King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 1
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The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Ghost had given unto whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to of : And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from , but wait for the promise of , which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For truly with water; but ye shall be with the Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, , wilt thou at this time restore again to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which hath put in his own . But ye shall receive , after that the Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be unto me both in , and in all , and in , and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of , why stand ye gazing up into ? this same , which is taken up from you into , shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into . Then returned they unto from the mount called Olivet, which is from a ’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both , and , and , and , , and , , and , the son of Alpheus, and Zelotes, and the brother of . These all continued with one accord in and , with the women, and the mother of , and with his brethren. And in those days stood up in the midst of , and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this must needs have been fulfilled, which the Ghost spake before concerning , which was guide to them that took . For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at ; insomuch as that field is called in their proper , Aceldama, that is to say, The field of . For in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that went in and out among us, Beginning from the of , unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a with us of his . And they appointed two, called Barsabas, who was surnamed , and . And they , and said, Thou, , which knowest the of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which by fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon ; and he was numbered with the eleven .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.