Transcript

It’s also been said about the Apostle Paul: “He lacked the creature comforts, he was away from many of the people he knew and loved, he was hundreds of miles from home.

“He was in poor health, he had very little money, his future was uncertain, and his life was threatened, but the Apostle Paul really lived.”

Following his conversion on the Damascus Road, the Apostle Paul lived a full and abundant life of zealous service and sacrifice for his Savior.

In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul gave this testimony about his life, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Since it was founded 1940, the purpose of Berean Bible Society has been to help you understand and enjoy your Bible. We print our monthly magazine, the Berean Searchlight, and our literature, and we have this television program all for this purpose.

At the request of a dear friend from Idaho, I produced a timeline chart of Paul’s life and ministry and the Book of Acts. This, too, was created for the purpose of helping others understand and enjoy their Bible.

It is a chart detailing when the important events took place in Acts, the dates and locations of Paul’s travels, and when and where Paul’s letters were written.
In this episode, we’ll examine this chart together.

Galatians 1:15-24 reads, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

“Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

“But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

“Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.”

As we begin to look at the chart, you will notice on the bottom left-hand corner the notation that “*All dates are approximate.” How’s that for being dogmatic!

I believe there needs to be grace with the dates and I am not inflexible with them. However, I do believe these dates to be accurate within a range of 1 to 3 years.

The main purpose of the dates is to show the chronological order and flow of the events in Paul’s life. And it can be helpful to see approximately when the various events of Paul’s ministry took place and how far apart one event is from another.

The top half of the chart deals with the main events of Paul’s ministry. Corresponding with its tan color on the back of the chart is a short synopsis of Paul’s ministry.

This section reads: On the road to Damascus, God saved the chief of sinners, Saul of Tarsus. The Lord Jesus Christ waited until Saul was in Gentile territory, in Syria, before He intercepted him. The reason was that Saul was to be the Apostle Paul, “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13).

Paul’s conversion marked the beginning of the unfolding of “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25).

After Paul was saved, the Lord told Ananias that “he [Paul] is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16).

Paul’s ministry reflects this verse in the Book of Acts. The fact that the Lord mentioned the Gentiles first and “the children of Israel” last is significant, because it teaches that, following the stoning of Stephen, Israel had fallen out of favor with God.

Thus, God saved Paul by His grace, revealed to him the dispensation of grace and sent him to proclaim it to the Gentiles (Eph. 3:1-2).

As this section shows, the chart was also created to be a tool to help others see and understand Paul’s unique calling as the one apostle under grace to whom Christ revealed the truths of grace for the Church in this current dispensation.

The inside middle of the chart has pictures in the order that Paul initially visited these locations in his ministry. They don’t necessarily follow the dates above and below them, but are just there to show the places where Paul ministered.

They also show that they are real locations where Paul traveled, because everything the Bible says is true and accurate.

Below the pictures are the books that Paul wrote in the order he wrote them with the approximate dates when Paul authored them.

Correspondingly in the middle back of the chart in the white section is an explanation of the order that Paul penned his epistles.

On the bottom of the chart, are added details about Paul’s ministry, important events, and the primary locations of his apostolic journeys.

Finally, on the very bottom of the chart is the important three-fold declaration of Paul found in the Book of Acts in Acts 13:46; 18:6; and 28:28, stating that he was turning away from the Jews to the Gentiles.

And corresponding with this is an explanation of those three-fold pronouncements and their importance on the bottom of the back side of the chart in the blue section.

As you look at the chart, you will notice that there are 11 years between Paul’s conversion in AD 35 and AD 46 when he and Barnabas were separated out by the Holy Spirit for the first apostolic journey.

When you look at the first and last date of the chart you’ll find that Paul’s ministry was approximately 33 years long. So that 11-year period is one-third of Paul’s ministry!

From 35-39 AD, Paul ministered in Damascus following his conversion, he visited Arabia for a time, and then returned to Damascus. In total, this was a 3-year period.

Personally, I don’t believe Paul spent three years in Arabia receiving the revelation of the mystery from the risen, exalted Lord. We are not told by Paul in Scripture how long he spent in Arabia.

Paul simply wrote, “I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem…” (Gal. 1:17-18). I believe the majority of those three years were spent by Paul ministering in Damascus.

Like Moses received the law from the Lord over a period of 40 days and 40 nights (Ex. 34:27-28), and like the twelve apostles were taught by the Lord following His resurrection for 40 days “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,” it’s possible that, likewise, Paul received the revelation of grace from the Lord over this same time period in Arabia.

Following his time in Damascus, Arabia, and then back in Damascus, Galatians 1:18 reads, “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.”

Three years after his conversion, Paul went up to Jerusalem for the first time. There and then Paul met with Peter for about 2 weeks, and Paul points out also “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Gal. 1:19).

From Jerusalem, Acts 9:30 tells us that “they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.” Paul went to Tarsus in Cilicia and had about a 5-6 year ministry there. And we can be sure that Saul “of Tarsus” tried to reach his family for Christ during this time. And there’s a hint in Acts that he may have reached some of them.

In Acts 23, after Paul was placed in Roman custody in Jerusalem following a riot, a plot was made where “certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy’ (23:12-13).

But a family member of Paul’s was in Jerusalem and uncovered the plot and helped Paul.

Acts 23:16 reads, “And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.” Paul’s nephew was concerned about his Uncle Paul and shared what he heard that he might save his life. So Paul may have reached this nephew and perhaps his sister with the gospel during his time in Tarsus.

Prior to his first apostolic journey, Paul carried out an extensive ministry among the Gentiles during his first 11 years as he preached Christ in Damascus in Syria, Tarsus in Cilicia, and other places in the regions of Syria and Cilicia (Gal. 1:21).

As Paul set out on his second apostolic journey, Luke records how “he [Paul] went through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches” (Acts 15:41). During Paul’s first apostolic journey, he never traveled to these regions.

Instead, on that journey he and Barnabas went straight west to the island of Cyprus and then north to Pamphylia and then into the region of southern Galatia, and they then backtracked nearly the same way back to Antioch in Syria where they began their journey.

The only time Paul could have founded Gentile assemblies in Syria and Cilicia was during his 3 years in Damascus in Syria and 5-6 year ministry in and around Tarsus in Cilicia.

Paul’s ministry in Tarsus ended when Barnabas had come to Tarsus to find Saul and brought him to Antioch in Syria. And Acts 11:26 tells, “And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people.”

And so in AD 45, Paul went to Antioch and taught there for a year. At the end of the year, a great famine hit the world and relief was sent to the brethren in Judea and Jerusalem.

The disciples at the Antioch church sent this relief of funds and resources through Barnabas and Saul, and this resulted in Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem. Following this, Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch from Jerusalem with John Mark.

And in Acts 13 is when we Saul and Barnabas were separated out by the Holy Spirit and the church at Antioch sent them on Paul’s first apostolic journey. Paul first journey was about 2 years long.

Again, it took him to the island of Cyprus, then up to the region of southern Galatia, where he visited Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe and established churches there.

Paul faced persecution at this time from the Jews who stirred up the people in opposition against Paul and his message of grace.

One of my favorite accounts in Acts is of Paul’s time in Lystra. After Paul had healed a man crippled from birth, who had never walked, the people of Lystra declared Paul and Silas to be gods and were going to offer oxen as sacrifices to them in their excitement.

But Paul cried out them, “Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” (14:15).

Following this, unbelieving Jews from the places where Paul had just ministered, “Antioch and Iconium” came and incited the people against Paul, so much so that they stoned Paul.

These rocks were thrown by the same people who wanted to worship him as gods shortly before! Whether or not Paul died is difficult to tell, but the part that is amazing, is that after stoning him and dragging him out of the city for dead, Acts 14:20 reads,

“Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city” (14:20). He didn’t flee from the city that stoned him, instead he stood up and went right back into the city! Talk about grit! He was only going to leave Lystra on his own terms.

Philippians 4:9 teaches, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” These kinds of examples we see in Paul’s life and ministry teaches us to do the same. We need to have Paul’s kind of grit and determination for Christ in our lives and ministries.

At the end of his first apostolic journey, Paul returned to Antioch, his sending church. And after returning, the question of circumcision and salvation of the Gentiles led to the council in Jerusalem around 49 AD.

Galatians 2:1: “Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.”

One item I heavily debated in the making of this chart is the 14 years mentioned by Paul in Galatians 2:1. In a lot of ways, this verse provides the timing for Paul’s ministry.

I believe Paul was basing these 14 years from a single point: his conversion. The overall point of Paul’s timeline of events in Galatians 1:15-2:1 is to show that he did not receive his gospel “of man, neither was I taught it” (Gal. 1:12).

And that after he was saved, “immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me” (Gal. 1:16-17).

Paul’s point wasn’t to describe how long it was between trips to Jerusalem, but to show the separation he had from the Twelve as he received revelations from the Lord since HIS CONVERSION.

For 14 years, Paul had little to no contact with the Twelve in Jerusalem, which Paul wrote to prove that they did not teach him his gospel, but that instead he received it “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12).

If one adds up the years covered in this passage, the total shouldn’t include only Galatians 1:18, “AFTER three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter,” and then skip ahead to the 14 years of Galatians 2:1 and say it had been 17 years total.

To be consistent, the time frame should also include the “AFTERWARDS I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia” (Gal. 1:21), where he spent approximately 6 years.

Then comes Galatians 2:1: “Then fourteen years AFTER I went up again to Jerusalem.” Stacking and adding all the years together, it equals around 23 years.

If we place these years in the timeline of Paul’s ministry and have his third visit to Jerusalem in approximately AD 58, 23 years after his conversion, it becomes impossible to fit everything in.

Therefore, my conclusion regarding Galatians 2:1 is that the 3 years and 6 years are included within the 14 years and the 14 years was the amount of time since his conversion on the Damascus Road, “WHEN it pleased God…and [He] called me by His grace, To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen…” (Gal. 1:15-16).

Galatians 1:6: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.”

The order of Paul’s letters is heavily debated, but I believe Galatians is the first epistle Paul penned. Paul addressed this letter “unto the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2).

He does not identify these churches, but we know they were churches where Paul had personally ministered.

Galatians 4:13-15 describes how Paul preached the gospel of grace unto them “through infirmity of the flesh” and how they received him “as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus” and that they would have plucked out their own eyes, and have given them to Paul.

The Book of Acts only mentions four Galatian cities that Paul visited: Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Churches in each of these cities were established by Paul during his first apostolic journey (Acts 14:21-23). All these cities were in southern Galatia.

Paul visited Galatia in all three of his apostolic journeys.

However, none of the locations or churches in the rest of the province are identified when Paul traveled in the north and “throughout…the region of Galatia” says Acts 16:6 during his second apostolic journey, nor when he “went over all the country of Galatia… strengthening all the disciples” says Acts 18:23 during his third apostolic journey.

And it mentions only disciples, not churches as Paul traveled all over the rest of Galatia.

For these reasons, I believe Paul wrote to the churches named in Acts in southern Galatia after his first apostolic journey: Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

After returning from this journey, Paul marveled that they were “SO SOON removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (Gal. 1:6). All this makes Galatians the first letter written by Paul.

Following his separation from Barnabas when they could not agree about taking John Mark, in AD 49, Paul set out on his second apostolic journey with Silas and traveled by land through Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, up to Troas, then across into Europe following the vision of the man from Macedonia pleading with Paul to come over and help us.

Paul then went to Macedonia and Achaia, and visited Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.

1 & 2 Thessalonians were written from Corinth where Paul resided for a year and a half after Paul had recently established the Thessalonian church.

From Corinth, Paul went to Ephesus in Asia Minor on his return to Antioch in Syria, completing his 3-year journey.

In AD 53, Paul set out again on his third apostolic journey. He traveled through Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, then across to Ephesus.

And 1 Corinthians was penned at Ephesus during Paul’s two-year stay there. 2 Corinthians was written after Paul left Ephesus and traveled to Macedonia. Going through Macedonia, Paul went to Corinth in Greece. And Romans was the fruit of this stay by Paul in Corinth.

After returning from this journey, in Acts 21, around AD 57, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem following a riot which started after he was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. For his protection, Paul was transferred to Caesarea where he remained a prisoner for two years.

During this time, he stood before the Roman governors Felix and Festus, as well as King Herod Agrippa II.

Before Festus, Paul had exercised his right as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar and thus, in AD 60, Paul was taken to Rome where he was incarcerated in a rented house.

Paul’s next four epistles were written during this two-year imprisonment in Rome. Here Paul wrote what are often called “the prison epistles”: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. In each of these letters, Paul wrote of his “bonds.”

Paul’s last 3 epistles were written after the Acts period. Following Paul’s release from prison around AD 63, he did apostolic work on Crete and wrote 1 Timothy and Titus.

However, Paul was again arrested and imprisoned in Rome in AD 67, where he wrote the letter of 2 Timothy in anticipation of his impending death.

To summarize, during the Book of Acts, Paul wrote six letters: 1) Galatians—after Acts 14. 2) 1 Thessalonians in Acts 18. 3) 2 Thessalonians in Acts 18. 4) 1 Corinthians in Acts 19. 5) 2 Corinthians in Acts 20. 6) Romans in Acts 20.

During the two years of his first Roman imprisonment, he Paul wrote four letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Then after the Acts period and after his release, he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, and finally his last letter during his final imprisonment in Rome: 2 Timothy.

Titus 1:5: “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.”

As you can see in the “AD 63-67 Release and Further Work” section of the chart, I believe Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment. We can believe this for a couple reasons.

First, Paul wrote Titus and reminded him about how he had left him in Crete to set things in order and to ordain elders in the churches in every city where they had been established.

Other than briefly stopping by Crete in a ship on his way to Rome as a prisoner, there is no other time Paul visited Crete. These churches could have only been established after Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment.

Second, during his second Roman imprisonment, Paul asked of Timothy, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee…” (2 Tim. 4:13).

My own chart helped me with this proof of Paul’s release. I wondered how long it had been since Paul had been to Troas when he wrote this to Timothy in AD 67.

And looking at the chart you can see that it had been at least 10 years in AD 57 during his third apostolic journey. Now I don’t know about you, but it would be hard to remember that you left a coat anywhere a decade ago.

Paul telling Timothy to bring that coat that he left at Troas tells us that the apostle had lately visited Troas on the coast of Asia Minor and had left it there. This only could have happened if Paul had been set at liberty to do so.

Acts 28:28: “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”

Along the inside bottom of the chart, you can see Acts 13:46, 18:6, and 28:28, and the threefold pronouncement by Paul, telling the Jews that he was turning to the Gentiles and that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles.

This is significant, because it demonstrated how God was changing His dealings with mankind. The Book of Acts is about the fall, diminishing, and temporary setting aside of Israel.

And as Paul wrote in Romans, during the Acts period, “through their [Israel’s] fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:11).

Paul’s threefold declaration about turning to the Gentiles reveals how God was making the transition away from His program with Israel under the law to a new program with the Gentiles and the Church, the Body of Christ under grace.

Thus, when you read the Book of Acts, you see how it starts with Israel, but it ends with the Gentiles. It starts with Peter, but it ends with Paul.

It begins with a message in which Peter called on Israel to “Repent, and be baptized…for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

But it ends with Paul taking the good news to the nations, a message Paul “received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

And the gospel of the grace of God is a message of faith alone in Christ, giving all who believe an assurance of eternity in heaven.