The First Apology

by Justin Martyr

Chapters

1. Chapter 1: Address.

2. Chapter 2: Justice Required.

3. Chapter 3: The Demand for Judicial Investigation.

4. Chapter 4: Christians Unfairly Condemned Simply for Their Name

5. Chapter 5: Christians Accused of Atheism.

6. Chapter 6: Refuting the Accusation of Atheism.

7. Chapter 7: Every Christian Must Be Judged by Their Own Life.

8. Chapter 8: Christians Declare Their Belief in God.

9. Chapter 9: The Foolishness of Idol Worship.

10. Chapter 10: How to Serve God.

11. Chapter 11: The Kingdom that Christians Aspire to

12. Chapter 12: Christians Live as if Under God's Watch.

13. Chapter 13: Christians Serve God Logically.

14. Chapter 14: The Demons Distort Christian Teachings.

15. Chapter 15: What Christ Himself Taught.

16. Chapter 16: About Patience and Swearing.

17. Chapter 17: Christ Taught Civil Obedience

18. Chapter 18: Evidence of Immortality and Resurrection.

19. Chapter 19: The Possibility of Resurrection.

20. Chapter 20: Pagan Similarities to Christian Doctrine.

21. Chapter 21: Analogies to the History of Christ.

22. Chapter 22: Analogies to the Sonship of Christ.

23. Chapter 23: The Argument.

24. Chapter 24: Varieties of Pagan Worship.

25. Chapter 25: Christians Abandon False Gods

26. Chapter 26: Christians Do Not Trust Magicians

27. Chapter 27: The Sin of Abandoning Children.

28. Chapter 28: God's Care for People.

29. Chapter 29:—Abstinence of Christians.

30. Chapter 30: Wasn't Christ a Magician?

31. Chapter 31: About the Hebrew Prophets.

32. Chapter 32: Christ was Predicted by Moses.

33. Chapter 33: The Prediction of Christ's Birth Method

34. Chapter 34: The Foretold Place of Christ's Birth.

35. Chapter 35: Other Fulfilled Prophecies.

36. Chapter 36: Various Methods of Prophecy.

37. Chapter 37: Sayings of the Father.

38. Chapter 38: Sayings of the Son.

39. Chapter 39: Direct Predictions by the Spirit.

40. Chapter 40: The Prediction of Christ's Arrival

41. Chapter 41: The Prediction of the Crucifixion.

42. Chapter 42: Prophecy in Past Tense

43. Chapter 43: Responsibility Claimed.

44. Chapter 44: Not Nullified by Prophecy.

45. Chapter 45: The Prediction of Christ's Place in Heaven.

46. Chapter 46: The Word in the World Before Christ.

47. Chapter 47: The Predicted Desolation of Judea.

48. Chapter 48: The Prediction of Christ's Work and Death

49. Chapter 49: His Rejection by the Jews Predicted.

50. Chapter 50: His Humiliation Predicted

51. Chapter 51: The Majesty of Christ.

52. Chapter 52: Certain Fulfillment of Prophecy.

53. Chapter 53: Summary of the Prophecies.

54. Chapter 54: Origin of Pagan Mythology.

55. Chapter 55: Symbols of the Cross.

56. Chapter 56: The Demons Continue to Mislead Men.

57. Chapter 57: And Initiate Persecution.

58. Chapter 58: Promoting Heretics

59. Chapter 59: Plato's Debt to Moses.

60. Chapter 60: Plato's Theory of the Cross.

61. Chapter 61: Christian Baptism.

62. Chapter 62: Its Imitation by Demons

63. Chapter 63: How God Appeared to Moses.

64. Chapter 64: Further Distortions of the Truth.

65. Chapter 65: The Administration of the Sacraments.

66. Chapter 66: About the Eucharist.

67. Chapter 67: Weekly Worship of the Christians.

68. Chapter 68: Conclusion.

69. Letter from Adrian Supporting the Christians.

70. Letter from Antoninus to the General Assembly of Asia.

71. Letter from Marcus Aurelius to the Senate, in which he credits Christians for his victory.

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Chapter 39: Direct Predictions by the Spirit.

WHEN THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY SPEAKS OF FUTURE EVENTS: it speaks in this manner: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” We can prove this has indeed happened. From Jerusalem, twelve men went out into the world. These men were uneducated and not skilled in speaking, but by the power of God, they proclaimed to every nation that they were sent by Christ to teach the word of God to all. We who once killed one another not only refrain from warring against our enemies, but we also willingly die confessing Christ, so we won't lie or deceive our judges. We might imitate the saying, “The tongue has sworn, but the mind is unsworn,” in this matter. But if the soldiers you enlist, who have taken the military oath, prefer their duty over their own life, family, country, and kin, even though you offer them nothing imperishable, it would be truly absurd if we, who passionately seek incorruption, did not endure everything to obtain what we desire from Him who can grant it.

Hear the Scriptures cited in The First Apology

The First Apology quotes or alludes to these Bible chapters more than any others. Each link opens the free audio Bible, where the chapter is read aloud alongside the text, cross-references, and what other early Christian writers said about it.

Hear Isaiah 52 (audio Bible) — cited 3 times in this work
Hear Matthew 5 (audio Bible) — cited 3 times in this work
Hear Genesis 6 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Genesis 49 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Numbers 21 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Psalms 22 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Isaiah 65 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Matthew 19 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
Hear Genesis 14 (audio Bible)
Hear Genesis 18 (audio Bible)
Hear Genesis 32 (audio Bible)
Hear Exodus 3 (audio Bible)

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