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There was total of 30 years of history covered by the Acts of the Apostles.
Not as many as you might think; less than 25
It covers 30 years of history.
The actual value varies, but most people generally agree that it covers from about 29 A.D. to about 64 A.D., meaning that it covers around 35 years worth of history.
Acts covers the period from approximately 33AD to 62AD.

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7y ago
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11y ago

The Christian view is that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a historical record of the early years of Christianity. The book is addressed to Theophilus, but the book must have been written for a wider audience, including converts and potential converts. Theophilus ("friend of God") may have been a real person, or may have simply symbolised the faithful.

Acts seems to have been written to a Christian community that was beginning to identify itself as distinct from the Gnostic Christians, and the author seems to have been trying to draw together different strands of that Christianity. The audience for Acts of the Apostles is likely to have included much of the 'centrist' Christian community. It may well have been aimed at the 'Paulist' and Gnostic adherents who were amenable to accepting the centrist approach to Christianity. It shows the Christians as friendly and loyal towards Rome, so may also have been, in part, an apology intended to impress the Romans that Christianity was not inamicable to Roman rule.

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8y ago

Other answers from our community: Between 63 and 70 A.D.

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Acts of the Apostles is known to have been written some time after Luke's Gospel. The author of Luke is also known to have relied on Mark's Gospel, which has been dated to approximately 70 CE, so clearly Luke's Gospel could not have been written until some time after 70 CE. In fact, scholars say that Luke was written around the end of the first century.

In addition, it can be shown that the author of Actsrelied heavily on the book, Antiquities of the Jews, written by the Jewish historian, Josephus and published in 93 CE. For example, his attribution to Gamaliel of the following passage:

(Acts 5:34): Then stood there up one in the council, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, high in reputation among all the people, and he said unto them: Take heed of yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves; he was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to nought. After this rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him; he also perished, and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

These words were attributed by Acts to Gamaliel, but he could not possibly have been responsible for them. He is supposed to have mentioned Theudas' revolt and "after him Judas the Galilean." If this Sanhedrin session took place around 35 CE, Theudas' revolt had not yet taken place, and the revolt by Judas the Galilean had taken place thirty years before. Luke wrote long after the event and might not have realised his error, which probably resulted because, while Josephus had his chronology correct, he mentioned Judas after he mentioned Theudas. A misreading or poor notetaking from Antiquities could cause someone to think Theudas lived before Judas of Galilee. This error relied of the pecular sequence in which Josephus wrote his account and would not have occurred if Luke had relied on some other source.

From this and many other examples, we can establish with confidence that Acts of the Apostles was written after Antiquities of the Jews, and probably in the early years of the second century.

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8y ago

There is considerable evidence that Acts of the Apostlesused, as one of its sources, Jewish Antiquities,published by Flavius Josephus in 93 CE. Thus Acts would have been written some time later than the year 93, probably early in the second century. Some representative examples that demonstrate the reliance ofActs on the works of Josephus follow:

  • Josephus used the term sects or 'philosophical schools' (Greek: haireseis), to describe the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. Luke was the only other author known to have described the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes this way (Acts 5:17, 15:5, 26:5), and he also referred to Christianity as another philosophical school of the Jews (Acts 24:5, 28:22).
  • Luke had Paul call the Pharisees the 'most precise school' among the Jews in the reference at 26:5. Only Josephus and Luke referred to the Pharisees as the 'most precise school'.
  • Luke had Gamaliel speak about an uprising that had taken place under Theudas, placing this speech in Acts 5:36, before the martyrdom of Stephen. In the next verse, Luke said that after this man, Judas of Galilee rose up. The uprising by Theudas occurred within the procuratorship of Fadus, who was procurator in the years 44-46 CE. However, Acts 11:25-28, tells us that Paul was already a Christian before the famine that also started around the same time as this uprising. It is evident that Luke knew nothing of Theudas from Christian sources, but inserted mention of him into the account as a piece of useful history that Luke learnt from Josephus, and no where else. We can establish that because, when Josephus mentioned Theudas, he immediately followed with commentary on the sons of Judas and then took the opportunity to describe the much earlier actions of Judas himself. Luke repeated the incorrect sequence of Theudas and Judas, which only makes sense in the context of Josephus' narrative - a clear sign that Luke relied on information from Josephus. It could not have been the other way around.
  • Luke, writing in Greek, used the term sicarii, a Latin word for assassins. Josephus, who also wrote in Greek, seems to have been the first to use this foreign word as a term for Jewish rebels who carried out assassinations under cover of urban crowds.
  • Both Josephus and Luke mentioned three specific rebel leaders, and no other, even though Josephus says there were numerous such men. These rebels were Theudas, Judas and 'the Egyptian'. Luke had the chief captain ask Paul whether he was the Egyptian who led four thousand sicarii (KJV translated as 'murderers') into the desert (Acts 21:38). Far from leading anyone into the desert, 'the Egyptian' wanted to bring down the walls of Jerusalem by a miracle.

Ancient writers did not acknowledge their sources using footnotes in the style of modern academic authors, but they did have another way of acknowledge their sources, known as mimesis. This was an intellectually amusing technique that required placing a clue, or flag, within the text, enabling others to identify the source. But the flag must not be obvious - it had to be a clue that needed to be searched for and identified. Josephus had dedicated Jewish Antiquities to Epaphroditus, a real name that meant 'Touched by Aphrodite'. Luke dedicated both the Gospel and Actsto Theophilus, which means 'Friend of God'. This could be a real name but is an apparent transvaluation of Epaphroditus.
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7y ago

Acts of the Apostles covers events described as happening between the crucifixion of Jesus and the arrival of Paul in Rome, thus a period of about thirty years. However, many modern New Testament scholars do not consider Acts to be a work of history. The Acts Seminar was set up to review the book carefully and look for for evidence of historicity in Acts. It determined that the book was written in the second century and does not accurately record events at the time of the early church. Scholars participating in the Seminar concluded (See Acts and Christian Beginnings) that Acts is "a primary resource for understanding second-century Christianity" rather than a reliable source for the history of early Christianity.

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6y ago

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Q: How many years of history does the Acts of the Apostles cover?
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Continue Learning about Religious Studies

Was the acts of the apostles in the old or New Testament?

No. The Book of Acts is in the New Testament.


What is the name of the fifth book of the New Testament?

The fifth book of the New Testament is Acts of the Apostles.In early Christianity, 'Acts' was a literary genre applied to a whole range of supposed biographical/historical books, but Acts of the Apostles was the only one of this genre considered worthy of inclusion in the New Testament. The title might imply that it covers the lives of all or most of the apostles, whereas it is largely a record, and perhaps a comparison, of Peter and Paul. Nevertheless, it is probably the one book of Acts that does cover the two most important apostles, with some brief mentions of other apostles. On that basis, this book has the best claim to its title, although it is not necessarily a historical account.


Is Romans in the old or New Testament?

Other answers from our community:Some consider Acts of the Apostles to be a history of the early Church.Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John give the history of Jesus. That is why they are called the Gospel, or good news. Acts gives the History of the early Christians, and the spread of Christianity throughout Israel, Asia Minor, and Europe.Acts is the one that contains most history in a concentrated form and is the only one that could be considered as 'pure history'. The Gospels contain 'history' of a different kind as their main focus is also on the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus. They are thus history with a very clear focus and concentrated on a relatively short period of time.The Gospels record the history of Christ's time on earth. Acts records the history of the beginning of the church. All Bible books have SOME history in them, but the 'New Testament' books that come to mind are the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as they give an account of Jesus' life and ministry. Also, Acts, since it's basically the history of the early Christian congregation and the beginning of the Christian preaching work.Acts of the Apostles.


What is the acts of the apostles about?

the New Testament, the final portion of the Christian Bible


Who is husband of Sappira in Acts of the Apostles?

Ananias. Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

Related questions

Which book contains a history of the early days of the Church?

Acts of the Apostles.


Does Acts of the Apostles cover every event in the first 30 years of Church history?

A:No. This would be impossible. Acts of the Apostles does not cover events we know to have happened within the context of Christianity, does cover events about which scholars are sceptical, and seems to offer a different history of Paul's mission than Paul does in his own epistles. Hans Joachim Schoeps (Das Judenchristentum) says that in reality Acts is only a retrospective view of Christian origins written by one party - the winners. He says that Actsfollows a clear didactic line and for this reason energetically cultivates the creation of legends and reshapes persons and events according to its own standards. Acts has been believed much too readily.


Who is Stephen in the acts of the apostles?

Who is Stephen in Acts of the Apostles?


Why are the Acts of the Apostles important for us to know?

The book known as Acts of the Apostles is important to know if you are a Christian and if you believe the book is a reliable history of the early church. It is also possible to be a Christian and accept a scholarly view that Acts is often not historically reliable, in which case knowing Acts of the Apostles would be of secondary importance.


Was the acts of the apostles in the old or New Testament?

No. The Book of Acts is in the New Testament.


History of the early church 1book?

Your first resource in studying the history of the early church should be the book of Acts (Acts of the Apostles) in the Christian New Testament in the Bible.


Who was a doctor who wrote gospel and some books of acts in bible?

The Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles, abbreviation Acts, fifth book of the New Testament, a valuable history of the early Christian church. Acts was written in Greek, presumably by the Evangelist Luke, whose gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely, with Christ's Ascension into heaven.


Who wrote the book of Acts in Bible What is its importance?

The Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles, abbreviation Acts, fifth book of the New Testament, a valuable history of the early Christian church. Acts was written in Greek, presumably by the Evangelist Luke, whose gospel concludes where Acts begins, namely, with Christ's Ascension into heaven.


Does the Book of Acts trace all of the acts of all the apostles?

AnswerNo. The Acts of the Apostles is essentially a record of the supposed acts of Peter and Paul, perhaps even a subtle comparison of the two apostles. Apart from Stephen, who is not mentioned anywhere outside Acts, there is no real mention of the other apostles.


What is between the Gospels and the letters?

The Acts of the Apostles which details the history of the early church is between the Gospel accounts and the epistles.


What would i hope to gain from studing acts?

By studying Acts of the Apostles, you would hope to learn the history of the early Christian church. Modern scholarship says that Acts is not really a reliable history, but you would probably be entirely unaware of this in your studies.


What book of the Bible tells about the apostles of Acts?

acts