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

Down to that day on which he was taken up to Heaven, after he had, by the help of the Holy Spirit, given instructions to the Apostles whom he had chosen.

No sooner had Jesus said this than he was caught up before their eyes, and a cloud received him from their sight.

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."

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 was not David who went up into Heaven; for he himself says- -'The Lord said to my master: "Sit on my right hand,

One day, as Peter and John were going up into the Temple Courts for the three o'clock Prayers, a man, who had been lame from his birth, was being carried by.

Grasping the lame man by the right hand, Peter lifted him up. Instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong,

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.

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.

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.

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

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,

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

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

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

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.

It was just at this time that Moses was born. He was an exceedingly beautiful child, and for three months was brought up in his own father's house;

And, when he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh found him and brought him up as her own son.

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.'

The Spirit said to Philip: "Go up to the carriage yonder and keep close to it."

So Philip ran up, and he heard the Abyssinian reading the Prophet Isaiah. "Do you understand what you are reading?" he asked.

"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.

But, when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the Treasurer saw no more of him; for he continued his journey with a joyful heart.

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

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,

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

But Peter sent everybody out of the room, and knelt down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said: "Tabitha! stand up." She opened her eyes, and, seeing Peter, sat up.

Giving her his hand, Peter raised her up, and, calling in the widows and others of Christ's People, presented her to them alive.

On the next day, while these men were on their way, just as they were nearing the town, Peter went up on the housetop about mid-day to pray.

Then he was aware of a voice which said-- "Stand up, Peter, kill something, and eat."

This happened three times, and then suddenly it was all taken up into the heavens.

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,

Peter, however, lifted him up, saying as he did so: "Stand up, I am only a man like yourself."

But, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were converts from Judaism began to attack him,

And I also heard a voice saying to me-- 'Stand up, Peter, kill something and eat.'

This happened three times, and then all was drawn up again into the heavens.

At that moment three men, who had been sent from Caesarea to see me, came up to the house in which we were.

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--

After seizing Peter, Herod put him in prison, and entrusted him to the keeping of four Guards of four soldiers each, intending, after the Passover, to bring him up before the people.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side, and roused him with the words: "Get up quickly."

And he appeared for many days to those who had gone up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now witnesses for him to the people.

And, therefore, in another Psalm it is said--'Thou wilt not give up the Holy One to undergo corruption.'

But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles, and poisoned their minds against the Brethren.

Said loudly: "Stand upright on your feet." The man leaped up, and began walking about,

But, when the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the town; the next day he went with Barnabas to Derbe.

This gave rise to a serious dispute, and much discussion, between Paul and Barnabas and these men, and it was therefore settled that Paul and Barnabas and others of their number should go up to Jerusalem, to consult the Apostles and Officers of the Church about the matter under discussion.

'"After this I will return; and I will rebuild the House of David which has fallen--its very ruins I will rebuild, and will set it up once more;

Afterwards he took them up to his house and set before them something to eat, rejoicing that he, with all his household, had come to believe in God.

On reaching Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and exchanged greetings with the Church, and then went down to Antioch.

While a number of people, who had practiced magic, collected their books and burnt them publicly; and on reckoning up the price of these, they found it amounted to five thousand pounds.

And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, was gradually overcome with great drowsiness, as Paul continued his address. At last, quite overpowered by his drowsiness, he fell from the third story to the ground, and was picked up for dead.

And now I commend you to the Lord and to the Message of his Love--a Message which has the power to build up your characters, and to give you your place among all those who have become Christ's People.

He came to see us, and, taking Paul's girdle, and binding his own feet and hands with it, said: "This is what the Holy Spirit says--'The man to whom this girdle belongs will be bound like this at Jerusalem by the Jews, and they will give him up to the Gentiles'."

When we heard that, we and the people of the place began to entreat Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

At the end of our visit, we made our preparations, and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

Then he went up to Paul, arrested him, ordered him to be doubly chained, and proceeded to inquire who he was, and what he had been doing.

"I am a Jew, a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, but I was brought up in this city under the teaching of Gamaliel, and educated in accordance with the strict system of our ancestral Law. I was as zealous in God's service as any of you who are here to-day.

Then I said 'What am I to do, Lord?' 'Get up and go into Damascus,' The Lord said to me, 'and there you shall be told all that you have been appointed to do.'

Standing close to me, he said 'Saul, my Brother, recover your sight.' And then and there I recovered my sight and looked up at him.

Up to this point the people had been listening to Paul, but at these words they called out: "Kill him! A fellow like this ought not to have been allowed to live!"

But just as they had tied him up to be scourged, Paul said to the Captain standing near: "Is it legal for you to scourge a Roman citizen, unconvicted?"

So the Commanding Officer went up to Paul and said: "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," replied Paul.

Paul fixed his eyes upon the Council, and began: "Brothers, for my part, I have always ordered my life before God, with a clear conscience, up to this very day."

So a great uproar ensued, and some of the Teaches of the Law belonging to the Pharisees' party stood up and hotly protested: "We find nothing whatever wrong in this man. Suppose a spirit did speak to him, or an angel--"

We have found this man a public pest; he is one who stirs up disputes among the Jews all the world over, and is a ringleader of the Nazarene heretics.

For you can easily ascertain that it is not more than twelve days ago that I went up to worship at Jerusalem,

Three days after Festus had entered upon his province, he left Caesarea and went up to Jerusalem.

But, as Festus wished to gain popularity with the Jews, he interrupted Paul with the question: "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?"

If, however, I am breaking the law and have committed any offence deserving death, I do not ask to escape the penalty; but, if there is nothing in the accusations of these people, no one has the power to give me up to them. I appeal to the Emperor."

My answer to them was, that it was not the practice of Romans to give up any man to his accusers till the accused had met them face to face, and had also had an opportunity of answering the charges brought against him.

And, as I was at a loss how to enquire into questions of this kind, I asked Paul if he were willing to go up to Jerusalem, and there be put upon his trial.

But get up and stand upright; for I have appeared to you in order to appoint you a servant and a witness of those revelations of me which you have already had, and of those in which I shall yet appear to you,

After that, King Agrippa, I did not fail to obey the heavenly vision;

So, when a light wind sprang up from the south, thinking that they had found their opportunity, they weighed anchor and kept along the coast of Crete, close in shore.

They got, however, into a kind of channel, and there ran the ship aground. The bows stuck fast and could not be moved, while the stern began breaking up under the strain.

In that neighborhood there was an estate belonging to the Governor of the island, whose name was Publius. He took us up to his house, and for three days entertained us most courteously.

And from there we worked to windward and so got to Rhegium. A day later a south wind sprang up and took us to Puteoli in two days.