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."

This became known to every one living in Jerusalem, so that the field came to be called, in their language, 'Akeldama,' which means the 'Field of Blood.')

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.

'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;

Therefore, repent and turn, that your sins may be wiped away; so that happier times may come from the Lord himself,

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,

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!"

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

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 consequence was that people would bring out their sick even into the streets, and lay them on mattresses and mats, in the hope that, as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some one of them.

Presently, however, some one came and told them, that the men whom they had put in prison were actually standing in the Temple Courts, teaching the people.

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;

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

Until a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to the throne.

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.'

For there were many instances of people with foul spirits, where the spirits, with loud screams, came out of them;

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.

So Philip set out on a journey; and on his way he came upon an official of high rank, in the service of Candace, Queen of the Abyssinians. He was her treasurer, and had been to Jerusalem to worship,

Presently, as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the Treasurer exclaimed: "Look! here is water; what is to prevent my being baptized?"

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.

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.

All who heard him were amazed. "Is not this," they asked, "the man who worked havoc in Jerusalem among those that invoke this Name, and who had also come here for the express purpose of having such persons put in chains and taken before the Chief Priests?"

And so it came about that the Church, throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, enjoyed peace and became firmly established; and, ordering its life by reverence for the Lord and the help of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

And all the inhabitants of Lydda and of the Plain of Sharon saw him, and came over to the Lord's side.

Jaffa was near Lydda, and the disciples, having heard that Peter was at Lydda, sent two men with the request that he would come on to them without delay.

Peter returned with them at once. On his arrival, he was taken upstairs, and all the widows came round him in tears, showing the coats and other clothing which Dorcas had made while she was among them.

This became known all through Jaffa, and numbers of People came to believe in the Lord.

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

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,

That was why I came, when I was sent for, without raising any objection. And now I ask your reason for sending for me."

Therefore send to Jaffa, and invite the Simon, who is also known as Peter, to come here. He is lodging in the house of Simon the tanner, near the sea.'

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."

Those converts from Judaism, who had come with Peter, were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed even upon the Gentiles;

"I was in the town of Jaffa," he said, "and was praying; and, while in a trance, I saw a vision. There was something like a great sail descending, let down by its four corners out of the heavens; and it came right down to me.

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

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

The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six Brothers also went with me. And, when we came into the man's house,

The power of the Lord was with them, so that a great number who had learned to believe came over to the Lord's side.

And, when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And so it came about that, for a whole year, they attended the meetings of the Church there, and taught a large number of people; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians.'

During this time, some Prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem.

One of them, named Agabus, came forward and, under the influence of the Spirit, foretold a great famine that was to spread over all the world--a famine which occurred in the reign of Claudius.

Passing the first Guard, and then the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to them of itself; and, when they had passed through that, and had walked along one street, all at once the angel left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said: "Now I know beyond all doubt that the Lord has sent his angel, and has rescued me from Herod's hands and from all that the Jewish people have been expecting."

On his knocking at the door in the gate, a maidservant, named Rhoda, came to answer it.

Beware, therefore, that what is said in the Prophets does not come true of you--

And the crowd, seeing what Paul had done, called out in the Lycaonian language: "The Gods have made themselves like men and have come down to us."

"We are only men like yourselves, and we have come with the Good News that you should turn away from these follies to a living God, 'who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.'

Presently, however, there came some Jews from Antioch, and Iconium who, after they had won over the people, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the town, thinking him to be dead.

Paul and Barnabas then went through Pisidia, and came into Pamphylia,

But certain persons came down from Judea, and began to teach the Brethren that, unless they were circumcised, in accordance with the custom enjoined by Moses, they could not be saved.

Some of the Pharisees' party, however, who had become believers in Christ, came forward and declared that they were bound to circumcise converts and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.

And there one night Paul saw a vision. A Macedonian was standing and appealing to him--'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'

And, when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us to become her guests. "Since you have shown your conviction," she said, "that I really am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house." And she insisted on our doing so.

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.

But Paul's answer to them was: "They have flogged us in public without trial, though we are Roman citizens, and they have put us in prison, and now they are for sending us out secretly! No, indeed! Let them come and take us out themselves."

After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica. Here the Jews had a Synagogue;

And, not finding them there, they proceeded to drag Jason and some of the Brethren before the City Magistrates, shouting out: "These men, who have turned the world upside down, have now come here,

But, when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that God's Message had been delivered by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, exciting and disturbing the minds of the people.

For as I was going about, looking at your sacred shrines, I came upon an altar with this inscription--'To an Unknown God.' What, therefore, you worship in ignorance, that I am now proclaiming to you.

There he met a Jew of the name of Aquila, a native of Pontus, who, with his wife Priscilla, had lately come from Italy, in consequence of the order which had been issued by the Emperor Claudius for all Jews to leave Rome. Paul paid them a visit,

But, when Silas and Timothy had come down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to delivering the Message, earnestly maintaining before the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

Crispus, the President of the Synagogue, came to believe in the Lord, and so did all his household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, became believers in Christ and were baptized.

As he took his leave, "I will come back again to you, please God," and then set sail from Ephesus.

Meanwhile there had come to Ephesus an Alexandrian Jew, named Apollos, an eloquent man, who was well-versed in the Scriptures.

This incident came to the knowledge of all the Jews and Greeks living at Ephesus; they were all awe-struck, and the Name of the Lord Jesus was held in the highest honor.

Many, too, of those who had become believers in Christ came with a full confession of their practices;

And, when they came, he spoke to them as follows: "You know well the life that I always led among you from the very first day that I set foot in Roman Asia,

When we had torn ourselves away and had set sail, we ran before the wind to Cos; the next day we came to Rhodes, and from there to Patara,

However, when we had come to the end of our visit, we went on our way, all the disciples with their wives and children escorting us out of the city. We knelt down on the beach, and prayed,

During our visit, which lasted several days, a Prophet, named Agabus, came down from Judea.

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'."

There a man named Ananias, a strict observer of our Law, well spoken of by all the Jewish inhabitants, came to see me.

That night the Lord came and stood by Paul, and said: "Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem and you must bear witness in Rome also."

The man whom I send with this had been seized by the Jews, and was on the point of being killed by them, when I came upon them with the force under my command, and rescued him, as I learned that he was a Roman citizen.

As soon as Felix had read the letter, he enquired to what province Paul belonged, and, learning that he came from Cilicia, he said:

Five days afterwards the High Priest Ananias came down with some of the Councillors and a barrister named Tertullus. They laid an information with the Governor against Paul;

And, when the hearing came on, Tertullus began his speech for the prosecution.

After some years' absence I had come to bring charitable gifts to my nation, and to make offerings;

Some days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was herself a Jewess, and, sending for Paul, listened to what he had to say about faith in Christ Jesus.

On Paul's appearance, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, and made many serious charges, which they failed to establish.

Some days later King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea, and paid a visit of congratulation to Festus;

About whom, when I came to Jerusalem, the Jewish Chief Priest and the Councillors laid an information, demanding judgment against him.

But, when his accusers came forward, they brought no charge of wrong-doing such as I had expected;

So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come in full state and had entered the Audience Chamber, with the superior officers and the principal people of the city, by the order of Festus Paul was brought before them.

For several days our progress was slow, and it was only with difficulty that we arrived off Cnidus. As the wind was still unfavorable when we came off Cape Salmone, we sailed under the lee of Crete,

But shortly afterwards a hurricane came down on us off the land--a north-easter, as it is called.

It was then, when they had gone a long time without food, that Paul came forward, and said: "My friends, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and so incurred this injury and damage.

When daylight came, they could not make out what land it was, but, observing a creek in which there was a beach, they consulted as to whether they could run the ship safely into it.

The natives showed us marked kindness, for they lit a fire and took us all under shelter, because it had come on to rain and was cold.

After this, all the people in the island who had any illness came to Paul, and were cured.

The Brethren there had heard about us, and came out as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At sight of them Paul thanked God and was much cheered.

Three days after our arrival, Paul invited the leading Jews to meet him; and, when they came, he spoke to them as follows: "Brothers, although I had done nothing hostile to the interests of our nation or to our ancestral customs, yet I was sent from Jerusalem as a prisoner, and handed over to the Romans.

This, then, is my reason for urging you to come to see me and talk with me; because it is for the sake of the Hope of Israel that I am here in chains."

"We," was their reply, "have not had any letter about you from Judea, nor have any of our fellow-Jews come and reported or said anything bad about you.

They then fixed a day with him, and came to the place where he was staying, in even larger numbers, when Paul proceeded to lay the subject before them. He bore his testimony to the Kingdom of God, and tried to convince them about Jesus, by arguments drawn from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets--speaking from morning till evening.

For two whole years Paul stayed in a house which he rented for himself, welcoming all who came to see him,