Rome, Caesar & Emperors in the Bible

Rome persecuted Christians for approximately 300 years after Jesus' crucifixion.

Rome persecuted the Early Christians on a sporadic, ad hoc basis. In 250 AD, Emperor Decius issued a loyalty oath 'Decian Persecution' that required Christians to perform a sacrifice to the pagan Roman Gods. Many Christians refused and were put to death.

There is evident hostility between Rome and Early Christians. The authors of the Bible would often mention 'Rome' and 'Caeser'.

Gospels (11)
And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? MARK 12:14 1 of 11
And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him. MARK 12:17 2 of 11
Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? MATTHEW 22:17 3 of 11
They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. MATTHEW 22:21 4 of 11
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. LUKE 2:1 5 of 11
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene LUKE 3:1 6 of 11
Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? LUKE 20:22 7 of 11
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's. LUKE 20:25 8 of 11
And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. LUKE 23:2 9 of 11
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. JOHN 19:12 10 of 11
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. JOHN 19:15 11 of 11
Acts (13)
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes ACTS 2:10 1 of 13
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. ACTS 11:28 2 of 13
Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. ACTS 17:7 3 of 13
And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome) and came unto them. ACTS 18:2 4 of 13
After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I [Paul] must also see Rome. ACTS 19:21 5 of 13
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 ACTS 23:11 6 of 13
While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all. ACTS 25:8 7 of 13
Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go. ACTS 25:10-12 8 of 13
But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar. ACTS 25:21 9 of 13
Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar. ACTS 26:32 10 of 13
Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. ACTS 27:24 11 of 13
Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. ACTS 28:14-16 12 of 13
But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. ACTS 28:19 13 of 13
Paul's Letters (10)
Letter to the Colossians, written from Rome, by Tychicus and Onesimus. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. COLOSSIANS 4:18 1 of 10
Letter to the Ephesians, written from Rome, by Tychicus. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. EPHESIANS 6:24 2 of 10
Letter to the Galatians, written from Rome. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. GALATIANS 6:18 3 of 10
Letter to Philemon, written from Rome, by Onesimus, a servant. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. PHILEMON 1:25 4 of 10
Letter to the Philippians, written from Rome, by Epaphroditus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. PHILIPPIANS 4:23 5 of 10
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. ROMANS 1:7 6 of 10
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. ROMANS 1:15 7 of 10
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he [Caesar] is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. ROMANS 13:4 8 of 10
The word 'Caesar' is mentioned many times in the Bible. It was not always Tiberius, as he died in 37 AD. But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. 2TIMOTHY 1:17 9 of 10
2 Timothy, ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians. It was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. 2TIMOTHY 4:22 10 of 10

CREDIT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decian_persecution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Milan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire
https://theaeoneye.com/2016/09/21/render-unto-caesar-paying-the-last-penny

Author: Guest • Updated: 06 Dec 2018

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