But you know who else ended up his life? Fine? The Apostle Paul. Now think about it.
The Apostle Paul probably went through more persecution than anybody else that
we read about in Scripture, right? Think about the afflictions that the Apostle
Paul went through. He was beaten with rods. He was thrown in prison over and
over again. He was whipped and scourged. He was shipwrecked, and he was at the
point of being killed by the Roman guards because they were just gonna kill
all the prisoners and everything. And one time he was even stoned, and they
stoned him, and they thought he was dead. They were like, he's dead, and they
leave him there, and then he gets up and walks away because he was still alive. So
Paul went through a lot of persecution, right? But look what the Bible says in
2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 17. Let me turn there myself. Actually I want to
start reading a little earlier than what I have in my notes, so let me just turn
there myself. 2 Timothy chapter 4. It says in verse 16,
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that
it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that
all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,
and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his
heavenly kingdom, to him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now a lot of people will
tell you, oh the Apostle Paul was beheaded by the Romans. That's not in
the Bible anywhere, and in fact I think that that's unscriptural because if you
study this passage, just a few verses earlier in verse 6 and 7 he said, I'm now
ready to be offered in the time of my departures at hand. I fought a good fight,
I finished my course, I've kept the faith. He said, I'm about ready to depart, and
he's talking about departing and being with Christ. He's talking about dying a
physical death. Yet a few verses later he says, the Lord delivered me from every
evil work. I went through all these persecutions, you know, but I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion. I was delivered from all the evil works of
man. I believe from the top of my head to the bottom of my foot that the Apostle
Paul died of natural causes. Because if you read the book of Acts, which is the
story, a lot of it is the story of the Apostle Paul, it ends up, the last words
of the book of Acts, he's on house arrest. He's living in his own house. He's
preaching every day. His friends are coming over to his house every day. No
man's forbidding him to preach the gospel. He can preach whatever he wants
from the Bible. He can say whatever he wants. He continues for two years. Why
would the book of Acts end on such a positive note and then like, oh by the
way, here's what we're not going to tell you. They chopped off his head right
after that. That's not a biblical teaching. That's man's history and it's
all legend and folklore. The Bible says that he was going to be preserved from
that and delivered from the lion and he talks about his death is impending, but
it doesn't sound like it's coming from man. Sounds like he's just an old man
that's about to die. He knows he's about to die. Why do I bring that up?
Because the Bible says, many are the afflictions of the righteous. Did Paul go
through a lot of afflictions? Yeah, he's beaten. He's in prison. All these
different things. Stoned. Did he go through pain? Did he go through suffering?
But you know what? In the end, he was blessed and the Bible says, many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.