Acts Images and
NotesThe Book of Acts
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each
of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 9:3-6 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and
suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And
he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: [it is]
hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and
astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the
Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall
be told thee what thou must do.
Acts in The New Testament - A Brief Overview
Painting of St. Luke by El Greco - 1605
Introduction to The
Acts of the Apostles
Brief Summary. Jesus rose again, he told his disciples
to wait in Jerusalem until they are endued with power from on
high, power to be his witnesses unto the ends of the earth. When
the feast of Pentecost had fully come, the church was born and
God poured out his Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. This began a fire
which was spread throughout the whole world, Jesus Christ has
risen from the dead and all who believe can be saved. This was
the message of the gospel in the Book of Acts, and God confirmed
his word with signs following. The church in Jerusalem had taken
their time in fulfilling the commands of the Lord to go into all
the world beginning in Jerusalem and Samaria and even to the
uttermost parts of the earth. God called a man named Saul who
was a persecutor of the church to be the hero in the Book of
Acts. God would change his name to Paul the Apostle, and it was
through Paul that the message of Christ would spread to the
farthest parts of the known world. The Book of Acts records
three of Paul's missionary journeys by which the church was
established, the people of God, the Christians who would change
the world.
Summary of The Book of Acts
Contents. The Book of Acts clearly focuses on the
beginnings of the church, and two people� The apostle Peter, and
the one who actually possessed the courage to go to the farthest
parts of the known world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, his
name was Paul the Apostle. The Gospel spread from Israel,
northward to Antioch, and then westward to Asia Minor, Greece,
and finally Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire.
The first 12 chapters of the book of
Acts deal with Peter, and the remainder of the book, the last 16
chapters is devoted
to the apostle Paul.
The major areas of history with which the author has dealt
are :
1) The establishment and progress of the church at Jerusalem
until the dispersion which arose at the time of Stephen's death
(Acts 1-7);
2) The preaching of the gospel to the surrounding area,
including its introduction to the Gentiles (Acts 8-12) ;
3) The preaching tours of Paul and the struggle to define the
church's position with regard to the law of Moses (Acts 13:1-21:16);
and
4) Paul's imprisonment, which began in Jerusalem and was
concluded in Rome (Acts 21:17-28 :30).
Audience. The book of Acts is
addressed to Theophilus, usually thought to have been a Gentile
who was interested in learning more of Christianity and whose
name suggests may have been a symbol of all lovers of God.
Authorship. Luke wrote the Book of Acts and the Gospel
of Luke and he dedicated his work to a man named Theophilus as
mentioned in the summary of the book of Luke. Luke was a
companion of Paul on his missionary journeys, and in many parts
of the book of Acts it says "we" did this or that (Acts
16:10-17:1; Acts 20:5-21:17; and Acts 27:2-28:31). These
Scriptures indicate that Luke joined and left the missionary
party on several occasions and that he accompanied Paul on his
journey to Rome. Paul's calls Luke his companion in Colossians
4:14, Philemon 1:24, and 2 Timothy 4:11. The medical language in
Luke and Acts gives credence to Luke "the beloved physician"
(Col. 4:14) as the author of Acts. The early Church writers
unanimously agreed that Luke was the author of the Gospel of
Luke and Acts, for example Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, and Irenaeus.
Date. Scholars agree that Acts was written around 62
or 63 AD. It is interesting to note that Luke never intimated
the event of the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70
AD within the book of Acts. Jerusalem is pictured as a currently
thriving center of Judaism, with the temple service and
sacrifices being carried out in a normal manner. After 70 AD
everything changed and it would have been obvious if Luke had
written Acts after 70 AD. Luke concludes Acts with Paul in Rome
living in a hired house, and awaiting trial before Caesar (Acts
28:30). This would have been 61 or 62 AD obviously before the
great persecution of Christians by Nero and the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Place Written. Most scholars believe that the place of
the writing of
Acts was in Rome. The whole book is an account of the advance of
Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the last events
described take place in Rome.
Historical Accuracy. As has been noted in the introduction to
Luke,
the historical accuracy of the writings of Luke, once questioned widely, has now
received extensive substantiation; there is little reason to
suppose that the events took place in any way other than that
described by Luke.
The Value of Acts. The Book of Acts is of great value
to the Christian for many reasons. When Jesus
commission His disciples to go into all the world, Acts informs us of the
very events of the early Church in carrying out that commission. It tells us of
their relationship to one another and to their other co-workers
as they dealt with the various problems which faced the young
church. It tells of the introduction of Christianity to the
Gentile world and of the struggle for unity between
Jew and Gentile.
Outline of the Book of Acts
The Gospel is Preached From Jerusalem to All Judea - Chapters 1-7
The Gospel is Preached in Samaria - Chapter 8
The Gospel is Preached to the Gentiles - Chapters 9-12
The Gospel is Preached to the Ends of the Earth - Chapters 13-28
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus"
would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or
consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A).
Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means
"The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".
Acts Resources
Map of New Testament Israel
Map of the Roman Empire
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey
Map of New Testament Cities
Map of the 7 Churches of Revelation (Asia Minor)
Map of the Roman Empire In the Time of Jesus
Map of Asia in Roman Times
Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the
Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus,
in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which
prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and
the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture
throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the
rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first
missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and
his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the
church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary
Journey's. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his
second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in
Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for
dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him
over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister
in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea,
Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to
Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)
Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map
reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his
third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he
returned to the cities he had first visited on his first
missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in
Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of
his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19).
(Color Map)
Map of Paul's Voyage to Rome (61 A.D.) - This map reveals
the journey of the Apostle Paul to Rome in 61 AD. Paul had
appealed to Caesar in Caesarea (Acts 24-25), his goal was to
spread the Gospel of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire all the
way to her great capital, Rome. He demanded that his case be
heard by the Roman Emperor. According to the Book of Acts, after
his shipwreck on the Island of Malta (Acts 28) he came to Italy
and was put on house arrest for two years (Acts 28:30). (Color
Map)
Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the
"Nations" within the ancient world during the first century
A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas
of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within
Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New
Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia
including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like
Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities
within Greece in the ancient world during the first century
A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like:
Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia
and Achaia. (Color Map)
Map of New Testament Italy - This map reveals the cities
within Italy during the first century A.D., the time of the New
Testament. The map includes the principle cities of Italy like
Neapolis and Rome. Follow the path of the Apostle
