When Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, he expressed hope that he would visit the church in that city as soon as arrangements could be made following his journey to the city of Jerusalem. The visit to Rome was delayed for about three years, but when he finally reached the city, he arrived as a prisoner awaiting trial before the court of the emperor. While in Jerusalem, he was arrested on the charge of causing a riot in the Temple. After being held in prison in Caesarea for about two years, he was transferred to Rome at his own request to be tried. After spending about three years as a prisoner in Rome, he was tried and convicted.
Seven letters in the New Testament initially were credited to Paul on the assumption that he wrote them while a prisoner in Rome. However, three of these letters — 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus — now are generally recognized as belonging to a period somewhat later than Paul's death, and many New Testament scholars believe the same is true of the Epistle to the Ephesians, but the authorship question is in no way a completely settled issue. However, in all four of these letters, Paul's influence is recognizable; possibly they were written by disciples of Paul who wrote in accordance with the instruction that they believed he would have given. Three other letters — Philippians, Philemon, and Colossians — are still regarded as genuine letters of Paul, although some question remains about where they were written, for no conclusive evidence indicates whether it was Rome or Ephesus, in both of which Paul was a prisoner.
