When, however, Simon saw that it was through the laying on of the Apostles' hands that the Spirit was bestowed, he offered them money.

"Give me too," he said, "that power, so that every one on whom I place my hands will receive the Holy Spirit."

"Perish your money and yourself," replied Peter, "because you have imagined that you can obtain God's free gift with money!

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.

For I perceive that you have fallen into the bitterest bondage of unrighteousness."

"Pray, both of you, to the Lord for me," answered Simon, "that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

And an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and proceed south to the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza, crossing the Desert."

Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go and enter that chariot."

Then Philip began to speak, and, commencing with that same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

But no sooner had they come up out of the water than the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again. With a glad heart he resumed his journey;

went to the High Priest and begged from him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, in order that if he found any believers there, either men or women, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

He has seen a man called Ananias come and lay his hands upon him so that he may recover his sight."

"Lord," answered Ananias, "I have heard about that man from many, and I have heard of the great mischief he has done to Thy people in Jerusalem;

So Ananias went and entered the house; and, laying his two hands upon Saul, said, "Saul, brother, the Lord--even Jesus who appeared to you on your journey--has sent me, that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

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?"

Saul, however, gained more and more influence, and as for the Jews living in Damascus, he bewildered them with his proofs that Jesus is the Christ.

Barnabas, however, came to his assistance. He brought Saul to the Apostles, and related to them how, on his journey, he had seen the Lord, and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had fearlessly taught in the name of Jesus.

But, as it happened, just at that time she was taken ill and died. After washing her body they laid it out in a room upstairs.

Lud, however, being near Jaffa, the disciples, who had heard that Peter was at Lud, sent two men to him with an urgent request that he would come across to them without delay.

and the day after that they reached Caesarea. There Cornelius was awaiting their arrival, and had invited all his relatives and intimate friends to be present.

He said to them, "You know better than most that a Jew is strictly forbidden to associate with a Gentile or visit him; but God has taught me to call no one unholy or unclean.

"Immediately, therefore, I sent to you, and I thank you heartily for having come. That is why all of us are now assembled here in God's presence, to listen to what the Lord has commanded you to say."

Then Peter began to speak. "I clearly see," he said, "that God makes no distinctions between one man and another;

but that in every nation those who fear Him and live good lives are acceptable to Him.

The Message which He sent to the descendants of Israel, when He announced the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all--that Message you cannot but know;

It tells how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, so that He went about everywhere doing acts of kindness, and curing all who were being continually oppressed by the Devil--for God was with Jesus.

"And we are witnesses as to all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. But they even put Him to death, by crucifixion.

That same Jesus God raised to life on the third day, and permitted Him to appear unmistakably,

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.

To Him all the Prophets bear witness, and testify that through His name all who believe in Him receive the forgiveness of their sins."

And all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.

And he directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain with them for a time.

Now the Apostles, and the brethren in various parts of Judaea, heard that the Gentiles also had received God's Message;

"Now at that very moment three men came to the house where we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me.

"And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the first.

He succeeded, and brought him to Antioch; and for a whole year they attended the meetings of the Church, and taught a large number of people. And it was in Antioch that the disciples first received the name of 'Christians.'

At that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members of the Church, in order to ill-treat them;

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

Now when Herod was on the point of taking him out of prison, that very night Peter was asleep between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards were on duty outside the door.

So Peter went out, following him, yet could not believe that what the angel was doing was real, but supposed that he saw a vision.

Peter coming to himself said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

and recognizing Peter's voice, for very joy she did not open the door, but ran in and told them that Peter was standing there.

"You are mad," they said. But she strenuously maintained that it was true. "It is his guardian angel," they said.

Meanwhile Peter went on knocking, until at last they opened the door and saw that it was really he, and were filled with amazement.

said, "You who are full of every kind of craftiness and unscrupulous cunning--you son of the Devil and foe to all that is right--will you never cease to misrepresent the straight paths of the Lord?

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.

Then, after overthrowing seven nations in the land of Canaan, He divided that country among them as their inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years;

"It is from among David's descendants that God, in fulfilment of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel, even Jesus.

that God has amply fulfilled it to our children in raising up Jesus; as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'Thou art My Son: to-day I have become Thy Father.'

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

For such is the Lord's command to us. "'I have placed Thee,' He says of Christ, 'as a light to the Gentiles, in order that Thou mayest be a Saviour as far as the remotest parts of the earth.'"

At Iconium the Apostles went together to the Jewish synagogue and preached, with the result that a great number both of Jews and Greeks believed.

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,

We also are but men, with natures kindred to your own; and we bring you the Good News that you are to turn from these unreal things, to worship the ever-living God, the Creator of earth and sky and sea and of everything that is in them.

Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, "It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God."

Upon their arrival they called the Church together and proceeded to report in detail all that God, working with them, had done, and how He had opened for the Gentiles the door of faith.

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.

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they were cordially received by the Church, the Apostles, and the Elders; and they reported in detail all that God, working with them, had done.

and after there had been a long discussion Peter rose to his feet. "It is within your own knowledge," he said, "that God originally made choice among you that from my lips the Gentiles were to hear the Message of the Good News, and believe.

and He made no difference between us and them, in that He cleansed their hearts by their faith.

On the contrary, we believe that it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we, as well as they, shall be saved."

Then the whole assembly remained silent while they listened to the statement made by Paul and Barnabas as to all the signs and marvels that God had done among the Gentiles through their instrumentality.

In order that the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the Lord--even all the nations which are called by My name,"

As we have been informed that certain persons who have gone out from among us have disturbed you by their teaching and have unsettled your minds, without having received any such instructions from us;

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no burden heavier than these necessary requirements--

and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there.

On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together.

Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying.

But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square.

He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.

when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner.

Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized;

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

which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ."

Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus."

They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail, and after that they let them go.

The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated.

As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols.

So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious.

that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us.

For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man.

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."

When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject."

and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--he lodged with them and worked with them.

Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

for he powerfully and in public overcame the Jews in argument, proving to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we did not even hear that there is a Holy Spirit."

This went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Lord's Message.

But there were also some wandering Jewish exorcists who undertook to invoke the name of Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches."

And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang on two of them, over-mastered them both, and treated them with such violence, that they fled from the house stripped of their clothes and wounded.

When matters had reached this point, Paul decided in his own mind to travel through Macedonia and Greece, and go to Jerusalem. "After that," he said, "I must also see Rome."

Now just at that time there arose no small commotion about the new faith.

He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;

and you see and hear that, not in Ephesus only but throughout almost the whole province of Asia, this fellow Paul has led away a vast number of people by inducing them to believe that they are not gods at all that are made by men's hands.

There is danger, therefore, not only that this our trade will become of no account, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will fall into utter disrepute, and that before long she will be actually deposed from her majestic rank--she who is now worshipped by the whole province of Asia; nay, by the whole world."