<> Ask the Pastor Pastor Walter Snyder Q: How old (chronological age) was Adam when he was created? He wasn't a baby. How can we prove his chronological age in the Scriptures? A: Adam's "age" at the end of the seventh day of the first week was one day. He was created as an adult, since God placed him in a marriage relationship and commanded to reproduce. We don't know how old he "appeared" to be and appearance would be deceiving. The ravages of sin and the accompanying diseases and injuries would not have robbed his adult body of its full, God-given glory. Q: A friend of mine would like to know how long the apostle Paul was in prison. Acts 28 mentions him being under house arrest for two years, and several other imprisonments of a day or two are elsewhere recorded. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. A: Acts and the Pauline Epistles overlap at times. In other instances, an account is only spoken of in one place. Several different attempts on his freedom or his life are recorded, beginning not long after his conversion, when the Jews in Damascus plotted to kill him (Acts 9:23-25). From there, he went to Arabia for three years (Galatians 1:11-17), then to Jerusalem, where the "Greek-speaking Jews" again tried to kill him (Acts 9:29-30). He fled to Tarsus, then spent about a year in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas were then commissioned as missionaries by the Jerusalem Church, took John Mark with them, and began their mission. In Antioch near Pisidia and Iconium, both Gentiles and Jews stirred up trouble and forced them to leave for Lystra in Lacaonia. There, the Jews caught up, stoned Paul, dragged him out of town, and left him for dead (13:50; 14:5-6, 19-20). Paul's second missionary journey began with Silas, probably in Autumn A.D. 49. In Philippi, they healed a possessed slave who'd been earning money for her owners by fortunetelling. They were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned. An earthquake set them free, but they didn't escape. Instead, they converted the Philippian jailer, baptizing him and his household. They were quickly freed and hurried from town when the authorities realized they'd abused a Roman citizen (Acts 16:16-39). A revolt against them in Thessalonica got Jason arrested, so they departed for Berea, where the Thessalonian Jews came and stirred up more trouble (17:5-10, 13). After time in Corinth, they went home. The third journey's only major incident was the riot of the Ephesian silversmiths (Acts 19:23-41). A riot in the Temple got him arrested, probably in A.D. 58 (Acts 21:18-40). He used his Roman citizenship to avoid a whipping, ending up more in protective custody than under arrest. The Lord came to him, telling him that Paul would testify the truth about the Savior in Rome as he had in Jerusalem (23:11). A plot to murder him (23:14) was discovered, so Paul was sent to Governor Felix in Caesarea, and again stood trial (23:23-24:22). Felix never continued the case, as he'd promised Paul, so the apostle spent two years in prison (24:23-27). When Festus succeeded Felix, the Jews tried to get to him again to murder him, but Paul appealed to the Emperor. He then testified of the Faith before Festus and King Agrippa. He remained a prisoner because of his appeal, though his testimony convinced Festus he should be free (25:1-26:32). He remained a prisoner, suffered shipwreck on Malta, and finally got to Rome. There he was imprisoned under house arrest in a place he rented for two more years (28:30-31). This ends the historical account in Acts. 2 Timothy 4:17 indicates he was freed for a time, and extra-Biblical writings (Muratorian Canon and Clement of Rome) speak of going to Spain, as he desired in Romans 15:23-28. He traveled to Ephesus, Greece (when, in about A.D. 63, he wrote 1 Timothy), Crete, Ephesus again (when he wrote Titus), and was arrested again (probably in Troas). Many abandoned Paul (2 Timothy 1:15; 4:11). Church tradition speaks of his being decapitated in A.D. 66. Thus, with the arrests, jailings, imprisonments, and house arrests, Paul probably spent at least five, if not six or more years in confinement during his apostolic ministry. Until next week, when, Lord willing, we enjoy more of your questions, remember to "Ask the Pastor" at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. Pastor Snyder serves St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville, Texas and is the coauthor of What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults. Copyright (c) 1997 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.