And while in their company He charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promised gift. "This you have heard of," He said, "from me.

Once when they were with Him, they asked Him, "Master, is this the time at which you are about to restore the kingdom of Israel?"

When He had said this, and while they were looking at Him, He was carried up, and a cloud closing beneath Him hid Him from their sight.

who said, "Galilaeans, why stand looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will come in just the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven."

For Judas was reckoned as one of our number, and a share in this ministry was allotted to him."

This fact became widely known to the people of Jerusalem, so that the place received the name, in their language, of Achel-damach, which means 'The Field of Blood.')

to occupy the place in this ministry and Apostleship from which Judas through transgression fell, in order to go to his own place."

when suddenly there came from the sky a sound as of a strong rushing blast of wind. This filled the whole house where they were sitting;

So when this noise was heard, they came crowding together, and were amazed because everyone heard his own language spoken.

They were all astounded and bewildered, and asked one another, "What can this mean?"

Peter however, together with the Eleven, stood up and addressed them in a loud voice. "Men of Judaea, and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem," he said, "be in no uncertainty about this matter but pay attention to what I say.

For this is not intoxication, as you suppose, it being only the third hour of the day.

For this reason my heart is glad and my tongue exults. My body also shall rest in hope.

This Jesus, God has raised to life-- a fact to which all of us testify.

"Being therefore lifted high by the mighty hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out this which you see and hear.

"Therefore let the whole House of Israel know beyond all doubt that God has made Him both LORD and CHRIST--this Jesus whom you crucified."

And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, saying, "Escape from this crooked generation."

Peter, seeing this, spoke to the people. "Israelites," he said, "why do you wonder at this man? Or why gaze at us, as though by any power or piety of our own we had enabled him to walk?

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has conferred this honour on His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to let Him go.

It is His name-- faith in that name being the condition--which has strengthened this man whom you behold and know; and the faith which He has given has made this man sound and strong again, as you can all see.

But in this way God has fulfilled the declarations He made through all the Prophets, that His Christ would suffer.

Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who have spoken--have also announced the coming of this present time.

While they were saying this to the people, the Priests, the Commander of the Temple Guard, and the Sadducees came upon them,

So they made the Apostles stand in the centre, and demanded of them, "By what power or in what name have you done this?"

if we to-day are under examination concerning the benefit conferred on a man helplessly lame, as to how this man has been cured;

be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that through the name of Jesus the Anointed, the Nazarene, whom *you* crucified, but whom *God* has raised from among the dead-- through that name this man stands here before you in perfect health.

This Jesus is the Stone treated with contempt by you the builders, but it has been made the Cornerstone.

But to prevent the matter spreading any further among the people, let us stop them by threats from speaking in the future in this name to any one whatever."

For the man was over forty years of age on whom this miracle of restoration to health had been performed.

"They did indeed assemble in this city in hostility to Thy holy Servant Jesus whom Thou hadst anointed--Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and also the tribes of Israel--

In this way Joseph, whom the Apostles gave the name of Bar-nabas--signifying 'Son of Encouragement' --a Levite, a native of Cyprus,

"Ananias," said Peter, "why has Satan taken possession of your heart, that you should try to deceive the Holy Spirit and dishonestly keep back part of the price paid you for this land?

While it remained unsold, was not the land your own? And when sold, was it not at your own disposal? How is it that you have cherished this design in your heart? It is not to men you have told this lie, but to God."

This incident struck terror into the whole Church, and into the hearts of all who heard of it.

This roused the High Priest. He and all his party--the sect of the Sadducees--were filled with angry jealousy

"Go and stand in the Temple, and go on proclaiming to the people all this Message of Life."

When the Commander of the Temple Guards and the High Priests heard this statement, they were utterly at a loss with regard to it, wondering what would happen next.

Upon this the Commander went with the officers, and brought the Apostles; but without using violence; for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Infuriated at getting this answer, they were disposed to kill the Apostles.

And now I tell you to hold aloof from these men and leave them alone--for if this scheme or work is of human origin, it will come to nothing.

About this time, as the number of disciples was increasing, complaints were made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrews because their widows were habitually overlooked in the daily ministration.

Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to undertake this duty.

In this way they excited the people, the Elders, and the Scribes. At length they came upon him, seized him with violence, and took him before the Sanhedrin.

Here they brought forward false witnesses who declared, "This fellow is incessantly speaking against the Holy Place and the Law.

For we have heard him say that Jesus, the Nazarene, will pull this place down to the ground and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us."

"Thereupon he left Chaldaea and settled in Haran till after the death of his father, when God caused him to remove into this country where you now live.

But he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not a single square yard of ground. And yet He promised to bestow the land as a permanent possession on him and his posterity after him--and promised this at a time when Abraham was childless.

"'And the nation, whichever it is, that enslaves them, I will judge,' said God; 'and afterwards they shall come out, and they shall worship Me in this place.'

"Then He gave him the Covenant of circumcision, and under this Covenant he became the father of Isaac--whom he circumcised on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve Patriarchs.

At this time Moses was born--a wonderfully beautiful child; and for three months he was cared for in his father's house.

He supposed his brethren to be aware that by him God was sending them deliverance; this, however, they did not understand.

"Alarmed at this question, Moses fled from the country and went to live in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

When Moses saw this he wondered at the sight; but on his going up to look further, the voice of the Lord was heard, saying,

This was he who brought them out, after performing marvels and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and in the Desert for forty years.

This is the Moses who said to the descendants of Israel, "'God will raise up a Prophet for you, from among your brethren, just as He raised me up.'

This is he who was among the Congregation in the Desert, together with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our forefathers, who received ever-living utterances to hand on to us.

They said to Aaron, "'Make gods for us, 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.'

Did not My hand form this universe.'

Upon this, with a loud outcry they stopped their ears, rushed upon Stephen in a body,

Then, rising on his knees, he cried aloud, "Lord, do not reckon this sin against them." And with these words he fell asleep.

And Saul fully approved of his murder. At this time a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria.

To him people of all classes paid attention, declaring, "This man is the Power of God, known as the great Power."

No part or lot have you in this matter, for your heart is not right in God's sight.

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, in the hope that the purpose which is in your heart may perhaps be forgiven you.

Upon this he rose and went. Now, as it happened, an Ethiopian eunuch who was in a position of high authority with Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, as her treasurer, had visited Jerusalem to worship there,

The passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "Like a sheep He was led to slaughter, and just as a lamb before its shearer is dumb so He opened not His mouth.

Instantly there dropped from his eyes what seemed to be scales, and he could see once more. Upon this he rose and received baptism;

and his hearers were all amazed, and began to ask one another, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem tried to exterminate those who called upon that Name, and came here on purpose to carry them off in chains to the High Priests?"

But they kept trying to take his life. On learning this, the brethren brought him down to Caesarea, and then sent him by sea to Tarsus.

This incident became known throughout Jaffa, and many believed in the Lord;

This was said three times, and immediately the sail was drawn up out of sight.

Upon hearing this, Peter invited them in, and gave them a lodging. The next day he set out with them, some of the brethren from Jaffa going with him,

So for this reason, when sent for, I came without raising any objection. I therefore ask why you sent for me."

"Just at this hour, three days ago," replied Cornelius, "I was offering afternoon prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in shining raiment stood in front of me,

And He has commanded us to preach to the people and solemnly declare that this is He who has been appointed by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

"This was said three times, and then everything was drawn up again out of sight.

This statement of Peter's silenced his opponents. They extolled the goodness of God, and said, "So, then, to the Gentiles also God has given the repentance which leads to Life."

When tidings of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.

This they did, forwarding their contributions to the Elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Finding that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also; these being the days of Unleavened Bread.

And passing through the first ward and the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to them of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him.

But he motioned with his hand for silence, and then described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Tell all this to James and the brethren," he added. Then he left them, and went to another place.

The God of this people of Israel chose our forefathers, and made the people great during their stay in Egypt, until with wondrous power He brought them out from that land.

"Brethren, descendants of the family of Abraham, and all among you who fear God, to us has this Message of salvation been sent.

"Understand therefore, brethren, that through this Jesus forgiveness of sins is announced to you;

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people earnestly begged to have all this repeated to them on the following Sabbath.

After this man had listened to one of Paul's sermons, the Apostle, looking steadily at him and perceiving that he had faith to be cured,

But the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it; and tearing their clothes they rushed out into the middle of the crowd, exclaiming, "Sirs, why are you doing all this?

Between these new comers and Paul and Barnabas there was no little disagreement and controversy, until at last it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some other brethren should go up to consult the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem on this matter.

And this is in harmony with the language of the Prophets, which says:

When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this.

This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately.

This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection.

Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is?

seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead."

After this he left Athens and came to Corinth.

I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city."

"This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful worship to God."

Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court. Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this.