Various readings from the Bible show how God developed the minority on this earth. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was followed by the Fall of Jerusalem about 40 years later.
The destruction began with a small group of Roman soldiers defeating some militaristic Jews, which brought the massive Roman Army to Jerusalem. Instead of attacking the walls, Rome circled the walls, letting no one in or out, leaving only the precious water deep below the city.
Nothing is quite so scary as the thought of lost food. Fear is a powerful tool, multiplying the anguish. The trapped citizens were soon enslaved and sent away because the remnant was more valuable abroad than gathered and sold so closely.
Paul died before the Fall of Jerusalem, and he converted from Judaism to the Christian Faith. Late in life he had his own parsonage for two years (end of Acts) but we do not know what happened afterwards. When we were studying all of Acts we were surprised that Paul's history quietly faded away.
The earliest Christian converts - like Paul - had many options, many copies of the New and Old Testaments. They were kept and preserved with great precision. Faith led to more faithful, and the world gathered new places to teach Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, and eternal life.
Those future Christians grew in numbers with teaching and preaching - and some buildings. The strength was the Gospel, rather than the blueprints of the next impressible feat. Recently, I saw a very large Lutheran building where everything had to be set up for the design of its great structure and plans.
Studying the Acts of the Apostles - all the way through - is a great lesson in the Gospel of Paul.
