“The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:22).
Epilogue
“Shortly after this Epistle was written, within a few months at most, Paul had his second hearing, was sentenced to death by execution, was led out of the city at the Ostian Gate to a place called the Three Fountains, and there was beheaded. At least all early tradition, and the Fathers, among them Clement, one of his companions, support this view.” (1)
“The traditional view is that Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero between AD 64 and 67. Scripture does not directly state his martyrdom, but there are hints in both Acts and 2 Timothy 4:6-8 that Paul knew his death was pending. The first extrabiblical evidence is found in 1 Clement 5:5-7 (c. AD 95 – 96) in which Paul is described as suffering greatly for his faith and then being ‘set free from this world and transported up to the holy place, having become the greatest example of endurance.’
While details regarding the manner of his fate are lacking, the immediate context strongly implies that Clement was referring to the martyrdom of Paul. Other early evidences for the martyrdom of Paul can be found in Ignatius (Letter to the Ephesians 12:2), Polycarp (Letter to the Philippians 9:1-2), Dionysius of Corinth (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.25.4), Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.1.1), The Acts of Paul, and Tertullian (Scorpiace 15:5-6). The early, consistent, and unanimous testimony is that Paul died as a martyr.” (2)
“Paul, the Apostle, who was before called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labours in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this persecution under Nero. …Nero sent two of his esquires… to bring him word of his death… (T)he soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers were made, gave his neck to the sword.” (3)
“By reason of jealousy and strife Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance. After that he had been seven times in bonds, had been driven into exile, had been stoned, had preached in the East and in the West, he won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world and having reached the farthest bounds of the West; and when he had borne his testimony before the rulers, so he departed from the world and went unto the holy place, having been found a notable pattern of patient endurance.” (4)
(1) B. W. Johnson, The People’s New Testament [pg. 538]. Public Domain http://www.ccel.org/ccel/johnson_bw/pnt.html
(2) Josh McDowell And Sean McDowell, PhD, Evidence That Demands a Verdict [pgs. 363-364] © 2017 Josh McDowell Ministry
(3) John Foxe, Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs [pg. 13] © 1981 by Whitaker House https://archive.org/services/img/foxesbookofmarty00foxe_1
(4) The First Epistle Of Clement To The Corinthians, [5:5-6] http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-lightfoot.html