John Calvin wrote that the Book of Acts was “a kind of vast treasure.” D. Roman historians have long taken it for granted.” In terms of time and place the details are precise and correct… As documents these narratives belong to the same historical series as the record of provincial and imperial trials in epigraphical and literary sources of the first and early second centuries AD…For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming…Any attempt to reject its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd. Sherwin-White, an expert in Graeco-Roman history from Oxford, wrote about Acts: “The historical framework is exact. It is definitely the work of contemporary eyewitnesses. But William Ramsay, a noted archaeologist and Bible scholar, proved that the historical record of Acts is remarkably accurate regarding the specific practices, laws and customs of the period it claims to record. There was a time when many scholars and critics thought that Acts was sort of a romance novel of the early church, written more than 100 years after the events supposedly happened. We know that he was a devoted companion of Paul (from the text of Acts, and Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24, and 2 Timothy 4:11).We know that he was a Gentile (from his name).We know that he was a physician (Colossians 4:14).We really don’t know all that much about Luke from the New Testament. Probably he regarded himself as recording sacred history.” (Marshall) “Since Luke can write in a different style (Lk. Acts is written in the literary style of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint. It was the subject to the most intense hatreds and persecutions.” (Boice) It taught truths that were incredible to the unregenerate world. It had no money, no proven leaders, no technological tools for propagating the gospel. “Humanly speaking, had nothing going for it. That expansion from Jerusalem to Rome is a remarkable story. “A great New Testament scholar has said that the title of Acts might be, ‘How they brought the Good News from Jerusalem to Rome.’” (Barclay) Who was Paul? How did the gospel get from Jerusalem to Rome? The Book of Acts answers these questions. You pick up your Bible and see the ministry of Jesus ending in the Gospel of John next you read about a man named Paul writing to the followers of Jesus in Rome. ![]() ![]() Imagine what it would be like if the Book of Acts wasn’t in the Bible. At one time the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were joined together as one book with two volumes. The former account I made: The former account is the Gospel of Luke. The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.Ī.
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