The first account which I drew up, Theophilus, dealt with all that Jesus did and taught from the very first,

With abundant proofs, he showed himself to them, still living, after his death; appearing to them from time to time during forty days, and speaking of all that related to the Kingdom of God.

For, while John baptized with water, you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit before many days have passed."

While they were still gazing up into the heavens, as he went, suddenly two men, clothed in white, stood beside them,

And said: "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the heavens? This very Jesus, who has been taken from you into the heavens, will come in the very way in which you have seen him go into the heavens."

They all united in devoting themselves to Prayer, and so did some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

(This man had bought a piece of land with the price of his treachery; and, falling heavily, his body had burst open, and all his bowels protruded.

Therefore, from among the men who have been with us all the time that Jesus, our Master, went in and out among us--

And they offered this prayer--"O Lord, who reads all hearts, show which of these two men you have chosen

In the course of the Festival at the close of the Harvest the disciples had all met together,

When suddenly there came from the heavens a noise like that of a strong wind rushing by; it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with strange 'tongues' as the Spirit prompted their utterances.

They were utterly amazed, and kept asking in astonishment: "What! Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

Either Jews by birth or converts, and some are Cretans and Arabians--yet we all alike hear them speaking in our own tongues of the great things that God has done."

They were all utterly amazed and bewildered. "What does it mean?" they asked one another.

Then Peter, surrounded by the eleven other Apostles, stood up, and, raising his voice, addressed the crowd. "Men of Judea," he began, "and all you who are staying in Jerusalem, let me tell you what this means. Mark well my words.

'It shall come about in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind; your sons and your daughters shall become Prophets, your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams;

Yes, even on the slaves--for they are mine--both men and women, I will in those days pour out my Spirit,

And I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below--Blood and fire and mist of smoke;

Men of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Jesus of Nazareth, a man whose mission from God to you was proved by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God showed among you through him, as you know full well--

Therefore my heart was cheered, and my tongue told its delight; Yes, even my body, too, will rest in hope;

It was this Jesus, whom God raised to life; and of that we are ourselves all witnesses.

So let the whole nation of Israel know beyond all doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this very Jesus whom you crucified."

"Repent," answered Peter, "and be baptized every one of you in the Faith of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and for your children, and also for all those now far away, who may be called by the Lord our God."

With many other words Peter enforced his teaching, while the burden of his exhortations was--"Save yourselves from the perverse spirit of this age."

All who became believers in Christ held everything for the common use;

They sold their property and their goods, and shared the proceeds among them all, according to their individual needs.

Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the Temple Courts, and to the Breaking of Bread at their homes, while they partook of their food in simple-hearted gladness, praising God, and winning the good-will of all the people.

The man was all attention, expecting to get something from them;

All the people saw him walking about and praising God;

While the man still clung to Peter and John, the people all quickly gathered round them in the Colonnade named after Solomon, in the greatest astonishment.

And it is by faith in the Name of Jesus, that this man, whom you all see and know, has--by his Name--been made strong. Yes, it is the faith inspired by Jesus that has made this complete cure of the man, before the eyes of you all.

But it was in this way that God fulfilled all that he had long ago foretold, as to the sufferings of his Christ, by the lips of all the Prophets.

Moses himself said--'The Lord your God will raise up from among your brothers a Prophet, as he raised me. To him you will listen whenever he speaks to you.

And it shall be that should any one among the people not listen to that Prophet, he will be utterly destroyed.'

Yes, and all the Prophets from Samuel onwards, and all their successors who had a message to deliver, told of these days.

You yourselves are the heirs of the Prophets, and heirs, too, of the Covenant which God made with your ancestors, when he said to Abraham--'In your descendants will all the nations of the earth be blessed.'

While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the Chief Priest, with the Officer in charge at the Temple and the Sadducees, came up to them,

There were present Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of High-Priestly rank.

Let me tell you all and all the people of Israel, that it is by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead--it is, I say, by his Name that this man stands here before you lame no longer.

And Salvation is in him alone; for there is no other Name in the whole world, given to men, to which we must look for our Salvation."

However, after further warnings, the Council set them at liberty, not seeing any safe way of punishing them, because of the people, for they were all praising God for what had occurred;

All who heard their story, moved by a common impulse, raised their voices to God in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, it is you who has 'made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them,'

Yet only to do what thou, by thy power and of thy own will, didst long ago destine to be done.

Now, therefore, O Lord, mark their threats, and enable thy servants, with all fearlessness, to tell thy Message,

While thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and causest signs and wonders to take place through the Name of thy holy Servant Jesus."

When their prayer was ended, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to tell God's Message fearlessly.

The whole body of those who had become believers in Christ were of one heart and mind. Not one of them claimed any of his goods as his own, but everything was held for the common use.

The Apostles continued with great power to bear their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's blessing rested upon them all abundantly.

Nor was there any one in need among them, for all who were owners of land or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the sales

While it was unsold, was not it your own? and after it was sold, was not the money at your own disposal? How did you come to think of such a thing? You have lied, not to men, but to God!"

Then Peter said: "How did you come to agree to provoke the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The foot-steps of those who have buried your husband are at the door; and they will carry you out too."

The whole Church and all who heard of these events were appalled.

Many signs and wonders continued to occur among the people, through the instrumentality of the Apostles, whose custom it was to meet all together in the Colonnade of Solomon;

At this the High Priest was roused to action, and he and all his supporters (who formed the party of the Sadducees), moved by jealousy,

"Go," he said, "and stand in the Temple Courts, and tell the people the whole Message of this new Life."

When they heard this, they went at daybreak into the Temple Courts, and began to teach. The High Priest and his party, on their arrival, summoned the High Council, including all the leading men among the Israelites, and sent to the jail to fetch the Apostles.

While they had found the goal barred securely and the guards posted at the doors, yet, on opening them, they had not found any one inside.

When the Officer in charge at the Temple and the Chief Priests heard their story, they were perplexed about the Apostles and as to what all this would lead to.

But Gamaliel, a Pharisee, who was a Doctor of the Law and who was held in universal respect, rose in the Council, and directed that the men should be taken out of court for a little while.

For not long ago Theudas appeared, professing to be somebody, and was joined by a body of some four hundred men. But he was killed; and all his followers scattered and dwindled away.

After him, Judas the Galilean appeared at the time of the census, and induced people to follow him; Yet he, too, perished and all his followers were dispersed.

And, in this present case, my advice to you is not to interfere with these men, but to let them alone, for, if their designs and their work are merely of human origin, they will come to an end;

But, if they are of divine origin, you will be powerless to put an end to them--or else you may find yourselves fighting against God!"

The Twelve, therefore, called together the general body of the disciples and said to them: "It is not well for us to see to the distribution at the tables and neglect God's Message.

Therefore, Brothers, look for seven men of reputation among yourselves, wise and spiritually-minded men, and we will appoint them to attend to this matter;

While we, for our part, will devote ourselves to Prayer, and to the delivery of the Message."

And they stirred up the people, as well as the Councillors and the Teachers of the Law, and set upon Stephen, and arrested him, and brought him before the High Council.

Indeed, we have heard him declare that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this Place, and change the customs handed down to us by Moses."

The eyes of all the members of the Council were riveted upon Stephen, and they saw his face looking like the face of an angel.

'Leave your country and your kindred, and come into the country that I will show you.'

God's words were these--'Abraham's descendants shall live in a foreign country, where they will be enslaved and ill-treated for four hundred years.

But I myself will judge the nation, to which they will be enslaved,' God said, 'and after that they shall leave the country and worship me in this place.'

And delivered him out of all his troubles, and enabled him to win favor and show wisdom before Pharaoh, King of Egypt, who appointed him Governor of Egypt and of his whole household.

Then a famine spread over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, causing great distress, and our ancestors could find no food.

Then Joseph sent an urgent invitation to his father Jacob and to his relations, seventy-five persons in all;

This king acted deceitfully towards our race and ill-treated our ancestors, making them abandon their own infants, so that they should not be reared.

So Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and proved his ability both by his words and actions.

And, seeing an Israelite ill-treated, he defended him, and avenged the man, who was being wronged, by striking down the Egyptian.

The next day he again appeared upon the scene, when some of them were fighting, and tried to make peace between them. 'Men,' he said, 'you are brothers; how is it that you are ill-treating one another?'

But the man who was ill-treating his fellow workman pushed Moses aside saying--'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?

I have seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them. Come now and I will send you into Egypt.'

This was the Moses who said to the people of Israel--'God will raise up for you, from among your brothers, a Prophet, as he raised up me.'

While they said to Aaron--'Make us Gods who will lead the way for us, since, as for this Moses who has brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

So God turned from them and left them to the worship of the Starry Host, as is written in the Book of the Prophets--'Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me, O House of Israel, all those forty years in the Desert?

You took with you the tabernacle of Moloch and the Star of the god Rephan--the images which you had made to worship. Therefore I will exile you beyond Babylon.'

'The heavens are a throne for me, and the earth a stool for my feet. What manner of House will you build me, says the Lord, or what place is there where I may rest?

Was it not my hand that made all these things?'

At this, with a loud shout, they stopped their ears and all rushed upon him, forced him outside the city,

And they stoned Stephen, while he cried to the Lord: "Lord Jesus! receive my spirit!"

Saul approved of his being put to death. On that very day a great persecution broke out against the Church which was in Jerusalem; and its members, with the exception of the Apostles, were all scattered over the districts of Judea and Samaria.

The people, one and all, listened attentively to what Philip told them, when they heard of, and saw, the miracles which he was working.

"Pray to the Lord for me, all of you," Simon answered, "so that none of the things you have spoken of may befall me."

"How can I," the other answered, "unless some one will explain it to me?" and he invited Philip to get up and sit by his side.

In his lowly condition justice was denied him. Who will tell the story of his generation? For his life is cut off from earth.'

But Philip was found at Ashdod, and, as he went on his way, he told the Good News in all the towns through which he passed, till he came to Caesarea.

While on his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, suddenly a light from the heavens flashed around him.

"Yet stand up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

And, here, too, he holds authority from the Chief Priests to put in chains all those who invoke your Name."