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;

No sooner had Jesus said this than he was caught up before their eyes, and a cloud received him from their sight.

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."

"Brothers," he said, "it was necessary that the prediction of Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit made by the lips of David about Judas, who acted as guide to the men that arrested Jesus,

"For in the Book of Psalms," Peter continued, "it is said-- 'Let his dwelling become desolate, and let no one live in it'; and also--'His office let another take.'

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

Indeed it was to him that David was referring when he said-- 'I have had the Lord ever before my eyes, For he stands at my right hand, that I should not be disquieted.

David, then, Prophet as he was, knowing that God 'had solemnly sworn to him to set one of his descendants upon his throne,' looked into the future,

And referred to the resurrection of the Christ when he said that 'he had not been abandoned to the Place of Death, nor had his body undergone corruption.'

It was not David who went up into Heaven; for he himself says- -'The Lord said to my master: "Sit on my right hand,

When the people heard this, they were conscience-smitten, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles: "Brothers, what can we do?"

This man used to be set down every day at the gate of the Temple called 'the Beautiful Gate,' to beg of those who went in.

Peter fixed his eyes on him, and so did John, and then Peter said: "Look at us."

And, when they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they were utterly astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.

On seeing this, Peter said to the people: "Men of Israel, why are you surprised at this? and why do you stare at us, as though we, by any power or piety of our own, had enabled this man to walk?

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has done honor to his Servant Jesus--him whom you gave up and disowned before Pilate, when he had decided to set him free.

Moses himself said--'The Lord your God will raise up from among your brothers a Prophet, as he raised me. To him you will listen whenever he speaks to you.

You yourselves are the heirs of the Prophets, and heirs, too, of the Covenant which God made with your ancestors, when he said to Abraham--'In your descendants will all the nations of the earth be blessed.'

But Peter and John replied: "Whether it is right, in the sight of God, to listen to you rather than to him--

However, after further warnings, the Council set them at liberty, not seeing any safe way of punishing them, because of the people, for they were all praising God for what had occurred;

After they had been set at liberty, the Apostles went to their friends and told them what the Chief Priests and the Councillors had said to them.

And who, by the lips of our ancestor, your servant David, who spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit, have said-- 'Why did the nations rage, and the peoples form vain designs?

The kings of the earth set their array, and its rulers gathered together, against the Lord and against his Christ.'

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."

Instantly Sapphira fell down at Peter's feet and expired. On coming in, the young men found her dead; so they carried her out and buried her by her husband's side.

"Go," he said, "and stand in the Temple Courts, and tell the people the whole Message of this new Life."

"We gave you strict orders," he said, "not to teach in this Name. Yet you have actually flooded Jerusalem with your teaching, and you want to make us responsible for the death of this man."

He then said: "Men of Israel, take care as to what you intend to do with these men.

The Council followed his advice, and, calling the Apostles in, had them flogged, and then, after cautioning them not to speak in the Name of Jesus, set them free.

The Twelve, therefore, called together the general body of the disciples and said to them: "It is not well for us to see to the distribution at the tables and neglect God's Message.

And they stirred up the people, as well as the Councillors and the Teachers of the Law, and set upon Stephen, and arrested him, and brought him before the High Council.

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

And, upon that, Stephen spoke as follows: "Brothers and Fathers, hear what I have to say. God, who manifests himself in the Glory, appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, and before he settled in Haran, and said to him--

But I myself will judge the nation, to which they will be enslaved,' God said, 'and after that they shall leave the country and worship me in this place.'

The next day he again appeared upon the scene, when some of them were fighting, and tried to make peace between them. 'Men,' he said, 'you are brothers; how is it that you are ill-treating one another?'

Then the Lord said to him--'Take your sandals off your feet, for the spot where you are standing is holy ground.

This was the Moses who said to the people of Israel--'God will raise up for you, from among your brothers, a Prophet, as he raised up me.'

While they said to Aaron--'Make us Gods who will lead the way for us, since, as for this Moses who has brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

When Simon saw that it was through the placing of the Apostles' hands on them that the Spirit was given, he brought them a sum of money and said:

Meanwhile an angel of the Lord had said to Philip: "Set out on a journey southwards, along the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (It is now deserted).

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,

The Spirit said to Philip: "Go up to the carriage yonder and keep close to it."

"How can I," the other answered, "unless some one will explain it to me?" and he invited Philip to get up and sit by his side.

"Now," said the Treasurer, addressing Philip, "tell me, of whom is the Prophet speaking? Of himself, or of some one else?"

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

"Go at once," said the Lord, "to the 'Straight Street', and ask at Judas's house for a man named Saul, from Tarsus. He is at this moment praying,

And he has seen, in a vision, a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him, so that he may recover his sight."

But the Lord said to him: "Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to uphold my Name before the Gentiles and their kings, and the people of Israel.

So Ananias went, entered the house, and, placing his hands on Saul, said: "Saul, my Brother, I have been sent by the Lord--by Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here--so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Instantly it seemed as if a film fell from Saul's eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,

"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ cures you. Get up, and make your bed." Aeneas got up at once;

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

But Peter sent everybody out of the room, and knelt down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said: "Tabitha! stand up." She opened her eyes, and, seeing Peter, sat up.

Cornelius fixed his eyes on him and, in great alarm, said: "What is it, Lord?" "Your prayers and your charities," the angel answered, "have been an acceptable offering to God.

Then he was aware of a voice which said-- "Stand up, Peter, kill something, and eat."

Again he was aware of a voice which said-- "What God has pronounced 'clean', do not regard as 'defiled'."

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

Peter went down to the men and said: "I am the man for whom you are looking. What is your reason for coming?"

Talking with him as he went, Peter entered the house, where he found a large gathering of people, to whom he said:

"Just three days ago this very hour," Cornelius said, "I was in my house, saying the Afternoon Prayers, when a man in dazzling clothing suddenly stood before me.

'Cornelius,' he said, 'your prayer has been heard, and your charities have been accepted, by God.

Then Peter began. "I see, beyond all doubt," he said, "that 'God does not show partiality,'

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'."

He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and how the angel had said to him--'Send to Jaffa and fetch the Simon, who is also known as Peter;

On hearing this statement, they said no more, but broke out into praise of God. "So even to the Gentiles," they exclaimed, "God has granted the repentance which leads to Life!"

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.

For Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith--and a large number of people took their stand on the Lord's side.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side, and roused him with the words: "Get up quickly."

The chains dropped from his wrists, and then the angel said: "Put on your girdle and sandals." When Peter had done so, the angel added: "Throw your cloak round you and follow me."

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."

"You are mad!" they exclaimed. But, when she persisted that it was so, they said: "It must be his spirit!"

And, when Herod had made further search for him and failed to find him, he closely questioned the Guard, and ordered them away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to stay at Caesarea.

While they were engaged in the worship of the Lord and were fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

However, Saul (who is the same as Paul), full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on him and said:

After this, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, and during their stay in Egypt increased the prosperity of the people, and then 'with uplifted arm brought them out from that land.'

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.'

That our children have had this promise completely fulfilled to them by God, by his raising Jesus. That is just what is said in the second Psalm--'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father.'

As to his raising Jesus from the dead, never again to return to corruption, this is what is said--'I will give to you the sacred promises made to David;'

And, therefore, in another Psalm it is said--'Thou wilt not give up the Holy One to undergo corruption.'

David, after obediently doing God's will in his own time, 'fell asleep and was laid by the side of his ancestors, and did undergo corruption;

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

But the sight of the crowds of people filled the minds of the Jews with jealousy, and they kept contradicting Paul's statements in violent language.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: "It was necessary that the Message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the Immortal Life--we turn to the Gentiles!

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.

Said loudly: "Stand upright on your feet." The man leaped up, and began walking about,

After much discussion, Peter rose and said: "You, my Brothers, know well that long ago God singled me out--that through my lips the Gentiles should hear the Message of the Good News, and become believers in Christ.

'"After this I will return; and I will rebuild the House of David which has fallen--its very ruins I will rebuild, and will set it up once more;

After some stay, they were dismissed with kind farewells from the Brethren, and returned to those who had sent them.

Some time after this, Paul said to Barnabas: "Let us go back and visit the Brethren in every town in which we have told the Lord's Message, and see how they are prospering."

Accordingly we set sail from Troas, and ran before the wind to Samothrace, reaching Neapolis the next day.

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.

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.

She had been doing this for several days, when Paul, much vexed, turned and said to the spirit within her: "In the Name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave her." That very moment the spirit left her.

Then he led them out, and said: "What must I do to be saved?"

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.

The Governor of the Jail told Paul of his instructions. "The Magistrates have sent an order for your discharge," he said, "so you had better leave the place at once and go quietly away."

These Jews of Beroea were better disposed than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the Message with great readiness, and daily examined the Scriptures to see if what was said was true.