100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
42. Geopolitical Divisions (Iconium, Lystra, Derbe)
We read in Acts 14 that Paul and his companions encountered extreme hostility toward the faith while in the city of Iconium, and were forced to flee to “Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about.” (Acts 14:6).
Because of the geographical closeness of Iconium to Lystra, many supposed that Luke had erred in describing Lystra as belonging to a separate region. With time and further research, Luke was proven right. In the period from 37 to 72 AD, Lystra was situated in a different geopolitical division than Iconium, despite its physical closeness A. The fact that Acts is correct in such a precise a detail supports the belief that Luke the travelling companion of Paul authored this book in the first century.
42. Geopolitical Divisions (Iconium, Lystra, Derbe) - Notes and References
A. “Is the description accurate? If so, was it accurate at all periods of history, or was it accurate only at a particular period? To these questions we must answer that it was accurate at the period when Paul visited Lycaonia; that it was accurate at no other time except between 37 and 72 A.D.; and that its only meaning is to distinguish between the Roman part of Lycaonia and the non-Roman part ruled by Antiochus.” Sir William Ramsey, St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen”, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1962