Roman Empire

Background

Rome began as a city-state on the Italian Peninsula and, during the Republic, extended its power throughout the Mediterranean region. When Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC, Judea also came under Roman rule. In 27 BC the Senate conferred the title "Augustus" on Octavian, and this date is regarded as the beginning of the imperial period, when Rome was ruled by emperors. The title "Caesar," which appears in the Bible (rendered Gaisa in Korean Bibles), refers to the Roman emperor.

Development

• New Testament era: Jesus Christ was born during the reign of Augustus (Luke 2:1) and, during the reign of Tiberius, was crucified by the sentence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The empire's road network, its relatively stable public order, and Greek, which served as a lingua franca, provided the setting for Paul's missionary journeys. On the basis of his Roman citizenship, Paul appealed to be tried before the emperor (Acts 25:11).
• Persecution: After the Great Fire of Rome in 64, Emperor Nero persecuted Christians. According to tradition, Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome around this time. In 70 the Roman army captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Persecution continued thereafter, varying by region and period, and empire-wide persecutions took place under Emperor Decius in 250 and under Emperor Diocletian in 303.
• Legalization and establishment as the state religion: In 313 Constantine and Licinius granted religious freedom, including to Christianity, through the Edict of Milan. In 325 Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea. In 380 Theodosius I established the Nicene faith as the official faith of the empire.
• Division and fall: In 395 the empire was divided into eastern and western halves. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476, while the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, endured until 1453.

Consequences and Influence

Church organization developed along the lines of the empire's administrative divisions. In the West, the authority of the bishop of Rome grew, eventually giving rise to the papacy of the Catholic Church. In the East, the Eastern Orthodox tradition took shape with Constantinople as its center. The Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible, became the standard Bible of the Western church. After Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410, Augustine wrote The City of God, which addresses the relationship between the state and the church.

In Korean churches, the Roman Empire is often presented as background when preaching on or studying passages concerning state authority, such as Mark 12:13–17 and Romans 13. Pilgrimages to Roman sites in Italy and Turkey are also common.

Assessment

Opinions are divided regarding the changes that followed Constantine. Many churches regard the end of persecution and the wide spread of the gospel as the work of God's providence. By contrast, the free church tradition, including the Anabaptists, along with some evangelicals, criticizes these changes, arguing that the church became allied with state power and lost its original character. This issue is still frequently raised today in discussions of the relationship between the church and politics.

The Roman Empire also holds an important place in the interpretation of prophecy. Many interpreters have identified the fourth beast of Daniel 7 with Rome, and many also read the beast and "Babylon" in the Book of Revelation as referring to the first-century Roman Empire. Dispensationalism sometimes holds that a power connected with the Roman Empire will reappear in the end times.