I was in [i.e., under the influence of] the Holy Spirit on the Lord's day [i.e., Sunday], when I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet,

And on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday], when we [disciples] had gathered together to break bread [i.e., the Lord's Supper. See I Cor. 11:20-24], Paul delivered a message that lasted until midnight, [since] he was planning to leave [Troas] the next day.

The next day Paul went with us to visit James [the Lord's half-brother and a leader in the Jerusalem church], with all of the elders [of the Jerusalem church] being present.

For if we live, it is for the Lord's [honor]; or if we die, it is for the Lord's [honor]. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For the person who was a slave when called by the Lord is [now] the Lord's freed person. In the same way, the person who was free when he was called [by the Lord] is [now] Christ's slave.

Therefore, whoever eats the [Lord's] bread or drinks from the Lord's cup in a way that is unworthy [of them. See verse 21], will be guilty of [dishonoring] the body and the blood of the Lord.

"Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food;" but God will destroy both of them. Yet the body is not intended for sexual immorality, but is intended for the Lord's [honor and service]; and the Lord is for the body's [benefit].

So, when you people assemble together [Note: This was a church meeting at which they also shared a common meal prior to the Lord's Supper], it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper [properly].

And the people [i.e., of Noah's day] did not know [when it would happen] until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be the same way when the presence of the Son of man [arrives].

But how did God answer him? [I Kings 19:18 says], "I [i.e., God] have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed their knee [in worship] to Baal [Note: "Baal" was a term used for one of the idols worshiped in Elijah's day by Canaanites and others in Palestine].

Similarly, deacons should be serious-minded [i.e., dignified], not saying one thing while meaning another, not drinking a lot of wine [Note: The wine of Paul's day was used as a common drink, and was either non-intoxicating or far less intoxicating than wine today], not wanting to get money by questionable [or, dishonest] means.

and if He did not spare the ancient world of Noah's day, when He brought a flood on those ungodly people (though Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven other people, were saved from it);

[And] it was by water that the world, which existed at that time, perished in a great flood [of Noah's day]!

Does not the "cup of blessing," which we bless, signify a fellowship with Christ's [physical] blood? [Note: This was the cup used at the close of the Passover meal and was called this because of the prayer of thanksgiving offered for it. Paul refers to such a prayer in connection with its use in the Lord's Supper]. Does not the bread that we break signify a fellowship with Christ's [physical] body?

This was so that these words, which Isaiah the prophet had spoken, would be fulfilled [Isa. 53:1], "Lord, who has believed our message? And who has the Lord's power been shown to?"

[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, "[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord's half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers." Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.

Now I have no command from the Lord concerning [what you wrote about] unmarried women. [Note: The word here is "virgins" but some think it includes both males and females]. But I give my advice as someone who has received the Lord's mercy to be counted trustworthy.

You cannot drink [both] the cup of the Lord and the cup of evil spirits [i.e., and still be acceptable to God]. You cannot share in [both] the Lord's table and the table of evil spirits [and still be acceptable to God].

Therefore, my dearly loved brothers, stand firm [in the faith]; do not be moved [from your commitment]. Always do your best to work for the Lord, since you know that your labor in the Lord's [service] is not for nothing.

But all of us [Christians], with unveiled faces, see the Lord's splendor reflected, as [though we were] looking in a mirror, and [so] are being transformed into His likeness in ever-increasing splendor. This is [the work] of the Lord, [who is] the Holy Spirit.

For the Lord's eyes see what the righteous person does and He hears their [earnest] prayers, but the Lord looks with disapproval on the person who does wrong."

Now it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ [i.e., God's, specially chosen one].

And most of the brothers in the Lord's [service], through my imprisonment, gained confidence to speak out God's message with greater courage and without fear.

[So], you people should be patient also; strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near [Note: This may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, or to Christ's final coming and judgment].

[Note: At this point the Lord's voice breaks into John's vision]. ("Look, I am coming like a thief. That person is happy who stays alert and is dressed [properly], so he does not appear naked and have to be shamefully exposed").