The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 48: Paul Before Nero
When Paul was summoned to appear before the emperor Nero for
trial, it was with the near prospect of certain death. The serious nature of
the crime charged against him, and the prevailing animosity toward Christians,
left little ground for hope of a favorable issue. {AA 492.1}
Among the Greeks and Romans it was customary to allow an
accused person the privilege of employing an advocate to plead in his behalf before
courts of justice. By force of argument, by impassioned eloquence, or by
entreaties, prayers, and tears, such an advocate often secured a decision in
favor of the prisoner or, failing in this, succeeded in mitigating the severity
of the sentence. But when Paul was summoned before Nero, no man ventured to act
as his counsel or advocate; no friend was at hand even to preserve a record of
the charges brought against him, or of the arguments that he urged in his own
defense. Among the [493] Christians at Rome there was not
one who came forward to stand by him in that trying hour. {AA 492.2}
The only reliable record of the occasion is given by Paul
himself, in his second letter to Timothy. "At my first answer," the
apostle wrote, "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." 2 Timothy 4:16, 17. {AA 493.1}
Paul before Nero—how striking the contrast! The
haughty monarch before whom the man of God was to answer for his faith, had
reached the height of earthly power, authority, and wealth, as well as the
lowest depths of crime and iniquity. In power and greatness he stood unrivaled.
There were none to question his authority, none to resist his will. Kings laid
their crowns at his feet. Powerful armies marched at his command, and the
ensigns of his navies betokened victory. His statue was set up in the halls of
justice, and the decrees of senators and the decisions of judges were but the
echo of his will. Millions bowed in obedience to his mandates. The name of Nero
made the world tremble. To incur his displeasure was to lose property, liberty,
life; and his frown was more to be dreaded than a pestilence. {AA 493.2}
Without money, without friends, without counsel, the aged
prisoner stood before Nero—the countenance of the emperor bearing the
shameful record of the passions that raged within; the face of the accused
telling of a heart at peace [494] with God. Paul's experience had
been one of poverty, self-denial, and suffering. Notwithstanding constant
misrepresentation, reproach, and abuse, by which his enemies had endeavored to
intimidate him, he had fearlessly held aloft the standard of the cross. Like
his Master, he had been a homeless wanderer, and like Him, he had lived to
bless humanity. How could Nero, a capricious, passionate, licentious tyrant,
understand or appreciate the character and motives of this son of God? {AA 493.3}
The vast hall was thronged by an eager, restless crowd that
surged and pressed to the front to see and hear all that should take place. The
high and the low were there, the rich and the poor, the learned and the
ignorant, the proud and the humble, all alike destitute of a true knowledge of
the way of life and salvation. {AA 494.1}
The Jews brought against Paul the old charges of sedition
and heresy, and both Jews and Romans accused him of instigating the burning of
the city. While these accusations were urged against him, Paul preserved an
unbroken serenity. The people and the judges looked at him in surprise. They
had been present at many trials and had looked upon many a criminal, but never
had they seen a man wear a look of such holy calmness as did the prisoner
before them. The keen eyes of the judges, accustomed to read the countenances
of prisoners, searched Paul's face in vain for some evidence of guilt. When he
was permitted to speak in his own behalf, all listened with eager interest. {AA 494.2}
Once more Paul has an opportunity to uplift before a [495]
wondering multitude the banner of the cross. As he gazes upon the throng before
him,—Jews, Greeks, Romans, with strangers from many lands,—his
soul is stirred with an intense desire for their salvation. He loses sight of
the occasion, of the perils surrounding him, of the terrible fate that seems so
near. He sees only Jesus, the Intercessor, pleading before God in behalf of
sinful men. With more than human eloquence and power, Paul presents the truths
of the gospel. He points his hearers to the sacrifice made for the fallen race.
He declares that an infinite price has been paid for man's redemption.
Provision has been made for him to share the throne of God. By angel
messengers, earth is connected with heaven, and all the deeds of men, whether
good or evil, are open to the eye of Infinite Justice. {AA 494.3}
Thus pleads the advocate of truth. Faithful among the
faithless, loyal among the disloyal, he stands as God's representative, and his
voice is as a voice from heaven. There is no fear, no sadness, no
discouragement in word or look. Strong in a consciousness of innocence, clothed
in the panoply of truth, he rejoices that he is a son of God. His words are as
a shout of victory above the roar of battle. He declares the cause to which he
has devoted his life, to be the only cause that can never fail. Though he may
perish, the gospel will not perish. God lives, and His truth will triumph. {AA 495.1}
Many who that day looked upon him "saw his face as it
had been the face of an angel." Acts 6:15. {AA 495.2}
Never before had that company listened to words like these.
They struck a cord that vibrated in the hearts of even [496] the
most hardened. Truth, clear and convincing, overthrew error. Light shone into
the minds of many who afterward gladly followed its rays. The truths spoken on
that day were destined to shake nations and to live through all time,
influencing the hearts of men when the lips that had uttered them should be
silent in a martyr's grave. {AA
495.3}
Never before had Nero heard the truth as he heard it on this
occasion. Never before had the enormous guilt of his own life been so revealed
to him. The light of heaven pierced the sin-polluted chambers of his soul, and
he trembled with terror at the thought of a tribunal before which he, the ruler
of the world, would finally be arraigned, and his deeds receive their just
award. He feared the apostle's God, and he dared not pass sentence upon Paul,
against whom no accusation had been sustained. A sense of awe restrained for a
time his bloodthirsty spirit. {AA 496.1}
For a moment, heaven was opened to the guilty and hardened
Nero, and its peace and purity seemed desirable. That moment the invitation of
mercy was extended even to him. But only for a moment was the thought of pardon
welcomed. Then the command was issued that Paul be taken back to his dungeon;
and as the door closed upon the messenger of God, the door of repentance closed
forever against the emperor of Rome. No ray of light from heaven was ever again
to penetrate the darkness that enveloped him. Soon he was to suffer the
retributive judgments of God. {AA 496.2}
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Not long after this, Nero sailed on his infamous expedition
to Greece, where he disgraced himself and his kingdom [497] by
contemptible and debasing frivolity. Returning to Rome with great pomp, he
surrounded himself with his courtiers and engaged in scenes of revolting
debauchery. In the midst of this revelry a voice of tumult in the streets was
heard. A messenger dispatched to learn the cause, returned with the appalling
news that Galba, at the head of an army, was marching rapidly upon Rome, that
insurrection had already broken out in the city, and that the streets were
filled with an enraged mob, which, threatening death to the emperor and all his
supporters, was rapidly approaching the palace. {AA 496.3}
In this time of peril, Nero had not, like the faithful Paul,
a powerful and compassionate God on whom to rely. Fearful of the suffering and
possible torture he might be compelled to endure at the hands of the mob, the
wretched tyrant thought to end his life by his own hand, but at the critical
moment his courage failed. Completely unmanned, he fled ignominiously from the
city and sought shelter at a countryseat a few miles distant, but to no avail.
His hiding place was soon discovered, and as the pursuing horsemen drew near,
he summoned a slave to his aid and inflicted on himself a mortal wound. Thus perished
the tyrant Nero, at the early age of thirty-two. {AA 497.1}
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