up to the day when through the Holy Spirit He gave the apostles whom He had chosen their orders, and then was taken up to heaven.

After He had suffered, He had shown Himself alive to them, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them through a period of forty days, and telling them the things about the kingdom of God.

After saying this, He was taken up while they were looking at Him, and a cloud swept under Him and carried Him out of their sight.

At that time Peter got up among the brothers (there were about a hundred and twenty present) and said,

(This man bought a piece of land with the money which he took for his treachery, and he fell there face downward and his body broke in two, and all his intestines poured out.

It became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that this piece of land was called in their language Akeldamach, that is, The Field of Blood.)

when suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a terrific blast of wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting,

And they saw tongues like flames of fire separating and resting on their heads, one to each of them,

Now there were devout Jews from every part of the world living in Jerusalem.

"Fellow Israelites, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you yourselves well know, a man accredited to you by God through mighty deeds and wonders and wonder-works which God performed through Him right here among you,

So they accepted his message and were baptized, and about three thousand persons united with them on that day.

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

Day after day they regularly attended the temple; they practiced breaking their bread together in their homes, and eating their food with glad and simple hearts,

Peter and John were on their way up to the temple at the three o'clock hour of prayer,

when a man crippled from his birth was being carried by, who used to be laid every day at what was called The Beautiful Gate of the temple, to beg from people on their way into the temple.

Yet heaven must retain Him till the time for the universal restoration of which God in the early ages spoke through the lips of His holy prophets.

And you are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the sacred compact which God made with your forefathers, when He said to Abraham: 'All the families of the earth are to be blessed through your posterity.'

because they were very much disturbed over their continuing to teach the people and to declare in the case of Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

But many of those who heard their message believed, and the number of the men grew to about five thousand.

There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved."

When they were turned loose, the apostles went back to their companions and told them what the high priests and elders had said to them.

who spoke thus through the Holy Spirit by the lips of our forefather David, your servant: 'Why did the heathen rage, and the peoples make vain designs?

The kings of the earth took their stand. The rulers met against the Lord, and too, against His Christ.'

And now, Lord, give attention to their threats and help your slaves with perfect courage to continue to speak your message,

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.

So with great power the apostles continued to give their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's favor rested richly on them all.

About three hours later, his wife came in, without having learned what had taken place.

so that they kept bringing out into the streets their sick ones and putting them on little couches or pallets, that at least the shadow of Peter, as he went by, might fall on some of them.

Even from the towns around Jerusalem crowds continued coming in to bring their sick ones and those troubled with foul spirits, and they were all cured.

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

In those days, as the number of the disciples was increasing, complaint was made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

They presented these men to the apostles, and after they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.

Then all who were seated in the council fixed their eyes upon him and saw that his face was like that of an angel.

But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt and sent our forefathers on their first visit down there.

On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and thus Joseph's race was revealed to Pharaoh.

and Jacob came down to Egypt. There he and our forefathers died

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.

At this time Moses was born. He was a divinely beautiful child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house.

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

Because I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt and heard their groans, I have come down to deliver them. So come! I will send you back to Egypt as my messenger.'

That very Moses whom they refused, saying, 'Who made you our ruler and referee?' was the man whom God sent to be both their ruler and deliverer, by the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush.

It was he who brought them out of Egypt by performing wonders and signs there and at the Red Sea -- as he did also in the desert for forty years.

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

In those days they even made a calf, and offered sacrifice to their idol, and held a celebration over the works of their own hands.

'"Heaven is my throne, and earth a footstool for my feet. What house can you build for me?" says the Lord; "Or what place is there in which I can rest?

As they continued to listen to this address, they were becoming infuriated and began to grind their teeth at him.

But they raised a great shout and held their ears, and all together rushed upon him,

and dragged him out of the city and continued stoning him. The witnesses, in the meantime, laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

So there was great rejoicing in that city.

There was a man named Simon in the city, who had kept the Samaritan people thrilled by practicing magic there and by claiming to be a great man.

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there.

Then they laid their hands upon them, and one by one they received the Holy Spirit.

So after they had given their testimony and spoken the Lord's message, they started back to Jerusalem, and on the way continued to tell the good news in many Samaritan villages.

So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian official, a member of the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, her chief treasurer, who had come to Jerusalem to worship,

As they continued down the road, they came to some water, and the official said, "Look! here is some water! What is there to keep me from being baptized?"

But get up and go into the city, and there it will be told you what you ought to do."

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

Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias!" And he answered, "Yes, Lord, I am here."

And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called 'The Straight Street,' and ask at the house of Judas for one named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is now praying there.

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name to the heathen and their kings, and to the descendants of Israel.

So Ananias left and went to that house, and there he laid his hands upon Saul, and said, "Saul, my. brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road on which you were coming here, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

and at once he began to preach in their synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

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.

So when the brothers found this out, they took him down to Caesarea, and from there sent him back to Tarsus.

So the church all over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, and as it continued to be built up spiritually and to live in reverence for the Lord, it continued to increase in numbers through the encouragement that the Holy Spirit gave.

Now, as Peter was going here and there among them all, he finally went down to God's people who lived at Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years as a paralytic.

At Joppa there was a woman, a disciple, whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek means Dorcas, that is, Gazelle. She had filled her life with good deeds and works of charity, which she was always doing.

As Joppa was near Lydda, the disciples heard that Peter was there, and sent two men to him, begging him to come to them without delay.

So Peter at once got up and went with them. When he reached there, they took him to the room upstairs, and all the widows took their stand around him, crying and showing him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Now at Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a colonel in what was known as the Italian regiment,

One afternoon about three o'clock he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God come to him and say, "Cornelius!"

This took place three times; then all at once the thing was taken up into the sky.

and they called and inquired if Simon who was called Peter was staying there.

While Peter was meditating on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "There are two men looking for you.

Then Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, I was praying in my house, and all at once a man in dazzling clothing stood before me,

He has sent His message to the descendants of Israel, by telling them the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all.

To this very One all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him is to receive the forgiveness of sins through His name."

So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to stay on there a few days.

This took place three times; then all at once the whole thing was drawn back into the sky.

Just at that moment three men, who had been sent from Caesarea for me, stopped at the house where we were staying.

he will tell you truths through which you and your whole household will be saved.'

But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who on reaching Antioch began to speak to the Greeks too, and proceeded to tell them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

When he reached there and saw the spiritual blessing God had given them, he was delighted, and continuously encouraged them all with hearty purpose to continue to be devoted to the Lord;

and after he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. Now for a whole year their meeting with the church lasted, and they taught large numbers of people. It was at Antioch too that the disciples first came to be known as "Christians."

and one of them named Agabus got up and, through the Holy Spirit, foretold that there was going to be a great famine all over the world, which occurred in the reign of Claudius.

When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

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.

Now Herod cherished a bitter grudge against the people of Tyre and Sidon. So in a united body they came to meet him, and after winning the favor of Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended for its food supply upon the king's country.

When Barnabas and Saul had finished their helpful service, they returned from Jerusalem, and took along with them John who was called Mark.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who is called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen who was an intimate friend of the governor, and Saul.

So after fasting and praying, they laid their hands upon them and let them go.

When they reached Salamis, they began to preach God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They had John with them as their assistant.

Then they went through the whole island as far as Paphos, and there they found a Jewish magician and false prophet whose name was Barjesus.

The God of this people Israel chose our forefathers, and made this people important during their stay in Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out of it.

and gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. And after that He gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.

For the people of Jerusalem and their leaders, because they were ignorant of Him, by condemning Him have actually fulfilled the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath,

that God has fulfilled it to us their children, by raising Jesus to life, just as the Scripture says in the Second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have become your Father.'