Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible




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. Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. read more.
The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that. 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. "And now, brethren, I know that it was in ignorance that you did it, as was the case with your rulers also. But in this way God has fulfilled the declarations He made through all the Prophets, that His Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and reform your lives, so that the record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come seasons of revival from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed beforehand for you--even Jesus. Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets--the times of the reconstitution of all things. Moses declared, "'The Lord your God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brethren as He has raised me. In all that He says to you, you must listen to Him. And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the People.' Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who have spoken--have also announced the coming of this present time. "You are the heirs of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham, 'And through your posterity all the families of the world shall be blessed.' It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of you to turn from your wickedness."

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. read more.
And in no other is the great salvation to be found; for, in fact, there is no second name under Heaven that has been given among men through which we are to be saved." As they looked on Peter and John so fearlessly outspoken--and also discovered that they were illiterate persons, untrained in the schools--they were surprised; and now they recognized them as having been with Jesus.

But Peter and John replied, "Judge whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you instead of listening to God. As for us, what we have seen and heard we cannot help speaking about."

Having received that command they went into the Temple, just before daybreak, and began to teach: So when the High Priest and his party came, and had called together the Sanhedrin as well as all the Elders of the descendants of Israel, they sent to the jail to fetch the Apostles.

Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than man. The God of our forefathers has raised Jesus to life, whom you crucified and put to death. God has exalted Him to His right hand as Chief Leader and as Saviour, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. read more.
And we--and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him--are witnesses as to these things."



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. Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. read more.
The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that. 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. "And now, brethren, I know that it was in ignorance that you did it, as was the case with your rulers also. But in this way God has fulfilled the declarations He made through all the Prophets, that His Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and reform your lives, so that the record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come seasons of revival from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed beforehand for you--even Jesus. Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets--the times of the reconstitution of all things. Moses declared, "'The Lord your God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brethren as He has raised me. In all that He says to you, you must listen to Him. And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the People.' Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who have spoken--have also announced the coming of this present time. "You are the heirs of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham, 'And through your posterity all the families of the world shall be blessed.' It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of you to turn from your wickedness."

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. read more.
And in no other is the great salvation to be found; for, in fact, there is no second name under Heaven that has been given among men through which we are to be saved." As they looked on Peter and John so fearlessly outspoken--and also discovered that they were illiterate persons, untrained in the schools--they were surprised; and now they recognized them as having been with Jesus.

But Peter and John replied, "Judge whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you instead of listening to God. As for us, what we have seen and heard we cannot help speaking about."


While he still clung to Peter and John, the people, awe-struck, ran up crowding round them in what was known as Solomon's Portico. 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. read more.
Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that. 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.

For we maintain that it is as the result of faith that a man is held to be righteous, apart from actions done in obedience to Law. Is God simply the God of the Jews, and not of the Gentiles also? He is certainly the God of the Gentiles also, unless you can deny that it is one and the same God who will pronounce the circumcised to be acquitted on the ground of faith, and the uncircumcised to be acquitted through the same faith. read more.
Do we then by means of this faith abolish the Law? No, indeed; we give the Law a firmer footing.

To what conclusion does this bring us? Why, that the Gentiles, who were not in pursuit of righteousness, have overtaken it--a righteousness, however, which arises from faith;

And the Scripture, foreseeing that in consequence of faith God would declare the nations to be free from guilt, sent beforehand the Good News to Abraham, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So we see that it is those who possess faith that are blessed with believing Abraham. All who are depending upon their own obedience to the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is every one who does not remain faithful to all the precepts of the Law, and practise them." read more.
It is evident, too, that no one can find acceptance with God simply by obeying the Law, because "the righteous shall live by faith," and the Law has nothing to do with faith. It teaches that "he who does these things shall live by doing them." Christ has purchased our freedom from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us--because "Cursed is every one who is hanged upon a tree." Our freedom has been thus purchased in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing belonging to Abraham may come upon the nations, so that through faith we may receive the promised Spirit.

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God's gift, and is not on the ground of merit-- so that it may be impossible for any one to boast. For we are God's own handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He has pre-destined us to practise.

Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see. For by it the saints of old won God's approval. Through faith we understand that the worlds came into being, and still exist, at the command of God, so that what is seen does not owe its existence to that which is visible. read more.
Through faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain did, and through this faith he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God giving the testimony by accepting his gifts; and through it, though he is dead, he still speaks. Through faith Enoch was taken from the earth so that he did not see death, and he could not be found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken we have evidence that he truly pleased God. But where there is no faith it is impossible truly to please Him; for the man who draws near to God must believe that there is a God and that He proves Himself a rewarder of those who earnestly try to find Him. Through faith Noah, being divinely taught about things as yet unseen, reverently gave heed and built an ark for the safety of his family, and by this act he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which depends on faith. Through faith Abraham, upon being called to leave home and go into a land which he was soon to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going to. Through faith he came and made his home for a time in a land which had been promised to him, as if in a foreign country, living in tents together with Isaac and Jacob, sharers with him in the same promise; for he continually looked forward to the city which has the foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Through faith even Sarah herself received strength to become a mother--although she was past the time of life for this--because she judged Him faithful who had given the promise.



Then summoning the Twelve to Him, He proceeded to send them out by twos, and gave them authority over the foul spirits. He charged them to take nothing for the journey except a stick; no bread, no bag, and not a penny in their pockets, but to go wearing sandals. "And do not," He said, "put on an extra under garment. read more.
Wherever you enter a house, make it your home till you leave that place. But wherever they will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave shake off the very dust from under your feet to bear witness concerning them." So they set out, and preached in order that men might repent. Many demons they expelled, and many invalids they anointed with oil and cured.

Later still He showed Himself to the Eleven themselves whilst they were at table, and He upbraided them with their unbelief and obstinacy in not having believed those who had seen Him alive. Then He said to them, "Go the whole world over, and proclaim the Good News to all mankind. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who disbelieves will be condemned. read more.
And signs shall attend those who believe, even such as these. By making use of my name they shall expel demons. They shall speak new languages. They shall take up venomous snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison it shall do them no harm whatever. They shall lay their hands on the sick, and the sick shall recover." So the Lord Jesus after having thus spoken to them was taken up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. But they went out and made proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their Message by the signs which accompanied it.

Then calling the Twelve together He conferred on them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases; and sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to cure the sick. And He commanded them, "Take nothing for your journey; neither stick nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have an extra under garment. read more.
Whatever house you enter, make that your home, and from it start afresh. Wherever they refuse to receive you, as you leave that town shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against them." So they departed and visited village after village, spreading the Good News and performing cures everywhere.

Now a man who had no power in his feet used to sit in the streets of Lystra. He had been lame from his birth and had never walked. 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, said in a loud voice, "Stand upright upon your feet!"

After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them before Him, by twos, to go to every town or place which He Himself intended to visit. And He addressed them thus: "The harvest is abundant, but the reapers are few: therefore entreat the Owner of the harvest to send out more reapers into His fields. And now go. Remember that I am sending you out as lambs into the midst of wolves. read more.
Carry no purse, bag, nor change of shoes; and salute no one on your way." "Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if there is a lover of peace there, your peace shall rest upon it; otherwise come back upon you. And in that same house stay, eating and drinking at their table; for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not move from one house to another. "And whatever town you come to and they receive you, eat what they put before you. Cure the sick in that town, and tell them, "'The Kingdom of God is now at your door.'

One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the hour of prayer--the ninth hour--and, just then, some men were carrying there one who had been lame from birth, whom they were wont to place every day close to the Beautiful Gate (as it was called) Seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he asked them for alms. read more.
Peter fixing his eyes on him, as John did also, said, "Look at us." So he looked and waited, expecting to receive something from them. "I have no silver or gold," Peter said, "but what I have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene-- walk!" Then taking his hand Peter lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened. Leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk, and went into the Temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God; and recognizing him as the man who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple asking for alms, they were filled with awe and amazement at what had happened to him. While he still clung to Peter and John, the people, awe-struck, ran up crowding round them in what was known as Solomon's Portico. 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?

so that they would even bring out their sick friends into the streets and lay them on light couches or mats, in order that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or other of them. The inhabitants, too, of the towns in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem came in crowds, bringing sick persons and some who were harassed by foul spirits, and they were cured, one and all.


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.


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.

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.


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.

Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you. Rise and make your own bed." He at once rose to his feet. And all the people of Lud and Sharon saw him; and they turned to the Lord.


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?



So with his permission Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people to be quiet; and when there was perfect silence he addressed them in Hebrew.

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?


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. Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. read more.
The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that. 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. "And now, brethren, I know that it was in ignorance that you did it, as was the case with your rulers also. But in this way God has fulfilled the declarations He made through all the Prophets, that His Christ would suffer. Repent, therefore, and reform your lives, so that the record of your sins may be cancelled, and that there may come seasons of revival from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed beforehand for you--even Jesus. Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets--the times of the reconstitution of all things. Moses declared, "'The Lord your God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brethren as He has raised me. In all that He says to you, you must listen to Him. And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the People.' Yes, and all the Prophets, from Samuel onwards--all who have spoken--have also announced the coming of this present time. "You are the heirs of the Prophets, and of the Covenant which God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham, 'And through your posterity all the families of the world shall be blessed.' It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of you to turn from your wickedness."

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. But that which was predicted through the Prophet Joel has happened: read more.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, God says, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall have dreams; and even upon My bondservants, both men and women, at that time, I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy. I will display marvels in the sky above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, to usher in the day of the Lord-- that great and illustrious day; and every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "Listen, Israelites, to what I say. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man accredited to you from God by miracles and marvels and signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know, Him-- delivered up through God's settled purpose and foreknowledge--you by the hands of Gentiles have nailed to a cross and have put to death. But God has raised Him to life, having terminated the throes of death, for in fact it was not possible for Him to be held fast by death. For David says in reference to Him, "'I constantly fixed my eyes upon the Lord, because He is at my right hand in order that I may continue unshaken. For this reason my heart is glad and my tongue exults. My body also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken, nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay. Thou hast made known to me the ways of Life: Thou wilt fill me with gladness in Thy presence.' "As to the patriarch David, I need hardly remind you, brethren, that he died and was buried, and that we still have his tomb among us. Being a Prophet, however, and knowing that God had solemnly sworn to him to seat a descendant of his upon his throne, with prophetic foresight he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, to the effect that He was not left forsaken in the Unseen World, nor did His body undergo decay. 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. For David did not ascend into Heaven, but he says himself, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make thy foes a footstool under thy feet.' "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." Stung to the heart by these words, they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, "Brethren, what are we to do?" "Repent," replied Peter, "and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you belongs the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off, whoever the Lord our God may call." And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, saying, "Escape from this crooked generation."


One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the hour of prayer--the ninth hour--and, just then, some men were carrying there one who had been lame from birth, whom they were wont to place every day close to the Beautiful Gate (as it was called) Seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he asked them for alms. read more.
Peter fixing his eyes on him, as John did also, said, "Look at us." So he looked and waited, expecting to receive something from them. "I have no silver or gold," Peter said, "but what I have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene-- walk!" Then taking his hand Peter lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened. Leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk, and went into the Temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God; and recognizing him as the man who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple asking for alms, they were filled with awe and amazement at what had happened to him. While he still clung to Peter and John, the people, awe-struck, ran up crowding round them in what was known as Solomon's Portico. 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. Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that. 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.


That which was from the beginning, which we have listened to, which we have seen with our own eyes, and our own hands have handled concerning the Word of Life-- the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness, and we declare unto you the Life of the Ages which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- that which we have seen and listened to we now announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship in it with us, and this fellowship with us is fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Peter and the other Apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than man. The God of our forefathers has raised Jesus to life, whom you crucified and put to death. God has exalted Him to His right hand as Chief Leader and as Saviour, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. read more.
And we--and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him--are witnesses as to these things."

the story, I mean, which has spread through the length and breadth of Judaea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed. 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. read more.
That same Jesus God raised to life on the third day, and permitted Him to appear unmistakably, not to all the people, but to witnesses--men previously chosen by God--namely, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. 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."

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, in order that he might give testimony concerning the Light--so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he existed that he might give testimony concerning the Light. read more.
The true Light was that which illumines every man by its coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through Him, and the world did not recognize Him. He came to the things that were His own, and His own people gave Him no welcome. But all who have received Him, to them--that is, to those who trust in His name--He has given the privilege of becoming children of God; who were begotten as such not by human descent, nor through an impulse of their own nature, nor through the will of a human father, but from God. And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory--the glory as of the Father's only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth. John gave testimony concerning Him and cried aloud, saying, "This is He of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has been put before me,' for He was before me."

that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. The man who withholds honour from the Son withholds honour from the Father who sent Him. "In most solemn truth I tell you that he who listens to my teaching and believes Him who sent me, has the Life of the Ages, and does not come under judgement, but has passed over out of death into Life. "In most solemn truth I tell you that a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. read more.
For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has also given to the Son to have life in Himself. And He has conferred on Him authority to act as Judge, because He is the Son of Man. Wonder not at this. For a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come forth-- they who have done what is right to the resurrection of Life, and they whose actions have been evil to the resurrection of judgement. "I can of my own self do nothing. As I am bidden, so I judge; and mine is a just judgement, because it is not my own will that guides me, but the will of Him who sent me. "If I give testimony concerning myself, my testimony cannot be accepted. There is Another who gives testimony concerning me, and I know that the testimony is true which He offers concerning me. "You sent to John, and he both was and still is a witness to the truth. But the testimony on my behalf which I accept is not from man; though I say all this in order that you may be saved. He was the lamp that burned and shone, and for a time you were willing to be gladdened by his light. "But the testimony which I have is weightier than that of John; for the work the Father has assigned to me for me to bring it to completion--the very work which I am doing--affords testimony concerning me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me, *He* has given testimony concerning me. None of you have ever either heard His voice or seen what He is like. Nor have you His word dwelling within you, for you refuse to believe Him whom *He* has sent. "You search the Scriptures, because you suppose that in them you will find the Life of the Ages; and it is those Scriptures that yield testimony concerning me; and yet you are unwilling to come to me that you may have Life. "I do not accept glory from man, but I know you well, and I know that in your hearts you do not really love God. I have come as my Father's representative, and you do not receive me. If some one else comes representing only himself, him you will receive. How is it possible for you to believe, while you receive glory from one another and have no desire for the glory that comes from the only God? "Do not suppose that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, namely Moses, on whom your hope rests. For if you believe Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you disbelieve his writings, how are you to believe my words?"



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?" "It is not for you," He replied, "to know times or epochs which the Father has reserved within His own authority; and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth." read more.
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. But, while they stood intently gazing into the sky as He went, suddenly there were two men in white garments standing by them, 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."

While he still clung to Peter and John, the people, awe-struck, ran up crowding round them in what was known as Solomon's Portico. 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. read more.
Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer. The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that.

Simon Peter, a bondservant and Apostle of Jesus Christ: To those to whom there has been allotted the same precious faith as that which is ours through the righteousness of our God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ. May more and more grace and peace be granted to you in a full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that His divine power has given us all things that are needful for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who has appealed to us by His own glorious perfections. read more.
It is by means of these that He has granted us His precious and wondrous promises, in order that through them you may, one and all, become sharers in the very nature of God, having completely escaped the corruption which exists in the world through earthly cravings. But for this very reason--adding, on your part, all earnestness-- along with your faith, manifest also a noble character: along with a noble character, knowledge; along with knowledge, self-control; along with self-control, power of endurance; along with power of endurance, godliness; along with godliness, brotherly affection; and along with brotherly affection, love. If these things exist in you, and continually increase, they prevent your being either idle or unfruitful in advancing towards a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the man in whom they are lacking is blind and cannot see distant objects, in that he has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his old sins. For this reason, brethren, be all the more in earnest to make sure that God has called you and chosen you; for it is certain that so long as you practise these things, you will never stumble. And so a triumphant admission into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be freely granted to you. For this reason I shall always persist in reminding you of these things, although you know them and are stedfast believers in truth which you already possess. But I think it right, so long as I remain in the body, my present dwelling-place, to arouse you by such reminders. For I know that the time for me to lay aside my body is now rapidly drawing near, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to me. So on every possible occasion I will also do my best to enable you to recall these things after my departure. For when we made known to you the power and Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not eagerly following cleverly devised legends, but we had been eye-witnesses of His majesty.

The revelation given by Jesus Christ, which God granted Him, that He might make known to His servants certain events which must shortly come to pass: and He sent His angel and communicated it to His servant John. This is the John who taught the truth concerning the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus Christ-- a faithful account of what he had seen.