Acts 23:11 – “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

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The City of Rome for Little Kids

This map shows the City of Rome which was the capital of the Roman Empire. In the city of Rome, there was a huge colosseum where the Romans had fighting games and chariot races. For many years Rome was the most magnificent city in the world, but the people were very corrupt and didn’t worship God. Just like the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire played a very important role in church history.

The Romans were very strong so they were able to capture a lot of land. They made roads going all over their territory so traveling would be faster and their soldiers could protect them better.

Even though the Romans had their own reasoning for the roads, God wanted those roads to be built so it would be easier for His people to travel across the world and share the Good News of Jesus.

Apostle Paul went on several journeys through Roman cities where he stopped and taught them about God. The Christian church grew because of this, even in Rome, and many people became believers in Jesus!

The City of Rome for Big Kids

Rome in Bible History. The Bible mentions clearly that the Roman Empire would be the fourth great world kingdom that would come to power in the history of mankind. In fact Daniel the prophet mentioned Rome by name. We can read the history about Rome with its powerful rulers like Julius Caesar, Octavian (Augustus), the Emperor Tiberius, yet in the Bible God allowed the Roman Empire to come to power so that He could achieve a great purpose. He prepared the world for the coming of the Savior and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. it It was because of the Roman Empire that the gospel was able to spread so rapidly. The Romans were a very organized people, and their laws brought order in the world. They also built roads across the Empire, and this allowed the messengers of Jesus to spread the Word and the churches grew rapidly. But this was not all that God used Rome for, they were a ruthless and dominating people. They stamped out any rebels very quickly, and they brought order everywhere. When Jesus came and did his miracles in the land of Israel and shared the great news of salvation, the Jewish leaders became enviousand they turned Jesus over to the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. He possess the authority to order the crucifixion of Jesus yet he did not want to. The Jewish leaders persuaded him to have Jesus crucified, and this did not take God by surprise, this was all planned beforehand. It would only be a generation later when the Roman legions would march upon Israel and destroy the temple. They also buried the entire city of Jerusalem as Jesus had predicted would happen. This whole event was memorialized in the triumphal arch of Titus in Rome which stands near the Coliseum today. The Jews that survived the onslaught were brought to Rome as a spectacle bearing with them the spoils of the Temple in Jerusalem. The prophet Daniel and the book of Revelation revealed that in the very last days at the end of time a new Roman Empire would rise up and dominate the world. Then the Messiah, Jesus Christ will come again and overthrow that kingdom. He will set up a kingdom Himself which will never pass away.

The Land of Italy. The Italian Peninsula also referred to as the Apennine Peninsula was destined to be the home of a great civilization, and indeed it was. Italy was in the heart of the Roman Empire, the most powerful empire in all antiquity. Italy’s boundaries are the Adriatic Sea on the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the great mountain chain of the Alps on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the south.

Southern Italy. The southern portion of the Italian Peninsula is dominated by the Apennine mountains.

Northern Italy. On the north , Italy is, for the most part, protected by the tremendous mountains known as the Alps, which acted as a barrier wall against the barbarians of central Europe.

Western Italy. In the western portion of Italy are large fertile plains which extend all the way to the Sea.

Eastern Italy. Along the eastern coast and running from north to south are the Apennine mountains, which make the eastern part of Italy almost innaccessible. These mountains divided the many peoples of Italy, not into many city-states as in Greece, but into two classes: the poor, the mountain tribes, and the wealthy plainsmen.

Italy’s Coast. Throughout Italy’s 2000 miles of coastland, there are actually very few deep bays and good harbors. If any decent ones did exist they were generally on the south or western coasts.

Rome Faces West. Geographically Italy and Rome faced west. This may be why the Romans turned an early gaze upon Spain, Gaul, and Britain. Italy’s central position was extremely helpful in dominating the whole Mediterranean area once they had become united as a single state.

Italy’s Nearby Islands. The island of Sicily was more or less a stepping stone to Africa and also served to bring Rome into contact with the Orient. Two other close islands, Sardinia and Corsica, have always followed Italy’s footsteps culturally, maybe because their rugged mountains limited economic growth.

Central Italy. Italy and its nearby islands contained a wealth of natural resources such as iron, copper, tin, gold, and silver. Building materials, including a variety of stones and timber, were available.

The Climate of Italy. The climate, like other Mediterranean lands, had a nice mild temperature, without extreme heat or cold weather for the most part. All in all, Italy contained all the natural and essential ingredients required for the development of a strong civilization, and at an early age it became a beautiful attraction to myriads of wanderers.

The City of Rome. Rome was in the heart of Italy, lying on both sides of the Tiber River which was about 15 miles from the Western Sea. The city of Rome sits on seven hills, and in the ancient world Rome was referred to as the eternal city. Rome started as a small city but later it grew into the most magnificent city in the world. the buildings and the monuments were magnificent, and most of the emperors used great wealth to make their name famous by the marble architecture that they created. In ancient Rome some of the architecture was temples, forums, statues, arches, palaces, circuses, marketplaces, bathhouses, aqueducts, basilicas, theaters, and of course the magnificent Colosseum.

The Prophecy of Daniel. The prophet Daniel was raised up by God during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Daniel might be called the Empire predicting prophet, because he accurately predicted the empires to rise in the history of mankind. He revealed this as he was interpreting the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar. He revealed that the first kingdom was Babylon, it would be conquered by the Medes and the Persians who would form the second world Empire, they would be conquered by the Grecians who would form the third world Empire, and then they would be conquered by the Romans who would be the fourth world Empire. After this at the end of time there will be a final Roman Empire, and then the Lord will return and set up his own kingdom which will grow into a mountain that fills the whole earth. This vision of Daniel reveals the kingdoms of the world in the history of mankind.

Augustus Caesar. The Emperor Octavian or better known as Augustus Caesar brought in the Pax Romana which was a time of great peace and prosperity for the Roman empire. It was during this time that Augustine is decided that the whole world should be taxed, and this forced Joseph and Mary to go to their ancestral home town of Bethlehem to be registered for the Census. Therefore Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem according to the prophecy of Micah. Caesar Augustus was the tool of God to bring about this fantastic event.

Tiberius Caesar. During the reign of Tiberius Caesar Jesus ministered in the land of Israel, he did good and preached salvation and perform miracles for all men to see. He raised the disciples who would later do the works that he did an even greater because he would empower them to do so. Jesus was tried by the Romans and finally crucified under Roman authority. This all happened during the reign of Tiberius Caesar who was living on an island called Capri, where he had his royal palace. Little did he know that the true ruler was alive during his lifetime.

The Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the greatest empire that ever arose in the history of mankind. The Boundaries of the Roman Empire were: on the North: The British Channel, the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black Sea.
On the South: The deserts of Africa, the cataracts of the Nile, & the Arabian deserts. On the East: The Euphrates. On the West: The Atlantic Ocean.

Roman Religion. The Romans believed in many different gods and even goddesses. They built temples and had ceremonies to thank the gods. They made sacrifices of sheep and goats and pigs and oxen. Yet the most important gods were similar to the Greek gods. Some of these gods have familiar names: Zeus and his wife Juno, Vesta and Neptune and Dis, Mercury and Mars, Apollo and Diana, and many others. They also believed that the Emperor was the supreme Pontiff and high priest, and they worshiped him as a god.

Paul the Apostle. During the missionary journeys of Paul he visited cities within the Roman Empire, yet his main goal was to stand before Caesar in Rome. The Book of Acts describes Paul’s missionary journeys, and on his third missionary journey he appealed to Caesar and found himself on a ship bound for Rome. During the journey there was a violent storm and they were shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Paul was brought into Italy where he was under house-arrest and yet allowed to preach the Gospel of Jesus.  According to tradition Paul was martyred in Rome during the time of the Great Fire in 64 AD.

Caesar Nero. At the time of Paul the Roman Emperor was Caesar Nero, and he was insanely angry and jealous at the Christians. Nero was the cause of the great fire of Rome, by which he blamed the Christians. He was also the one who ordered the destruction of Jerusalem, and sent his able general Titus to complete the task. Not long after this Nero committed suicide.

The Church in Rome. The New Testament reveals that the Christians had influenced the Roman Empire and even in Rome. Paul the Apostle was responsible for starting the church in Rome.

The study of ancient Rome is very important in the study of the Bible, let’s pray:

Dear Jesus, we thank you that you are in control of history. Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was just a pawn in your mighty hand. Caesar Augustus brought you to Bethlehem, and Tiberius was the Emperor of Rome when you were crucified and rose again. We thank you Lord that Rome was part of your plan, you chose the people on this Italian peninsula to destroy Jerusalem. Yet they would also be the ones who would build the roads for the gospel would be preached the whole world. Thank you Lord for your marvelous plan, we love you and praise you for your Word. In Jesus name? Amen!

© Bible History Online (https://bible-history.com)