A better title would be "The Acts (or the workings) of the Holy Spirit", because He is the real main character of the book.The presence and working of the Holy Spirit is the dominating mark of the book of Acts. The title "Acts of the Apostles" does not very well reflect the intention of God, who inspired Luke to this report. life and death of the redeemer and the beginning of the spreading of the Christian faith. Since Josephus wrote in the last decade of the first century the book of Acts would have been written even later.But it is very unlikely that Luke copied from Josephus, and therefore this idea is held by only few scholars nowadays.Īs already mentioned, the book of Acts is the second part of a work by which the author wants to give an important person an overview over the beginning of Christianity, i.e. Some scholars believe that chapter 5:36 and 11:28 are quotes from or similarities to Flavius Josephus' work "The antiquities of the Jews". First of all Luke mentions the fact that Acts is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke (written around 55-60 AD), and therefore must have been written later.Secondly Luke at the end of Acts Luke mentions Paul's two-year imprisonment in Rome.The book will therefore have been written only after the end of this time.It is generally assumed that Paul came to Rome around 60/61AD.Therefore the earliest that the book of Acts could have been written would have been around 63.It cannot have been written much later as Luke would then have mentioned the result of the Paul's case, the fire of Rome and the first great persecution of Christians in 64. In the book of Acts itself we find two important hints which are important to ascertain the time of writing. Therefore one would conclude that the book of Acts also originates from the pen of Luke.Īlready the church father Ireneus (ca 140-202) mentions that Luke is the author of the book of Acts.Various scholars have also pointed out that the style and the choice of words in Luke and Acts are very similar. In the first verse of the book of Acts the author mentions the fact that he has already written an earlier report "concerning all things which Jesus began both to do and to teach, until that day in which he was taken up." The gospel of Luke, as well as the book of Acts, is addressed to a certain Theophilus (cf Luke 1:3).
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