Rome
Capital · Rome → Rome, Italy
The capital of the Roman world, the city Paul longed to reach. He came at last in chains, yet preached the kingdom of God here boldly and freely.
People
- Paul
- Priscilla
- Aquila
- Onesiphorus
- Phoebe
At a glance
- Realm
- The Roman Empire (Italy)
- Role
- Imperial capital, caput mundi
- Peoples
- Romans, with a large Jewish community
- First mention
- Acts 2 (visitors from Rome)
The story
Rome was the capital of the empire that ruled the whole world of the New Testament, a vast city generally thought to hold near a million people, which the Romans called the caput mundi, the head of the world. Jews from Rome were standing in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out, and in time a church of Jews and Gentiles grew up in the imperial city. To that church Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, greeting all who were loved by God and called to be saints, long before he had ever seen them.
Paul had desired for years to see Rome, and he reached it at last as a prisoner who had appealed to Caesar. He was allowed to stay in his own rented house with a soldier to guard him, and for two full years he welcomed all who came and proclaimed the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, boldly and without hindrance. Here Onesiphorus searched the city until he found Paul in his chains and was not ashamed of him, and here, by long tradition, the apostle finished his course.