From the twelve, the group grew to 120 by Ascension Day. A little over a week later, on Pentecost, it increased to over 3,000.
By the time the last of the twelve died, there were an estimated half-million followers of Jesus Christ. That was the end of the first century. By the end of the second century, this number had increased to almost ten million.
By the end of the third century, all pagan temples were destroyed or converted into church sanctuaries. By the close of the ninth century, there were 100 million Christians.
The mid-year estimate in 2023 for Christians in the world is 2,604,381,000 out of a total population of 8 billion people in the world.
The very last words out of Jesus’ mouth just seconds before he ascended into heaven were:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:-20).
Thanks to Dennis Kastens for sharing. Thanks to Josh Sorenson for the photo.
There are at least one and a half billion people on earth who have never heard of Jesus and have no idea of who he was and what he did and said. Please do YOUR part to make Jesus known and loved as much as YOU know and love Jesus.
YOU WEREN’T PUT ON THIS EARTH TO BE REMEMBERED. YOU WERE PUT HERE TO PREPARE FOR ETERNITY!!
