But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.

And there was great joy in that city.

Now for some time past there had been a man named Simon living there, who had been practising magic and astonishing the Samaritans, pretending that he was more than human.

Simon himself also believed, and after being baptized remained in close attendance on Philip, and was full of amazement at seeing such signs and such great miracles performed.

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

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,

and was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the Prophet Isaiah.

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.

In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will make known His posterity? For He is destroyed from among men."

Now Saul, whose every breath was a threat of destruction for the disciples of the Lord,

But on the journey, as he was getting near Damascus, suddenly there flashed round him a light from Heaven;

"Who art thou, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," was the reply.

Now in Damascus there was a disciple of the name of Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, "Ananias!" "I am here, Lord," he answered.

but information of their intention was given to him. They even watched the gates, day and night, in order to murder him;

So he came to Jerusalem and made several attempts to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, being in doubt as to whether he himself was a disciple.

Henceforth Saul was one of them, going in and out of the city,

The Church, however, throughout the whole of Judaea, Galilee and Samaria, had peace and was spiritually built up; and grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and receiving encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

Among the disciples at Jaffa was a woman called Tabitha, or, as the name may be translated, 'Dorcas.' Her life was wholly devoted to the good and charitable actions which she was constantly doing.

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.

So Peter rose and went with them. On his arrival they took him upstairs, and the widow women all came and stood by his side, weeping and showing him the underclothing and cloaks and garments of all kinds which Dorcas used to make while she was still with them.

Now a Captain of the Italian Regiment, named Cornelius, was quartered at Caesarea.

He was religious and God-fearing--and so was every member of his household. He was also liberal in his charities to the people, and continually offered prayer to God.

So when the angel who had been speaking to him was gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a God-fearing soldier who was in constant attendance on him,

The sky had opened to his view, and what seemed to be an enormous sail was descending, being let down to the earth by ropes at the four corners.

Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy."

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

While Peter was greatly perplexed as to the meaning of the vision which he had seen, just then the men sent by Cornelius, having by inquiry found out Simon's house,

And Peter was still earnestly thinking over the vision, when the Spirit said to him, "Three men are now inquiring for you.

Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

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.

"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,

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.

While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the Message.

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.

"While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.

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

"If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why, who was I to be able to thwart God?"

The power of the Lord was with them, and there were a vast number who believed and turned to the Lord.

On getting there he was delighted to see the grace which God had bestowed; and he encouraged them all to remain, with fixed resolve, faithful to the Lord.

For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and the number of believers in the Lord greatly increased.

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.'

So Peter was kept in prison; but long and fervent prayer was offered to God by the Church on his behalf.

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.

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.

When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers, as to what could possibly have become of Peter.

Now the people of Tyre and Sidon had incurred Herod's violent displeasure. So they sent a large deputation to wait on him; and having secured the good will of Blastus, his treasurer, they begged the king to be friendly with them again, because their country was dependent on his for its food supply.

So, on an appointed day, Herod, having arrayed himself in royal robes, took his seat on the tribunal, and was haranguing them;

Now there were in Antioch, in the Church there--as Prophets and teachers--barnabas, Symeon surnamed 'the black,' Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen (who was Herod the Tetrarch's foster-brother)

who was a friend of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus. The Proconsul was a man of keen intelligence. He sent for Barnabas and Saul, and asked to be told God's Message.

Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, fixing his eyes on Elymas,

For David, after having been useful to his own generation in accordance with God's purpose, did fall asleep, was gathered to his forefathers, and did undergo decay.

And when a hostile movement was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with the sanction of their magistrates, to maltreat and stone them,

And the priest of Zeus--the temple of Zeus being at the entrance to the city--brought bullocks and garlands to the gates, and in company with the crowd was intending to offer sacrifices to them.

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.

Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, were selected,

Barnabas, however, was bent on taking with them John, whose other name was Mark,

Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium,

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.

Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us."

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.

One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes.

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.

and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God.

Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews.

But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people.

Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges.

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.

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

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.

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.

So he left the place and went to the house of a person called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house was next door to the synagogue.

But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews.

After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow.

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria, a man of great learning and well versed in the Scriptures.

"John," he said, "administered a baptism of repentance, bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him; namely, on Jesus."

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.

All the people of Ephesus, Jews as well as Greeks, came to know of this. There was widespread terror, and they began to hold the name of the Lord Jesus in high honour.

and not a few of those who had practised magical arts brought their books together and burnt them in the presence of all. The total value was reckoned and found to be 50,000 silver coins.

There was a certain Demetrius, a silversmith, who made miniature silver sanctuaries of Diana, a business which brought great gain to the mechanics in his employ.

The people, meanwhile, kept shouting, some one thing and some another; for the assembly was all uproar and confusion, and the greater part had no idea why they had come together.

Then some of the people crowded round Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward; and Alexander, motioning with his hand to get silence, was prepared to make a defence to the people.

No sooner, however, did they see that he was a Jew, than there arose from them all one roar of shouting, lasting about two hours. "Great is the Ephesian Diana," they said.

He was accompanied as far as the province of Asia by Sopater the Beroean, the son of Pyrrhus; by the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; by Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and by the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

On the first day of the week, when we had met to break bread, Paul, who was going away the next morning, was preaching to them, and prolonged his discourse till midnight.

and a youth of the name of Eutychus was sitting at the window. This lad, gradually sinking into deep sleep while Paul preached at unusual length, overcome at last by sleep, fell from the second floor and was taken up dead.

Then he went upstairs again, broke bread, and took some food; and after a long conversation which was continued till daybreak, at last he parted from them.

For Paul's plan was to sail past Ephesus, so as not to spend much time in the province of Asia; since he was very desirous of being in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of the Harvest Festival.

and that I never shrank from declaring to you anything that was profitable, or from teaching you in public and in your homes,

After sighting Cyprus and leaving that island on our left, we continued our voyage to Syria and put in at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

When, however, our time was up, we left and went on our way, all the disciples and their wives and children coming to see us off. Then, after kneeling down on the beach and praying,

As for us, our voyage was over when having sailed from Tyre we reached Ptolemais. here we inquired after the welfare of the brethren, and remained a day with them.

On the morrow we left Ptolemais and went on to Caesarea, where we came to the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

His reply was, "What can you mean by thus breaking my heart with your grief? Why, as for me, I am ready not only to go to Jerusalem and be put in chains, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."