While he was meeting with them, he ordered them, "Don't leave Jerusalem. Instead, wait for what the Father has promised, about which you heard me speak,

He answered them, "It isn't for you to know what times or periods the Father has fixed by his own authority.

"Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the voice of David about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus,

(Now this man bought a field with the money he got for his crime. Falling on his face, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines gushed out.

"For in the Book of Psalms it is written, "Let his estate be desolate, and let no one live on it,' and, "Let someone else take over his office,'

So they drew lots for them, and when the lot fell on Matthias, he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.

They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated, and one rested on each of them.

"Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it's only nine o'clock in the morning.

I will display wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.

But God raised him up and put an end to suffering of death, since it was impossible for him to be held by it,

since David says about him, "I always keep my eyes on the Lord, for he is at my right hand so that I cannot be shaken.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or allow your Holy One to experience decay.

Peter answered them, "Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself."

A sense of fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

One afternoon, Peter and John were on their way to the Temple for the three o'clock prayer time.

"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

If we are being questioned today for a good deed done for someone who was sick or to learn how this man was healed,

There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved."

They said, "What should we do with these men? For it's obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it.

for we cannot stop talking about what we've seen and heard."

So they threatened Peter and John even more and then let them go. They couldn't find any way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened,

For in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate actually met together with unbelievers and the people of Israel to oppose your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,

since none of them needed anything, because everyone who had land or houses would sell them and bring the money received for the things sold

With his wife's full knowledge, he kept back some of the money for himself and brought the remainder and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Peter asked, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land?

When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized everyone who heard about it.

So Peter asked her, "Tell me, did you sell the land for that price?" She answered, "Yes, that was the price."

And great fear seized the whole church and everyone else who heard about this.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

For in the recent past Theudas appeared, claiming that he was important, and about 400 men joined him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared.

"I'm telling you to keep away from these men for now. Leave them alone, because if this plan or movement is of human origin, it will fail.

They left the Council, rejoicing to have been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name.

So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect messages from God in order to wait on tables.

For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

"This is what God promised: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and its people would enslave them and oppress them for 400 years.

and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler of Egypt and of his whole household.

On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh.

"Now as the time approached for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people's population increased a great deal in Egypt.

"At this time Moses was born. He was beautiful in the sight of God, and for three months he was cared for in his father's house.

When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for 40 years.

It was this Moses who told the Israelis, "God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own brothers, just as he did me.'

They told Aaron, "Make gods for us who will lead us. This Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt we don't know what happened to him!'

You even took along the tent of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made in order to worship them. So I will take you into exile as far as Babylon.'

He found favor with God and asked to design a dwelling for the house of Jacob,

but it was Solomon who built a house for him.

""Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me,' declares the Lord, "or what place is there in which I can rest?

Now Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

They paid careful attention to him because he had thrilled them for a long time with his occult performances.

They went down and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter told him, "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's free gift with money!

For I see that you're being poisoned by bitterness and you're a prisoner of wickedness!"

Simon answered, "Both of you pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you have said will happen to me."

In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his descendants? For his life is taken away from the earth."

He asked him for letters to take with him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the men who were traveling with Saul were standing speechless, for they heard the voice but didn't see anyone.

For three days he couldn't see, and he didn't eat or drink anything.

The Lord told him, "Get up, go to the street called Straight, and in the home of Judas look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. At this very moment he's praying.

since I'm going to show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake."

He got up and was baptized, and after eating some food, he felt strong again. For several days he stayed with the disciples in Damascus.

So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was known for her good actions and acts of charity that she was always doing.

Meanwhile, Peter stayed in Joppa for several days with Simon, a leatherworker.

and saw heaven open and something like a large linen sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the ground.

In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.

But Peter said, "Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!"

While Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon's house and went to the gate.

Peter was still thinking about the vision when the Spirit told him, "Look! Three men are looking for you.

Get up, go downstairs, and don't hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."

So Peter went to the men and said, "I'm the man you're looking for. Why are you here?"

The men replied, "Cornelius, a centurion and an upright and God-fearing man who is respected by the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his home to hear what you have to say."

He told them, "You understand how wrong it is for a Jew to associate or visit with unbelievers. But God has shown me that I should stop calling anyone common or unclean,

and that is why I didn't hesitate when I was sent for. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"

Cornelius replied, "Four days ago at this very hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, I was praying in my home. All at once a man in radiant clothes stood in front of me

So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say."

So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah. Then they asked him to stay there for several days.

"I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me.

When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.

But I replied, "Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!'

Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul.

When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

When he arrested Peter, Herod put him in prison and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning to bring him out to the people after Passover season.

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly.

They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened by itself for them, and they went outside and proceeded one block when the angel suddenly left him.

Herod searched for him but didn't find him, so he questioned the guards and ordered them to be executed. Then he left Judea, went down to Caesarea, and stayed there for a while.

Now Herod had been in a violent quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him as a group. After they had won over Blastus, who oversaw security for the king's sleeping quarters, they asked for a peace agreement because their country depended on the king's country for food.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work for which I called them."

They went through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish occult practitioner and false prophet named Bar-jesus.

He was associated with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

The Lord is against you now, and you'll be blind and unable to see the sun for a while!" At that moment a dark mist came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand.

After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders asked them, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you may speak."

"Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power he led them out of there.

After he had put up with them for 40 years in the wilderness,

for about 450 years.

"After that, he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. When they demanded a king, God gave them Kish's son Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years.

"My brothers, descendants of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the message of this salvation has been sent.