Preface to Book Two

In the preceding book we set out, as by way of introduction, the matters of church history that had to be treated first, and we kept the proofs brief: the divinity of the saving Word, the antiquity of the teachings we hold, and the antiquity of the gospel way of life that Christians follow. We also covered what concerns his recent appearing: the events before his passion and the choosing of the apostles. [a] Now, in the present book, let us examine what happened after his ascension, drawing some of it from the divine Scriptures and adding the rest from outside records, which we will cite as occasion arises.