And Saul agreed completely with killing<n id="1" /> him.p><t /><p class="bodytext">Now on that day a great<n id="2" /> persecution began<n id="3" /> against the church in Jerusalem,<n id="4" /> and all<n id="5" /> except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions<n id="6" /> of Judea and Samaria.

<p class="bodytext">Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The<n id="1" /> Lord<n id="2" /> said to him in a vision, &#8220;Ananias,&#8221; and he replied, &#8220;Here I am,<n id="3" /> Lord.&#8221;

Cornelius<n id="1" /> replied,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Four days ago at this very hour, at three o&#8217;clock in the afternoon,<n id="3" /> I was praying in my house, and suddenly<n id="4" /> a man in shining clothing stood before me

&#8220;I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision,<n id="1" /> an object something like a large sheet descending,<n id="2" /> being let down from heaven<n id="3" /> by its four corners, and it came to me.

and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.<n id="1" /> So<n id="2" /> for a whole year Barnabas and Saul<n id="3" /> met with the church and taught a significant number of people.<n id="4" /> Now it was in Antioch<n id="5" /> that the disciples were first called Christians.<n id="6" />p>

The God of this people Israel<n id="1" /> chose our ancestors<n id="2" /> and made the people great<n id="3" /> during their stay as foreigners<n id="4" /> in the country<n id="5" /> of Egypt, and with uplifted arm<n id="6" /> he led them out of it.

And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received<n id="1" /> from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote<n id="2" /> against them when they were sentenced to death.<n id="3" />

Paul replied, &#8220;I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time<n id="1" /> not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

For<n id="1" /> John baptized with water, but you<n id="2" /> will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now<n id="1" /> when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

<p class="bodytext">Now there were devout Jews<n id="1" /> from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.<n id="2" />

<p class="otpoetry"><b><i>And I will perform wonders in the skyi>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>abovei>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>and miraculous signsi>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>on the earth below,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><i><b>blood and fire and clouds of smokeb>.i>p>

So those who accepted<n id="1" /> his message<n id="2" /> were baptized, and that day about three thousand people<n id="3" /> were added.<n id="4" />p>

angry<n id="1" /> because they were teaching the people and announcing<n id="2" /> in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

<p class="bodytext">On the next day,<n id="1" /> their rulers, elders, and experts in the law<n id="2" /> came together<n id="3" /> in Jerusalem.<n id="4" />

&#8220;Go and stand in the temple courts<n id="1" /> and proclaim<n id="2" /> to the people all the words of this life.&#8221;

But the officers<n id="1" /> who came for them<n id="2" /> did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,<n id="3" />

And every day both in the temple courts<n id="1" /> and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news<n id="2" /> that Jesus was the Christ.<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs<n id="1" /> among the people.

So Joseph sent a message<n id="1" /> and invited<n id="2" /> his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people<n id="3" /> in all.