Acts of the Apostles (the fifth book…

148 CE to 159 CE

Acts of the Apostles (the fifth book of the New Testament) purportedly written by the author of the Gospel according to Luke, recounts the early preaching about Jesus Christ, the growth of the primitive Christian community, and the spread of the Christian message.

Acts spans the period from the Ascension of Christ and the Pentecost to Paul’s visit to Rome, where he was placed under house arrest.

Among the key ideas set forth in the speeches—comprising a third of the book—are that Christ fulfills the promises of the Old Testament, that salvation comes through him, and that the Christian community is the new chosen people.

The book’s account of Peter’s early sermons summarizes the message as understood by the author.

In the early chapters of Acts, which portray an idyllic Jerusalem community praying together, practicing communal ownership of property, and preaching, the author attributes Christianity’s vitality and activity to the Holy Spirit, prominent throughout Acts.

Later chapters focus on the spread of Christianity to the Gentiles through Paul ‘s missionary work.

The end of the world, unlike Paul’s message in Thessalonians, is no longer considered imminent but has receded into the vaguely distant future; Acts directs the reader’s attention to the present and on spreading Christianity "to the ends of the earth."

The book of Acts has been most commonly dated to the second half of the first century.

Norman Geisler dates it as early as between 60-62. ("The Dating of the New Testament". bethinking.org. Retrieved 2012-04-09.)

Donald Guthrie, who dates the book between 62-64, notes that the absence of any mention of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 would be unlikely if the book were written afterward.

He also suggested that since the book does not mention the death of Paul, a central character in the final chapters, it was likely penned before his death.

Guthrie also saw traces of Acts in Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians (written between 110-140) and one letter by Ignatius (who died about 117) and thought that Acts probably was current in Antioch and Smyrna not later than about 115, and perhaps in Rome as early as about 96. (Guthrie, Donald [1970]. "Nine". New Testament Introduction [third ed.]. Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. pp. 340–345.)

A small indicator about the earliest possible date may be in Acts 6:9, which mentions the Province of Cilicia.

The Roman province by that name had been on hiatus from 27 BCE and only reestablished in 72 CE by Emperor Vespasian.

Since Paul was from Cilicia, however, and refers to himself using this name (see Acts 21:39, 22:3), it seems very natural that the name Cilicia would have continued to be in colloquial use among its residents despite its hiatus in official Roman nomenclature.

Parallels between Acts and Josephus' The Wars of the Jews (written in 75-80) and Antiquities of the Jews (about 94) have long been argued.

Several scholars have argued that Acts used material from both of Josephus' works, rather than the other way around, which would indicate that Acts was written around the year 100 or later.

According to John T. Townsend, "it is not before the last decades of the second century that one finds undisputed traces of the work." (John T. Townsend, "The Date of Luke-Acts," in; Charles H. Talbert, Luke-Acts: New Perspectives from the Society of Biblical Literature Seminar [New York: Crossroad, 1984], pp. 47-62; here p. 47.)

Townsend, turning to the sources behind the pseudo-Clementine writings, argues that the middle of the second century is the terminus ad quem, the latest possible date, for the final composition.

According to Richard I. Pervo, "Townsend's methodologically adventurous but ultimately cautious essay is another valuable lesson in the danger of establishing the date of Acts -- or any work -- by arguing for the earliest possible time of origin." (Richard I. Pervo, Dating Acts: Between the Evangelists and the Apologists [Santa Rosa, California: Polebridge Press, 2006], p. 330.)

The place of composition is still an open question.

For some time Rome and Antioch have been in favor, but internal evidence points strongly to the Roman province of Asia, particularly the neighborhood of Ephesus.