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.

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."

'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;

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--

He, I say, in accordance with God's definite plan and with his previous knowledge, was betrayed, and you, by the hands of lawless men, nailed him to a cross and put him to death.

But God released him from the pangs of death and raised him to life, it being impossible for death to retain its hold upon him.

David, then, Prophet as he was, knowing that God 'had solemnly sworn to him to set one of his descendants upon his throne,' looked into the future,

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

And now that he has been exalted to the right hand of God, and has received from the Father the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, he has begun to pour out that gift, as you yourselves now see and hear.

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."

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."

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.

This man used to be set down every day at the gate of the Temple called 'the Beautiful Gate,' to beg of those who went in.

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

And, leaping up, he stood and began to walk about, and then went with them into the Temple Courts, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

All the people saw him walking about and praising God;

And, when they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they were utterly astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has done honor to his Servant Jesus--him whom you gave up and disowned before Pilate, when he had decided to set him free.

The very Guide to Life you put to death! But God raised him from the dead--and of that we are ourselves witnesses.

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.

But Heaven must be his home, until the days of the Universal Restoration, of which God has spoken by the lips of his holy Prophets from the very first.

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.

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.'

For you, first, God raised up his Servant, and sent him to bless you, by turning each one of you from his wicked ways."

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.

But Peter and John replied: "Whether it is right, in the sight of God, to listen to you rather than to him--

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,'

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 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.

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!"

The young men got up, and, winding the body in a sheet, carried it out and buried it.

But, when the officers got there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported that,

To this Peter and the Apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging him on a cross.

It is this Jesus whom God has exalted to his right hand, to be a Guide and a Savior, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

And we are witness to the truth of this, and so is the Holy Spirit--the gift of God to those who obey him."

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!"

And never for a single day, either in the Temple Courts or in private houses, did they cease to teach, or to tell the Good News of Jesus, the Christ.

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.

So God's Message spread, and the number of the disciples continued to increase rapidly in Jerusalem, and a large body of the priests accepted the Faith.

Then they induced some men to assert that they had heard Stephen saying blasphemous things against Moses, and against God;

And, upon that, Stephen spoke as follows: "Brothers and Fathers, hear what I have to say. God, who manifests himself in the Glory, appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, and before he settled in Haran, and said to him--

On this, Abraham left the country of the Chaldaeans and settled in Haran; and from there, after his father's death, God caused him to migrate into this very country, in which you are now living.

God did not at that time give him any part of it, not even a foot of ground. But he promised to 'give him possession of it and his descendants after him, though at that time he had no child.

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.'

Then God made with Abraham the Covenant of Circumcision; and under it Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him when he was eight days old; and Isaac became the father of Jacob; and Jacob of the Twelve Patriarchs.

The Patriarchs, out of jealousy, sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him,

As the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise which God had made to Abraham, the people increased largely in numbers in Egypt,

He thought his brothers would understand that God was using him to save them; but they failed to do so.

'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses trembled, and did not dare to look.

This same Moses, whom they had disowned with the words--'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' was the very man whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, under the guidance of the angel that had appeared to him in the bush.

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.'

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.'

This Tabernacle, which was handed down to them, was brought into this country by our ancestors who accompanied Joshua (at the conquest of the nations that God drove out before their advance), and remained here until the time of David.

David found favor with God, and prayed that he might find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

But it was Solomon who built a House for God.

He, filled as he was with the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes intently on the heavens, and saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand.

"Look," he exclaimed, "I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand!"

Now those who were scattered in different directions went from place to place proclaiming the Good News.

Every one, high and low, paid attention to him. 'This man,' they used to say, 'must be that Power of God which men call "The Great Power."'

However, when they came to believe Philip, as he told them the Good News about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

When the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had welcomed God's Message, they sent Peter and John to them;

"A curse upon you and upon your money," Peter exclaimed, "for thinking that God's free gift can be bought with gold!

You have no share or part in our Message, for your 'heart is not right with God.'

Peter and John, having borne their testimony and delivered the Lord's Message, returned to Jerusalem, telling the Good News, as they went, in many Samaritan villages.

"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.'

Then Philip began, and, taking this passage as his text, told him the Good News about Jesus.

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.

When Saul got up from the ground, though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So his men led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus;

Instantly it seemed as if a film fell from Saul's eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,

And at once began in the Synagogues to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God.

"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ cures you. Get up, and make your bed." Aeneas got up at once;

A religious man and one who reverenced God, with all his household. He was liberal in his charities to the people, and prayed to God constantly.

One afternoon, about three o'clock, he distinctly saw in a vision an angel from God come to him, and call him by name.

Cornelius fixed his eyes on him and, in great alarm, said: "What is it, Lord?" "Your prayers and your charities," the angel answered, "have been an acceptable offering to God.

Again he was aware of a voice which said-- "What God has pronounced 'clean', do not regard as 'defiled'."

While Peter was still perplexed as to the meaning of the vision that he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius, having enquired the way to Simon's house, came up to the gate,

The men replied: "Our captain, Cornelius, a pious man who reverences God and is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, has been instructed by a holy angel to send for you to his house, and to listen to what you have to say."

"You are doubtless aware that it is forbidden for a Jew to be intimate with a foreigner, or even to enter his house; and yet God has shown me that I ought not to call any man 'defiled' or 'unclean.'

'Cornelius,' he said, 'your prayer has been heard, and your charities have been accepted, by God.

Accordingly I sent to you at once, and you have been so good as to come. And now we are all here in the presence of God, to listen to all that you have been instructed by the Lord to say."

Then Peter began. "I see, beyond all doubt," he said, "that 'God does not show partiality,'

God has sent his Message to the Israelites and told them, through Jesus Christ, the Good News of peace--and Jesus is Lord of all!

The story, I mean, of Jesus of Nazareth, and how God consecrated him his Christ by enduing him with the Holy Spirit and with power; and how he went about doing good and curing all who were under the power of the Devil, because God was with him.

This Jesus God raised on the third day, and enabled him to appear,

Not indeed to every one, but to witnesses chosen beforehand by God--to us, who ate and drank with him after his resurrection from the dead.

Further, God charged us to proclaim to the people, and solemnly affirm, that it is Jesus who has been appointed by God Judge of the living and the dead.

For they heard them speaking with 'tongues' and extolling God. At this Peter asked:

The Apostles and the Brethren throughout Judea heard that even the Gentiles had welcomed God's Message.

Then a second time there came a voice from the heavens. "What God has pronounced 'clean'," it said, "you must not call 'defiled'."

Since then, God had given them the very same gift as he gave us when we became believers in Jesus Christ the Master--who was I that I could thwart God?"

On hearing this statement, they said no more, but broke out into praise of God. "So even to the Gentiles," they exclaimed, "God has granted the repentance which leads to Life!"

Some of them, however, who were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, on coming to Antioch, addressed themselves also to the Jews of foreign birth, telling them the Good News about that Lord Jesus.

On coming there he saw to his great joy these tokens of the loving-kindness of God, and encouraged them all to make up their minds to be faithful to the Lord--

For Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith--and a large number of people took their stand on the Lord's side.

So Peter was kept in prison, but meanwhile the prayers of the Church were being earnestly offered to God on his behalf.