18). It is a great event when such a man as Paul dies;— when a mind sagacious to plan, wise to impart counsel, vigorous to execute great designs, is withdrawn from the earth; when lips, once eloquent in the cause of truth, become silent; when he who guided the young, warned the wicked, strengthened the feeble, comforted the sorrowful, animated the desponding, is seen no more; when he who brought the richness of his experience, and the maturity of his judgment, to aid the great interests of truth and humanity, has passed away. But the man who could deliver the discourse on Mars' Hill, or the defence before Agrippa, might, as a public speaker, have placed his name by the side of the most celebrated orators of the world. Copyright © 2021, Bible Study Tools. His soul was made for friendship; and he owed much of his power as an orator to his tenderness of feeling. In respect to grace of language and manner, he was sensible of the strong contrast between himself and the orators whom the Greeks were accustomed to hear. 21). But still, the fact that he has had an influence so vast in connexion with that religion may be referred to as showing what his influence might have been in any other department 01 human action. on 2 Tim. He is under the curse of the law in this life, and he is exposed to its eternal penalty in the life to come. Yet I wish to make his death the subject of a few remarks; and to find in it, if possible (and it certainly ought to be possible), something that may suggest important thoughts on a subject which must soon be of great personal interest to us all. The Scripture gives us detailed information about his life, his conversion, and his ministry. sion to Christ, and of his labours in his Master's service. How Ruth Was an Absolute Trailblazer in the Bible, A Picture of Our Need and God's Compassion in the Life of Absalom. 2. Paul was held prisoner in Rome in his last days on earth. The tomb lies directl… Of the actual manner of his death, we know only what may be stated in few words. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/how-did-the-apostle-paul-die.html That is to be made known to all the world. An orator he was, having great objects to accomplish; but he was not a sophist, and he would have disdained to owe his triumph to false reasoning, or mere appeals to the passions or prejudices of men. Historians believe Saint Peter was crucified upside down in Nero's amphitheater, which was situated where the Vatican now stands. so). Adam Clark writes in his commentary that “it is commonly believed that, when a general persecution was raised against the Christians by Nero … both St. Paul and St. Peter then sealed the truth with their blood.” Prior to his death, Paul spent plenty of time in prison and on the run, so he was likely already known to many Roman officials. It is easy to see that to die would be a "gain" or benefit to him, if the religion which he professed, and which he defended, was the true religion —a religion from God,—and if he was personally interested in it, or was a true believer. It will be "gain" for the monarch on his throne, if a true Christian, to lay aside his crown, his robe, and his sceptre, and be raised to the condition where all are kings unto God; it will be "gain" for the man who has won the widest reputation, and "gain" for her who moves in the most attractive circle of social life, if they are Christians, to die:—yes, to die, and to leave all. His religious principle was absorbing and entire, fixed and immovable. Several sources record that was Paul beheaded during the time of Nero. The world has no wealth to be compared with this, when employed in the cause of righteousness. (e.) Withal, Paul had a heart as gentle, as tender, and as confiding as any man that ever lived. According to Christian … And all this was connected with an energy that never tired, a love that never became cold. Living, dying, and for ever, you would rejoice that you had been able to give up all For Chr1st. He must, therefore, be regenerated by the Spirit ot God, and begin to live anew. No: come poverty; come disappointment; come toil; come care; come persecution; come obloquy, reproach, and scorn; come death in its most fearful form,—the time never would arrive when you for one moment would regret that you had taken such a step. Paul in heaven has seen more than he could have seen on earth as to the results of his conversion to Christ, and of his labours in his Master's service. 1 S. Paolo alle tre fontane. WE know little respecting the death of the Apostle Paul. On July 19, 64 AD, a fire began in the city that spread for 6 days, reignited and burned for 3 further days. Saint Peter resided in Rome and suffered a martyr's death there in the year 67 A.D., at the time of the Christian persecutions during the reign of the emperor Nero. This is apparent in all that he has left us in his writings; this would have been his characteristic, even if he had not been a Christian. of
He began to develop slurred speech and had difficulty walking, though he continued to keep up a physically demanding travel schedule. He might have been a statesman; he never would have been a mere politician. He has no merit of his own, but is to be saved wholly by the merit of his Redeemer. According to the Bible he hanged himself, (Matthew 27:5) at Aceldama, on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in the act he fell down a precipice and was dashed into pieces. Obstacles were no consideration in the way of his undertaking the task, and no thought of them was ever allowed for a moment to embarrass the undertaking. I have now finished what I designed to bring forward in illustration of the "Scenes and Incidents in the Life of the Apostle Paul." (c.) Not less eminent was Paul for native zeal and ardour. 0 3. But more than this is true. Paul's Release in 62 AD. The exact place of his martyrdom is unknown. We can also safely assume that no matter what kind of death Paul faced, he was prepared to meet his fate. It was charged upon him—a charge which he did not attempt to deny—that "his bodily presence" was "weak, and his speech contemptible" (2 Cor. (e.) In regard to personal religion, Paul was humble, earnest, sincere, prayerful. The Apostle Paul’s writing and teaching to the early church through letters makes up the bulk of the New Testament. Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. his early life: "What things were gain to me—(1cfpSjj) —those I counted loss for Christ." When he set an object before him, no matter what, it was accomplished if it lay within the power of man. He was known to force Christians into gladiator matches, where they would be eaten by lions, and “he often lit his garden parties with the burning carcasses of Christian human torches,” explains this article from PBS. pp. The possible results might be: (1) conviction and execution, (2) conviction and much stricter confinement, (3) exile from Rome, or (4) Paul's accusers don't … Homer still sings; Demosthenes still pleads for liberty; Socrates still speaks to men; Solon and Lycurgus still live in the laws of nations; and even the ancient warriors still affect the destiny of mankind. But the importance of such utterances in the dying hour has been vastly overrated. However, “probably no reliance is to be placed on either of these statements.” Today, a church, St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls, stands at the spot where many believe Paul was killed. While there are no definitive records of Paul's death, decapitation is the commonly accepted reasoning of death. His was a heart, which could also expand and embrace the whole human family with a tenderness of which the benevolence of Howard and Wilberforce was but a humble and distant imitation. x. To the apostle Paul, we know that "to die" would be "gain" (Phil. (a.) "1 Probably no reliance is to be placed on either of these statements. Based on the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul, we know that Paul was a most determined man, enduring brutal physical attacks, oppression, and mistreatment in his endeavor to make Christ known. What Is the Love Language of Quality Time? Yet it is a truth that for a good man,—honoured, beloved, useful,—with all around him that God ever gives to His children here;—nay, with all that God could give him of earth, it would be "gain" to die. (b.) Tradition tells us that when Peter died as a martyr. That is ultimately to triumph in the earth. Scholars estimate that Paul the Apostle was between 62 and 68 years old when he died. He … So Paul, when proclaiming Christian truth on Mars' Hill, was greater than Demosthenes when thundering against Philip. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”. The traveller now as he goes out of Rome in the south-western quarter, through the gate which opens to the ancient road leading to Ostia, passes at the gate the tomb of Caius Cestus. "gain" for the man who has won the widest reputation, and "gain" for her who moves in the most attractive circle of social life, if they are Christians, to die:—yes, what it is to be. To die would be, in respect to his permanent happiness, what he had supposed that those things would be when he had sought them,—things which now he had freely sacrificed for the sake of obtaining that higher good to which he was looking forward, and which would be real gain. 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