The last days of Saint Paul are somewhat ambiguous as presented in the Acts of the Apostles. However, this essay takes the position that Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome, although it might be more accurate to say Paul's incarceration was in two separate stages. The accounts of these events in the New Testament are unclear and incomplete.
There are two basic traditions concerning Paul's final mission on this earth. One tradition holds that at his trial in Rome, Paul was acquitted. When Paul was released, he began his travels again, only to be re-arrested. This tradition claims Paul journeyed as far as Spain. Another tradition says Paul was condemned at his Roman trial and then executed by the swift stroke of a sword. The last version of Paul's later years and his end are considered by most scholars to be the more accurate and historical of the two approaches.
But Acts does not take Paul's story to the scene of his death. Instead, Acts ends with Paul's first imprisonment in Rome: "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him,/Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him" (Acts 28:30-31). All of this occurred after Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi with Silas. After a severe earthquake, Paul was released and he traveled to Corinth, Athens, and Ephesus. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Paul was accused of starting a riot in the Temple. Paul was then held for awhile in the Roman barracks. At this point, Paul was allowed to go to Rome so that his case might be tried in Caesar's court. On his way to Rome, Paul was shipwrecked; however, he finally reached Rome, where he was still a prisoner. But as Acts points out, Paul had considerable freedom when he was first imprisoned in Rome, since he lived in his own 'hired house' and preached the teachings of Jesus with relative freedom. Yet, Pa...