ProlepsisOpen in the graph →

Prophecy

Witnesses “to the uttermost parts of the earth”: the Gospel reaches Rome (Acts 1:8)

Saint Paul in Prison, artist’s impression by Rembrandt (1627, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart). The painting does not specify the place; Acts 28 ends with Paul a prisoner in Rome.
Artist’s impression Saint Paul in Prison, artist’s impression by Rembrandt (1627, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart). The painting does not specify the place; Acts 28 ends with Paul a prisoner in Rome. — Rembrandt, Wikimedia Commons · Domaine public

○ Written after the events, according to historians; tradition dates it before

Written c. 30–62 AD according to tradition; c. 80–90 AD according to historians. Event: 49–64 AD.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. In the book of Acts, Jesus announces to his disciples, around 30-33, that they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and “to the uttermost parts of the earth”.

What happened. Under the emperor Claudius, the historian Suetonius reports disturbances in Rome linked to a certain “Chrestus”, probably Christ. Around 57, Paul writes to the Christians of Rome, and in 64 Tacitus counts “a great number” of Christians there. The movement reaches Rome within a generation, but not “the uttermost parts of the earth” in the broad sense.

What is still debated. the same author announces the program and builds his account to carry it out, and he writes, according to historians, around 80-90, when the Christian presence in Rome was known to all.

What would be striking if the text came first

Non-Christian Roman authors show that a movement that started in Jerusalem reached the capital of the Empire within a generation. Reading a prediction in it remains a reading: historians date Acts to around 80–90, and the author builds his book so that it ends in Rome.

Main objection (in French for now)

Limite principale : le même auteur pose le programme (Ac 1:8) et construit son récit pour le réaliser ; le livre est organisé selon cet itinéraire et s’arrête à Rome. C’est une structure littéraire, pas une confirmation indépendante.

The text (World English Bible)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Sources