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In 1 Clement, the author says Paul reached the farthest limit of the West before he died, likely a reference to the journey to Spain that Paul plans in Romans, since Spain was thought of as the western end of the world.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Romans 15:24
New Testament
24 when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do this, and indeed they are indebted to the Jerusalem saints. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are obligated also to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore after I have completed this and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set out for Spain by way of you,
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 5:6
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
2 Because of jealousy and envy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church were persecuted and struggled even to death. 3 Let us keep before our eyes the good Apostles. 4 There was Peter, who, because of unjust jealousy, endured not just one but many hardships, and after bearing his testimony, he went to his appointed place of glory. 5 Because of jealousy and conflict, Paul showed by his example the reward of patient endurance. After being imprisoned seven times, driven into exile, stoned, and having preached in the East and the West, he won the noble renown that was the reward of his faith. 6 Having taught righteousness to the whole world and reached the farthest boundary of the West, he bore his testimony before rulers, and so he departed from this world and entered the holy place, having been found a remarkable example of patient endurance.
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Notes and References
“... While the phrase “the end of the earth” was often used in antiquity as a vague and general reference (see Aus 1979, 244–45; J.M. Scott 1994, 507–27 [passim]; Barrett 1994, 1:80; van Unnik 1973, 386–401), there is sufficient evidence to indicate that someone who, like Paul, was pointed westward would understand the term “the end of the earth” as a reference to Spain. The territory divided between Noah’s three sons, in Jubilees 8–9, stretches from Eden in the east (8:16) to Gadir (= Cadiz in Spain) in the west (9:26). Rehearsing the same material, Josephus describes Japheth’s territory as extending “in Europe as far as Gadeira” (A.J. 1.122; similarly, in B.J. 2.363, Gades is the westernmost limit of the Roman Empire). In a probable reference to Paul’s plans to visit Spain, Clement speaks of him as reaching “the limits of the west” (1 Clem. 5.7). ...”
Donaldson, Terence L.
"The Field God Has Assigned: Geography and Mission in Paul" in Vaage, Leif E., editor, Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity
(p. 131) Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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