From my reading of Acts I suspect that it was written when St. Paul was still alive. It ends with St. Paul experiencing a fairly comfortable house arrest in Rome. The reader of Acts has been told on several occasions that St. Paul has not violated the laws of the Jews, or of Rome. Roman Jews visit him. He convinces some that Jesus is the Messiah. Others remain unconvinced. Nevertheless, the conversations are cordial. There is nowhere the sense of approaching doom, that this is it, and St. Paul is about to be executed. Nowhere does Acts say that St. Paul is executed.
I have a book about World War Two. It ends with the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. Therefore the book must have been written around 1946.
No early Christian writer mentions Acts until Irenaeus in 180CE. Burton Mack, Richard Pervo, and Joseph Tyson all date it around 110-120CE, as does the old
Encyclopedia Biblica.
As
G.A. Wells says,
"One of Acts' overall concerns is to make clear that Christianity posed no threat to the authority of the Romans. Hence, although the author could not -- against the obvious truth -- conclude the book by having Paul set free from Roman captivity, he does his best to insinuate that this is what the Romans wanted."
So, "Luke" covers up the embarrassing fact that Paul was executed by the Romans as a troublemaker. He deliberately chose to end his book by discreetly specifying that Paul spent "
two years in Rome ... no man forbidding him." Obviously "Luke" was aware there had been some change in Paul's circumstances after those "two years" were up (i.e. his execution). Luke also suppresses Peter's execution by the Romans for similar reasons.
Acts 16:10 - 13 And after he had seen the vision, immediately
we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called
us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas,
we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and
we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the sabbath
we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and
we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as
we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met
us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Acts 20:6 And
we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where
we abode seven days.
Acts 20: 13 - 15 And
we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with
us at Assos,
we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And
we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day
we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day
we came to Miletus.
Acts 21: 1 - 8 And it came to pass, that after
we were gotten from them, and had launched,
we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia,
we went aboard, and set forth. Now when
we had discovered Cyprus,
we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. And finding disciples,
we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when
we had accomplished those days,
we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till
we were out of the city: and
we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. And when
we had taken our leave one of another,
we took ship; and they returned home again. And when
we had finished our course from Tyre,
we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. And the next day
we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and
we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
Acts 21:10 And as
we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Acts 21:12 And when we heard these things, both
we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Acts 21: 14 - 17 And when he would not be persuaded,
we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. And after those days
we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. There went with
us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom
we should lodge. And when
we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received
us gladly.
Acts 27: 1 - 5 And when it was determined that
we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium,
we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with
us. And the next day
we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when
we had launched from thence,
we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when
we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia,
we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.
Acts 27: 7 And when
we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering
us,
we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;
Acts 27: 15 - 16 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind,
we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda,
we had much work to come by the boat:
Acts 27: 18 - 20 And
we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day
we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that
we should be saved was then taken away.
Acts 27: 26 - 27 Howbeit
we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as
we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;
Acts 27: 29 Then fearing lest
we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
Acts 27: 37 And
we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
Acts 28: 10 - 14 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. And after three months
we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse,
we tarried there three days. And from thence
we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and
we came the next day to Puteoli: Where
we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so
we went toward Rome.
Acts 28:16 And when
we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
------
These "we" and "us" passages in Acts indicate, although they cannot prove, that during much of his ministry St. Paul was accompanied by the man who wrote the book of Acts.
Even many non Fundamentalist scholars attribute Acts and the Gospel of Luke to St. Luke, who appears to have been a traveling companion of St. Paul. In the Epistle to the Colossians 4:16 St. Paul writes, "Luke, the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
In 2 Timothy 4:11 St. Paul writes, "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee; for he is profitable to me for the ministry."
Non Christians prefer late dates for the gospels and the writings of Acts, because late dates make the miracle stories less plausible. For that same reason, Christians prefer early dates.
If the book of Acts was written by an eyewitness to many of the events, that eyewitness would not have had the incentive to wait decades to write it all down. He would have wanted to write it as soon as possible, when the events were still fresh in his mind, and when other eye witnesses also still lived. Please remember that the average life expectancy was much less then than now.