When and under what circumstances did Paul write Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon?
Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon four years after Romans, while in Rome under house arrest at that time. They are called the prison epistles because he was literally in prison, though not in a dungeon; his confinement was house arrest.
Les explains that Paul’s letters begin with the Thessalonian letters about AD 54, then Galatians in 58, 1 Corinthians in 59, 2 Corinthians about AD 60, and Romans the same year. Four years later, from Rome, while in prison under house arrest, he writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The next year, still in Rome under house arrest, these are called the prison epistles because he is literally in prison, yet it is not a dungeon but a house arrest. Prior to this, Paul had already been on missionary journeys and established churches, and he wrote to admonish and encourage them.