Rome

Rome in the Bible

The name Rome does not appear in the Old Testament. It appears in the New Testament as follows:

• Acts 2:10: Among those gathered in Jerusalem at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were "strangers of Rome."
• Acts 18:2: Because the emperor Claudius had "commanded all Jews to depart from Rome," Priscilla and Aquila came to Corinth.
• Acts 19:21; 23:11: Paul resolved that he "must also see Rome," and the Lord told Paul that he must "bear witness also at Rome."
• Acts 25–28: Paul, a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar (the emperor) and was sent by ship as a prisoner, suffering shipwreck along the way. After passing through Puteoli in southern Italy, he entered Rome, where he "dwelt two whole years in his own hired house," preaching the kingdom of God (Acts 28:30–31).
• Romans 1:7, 15: Paul sent the Epistle to the Romans to the saints in Rome, a city he had not yet visited. Chapter 16 lists many people to be greeted, including Phoebe and Junia.
• 2 Timothy 1:17: Onesiphorus is recorded as having sought out Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome.

Background

Rome is a city in the Tiber River valley. In the New Testament era it was the capital of the Roman Empire, which ruled the Mediterranean world. "Caesar Augustus" in Luke 2:1 was likewise a Roman emperor. Rome had a sizable Jewish community. Many scholars date Claudius's edict of expulsion to around AD 49. Scripture does not say who first founded the church in Rome. By the time Paul wrote Romans, the faith of that church was already "spoken of throughout the whole world" (Romans 1:8).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Book of Acts traces the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem "unto the uttermost part of the earth" and closes with Paul preaching in Rome, the heart of the empire, "no man forbidding him." Paul's arrival in Rome is therefore read as showing that the gospel had reached the center of the Gentile world.

Interpretations and Debates

• Peter and Rome: The Catholic Church holds that Peter was the first bishop of the church in Rome and regards this as the basis of the papacy. Protestants generally maintain that Scripture does not directly mention Peter's residence in Rome or his serving as bishop there. The tradition that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome under the emperor Nero comes from the early church and is not found in the biblical text.
• The name Babylon: Many interpreters take "the church that is at Babylon" in 1 Peter 5:13 to refer to Rome. Some also interpret "that great city Babylon" in Revelation 17–18 as referring to the Roman Empire. Others, however, read it as a power that will arise in the future or as a symbol.
• Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon have traditionally been regarded as letters written during Paul's Roman imprisonment. Some scholars instead assign them to an imprisonment in Ephesus or Caesarea.
• The fourth kingdom in Daniel: There is a long tradition of identifying the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2 and 7 with Rome. Others identify it with Greece.

In the Korean Church

Rome is mentioned chiefly in sermons on Romans and in sermons on Paul's missionary journeys. Preachers also commonly explain that the Roman Empire's road network and peace served as channels for the spread of the gospel; this is a historical interpretation. Rome is sometimes included in pilgrimage itineraries.