Had his trial been longer deferred, or had he from any cause been detained in Rome until the following year, he would doubtless have perished in the persecution which then took place. During Paul's imprisonment the converts to Christianity had become so numerous as to attract the attention and arouse the enmity of the authorities. The anger of the emperor was especially excited by the conversion of members of his own household, and he soon found a pretext to make the Christians the objects of his merciless cruelty.

Hvis hans retssag var blevet opsat, eller hvis han af en eller anden grund var blevet holdt tilbage i Rom til det følgende år, ville han uden tvivl være omkommet under den forfølgelse, som da fandt sted. Mens Paulus sad fængslet, var de omvendte til troen blevet så talrige, at det måtte vække opmærksomhed og skabe fjendskab hos myndighederne. Kejserens vrede blev særlig vakt ved omvendelser af medlemmer af hans egen husstand og han fandt snart et påskud til at gøre de kristne til genstand for sin ubarmhjertige grusomhed.