2 Timothy 4:17

But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

The Lord stood by me ... The great apostle was not alone, after all; the blessed Saviour who had protected and blessed him through so many fiery trials in the past was present then to encourage, bless, comfort and strengthen. Even in the extremity of this situation, Paul's concern was that he might be empowered to preach the truth to the great Gentile multitude which (according to Conybeare) would most certainly have been present at a trial like Paul's. This verse reveals Paul's satisfaction and thanksgiving at having been enabled to proclaim an effective message to those who, in all probability, were screaming for his death.

And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion ... The easy first-blush meaning of this would appear to be that Paul's life was spared; and, even though it was but briefly spared, Paul's thanksgiving appears in a word like this. After all, even though Paul was sure that death was coming to him, as Spain said, "Paul always allowed for the possibility that God might intervene and change the future which Paul envisioned."[25] Scholars have long disputed about Paul's meaning here, and we do not feel qualified to determine the matter. However, we do reject the notion that Paul was saying that God had delivered him from Satan, a deliverance that had taken place long before this time.