Paul is arrested in the temple
In Jerusalem, a mob seized Paul in the temple, falsely accusing him of bringing Gentiles inside, and Roman soldiers rescued him. After a plot to kill him was uncovered, he was taken by night under heavy guard to the governor Felix at Caesarea.
The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.”
Acts 23:11 (World English Bible)
The commander let Paul address the crowd from the steps of the Antonia fortress; they listened until he spoke of being sent to the Gentiles. Before the council, Paul set the Pharisees and Sadducees against each other over the resurrection (Acts 23:6–10). That night the Lord stood by him and promised he would testify in Rome.
Places
Ancient witnesses outside the Bible
Historical sources, not Scripture.
- Antiquities 20.8.6 — the Egyptian (Acts 21:38)
- War 2.13.5
Dating notes
Around Pentecost, about AD 57. Ussher: AD 60. Dates for Paul's journeys follow the conventional chronology, anchored by an inscription at Delphi, found in 1905, that dates Gallio's term as proconsul of Achaia (Acts 18:12) to AD 51–52; Ussher, who could not have known it, runs two to three years later.