Paul's trial in Caesarea before Felix was delayed, since Felix repeatedly postponed Paul's trial because the Jews were pleased that Paul was locked up in jail. Finally, Rome recalled Felix from Caesarea because of his incompetence in handling the violent conflicts between the Jews and the Greeks in Caesarea. Rome installed a new procurator named Festus. Festus arrived in Jerusalem where the Jewish leaders immediately bring Paul's legal case to his attention and ask that Paul be transferred to Jerusalem from Caesarea in order to continue his trial before Festus in Jerusalem.
The Jews intended to have Paul attacked and killed while in route to Jerusalem, but since Festus
is on his way to Caesarea he informed the Jews that he would hear Pau's case in Caesarea upon
his arrival.
                       
At this point, Paul had been held in a prison in Caesarea for 2 years (57-59 AD). During the trial
Paul makes his basic argument to indicate that he has done nothing wrong against either the
Jews or against Rome or against a temple ritual. Festus asked Paul if he would be willing to
travel to Jerusalem to stand trial there. Paul does not want to make the journey back into heavy Jewish territory nor does he want to be tried in Jerusalem, the hot-bed of ritual conflict. Instead,
Paul wants to keep his trial in the hands of the Romans, so he replies:

“I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried...no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

Festus checks the legality of Paul's request with his legal counsel, and decides:

"You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"

With that legal verdict Paul is destined by Roman authority to set sail to Rome where he will
have his case, which concerns his actions on the Jewish Temple Mount, heard before
Emperor Nero in Rome.

One other thing worth noting concerns the issue of capital punishment. Paul's view of government’s authority to use the death penalty is found in the following words. Paul tells the Roman procurator:

"If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die."

Paul says that if he has committed a crime worthy of capital punishment, he will not argue a defense against it. He would willing accept the death penalty at the hands of the Romans if he had committed a capital crime. This agrees with Jesus statement to Peter concerning Peter's criminal use of a small sword the night of Jesus arrest. When Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant (Mt. 26:5Luke 22:47-51; John 18:10), Jesus says:

"Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."
- Matthew 26:52

Jesus was saying, all who use the sword for criminal activity, will die by the sword held by the authority of government. (Romans 13:4)

“In necessary things, unity;
in doubtful things, liberty;
in all things, charity.”
– Richard Baxter

In 1630 the Roman Catholic Church pronounced Galileo
a heretic for saying that the Sun is in the center and immovable, but that the
earth moves with a diurnal action. They called his teaching absurd, philosophically false and
an theological error. Galileo was then ordered to curse, and detest his error...But,
in 1992 the Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II admitted that the church had been wrong for condemning and forcing Galileo to be silent concerning the movement
of the earth around the sun.