AboutBibleProphecy.com

Book of Acts

Acts is the name of a book in the New Testament of the Bible. In many Christian Bibles, Acts is divided into 28 chapters and is ordered as the 5th of the 27 books in the New Testament. The following is from J.B. Tidwell's The Bible Book by Book, published in 1916.

The Author. The author is Luke who wrote the gospel of Luke. Facts concerning him may be found in chapter twenty-seven. He wrote this book about A. D. 63 or 64.

The Purpose. It was addressed to an individual as a sort of continuation of the former thesis and aims to chronicle the growth and development of the movement inaugurated by Jesus as it was carried on by the apostles after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. It is taken up largely with the history of Christian work among the Gentiles and only gives enough of the history of the Jerusalem church to authenticate the work among the Gentiles. The chief purpose, therefore, seems to be to give an account of the spread of Christianity among the Gentiles. This view is further strengthened in the fact that Luke himself was a gentile (Col. 4:10) and that he was a companion of Paul (Col. 4:14) and the "we" section of Acts. The book does not, therefore, claim to be a complete account of the labors of the early apostles. But it does give in a simple, definite and impressive manner an account of how the religion of Jesus was propagated after his death and of how it was received by those to whom it was first preached.

The Spirituality. In the Old Testament God the Father was the active agent. In the gospels God the Son (Jesus) was the active agent. In Acts (and ever after) God the Holy Spirit is the active agent. He is mentioned about seventy times in Acts. The Savior had told the apostles to wait at Jerusalem for the power of the Holy Ghost. Until they were endued with His power they were very ordinary men. Afterward they were pure in their purpose and ideals and were always triumphant in their cause. The book is a record of mighty spiritual power seen in action everywhere.

Outline of Acts

Introduction, 1:1-3.

I. The Church Witnessing in Jerusalem, 1:4-8:11.
1. Preparation for witnessing, 1:4-2:4.
2. First witnessing, 2:4-47 end.
3. First persecution, 3:1-4:31.
4. Blessed state of the church, 4:32-5:42.
5. First deacons, 6:1-7.
6. The first martyr, 6:8-8:1.

II. The Church Witnessing in Palestine, 8:2-12:25.
1. The witnesses are scattered abroad, 8:2-4.
2. Philip witnesses in Samaria and Judea, 8:5-40.
3. The Lord wins new witnesses, 9:1-11:18.
4. Center of labor changed to Antioch, 11:19-30.
5. The witnesses triumph over Herod's persecution, 12:1-25.

III. The Church Witnessing lo the Gentile World, 13:1-28:31.
1. Witnessing in Asia, Chs. 13-14. Paul's First Missionary Journey.
2. The first church council, 15:1-35.
3. Witnessing in Europe, 15:36-18:22. Paul's Second Missionary Journey.
4. Further witnessing in Asia and Europe, 18:23-21:17. Paul's Third Missionary Journey.
5. Paul, the witness, rejected and attacked by the Jews at Jerusalem, 21:18-23:35.
6. Two years imprisonment at Caesarea, Chs. 24-26.
7. Paul, the witness, carried to Rome, 27:1-28:15.
8. Paul, the witness, at Rome, 28:16-31.

Return to the Glossary

Copyright ©2001-2007 George Konig and AboutBibleProphecy.com. All rights reserved.
May not be reproduced in any form without proper permission.

Bible prophecies
sorted by prophet
• Daniel's prophecies
• David's prophecies
• Ezekiel's prophecies
• Isaiah's prophecies
• Jacob's prophecies
• Jeremiah's prophecies
• Jesus' prophecies
• Micah's prophecies
• Moses' prophecies
• Nahum's prophecies
• Peter's prophecies
• Zechariah's prophecies
• Zephaniah's prophecies

Bible prophecies
sorted by theme
• Destruction of Israel
• Exile of Israel
• Dispersion of Israel
• Persecution of Israel
• Re-gathering of Israel
• Nationhood (Israel)
• Preservation of Israel
• Restoration of Israel
• Worldwide impact
• Messianic
• About other nations
• End Times

Life and teachings
of Jesus Christ
• Early life
• 1st year of ministry
• 2nd year of ministry
• 3rd year of ministry
• The final months
• Persecution of Jesus
• Resurrection of Jesus

Articles, answers,
explanations, links
• Articles & explanations
• What is Christianity?
• Learn about the Bible
• Answers to tough questions
• Links & Online Bibles
• Da Vinci Code hoax

Glossaries of
people, events
• People in the Bible
• Places in the Bible
• Bible glossary
• History of Israel
• Miracles of Jesus

Other stuff
• About us
• E-mail us
• HOME