Article Index

Names of the Book

ST PETER PREACHING AT PENTECOST- Benjamin West

English:  Acts
Greek:  Πράξεις
Transliterated:  Praxeis
Other names:  The Acts of the Apostles

 

whoWho

Wrote the book:  Luke
Are the key people:  Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Cornelius, James, Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus, Apollos, Agabus, Ananias, Sapphira, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Luke
Is it written to:  Theophilus ("he who loves G-d") and first century believers

 

whatWhat

Peter's preaching and service (Acts 1:1-12:25)
Paul's preaching and service (Acts 13:1-28:31)

 

whenWhen

Was it written:  c 63-70 CE
Did the events occur:  c 30-59 CE
Was it canonized:  c 70-170 CE
(see the Timeline of the First Century)

 

whereWhere

Was it written:  unknown
Did the events occur:  Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Antioch, Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Malta, Rome

 

whyWhy

Acts was written to inform us that: 
G-d enabled the work of believers through His Holy Spirit.
The assembly of G-d grew from believing Jews to include believing Gentiles.
The disciples were sent out as apostles and witnesses to the work of Messiah.
The apostles encountered opposition from both Jews and Gentiles.

 

whyIntroduction

Written as a sequel to the book of Luke, the "Acts of the Apostles" continues Luke's message to Theophilus [friend of G-d] and relates the historical events of the early Messianic communities. The book begins with the feast of Shavuot [Pentecost] when the Spirit of G-d came upon the believers and continues through the middle of the first century when the disciples take Messiah's message from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the Mediterranean world. Peter and the other disciples are shocked when Gentiles begin responding strongly to the gospel and Messiah calls Paul to be the messenger of that "good news" to the Gentile world. The book of Acts shows the apostles carrying out the Great Commission from the book of Matthew.

 

 

Torah Portion

unknown

 

 

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Today is

Yom Sh'lishi, 9 Adar II, 5784

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

 

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