Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.



This has all originated with God, for He through Christ has reconciled me to Himself and has given me the ministry of reconciliation. For it was through Christ that God was reconciling the world to Himself instead of debiting men's offenses against them, and He has committed to me the message of this reconciliation. So I am an envoy to represent Christ, because it is through me that God is making His appeal. As one representing Christ I beg you, be reconciled to God. read more.
He made Him who personally knew nothing of sin to be a sin-offering for us, so that through union with Him we might come into right standing with God.




When Peter saw this, he said to the people, "Fellow Israelites, why are you so surprised at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though we had by our own power or piety made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you yourselves betrayed and disowned before Pilate, although he had decided to set Him free. Yes, you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked a murderer to be pardoned as a favor to you, read more.
and you killed the Prince of life, but God raised Him from the dead, to which fact we are witnesses. It is His name, that is, on condition of faith in His name, that has made strong again this man whom you see and recognize -- yes, faith inspired by Him has given this man the perfect health you all see. "And yet, I know, brothers, that you did not realize what you were doing, any more than your leaders did. But in this way God fulfilled what He by the lips of all the prophets foretold, that the Christ should suffer. So now repent and turn to Him, to have your sins wiped out, that times of revival may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send back Jesus, the Christ who long ago was appointed for you. Yet heaven must retain Him till the time for the universal restoration of which God in the early ages spoke through the lips of His holy prophets. Moses, indeed, said: 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, as He did me. You must attentively listen to everything that He tells you. The result will be, that any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.' Yes, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel down, have also foretold these days. And you are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the sacred compact which God made with your forefathers, when He said to Abraham: 'All the families of the earth are to be blessed through your posterity.' It was to you first that He sent His Servant, after raising Him from the dead, to bless you by causing every one of you to turn from his wicked ways."

if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. read more.
There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved." They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus,

But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of Him, for we cannot keep from telling what we have seen and heard."

So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. Verse Conceptselders, as community leadersSanhedrinTeachersDaybreakTeaching In The ChurchAt DaybreakBringing People Out Of Other PlacesDisciples In The Temple

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things."

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name; and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.


Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things."


But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of Him, for we cannot keep from telling what we have seen and heard."



So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. Verse Conceptselders, as community leadersSanhedrinTeachersDaybreakTeaching In The ChurchAt DaybreakBringing People Out Of Other PlacesDisciples In The Temple

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things."

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things."

So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of Him, for we cannot keep from telling what we have seen and heard."


And the high priests kept piling up accusations against Him. Then again Pilate asked Him, "Have you no answer to make? Just see how many charges they are making against you!" But Jesus made no further answer at all, so that Pilate was astonished.

Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of the people, if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. read more.
He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved."

The high priest asked, "Are these statements true?" He answered: "Listen, brothers and fathers. The glorious God appeared to our forefather Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he ever made his home in Haran, and said to him, 'Leave your country and your kinsmen and come to Whatever country I may show you.' read more.
So he left the country of the Chaldeans and for a time made his home in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country in which you now live. He gave him no property in it, not even a foot of land, and yet He promised to give it to him and his descendants after him, as a permanent possession, although he had no child at that time. This is what God promised: 'His descendants will be strangers living in a foreign land, and its people will enslave and oppress them for four hundred years.' But God further promised: 'I will pass sentence on the nation that enslaves them, and after that they will leave that country and worship me on this very spot.' And with Abraham He made the sacred compact of circumcision, and he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him from all his troubles, and allowed him to win favor and to show wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and so he appointed Joseph governor of Egypt and of his whole household. Then a famine spread all over Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering, and our forefathers could not find the simplest food. But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt and sent our forefathers on their first visit down there. On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and thus Joseph's race was revealed to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his kinsmen, seventy-five in all; and Jacob came down to Egypt. There he and our forefathers died and were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had bought with a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. As the time approached for realizing the promise which God had made to Abraham, the people multiplied and became more numerous in Egypt, until another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, ascended the throne. By taking a cunning advantage of our race he oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to expose their infants so that they should not live. At this time Moses was born. He was a divinely beautiful child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house. When he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. Thus Moses was educated in all the culture of the Egyptians, and was a mighty man in speech and action. As he was rounding out his fortieth year, it occurred to him to visit his brothers, the descendants of Israel. Because he saw one of them being mistreated, he defended and avenged the man who was suffering ill-treatment by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God through his instrumentality was going to deliver them, but they did not. The next day he showed himself to two of them engaged in a fight, and he tried to get them to make friends, saying, 'You are brothers, why should you harm each other?' But the man who was harming his brother pushed him aside, saying, 'Who made you our ruler and referee? Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?' At this statement Moses fled, and went and lived in the land of Midian, and became the father of two sons. When forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight, and when he went up to look at it, the voice of the Lord said to him, 'I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses was so terrified that he did not dare to look at the bush. Then the Lord said to him, 'Take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you are standing is sacred ground. Because I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt and heard their groans, I have come down to deliver them. So come! I will send you back to Egypt as my messenger.' That very Moses whom they refused, saying, 'Who made you our ruler and referee?' was the man whom God sent to be both their ruler and deliverer, by the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. It was he who brought them out of Egypt by performing wonders and signs there and at the Red Sea -- as he did also in the desert for forty years. It was this Moses who said to the descendants of Israel, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from among you, just as He did me.' This is the one who in the congregation in the desert went between the angel, who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and our forefathers, who also received, to be handed down to you, utterances that still live. But our forefathers would not listen to him, but pushed him aside, and in their hearts they hankered after Egypt; and they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods 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!' In those days they even made a calf, and offered sacrifice to their idol, and held a celebration over the works of their own hands. So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the starry host, as it is written in the Book of the Prophets: 'Did you really offer me victims and sacrifices those forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? No, you offered me the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rompha, the images you had made to worship! So I will now remove you beyond Babylon.' "In the desert our forefathers had the tent of the testimony, like the model Moses had seen, as God who spoke to him ordered him to make it. This tent our forefathers brought in and passed on when under Joshua they dispossessed the nations which God drove out before them, and it remained until the time of David. He found favor with God and begged to design a dwelling for the God of Jacob, but it was Solomon who came to build a house for Him. But the Most High does not live in buildings built by human hands. As the prophet says: '"Heaven is my throne, and earth a footstool for my feet. What house can you build for me?" says the Lord; "Or what place is there in which I can rest? Was it not my hand that made them all?"' "You people, stubborn in will, heathenish in hearts and ears, you are always resisting the Holy Spirit, as your forefathers did, too. Which of the prophets did your forefathers fail to persecute? They killed the prophets who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have betrayed and murdered Him, you who received the law by order of the angels, and yet you did not obey it!" As they continued to listen to this address, they were becoming infuriated and began to grind their teeth at him. But since he was full of the Holy Spirit, he looked right into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand. So he said, "Look! I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."

Paul fixed his eyes upon the council and said, "Brothers, with a clear conscience I have done my duty to God up to this very day." At this the high priest Ananias ordered the people standing near him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "You white-washed wall, God will strike you! Do you sit as a judge to try me in accordance with the law and yet in violation of the law you order them to strike me?" read more.
The people standing near him said, "Do you mean to insult God's high priest?" Paul answered, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest, for the Scripture says, 'You must not speak evil against any ruler of your people.'" Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead." When he said that, an angry dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the crowded court was divided.

Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of the people, if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. read more.
He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved." They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus,

reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." read more.
Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.




I, John, your brother and companion with you in the trouble, the kingdom, and the patient endurance which Jesus gives, found myself on the island called Patmos, for preaching God's message and testifying to Jesus. Verse ConceptsCompanionsIslandsKingdom Of God, Entry IntoLonelinessParticipation, In ChristWitnessing, And Holy SpiritSolitudePeople Of The KingdomSharing In ChristSubsequent Witness To ChristEnduranceperserverancepartnershipperseveringChristians Being Called Brothers

So they arrested them and put them into prison until next morning, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard their message believed, and the number of the men grew to about five thousand. On the next day the leading members of the council, the elders, and the scribes, read more.
met in Jerusalem, including Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all that were members of the high priest's family. They had the men stand before them and repeatedly inquired of them, "By what sort of power and authority have you done this?" Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of the people, if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved." They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus, and since they saw the man who had been cured standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But they ordered the prisoners to step outside the council, and they conferred together and repeated, "What shall we do with these men? For it is evident to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable wonder-work has been done by them; and we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us severely threaten them not to say anything at all to anyone else about this person." So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus.

they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, "Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." read more.
So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name; and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.

About that time Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, in order to do them violence. He had James the brother of John murdered with a sword, and when he saw that this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too -- it was at the time of the feast of Unleavened Bread. read more.
He had him seized and put into prison, and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning after the Passover to bring him out again to the people. So Peter was being kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was persistently made by the church. Now just as Herod was going to bring him out, that is, the very night before, Peter was fastened with two chains and was sleeping between two soldiers, and the guards were at the door guarding the prison. And suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in his cell, and by striking Peter on the side the angel woke him, and said, "Get up quickly!" At once the chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, "Tighten your belt and put on your shoes? He did so. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So he kept following him out, but he was not conscious that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was dreaming it. They passed the first guard, then the second, and at last came to the iron gate which led into the city. The gate of itself opened to them, and they passed out and proceeded one block when all at once the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I really know that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting to do to me." When he became conscious of his situation, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, were a large number of people had met and were praying. When he knocked at the outer door, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it, and on recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she failed to open the door but ran and told them that Peter was standing at the door. They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she persistently insisted that it was so. Then they said, "It is his guardian angel!" But Peter, meanwhile, kept on knocking. So they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were astounded. With his hand he motioned to them to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, "Tell all these things to James and the brothers." Then he left them and went somewhere else. When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. Herod had search made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.

They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. Verse ConceptsFloggingevangelists, ministry ofPersecution, Forms OfPersuasionSuffering, Of BelieversWitnessing, And Holy SpiritBeatingsBeating BelieversSpeaking In Christ's NamePeople Set Free By PeopleThe Apostles In Action

But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of Him, for we cannot keep from telling what we have seen and heard."

"Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name; and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.

met in Jerusalem, including Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all that were members of the high priest's family. They had the men stand before them and repeatedly inquired of them, "By what sort of power and authority have you done this?" Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of the people, read more.
if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved." They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus, and since they saw the man who had been cured standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But they ordered the prisoners to step outside the council, and they conferred together and repeated, "What shall we do with these men? For it is evident to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable wonder-work has been done by them; and we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us severely threaten them not to say anything at all to anyone else about this person." So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of Him, for we cannot keep from telling what we have seen and heard." So, after further threatening them, they turned them loose, because they could not find any way to punish them, on account of the people, because they all continued to praise God for what had taken place,

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name;

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name; and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.

While they were talking to the people, the high priests, the military commander of the temple, and the Sadducees came down upon them, because they were very much disturbed over their continuing to teach the people and to declare in the case of Jesus the resurrection from the dead. So they arrested them and put them into prison until next morning, for it was already evening.

Now the high priest took a stand, and all his friends, the party of the Sadducees; and being filled with jealousy, they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them.

It is what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have beheld, what our own hands have touched, about the very message of life -- and that life has been unveiled to us, and we have seen it and now testify to it and we now announce it to you, yea, the eternal life that was with the Father and has been unveiled to us. I repeat, it is what we have seen and heard that we now announce to you, so that you too may share this fellowship with us, for this fellowship that we have is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ;

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things."

You know the story yourselves that spread all over Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and then He went about doing good and curing all who were overpowered by the devil, because God was with Him. We are witnesses of everything that He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Yet they murdered Him by hanging Him upon a tree. read more.
But God raised Him to life on the third day, and permitted Him to be dearly seen, not by all the people but by witnesses whom God had beforehand appointed, namely, by us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from the dead. He also ordered us to proclaim to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the One whom God has appointed to be the Judge of the living and the dead. To this very One all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him is to receive the forgiveness of sins through His name."

There appeared a man named John, sent from God. He came for the purpose of testifying, to testify to the light, so that everyone through him might come to believe. He was not the light; he came to testify to the light. read more.
The real light, which sheds light upon everyone, was just coming into the world. He came into the world, and though the world through Him began to exist, it did not recognize Him. He came into His own world, but His own people did not welcome Him. But to all who did accept Him, and trust in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God, who were born of God and not of natural blood nor of physical or human impulse. So the Word became human and lived a little while among us, and we actually saw His glory, the glory of One who is an only Son from His Father, and He was full of spiritual blessing and truth. John testified to Him and cried out, for this was the one who said, "The One who is coming after me has been put before me, because He existed before me."

that all men may honor the Son as they do the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. "I most solemnly say to you, whoever listens to me and believes Him who has sent me possesses eternal life, and will never come under condemnation, but has already passed out of death into life. I most solemnly say to you, a time is coming -- indeed, it is already here -- when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen to it will live. read more.
For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. He has also granted to Him authority to act as Judge because He is the Son of Man. Stop being surprised at this, for the time is coming when all that are in the graves will listen to His voice, and those who have done good will come out for a resurrection to life, but those who have done evil for a resurrection to condemnation. I cannot do anything by myself. As I get orders, so I judge, and my judgment is a just one, for I am not trying to do my own will but the will of Him who has sent me. "If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is of no force, There is someone else who testifies to me, and I know that the testimony which He gives to me is of force. You yourselves sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. However, I do not accept mere human testimony, but I am saying this that you may be saved. John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining, and you decided for a time to delight yourselves in his light. But I have testimony that is higher than John's, for the works which my Father has committed to me to finish, the very works that I am doing, testify to me that the Father has sent me; yes, the Father who has sent me has testified to me Himself. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form; and you do not keep His message living in you, because you do not believe in the messenger whom He has sent. "You keep on searching the Scriptures, for you yourselves suppose that you will get possession of eternal life through them; and yet they are witnesses that testify to me, but you refuse to come to me to get possession of life. I do not accept any honor from men, but I am sure that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, but you refuse to accept me. If anyone else should come in his own name, you would accept him. How can you believe, you who are always accepting honor from one another, but never seek the honor that comes from the one God? Do not be thinking that I am going to accuse you to the Father. You have your accuser; it is Moses on whom you have set your hopes! For if you really believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?"



So those who were present began to ask Him, "Lord, is this the time when you are going to set up the kingdom again for Israel?" He answered them, "It is not your business to learn times and dates which the Father has a right to fix, but you are going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you must be witnesses for me in Jerusalem and all over Judea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth." read more.
After saying this, He was taken up while they were looking at Him, and a cloud swept under Him and carried Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing after Him into heaven, two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them, and said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This very Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in just the way you have seen Him go up into heaven."

While he was still clinging to Peter and John, all the people in utter amazement crowded around them in what was called Solomon's portico. When Peter saw this, he said to the people, "Fellow Israelites, why are you so surprised at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though we had by our own power or piety made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you yourselves betrayed and disowned before Pilate, although he had decided to set Him free. read more.
Yes, you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked a murderer to be pardoned as a favor to you, and you killed the Prince of life, but God raised Him from the dead, to which fact we are witnesses.

Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have obtained the same precious faith that we have: spiritual blessing and peace be to you in increasing abundance through a full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; because His divine power has given us everything that is needful for life and piety, through our full knowledge of Him who through His glory and excellence has called us to Him. read more.
It is through these that He has given us His precious and glorious promises, so that through them, after you have escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires, you may come to share in the divine nature. Now for this very reason you must do your level best to supplement your faith with moral character, moral character with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with patient endurance, patient endurance with piety, piety with brotherly affection, brotherly affection with universal love. For if you have these qualities and they continue to increase in you, they will make you neither idle nor unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is blind -- or short-sighted-- and forgetful of the cleansing that he has received from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more in earnest to make certain to yourselves God's call and choice of you. For if you cultivate these qualities, you will never slip, for it is in this way that to you will be generously granted a triumphant admittance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Therefore, I will always remind you of these things, although you know them and are firmly grounded in the truth that you already have. Yet I think it right, as long as I live in this bodily tent, to arouse you by a reminder, because I know that the removal of my bodily tent is to be very soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. Yes, I will be in earnest, so that every time you have occasion, after I have gone away, you may call these things to mind. For it was not mere stories of fancy that we followed when we told you of the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty.

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A revelation given by Jesus Christ which God gave to Him, to make known to His slaves what must very soon take place. He sent and communicated it through His angel to His slave John, who testifies to what he saw, the message of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.