Dating the book of Acts

The book of Acts covers a period of about thirty years, from Jesus’s ascension to Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome.[1] Over this 30-something year period, we get a good view of the “praxis” of the church. Many today seem to have forgotten what the church “looked like.” The book of Acts should remind us.

The period covered is approximately AD 30-32 to AD 62. Some historical dates associated with Acts are:

            1. The crucifixion:                                                      circa AD 32

2. Herod’s death:                                                        AD 44 (12:43)

3. Gallio as deputy of Achaia                                     AD 52-53 (18:12-17)

4. Festus’s appointment as Governor:                        AD 59 (24:27)

The time when Acts was written is between AD 62 and AD 66.[2] Luke wrote it after (i.e., later than) he wrote the Gospel. This is the “sequel.” The two treatises of Luke, taken together, make up about one-fourth of the New Testament. Luke is writing after Paul’s imprisonment in Rome and before his death. Luke was with Paul near the time of his death. Surely he would have mentioned it if it occurred before he wrote Acts.

Luke “sets his narrative in the framework of contemporary history; his pages are full of references to city magistrates, provincial governors, client kings, and the like, and these references time after time prove to be just right for the place and time in question.”[3] This is much to the chagrin of Bible deniers, but exactly what Bible believers expect.

Interesting note: though perhaps of no major significance, the period of time covered in the book of Acts and the length of ministry of the Apostle Paul are approximately the same, with the history of Acts beginning two or three years before Paul’s conversion and the history of Acts closing three or four years before Paul’s martyrdom.

---

[1] Luke and Acts as a unit covers events from the announcement at Jerusalem of the birth of John the Baptist to the arrival of the apostle Paul in Rome – from the central city of God’s chosen people to the central city of the known world. 

[2] Darrell Bock says it can be “no earlier than AD 62” because of Paul’s imprisonment. Acts, p. 25. Significantly, Luke does not record the death of Paul (circa AD 64-66) or the destruction of Jerusalem (circa AD 70). The abrupt ending and date of the book are linked, indicating it was written shortly after the conclusion of the last events mentioned. See “The Acts of the Apostles,” George E. Ladd, in Wycliffe Commentary, p. 1123. 

[3] “The Book of Acts,” F. F. Bruce, New Bible Dictionary, p. 11.