And once, when he had gathered them together, he charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the fulfillment of the Father's promise-- "that promise," he said, "of which you have heard me speak;

When they reached Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room, where they were staying. There were there Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

About this time, at a meeting of the Brethren, when there were about a hundred and twenty present, Peter rose to speak.

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.

Then there appeared tongues of what seemed to be flame, separating, so that one settled on each of them;

Now there were then staying in Jerusalem religious Jews from every country in the world;

But there were some who said with a sneer: "They have had too much new wine."

There were present Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of High-Priestly rank.

And Salvation is in him alone; for there is no other Name in the whole world, given to men, to which we must look for our Salvation."

But, when they looked at the man who had been healed, standing there with them, they had nothing to say.

There have indeed gathered together in this city against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you has consecrated the Christ, not Herod and Pontius Pilate only, but the nations and the people of Israel besides--

Nor was there any one in need among them, for all who were owners of land or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the sales

There was, however, a man named Ananias, who, with his wife Sapphira, sold some property,

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

There they produced witnesses who gave false evidence. "This man," they said, "is incessantly saying things against this Holy Place and the Law;

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.

Hearing, however, that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob sent our ancestors there on their first visit.

And so Jacob went down into Egypt. There he died, and our ancestors also,

At these words Moses took to flight, and became an exile in Midian; and there he had two sons born to him.

Forty years had passed when there appeared to him, in the Desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.

'The heavens are a throne for me, and the earth a stool for my feet. What manner of House will you build me, says the Lord, or what place is there where I may rest?

Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and there began to preach the Christ.

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

And many who were paralyzed or lame were cured, so that there was great rejoicing throughout that city.

There was staying in the city a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic there and mystifying the Samaritan people, giving himself out to be some great Being.

And asked him to give him letters to the Jewish congregations at Damascus, authorizing him, if he found there any supporters of the Cause, whether men or women, to have them put in chains and brought to Jerusalem.

Now there was at Damascus a disciple named Ananias, to whom, in a vision, the Lord said: "Ananias." "Yes, Lord," he answered.

"Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I have heard from many people about this man--how much harm he has done at Jerusalem to your People there.

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bed-ridden for eight years with paralysis.

At Jaffa there lived a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which is in Greek 'Dorcas'--a Gazelle. Her life was spent in doing kind and charitable actions.

There was then in Caesarea a man named Cornelius, a Captain in the regiment known as the 'Italian Regiment,'

And called out and asked if the Simon, who was also known as Peter, was lodging there.

Peter was still pondering over the vision, when the Spirit said to him: "There are two men looking for you at this moment.

And he directed that they should be baptized in the Faith of Jesus Christ; after which they asked him to stay there a few days longer.

"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'."

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--

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.'

Just when Herod was intending to bring him before the people, on that very night Peter was asleep between two soldiers, chained to them both, while there were sentries in front of the door, guarding the prison.

In the morning there was a great stir among the soldiers-- what could have become of Peter!

Among the members of the Church at Antioch there were several Prophets and Teachers--Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of 'Black', Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.

Barnabas and Saul, sent on this mission, as they were, by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

The others went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. There they went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath and took their seats.

As John was drawing towards the end of his career, he said what do you suppose that I am? I am not the Christ. But there is "One Coming" after me, whose very sandal I am not worthy to untie.'

Therefore Paul and Barnabas spent a long time there, and spoke out fearlessly, relying upon the Lord, who confirmed the Message of his Love by permitting signs and wonders to take place at their hands.

And, when there was an attempt on the part of both Gentiles and Jews, with their leading men, to resort to violence and to stone them,

And there they continued to tell the Good News.

In the streets of Lystra there used to sit a man who had no power in his feet; he had been lame from his birth, and had never walked.

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.

From there they sailed to Antioch--the place where they had been committed to the gracious care of God for the work which they had now finished.

For in every town, for generations past, there have been those who preach Moses, read as he is in the Synagogues every Sabbath."

So the bearers of this letter were sent on their way, and went down to Antioch. There they called a meeting of all the brethren,

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

So, immediately after Paul had seen the vision, we looked for an opportunity to cross over to Macedonia, concluding that God had summoned us to tell the Good News to the people there.

From there we made our way to Philippi, which is the principal city of that part of Macedonia, and also a Roman Settlement. In that city we spent several days.

On the Sabbath we went outside the gate to the river-side, where we supposed there would be a Place of Prayer; and we sat down and talked to the women who were gathered there.

When her masters saw that there was no hope of further profit from her, they seized Paul and Silas, dragged them into the public square to the authorities,

Suddenly there was an earthquake of such violence that the Jail was shaken to its foundations; all the doors flew open, and all the prisoners' chains were loosened.

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.

So he argued in the Synagogue with the Jews and with those who joined in their worship, as well as daily in the public Square with those who happened to be there.

There were, however, some men who joined him, and became believers in Christ. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and several others.

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,

So he settled there for a year and a half, and taught God's Message among the people.

Just as Paul was on the point of speaking, Gallio said to the Jews: "Jews, if this were a case of misdemeanor or some serious crime, there would be some reason for my listening patiently to you;

Paul remained there some time after this, and then took leave of the Brethren, and sailed to Syria with Priscilla and Aquila, but not before his head had been shaved at Cenchreae, because he was under a vow.

They put into Ephesus, and there Paul, leaving his companions, went into the Synagogue and addressed the Jews.

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

When he wanted to cross to Greece, the Brethren furthered his plans, and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival he proved of great assistance to those who had, through the loving-kindness of God, become believers in Christ,

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland districts of Roman Asia, and went to Ephesus. There he found some disciples, of whom he asked:

"Did you, when you became believers in Christ, receive the Holy Spirit?" "No," they answered, "we did not even hear that there was a Holy Spirit."

There were about twelve of them in all.

Paul went to the Synagogue there, and for three months spoke out fearlessly, giving addresses and trying to convince his hearers, about the kingdom of God.

Sometime after these events Paul resolved to go through Macedonia and Greece, and then make his way to Jerusalem. "And after I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."

So that not only is this business of ours likely to fall into discredit, but there is the further danger that the Temple of the great Goddess Artemis will be thought nothing of, and that she herself will be deprived of her splendor--though all Roman Asia and the whole world worship her."

When the Recorder had succeeded in quieting the crowd, he said: "Men of Ephesus, who is there, I ask you, who needs to be told that this city of Ephesus is the Warden of the Temple of the great Artemis, and of the statue which fell down from Zeus?

If, however, Demetrius and the artisans who are acting with him have a charge to make against any one, there are Court Days and there are Magistrates; let both parties take legal proceedings.

For I tell you that we are in danger of being proceeded against for to-day's riot, there being nothing to account for it; and in that case we shall be at a loss to give any reason for this disorderly gathering."

These men went to Troas and waited for us there;

There were a good many lamps in the upstairs room, where we had met;

We started first, went on board ship, and sailed for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there. This was by his own arrangement, as he intended to go by land himself.

The day after we had sailed from there, we arrived off Chios, touched at Samos the following day, and the next day reached Miletus;

And now, under spiritual constraint, I am here on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

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,

There we found the disciples and stayed a week with them. Speaking under the influence of the Spirit, they warned Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.

After we had made the run from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais, and exchanged greetings with the Brethren there, and spent a day with them.

On our arrival at Jerusalem, the Brethren there gave us a hearty welcome;

Join these men, share their purification, and bear their expenses, so that they may shave their heads; and then all will see that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that, on the contrary, you yourself rule your life in obedience to the Jewish Law.

And to that the High Priest himself and all the Council can testify. For I had letters of introduction from them to our fellow Jews at Damascus, and I was on my way to that place, to bring those whom I might find there prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment.

While I was still on my way, just as I was getting close to Damascus, about mid-day, suddenly there flashed from the heavens a great light all round me.

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.'

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

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.

Whereupon Paul turned to him and said: "God will strike you, you white-washed wall! Are you sitting there to try me in accordance with law, and yet, in defiance of law, order me to be struck?"

As soon as he said this, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and there was a sharp division of opinion among those present.

(For Sadducees say there is no such thing as a resurrection, and that there is neither angel nor spirit, while Pharisees believe in both.)

There were more than forty in the plot;

When I found that their charges were connected with questions of their own Law, and that there was nothing alleged involving either death or imprisonment.

And I have a hope that rests in God--a hope which they also cherish--that there will one day be a resurrection of good and bad alike.

There were, however, some Jews from Roman Asia who ought to have been here before you, and to have made any charge that they may have against me--