ts 25:11, 28:15). The journey to Rome began in 59AD after Festus had taken over from Felix, in a ship that was scheduled to arrive the same year before the winter, but they didn't make it and spent the winter in Malta. (Acts 28:1-11). Then they went in another ship to Italy and went to Rome (Acts 28:11-14), so the arrival in Rome was early in 60AD. He was given an opportunity to speak to the Jewish leaders and explain why he had been brought as a prisoner to Rome, but none of them were interested in prosecuting him because they had not been given any letters of complaint from the Jews in Judea. (Acts 28:17-29).
Paul spent two years in Rome in a rented house and received visitors, so he was able to continue his ministry (Acts 28:30-31), which brings us to 62AD.
The book of Acts must have been written shortly after this, because it ends on a triumphalist note and fails to mention the Great Fire of Rome that occurred in 64AD and the subsequent persecution of Christians.
The chronology of the early church can be summarised as follows:
30AD. Execution and Resurrection of Yeshua at Passover, and birth of the church at Pentecost.
30-32AD. Sometime between these dates, Stephen was stoned and the Believers in Jerusalem were scattered throughout Samaria, but they preached the Word wherever they went.
32AD. Conversion of Paul on the Damascus Road.
35AD. Paul visited Jerusalem, but was rejected because of his past history of persecuting the Believers, so he returned to his home town of Tarsus.
35-40AD. Sometime between these dates, Peter had his vision and went to visit Cornelius. As a result of this, the church began to consider including the Gentiles, but not without hindrance.
40AD. Latest date when Barnabas could have gone to Tarsus to find Paul and bring him to Antioch.
41AD. Latest date for the prophecy of Agabus, about the famine, assuming the prophecy was made before Claudius became Emperor.
46AD. Paul went to Jerusalem on his famine relief visit, then he returned to Antioch and went on his first evangelistic journey.
46-50AD. Sometime between these dates, Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, expressing his frustration that the Judaising Controversy had not yet been resolved, and in particular his dissatisfaction with Peter.
50AD. Paul went to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles and Elders, and the Judaising Controversy was resolved. Everybody was in agreement, including Peter. Then Paul returned to Antioch and went on his second evangelistic journey.
52AD. Paul visited Jerusalem at the end of his second journey, and then went to Antioch.
57AD. Paul wrote his letter to the Romans while in Corinth. This letter is less heated than Galatians because the Judaising Controversy had been resolved, although his main theme was still the role of the Torah in the lives of Believers who are justified by faith. Immediately after finishing his letter, he went to Phillipi, then sailed along the coast of Asia Minor, then to Jerusalem where he was taken prisoner by Felix, the Roman Procurator of Judea.
59AD. Festus took over from Felix. Paul appealed to Caesar and set off on a ship to Rome, still as a prisoner. The ship ran aground because of bad weather and they spent the winter in Malta.
60AD. Paul set off on another ship and arrived in Rome, where he was warmly greeted by the Believers. The trial before the Emperor Nero never took place because the Jews did not pursue it. Paul spent the next two years in a rented house in Rome, continuing his ministry and receiving visitors.
62AD. End of the book of Acts.
64AD. The Great Fire of Rome and the ensuing persecution of Believers. Church tradition says that Paul was beheaded, and Peter was crucified upside down, but nobody knows for sure.
This chronology is available for general use, but as was stated at the beginning, it highlights the impact of the Judaising Controversy. To exclude the Gentiles for so long, and even "G-d Fearers" like Cornelius, and then to argue about circumcising the Gentiles for so much longer, means the early Believers in Yeshua were not at all like the slightly observant M