28 Bible Verses about Rome

Sometime after these events Paul resolved to go through Macedonia and Greece, and then make his way to Jerusalem. "And after I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."

I want you to know, Brothers, that I have many times intended coming to see you-but until now I have been prevented-that I might find among you some fruit of my labors, as I have already among the other nations. I have a duty to both the Greek and the Barbarian, to both the cultured and the ignorant. And so, for my part, I am ready to tell the Good News to you also who are in Rome.

But now there are no further openings for me in these parts, and I have for several years been longing to come to you whenever I may be going to Spain. For my hope is to visit you on my journey, and then to be sent on my way by you, after I have first partly satisfied myself by seeing something of you. Just now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem, to take help to Christ's People there.read more.
For Macedonia and Greece have been glad to make a collection for the poor among Christ's People at Jerusalem. Yes, they were glad to do so; and indeed it is a duty which they owe to them. For the Gentile converts who have shared their spiritual blessings are in duty bound to minister to them in the things of this world. When I have settled this matter, and have secured to the poor at Jerusalem the enjoyment of these benefits, I shall go, by way of you, to Spain. And I know that, when I come to you, it will be with a full measure of blessing from Christ.

That night the Lord came and stood by Paul, and said: "Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem and you must bear witness in Rome also."

"No," replied Paul, "I am standing at the Emperor's Bar, where I ought to be tried. I have not wronged the Jews, as you yourself are well aware. If, however, I am breaking the law and have committed any offence deserving death, I do not ask to escape the penalty; but, if there is nothing in the accusations of these people, no one has the power to give me up to them. I appeal to the Emperor." Upon that, Festus, after conferring with his Council, answered: "You have appealed to the Emperor; to the Emperor you shall go."

As it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were put in charge of a Captain of the Augustan Guard, named Julius. We went on board a ship from Adramyttium, which was on the point of sailing to the ports along the coast of Roman Asia, and put to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, went with us.

There we found some of the Brethren, and were urged to stay a week with them; after which we went on to Rome. The Brethren there had heard about us, and came out as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At sight of them Paul thanked God and was much cheered. On our reaching Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, except for the soldier who was in charge of him.

For two whole years Paul stayed in a house which he rented for himself, welcoming all who came to see him, Proclaiming the Kingdom of God, and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, with perfect fearlessness, unmolested.

They then fixed a day with him, and came to the place where he was staying, in even larger numbers, when Paul proceeded to lay the subject before them. He bore his testimony to the Kingdom of God, and tried to convince them about Jesus, by arguments drawn from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets--speaking from morning till evening. Some were inclined to accept what he said; others, however, rejected it.

Brothers, I want you to realize that what has happened to me has actually served to forward the Good News. It has even become evident, not only to all the Imperial Guard, but to every one else, that it is for Christ's sake that I am in chains.

But now there are no further openings for me in these parts, and I have for several years been longing to come to you whenever I may be going to Spain. For my hope is to visit you on my journey, and then to be sent on my way by you, after I have first partly satisfied myself by seeing something of you.

The Brethren there had heard about us, and came out as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At sight of them Paul thanked God and was much cheered.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ about you all, because the report of your faith is spreading throughout the world.

Give my greeting to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the Cause of Christ Jesus, Who risked their own lives to save mine. It is not I alone who thank them, but all the Churches among the Gentiles thank them also. Give my greeting, also, to the Church that meets at their house, as well as to my dear friend Epaenetus, one of the first in Roman Asia to believe in Christ;read more.
To Mary, who worked hard for you; To Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and once my fellow- prisoners, who are men of note among the Apostles, and who became Christians before I did; To my dear Christian friend Ampliatus; To Urban, our fellow-worker in the Cause of Christ, and to my dear friend Stachys; To that proved Christian Apelles; to the household of Aristobulus; To my countryman Herodion; to the Christians in the household of Narcissus; To Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Master; to my dear friend Persis, for she has done much hard work for the Master; To that eminent Christian, Rufus, and to his mother, who has been a mother to me also; To Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the Brothers with them; Also to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all Christ's People who are with them. Greet one another with a sacred kiss. All the Churches of the Christ send you greetings.

For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to every one who believes in Christ, to the Jew first, but also to the Greek. For in it there is a revelation of the Divine Righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as Scripture says- -'Through faith the righteous man shall find Life.'

For all have sinned, and all fall short of God's glorious ideal,

As Scripture says-'There is not even one who is righteous,

The wages of Sin are Death, but the gift of God is Immortal Life, through union with Christ Jesus, our Lord.

The Divine Righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, upon all, without distinction, who believe in him.

For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to every one who believes in Christ, to the Jew first, but also to the Greek.

Therefore, having been pronounced righteous as the result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It is through him that, by reason of our faith, we have obtained admission to that place in God's favor in which we not stand. So let us exult in our hope of attaining God's glorious ideal.

Now these words-'it was regarded as righteousness'-were not written with reference to Abraham only; But also with reference to us. Our faith, too, will be regarded by God in the same light, if we have faith in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead; For Jesus 'was given up to death to atone for our offences,' and was raised to life that we might be pronounced righteous.

But God puts his love for us beyond all doubt by the fact that Christ died on our behalf while we were still sinners. Much more, then, now that we have been pronounced righteous by virtue of the shedding of his blood, shall we be saved through him from the Wrath of God. For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, much more, now that we have become reconciled, shall we be saved by virtue of Christ's Life.

As the passage of Scripture says--'No one who believes in him shall have any cause for shame.' For no distinction is made between the Jew and the Greek, for all have the same Lord, and he is bountiful to all who invoke him. For 'every one who invokes the Name of the Lord shall be saved.'

Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and spoke to me. 'Come here,' he said, 'and I will show you the sentence passed upon that Great Harlot who is seated at the meeting of many waters, and with whom all the kings of the earth have had licentious intercourse; while all who live upon the earth have been make drunk by the wine of her licentiousness.' And he bore me away in a trance to a lonely place, and I saw a woman seated upon a scarlet Beast, which was covered with blasphemous names; it had seven heads and ten horns.read more.
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup, full of idolatrous abominations, and the unclean fruits of her licentiousness; while on her forehead there was written this mystic name--'BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF ALL IDOLATROUS ABOMINATIONS UPON EARTH.' And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of Christ's People and with the blood of the martyrs for Jesus. When I saw her, I was amazed beyond measure; but the angel said to me-- 'Why were you amazed? I will tell you the mystic meaning of the vision of this woman, and of the Beast, with the seven heads and ten horns, that carries her. The Beast that you saw was, but is not, and is about to rise out of the bottomless pit, and is on its way to destruction. Those who are living on earth will be amazed--those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world--when they see that the Beast was, but is not, and yet will come.' (Here there is need for the discerning mind.) The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings; of whom five have fallen and one remains, while one is not yet come. When he comes, he must stay for a little while. So must the Beast that was, but is not. He counts as an eighth king, although he is one of the seven, and is on his way to destruction. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings. who have not yet received their kingdoms, but for an hour they receive the authority of kings, together with the Beast. These kings are of one mind in surrendering their power and authority to the Beast. They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; so, too, will those with him who have received the Call and are chosen and faithful. And the angel said to me-- 'The waters that you saw, where the Harlot is seated, are throngs of people and men of all nations and languages. The ten horns that you saw, and the Beast--they will hate the Harlot, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare; they will eat her very flesh and utterly consume her with fire. For God has put it into their minds to carry out his purpose, in carrying out their common purpose and surrendering their kingdoms to the Beast, until God's decrees shall be executed. As for the woman whom you saw, she is the great city that holds sway over all the kings of the earth.'

Then a second angel followed, crying-- 'She has fallen! She has fallen--Babylon the Great, who has made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her licentiousness!'

and the great City was torn in three, and the cities of the nation fell, and God remembered Babylon the Great, and gave her the maddening wine-cup of his Wrath;

After this I saw another angel, descending from Heaven, invested with great authority; and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he cried-- 'She has fallen! She has fallen--Babylon the Great! She has become an abode of demons, a stronghold of every wicked spirit, a stronghold of every foul and hateful bird. For, after drinking the maddening wine of her licentiousness, all the nations have fallen; while all the kings of the earth have had licentious intercourse with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich through the excess of her luxury.'read more.
Then I heard another voice from Heaven saying--'Come out of her, my People, that you may not participate in her sins, and that you may not suffer from the Curses inflicted upon her. For her sins are heaped up to the heavens, and God has not forgotten her misdeeds. Pay her back the treatment with which she has treated you; yes, repay twice over what her actions deserve; in the cup which she mixed for you, mix for her as much again; for her self-glorification and her luxury, give her now an equal measure of torture and misery. In her heart she says 'I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I shall never know misery.' Therefore in one day shall these Curses befall her--death, misery, and famine, and she shall be utterly consumed by fire; for mighty is the Lord God who condemned her. All the kings of the earth who had licentious intercourse with her and shared her luxury will weep and lament over her, when they see the smoke from the burning city, while they stand at a distance, horrified at her torture, and cry-- 'Alas! Alas! Great City! O mighty City of Babylon! In a single hour your judgment fell. And the merchants of the earth weep and wail over her, because no longer does any one buy their cargoes-- their cargoes of gold, or silver, or precious stones, or pearls, or fine linen, or purple robes, or silk, or scarlet cloth; nor their many scented woods; nor their many articles of ivory; nor their many articles of choicest wood, or brass, or iron, or marble; nor their cinnamon, or spice, or incense, or perfumes. or frankincense, or wine, or oil, or fine flour, or wheat, or cattle, or sheep; nor their horses, or chariots, or slaves; nor the bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul craved is no longer within your reach, and all dainties and luxuries are lost to you, never to be found again.' The merchants who sold these things, and grew rich by her, will stand at a distance weeping and wailing, horrified at her torture, and crying-- 'Alas! Alas! Great City! O City clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet cloth! O City adorned with gold ornaments, and precious stones, and pearls! In a single hour your vast wealth vanished.' Every ship's captain and all who sail to any port, and sailors, and all who get their living from the sea, stood at a distance, and seeing the smoke from the burning city, cried-- 'What city can compare with the Great City?' They threw dust on their heads, and, as they wept and wailed, they cried-- 'Alas! Alas! Great City! All who have ships on the sea grew rich through her magnificence. In a single hour it has vanished.' Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and People of Christ, and Apostles, and Prophets, for God has avenged you on her! Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, crying-- 'So shall Babylon, the Great City, be violently overthrown, never more to be seen. No more shall the music of harpers, or minstrels, or flute players, or trumpeters be heard in you, no more shall any worker, skilled in any art, be found in you; no more shall the sound of a mill be heard in you; no more shall the light of a lamp shine in you; no more shall the voices of bridegroom and bride be heard in you. Your merchants were the great men of the earth, for all the nations were deceived by your magical charms. Yes, and in her was to be found the blood of the Prophets and of Christ's People, and of all who have been put to death upon the earth.'