undergo the punishment denounced against him by the cruel Nero. In his way he converted three of the soldiers who were sent to guard him to his execution, and who, within a few days after, died martyrs themselves. As soon as Paul arrived at the place of execution, he knelt down, and after praying for some time with the greatest fervency, cheerfully gave up his neck to the fatal stroke; quitting this vale of misery in hopes of passing to the blissful regions of immortality, to the kingdom of his beloved Master, the great Redeemer of the human race.
Thus died these two most eminent apostles of Jesus Christ, after they had, with indefatigable labor, reaped a glorious harvest of infinite numbers of souls, and triumphantly propagated salvation through the then most considerable parts of the world.
PETER'S BURIALS
The body of Peter, being taken from the cross, was embalmed after the Jewish manner by Marcellinus the presbyter, and buried in the Vatican near the Triumphal way. Over his grave a small church was afterward erected, which being in the course of time destroyed, his body was removed to the cemetery in the Apian way, two miles distant from Rome. Here it continued till the time of Pope Cornelius., when it was reconveyed to the Vatican, where it abode in some obscurity till Constantine the Great, from the profound reverence he had for the Christian religion, having rebuilt and enlarged the Vatican to the honor of St. Peter, enriched it with gifts and ornaments, which in every age increased in Splendor and beauty, till it became one of the wonders of the world, and in that light was considered for many years after.
PAUL'S BURIAL
The remains of Paul were deposited in the Via Ostiensis, about two miles from Rome. Constantine the Great, at the instance of Pope Sylvester, built a stately church over his grave, which he adorned with a hundred marble columns, and beautified with the most exquisite workmanship.
In addition to what has been narrated respecting these two great apostles, some particulars may be mentioned illustrative of their respective characters. So far as their personal appearance is concerned, we are left in ignorance. The creative genius of the artist has attempted an ideal of their forms and features, but without the aid of historic data. We have, however, data for sketching moral portraits of these remarkable men.
PETER'S CHARACTER
First of St. Peter--With respect to his disposition, if we consider him as a man, there seems to have been a natural eagerness predominant in his temper, which animated his soul to the most bold and sometimes rash undertakings. It was this, in a great measure, that prompted him to be so very forward to speak, and to return answers sometimes before he had well considered them. It was this that made him expose his person to the most imminent dangers, promise those great things in behalf of his master, resolutely draw his sword in his quarrel against a whole band of soldiers, and wound a servant of the high-priest; nay, he had in all probability attempted greater things, had not his Lord restrained his impetuosity, and given a reasonable check to his fury.
If we consider him as a disciple of the blessed Jesus, we shall find him exemplary in the great duties of religion. His humility and lowliness of mind were remarkable. With what a passionate earnestness on the conviction of a miracle, did he beg of our “blessed Savior to depart from him, thinking it unworthy the Son of God to come near so vile a sinner!
When the great Redeemer of mankind, by that amazing condescension, stooped so low as to wash the feet of his disciples, Peter could not be persuaded to admit his performing it, thinking it highly improper that so great a person should submit to such a servile office toward a person so mean as himself; nor could he be induced to admit of it till his great Master threatened to deprive him of his favor.
When Cornelius the Roman centurion would have treated him with more than ordinary marks of esteem and veneration, he was so far from complying with it, that he declared he was nothing more than a mortal like himself.
His love and zeal for his master were remarkable; he thought he could never express either at too high a rate; venturing on the greatest perils, and exposing his life to the most imminent dangers. His forwardness to own his great Master, for the Messiah and Son of the Most High, was remarkably great; and it was this that drew from his Lord that honorable encomium, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona.”
But his distinguished courage and constancy in confessing Christ, even before his most inveterate enemies, was still greater after he had recovered himself from his fall. How plainly does he tell the Jews that they were the murderers and crucifiers of the Lord of Glory? Nay, with what an undaunted courage, with what a heroic greatness of soul, did he tell the very Sanhedrin, who had sentenced and condemned him, that they were guilty of his death, and that they had no other way of escaping the vengeance of the Almighty, but by the merits of that very Jesus whom they lead crucified and put to death.
Lastly, if we consider him as an apostle, as a pastor, or shepherd of the souls of men, we shall find him faithful and diligent in his office, zealously endeavoring to instruct the ignorant, reduce the erroneous, strengthen the weak, confirm the strong, reclaim the vicious, and turn the children of men into the paths of righteousness. He never omitted any opportunity of preaching to the people, and spreading the glad tidings of the gospel among the human race; and so powerful were his discourses, that he brought over many thousands of converts. How many painful journeys and dangerous voyages did he undertake! With what unconquerable patience did he endure the greatest trials, surmount every difficulty, and remove every disposition, that he might circulate and establish the gospel of his beloved Master! never refusing even to lay down his life to promote it. Nor was he assiduous only to perform these duties himself; but was also careful to animate others to do the like, earnestly pressing and persuading the pastors and governors of the church “to feed the flock of God,” to labor freely for the good of the souls of men, and not to undertake those offices to acquire advantages to themselves; beseeching them to treat the flock committed to their care with lenity and gentleness, and to be themselves shining examples of piety and religion, the surest method of rendering their ministry successful. And because it was impossible for him to be always present, to teach and warn the children of men, he endeavored, by letters, to imprint in their minds the practice of what they had been taught--a method he tells us he was resolved to pursue as long as he continued an inhabitant of this world; “thinking it meet, while he was in this tabernacle, to stir up, by putting them in mind of these things, that so they might be able, after his decease, to have them always in remembrance.”
Thus lived, thus died Simon Peter, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and at length to offer up his life in ratification of the doctrine he delivered and the faith he maintained and propagated.
PAUL'S CHARACTER
In respect to the personal appearance of St. Paul, a hint is furnished in 2 Corinthians 10:10, from which it may be inferred that in form he might have been diminutive and ungraceful, of which notice has been taken in ancient records. His constitution was weak, and he was often subject to infirmities; but his mind was strong and he possessed a solid judgment, quick discernment, and prompt memory, all which were improved by the advantages of a liberal education. His humility and self-abasement were wonderful; his sobriety and temperance singularly strict; and his contempt for the world great and generous. His kindness and charity were remarkable: he had a quick sense of the wants of others, and a most compassionate tenderness for all who were in distress. To what place soever he went, it was always one of his first cares to make provision for the poor, and to stir up the bounty of the rich and wealthy in their behalf. But his charity to the souls of men was infinitely greater, fearing no dangers, refusing no labors, going through good and evil report, that he might gain men over to the knowledge of the truth, take them out of the crooked paths, and place them in the straight way that leadeth to life eternal.
Nor was his charity to men greater than his zeal to God, laboring, with all his might, to promote the honor of his Master. When he was at Athens, and saw the people of that city involved in the grossest superstition and idolatry, and giving that honor which was due to God alone, to statues and images, his zeal was fired, and he could not help letting them know the resentment of his mind, and how greatly they dishonored God, the great Maker and Preserver of the world.
Through the course of an extensive ministry, he never suffered himself to be interrupted in his endeavors for propagating the gospel by the dangers and difficulties he met with, or the troubles and oppositions that were raised against him. This will evidently appear if we take a survey of the trials and sufferings he underwent; some part whereof are thus briefly summed up by himself: “In labors abundant, in stripes above measure, in death oft; thrice beaten with rods, once stoned, thrice suffered shipwreck, a night and a day in the deep. In journeying often, in perils of water, in perils by his countrymen, in perils by the heathens, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst; in fastings often; in cold and nakedness, and besides those things that were without, which daily came upon him, the care of all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:23, etc.) An account, though very great, yet far short of what he endured. He did not want for solicitations both from Jews and Gentiles; and might, doubtless, in some measure, have made his own terms, would he have been false to his trust, and quitted that way which was then everywhere spoken against. But alas! those things weighed little with our apostle, who “counted not his life dear unto him, so that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus.” And therefore, when he found himself under the sentence of death, he could triumphantly say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”