155 from Miletus to Troas. He never made it to Troas. He was arrested and evidently condemned, and because he was a Roman citizen, was sent to Rome to be executed (beheaded). Evidently Paul was arrested in the Summer of AD 63, a year BEFORE the Neronic persecution broke out, at a time when it was still safe enough for his fellow workers to travel and work among the churches, as we see described in 2 Tim 4:9-13. This kind of travel and missionary activity would not have been possible after the Neronic persecution broke out. This is why I place Paul’s arrest in the Summer of AD 63, instead of the Summer of 64. Sep 63 – 2 Timothy Written After Paul Was Arrested
Swiftly after his arrest there in Asia. He wrote his second epistle to Timothy from Rome, in which he urges Timothy to retrieve his belongings (his cloak, and especially the books and parchments) from Carpus in Troas and bring them to him in Rome before winter (2 Tim 4:13). Here are some situations and facts that Paul mentioned in Second Timothy, which might help us determine an approximate date for it: • Paul had been in prison long enough for Onesiphorus to search and find him (1:16-18) • Winter was not there yet, and evidently was at least a month or more away, giving the courier time to deliver the letter to Timothy, and time for Timothy to travel to Rome from Ephesus (4:21). • Mark was in the area close to Ephesus at the time Paul was in Rome - Onesiphorus might have told him about that. • Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark to him in Rome, along with the books and parchments. • Evidently the Neronic persecution had not started (3:12-13; 4:1), since Timothy was still able to function as an evangelist at Ephesus, and Paul’s fellow workers were still able to travel and do mission work (4:10). • Paul knows he will not get released this time (4:6-7) • Tychicus was sent to replace Timothy in Ephesus (4:12) • Travel Fact: Paul had gone to Corinth before going to Miletus (4:20) He also instructed Timothy to “pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service” (2 Tim 4:11). It is interesting that Mark was already back in the region of Turkey at this time. He had probably already delivered the book of Hebrews to Peter in Jerusalem, and was now bringing Peter’s first epistle back to those churches in Turkey (1 Pet 1:1). We might wonder what kind of “service” Paul wished for Mark to provide for him in Rome. The answer might be found two verses later when Paul urges Timothy to bring the “books and parchments” to Rome also. Since Mark was so adept at scribal and courier services, perhaps Paul was planning to entrust his collection of writings to Mark, for copying and distribution among the churches, or maybe to take them back to Peter in Jerusalem. Peter indicates in his second epistle that he was aware of the contents of “all of Paul’s epistles,” and eulogized Paul as if he was now dead (2 Pet 3:15-16). By the time Paul wrote this second epistle to Timothy, he had evidently been in Rome long enough for Onesiphorus to come looking for him and find him, and refresh him, and was “not ashamed of his chains” (2 Tim 1:16). Paul said he was suffering hardship while “imprisoned as a criminal” (2 Tim 2:9). It was probably Onesiphorus who brought this letter back to Timothy, in which he urged Timothy to “make every effort to come to him soon, before Winter” (2 Tim 4:9, 21). Here in this letter, Paul mentions his fellow workers scattered all over Achaia, Greece, Dalmatia, Macedonia, Asia Minor, and Crete. The freedom of travel for all these fellow workers at the time of writing suggests that this epistle (2 Timothy) was written before the Neronic persecution, after which this kind of travel and missionary work would have been impossibly dangerous and fatal. Late Date for 2 Timothy (Sept 64)? Some have suggested an alternative date for 2 Timothy which suggests that Paul was not arrested the second time until September of 64 right after the
