Episode Details

Can You Still Visit the Places in the New Testament? The Hidden Room Under Rome

Most people walk right past it. Hidden under a church in Rome is the room where many believe Luke wrote Acts. Here's why standing there changes how you read Scripture.

Most of us read the New Testament like it happened in a world that is gone for good. We picture Paul and Peter and Luke almost like characters in a story, and we assume the places they walked have crumbled into dust. But a lot of those places are still here, and you can stand in them.

In this Friday bonus episode, Rachael takes you to one room in particular. It sits three floors down under a church in Rome, with a simple dirt floor, and almost no one knows it exists. Many believe it is connected to the house of Luke, the place where Paul stayed during his house arrest and where the book of Acts was most likely finished. The last scene of Acts is Paul in Rome, still preaching, still welcoming everyone who came to see him. When you read those final verses, you may be reading words that were written in that very room.

Rachael has been leading people there for about ten years now, and she has watched the Holy Spirit move in ways no photograph or podcast can capture. Healing. Calling into ministry. People hearing clearly from the Lord, including Rachael herself. She also shares the moment she crossed the threshold of that room and felt the Lord say, "This is the reason for all of it." If you have ever wondered what it would do to your faith to stand inside the story instead of just reading about it, this episode is your invitation.

• A large part of the New Testament is tied to Rome, not just Israel. Paul wrote Romans to the church there, wrote several letters from prison there, spent his final years there, and by tradition was martyred there.
• The book of Acts ends in Rome with Paul under house arrest. Many scholars believe Luke finished writing it during those exact two years, right there with Paul.
• The room Rachael visits on the Rome trip is connected to the house of Luke, the doctor who traveled with Paul and had the means to rent a home.
• There is no deed or hard proof, only church and oral tradition. But Rachael has seen the Holy Spirit move there in a way that speaks for itself.
• Rome is full of famous sites with breathtaking marble, gold, and artwork. The room with the dirt floor is the opposite of all that, and it is often the place that changes people most.
• A guide once told Rachael that people come to Rome for religion, not relationship. These trips are built around relationship with God, not just sightseeing.
• Walking where Scripture happened changes the way you read it. It moves your faith out of the "Sunday only" category and into your everyday life.

"People don't come to Rome for relationship. They come for religion." An Italian guide, on why almost no one visits the hidden room where the early church was formed.

• Acts 28:30-31 (the ending of Acts, read in the episode): For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
• Romans (Paul's letter written to the church in Rome)
• The book of Acts as the history of the early church, ending in Rome

• 00:00 Welcome back and a quick recap of last week's episode on pilgrimage
• 00:37 The surprising truth: many biblical places are still standing today
• 01:23 Why Israel trips are on hold and where else you can stand in Scripture
• 02:19 How this realization led Rachael to start leading Bible study trips
• 03:09 Why Rome matters so much in the story of the early church
• 04:31 The book of Acts end