Reading Acts

[faroukfarouk]

The Acts of the Apostles is sometimes referred to as the Acts of the Holy Spirit, in this fast moving account of the spread of the Gospel in the days of the early church at and after Pentecost.

Acts 2.41-42 continues to be a wholesome norm for activities of Christians today:

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

 

[Pilgrim]

The verses pertaining to the Paul's conversion are particularly interesting and vitally important. Luke wrote of Paul's conversion on three occasions. Acts of the Apostles 22:6-16; Acts of the Apostles 26:9-18

Had Saul remained a Jewish rabbi, what would Christianity's early expansion look like from today's perspective? Paul's letters (epistles) account for nearly half of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. If there were "no Paul" in the New Testament, there might as well have been "no expansion" of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.

God's plan for spreading His world can never be underestimated.

 

[faroukfarouk]

The verses pertaining to the Paul's conversion are particularly interesting and vitally important. Luke wrote of Paul's conversion on three occasions. Acts 22:6-16; Acts 26:9-18

Had Saul remained a Jewish rabbi, what would Christianity's early expansion look like from today's perspective? Paul's letters (epistles) account for nearly half of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. If there were "no Paul" in the New Testament, there might as well have been "no expansion" of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.

God's plan for spreading His world can never be underestimated.

Paul is amazing; and apart from his Epistles it's through Acts that we get a lot of knowledge of Paul.

 

[Pilgrim]

Paul is amazing; and apart from his Epistles it's through Acts that we get a lot of knowledge of Paul.

Absolutely the truth! Paul's conversion account, as told by his friend Luke:

• Acts of the Apostles 22:6-16
• Acts of the Apostles 26:9-18

 

[Traveling teacher]

I am convinced that pauls life did not end in Rome as many have accepted as fact........
I believe he was released and continued his ministry in Spain as he had the vision for spain for many years.....

The timeline for his trip to spain is speculative but the gospel was rooted in Spain in 1st century and many messianic Jews remained up until the inquisition 1492....

Others have suggested he went to Britian but I havent seen any evidence????

I dont accept the tradition that Paul or Peter died in rome!!

 

[faroukfarouk]

I am convinced that pauls life did not end in Rome as many have accepted as fact........
I believe he was released and continued his ministry in Spain as he had the vision for spain for many years.....

The timeline for his trip to spain is speculative but the gospel was rooted in Spain in 1st century and many messianic Jews remained up until the inquisition 1492....

Others have suggested he went to Britian but I havent seen any evidence????

I dont accept the tradition that Paul or Peter died in rome!!

He was ready to be offered and the time of his departure was at hand. (2 Timothy 4.6-8)

But Scripture is silent about his actual death, unless 'at hand' refers to an imminent event.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Acts 16.14 speaks of "Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened". Some great theology there!

 

[Traveling teacher]

Christians in spain claim that he came there....
Clements the historian in the 1st century said
Paul went to the far reaches of the west of roman teritory

However, the post-Scriptural letter of 1 Clement, which appears to have been written in the early to mid-70s AD, and thus not a full decade after Acts was completed and therefore close in time to Paul, says this about him:

1 Clement 5.5-7: Through envy Paul, too, showed by example the prize that is given to patience: seven times was he cast into chains; he was banished; he was stoned; having become a herald, both in the East and in the West, he obtained the noble renown due to his faith; and having preached righteousness to the whole world, and having come to the extremity of the West, and having borne witness before rulers, he departed at length out of the world, and went to the holy place, having become the greatest example of patience.

Clement seems to be claiming that Paul achieved his goal in going to Spain ("the extremity of the West") [Romans 15.24,28], before having been martyred. This would seem consistent with Paul's desires within Scripture, that the Holy Spirit enabled him to achieve each missionary goal he set out to do. In fact, it seems that the early Church almost universally recognized that Paul went to Spain.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Christians in spain claim that he came there....
Clements the historian in the 1st century said
Paul went to the far reaches of the west of roman teritory

However, the post-Scriptural letter of 1 Clement, which appears to have been written in the early to mid-70s AD, and thus not a full decade after Acts was completed and therefore close in time to Paul, says this about him:

1 Clement 5.5-7: Through envy Paul, too, showed by example the prize that is given to patience: seven times was he cast into chains; he was banished; he was stoned; having become a herald, both in the East and in the West, he obtained the noble renown due to his faith; and having preached righteousness to the whole world, and having come to the extremity of the West, and having borne witness before rulers, he departed at length out of the world, and went to the holy place, having become the greatest example of patience.

Clement seems to be claiming that Paul achieved his goal in going to Spain ("the extremity of the West") [Romans 15.24,28], before having been martyred. This would seem consistent with Paul's desires within Scripture, that the Holy Spirit enabled him to achieve each missionary goal he set out to do. In fact, it seems that the early Church almost universally recognized that Paul went to Spain.

I do have at least a slightly open mind about it; in the final analysis, Scripture does not tell us.

Acts does tell us prolifically about Paul's missionary journeys.