Ep. #18 "Theophilus" [Series: Acts]

Characters: Theophilus

Primary Scriptures: Acts 28

Story Summary: Some thoughts about what happens after Acts ends

Location: Roman Empire

Time: AD 30 Jesus crucified and resurrected; Pentecost; Holy Spirit arrives AD 46 First Missionary Journey starts AD 48 – 51 Second Missionary Journey AD 52-57 Third Missionary Journey AD 57-59 Paul arrested in Jerusalem; Paul imprisoned in Caesarea AD 59-62 Paul sent to Rome and imprisoned for two years AD 66 Start of First Jewish-Roman War AD 70 Destruction of the Temple


The book of Acts abruptly ends with Paul possibly still being imprisoned in Rome. What happens then?

There is no direct information in the Bible about what happens to Paul after the end of Acts. From 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and church traditions, many scholars have surmised that Paul was released from prison after two years, then actively evangelized for another five years before being martyred by Nero.

This may the case, but there is still a little mystery about the cause of his death even if it is later. Apparently, the Christians were relatively small in number, were being peaceful, and were not doing anything illegal. Why would the Roman rulers have been intent on executing Paul?

Church historians seldom talk enough about the First Jewish-Roman War, which is surprising since the Romans probably placed the Jews and Christians in the same category. The war began in 66 AD over disputes concerning taxation and Roman incursion into the Temple. The conflict quickly escalated, and the Romans sent Vespasian and Titus to quell the rebellion. They used sieges and force to slowly take control of all Judea. While Jerusalem held out for many months, it was finally captured in 70 AD, when the Temple was destroyed. Isn’t it possible that the Christian leaders—including Paul—got identified with this rebellion?

In this episode, Theophilus surmises there may be only about 10,000 Christians in 62 AD. This is a much lower number than most modern Christians think because of there being 5,000 a short time after Jesus’ death. However, at the time of Paul’s jailing, consider how many churches were mentioned in the Bible, and how many members each church had. Unfortunately, we have no hard information about the numbers of Christians existing as the church grew.

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