Key Figures

1. Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus is the founder and foundation of the Church. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s Messianic Prophecies. He is God the Son and as such is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He took on human flesh to rescue and consecrate the church for the Father. He is the head of the church and the object of the church’s worship. Individuals gain access to the Father, receive the Holy Spirit, and are granted membership into the church only through faith in Jesus. Jesus called Apostles to be uniquely authoritative teachers on His behalf.
2. The Apostle Peter: His personal name is Simon Barjona (Son of Jona), but his name given by Jesus is Peter meaning rock (Matthew 16:17). Peter was a fisherman by trade but was called to follow Jesus and serve as the leader of the twelve Apostles—that small group of leaders whom Jesus appointed to teach with His authority. Peter functioned as the Apostle to the Jews and was integral in guiding the early Jewish Christians in accepting Gentile believers. He died a martyr under Nero’s persecution. He authored two New Testament books and oversaw the writing of Mark’s Gospel.
3. The Apostle Paul: Paul’s Jewish name was Saul but he went by his Greek name most often because he served as the Apostle of the Gentiles (Acts 14). Paul was well-educated in both Greek and Jewish Philosophies. He was a Jew of the sect of the Pharisees from Tarsus who was born as a Roman Citizen. Before his conversion, He vehemently persecuted the church until Jesus appeared to him, called him to salvation, taught him, and appointed him to Apostleship. Paul traveled the Roman world preaching the gospel, planting churches, and building up churches. He died a martyr under Nero’s persecution. He authored at least thirteen New Testament books.
4. The Apostle John, the Son of Zebedee: John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee and Salome. He was possibly the first cousin of Jesus and among Jesus’ first followers. He was a fisherman by trade. John was among Jesus’ inner circle of disciples along with Peter and James. John was a key leader among the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9). John was exiled to the island of Patmos under Domitian’s persecution. He wrote five New Testament books and discipled some of the early church fathers of the Patristic Era such as Polycarp.
5. James, the Lord’s Brother: James was the half-brother of Jesus and the biological son of Mary and Joseph. He did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah during at least a portion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. However, the Lord appeared to his half brother after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). It appears that James, the Lord’s brother, became an Apostle when a position among the Twelve was vacated by the martyr of James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). The Lord’s brother became the lead elder in the church of Jerusalem and a key figure in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). He authored the New Testament book of James.
6. Luke: Luke was an unmarried Gentile physician who accompanied Paul during parts of his missionary journeys. Luke was originally from Antioch but settled in Philippi where he oversaw the young church there after it was planted (Acts 16:40). He tended to Paul during his imprisonment (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke wrote two New Testament books under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. Luke, by his two books, wrote more in the New Testament than any other author.

Key Events

1. The Incarnation & Birth of Jesus: Jesus existed in eternity past. However, in the incarnation, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary in around 5 BC. Jesus taking on humanity was necessary for our salvation so He could represent us in the judgement. This is one of the most significant events and greatest miracles of all history. Jesus’ nature is fully God and fully man—a truth the early church would call the hypostatic union of Christ.
2. The Public Ministry of Jesus: Jesus’ public ministry began at His baptism by John in AD 29 and lasted about three and a half years. Jesus called people to repent of sin and believe on Him for salvation. He claimed to be the Messiah. He healed diseases, cast out demons, raised the dead, and taught the right understanding of God’s Word. He called and trained Apostles to teach with His authority after His ascension.
3. The Death of Jesus: Jesus was crucified by the Romans at the insistence of Jewish leadership on a Friday. In His death, Jesus served as both, the final High Priest and final sacrifice to make atonement for sins and bring about the salvation of all who would surrender to Him in faith.
4. The Resurrection of Jesus: Jesus’ physical resurrection happened on the Sunday morning after His crucifixion. The resurrection is necessary for salvation because it, through union with Christ, effects the future resurrection of every born-again Christian. Since Jesus rose on a Sunday, the early church called Sunday The Lord’s Day and began to gather for corporate worship on Sunday rather than on the Sabbath (Saturday) as the Jews who rejected Jesus continued to do.
5. The Ascension of Jesus: Jesus’ ascension has long been overlooked but is extremely significant. Forty days after His resurrection and after appearing to over 500 witnesses, Jesus ascended into Heaven, being seated at the right hand of the Father, where He remains physically to this day. Every Christian is spiritually seated with Him, giving us victory in the Spiritual realm (Ephesians 2:6). Jesus’ ascension served as an illustration for how He would return in the clouds (Acts 1:9-11).
6. Pentecost: Pentecost was an annual Jewish holy day held in Jerusalem and set aside to celebrate the grain harvest. At the Pentecost celebration after the Ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus’ disciples so they could speak languages they had never learned to share the gospel with Hellenistic Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the festival. Around 3,000 people trusted Christ for salvation that day and formed the church. This was the event in which the church was founded so that those who surrender to Jesus in faith now receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith and are eternally connected with God and with fellow Christians.  
7. The Acts 8 Persecution of the Church: As Saul led an intense persecution against the church, the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were forced to scatter into Judea and Samaria. As they scattered, they shared the gospel with other Jews and even with Gentiles. This event marks the beginning of the expansion of the church beyond Jerusalem.
8. The Conversion of Saul: While seeking to persecute the church, Jesus appeared to Saul and called Him to salvation and in turn, Apostleship. The foremost persecutor of the church became the foremost missionary of the church, expanding Christianity all over the known Roman world.
9. The Jerusalem Council: When some Jews began to teach that faith in Jesus was not sufficient to receive salvation but that circumcision was also necessary, the church of Antioch sent messengers to the other Apostles and the Jerusalem church. The Apostles and the leaders of the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch addressed the concern by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and confirmed that circumcision was not necessary but directed the churches to abstain from certain acts in order to foster unity and purity between Jewish and Gentile Christians.

Key Heresies

1. Judaizers: This heresy had Jewish roots and claimed that faith in Christ was insufficient for receiving salvation. Instead, faith must be combined by observing certain portions of the Law such as circumcision. This was the heresy addressed by the Jerusalem council and by the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians.
2. Pre-Gnosticism: This heresy had roots in Greek philosophy and taught that the physical world and the spiritual world were opposites with the physical world being evil while the spiritual world is good. It resulted in a denial of the physical resurrection of Christ and of the believer and was addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 as well as some of the gospel writers in their accounts of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ. It would later grow to result in a denial of the humanity of Christ.
3. The Nicolaitan Heresy: While we have little information about this heresy, it seemed to develop in the latter half of the first century and was present in Asia Minor (Revelation 2:6, 15). The early church fathers Hippolytus and Irenaeus tell us that the deacon Nicolas from Acts six went astray and led others with him. The Nicolaitans were known for encouraging and committing sexual immorality and for eating food sacrificed to idols against the direction of the Jerusalem council. Licentiousness seems to be the result of this false teaching. It is possible that the Thyatiran false prophetess Jezebel of Revelation 2:22 was a leader among the Nicolaitans.

Key Persecutions

1. Jewish Persecution: We see this persecution throughout the book of Acts. Jews who rejected Jesus often persecuted the early Christians because they welcomed Gentiles on the same footing before God as the Jews—all are sinners and all must repent, trusting in Jesus.
2. Nero’s Persecution: During the first half of the New Testament Era, the Christians were seen as a sect of Jews and as such were allowed to worship freely under an exception made for Jews. However, when the separation between Judaism and Christianity became clear, the Romans began to persecute the church. The Roman Emperor Nero reigned from AD 54-68. During his reign, a very damaging fire broke out in AD 64 lasting six days and seven nights with three days of flare ups afterwards. Many Romans suspected that Nero set the fire in order to rebuild Rome as he desired. In response he blamed the Christians for the fire and then began persecuting the church brutally.  Peter and Paul died under this persecution.
3. Domitian’s Persecution: Roman Emperor Domitian ruled from AD 81-96. Domitian continued to persecute the Christians and John was exiled to Patmos under his persecution. It is likely that he persecuted the church due to an attempt to restore Roman tradition. Since the Christians did not worship the pagan gods, they stood in the way of his ambition.