And while in their company He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promised gift. "This you have heard of," He said, "from me.

When He had said this, and while they were looking at Him, He was carried up, and a cloud closing beneath Him hid Him from their sight.

who said, "Galilaeans, why stand looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will come in just the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven."

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Oliveyard, which is near Jerusalem, about a mile off.

beginning from His baptism by John down to the day on which He was taken up again from us into Heaven--one should be appointed to become a witness with us as to His resurrection."

to occupy the place in this ministry and Apostleship from which Judas through transgression fell, in order to go to his own place."

when suddenly there came from the sky a sound as of a strong rushing blast of wind. This filled the whole house where they were sitting;

Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every part of the world.

of Egypt or of the parts of Africa towards Cyrene. Others are visitors from Rome--being either Jews or converts from heathenism--and others are Cretans or Arabians.

"Listen, Israelites, to what I say. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man accredited to you from God by miracles and marvels and signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know, Him--

"Being therefore lifted high by the mighty hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out this which you see and hear.

And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, saying, "Escape from this crooked generation."

some men were carrying there one who had been lame from birth, whom they were wont to place every day close to the Beautiful Gate (as it was called)

So he looked and waited, expecting to receive something from them.

The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that.

Repent, therefore, and reform your lives, so that the record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come seasons of revival from the Lord,

Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets--the times of the reconstitution of all things.

Moses declared, "'The Lord your God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brethren as He has raised me. In all that He says to you, you must listen to Him.

And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the People.'

Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who have spoken--have also announced the coming of this present time.

It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of you to turn from your wickedness."

highly incensed at their teaching the people and proclaiming in the case of Jesus the Resurrection from among the dead.

be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that through the name of Jesus the Anointed, the Nazarene, whom *you* crucified, but whom *God* has raised from among the dead-- through that name this man stands here before you in perfect health.

So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin while they conferred among themselves.

But to prevent the matter spreading any further among the people, let us stop them by threats from speaking in the future in this name to any one whatever."

sold a farm which he had, and brought the money and gave it to the Apostles.

But a Pharisee of the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, held in honour by all the people, rose from his seat and requested that they should be sent outside the court for a few minutes.

And now I tell you to hold aloof from these men and leave them alone--for if this scheme or work is of human origin, it will come to nothing.

But if it is really from God, you will be powerless to put them down--lest perhaps you find yourselves to be actually fighting against God."

But they did not desist from teaching every day, in the Temple or in private houses, and telling the Good News about Jesus, the Christ.

Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to undertake this duty.

But some members of the so-called 'Synagogue of the Freed-men,' together with some Cyrenaeans, Alexandrians, Cilicians and men from Roman Asia, were roused to encounter Stephen in debate.

and delivered him from all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him governor over Egypt and all the royal household.

and they were taken to Shechem and were laid in the tomb which Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a sum of money paid in silver.

"Alarmed at this question, Moses fled from the country and went to live in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

This is the Moses who said to the descendants of Israel, "'God will raise up a Prophet for you, from among your brethren, just as He raised me up.'

So God turned from them and gave them up to the worship of the Host of Heaven, as it is written in the Book of the Prophets, "'Were they victims and sacrifices which you offered Me, forty years in the Desert, O House of Israel?

Did not My hand form this universe.'

Those, however, who were scattered abroad went from place to place spreading the Good News of God's Message;

Crowds of people, with one accord, gave attention to what they heard from him, listening, and witnessing the signs which he did.

His influence over them arose from their having been, for a long time, bewildered by his sorceries.

And an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and proceed south to the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza, crossing the Desert."

In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will make known His posterity? For He is destroyed from among men."

went to the High Priest and begged from him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, in order that if he found any believers there, either men or women, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

But on the journey, as he was getting near Damascus, suddenly there flashed round him a light from Heaven;

Then he rose from the ground, but when he had opened his eyes, he could not see, and they led him by the arm and brought him to Damascus.

"Rise," said the Lord, "and go to Straight Street, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man called Saul, from Tarsus, for he is actually praying.

"Lord," answered Ananias, "I have heard about that man from many, and I have heard of the great mischief he has done to Thy people in Jerusalem;

Instantly there dropped from his eyes what seemed to be scales, and he could see once more. Upon this he rose and received baptism;

The Church, however, throughout the whole of Judaea, Galilee and Samaria, had peace and was spiritually built up; and grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and receiving encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

Upon hearing this, Peter invited them in, and gave them a lodging. The next day he set out with them, some of the brethren from Jaffa going with him,

not to all the people, but to witnesses--men previously chosen by God--namely, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them from the beginning.

"While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.

"But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "'What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'

"Now at that very moment three men came to the house where we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me.

At that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

Peter coming to himself said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

And when Herod had had him searched for and could not find him, after sharply questioning the guards he ordered them away to execution. He then went down from Judaea to Caesarea and remained there.

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, having discharged their mission, and they brought with them John, surnamed Mark.

They therefore, being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleuceia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

From Paphos, Paul and his party put out to sea and sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem.

But they themselves, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch in Pisidia. Here, on the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down.

The God of this people of Israel chose our forefathers, and made the people great during their stay in Egypt, until with wondrous power He brought them out from that land.

"It is from among David's descendants that God, in fulfilment of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel, even Jesus.

and when they had carried out everything which had been written about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

"But God raised Him from the dead.

And, after a few days, He appeared to the people who had gone up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem and are now witnesses concerning Him to the Jews.

And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He speaks thus: 'I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.'

and in Him every believer is absolved from all offences, from which you could not be absolved under the Law of Moses.

And, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and of the devout converts from heathenism continued with Paul and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to hold fast to the grace of God.

But they shook off the dust from their feet as a protest against them and came to Iconium;

Now a man who had no power in his feet used to sit in the streets of Lystra. He had been lame from his birth and had never walked.

So he sprang up and began to walk about. Then the crowds, seeing what Paul had done, rent the air with their shouts in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have assumed human form and have come down to us."

We also are but men, with natures kindred to your own; and we bring you the Good News that you are to turn from these unreal things, to worship the ever-living God, the Creator of earth and sky and sea and of everything that is in them.

and yet by His beneficence He has not left His existence unattested--His beneficence, I mean, in sending you rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and joyfulness."

Even with words like these they had difficulty in preventing the thronging crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and, having won over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, believing him to be dead.

But certain persons who had come down from Judaea tried to convince the brethren, saying, "Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved."

and after there had been a long discussion Peter rose to his feet. "It is within your own knowledge," he said, "that God originally made choice among you that from my lips the Gentiles were to hear the Message of the Good News, and believe.

Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on the Gentiles to take from among them a People to be called by His name.

Says the Lord, who has been making these things known from ages long past.'

Yet let us send them written instructions to abstain from things polluted by connexion with idolatry, from fornication, from meat killed by strangling, and from blood.

For Moses from the earliest times has had his preachers in every town, being read, as he is, Sabbath after Sabbath, in the various synagogues."

Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, were selected,

As we have been informed that certain persons who have gone out from among us have disturbed you by their teaching and have unsettled your minds, without having received any such instructions from us;

You must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. Keep yourselves clear of these things, and it will be well with you. Farewell."

After spending some time there they received an affectionate farewell from the brethren to return to those who had sent them.

So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus.

As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.

So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day.

Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis,

when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner.

Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ."

Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible.

He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes;

that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us.

seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead."