Acts

Acts is the forty-fourth book of the Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Luke, the author of the third gospel, and it picks up the story directly from where Luke ends. The full name in older translations is "The Acts of the Apostles," though much of the book follows just two of them, Peter and Paul. The book is generally dated to the 60s or 80s AD.

Acts opens with Jesus's ascension and the disciples returning to Jerusalem. They are joined by the Holy Spirit at the festival of Pentecost, in a dramatic scene with sound like a rushing wind and tongues of fire. Peter preaches publicly; about three thousand people respond.

The first half of the book is set in Jerusalem and the surrounding regions. The early church grows rapidly. Peter and the other apostles heal, preach, and are repeatedly arrested. Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr, stoned by an angry crowd. A young man named Saul, present at Stephen's death, leads a persecution of Christians until he is dramatically converted on the road to Damascus and becomes the apostle Paul.

The second half of the book follows Paul. He travels through what is now Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus on three long missionary journeys, planting churches in cities including Antioch, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus. He is eventually arrested in Jerusalem and shipped to Rome to be tried before the emperor. The book ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, still preaching freely.