1. Muratorian Canon (second century) accepted Acts in one volume.
2. The "we" and "they" sections are by the same author. The Book holds together in a unified whole.
3. The Book has a medical terminology.
4. Occasion
a. Need for authoritative work on works of the Apostles
b. Need to show Christianity was same for all (Jews, Greeks, Gentiles are one).
c. Shows truth about Paul (was he a lawbreaker? no)
d. Need to show that God bore witness of the Apostles. They were not just acting on their own.
5. The date is based on the ending in Acts, Chapter Twenty-eight. Paul was in prison, and that date can be determined. In 58-60AD, he went to Rome. Therefore, Acts was written by 60-62AD and was probably published right away. Luke was probably written 58-60AD.
6. The purpose was stated above.
7. The outline can be done by personalities, also geography. Personalities are Peter (Chapters One through Twelve) and Paul (Chapters Thirteen through Twenty-eight). Geography is Jerusalem (Chapters One through Seven), Judea (Chapters Eight through Twelve), and Samaria (Chapters Thirteen through Twenty-eight). Geography was to the uttermost parts of the world.
8. Place and Peculiarities - A journey of Paul's work in the church
a. Acts is a missionary Book
b. Twenty-four different addresses in this Book
c. Five visits to Jerusalem by Paul (Chapters Nine, Eleven, Fifteen, Eighteen, and Twenty-one)
1) First Missionary journey (no Pauline letters)
2) Second Missionary journey (wrote I and II Thessalonians (50-51AD))
3) Third missionary journey (Corinth to Ephesus => wrote Galatians, I and II Corinthians, and Romans (56-57AD))
4) Prison in Caesarea - first imprisonment
5) In Rome (wrote Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians => prison epistles)
6) Paul spent two different times in prison. First time, it was fairly easy. He rented his own house. He got out, went to Spain, and wrote I Timothy. Then, he was arrested again and put into a harder prison. Then, he wrote II Timothy. The prison epistles were written during his first imprisonment. II Timothy was written during the second time.
9. Interpreting Key Phrases
a. Acts, Chapter Two - Church age/Age of Grace. Hyper-dispensationalists try to add a separate dispensation for Acts, Chapter Two, baptism. Water baptism was specified by Great Commission. Miracles were not seen that often.
b. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is explained in I Corinthians 12:13, not in The Book of Acts.
Tom of Bethany "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Lesson 22 - Paul's Eschalogical Epistles: I and II Thessalonians
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