Acts 11:28

‘And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world, which came about in the days of Claudius.'

The prophets in the main expounded the Scriptures, but sometimes one or more would receive ‘a revelation' (1 Corinthians 14:26). Such a revelation came to Agabus, one of the prophets, and he signified by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over the Roman Empire (‘all the world'). This famine, Luke tells us, came about in the days of Claudius (41-54 AD). In fact we have other evidence that reveals that during his reign there was a series of severe famines and poor harvests in various parts of the Roman Empire, including Palestine. ‘All the world' need only indicate ‘affecting many parts of the Roman world'.