Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas

Bible

Acts 11

1And the apostles and the brethren who are in Judea heard that also the nations did receive the word of God,

2and when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision were contending with him,

3saying — 'Unto men uncircumcised thou didst go in, and didst eat with them!'

4And Peter having begun, did expound to them in order saying,

5'I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, a certain vessel coming down, as a great sheet by four corners being let down out of the heaven, and it came unto me;

6at which having looked stedfastly, I was considering, and I saw the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of heaven;

7and I heard a voice saying to me, Having risen, Peter, slay and eat;

8and I said, Not so, Lord; because anything common or unclean hath at no time entered into my mouth;

9and a voice did answer me a second time out of the heaven, What God did cleanse, thou — declare not thou common.

10'And this happened thrice, and again was all drawn up to the heaven,

11and, lo, immediately, three men stood at the house in which I was, having been sent from Caesarea unto me,

12and the Spirit said to me to go with them, nothing doubting, and these six brethren also went with me, and we did enter into the house of the man,

13he declared also to us how he saw the messenger in his house standing, and saying to him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter,

14who shall speak sayings by which thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.

15'And in my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit did fall upon them, even as also upon us in the beginning,

16and I remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said, John indeed did baptize with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit;

17if then the equal gift God did give to them as also to us, having believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I — how was I able to withstand God?'

18And they, having heard these things, were silent, and were glorifying God, saying, 'Then, indeed, also to the nations did God give the reformation to life.'

19Those, indeed, therefore, having been scattered abroad, from the tribulation that came after Stephen, went through unto Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none except to Jews only;

20and there were certain of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who having entered into Antioch, were speaking unto the Hellenists, proclaiming good news — the Lord Jesus,

21and the hand of the Lord was with them, a great number also, having believed, did turn unto the Lord.

22And the account was heard in the ears of the assembly that is in Jerusalem concerning them, and they sent forth Barnabas to go through unto Antioch,

23who, having come, and having seen the grace of God, was glad, and was exhorting all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord,

24because he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith, and a great multitude was added to the Lord.

25And Barnabas went forth to Tarsus, to seek for Saul,

26and having found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that they a whole year did assemble together in the assembly, and taught a great multitude, the disciples also were divinely called first in Antioch Christians.

27And in those days there came from Jerusalem prophets to Antioch,

28and one of them, by name Agabus, having stood up, did signify through the Spirit a great dearth is about to be throughout all the world — which also came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar —

29and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea,

30which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.