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Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
The phrase Apostolic Age is derived from ἀπόστολος, G693, (Ezra 7:14; Dan 5:24). Meaning: that period of Early Church history during the life and work of the original apostles, which extended from the day of Pentecost (c. A.D. 33; Acts 2, to the death of John, c. A.D. 100). The main sources for the period are the Book of Acts and the NT letters.
It may aid us in making these epistles of Paul seem like real and living messages to recall, in general, some of the peculiar conditions and problems which called them forth.
We approach the apostle of the Gentiles who decided the victory of Christianity as a universal religion, who labored more, both in word and deed, than all his colleagues, and who stands out, in lonely grandeur, as the most remarkable and influential character in history.
Simon, as he was originally called, or, as he was afterward named, Peter, was the son of the fisherman Jonas. He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and a resident of Capernaum, where he followed his father’s occupation.
Antioch of Syria is located along the Orontes River in modern-day Turkey. At one time, this Hellenistic city was one of the largest in the Roman world. Antioch of Syria played an important role in the book of Acts.
It was quite befitting, therefore, that our Lord should explain to his fisher friend the momentous and glorious ministry that awaited him, through the calling in which he had been engaged from boyhood, and which had so many points of resemblance with the work of winning souls.
The church faced internal problems, which began at least as early as A.D. 49.
In its early days, as throughout most of its history, the church faced both external and internal problems. The external problems mostly took the form of persecutions. Before A.D. 250, persecutions were local, sporadic, and often the result of mob action rather than of civil policy.
Between A.D. 95 and about 150, a number of works were written by men who had known the apostles and the apostolic doctrine; they are known as the Apostolic Fathers.
The church began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1–2) and spread rather quickly throughout the Roman Empire.