The title now given to the fifth and last of the historical books of the New Testament. The author styles it a "treatise" #Ac 1:1 It was early called "The Acts," "The Gospel of the Holy Ghost," and "The Gospel of the Resurrection."

It contains properly no account of any of the apostles except Peter and Paul. John is noticed only three times; and all that is recorded of James, the son of Zebedee, is his execution by Herod. It is properly therefore not the history of the "Acts of the Apostles," a title which was given to the book at a later date, but of "Acts of Apostles," or more correctly, of "Some Acts of Certain Apostles."

As regards its authorship, it was certainly the work of Luke, the "beloved physician" (comp.) #Lu 1:1-4 Ac 1:1 This is the uniform tradition of antiquity, although the writer nowhere makes mention of himself by name. The style and idiom of the Gospel of Luke and of the Acts, and the usage of words and phrases common to both, strengthen this opinion. The writer first appears in the narrative in #Ac 16:11 and then disappears till Paul’s return to Philippi two years afterwards, when he and Paul left that place together #Ac 20:6 and the two seem henceforth to have been constant companions to the end. He was certainly with Paul at Rome #Col 4:14 Ac 28:1-16 Thus he wrote a great portion of that history from personal observation. For what lay beyond his own experience he had the instruction of Paul. If, as is very probable, 2 Tim. was written during Paul’s second imprisonment at Rome, Luke was with him then as his faithful companion to the last #2Ti 4:11 Of his subsequent history we have no certain information. The design of Luke’s Gospel was to give an exhibition of the character and work of Christ as seen in his history till he was taken up from his disciples into heaven; and of the Acts, as its sequel, to give an illustration of the power and working of the gospel when preached among all nations, "beginning at Jerusalem."

The opening sentences of the Acts are just an expansion and an explanation of the closing words of the Gospel. In this book we have just a continuation of the history of the church after Christ’s ascension. Luke here carries on the history in the same spirit in which he had commenced it. It is only a book of beginnings, a history of the founding of churches, the initial steps in the formation of the Christian society in the different places visited by the apostles. It records a cycle of "representative events." All through the narrative we see the ever-present, all-controlling power of the ever-living Saviour.   He worketh all and in all in spreading abroad his truth among men by his Spirit and through the instrumentality of his apostles.

The time of the writing of this history may be gathered from the fact that the narrative extends down to the close of the second year of Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome. It could not therefore have been written earlier than A.D. 61 or 62 nor later than about the end of A.D. 63 Paul was probably put to death during his second imprisonment, about A.D. 64 or, as some think, 66 The place where the book was written was probably Rome, to which Luke accompanied Paul. The key to the contents of the book is in #Ac 1:8 "Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." After referring to what had been recorded in a "former treatise" of the sayings and doings of Jesus Christ before his ascension, the author proceeds to give an account of the circumstances connected with that event, and then records the leading facts with reference to the spread and triumphs of Christianity over the world during a period of about thirty years. The record begins with Pentecost (A.D. 33) and ends with Paul’s first imprisonment (A.D. 63 or 64) The whole contents of the book may be divided into these three parts:

1. Chaps. 1-12 describing the first twelve years of the Christian church. This section has been entitled "From Jerusalem to Antioch." It contains the history of the planting and extension of the church among the Jews by the ministry of Peter.

2. Chaps. 13-21 Paul’s missionary journeys, giving the history of the extension and planting of the church among the Gentiles.

3. Chaps. 21-28 Paul at Rome, and the events which led to this. Chaps. 13-28 have been entitled "From Antioch to Rome." In this book it is worthy of note that no mention is made of the writing by Paul of any of his epistles. This may be accounted for by the fact that the writer confined himself to a history of the planting of the church, and not to that of its training or edification. The relation, however, between this history and the epistles of Paul is of such a kind, i.e., brings to light so many undesigned coincidences, as to prove the genuineness and authenticity of both, as is so ably shown by Paley in his _Horae Paulinae_. "No ancient work affords so many tests of veracity; for no other has such numerous points of contact in all directions with contemporary history, politics, and topography, whether Jewish, or Greek, or Roman." Lightfoot.

= Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name.

He was a native of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, a Roman province in the south-east of Asia Minor. That city stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, which was navigable thus far; hence it became a centre of extensive commercial traffic with many countries along the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as with the countries of central Asia Minor. It thus became a city distinguished for the wealth of its inhabitants.  Tarsus was also the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria, the only others that then existed. Here Saul was born, and here he spent his youth, doubtless enjoying the best education his native city could afford.

His father was of the straitest sect of the Jews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin, of pure and unmixed Jewish blood #Ac 23:6 Php 3:5 We learn nothing regarding his mother; but there is reason to conclude that she was a pious woman, and that, like-minded with her husband, she exercised all a mother influence in moulding the character of her son, so that he could afterwards speak of himself as being, from his youth up, "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" #Php 3:6 We read of his sister and his sister’s son #Ac 23:16 and of other relatives #Ro 16:7,11,12

Though a Jew, his father was a Roman citizen. How he obtained this privilege we are not informed. "It might be bought, or won by distinguished service to the state, or acquired in several other ways; at all events, his son was freeborn. It was a valuable privilege, and one that was to prove of great use to Paul, although not in the way in which his father might have been expected to desire him to make use of it." Perhaps the most natural career for the youth to follow was that of a merchant. "But it was decided that...he should go to college and become a rabbi, that is, a minister, a teacher, and a lawyer all in one."

According to Jewish custom, however, he learned a trade before entering on the more direct preparation for the sacred profession. The trade he acquired was the making of tents from goats’ hair cloth, a trade which was one of the commonest in Tarsus.   His preliminary education having been completed, Saul was sent, when about thirteen years of age probably, to the great Jewish school of sacred learning at Jerusalem as a student of the law. Here he became a pupil of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel, and here he spent many years in an elaborate study of the Scriptures and of the many questions concerning them with which the rabbis exercised themselves.

During these years of diligent study he lived "in all good conscience," unstained by the vices of that great city. After the period of his student-life expired, he probably left Jerusalem for Tarsus, where he may have been engaged in connection with some synagogue for some years. But we find him back again at Jerusalem very soon after the death of our Lord. Here he now learned the particulars regarding the crucifixion, and the rise of the new sect of the "Nazarenes."

For some two years after Pentecost, Christianity was quietly spreading its influence in Jerusalem. At length Stephen, one of the seven deacons, gave forth more public and aggressive testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, and this led to much excitement among the Jews and much disputation in their synagogues. Persecution arose against Stephen and the followers of Christ generally, in which Saul of Tarsus took a prominent part. He was at this time probably a member of the great Sanhedrin, and became the active leader in the furious persecution by which the rulers then sought to exterminate Christianity. But the object of this persecution also failed. "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." The anger of the persecutor was thereby kindled into a fiercer flame.

Hearing that fugitives had taken refuge in Damascus, he obtained from the chief priest letters authorizing him to proceed thither on his persecuting career. This was a long journey of about 130 miles, which would occupy perhaps six days, during which, with his few attendants, he steadily went onward, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." But the crisis of his life was at hand. He had reached the last stage of his journey, and was within sight of Damascus. As he and his companions rode on, suddenly at mid-day a brilliant light shone round them, and Saul was laid prostrate in terror on the ground, a voice sounding in his ears, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" The risen Saviour was there, clothed in the vesture of his glorified humanity. In answer to the anxious inquiry of the stricken persecutor, "Who art thou, Lord?" he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" #Ac 9:5 22:8 26:15 This was the moment of his conversion, the most solemn in all his life.

Blinded by the dazzling light #Ac 9:8 his companions led him into the city, where, absorbed in deep thought for three days, he neither ate nor drank #Ac 9:11 Ananias, a disciple living in Damascus, was informed by a vision of the change that had happened to Saul, and was sent to him to open his eyes and admit him by baptism into the Christian church #Ac 9:11-16

The whole purpose of his life was now permanently changed. Immediately after his conversion he retired into the solitudes of Arabia #Ga 1:17 perhaps of "Sinai in Arabia," for the purpose, probably, of devout study and meditation on the marvellous revelation that had been made to him. "A veil of thick darkness hangs over this visit to Arabia. Of the scenes among which he moved, of the thoughts and occupations which engaged him while there, of all the circumstances of a crisis which must have shaped the whole tenor of his after-life, absolutely nothing is known. ‘Immediately,’ says St. Paul, ‘I went away into Arabia.’   The historian passes over the incident [comp. #Ac 9:23 1Ki 11:38,39 It is a mysterious pause, a moment of suspense, in the apostle’s history, a breathless calm, which ushers in the tumultuous storm of his active missionary life."

Coming back, after three years, to Damascus, he began to preach the gospel "boldly in the name of Jesus" #Ac 9:27 but was soon obliged to flee #Ac 9:25 2Co 11:33 from the Jews and betake himself to Jerusalem. Here he tarried for three weeks, but was again forced to flee #Ac 9:28,29 from persecution.   He now returned to his native Tarsus #Ga 1:21 where, for probably about three years, we lose sight of him.  The time had not yet come for his entering on his great life-work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.

At length the city of Antioch, the capital of Syria, became the scene of great Christian activity. There the gospel gained a firm footing, and the cause of Christ prospered. Barnabas (q.v.), who had been sent from Jerusalem to superintend the work at Antioch, found it too much for him, and remembering Saul, he set out to Tarsus to seek for him. He readily responded to the call thus addressed to him, and came down to Antioch, which for "a whole year" became the scene of his labours, which were crowned with great success.

The disciples now, for the first time, were called "Christians" #Ac 11:26 The church at Antioch now proposed to send out missionaries to the Gentiles, and Saul and Barnabas, with John Mark as their attendant, were chosen for this work. This was a great epoch in the history of the church. Now the disciples began to give effect to the Master’s command: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

The three missionaries went forth on the first missionary tour. They sailed from Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, across to Cyprus, some 80 miles to the south-west. Here at Paphos, Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, was converted, and now Saul took the lead, and was ever afterwards called Paul.

The missionaries now crossed to the mainland, and then proceeded 6 or 7 miles up the river Cestrus to Perga #Ac 13:13 where John Mark deserted the work and returned to Jerusalem. The two then proceeded about 100 miles inland, passing through Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The towns mentioned in this tour are the Pisidian Antioch, where Paul delivered his first address of which we have any record #Ac 13:16-51 comp. #Ac 10:30-43 Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

They returned by the same route to see and encourage the converts they had made, and ordain elders in every city to watch over the churches which had been gathered. From Perga they sailed direct for Antioch, from which they had set out. After remaining "a long time," probably till A.D. 50 or 51 in Antioch, a great controversy broke out in the church there regarding the relation of the Gentiles to the Mosaic law.

For the purpose of obtaining a settlement of this question, Paul and Barnabas were sent as deputies to consult the church at Jerusalem. The council or synod which was there held #Ac 15:1ff. decided against the Judaizing party; and the deputies, accompanied by Judas and Silas, returned to Antioch, bringing with them the decree of the council.

After a short rest at Antioch, Paul said to Barnabas: "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do." Mark proposed again to accompany them; but Paul refused to allow him to go. Barnabas was resolved to take Mark, and thus he and Paul had a sharp contention. They separated, and never again met. Paul, however, afterwards speaks with honour of Barnabas, and sends for Mark to come to him at Rome #Col 4:10 2Ti 4:11

Paul took with him Silas, instead of Barnabas, and began his second missionary journey about A.D. 51 This time he went by land, revisiting the churches he had already founded in Asia. But he longed to enter into "regions beyond," and still went forward through Phrygia and Galatia #Ac 16:6 Contrary to his intention, he was constrained to linger in Galatia (q.v.), on account of some bodily affliction #Ga 4:13,14 Bithynia, a populous province on the shore of the Black Sea, lay now before him, and he wished to enter it; but the way was shut, the Spirit in some manner guiding him in another direction, till he came down to the shores of the Ægean and arrived at Troas, on the north-western coast of Asia Minor #Ac 16:8 Of this long journey from Antioch to Troas we have no account except some references to it in his Epistle to the Galatians #Ga 4:13

As he waited at Troas for indications of the will of God as to his future movements, he saw, in the vision of the night, a man from the opposite shores of Macedonia standing before him, and heard him cry, "Come over, and help us" #Ac 16:9 Paul recognized in this vision a message from the Lord, and the very next day set sail across the Hellespont, which separated him from Europe, and carried the tidings of the gospel into the Western world. In Macedonia, churches were planted in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.

Leaving this province, Paul passed into Achaia, "the paradise of genius and renown." He reached Athens, but quitted it after, probably, a brief sojourn #Ac 17:17-31 The Athenians had received him with cold disdain, and he never visited that city again. He passed over to Corinth, the seat of the Roman government of Achaia, and remained there a year and a half, labouring with much success. While at Corinth, he wrote his two epistles to the church of Thessalonica, his earliest apostolic letters, and then sailed for Syria, that he might be in time to keep the feast of Pentecost at Jerusalem.

He was accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left at Ephesus, at which he touched, after a voyage of thirteen or fifteen days. He landed at Caesarea, and went up to Jerusalem, and having "saluted the church" there, and kept the feast, he left for Antioch, where he abode "some time" #Ac 18:20-23

He then began his third missionary tour. He journeyed by land in the "upper coasts" (the more eastern parts) of Asia Minor, and at length made his way to Ephesus, where he tarried for no less than three years, engaged in ceaseless Christian labour. "This city was at the time the Liverpool of the Mediterranean. It possessed a splendid harbour, in which was concentrated the traffic of the sea which was then the highway of the nations; and as Liverpool has behind her the great towns of Lancashire, so had Ephesus behind and around her such cities as those mentioned along with her in the epistles to the churches in the book of Revelation, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It was a city of vast wealth, and it was given over to every kind of pleasure, the fame of its theatres and race-course being world-wide" (Stalker’s Life of St. Paul). Here a "great door and effectual" was opened to the apostle. His fellow-labourers aided him in his work, carrying the gospel to Colosse and Laodicea and other places which they could reach.

Very shortly before his departure from Ephesus, the apostle wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians (q.v.). The silversmiths, whose traffic in the little images which they made was in danger organized a riot against Paul, and he left the city, and proceeded to Troas #2Co 2:12 whence after some time he went to meet Titus in Macedonia. Here, in consequence of the report Titus brought from Corinth, he wrote his second epistle to that church.

Having spent probably most of the summer and autumn in Macedonia, visiting the churches there, specially the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, probably penetrating into the interior, to the shores of the Adriatic #Ro 15:19 he then came into Greece, where he abode three month, spending probably the greater part of this time in Corinth #Ac 20:2 During his stay in this city he wrote his Epistle to the Galatians, and also the great Epistle to the Romans.

At the end of the three months he left Achaia for Macedonia, thence crossed into Asia Minor, and touching at Miletus, there addressed the Ephesian presbyters, whom he had sent for to meet him #Ac 20:17 and then sailed for Tyre, finally reaching Jerusalem, probably in the spring of A.D. 58 While at Jerusalem, at the feast of Pentecost, he was almost murdered by a Jewish mob in the temple. 

Rescued from their violence by the Roman commandant, he was conveyed as a prisoner to Caesarea, where, from various causes, he was detained a prisoner for two years in Herod’s praetorium #Ac 23:35 "Paul was not kept in close confinement; he had at least the range of the barracks in which he was detained. There we can imagine him pacing the ramparts on the edge of the Mediterranean, and gazing wistfully across the blue waters in the direction of Macedonia, Achaia, and Ephesus, where his spiritual children were pining for him, or perhaps encountering dangers in which they sorely needed his presence. It was a mysterious providence which thus arrested his energies and condemned the ardent worker to inactivity; yet we can now see the reason for it. Paul was needing rest.

After twenty years of incessant evangelization, he required leisure to garner the harvest of experience...During these two years he wrote nothing; it was a time of internal mental activity and silent progress" (Stalker’s Life of St. Paul). At the end of these two years Felix (q.v.) was succeeded in the governorship of Palestine by Porcius Festus, before whom the apostle was again heard. But judging it right at this crisis to claim the privilege of a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor #Ac 25:11 Such an appeal could not be disregarded, and Paul was at once sent on to Rome under the charge of one Julius, a centurion of the "Augustan cohort."

After a long and perilous voyage, he at length reached the imperial city in the early spring, probably, of A.D. 61 Here he was permitted to occupy his own hired house, under constant military custody. This privilege was accorded to him, no doubt, because he was a Roman citizen, and as such could not be put into prison without a trial. The soldiers who kept guard over Paul were of course changed at frequent intervals, and thus he had the opportunity of preaching the gospel to many of them during these "two whole years," and with the blessed result of spreading among the imperial guards, and even in Caesar’s household, an interest in the truth #Php 1:13 His rooms were resorted to by many anxious inquirers, both Jews and Gentiles #Ac 28:23,30,31 and thus his imprisonment "turned rather to the furtherance of the gospel," and his "hired house" became the centre of a gracious influence which spread over the whole city.

According to a Jewish tradition, it was situated on the borders of the modern Ghetto, which has been the Jewish quarters in Rome from the time of Pompey to the present day. During this period the apostle wrote his epistles to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and to Philemon, and probably also to the Hebrews.

This first imprisonment came at length to a close, Paul having been acquitted, probably because no witnesses appeared against him. Once more he set out on his missionary labors, probably visiting western and eastern Europe and Asia Minor. During this period of freedom he wrote his First Epistle to Timothy and his Epistle to Titus. The year of his release was signalized by the burning of Rome, which Nero saw fit to attribute to the Christians.

A fierce persecution now broke out against the Christians. Paul was sized, and once more conveyed to Rome a prisoner. During this imprisonment he probably wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy, the last he ever wrote. "There can be little doubt that he appeared again at Nero’s bar, and this time the charge did not break down. In all history there is not a more startling illustration of the irony of human life than this scene of Paul at the bar of Nero. On the judgment-seat, clad in the imperial purple, sat a man who, in a bad world, had attained the eminence of being the very worst and meanest being in it, a man stained with every crime, a man whose whole being was so steeped in every nameable and un nameable vice, that body and soul of him were, as some one said at the time, nothing but a compound of mud and blood; and in the prisoner’s dock stood the best man the world possessed, his hair whitened with labors for the good of men and the glory of God.

The trial ended: Paul was condemned, and delivered over to the executioner. He was led out of the city, with a crowd of the lowest rabble at his heels. The fatal spot was reached; he knelt beside the block; the headsman’s axe gleamed in the sun and fell; and the head of the apostle of the world rolled down in the dust" (probably A.D. 66) four years before the fall of Jerusalem.

Contents:
     Geography and History
     Coastal Cities
     Cities of the Interior
     Cities of Eastern Asia Minor

ASIA MINOR, CITIES OF 
The cities located on the Anatolian peninsula (modern-day Turkey). Cities of Asia Minor important to the New Testament accounts included Alexandria Troas, Assos, Ephesus, Miletus, Patara, Smyrna, Pergamum, Sardis, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, Attalia, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and Tarsus. The cities figured prominently in the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys, several of the churches receiving epistles. Among the list are the "Seven Cities" of the Revelation.

Geography and History

The geography of Asia Minor greatly influenced the development of settlements in the area. The region can be described as the point where "East meets West," linking the continent of Europe with the Near East. The peninsula is a high plateau surrounded by steep mountain ranges. The mountains isolate Asia Minor from much of the outside world. Narrow passes through the mountains connect the interior with the Near East. Deep ravines cut by numerous and often navigable rivers linked the cities of the plateau with the western coastline. Cities developed in locales vital to trade and commerce, such as near the mouths of rivers and mountain passes.

The history of Asia Minor reflects the region’s unstable position between the east and west. The Hittite Empire thrived in the eastern portion of the peninsula during the second millennium B.C. (before 1000). Exposed on the west to the Aegean Sea, the coastal area became the home to numerous Greek colonies beginning after 1200 B.C. Centered in Sardis, the Lydian Empire began to expand about 600 B.C., but the Persians soon conquered the area. Control passed to Alexander the Great during the fourth century, and upon his death Asia Minor fell under the rule of the Seluccids.

Beginning about 200 B.C. Roman control of the peninsula increased until all of Anatolia was absorbed into the Roman provincial system. At this time, "Asia" designated the provinces of only western Anatolia. Galatia, Cappadocia, and Cilicia comprised the eastern provinces, while Bithynia and Pontus bordered the Black Sea to the north. The Anatolian peninsula was probably first termed "Asia Minor" during the fifth century A.D.

Coastal Cities

The name Troas described both the northwest region of Asia Minor as well as the port city.   Located 10 miles south of the site of ancient Troy, Alexandria Troas was founded as a Roman colony during the period of Augustus and served as a primary port for trade passing between Asia Minor and Macedonia. Remains of the ruined city wall and a bath complex of the second century A.D. are still visible. As with many ancient ports, the once busy harbor silted up and became unusable. Paul set sail from Troas to Greece in response to his vision of the "Macedonian man" (Acts 16:8). On his third journey, Paul’s companions embarked on a ship sailing toward the port of Assos, 20 miles south (Acts 20:13-14). A bustling port city surrounded by a wall dating to the fourth century B.C., Assos’ temple of Athena sat high on the acropolis overlooking the harbor. At Assos, Paul joined the ship carrying Luke and several others after journeying on foot from Troas.

Ephesus served as the primary trading center of all Asia Minor. The large port facility provided ample anchorage for ships carrying goods east from Greece and Italy, as well as for those which took to Rome the wares brought overland from Asia and the Far East. A well-laid road linked the port facilities at Ephesus with Tarsus to the east. The road approached the city from the southeast, entering a monumental gateway near the public baths. Remains of the city’s immense theater, capable of seating 24,000 spectators, stand today as a reminder of the great crowd which, in protest to Paul, filled the seats and for several hours shouted, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:34). The city’s temple honoring Diana was one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Known as the Artemision to the Greeks, the temple possessed 127 pillars, each 60 feet high, which held up the roof of the largest all-marble structure in the Hellenistic world. The city’s harbor, built around the outlet of the Cayster River, gradually filled with silt; and the site now lies some six miles away from the sea. As the chief port and city of Asia, Paul’s choice of Ephesus as a center of ministry provided the perfect base from which the gospel could be spread throughout the Roman world.

During the early period of Greek colonization, Miletus exercised extensive control over southwestern Anatolia. As a major sea power, the city remained independent throughout the time of Lydian rule in the region. The city was able to withstand attempted incursions by the Persians until 494 B.C. Once a wealthy port for the wool industry, Miletus was a city of little significance during the New Testament era (Acts 20:15).

Acts 21 recounts how Paul sailed for Tyre from Patara. The city served as a popular port for ships traveling eastward during the early autumn months when favorable winds made travel to Egypt and the Phoenician coast easier. The harbor sat near the outlet of the Xanthus River and was the main shipping facility of provincial Lydia.

Smyrna surrounded a well protected harbor on the Aegean coast at the outlet of the Hermus River. Extensive trade into and out of Asia passed through the city. During the first century A.D. Smyrna reigned as one of the grandest cities of all Asia. A large temple dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius boasted the close alliance of the city with the Empire. Numerous other temples dedicated to a wide range of Roman deities as well as scores of beautifully adorned public buildings decorated the city.

Cities of the Interior

Located 15 miles inland overlooking the Caicus River, Pergamum contained the first temple in Asia dedicated to a Roman Emperor, Augustus, in 29 B.C. The city possessed a commanding position on a hill high above the valley. Located on the Upper Acropolis were a large theater, library, agora, palace, barracks, and altar of Zeus. The larger altar area may be that referred to by John as the "throne of Satan" (Rev. 2:13). The city was well-known as a center of worship for the gods Asklepios, Zeus, Demeter and Persephone, Serapis, Isis, as well as the cult of the emperor.

The greatest city in Lydia, Sardis is remembered as the first municipality to mint coins of silver and gold. Set in the fertile Hermus valley, Sardis served as the capital of the Lydian king Croesus, a name synonymous with wealth. The city fell to the Persian armies of Cyrus in 549 B.C. and to the Romans in 188 B.C. A tremendous earthquake in A.D. 17 struck Sardis, a blow from which it was never fully able to recover.

Following the Hermus River inland from Sardis one reached Philadelphia, the name commemorating the brotherly love between Attalus Philadelphus and Eumenes. Founded during the second century B.C., the city was set amidst vast vineyards and led in the worship of Dionysius. The terrible earthquake of A.D. 17 was followed by dangerous tremors for the next twenty years, each one debilitating the city further. The apostle John’s reference to the giving of a "new name" (Rev. 3:12) may be a wordplay on the proposed dedication of the city as "Neocaesarea" in honor of aid Tiberius sent. Despite the gains by Islam in Asia Minor in later years, Philadelphia maintained a continued Christian witness across the centuries.

Journeying inland from Miletus, a traveller followed the course of the Meander River until it joined the Lycus. In the center of the valley sat Laodicea. Situated along the major east-west trade route, the city prospered greatly. As the chief city of the wealthy province of Phrygia, Laodicea boasted of a large number of banks. In 51 B.C. Cicero recounted how he stopped to cash drafts at one of the city’s banks. The great wealth of Laodicea allowed it to finance its own rebuilding after a destructive earthquake in A.D. 60, refusing help from the Senate of Rome. The city was also known for clothes and carpets woven from the rich, glossy black wool raised in the valley. Laodicea served as home to a medical school renowned for production of collyrium, an eye salve. Revelation makes mention of the riches of the city, admonishing believers to seek instead spiritual gold of eternal worth, and to anoint their eyes with a spiritual salve. John’s description of "white garments" to cover their nakedness contrasts the Laodicean preference for "home-grown" black wool, a symbol of worldly prosperity (Rev. 3:14-18).

Eleven miles south of Laodicea lay Colossae. The city was well-known as early as the fifth century B.C. as a commercial center, famous for red-dyed wool. The establishment of Laodicea, however, led to the decline of Colossae’s prosperity. Several remains are still visible, including a small theater on the city’s southeast side. The apostle Paul never personally evangelized the city. Instead, the church was established by Epaphras during Paul’s third missionary journey (Col. 1:7; Col. 1:12-13). Paul wrote to the church during his Roman imprisonment, complementing the work of Philemon and his servant Onesimus (Col. 4:9). A church built in the city during the Byzantine era was ultimately destroyed by Seljuk Turks in A.D. 1070, and the city abandoned.

Cities of Eastern Asia Minor

Much of Paul’s Asian ministry centered around the provinces of Galatia and Lycaonia. On his first journey, Paul and Barnabas most likely arrived by sea at Attalia, a relatively small and unimportant harbor. Moving northward from the port and crossing Pamphylia, the group arrived at Antioch in the province of Galatia. Luke’s "

Antioch of Pisidia" carried the title of Colonia Caesarea Antiocheia, a colony established in 25 B.C. upon a much earlier Hellenistic city. Antioch had been renovated by Rome to provide for the defense of Galatia. A temple to Augustus dominated the central plaza, and the official inscription telling of his victories and of achievements was displayed in the city. Wagons bearing Anatolian marble passed through Antioch on their way to ships at Ephesus to be used in the decoration of the Empire.

Moving southeast from Antioch, Paul and his companions traveled to Iconium. Located in a fertile, well-watered plain, Iconium supplied large amounts of fruit and grain for the surrounding provinces. Several years after Paul’s visit, the Emperor Claudius allowed the town to be renamed Claudiconium in his honor, a reminder of the strong ties it shared with Rome.

Lystra lay twenty miles to the south of Iconium along the Via Sebaste. About 6 B.C. Augustus conferred the title of Julia Felix Gemina Lustra upon this Roman colony. Connected by a fine road with Antioch to the west, the city honored Zeus and Hermes as patron gods. A statue dedicated to the two was discovered in the 1800’s, reminiscent of the city’s identification of Paul and Barnabas with the gods (Acts 14). Timothy was a native of Lystra (Acts 16:1). The ruins of the city are today near the small Turkish town of Katyn Serai.

Derbe was situated sixty miles from Lystra at the present-day site of Kerti Huyuk. Although a large city of Lycaonia, Derbe was relatively unimportant. Paul’s decision to visit the city implies a large Jewish population in the region. It is possible that some believers had already advanced the gospel to Derbe, having been earlier expelled from Iconium.

The boyhood home of the apostle Paul, Tarsus of Cilicia lay on the eastern end of the east-west trade route beginning at Ephesus. At Tarsus, merchants had the option of going south into Syria and Palestine, or continuing across the mountains on to Zeugma and the East. The Cydnus River provided Tarsus with an outlet to the Mediterranean Sea, ten miles away. Lumber and linen were the main industries of Tarsus, but the related manufacture of goat’s-hair cloth was practiced by many, including Paul. This skill served as his main source of income wherever he traveled. Tarsus also housed a university and school of philosophy, an academic atmosphere which formed the basis of Paul’s latter rabbinic career.