Published: 2015

The Book of Acts is the historical account of the early Church, beginning with Jesus’ ascension and ending with Paul being taken to Rome. A.D. The Bible Continues is a book containing the Book of Acts and is intended a complement to the TV series of the same name which ran on NBC from April to May of 2015, and provides viewers with the text from which the series is made.

A.D. uses the New Living Translation (NLT), which is a thought-by-thought translation of the text, rather than a word-by-word translation. I usually read more literal translations of the Bible, but I really enjoyed reading this version. When I read Acts in the NLT, I was struck by how smoothly the text read. I found it hard to put down, since the reading was very simple. For example, many cultural references were put in terms I am more familiar with today (such as saying something is worth “dollars” instead of “pieces of silver”, Acts 19.19). Reading the text without verse references and having the text in a single column also made it very readable. The book is also full of character profiles, such as Paul, Lydia, and others, allowing the reader to become more familiar with the people mentioned in the text.

This simple book is a great read for anyone who has never read Acts or for someone who is very familiar with the New Testament. The life and account of the early Church is amazing and replete with examples of people who knew the challenges of living out their faith in a culture that is hostile to Christianity. The use of the NLT translation makes this book very accessible for anyone, and is a good introduction to the New Testament and the Bible.

Note: I have not watched the television series, nor am I familiar with how accurately they reproduced the Book of Acts.

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Thank you to the people at Tyndale House Publishing for a copy of this book for review.