And once while He was eating with them, He charged them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. "You have heard me speak of it," He said,

He answered them, "It is not your business to learn times and dates which the Father has a right to fix,

They were perfectly astounded, and in bewilderment they continued to say, "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.

For David says of Him: 'I always kept my eyes upon the Lord, for He is at my right hand, so that I may not be removed.

For you will not forsake my soul to Hades. Nor will you let your Holy One experience decay.

he foresaw the resurrection of the Christ and told of it, for He was not forsaken to Hades, and His body did not undergo decay.

For David did not go up to heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,

And so they continued to sell their property and goods and to distribute the money to all, as anyone had special need.

"And yet, I know, brothers, that you did not realize what you were doing, any more than your leaders did.

The result will be, that any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us severely threaten them not to say anything at all to anyone else about this person."

So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus.

So, after further threatening them, they turned them loose, because they could not find any way to punish them, on account of the people, because they all continued to praise God for what had taken place,

Now there was but one heart and soul in the vast number of those who had become believers, and not one of them claimed that anything that he had was his own, but they shared everything that they had as common property.

and to put it at the disposal of the apostles; then distribution was continuously made to everyone in proportion to his need.

As long as it was unsold, was it not yours, and when it was sold, was not the money at your disposal? How could you have the heart to do such a thing! You did not lie to men but to God!"

Not one of those on the outside dared to associate with them, although the people continued to hold them in high regard,

But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them,

But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and

"Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!"

and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.

So the Twelve called together the whole body of the disciples, and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave off preaching the word of God to wait on tables.

but they could not cope with his good practical sense and the spiritual power with which he usually spoke.

He gave him no property in it, not even a foot of land, and yet He promised to give it to him and his descendants after him, as a permanent possession, although he had no child at that time.

Then a famine spread all over Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering, and our forefathers could not find the simplest food.

By taking a cunning advantage of our race he oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to expose their infants so that they should not live.

He supposed that his brothers would understand that God through his instrumentality was going to deliver them, but they did not.

'I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses was so terrified that he did not dare to look at the bush.

But our forefathers would not listen to him, but pushed him aside, and in their hearts they hankered after Egypt;

and they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods to march in front of us, for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!'

But the Most High does not live in buildings built by human hands. As the prophet says:

Was it not my hand that made them all?"'

you who received the law by order of the angels, and yet you did not obey it!"

Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not charge this sin on the book against them!" On saying this he fell asleep in death.

for as yet He had not come upon any of them, but they had been baptized merely in the name of the Lord Jesus.

You have no share or part in this matter, for your heart is not sincere in the sight of God.

Now this was the passage of Scripture that he was reading: "Like a sheep He was led away to be slaughtered, and just as a lamb is dumb before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth.

His fellow-travelers stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could not see anyone.

Then Saul got up off the ground, but he could not see anything, although his eyes were wide open. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus,

and for three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink anything.

And all who heard him were astounded and said, "Is not this the man who harassed those who called upon this name in Jerusalem, and has come here expressly for the purpose of putting them in chains and taking them back to the high priests?"

but their plot was found out by Saul. Day and night they kept guarding the city gates, to murder him,

but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall, by lowering him in a hamper-basket.

Now when Saul arrived at Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples there, but they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe that he was really a disciple.

The next day, while those men were traveling on and not far from the town, Peter went up on the housetop about noon to pray.

But Peter said, "Never by any means, sir, for I have never eaten anything common, or not ceremonially cleansed."

A second time the voice came to him, "The things that God has cleansed you must not call unclean."

and he said to him, "You know that it is against the law for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit one, but God has taught me not to call any man vulgar or ceremonially unclean;

not by all the people but by witnesses whom God had beforehand appointed, namely, by us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from the dead.

for having visited and eaten with men who were not Jews.

But I answered, 'Never by any means, sir, for nothing common or not ceremonially cleansed has ever passed my lips.'

Then the voice from heaven answered again, 'The things that God has cleansed you must not call unclean.'

Now just as Herod was going to bring him out, that is, the very night before, Peter was fastened with two chains and was sleeping between two soldiers, and the guards were at the door guarding the prison.

So he kept following him out, but he was not conscious that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was dreaming it.

Herod had search made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.

and the people shouted, "It is a god's voice, not a man's!"

But the angel of the Lord at once struck him down, because he did not give the glory to God; he was eaten by worms, and so died.

As John was closing his career, he said, 'What do you take me to be? I am not the Christ; no, but He is coming after me, and I am not fit to untie the shoes on His feet.'

and although they could not find Him guilty of a capital offense, they begged Pilate to have Him put to death.

Because in another psalm he says, 'You will not let your Holy One experience decay.'

but He whom God raised to life did not experience it.

and that through union with Him every one of you who believes is given right standing with God and freed from every charge from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

So take care that what is said in the prophets does not come upon you:

'Look, you scoffers! Then wonder and vanish away, for I am doing a work in your times which you will not at all believe though one may tell you in detail.'"

though He did not fail to furnish evidences about Himself, in constantly showing His kindness to you, in sending you rain from heaven and fruit-producing seasons, in giving you food and happiness to your heart's content."

So I give it as my opinion, we ought not to put difficulties in the way of the heathen who turn to God,

For the Holy Spirit and we have decided not to lay upon you any burden but these essential requirements,

Paul, however, did not consider such a man fit to take along with them, the man who deserted them in Pamphylia and did not go on with them to the work.

they went on to Mysia and tried to get into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.

There Paul had a vision one night: a man from Macedonia kept standing and pleading with him in these words, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

Even at that time of the night he took them and washed their wounds, and he and all the members of his household at once were baptized.

So some of them were convinced, and they joined Paul and Silas; also quite a number of devout Greeks and not a few women of the first rank.

They stopped at Jason's house and tried to bring them out to the people. So, as they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the town magistrates, shouting, "These fellows, who have turned the world topsy-turvy, have come here too,

That night at once the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea, and on arriving there they went to the Jewish synagogue.

Many of them came to believe, and not a few distinguished Greek women and men.

The God who made the world and all that it contains, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by human hands,

nor is He served by human hands as though He were in need of anything, for He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

so that they might search for God, possibly they might grope for Him, and find Him, though He is really not far from any of us.

Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to suppose that His nature is like gold or silver or stone or anything carved by man's art and thought.

But as they opposed and abused him, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads! I am not to blame for it myself. Hereafter I am going to the heathen."

One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, "Stop being afraid, go on speaking, never give up;

They asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent.

and you see and hear that, not only in Ephesus but all over the province of Asia, this man Paul has led away a vast number of people by persuading them, telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.

Now the danger facing us is, not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into contempt and that she whom all Asia and all the world now worship will soon be dethroned from her majestic glory!"

Paul wanted to go into the assembly and address the people, but the disciples would not let him.

Some of the public officials in Asia, who were friendly to him, also sent word to him, begging him not to risk himself in the theatre.

So they kept on shouting, some one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority of them did not know why they had met.

At last the city recorder quieted the mob and said: "Men of Ephesus, who in the world does not know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image that fell down from heaven?

For you have brought these men here, although they are not guilty of sacrilege or of abusive speech against our goddess.

For we are in danger of being charged with rioting for today's assembly, as there is not a single reason we can give for it."

For Paul's plan was to sail past Ephesus, so as not to lose any time in the province of Asia; for he was eager, if possible, to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost.

And I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, because I am impelled by the Spirit to do so, though I am not aware what will befall me there,

I therefore protest to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,

Because I know that after I have gone violent wolves will break in among you and will not spare the flock.

So ever be on your guard and always remember that for three years, night and day, I never ceased warning you one by one, and that with tears.

So we looked up the disciples there and stayed a week with them. Because of impressions made by the Spirit they kept on warning Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.

When we heard this, we and all the people there begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? Why, I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

So, since he would not yield to our appeal, we stopped begging him, and said, "The Lord's will be done!"