Unity Church of Tucson

Prior to the Council of Jerusalem, Paul had been preaching and teaching, traveling through Asia Minor, Macedonia and Antioch. He had caused a great uproar in the theatre in Ephesus by preaching against idol worship. (In 2006 Larry and I had the opportunity of visiting this theatre in Ephesus as well as several other areas of Paul’s travels.) Due to the local silversmiths’ income being largely from the sale of silver statues (idols) and due to Paul’s message being against idol worship, the outcome was conflict and lots of it. In fact, he and his companions were almost killed before they were able to escape.

Later Paul went to Jerusalem and while there an accusation was made by James that he was teaching the Jews to “turn their backs on Moses” (Acts 21) and he was accused by some from his homeland (Tarsus or modern Turkey) of defiling the temple area by allowing Greeks in. There was conflict and he was almost murdered by a Jewish mob in the temple. He ended up being rescued by the Roman commandant and was taken to Caesarea, where he was detained a prisoner for two years in Herod’s Praetorium (Acts 23).

59 CE Paul is conveyed to Rome for trial.

Paul was a Roman citizen and as such he claimed his right to a trial in Rome but the wheels moved slowly and it was finally at the end of those two years when a new governor took office, that Paul’s case was heard. Judging it his right to claim the privilege of a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor (Acts 25) and he was sent to Rome. The voyage by sea was long and perilous (Acts 27) as on the way he was shipwrecked on Malta but while there he managed to convert many to Christianity.
63 CE Paul arrives in Rome.

Paul finally arrived in Rome under the charge of a centurion. He was permitted to occupy his own hired house, under military custody, probably because he was a Roman citizen and could not be put in prison without a trial. Because the soldiers who kept guard over him in Caesar’s household were changed frequently, Paul used all of this as an opportunity to share his message with them over the course of the next two years and his “hired house” became the center of a gracious influence which spread over the whole situation. According to a Jewish tradition, Paul’s living situation would have been the borders of the modern Ghetto, which has been the Jewish quarters in Rome from the time of Pompey to the present day. During this period Paul wrote many of his epistles. The latter portion of Acts 28 summarizes two meetings that Paul had with some of the leading Jews in Rome. Some disbelieved his message and others believed it.
63-67 CE Paul’s Post-Imprisonment Journeys.

Paul had further journeys after his release from prison in Rome and he wrote many of his other writings, in which he gave clues that he may have traveled to: Colosse, Spain, Corinth, Miletus, Troas, Crete, Nicopolis, Philippi, Italy, Judea, Ephesus, and Macedonia.