Church growth up to this point

The church initially consisted only of Jewish believers (Acts 2). Then, Samaritan believers were added (Acts 8). Finally, Gentile believers were included (Acts 10). While the number of believers in Caesarea was small, the Antioch church became a congregation with many Gentile believers. As we have seen, the birth and growth of the Antioch church were works of God. The early Christian church can be visualized as having an elliptical shape (which has 2 focal points). (1) One focal point was the Jerusalem church (the Jewish church). (2) The other focal point was the Antioch church (the Gentile church). These two churches maintained close fellowship. The Antioch church became the first Gentile church to support Jewish believers. The relationship between these two churches contains spiritual principles that apply to us today.

Some prophets

“Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.” (1) “At this time” is about a year after Barnabas and Saul began serving at the Antioch church, likely around AD 44. (2) Who were these “prophets”? (a) Prophets were individuals who received direct revelation from God and communicated it to the people with authority. (b) Jewish rabbis believed that the last prophet was Malachi (5th century BC) and taught that official prophecy ceased with him. While rabbis often taught erroneous ideas, they were also mistaken in this regard. Several prophets appear in the Acts of the Apostles. As we will see later, the Antioch church itself had prophets among its members. “Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch, in the church that was there: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul” (Acts 13:1). (3) A group of prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. This shows the close fellowship and connection between the two churches. Before the completion of the New Testament, God spoke through prophets on many occasions. The prophets of the New Testament era played a crucial role in bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments. However, with the completion of the New Testament, the role of prophets came to an end. In our present age, God speaks to us through His Word. Blessed are those who fellowship with God daily through devotions.