Paul's Life Events
Certainty in these dates is not to be had, the notes of time in the Acts being few and vague. It is only by connecting those events of secular history which it records, and the dates of which are otherwise tolerably known to us--such as the famine under Claudius Cæsar (Acts 11:28), the expulsion of the Jews from Rome by the same emperor (Acts 18:2), and the entrance of Porcius Festus upon his procuratorship (Acts 24:27), with the intervals specified between some occurrences in the apostle's life and others (such as Ac 20:31; 24:27; 28:30; and Galatians 1:1-2:21) --that we can thread our way through the difficulties that surround the chronology of the apostle's life, and approximate to certainty. Immense research has been brought to bear upon the subject, but, as might be expected, the learned are greatly divided. Every year has been fixed upon as the probable date of the apostle's conversion from A.D. 31 [BENGEL] to A.D. 42 [EUSEBIUS]. But the weight of authority is in favor of dates ranging between 35 and 40, a difference of not more than five years; and the largest number of authorities is in favor of the year 37 or 38. Taking the former of these, to which opinion largely inclines, the following Table will be useful to the student of apostolic history:
A.D. 37 PAUL'S CONVERSION Acts 9:1
A.D. 40 First Visit to Jerusalem Acts 9:26; Galatians 1:18
A.D. 42-44 First Residence at Antioch Acts 11:25-30
A.D. 44 Second Visit to Jerusalem Acts 11:30; 12:25
A.D. 45-47 FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 13:2; 14:26
A.D. 47-51 Second Residence at Antioch Acts 14:28, Third Visit to Jerusalem Acts 15:2-30; Galatians 2:1-10 (see Notes above)
A.D. 51,53, or 54 SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 15:36, 40; 18:22
A.D. 53 or 54 Fourth Visit to Jerusalem Acts 18:21, 22, Third Residence at Antioch Acts 18:22, 23
A.D. 54-58 THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 18:23; 21:15
A.D. 58 Fifth Visit to Jerusalem, Arrest and Imprisonment at Cæsarea Acts 21:15; 23:35
A.D. 60 (Autumn)--A.D. 61 (Spring) Voyage to and Arrival in Rome Acts 27:1; 28:16
A.D. 63 Release from Imprisonment At Crete, Colosse, Macedonia, Corinth, Nicopolis, Dalmatia, Troas Acts 28:30
1 & 2 Timothy and Titus
A.D. 63-65, or 66, or possibly as late as A.D. 66-68 Martyrdom at Rome
A.D. 37 PAUL'S CONVERSION Acts 9:1
A.D. 40 First Visit to Jerusalem Acts 9:26; Galatians 1:18
A.D. 42-44 First Residence at Antioch Acts 11:25-30
A.D. 44 Second Visit to Jerusalem Acts 11:30; 12:25
A.D. 45-47 FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 13:2; 14:26
A.D. 47-51 Second Residence at Antioch Acts 14:28, Third Visit to Jerusalem Acts 15:2-30; Galatians 2:1-10 (see Notes above)
A.D. 51,53, or 54 SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 15:36, 40; 18:22
A.D. 53 or 54 Fourth Visit to Jerusalem Acts 18:21, 22, Third Residence at Antioch Acts 18:22, 23
A.D. 54-58 THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY Acts 18:23; 21:15
A.D. 58 Fifth Visit to Jerusalem, Arrest and Imprisonment at Cæsarea Acts 21:15; 23:35
A.D. 60 (Autumn)--A.D. 61 (Spring) Voyage to and Arrival in Rome Acts 27:1; 28:16
A.D. 63 Release from Imprisonment At Crete, Colosse, Macedonia, Corinth, Nicopolis, Dalmatia, Troas Acts 28:30
1 & 2 Timothy and Titus
A.D. 63-65, or 66, or possibly as late as A.D. 66-68 Martyrdom at Rome