the good news

The resurrection of Jesus filled his disciples with conviction and zeal. The apostle Paul in particular travelled throughout Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, organising congregations and strengthening Christians to stand firm against moral pressures and violent opposition. Despite these challenges, Christianity flourished and spread.

Paul’s Imprisonment and Warnings

Paul himself was imprisoned, yet even there, he wrote letters of encouragement and guidance to the Christian congregations. He warned of a growing threat—apostasy. Guided by God’s holy spirit, Paul foresaw that “oppressive wolves” speaking “twisted things” would rise among them and “draw away the disciples after themselves.” —Acts 20:29, 30.

By the end of the first century, this apostasy had already begun. Around that time, the resurrected Jesus gave the apostle John the Revelation, a symbolic vision of the future. As John recorded, neither opposers nor false teachers would stop God from fulfilling his original purpose for the earth and humanity.