The Book of Acts as the New Testament Book of Joshua
Introduction
The Book of Acts or the Acts of the Apostles is the second book of Luke’s Gospel. Some people sort of treat it like an appendix to the gospel; “the really important stuff happened in the gospels, this is story of what happened afterward.” When I was younger, that attitude made me wonder, “why didn’t everything just end right at the Resurrection and Ascension? Why did history keep going? Why was there another 30 plus years pictured here in the Bible? Why has there been nearly another 2000 years?” History does not stop with Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. A new world with a new history begins.
This book is a book of conquest. The army of God marching out to conquer the world. And we will soon see just how much it intentionally parallels the Book of Joshua, where God’s people entered the Land of Promise and put it to sword and fire. Here, the army of God, sets out to take the new Land of Promise—the entire world.