Bethesda Church is excited to announce the fourth college level extension course to be taught at Bethesda. "The Book of Acts" is to be taught by Philip J. Long June 10-16, 2012.

Phil Long is Associate Professor of Bible and Biblical Languages and is chair of the Bible/Theology department. He graduated from Grace Bible College with a BTh in 1987 and he earned his Masters Degrees in Biblical Exposition and Old Testament from Talbot School of Theology, BIOLA University.

A major goal of this class will be to understand the book of Acts from a distinctively mid-Acts dispensational perspective. In order to do this we will pay careful attention to how Luke presents the movement of the Holy Spirit from the Jewish followers of Jesus in Acts 2 to the fringes of Judaism, and then to the Gentiles in Acts 13. In addition, we will develop a familiarity with the cultural and social aspects of the Second Temple Period Judaism and the Greco-Roman world for the purpose of understanding the book of Acts. Considering the transitional nature of the book of Acts, this class will carefully study the events of Acts in order to determine how this material should be applied in the church today