Rome Within a hundred years of the rise of Greek power under Alexander the Great (334-331 BC), Rome had begun to overrun colonies of the Greek Empire and form them into outlying provinces of Rome. Rome first came into prominence in the affairs of Palestine when the Roman general Pompey seized control of Jerusalem and brought Judea under Roman control (63 BC).
The Roman Empire
After the assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BC), Rome went through a disastrous time of civil war, political confusion and social turmoil. Thousands of people were poor and unable to find work. There was little law and order, corruption was widespread, and ambitious army commanders were constantly plotting for more power.
Out of this instability and tension there arose a leader who was able firstly to control and then to correct the disorders. In 27 BC he took the name Caesar Augustus and became the first ruler of what became known as the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1). The people held him in such honour that rulers of the Roman Empire after him took his name Caesar as the title of the Emperor (Luke 3:1; Luke 20:22; Acts 17:7; Acts 25:11,25).
There was a widespread feeling of gratitude to Augustus for the peace and order that he brought, and people began praising him as if he were a god. This marked the beginning of Emperor worship, which developed into the official religion of the Empire. The Romans tolerated other religions, provided they had first been registered with the government. but the law still required all people to carry out acts of worship to the Emperor’s image, even though they may have belonged to some other (registered) religion.
The Romans did not force Jews to obey this law, as they knew that Jews would not bow to any idol. Christians also refused to worship before the Emperor’s image, but as long as the Roman officials thought that Christianity was merely a sect within the Jewish religion, they took no action against the Christians. However, once they knew that Christianity was a new religion, different from Judaism and therefore outside Roman law, they persecuted the Christians cruelly.
One of the severest outbreaks of persecution occurred after the great fire of Rome (AD 64), which the Emperor Nero blamed on the Christians. At the same time the Romans were becoming increasingly impatient with the Jews, particularly the Jerusalem Jews, who were angry at Rome’s mismanagement of their affairs. A Jewish political group known as the Zealots (or Patriots) were so opposed to Roman rule that they were prepared to fight against it (See ZEALot). The outcome was that the Romans came and, after overcoming stubborn Jewish resistance, destroyed Jerusalem without mercy (AD 70). The fall of Jerusalem marked not only the downfall of the Jewish nation, but also the end of Judaism’s dominance as a religious force.
by this time the Roman Empire extended over much of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. It lasted for at least another three hundred years, but then began to fall apart. Finally, in AD 476, Rome itself was overthrown by the Germans.
Provinces of the Empire
From the days of the Empire’s beginnings, Rome’s plan was to place a Roman governor in charge of each province of the territory it seized. A series of events in AD 37 resulted in a different arrangement for the province of Judea (which included the region commonly known as Samaria). The ruler over Judea was not a Roman but a Palestinian (Herod the Great) who had persuaded Rome to appoint him ‘king’ of Judea. He was not a sovereign king, for he was under the overall control of Rome (See Herod).
In BC 4, Herod the Great died and his son Archelaus succeeded him. Archelaus was so cruel and unjust that in AD 6 the Jews of Judea asked Rome to remove him and rule them directly through their own officials. From that time on, Judea was ruled by Roman governors (or procurators). The only exception to this was a period of about three years from AD 41 to 44, when Herod Agrippa I was governor over almost the entire region once ruled by his grandfather, Herod the Great (Acts 1:12-4,20).
Roman governors of Judea mentioned in the Bible are Pontius Pilate (AD 26-36; Luke 3:1; Luke 13:1; Luke 23:1,6,24; John 1:18-38; John 19:38), Felix (AD 52-59; Acts 23:26,33; Acts 24:25) and Porcius Festus (AD 59-62; Acts 1:25-5,13; Acts 26:24). Caesarea, a city built on the Mediterranean coast by Herod the Great, was the administrative centre for the province of Judea. The governor usually went to Jerusalem during Jewish festivals to help maintain law and order in the city (Acts 23:33; Acts 25:1-6; cf. Matthew 1:27-2; Mark 1:14-2).
Since the possibility always existed that riots could break out in the provinces, governors were ready to act as soon as any sign of rebellion appeared (John 1:11-50; Acts 1:17-9; Acts 19:40; Acts 21:31-36). They were also responsible for the administration of justice and the collection of taxes (Luke 2:1; Acts 19:38; Acts 25:9-10; Romans 1:13-7). Administrators in some of the provinces were called proconsuls (Acts 13:7; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:38).
There was widespread travel throughout the Roman Empire. Government officials, businessmen and soldiers moved to all parts of the Empire, often settling in places that the Romans called colonies. These were towns established as centres of Roman life in the non-Roman world of the provinces, and their citizens had the privileges of Roman citizenship and self-government. Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, Troas, Corinth and Philippi were all Roman colonies (Acts 16:12). The Romans built an extensive system of roads to link these and other major towns to Rome and to each other.
Paul appreciated the stability that Roman rule produced and the advantages that the government’s development programs provided for the spread of Christianity (Romans 1:13-7; cf. 1 Peter 1:2-17). Like the Romans he had a spirit of enterprise, a mind for planning and a vision for the world (Romans 1:15-20; 2 Corinthians 10:16; Colossians 1:6). He moved from province to province along the Roman roads, aiming to establish churches in the major towns. Once strong churches were established in these towns, the gospel would spread quickly into the regions round about (Acts 13:14,49; Acts 14:1,6-7,20; See Mission). In particular, Paul saw the importance of having a strong church at the centre of the Empire (Acts 19:21; Romans 1:1-13; Romans 15:14-15,23).
Roman citizenship
Originally a Roman citizen was a person who lived in Rome, where citizens enjoyed special privileges given them by the Emperor. Later, the Roman government extended this citizenship to people of other cities and provinces. They extended it also to people who had given outstanding service to the Empire, and even to those who could afford to buy it (Acts 22:28a). This citizenship passed on to the person’s children (Acts 22:28b). People did not have to be of Roman blood to be Roman citizens (Acts 16:37; Philippians 3:5).
Those who were Roman citizens had rights not enjoyed by other citizens. They could not be beaten by local officials (Acts 1:16-39; Acts 22:25-29) and could not be executed without a verdict from a general meeting of the people. If they were not satisfied with the standard of justice they received, they could appeal direct to the Emperor (Acts 1:25-12,25; Acts 26:32; Acts 27:1-2; Acts 28:16).
The city of Rome
Built on the famous ‘seven hills’ in 753 BC, Rome was one of the world’s great cities. In the era of the New Testament it had a population of more than one million. Included in this population were people of many nationalities, some of whom the Romans expelled if they thought they were going to become troublemakers (Acts 18:2).
The Bible does not say how the church in Rome began. The church may have been formed partly by Romans who were converted in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and who took their new-found faith back to Rome (cf. Acts 2:10,14,41). In addition, Christians from other parts of the Empire no doubt travelled to and from Rome or went there to live, and these might have had some part in founding the church there (Romans 1:16). Paul’s letter to the church in Rome makes it clear that at the time of writing he had not yet visited Rome (Romans 1:1-15; Romans 15:20-22; See ROMANS, LETTER TO THE).
Paul was at one time held prisoner in Rome for two years (Acts 28:16,20,30). This was most likely the time during which he wrote the letters known to us as Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians and Philippians (Ephesians 6:20; Philippians 1:13; Colossians 4:10; Philem 23). At the end of his two years imprisonment Paul almost certainly was released, though we cannot be sure of the details of his later movements.
After further travels Paul was arrested and taken to Rome as a prisoner once again, but this time he knew he had little chance of being released (2 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 2:9; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). From Rome he wrote his last letter, a personal note to Timothy known to us as 2 Timothy. It seems that soon after writing the letter he was beheaded (about AD 62).
Possibly about this time Peter arrived in Rome, along with Silas (or Silvanus), his fellow worker. Using Silas as his secretary, Peter wrote a letter to the churches of the northern part of Asia Minor that he had helped to evangelize. In this letter (known to us as 1 Peter) he referred to Rome symbolically as Babylon (1 Peter 1:5-13).
The reason for this use of Babylon as a name for Rome was that Rome, like Babylon of Old Testament times, was the clear expression of human rebellion against God. It was the embodiment of that spirit by which arrogant human beings, in the pride of their power and achievements, defy God and persecute his people (Revelation 1:17-18). The downfall of Babylon pictures more than the downfall of Rome. It pictures the final overthrow of the entire world system that people have built and organized in opposition to God and his people (Revelation 1:18-24).