Romans 13 and the demands of empire

This article examines Rom 13:1-7, a text often used to support the practices of empires, in its original context and considers what it might say to Christians today. I show that declaring that governments are established by gods is a cultural commonplace in the first century. More specifically I identify the prophetic tradition of acknowledging that God establishes governments and simultaneously disobeying them as the tradition in which Paul stands. I further set what Paul says about governments in the context of his already/not yet eschatology. One must read what Paul says about governing authorities within the framework of the prophetic tradition and his eschatology to understand it clearly. I also give attention to how to move from the message to the Roman churches to what the text means for Christians today.