About the Movie
Apostle Paul and the Earliest Churches is a
brilliant and illuminating video production. Beginning with
his conversion, it reenacts the Apostle Paul's missionary
journeys on Anatolian soil (modern Turkey). This brief,
48-minute film contains an archaeological treasury: mosaics,
frescoes, statues, amphitheaters, agoras, temples, and more.
Yet Apostle Paul and the Earliest Churches is more than
a historical survey; this production's reenactment of the
miracles Paul performed, the difficulties Paul encountered,
and the persecution Paul faced beckons the viewer to
experience with the Apostle himself the birth of the Christian
Church.
The film's archaeological emphasis is enhanced by 3D
animated maps and footage of Antioch on the Orontes, Pisidian
Antioch, Ephesus, Tarsus and other cities important to the
Apostle Paul's ministry. Significant artifacts from a variety
of Turkish museums are also discussed.
Video Clips
Click on these
links for short clips from the movie:
Introduction
Antioch
Ephesus
Miletus
Apostle Paul
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The Apocryphal book, "The Acts of Paul and Thecla,"
describes the mighty apostle as "A man rather small in
size, bald-headed, bow-legged, with meeting eyebrows, a
large, red and somewhat hooked nose." Yet the power of the
man was unmistakable. "Strongly-built," the account goes
on, "he was full of grace, for at times he looked like a
man, at times like an angel."
By the time he was
martyred in Rome, Paul helped to form an almost
globe-spanning distribution of the gospel. It is almost
unbelievable when you consider that, to begin with, Paul
was a Roman citizen, and his original encounter with the
cause of Christ was to persecute it. Paul did not have the
chance, as many of the apostles did, to know Christ
first-hand. He became a Christian after an experience
with the living Christ on the road to Damascus. It changed
his life.
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In the book of Acts, Paul is called by his Hebrew name,
Saul, until his clash with the wizard Bar-Jesus on the
island of Cyprus. As a Roman citizen, he was probably
called by both names, which was common for Jews during
this time. The change from the Hebrew, "Saul," to the
Greco-Roman, "Paul," was appropriate for his mission to
the Gentiles. Paul's upbringing as a Jewish Pharisee made
him respected among the Jews and his Roman citizenship,
likewise, gave him esteem among the Gentiles.
Grace is
the key word for Paul. He writes in Ephesians 2:8, "For it
is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." There is
nothing you have to do and nothing you can do to earn it.
He continues in Ephesians 2:9, "not by works, so that no
one can boast." With his background, a Pharisee and Roman
citizen, Paul certainly could have boasted, but it was
through the grace of God that he received salvation.
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do"
(Ephesians 2:10). Paul encounters pain and hardships,
floggings and imprisonments, ridicule, persecution and
eventually death, yet he knows it is all within God's
plan. To Paul, "To live is Christ and to die is gain"
(Philippians 1:21).
Reference: The Unbound Bible - Used with permission. |
Apostle Paul's Journeys
Click on the
pictures below for animated, interactive maps with a
description for each of the Apostle Paul's missionary
journeys. When the animation has finished click on a city or
district name for information on the history of that region
and Paul's ministry there. Information about the modern-day
cities is sometime also provided.
First Missionary Journey |
Second Missionary Journey |
Third Missionary Journey |
Voyage to Rome |
All Resources on this page are by courtesy of Lukas
Productions, LLP |