Acts: Map & Timeline Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων — the early church from Jerusalem to Rome
A student's one-page picture of the book of Acts: the historical drawing of where the gospel went, the timeline of when, and the people, places, and moments a reader must know to follow the story — from the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost to Paul preaching "without hindrance" in Rome.
This page is a companion to the survey of Acts. It gathers the historical scaffolding — geography, chronology, and the cast of characters — into one place, so the narrative is easy to hold in mind. Acts is shaped by a single sentence, the risen Lord's commission in Acts 1:8: the gospel goes out in widening circles, "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Everything below hangs on that movement.
A map and a timeline can make Acts look like the achievement of brave men. It is not. Luke's point is that the ascended Christ is the one moving the gospel outward by his Spirit — adding to the church (Acts 2:47), scattering it through persecution (Acts 8:1), opening hearts (Acts 16:14), and standing by Paul in the night (Acts 23:11). The lines on the drawing trace the footsteps of witnesses; the power behind them is the reigning Lord.
1. The historical drawing
The drawing below is a schematic, not a satellite photo: cities are placed by their rough geographic relationships, west (Rome) on the left and east (Jerusalem) on the right, so the eye can follow the gospel's westward march. The faint dashed arcs are the three zones of Acts 1:8 radiating out from Jerusalem; the broad gold band is the net direction of the whole book; the numbered crimson markers are the moments named in the legend.
2. The Acts 1:8 blueprint
Before the timeline, fix the book's three-part shape in mind. Acts 1:8 is the table of contents; the whole narrative is the unfolding of that one promise, marked off by Luke's recurring "progress reports" that the word of God kept increasing (Acts 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:31).
The ascension, Pentecost, the birth and early life of the church, Peter's preaching, mounting opposition, and Stephen's martyrdom.
Persecution scatters the church; Philip, the Ethiopian, Saul's conversion, Cornelius and the first Gentiles, the church at Antioch, Herod's death.
The Gentile mission with Paul: three journeys, the Jerusalem Council, arrest and trials, and the voyage that brings the gospel to Rome.
3. Timeline of Acts
Dates are approximate and, at the edges, debated. The framework below follows the chronology proposed by Simon Kistemaker in his commentary on Acts — a representative conservative reconstruction, built (in his words) "on the basis of a few fixed dates and a number of likely hypotheses" — pinned to the two fixed external points discussed in the next section, where his full table is reproduced.
Ascension & the waiting
The risen Christ ascends and commissions his witnesses; the apostles wait and pray for the promised Spirit (Acts 1:1–26).
Pentecost — the church is born
The Spirit is poured out; Peter preaches the first Christian sermon; about three thousand are added (Acts 2). The mission begins.
The first Jerusalem church
Healing at the temple and Peter's sermons; the apostles before the Sanhedrin; Ananias and Sapphira; the bold, generous, growing community (Acts 3:1–5:42).
The Seven; Stephen martyred
Seven are appointed to serve; Stephen's great speech and his death — the first martyr — with Saul looking on and approving (Acts 6:1–8:1).
The church scattered; Philip
Persecution drives believers out, and they preach as they go; Philip in Samaria and on the Gaza road with the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:4–40).
The conversion of Saul
The risen Christ confronts the church's chief persecutor on the Damascus road and makes him the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1–31; retold in 22 and 26).
Cornelius — the Gentile Pentecost
Peter's vision and the Spirit poured out on a Roman centurion's household settle that God grants "repentance that leads to life" to the Gentiles too (Acts 10:1–11:18).
The church at Antioch
Scattered believers plant a thriving Gentile-and-Jewish church; here the disciples are first called "Christians" (Acts 11:19–26). Antioch becomes the mission's launchpad.
Herod Agrippa I — James killed, Herod dies
Herod executes James the son of Zebedee and imprisons Peter, then is struck down (Acts 12). His death is a fixed external date (see below).
Famine-relief visit
Barnabas and Saul carry the Antioch church's gift to Judea and return (Acts 11:27–30; 12:25), poised for the wider mission.
First Missionary Journey
Sent from Antioch, Barnabas and Saul take the gospel through Cyprus and the cities of south Galatia — Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe (Acts 13–14).
The Jerusalem Council
The theological hinge of Acts: Gentiles are saved "through the grace of the Lord Jesus," not by circumcision and law (Acts 15). The gospel of grace is secured.
Second Missionary Journey
Into Macedonia and Achaia — Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 15:36–18:22), where Paul stands before the proconsul Gallio.
Third Missionary Journey
About three years in Ephesus, then back through Macedonia and Greece; the moving farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 18:23–21:16).
Arrest in Jerusalem
Paul is seized in the temple, addresses the crowd and the Sanhedrin, and is taken under guard to Caesarea (Acts 21:17–23:35).
Caesarea — trials and two years' wait
Paul testifies before Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa II, and appeals to Caesar (Acts 24–26).
Voyage to Rome; shipwreck
The dramatic sea journey, the storm, and the shipwreck on Malta, followed by the final leg to Italy (Acts 27:1–28:16).
Paul in Rome — the open ending
Two years under house arrest, "proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance" (Acts 28:30–31). The story is left open: the mission goes on.
4. The two anchor dates
Most of the chronology of Acts is relative — "after this," "some time later." Two external, datable events fix the whole framework to the calendar, and everything else is measured from them.
The death of Herod Agrippa I (AD 44). Acts 12 records Herod's sudden death; the Jewish historian Josephus dates the same event to AD 44. This pins the persecution of Acts 12 — and the famine-relief visit around it — near the early 40s.
Gallio, proconsul of Achaia (c. AD 51–52). Paul is brought before Gallio in Corinth (Acts 18:12–17). An inscription found at Delphi dates Gallio's term in office to about AD 51–52, which fixes Paul's eighteen months in Corinth on the second journey — and so the whole sequence of journeys around it.
From these two anchors the rest follows: the conversion of Saul a few years after Pentecost, the first journey in the later 40s, the council about AD 49, the imprisonment in the late 50s, and Rome about AD 60–62. The abrupt ending — Paul still alive, before Nero's persecution (AD 64) and the fall of Jerusalem (AD 70) — is itself a strong clue that Luke wrote around AD 62.
Kistemaker's chronology
Simon Kistemaker lays out the table below in the introduction to his commentary on Acts, built (in his words) "on the basis of a few fixed dates and a number of likely hypotheses." The timeline above follows it. Notice that his reconstruction reaches past the book's open ending to Paul's later travels and death — events Acts itself never records, but which the Pastoral Epistles and early tradition fill in.
| AD 5 | Birth of Paul |
| 30 | Pentecost |
| 35 | Paul's conversion |
| 37 | Escape from Damascus |
| 44 | Death of Agrippa I |
| 46 | Famine relief for Jerusalem |
| 46–48 | First missionary journey |
| 49 | Jerusalem Council; Jews expelled from Rome |
| 50–52 | Second missionary journey |
| 52–55 | Third missionary journey |
| 56–57 | Paul in Macedonia |
| 57–59 | Arrest and imprisonment (Caesarea) |
| 59 | Voyage and shipwreck |
| 60–62 | House arrest in Rome |
| 63–67 | To Spain, Crete, Macedonia — beyond Acts |
| 67 or 68 | Final arrest, imprisonment, and death of Paul — beyond Acts |
Source: Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (New Testament Commentary, 1990), introduction. All dates AD.
5. The three missionary journeys
The second half of Acts is organized around Paul's three journeys, each begun from Antioch and each pressing the gospel further west. Knowing their rough routes — and which letters belong to which journey — turns the Epistles from a jumble into a story.
First Journey — Cyprus & South Galatia
Antioch → Cyprus (Salamis, Paphos) → Pisidian Antioch → Iconium → Lystra → Derbe, and back again, strengthening the new churches and appointing elders. Likely associated letter: Galatians (written soon after, perhaps on the eve of the Jerusalem Council).
Second Journey — Macedonia & Achaia
Antioch → through Galatia → Troas (the Macedonian vision) → Philippi → Thessalonica → Berea → Athens (the Areopagus) → Corinth (eighteen months) → Ephesus → Caesarea → Antioch. Associated letters: 1 and 2 Thessalonians, written from Corinth.
Third Journey — Ephesus & the collection
Antioch → Galatia and Phrygia → Ephesus (about three years) → Macedonia → Greece (three months) → back through Macedonia → Troas → Miletus (farewell to the elders) → Tyre → Caesarea → Jerusalem. Associated letters: 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans.
A fourth movement — the voyage to Rome (Acts 27–28, c. AD 59–60) — is not a missionary journey but a prisoner's transport, and yet it carries the gospel to the empire's heart exactly as the Lord had promised Paul (Acts 23:11; 27:24). For the deeper theological development across these journeys and letters, see Paul's Missionary Journeys and the Progression of His Theology.
6. Key people to know
Acts has a large cast, but a reader who knows these figures can follow the whole book.
Leader of the apostles in the first half; preaches at Pentecost, opens the door to the Gentiles at Cornelius's house.
Acts 1–12Peter's companion in the early Jerusalem chapters; together at the temple and before the Sanhedrin.
Acts 3–4One of the Seven; his speech and martyrdom mark the turn outward. The first Christian martyr.
Acts 6–7Evangelist among the Samaritans and to the Ethiopian official — the gospel's first steps beyond Jerusalem.
Acts 8The persecutor turned apostle to the Gentiles; the central figure of Acts 13–28.
Acts 9; 13–28The "son of encouragement," who vouches for Saul and partners with him on the first journey.
Acts 4; 9; 11; 13–15Leader of the Jerusalem church; gives the decisive word at the Council.
Acts 15; 21The God-fearing Roman centurion whose conversion proves the gospel is for the Gentiles.
Acts 10Paul's chief co-workers on the second and third journeys.
Acts 15:40; 16:1–3The tentmaking couple who host and teach; they instruct Apollos more accurately.
Acts 18An eloquent Alexandrian Jew, mighty in the Scriptures, who becomes a powerful gospel preacher.
Acts 18:24–28A dealer in purple cloth at Philippi; the first named convert in Europe, whose heart the Lord opened.
Acts 16:14–15The respected Pharisee whose counsel of caution spares the apostles — and Paul's own teacher.
Acts 5:34–39Gallio, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II — before whom Paul testifies, and whose dates help fix the chronology.
Acts 18; 24–26The author and travelling companion; present for the "we" passages, an eyewitness of the voyage to Rome.
Acts 16:10–17; 27–28The named recipient of Luke–Acts, "most excellent Theophilus," and through him a wider readership.
Acts 1:17. Key places to know
The same handful of cities recurs throughout Acts and the Epistles. These are the anchors of the geography.
Where it all begins: ascension, Pentecost, the first church, the Council, and Paul's arrest.
Acts 1–7; 15; 21The first region beyond Judea to receive the word, through Philip's preaching.
Acts 8Where Saul is converted and first preaches Christ.
Acts 9Roman provincial seat: Cornelius's conversion, and Paul's two-year imprisonment and trials.
Acts 10; 23–26The first great Gentile church and the base from which all three journeys are launched.
Acts 11; 13; 15The first journey's field: Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe.
Acts 13–14The first church in Europe, born of the Macedonian vision; Lydia and the jailer.
Acts 16Macedonian cities; the Bereans "examined the Scriptures daily" to test Paul's preaching.
Acts 17:1–15The Areopagus address — the gospel meeting Greek philosophy head-on.
Acts 17:16–34Eighteen months of ministry; Paul before Gallio — the chronology's firmest anchor.
Acts 18About three years of ministry; the word "prevailed mightily," and the silversmiths' riot.
Acts 19The shipwreck island, and journey's end: the gospel preached at the empire's center.
Acts 27–288. Key moments & speeches
If the timeline is the skeleton, these are the load-bearing scenes — the events and sermons a student should be able to locate and summarize. The speeches matter especially: Acts preserves in them the earliest pattern of Christian preaching (the kerygma).
The moments
- Pentecost (Acts 2) — the Spirit poured out; the church is born.
- Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11) — the holiness of the Spirit-filled community.
- Stephen's martyrdom (Acts 7:54–8:1) — the first martyr; the turn outward.
- The Ethiopian official (Acts 8:26–40) — the gospel runs along the roads of the empire.
- Saul's conversion (Acts 9:1–19) — the most consequential conversion in church history.
- Cornelius (Acts 10) — the Gentile Pentecost; the barrier falls.
- Peter's rescue and Herod's death (Acts 12) — the church prays; the persecutor falls.
- The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) — salvation by grace, not law, secured for the Gentiles.
- The Philippian jailer (Acts 16:25–34) — "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."
- The Ephesian riot (Acts 19:23–41) — the gospel collides with idolatry and commerce.
- The shipwreck (Acts 27) — God's sworn purpose carries Paul safely to Rome.
The speeches (the apostolic gospel)
- Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:14–41) — Jesus crucified, risen, exalted: "both Lord and Christ."
- Peter at Solomon's Portico (Acts 3:11–26) and before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8–12) — "no other name."
- Stephen before the council (Acts 7:2–53) — Israel's history and its resistance to the Spirit.
- Peter at Cornelius's house (Acts 10:34–43) — the gospel for "everyone who believes."
- Paul at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16–41) — the gospel from Israel's story to justification by faith.
- Paul at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22–31) — the gospel for the pagan philosopher: one God, repentance, resurrection, judgment.
- Paul's farewell at Miletus (Acts 20:18–35) — the charge to shepherd the church "which he obtained with his own blood."
- Paul's defenses (Acts 22; 24; 26) — his conversion and the hope of the resurrection, told before crowds and kings.
Their common core never changes: Jesus of Nazareth, attested by God, crucified according to God's plan, raised and exalted as Lord — therefore repent and believe, and receive forgiveness and the Spirit (Acts 2:38; 10:43; 17:30–31).