Paul preached the Gospel of Christ from his guarded quarters.

Acts 28:30-31

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Paul preached the Gospel of Christ from his guarded quarters.
“Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.” Acts 28:30-31

As followers of Jesus Christ, we may be prohibited from bringing the Gospel of Christ to public places, but if someone comes to us then that is the opportunity to share our born-again experience, which is the Gospel written on our heart. They can take the testimony of Jesus out of their culture, but they can’t take away the love God has for us, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

What happened to Paul after those two years of imprisonment? He was executed by beheading. We know that Paul’s missionary journeys came to an end during his two-year imprisonment in Rome. After that, nothing more is recorded of any such missionary work. Also, nothing more is heard from Luke, who was Paul’s companion and who recorded the events of his missionary journeys of Acts. Luke’s last words are those written in the verses of this section, Acts 28:30-31. We know Luke wrote the gospel of Luke before teaming up with Paul on his missionary journeys [as described in the post on Acts 1:1-3]. Luke made an account of all that Jesus did and taught before traveling with Paul. There is nothing more heard about Luke’s ministry after the two years he spent with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome.

Nero was the Roman Emperor while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. He was brutal and cruel in the killing of Christians. His intent was to purge the Roman Empire of Christianity. Paul and Luke would have been high on his list to target for elimination. They were both leaders of the Church and “galvanized” the faith of those living for Jesus Christ.

Paul’s missionary journeys came to an end before his imprisonment in Rome, as described in the next paragraph. Paul’s missionary journeys began in Acts 13 and ended in Acts 21:26-36 when he was arrested by Roman soldiers in Jerusalem. The remaining seven chapters of Acts describe Paul’s arrest, jail transfers, court trials, and eventual transfer to Rome.

Soon after Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem, he was escorted to Judea where he was imprisoned under the watch of Felix and Porcius Festus, Acts 23:23-24 and Acts 24:27. Paul was imprisoned there for a little over two years. He wrote some of his letters to the Churches while there. Paul appealed his imprisonment and wanted a trial in Rome, which Porcius Festus granted [Acts 25:11-12]. Paul had to be transported to Rome, by ship, which took at least four months due to severe weather as described in Acts chapters 27 and 28. The trip from Israel to Rome was about 1400 miles as a bird flies. The ship had to dock in Malta [Acts 28:1-10] through the winter months [Acts 28:11]. There were at least four months between Paul’s first imprisonment in Judea and his second imprisonment in Rome [Paul wrote some other of his letters to the Churches from Rome]. For over four years, Paul was under constant guard as a prisoner; two years in Judea, at least four months traveling to Rome, and another two years in Rome.

Before Paul visited Jerusalem, where he was arrested [Acts 21:26-36], he prophesied of his death twice, in two different locations. From this, we are led to believe that Paul was executed by beheading after being imprisoned in Rome for two years. When Paul was in Ephesus, he prophesied of his impending death as a result of his soon-to-be visit to Jerusalem. Ephesus was the stop before he came to Ptolemais, where he again spoke of his impending death as a result of his soon-to-be visit to Jerusalem. From Ptolemais, Paul made his visit to Jerusalem, where he was arrested by Roman soldiers. He was transferred to Judea where he was imprisoned for a little over two years. From Judea, Paul was transferred to Rome where he was imprisoned for another two years and executed,

In Ephesus, Paul said to fellow Christians that they would see his face no more and encouraged them to shepherd the Church of God, through Jesus Christ, as quoted, “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more...Therefore take heed to yourselves… to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. …Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more.” Acts 20:25, 27, 37-38

From Ephesus, Paul sailed and came to Ptolemais, where once again he speaks of his impending death after his arrest in Jerusalem was prophesied about, as quoted, “When [Phillip] had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:11-13

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11