Full course description
Course Title: The Book of Acts
- Course Code: BHD 105 T-3
- Discipline: The The B’rit Hadasha – N.T. Biblical Studies
- Prerequisites: None
- Instructor: Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum
- Length: 16 Modules with about 20+ hours of video lectures
- Tier: This is a Tier 3 course, meaning it is non-credit, audit only. Students have 365 days access to the course materials. We do not maintain academic records for Tier 3 students.
The book of Acts is an exciting and valuable biographical account of the first followers of Yeshua the Jewish Messiah and the first thirty years of history of the kehillah, the ekklēsia, the Church, the body of the Messiah.
It records the enormous success of the apostles who, in the power of their God, started spreading the Good News of the Jewish Messiah first throughout the Jewish and later throughout the non-Jewish world.
Opening with the resurrected Yeshua training His disciples, the book naturally follows the description of the life of the Messiah in the Gospels, and especially the Gospel of Luke. The first 15 chapters and chapter 21 of Acts are particularly relevant to the Scriptures’ Jewish frame of reference in general and the Messianic Jewish community in particular.
There is no required reading for Tier 3 students but you are certainly encouraged to do the reading.
- 1. The first textbook is, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Book of Acts, can be purchased directly from Ariel (electronic copy or hardcover) or from any other retail source. To order this please contact the Ariel home office (210) 344-7707 or (877) 242-7435. Or email an order directly to: orders@ariel.org
- 2. The second resource for this course is Thomas Constable’s, “Expository Notes on Acts.” You can read them online or download them as a pdf document from his website. Here is the link: https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/acts.pdf
o Copyright Policy: “Unauthorized translation, republishing, file duplication, website or email distribution of any portion of this copyrighted material in any form, without the express written consent of Dr. Thomas L. Constable, or his appointed representatives, is strictly forbidden. You may use these Bible study notes for your own personal study or for teaching a class. You may download a copy to your computer, print, or make paper photocopies for a class or Bible study group, but charge only the cost of copying. You may NOT make changes and then attribute the Notes to Dr. Constable.”
o Permission was granted to Ariel College of the Bible and Messianic Jewish Studies for use of these resources. If you’d like to make a donation to Dr. Constable's ministry for providing such great notes free of charge, here is the link:https://planobible.churchcenter.com/giving (Links to an external site.)
· Optional reading is not required but it is helpful if students want to study the content/topics/passages in more detail. Each Module contains a separate list of optional reading
Click on the arrow in the video below to view the sample lecture:
· Module 1 – Introduction: Title, Author, Language, Importance, Features, etc.
· Module 2 – The Introduction to the Book of Acts: 1:1-26
· Module 3 - The Day of Pentecost and the Birth of the Church: Acts 2:1 to 2:47
· Module 4 – The Witness of Peter and John, and the Second Sermon of Peter: Acts 3:1 to 4:31
· Module 5 – The Story of Ananias and Sapphira and the Second Persecution of the Church Acts: 4:32-5:42
· Module 6 – The Story of Stephen: Acts 6:1 – 8:4
· Module 7 – The Story of Phillip and the Salvation of Saul: Acts 8:5 to 9:31
· Module 8 – The Story of Cornelius: Acts 9:32 to 11:18
· Module 9 – The Church of Antioch and the Fourth Persecution of the Jerusalem Church: Acts 11:19 to 12:25
· Module 10 - The First Missionary Journey: Acts 13:1 to 14:28
· Module 11 – The Jerusalem Council and the Start of the Second Missionary Journey: Acts 15:1 to 16:40
· Module 12 – The Second Missionary Journey: Acts 17:1 to 18:22
· Module 13 – The Third Missionary Journey: Acts 18:23 to 20:38
· Module 14 – Paul’s Imprisonment in Jerusalem: Acts 21:1 to 23:35
· Module 15 – Paul’s Imprisonment in Caesarea: Acts 24:1 to 26:32
· Module 16 – Paul’s Journey to Rome, Acts 27:1 to 28:31
