During the seven years following the ascension of the Saviour, the Christian church was entirely Jewish in its membership, and, so far as we can learn, limited to the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. There was at that time no thought of the gospel for the Gentiles, and the conception of the apostles was that the only door into the church lay through the profession of Judaism and the rite of circumcision. Probably the first to attain to wider views of the gospel was Stephen, and the persecution in which he became the first martyr arose from the tendency of his teachings toward extending among the Gentiles the privileges of the new kingdom. This state of affairs was suddenly ended by the death of Stephen, and the scattering of the church at Jerusalem. The more liberally inclined of its members, when driven abroad, were led to preach the gospel, first to Samaritans; then to believers in the Jewish faith who had not yet submitted to circumcision, and hence were called "Proselytes of the Gate"; and at last to the general Gentile world. The period from the death of Stephen, A.D. 37, to the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, A.D. 45, may, therefore, be regarded as an age of transition from Jewish to Gentile Christianity.

This period requires us to notice two provinces, Palestine and Syria. Palestine appears at this time under several forms of government in frequent succession. During the public life of Christ, JudÆa and Samaria were under the direct rule of Rome, governed by a procurator, while Galilee and PerÆa belonged to Herod Antipas, and the region north and east of the Sea of Galilee, anciently called Bashan, was held by Herod Philip, both of these having the title of tetrarch, "ruler of a fourth part." In A.D. 37 Herod Agrippa received Philip's tetrarchy, and in 41 he was made king of all Palestine. ("Herod the king," Acts 12.) In A.D. 44 he died, and his dominions were divided. JudÆa, Samaria, Galilee and PerÆa again became a procuratorship, under a succession of Roman rulers, until the final destruction of the Jewish state, A.D. 70. The principality of Bashan was given to Herod Agrippa II. in A.D. 53, and held by him until A.D. 70. Syria, the great region north of Palestine, extending from Damascus to Antioch, was, during this time, a province of the Roman empire, governed by a prefect.

The events of this period gather around seven cities. 1. Jerusalem. This place has been already described. (See page 73.) 2. Samaria (Acts 8:5-25), the field of Philip's early ministry, was the ancient capital of the Ten Tribes (see page 87), located 30 miles north of Jerusalem, and 6 miles northwest of Shechem. It had been rebuilt by Herod the Great, and named Sebaste, in honor of Augustus. It is now a village called Sebastiyeh. 3. CÆsarea (Acts 10:1), the place where the Gentile Cornelius became a disciple, was the Roman capital of Palestine, and the residence of the procurators. It was called CÆsarea Stratonis, to distinguish it from CÆsarea Philippi, under Mount Hermon; and was located on the sea-coast, 47 miles northwest of Jerusalem; and is now a desolate, uninhabited ruin, called Kaisarieyeh. 4. Joppa, where Dorcas was raised to life, and Peter received a vision (Acts 9:36-43; 10:11), is one of the most ancient towns in the world, in all ages the principal seaport of Palestine. It lies 30 miles south of CÆsarea, and 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem; and is now a flourishing city called Yafa, or Jaffa. 5. Damascus, the place where Saul was converted (Acts 9:1-25), is an ancient and famous city of Syria, 133 miles northeast of Jerusalem, beautifully situated in a plain at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Recently it had a population of 150,000, but is rapidly decaying from the diversion of the Eastern trade through the Suez Canal. Its modern name is el Shams. 6. Antioch, seat of the first missionary church (Acts 11:19-30), was the metropolis of northern Syria, situated on the river Orontes, 16½ miles from the Mediterranean, and 300 miles north of Jerusalem, in a deep pass between the Taurus and Lebanon ranges of mountains. It is now a mean village of 6,000 people, called Antakia. 7. Tarsus, the home of the apostle Paul, was the capital of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, and one of the leading cities of the Roman world. It was 12 miles from the Mediterranean, the same distance from Mount Taurus, and about 80 miles northwest of Antioch, across an arm of the sea. It is now a place of 30,000 inhabitants, called Tersous.

The most important events of this period may be arranged under five journeys, which are indicated upon the map.

I. Philip's Journey. (Acts 8:5-40.) Philip, one of the "seven" (Acts 6:3-5), was compelled to leave Jerusalem in the persecution that arose on account of Stephen. He went first to Samaria, the city known by the Greeks as Sebaste, now Sebastiyeh, 6 miles northwest of Shechem, or Sychar, and there began to preach the gospel. This was a step outside of narrow Judaism, as the Samaritans were considered at least semi-Gentile by the Jews. After planting a church here, he was sent by the Spirit southward "unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert" (Acts 8:26); that is, by the less frequented road. There he met a nobleman from Ethiopia (the kingdom of MeroË, in Nubia), whom he instructed in the gospel, and baptized as a believer. Suddenly caught away by the Spirit, Philip next appeared at Azotus, the ancient Ashdod, now Asdud. He followed the line of the coast northward, preaching in the cities of the maritime plain. These cities were mostly inhabited by heathen, though in all of them there were many Jews. We find in the after-history the results of his preaching, in churches at Joppa, at Lydda, and at CÆsarea, where he made his home for 20 years, and was met by the apostle Paul, who, long before, as Saul the persecutor, had driven him from Jerusalem. Philip's journey is indicated by a line of red color on the small map.

II. Saul's Journey. (Acts 9:1-30.) The destroyer of the Jerusalem church now began a journey for persecution, which was ended in his own flight, as a Christian, from persecutors. 1. He went to Damascus, expecting to bind others, but was himself bound by the cords of the gospel, and preached the truth he had sought to destroy. 2. From Damascus, as a disciple, he went into Arabia, a name which may refer to almost any region from the Euphrates to the Indian Ocean, but probably here indicating the desert lands on the border of Syria, and not necessarily distant from Damascus, to which he returned after a stay of from one to three years. (Gal. 1:17.) 3. Escaping from Damascus by being let down over the wall in a basket, he returned to Jerusalem, where he was introduced to the church by Barnabas, and received by the apostles Peter and James. 4. After a fortnight's visit at Jerusalem, he left the city by divine direction in a vision (Acts 22:17-21), and, aided by the disciples, descended to the seaport of CÆsarea, where in after years he was destined to spend two years in imprisonment. 5. From CÆsarea he sailed to his birthplace, Tarsus, in Cilicia, where he spent several years in retirement, preparing for the great work which was to open before him. This journey is shown by a red line on the large map.

III. Peter's Journey. (Acts 9:32-11:18.) This was the journey in which the door of faith was finally opened to the Gentiles. During the "rest" which the churches enjoyed after Saul's conversion, and while the Jewish leaders were too busy with the alarming state of their relations with Rome to disturb the disciples, Peter went forth to visit the churches. 1. He came down to Lydda, now Ludd, on the border of the Shefelah, and restored to health Æneas, a paralytic. (Acts 9:32, 33.) 2. From Lydda he was summoned to Joppa, the principal seaport of Palestine, where Tabitha, or Dorcas, "the gazelle," had died. She was restored to the weeping church, and Peter remained in Joppa "many days." (Acts 9:43.) 3. He was called to CÆsarea by the Roman centurion, Cornelius, who, under Peter's ministry, accepted Christ, received the endowment of the Holy Spirit, and was baptized into the church by the apostle, without reference to Jewish requirements (Acts 10); thus marking an era in the history of the church. 4. Peter returned to Jerusalem, and there met the complaints of the Judaistic element in the church, by showing that God's hand had led in the conversion of Cornelius and the reception of Gentiles into the church. (Acts 11:1-18.) This journey is indicated by a red line on the small map, lower right-hand corner.

IV. Barnabas' Journey. (Acts 11:19-30.) After the death of Stephen, certain disciples, driven from Jerusalem, traveled along the coast past Tyre and Sidon, as far as Antioch, and at the latter place began preaching the gospel, at first to the Jews only, but after a while to the Gentiles also. As a result, a church arose at Antioch (on the Orontes, near its mouth, now Antakia), the first where Jews and Gentiles became one, the first to receive the name Christian, and the first to send out missionaries to the heathen world. When the news of this work came to Jerusalem, there was some alarm lest it might cause a division in the church. Barnabas was dispatched by the apostles to visit Antioch. He came, gave the work his hearty indorsement, and remained to direct it. Soon feeling the need of a co-worker, he went to Tarsus, a short voyage across the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean. Here he found Saul, and thenceforward the two were united in labors for many years, until parted forever by an unhappy difference. This journey of Barnabas is shown on the map by a broken red line.

V. Barnabas and Saul's Journey. (Acts 11:26-30; 12:25.) 1. Starting from Tarsus the two gospel workers sailed across the narrow sea to Seleucia, the seaport, and thence journeyed up the river Orontes to Antioch. Here they labored together for a year, and aided in establishing a church, which became one of the most important in the early age of Christianity. 2. Learning by revelation of coming famine, the church at Antioch prepared a contribution for the poorer disciples in JudÆa, and sent it by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. 3. About the time of the death of Herod Agrippa, the two evangelists returned, from their charitable errand, to Antioch, where they remained until the next great event, the first missionary journey.

Let the teacher draw on the blackboard the outline of the map, including the borders of the Mediterranean Sea, and the two provinces of Palestine and Syria. Then locate the seven important places. 1. Jerusalem. 2. Samaria. 3. CÆsarea. 4. Joppa. 5. Damascus. 6. Antioch. 7. Tarsus. Next draw the five lines representing the journeys, relating the events connected with them. If the journeys can be given in chalk of different colors, it will make them more distinct.

I. Philip's Journey. Jerusalem, Samaria, Azotus, Lydda, Joppa, CÆsarea.

II. Saul's Journey. Jerusalem, Damascus, Arabia, Damascus, Jerusalem, CÆsarea, Tarsus.

III. Peter's Journey. Jerusalem, Lydda, Joppa, CÆsarea, Jerusalem.

IV. Barnabas' Journey. Jerusalem, Antioch, Tarsus.

V. Barnabas and Saul's Journey. Tarsus, Antioch, Jerusalem, Antioch.