Overview: The Apostolic Period (Acts-Revelation)
2022-12-21
Acts is the quintessential book for explaining the history of the early church. Most of the information here comes from this book, written by Luke, a companion of the apostle Paul, with some allusions to other books.
The Early Church in Jerusalem
After Jesus was seen risen from the dead for 40 days, the early church consisted of about 120 people. This included the eleven remaining disciples, Mary the mother of Jesus, the half-brothers of the Lord, certain unnamed women, and likely others. They were praying as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit, as the Lord Jesus had promised. After His coming, they could then commence on the Great Commission, or the preaching of the Gospel to the nations.
While they waited, they prayed to the Lord for someone to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, who had died, as the twelfth apostle. The replacement had to be a witness present from John’s preaching through the resurrection of Jesus. A man named Matthias was the one chosen.
On the day of Pentecost, 50 days from the Passover, a rushing wind and flames like tongues rested on all present, and the 120 received the ability to speak in foreign languages previously unknown to them. Because many were in Jerusalem from out of town because of the holiday, many heard the Gospel preached to them in their own language. Peter’s message was recorded in Acts 2:14-41. The church grew by about 3,000 that day.
The practice of the early church was to sit under the teaching of the apostles, having fellowship one with another, eating and praying with each other. They were always together and lived sacrificially, supporting others with their material goods. Miracles were done by the apostles. A married couple who lied about their giving of proceeds from a real estate sale died by the hand of the Lord, showing the severity of the penalty of sin in the church. Another man, Barnabas, gave all that he had to the apostles for distribution to the saints.
John and Peter Arrested
Apostles Peter and John went up and preached in the Temple. A miraculous healing of a lame man took place, and they preached to the onlookers. Though thousands were saved, they were arrested by the Temple guard. The Sadducees do not believe any resurrection, so they were offended. The apostles had a chance to preach to the religious leaders also, though we see no fruit among them. After being threatened and released, they prayed for boldness and were encouraged.
They were arrested again since they would not give up preaching the Gospel. They narrowly escaped death; they were beaten and released.
Deacons
The early church elected seven deacons to assist in distribution of goods to the poor. Two significant deacons were Stephen and Philip. Stephen preached the Gospel, and he was arrested. He preached a convicting sermon to a synagogue of men, but he was killed for his preaching. A certain Saul of Tarsus was consenting to the murder. He continued in persecuting the church. The church in Jerusalem was largely scattered after this, which caused the Gospel to spread far beyond Jerusalem.
Philip preached the Gospel to Samaritans, and many were saved, including a sorcerer named Simon. Because of his background as a shaman, he was initially confused on how the faith worked. Afterwards, Philip preached to an Ethiopian official who was in town for worship. This man was saved while in his chariot, and he was baptized.
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
Since Saul was determined to squash Christianity, he received permission to go to Damascus to arrest believers. The Lord Jesus appeared to him while on the road to Syria. “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” (Acts 9:4-5). Saul was led to the city where was baptized and commissioned for ministry.
The Conversion of Gentiles
Cornelius, a Gentile (non-Jewish) man, received a vision to send for Peter. Peter also received a vision to confirm that though he was a Gentile, it was safe to go to him. While preaching to him and his family and friends about Jesus, Peter saw that they received the Holy Spirit like the Jews and the Samaritans did. They were not circumcised. This made it clear that people could become Christians without keeping the Jewish Law; only by believing in Jesus Christ were they saved.
Meanwhile, a major church began in Antioch in Syria. The term “Christian” began there as a derogatory term, but believers in Christ have since embraced the term.
The Martyrdom of James the Apostle
Around this time, James the apostle, John’s brother, was killed by King Herod. It was feared that Peter would also be killed, but an angel miraculously delivered him from the jail. Herod later accepted worship from a crowd and was struck dead by the Lord.
Peter is emphasized less in the latter portion of the book of Acts, but we know that he wrote two letters to believers around the world, 1 Peter and 2 Peter.
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
Paul and Barnabas became teachers at the Antioch church but were commissioned as missionaries to take the Gospel westward. John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, went with them. Generally, it was their custom to begin preaching in the local synagogue of every city they visited. This is because the knowledge of God would have been clearest by people there.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, they were led to Salamis, where they preached in a synagogue. Then they went to Paphos where they preached to the country deputy, Sergius Paulus. The deputy was saved when he heard the Gospel message and saw the local sorcerer was blinded by the power of God. Here, we see that Saul also started going by the name Paul, perhaps in honor of the deputy, Sergius Paulus (where Paulus and Paul are the same name).
Afterwards, they went to another city named Antioch in Pisidia. John Mark had left them along the way. They preached in the synagogue there, and some Jews were saved, and the following week, many Gentiles were saved.
Next, they went to Iconium. When they preached, the city was divided, where many were saved, but many also rejected the message. Paul and Barnabas were driven from the city.
While they preached in Lystra, they healed a lame man. Because of the language barrier, the people misunderstood the message and thought they were gods. When they convinced them they were not gods, Jews came from the previous cities were able to convince them to stone the missionaries. Paul was thought to be dead, but he revived and eventually left the city. They went back to see the believers in the previous cities to confirm and encourage the disciples there.
At this time, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, where a council met together debating about circumcision. Peter recounted his experience with Cornelius, where there were no circumcised people, all of whom were saved, showing evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work. A letter was sent to the churches to affirm that they did not need to keep the Law of Moses, but there were certain requirements they told them to adhere to for testimony’s sake: “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day” (Acts 15:21).
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
When they wanted to go back to the mission field, Paul and Barnabas parted ways over John Mark, who wanted to join them again. Barnabas took John Mark with him, and Paul took another believer, Silas, on his secondary missionary journey. Another disciple named Timothy also joined them.
They went through Phrygia and Galatia. While no detail was given, at some point Paul ministered to the Galatians while he was sick. They became Christians there, and Paul later penned the letter of Galatians to them, which was a strong letter urging them to walk in grace and not embrace trying to follow the Law.
The Spirit led them to Philippi in Macedonia. They preached the Gospel to people who were at the riverside where prayer services were held. People were saved, including an entrepreneur named Lydia.
After casting out a devil of a servant girl, Paul and Silas were arrested. Her masters were angry because she could no longer serve as a fortuneteller, as she was no longer demon possessed. Paul and Silas were beaten and placed in prison. Even in their pain, they sang hymns to the Lord, which taught enough about the Lord for people to hear and understand something of the faith. We know this, because when their chains miraculously fell off, the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:29-31).
Since Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, it gave them special privileges. It was against the law for them to be beaten and arrested without any trial. When it was found they were Roman citizens, they were set free and encouraged to leave the city.
Philippi was also a city to which Paul sent one of his letters, Philippians. They were solid believers who were poor, who were encouraged to press on in the upward calling of the faith.
From there, they moved on to Thessalonica. They preached and many were saved. However, there was much persecution of the believers there, as Jesus was seen as a rival king to Caesar. The letters 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians were written to them. These letters encouraged them through their persecution and have a lot of discussion concerning the end times and Christ’s return.
When they went to Berea, they readily heard the Gospel and confirmed everything they heard by the Scriptures.
Paul went also to Athens, a heavily idolatrous city. He preached in the synagogue and the marketplace. He was also brought before a bunch of philosophers there, but when he preached about the resurrection, they scoffed at it, because it was contrary to their philosophical teachings.
From there, Paul went to Corinth, persuading Jews and Greeks in the synagogue concerning Jesus Christ. It was there he met fellow Christians Priscilla and Aquila. There were many hardened against the Gospel there, but Paul, now with Silas and Timothy, went with the Gentiles and were with them a year and a half. The leader of the synagogue, Crispus, got saved. It is likely that his successor Sosthenes was also saved later (1 Corinthians 1:1). Paul went to trial before Achaian deputy Gallio, but the trial was tossed out as irrelevant before the apostle could even give a defense.
The letters 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians were sent to the church here. The letters show they had a lot of baggage, allowing a sexual pervert to remain in their congregation and having many sectarian divisions. They also questioned Paul’s apostleship, and they also seemed a bit hesitant to give in a major offering even though they had previously promised to do so.
Pricilla and Aquila met an eloquent preacher named Apollos, who only knew up to the baptism of John. He became a traveling preacher for Christ once the married couple led him to Christ.
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
After returning to Antioch for a bit, Paul continued to Ephesus. He led about a dozen people to Christ who only had known John’s baptism. Going into the synagogue, many were hardened against the faith. He then taught the disciples there in a school of Tyrannus. After Jewish exorcists tried to emulate Paul in casting out a demon, the demon recognized Jesus and Paul, but rejected their authority, harming them. This elicited a great revival and repentance to the Lord, where people destroyed their witchcraft paraphernalia. People left off demonic worship so much that idol makers started a riot.
The church at Ephesus received Paul’s letter Ephesians. It includes much of the richness of Christ and His church. Years later, the Lord told them by John’s letter that they had forsaken their first love and needed to become more loving as they once were. They were commended for exposing false apostles.
Paul preached in Troas, and a young man fell out the window. However, the man was taken up alive, and they were greatly comforted.
Paul’s Arrest in Jerusalem
Against everyone’s advice, Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem. After following the advice of the Jerusalem church elder James, the Lord’s brother (author of the book of James), he went up to the Temple for purification, but he was identified. He was nearly killed by a mob but was arrested by a centurion before that happened. He was granted to address the angry mob, but they were left angry when they found he was trying to preach to Gentiles. Even while in custody, Paul’s life was in danger many times. He was granted a few times to preach the Gospel to rulers such as the Jewish council, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. Because his trial did not get anywhere after years, Paul appealed to Caesar, and he was sent to Rome. After a turbulent voyage and a shipwreck on Melita, he eventually made it to Rome.
He addressed Jewish rulers while on house arrest in Rome, but they could not decide if Jesus truly was the Christ. The book of Acts abruptly ends here.
Eventually, we know that Paul was executed in Rome for the faith. His second letter to Timothy suggests that he knew it was coming given his latest appearance in court. He was forsaken by many in his last days. “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
The Letters of John
As far as we can tell, John, one of the three core disciples of Jesus, outlived all the other apostles, who were all martyred. As an old man, he wrote the Gospel and the three letters that bear his name, as well as the book of Revelation. While he was not martyred as far as we know, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. His Gospel is the most distinct of the four gospels, emphasizing faith in Christ for salvation. His first letter was written to believers so they would have fullness of joy, identify truth from error, and to love one another.
The book of Revelation is the quintessential book on Bible prophecy, with numerous references to passages in the Old Testament. The book tells of much horror in the end times but ends with the coming new heavens and new earth. With the return of Christ, we are told that all sadness and sin will end. We look for His return even in these turbulent times we live in.