Ancient Cities of Seven Hills
and Bible Prophecy

Ancient Cities of Seven Hills
and Bible Prophecy

It was common custom in the centuries before Christ for people in the Roman world to refer to the City of Rome itself as the 'City of Seven Hills'. The references are numerous and consistent. And indeed, when Romulus and Remus wanted to build a city in the area of the Tibur (Tiber) River (just inland from the coast to afford a greater protection for the city from sea pirates or from the naval warfare of hostile powers), it was divinely selected, in Roman parlance, that the city had to be on seven hills. The number seven was a universal symbol that signified 'completion' or 'perfection', and the ancients who founded Rome wanted people to know that this particular city was destined to have a world influence and fame, and that it was no ordinary city that was being constructed in the eighth century B.C.

The very fact that Rome was designated 'The Seven Hilled City' was significant enough to render it as a sacred and holy city that was designed to have world power and authority. This is one of the reasons the ancient people of the world always respected the City of Rome, whether they were its arch defenders and supporters or its enemies and were alien to its political and religious concepts. Even when the city in the time of the Empire finally grew beyond the strict limits of the 'Seven Hills' (and reached out to embrace other hills in the vicinity and even hills on the other side of the Tibur River, such as Vatican Hill), the people for nostalgic reasons still retained the name of the city by its original designation: 'the City of Seven Hills'.

Jerusalem: A city of seven hills

But strange as it may seem, the City of Jerusalem, as it existed in the time of Christ Jesus, was also reckoned to be the 'City of Seven Hills'. This fact was well recognized in Jewish circles.

In the Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, an eighth century midrashic narrative (section 10), the writer mentioned, without commentary (showing that the understanding was well known and required no defense), that "Jerusalem is situated on seven hills" (recorded in The Book of Legends, edited by Bialik and Ravnitzky, p.371, paragraph 111). And, so it was.

Other ancient cities with seven hills

This does not end the significance of 'Seven Hills' for the urban areas that the ancients looked on as being the centers of divine sovereignty on this earth. We are all familiar with Babylon on the Euphrates (which became the capital of the world in the time of Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C.) as being the 'Seven Hilled City'. It might be surprising for some to learn this, but when Constantine the emperor wanted to build a 'new Rome' in the eastern part of the Roman Empire (because most of the economic life of the Roman Empire in the fourth century was centered in the eastern half of the Empire, and he felt he needed a capital city much nearer the economic center of the Empire), he finally selected a spot on the Bosphorus called Byzantium. The reason he selected this spot to be the 'New Rome' was because it was a small village also located on 'Seven Hills'. This made 'New Rome' as a City of Seven Hills.

What we observe is the fact that the ancients symbolically looked on the various capitals of the world as having 'Seven Hills'. The significance of this fact even had a meaning for the apostle John, who, under the influence of Christ Jesus himself, wrote the Book of Revelation. We find that the last world capital would be "Mystery Babylon" and that it would have "seven mountains" (Revelation 17:9) associated with it. The fact that history has "Seven Hills" (or "Mountains") associated with FOUR world kingdoms: Babylon, Rome, Byzantium, and Jerusalem, there has been some confusion about which of these (or, perhaps, another 'New City') was the intention of the apostle John, who was writing for Christ Jesus in the Book of Revelation. The truth is, however, when one looks at the subject of the Book of Revelation carefully, there is only one of those 'Cities of Seven Hills' that could possibly be the subject of the End Time revelation. That is the City of Jerusalem. The "Mystery Babylon" of the Book of Revelation is none other than Jerusalem!

The last world government and kingdom

The last world kingdom will be headquartered in Jerusalem, not in Rome, Babylon on the Euphrates, or in Byzantium, or anywhere else. The Antichrist will come to Jerusalem. He will look in all appearances as though he is none other than Christ Jesus himself. Remember, Satan and his angels will be expelled from heaven and come to earth (Revelation 12). The world will make a big mistake and think that Satan and his angels are none other than Christ and His angels returning from heaven at the Second Advent. This is the "great lie" the world will believe that the apostle Paul spoke about in 2Thessalonians 2:8-12. The world will think that Satan is none other than Christ. However, as I have stated for years, the first person who claims to be the returned Christ to earth (even if great miracles are associated with him) IS the false Christ, called in other parts of the Holy Scriptures by the title of Antichrist. This false Christ will come to Jerusalem (the "City of Seven Hills") in order to rule the world, NOT to Rome in Italy!

The false Christ will come to a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem and his image will be placed in the Holy of Holies. He will point out that this is lawful to do in the Mosaic legislation (Exodus 25:18-22; 26:31; 36:8). After three and a half years of the rule of the Antichrist, the Second Advent of Christ Jesus (our Elder Brother) will occur. All of us will then triumph during those traumatic days on the horizon (without us having to hoard food). In the meantime, we have a big job to do in teaching the Gospel to the world.