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Timeline era

Early Church

Pentecost, the apostles, Paul, the spread of the gospel, and the formation of Christian communities.

Teaching slide on the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost, with Acts 2:41, a note on the AD 30 or AD 33 crucifixion-year debate, and a summary.
Teaching slide. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version, a public-domain translation. The artwork is an illustrated reconstruction, not a photograph. Select the image to view it full size.

What the sources say, and how sure we are

  • The text says

    Acts tells of the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, the growth of the church in Jerusalem, the conversion of Paul, the first Gentile believers, and Paul’s journeys across Asia Minor and Greece to Rome.Acts 2; Acts 9; Acts 10; Acts 13–28

  • Outside evidence

    The Gallio inscription fixes Paul’s time in Corinth to about AD 50–52. Tacitus reports Nero’s punishment of Christians in Rome in AD 64, and Pliny’s letter about AD 112 shows Christians in Bithynia being tried. Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70, as shown on the Arch of Titus.Gallio Inscription; Tacitus, Annals 15.44; Pliny, Letters 10.96; Arch of Titus

  • Debated

    Persecution of Christians in this period was local and uneven, not a continuous empire-wide campaign. The first empire-wide edict came under Decius in AD 250. Scholars also debate the dates of several letters and the order of events in Acts and Paul’s own letters.Acts 15; Gal 1–2

  • Christian conclusion

    Christians read this era as the spread of the gospel from Israel to all nations.Acts 1:8; Matt 28:19

Books

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