Summary of Major Events in Act, listed by chapter numbr

[Irving]

Major Events In the Book of
Acts.
by Chapter Number.

1. Jesus’ 40-day, post resurrection activity: Promise to send the
Holy Spirit and Ascension
into Heaven.
2. Pentecost, 3000 converted; formation of the first Christian
congregation.
3. Peter, in company of John, heals a beggar and preaches to the
astonished Jews that
they killed Jesus.
4. Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. Peter preaches to them. The
Sanhedrin, knowing
the people have seen the miracle are afraid to punish. They let
them go , telling them not
to speak of Jesus anymore.
5. Ananias and Sapphira lie about their contributions and are struck
dead. The apostles
continue healing and arouse jealousy in the Jewish leaders. The
Sanhedrin puts the
apostles in jail, but an angel releases them. They preach in the
temple again. Sanhedrin
now wants to put them to death, but Gamaliel counsels letting
the Lord take dare of it.
6,7. The apostles call for help in the care of widows. Seven men are
chosen, among them
Stephen and Philip. Stephen is opposed by the Synagogue of the
Freedmen, who
bring him before the Sanhedrin, to whom he preaches fearlessly.
Angered, they
sentence him to death by stoning. Saul was complicit .
8. The first persecution of the new Church. Christians scatter except
the apostles. Philip
went to Samaria, preached and healed. Many believed. Simon the
Sorcerer seeing
this, offered money to get the power. He was rebuked by Peter,
come from Jerusalem
to bless the work of Philip. Philip is transported by the Spirit
to the Ethiopian eunuch.
9. Saul is converted by Jesus, on the road to Damascus, and blinded.
He is directed to
Ananias, through whom Paul’s sight is restored. Paul preaches
in Damascus, and the
Jews there plot to kill him. His friends lower him through the
city wall. He safely returns
to Jerusalem. Peter travels, heals Aeneas in Lydda, restores
life to Dorcas, who sewed
for the poor, in Joppa.
10. Peter is directed, in a vision of animals unclean for a Jew to
eat, to go to the centurion,
Cornelius, in Caesarea. Cornelius is converted.
11. Peter, back in Jerusalem, explains the Cornelius event , and the
fears of the Christian
Jews are dispelled. The congregation established in Antioch,
from Jews who fled
Jerusalem in the persecution, choose Barnabas and Saul to be
sent out as missionaries.
The prophet Agabus predicts that a famine will involve the
entire Roman world.
12. The apostle James is put to death and Peter is imprisoned by
Herod. An angel
releases Peter who goes to the house of Mary, mother of John
Mark. A servant girl,
Rhoda, opens the door for him. Herod addresses the disgruntled
people of Tyre and
Sidon. He smooths things over, and the people acclaim him as a
god. Because he
does not deny diviniry , he is struck dead and is eaten by
worms.
13. Barnabas and Saul start on their missionary journey (Paul’s first
missionary journey) with
assistant John Mark, stopping at Salamis and Paphos on the
island of Cyprus. They
are opposed by sorcerer Elymas, who is temporarily made blind
by God through
Paul. Then to Pamphylia, where Mark leaves them. Paul and
Barnabas continue to
Perga, then to Pisidian Antioch. Their message is initially
favorably received and they
are invited back for the next Sabbath, when nearly the whole
population is present to
hear them. Resulting jealousy of the Jewish religious leaders
led them to expel Paul
and Barnabas from their city. The missionaries go to Iconium.
14. Preaching in the synagogue wins many Jews and Gentiles, but those
who refuse to
believe stir up the Gentiles and a plot develops to stone Paul
and Barnabas, who flee
to Lystra and Derbe. Paul heals a crippled man in Lystra, is
lauded as a god. Paul and
Barnabas tear their clothes to signify their abhorrence and
shout that they are only men.
Then Jews come from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium and win the
crowd over. They
stone Paul and leave him for dead; however, the believers
gather around Paul , and
he gets up and goes into the city. Paul and Barnabas return
to their sponsoring
congregation in Antioch of Syria and make their report,
ending the first trip.
15. Some Christians who had been Pharisees insisted that Gentile
males must be
circumcised and obey all the Levitical laws to become
Christians. This was resolved
by a conference of apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The
result was not to burden the
Gentile converts with anything except abstinence from food
sacrificed to idols,
blood, meat from strangled animals and sexual immorality. The
second missionary
journey starts with a dispute between Paul and Barnabas about
taking John Mark
along. It is resolved by dividing into teams (1) Paul and
Silas; (2)Barnabas and Mark.
16. Paul makes Timothy a member of the team at Lystra and cicumcises
him. The Spirit
redirects Paul at Mysia and turns him to Troas. He has a
vision directing him into
Macedonia. Lydia responds to Paul’s message. He baptizes her.
Paul and Silas are
imprisoned for driving a demon out of a girl who told
fortunes for her masters.The
masters accused Paul and Barnabas of advocating unlawful
customs. God delivered
them from their chains with an earthquake. The Philippian
jailer and family came to
belief in God over this incident.
17. At Thessalonica Paul preached in the synagogue three Sabbaths.
Many were con-
verted, The Jewish leaders formed a mob and falsely accused
the missionaries. The
believers sent them to Berea by night for their safety. The
Bereans were more noble
because they searched the scriptures daily. Paul and company
go to Athens where
Paul preaches on Mars Hill, telling the Athenians that he can
identify the unknown God.
18. They go to Corinth and meet Aquilla and Priscilla. Paul’s
preaching in the synagogue
was met with an abusive response and he told them he would now
go the Gentiles.
Paul and company stayed in Corinth because a vision from the
Lord told him to stay
and preach in the city. The Jews made a united attack on Paul
and brought him before
Proconsul, Gallio, who declined to hear the case. The Jews
turned on the synagogue
ruler and beat him in front of Gallio, but he paid no
attention. Paul went with Aquilla and
Priscilla to Ephesus where Paul reasoned with some Jews who
wanted to spend more
time with him, but he left Ephesus , leaving Aquilla and
Priscilla, but promised to return.
Paul returns to Antioch via Caesarea and ends his second
missionary journey. After
some time Paul sets out on his third missionary journey by
land through Tarsus, Derbe,
Lystra, Antioch of Pisidia, and back to Ephesus. Meanwhile
Appolos, who knew and
taught about Jesus, came to Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquilla
instructed him more fully in
the way of the Lord. Then Apollos went to Corinth and was an
effective preacher.
19. While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul arrived in Ephesus and
instructed and baptized
believers who only knew the baptism of John, about 12 men.
Paul spoke in the
synagogue for three months, but some Jews maligned the Way
and became hostile.
Paul took up lecturing in the Hall of Tyrannus and continued
for two years in an effective
ministry where God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.
Seven sons of Sceva
were trying to drive out demons in Jesus’ name, but one day
an evil spirit in a man
came out and beat the sons to nakedness and bleeding. This
made the Greeks and
Jews living in Ephesus afraid, and the name of Jesus was held
in high honor.
Excorcism by unbelievers came to an end. Now Paul was opposed
by silversmiths
in Ephesus who made small idols of the goddess Artemis. These
men saw their
livelihood was in danger if Paul continued to discredit
idolatry. Demitrius, a union leader
stirred up a riot. It ended when the city clerk quieted the
crowd and suggested that
these tradesmen pursue their complaint in a legal way.
20. Paul left Ephesus after more than two years that some say were
Paul’s most effective
because of his lectures at the Hall of Tyrannus. Because of an
assassination plot
against him and the collection for the Christians in
Jerusalem, Paul could not risk leaving
through the port. He traveled overland, the way he came,
through Macedonia. He
spoke all night at Troas in an upstairs room. One of his
listeners, Eutychus, a young
man sitting on a window sill, fell asleep and fell to his
death. Paul went down and was
God’s instrument to restoration of his life. Paul left Troas
by ship, avoiding Ephesus,
and stopping instead at Miletus. He and sent for the elders
at Ephesus to meet with
him. It was a tearful reunion. Paul gave them encouragement
and instruction in the faith.
He told them he wouldn’t see them again, that he was going
to Jerusalem not know-
ing what dangers he would find there.
21. Paul debarks ship at Tyre and stays with Christians for 7
days. They urged him
not to go to Jerusalem, knowing how hostile the Jews there
were toward Paul. But
Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, was not deterred. The sea
travel ended at Caesarea.
Paul stayed with Philip, one of the 7 who had been with
Stephen. Agabus the
prophet came to tell how Paul would be bound and handed to
the Roman authorities
by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. His friends pleaded
with Paul not to go to
Jerusalem, but he was ready even to die for the name of the
Lord Jesus. He left
for Jerusalem. Upon arriving, Paul went to see James, the
half-brother of Jesus, and
leader of the Jerusalem congregation. He reported to him and the
elders what God
had done among the Gentiles. They praised God for this
but warned Paul: “we
have thousands of Jewish Christians here, but they still
insist that our old laws must
be obeyed. They hear that you have told the Gentile
believers that they need not
circumcise or live according to Jewish ritual.” They
offered a strategy that might
make Paul acceptable to these Judaizing Christians: to join with four
men in post-
vow purification rites and even pay for their expenses.
Then all would know that Paul
lived in obedience to the Law. Paul did as they
suggested. It didn’t help. Jews from
Asia saw Paul at the Temple. They stirred up the Temple
crowd and seized Paul,
dragging him from the Temple, and began beating him. The
news reached the
Roman commander of the garrison near the Temple, and he rushed down
with
soldiers. The beating stopped. The commander arrested Paul, and began
to take
him to the garrison. Paul asked the commander for
permission to speak to the
crowd, using the Greek language. This amazed the
commander, who let Paul
speak from the steps leading to the garrison from the
Temple area.
22. Paul preaches to the crowd in Aramaic, and when they hear the
language they
become very quiet. He relates his history, his conversion
and his being
called to go to the Gentiles. At this last utterance they
began rioting again. The commander ordered that Paul be taken to
the barracks, flogged and questioned to
learn why he had caused such a riot. But Paul told the centurion
that he was a
Roman citizen, whom it was illegal to flog without a
trial. The centurion told the commander who stopped everything,
alarmed that he had put a Roman citizen in
chains. The next day the commander set up a hearing before the
Sanhedrin.
23. After an interchange between the high priest and Paul, Paul made
an address which
divided his audience into two camps, Pharisee and
Sadducee. This got the Sanhedrin into an uproar, such that the
commander ordered his soldiers to get Paul
and bring him to the barracks. The Jews plotted to assassinate Paul.
They asked
the commander for another hearing at the Sanhedrin to get more
information, but
with 40 men they would ambush Paul and his escorts on the way.
Paul’s nephew
heard of the plot and informed Paul, who, in turn, had him tell the
commander.
Whereupon the commander took Paul by night with a a detachment of
soldiers to
Caesarea to appear before the Roman governor, Felix. He sent along a
letter
giving the detail of what had transpired in the affair. Felix agreed
to hear the case
when his accusers should arrive.
24. The High Priest , elders and a lawyer,Tertulius came and made
their case. Paul then
made his defense, pointing out that the Jews had no proof of the
crimes they
alleged. Felix could not make a decision. He said he would wait to
make a decision
until the commander could come with useful evidence. He ordered that
Paul be kept
under guard, but granted him some freedoms and the permission to
have his
friends care for his needs. Felix was looking for a bribe, so he
talked frequently with
Paul. This went on for two years until Felix was replaced by Portius
Festus.
25. When Festus arrived he soon went to Jerusalem to see the
Sanhedrin, who
presented their charges. They asked Festus for another trial,
this time in Jerusalem,
a pretext to kill Paul in ambush during transfer from Caesarea to
Jerusalem. Festus agreed on another trial , but in Caesarea.
After 10 days the trial began. Paul
made his defense. Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor asked Paul
if he would
consent to a trial in Jerusalem. Paul refused and, as a Roman
citizen, appealed to
Caesar, in other words, a trial in Rome. Festus agrees; however,
Festus consulted
King Agrippa II, puppet king, about the case. Agrippa said he would
like to have a
hearing with Paul. Festus arranged it. Paul stood before Agrippa.
Festus started the
discussion, wanting Agrippa to help him in writing the letter of
transmission to Rome,
inasmuch as there was no crime against Rome in evidence.
26. Paul makes a detailed speech to Agrippa giving all the
background, the prophecies
` of Scripture about Jesus, and ends it with the Gospel. Festus,
disturbed by his
confusion, shouts to Paul that his great learning has made him
insane. Paul rejects
that and turns to the King, who has Jewish ancestry, In an
interchange he asks if the
King believes the prophets, and the King replies that Paul cannot
persuade him to
be a Christian so quickly.
27. Paul is sent to Rome with other prisoners under guard of a
centurion, Julius and
soldiers. Friends of Paul accompany him , including Luke. It was
past the time
for safe sailing on the Mediterranean, the winds were unfavorable
and weather
dangerous. They change ships at Myra , but sail on with much
difficulty,
finally reaching Fair Havens a port on the island of Crete. Paul
counsels the centurion
that they should stay there for the winter, but the ship’s owner
knows that Fair
Havens is not a sheltered port and decides to go on to Phoenix 50
miles further.
Soon a hurricane force wind comes up and blows them away from Crete.
Extreme
measures are taken: throwing cargo and tackle overboard,
strengthening the hull with
ropes, putting out sea anchors. Crew and passengers gave
up hope. Paul relates
a vision that all will be saved but the ship will be
lost. He tells this to all to keep
up their courage. The sailors make an attempt to escape
from the ship with the life
boat, but Paul alerts the centurion who stops them. Paul encourages
them all to eat.
They see a sandy beach and head for it to, but they go aground on
a sandbar
while the surf breaks up the ship. All 276 aboard are
saved by swimming to
shore or floating there on pieces of the ship. They were
on the island of Malta.
28. A viper bit and hung on Paul’s hand as he was putting wood on
the fire the islanders
made for them in the cold November weather. Paul did not die and
the islanders
thought he was a god. Paul healed the father of the chief of the
island. All the sick
came to Paul and were healed. Three months later they sailed to
Puteoli, the port for
Rome and spent a week with Christians. On the road to Rome they were
met by
Christians which encouraged Paul. In Rome Paul was allowed to have
his own
house guarded by a soldier. Paul called the Jewish leaders together
to explain why
he was under arrest in Rome. They responded that they had no
information about
him and desired to hear more about the maligned sect that he
represented. A
meeting with a larger group of Jews was arranged at Paul’ s house.
Paul spoke an
entire day trying to convince them about Jesus. Some believed,
others didn’t. They
argued among themselves and began to leave when Paul quoted Isaiah
6: 9,10
and concluded that he wanted them to know that God’s salvation has
been taken to
the Gentiles, who will listen. For two years thereafter Paul stayed
under house
arrest welcoming all visitors. He preached the Kingdom of God and
taught about
Jesus boldly and unhindered.