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 Summary overview:

1. Rome 61-63 Acts 28

0. Paul writes the "prison epistles": Ephesians, Colossian, Philippians, Philemon.

Prison Epistles
	sent by	Paul a prisoner
Ephesians	Tychicus & Onesimus: 6:21 + Col 4:7-9	Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20
Colossian	Tychicus & Onesimus: 4:7-9	Col. 4:18
Philippians	Epaphroditus: 2:25	Phil. 1:13
Philemon	Tychicus & Onesimus: 10-12 + Col 4:7-9	Phile. 1:10

1. The following men were with Paul in Rome: Timothy, Tychicus, Luke, Demas, Epaphras, Aristarchus, John-Mark
2. Paul was expecting to be released from prison, very different from the tone in 2 Timothy:

1. Rome Set free early 63 AD

0. Released from the Acts 28, 2 year imprisonment in early 63 AD
1. Timothy sent to Philippi with letter.
2. Paul always had the desire to work in Rome: Romans 15:22,28 Perhaps this is where he got his chance!

2. Rome [Hebrews]

0. No one knows for sure who wrote Hebrews. Paul, Apollos and Barnabas are three popular guesses.
1. If Paul wrote Hebrews this is when he wrote it. It must fit in somewhere at a time when Timothy was in prison in Italy and Paul was out (Heb. 13:23). We don’t have any indication when this might have been.

1. Heb 13:23 "Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I shall see you. 24 Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you."

2. Hebrews may have been written after Paul and Peter were martyred just after the persecution of Nero but prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. This would have Hebrews written between 65-70.

3. Crete 63 AD

0. After his release Paul and his companions travel to Crete where Titus is left to organize the churches there (Titus 1:5).

1. Tit 1:5 "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city"

4. Miletus 63 AD

0. From Crete they travel to the Ephesus area probably landing at Miletus
1. Paul sends Timothy to Ephesus and proceeds on to Colossae where he stays with Philemon.

1. 1 Tim 1:3 "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus"

2. Paul didn’t leave Trophimus sick here but at the second pass through the following year: 2 Tim. 4:20

5. Paul didn’t go to Ephesus

0. Acts 20:37 "And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more."
1. Paul then tells Timothy later that he left Trophimus there sick, a thing Timothy would already know if Timothy and Paul left the city together for Ephesus. Paul’s charge to Timothy was to instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 1 Tim 1:3, directly fulfilling Acts 20:29 about the Ephesian elder’s apostasy.
2. Paul later desired to return to Ephesus while in 1 Tim 4:13 13 "Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture" but never made it back thus fulfilling the prophecy of Acts 20:29.

6. Colossae

0. From Phile 22 Paul intended on visiting the Colossian church area when he was in Jail in Acts 28

1. Phile 22 And at the same time also prepare me a lodging

7. Troas

0. Paul then goes to Troas (2 Tim. 4:13)
1. 2 Tim 4:13 "When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus"

8. Macedonia province Philippi

0. Paul goes into Macedonia where he writes the first epistle to Timothy.
1. This must have been where he was when he composed 1 Tim and Titus because he had already been to Corinth and planned to go to Nicopolis.
2. Phil 2:24 "I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall be coming shortly." [written while in Rome]
3. Tim 1:3 "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia

9. Corinth [1 Tim & Titus written 64 AD]

0. Paul was intending on returning to Ephesus area:

1. 1 Tim 4:13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

1. He had gone through Corinth and Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20)

1. 2 Tim 4:20 "Erastus remained at Corinth"

1. Nicopolis [departs spring 65 AD]
1. proceeds on to Nicopolis to spend the winter (Tit. 3:12).

1. Tit. 3:12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

2. Paul either goes to Spain now or begins 5th missionary journey.
1. On the 3^rd missionary journey, Paul stated

1. Acts 19:21 "Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."

2. Corinth was the closest he came to Rome when he decided to return back the way he came 20:2 en route to Jerusalem. Rome was in mind, but for another day, he wrote Romans from Corinth, and stated his clear intention to visit them on his way to Spain.

1. Rom 15:22 "I have often been hindered from coming to you; 23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 24 whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing" ... v28 "Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain."

3. Of Course Paul was arrested when he returned to Jerusalem and was sent to Rome after "appealing to Caesar" in Acts 25:11
4. So the question now is, did he go to Spain after Nicopolis for a year or was he arrested near Nicopolis for his second and final imprisonment?

1. There is no evidence that Paul went to Spain in 2 Timothy. Surely if he had made the trip, the Holy Spirit would have given us some hint.
2. In 2 Timothy, it seems that the most recent cities he was at personally were: Corinth, Troas and Miletus 4:13,20
3. We feel that Paul never went to Spain, but was arrested near Nicopolis.

3. Two proofs of a 5th missionary journey (second pass through Asia & Macedonia)
1. Paul told Timothy from Corinth that he was intending on returning to Ephesus area:

1. 1 Tim 4:13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
2. This reference merely shows Paul’s intention to take a second pass.

2. The "Trophimus I left sick at Miletus" proves a second post-63 journey.

1. In doing this chronology, a number of problems, make many details unsure but we can be quite sure that Paul did take a second pass through Miletus:

1. He must have taken a second pass through Miletus because he wrote 1 Timothy after his first pass through, but it was in 2 Timothy that Paul told Timothy about Trophimus. A single pass would require Paul to leave Trophimus sick at Miletus, write 1 Timothy, get arrested, then from Rome tell Timothy about Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. This virtually proves that Paul must have taken a second pass through, hence a 5th missionary journey because with a single pass, Paul would certainly have told Timothy about Trophimus in the 1 Timothy letter!)
2. "Trophimus sick" problem. If Paul went to Spain but only took a single loop through Miletus, it would have been 1.5-2 years later! Whereas, if he went to Spain and took a second swing through Miletus - Troas - Corinth, the time would be likely under 6 months. Further, a single loop would place Timothy at Ephesus. Miletus is the sea port for Ephesus. Why would Timothy need to be told by Paul in Rome that Trophimus was sick 20 miles from Timothy?

2. Lenski, for example, believes Paul made a second pass through Miletus after visiting Spain.

1. He has Paul leaving Rome in 63 for Troas - Miletus - Ephesus - Colossae - Ephesus - Macedonia - Nicopolis.
2. Then Spain.
3. Then from Spain back to Miletus (where he leaves Trophimus sick 2 Tim 4:20) -Troas (where he leaves his cloak and parchments 2 Tim 4:13) - Corinth (2 Tim 4:20)
4. After which, we find him in Rome again in prison, facing death, writing 2 Timothy. (Lenski, 1 Timothy, Intro, p 478)

4. 5th missionary Journey:

(This journey is entirely evidenced from 2 Timothy.)

1. Miletus: [65 AD]

1. After wintering at Nicopolis (or returning from Spain if he went) Paul then goes to Miletus where he now leaves Trophimus sick:
2. "Trophimus I left sick at Miletus" 2 Tim. 4:20

2. Troas: [65 AD]

1. 2 Tim 4:13 "When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments."

3. Corinth: [65 AD]

1. He had personally left Erastus at Corinth 2 Tim. 4:20
2. 2 Tim 4:20 "Erastus remained at Corinth"

4. Rome [2 Tim written 66 or 67 AD if he went to Spain]

1. Something happened while in Spain or Nicopolis and he was arrested and taken back to Rome for a second imprisonment.
2. This is where he wrote 2 Tim. Everything has now changed in his tone in the prison epistles and 1 Tim. and Titus. Now he expects to be put to death (2 Tim. 4:6-18).
3. 2 Timothy was written from Rome and was in prison: 1:8,16; 2:9; 4:6-8

1. Several internal indicators: 4:17 Lion’s mouth = Rome

4. Either here at Nicopolis or soon after, Paul is arrested and returned to Rome under the fury of Nero’s persecution (See II Tim. 4:6-8). Here he writes his last epistle, II Timothy and asks Timothy to come quickly and to bring John Mark. Tychicus is sent to Ephesus to take Timothy’s place (II Tim. 4:12) and Artemas seems to have been sent to replace Titus (Titus 3:12).

5. Paul martyred [67 or 68 AD if he went to Spain]

1. Tradition states that Paul was beheaded under the persecution of Nero sometime before 68 AD when Nero himself died.

5. Paul’s passing the baton of the Gospel

See map: 2 Timothy 4

1. v10: Titus to Damatia
2. v10: Crescens to Galatia
3. v12: Tychicus to Ephesus
4. v10: Demas to Thessalonica: Deserted having loved the world
5. 4:14 + 2:17: Alexander and Hymenaeus

1. 1 Tim 1:19 "keep faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme."
2. Acts 19:33 Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly
3. 2 Tim 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
4. 2 Timothy 2:17 "their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some."

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6. Some non-inspired sources:

1. Clement of Rome (ca. 95) (1 Cor. 5.7) records that Paul "taught the whole world uprightness and traveled to the extreme west (epi to terma teµs dyseoµs elthoµn). And after he had borne witness before the authorities, he was taken from this world and went to the holy place, having proved himself the greatest model of endurance."
2. The Muratorian fragment (lines 38-39; EB 4; ca. 180) implies that the last part of Acts, recounting the departure of Paul from the City [Rome] as he set out for Spain" (…profectione Pauli ab Urbe ad Spaniam proficiscentis), has been lost.
3. Eusebius (HE 2.22, 2) is the first to mention Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome and martyrdom under Nero: "After defending himself, [Paul] was again sent on the ministry of preaching, and coming a second time to the same city suffered martyrdom under Nero. During this imprisonment he wrote the second epistle to Timothy, indicating at the same time that his first defense had taken place and that his martyrdom was at hand." Eusebius further quotes Dionysius of Corinth (ca. 170), who had stated that Peter and Paul were martyred at the same time" (HE 2.25, 8).
4. Tertullian (De praescrip. 36) compares Paul’s death to that of John (the Baptist), i.e., by beheading. The Eusebian testimony about Paul’s death in the persecution of Nero is generally accepted. This persecution lasted, however, from the summer of 64 to the emperor’s death (9 June 68), and it is difficult to pinpoint the year of Paul’s martyrdom.
5. The notice of Dionysius of Corinth that Peter and Paul "were martyred at the same time" (kata ton auton kairon) has often been understood to mean in the same year. But the preferred year for the death of Paul is 67, toward the end of Nero’s persecution, as Eusebius’ account seems to suggest. This chronology is not, however, without its difficulties.
6. Catholic tradition holds that Paul was buried on the Via Ostiensis, near the site of the modern basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura. In 258, when Christian tombs in Rome were threatened with desecration in the persecution of Valerian, Paul’s remains were transferred for a time to a place called Ad Catacumbas on the Appian Way. Later they were returned to their original resting place over which Constantine built his basilica.

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