Reading Inclusion Backwards: Considering the Apostolic Decree Again in Fresh Context

The Apostolic Decree holds a prominent place in the narrative of Acts; yet its meaning remains unclear for many. For some it is simply a Lukan invention; for others it is an ad hoc law of the early Jerusalem Church for Gentiles entering the church. This article suggests instead that the Apostolic Decree is rooted in Leviticus 17–19 as a blueprint from an eschatological ecclesiology that has an impact on us even today. The extent of this blueprint is such that beyond the narrative of Acts, the universal Church of the Lord Jesus should extend hospitality without any social debt to aliens, strangers and immigrants in the 21st century, as similar hospitality was once divinely extended to us