Acts 10; Acts 11; Acts 12

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Acts 10

1 There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a Roman army officer in what was called the Italian Regiment.

2 He was a devout man, a "God-fearer," as was his whole household; he gave generously to help the Jewish poor and prayed regularly to God.

3 One afternoon around three o'clock he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"

4 Cornelius stared at the angel, terrified. "What is it, sir?" he asked. "Your prayers," replied the angel, "and your acts of charity have gone up into God's presence, so that he has you on his mind.

5 Now send some men to Yafo to bring back a man named Shim'on, also called Kefa.

6 He's staying with Shim'on the leather-tanner, who has a house by the sea."

7 As the angel that had spoken to him went away, Cornelius called two of his household slaves and one of his military aides, who was a godly man;

8 he explained everything to them and sent them to Yafo.

9 The next day about noon, while they were still on their way and approaching the city, Kefa went up onto the roof of the house to pray.

10 He began to feel hungry and wanted something to eat; but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance

11 in which he saw heaven opened, and something that looked like a large sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, crawling creatures and wild birds.

13 Then a voice came to him, "Get up, Kefa, slaughter and eat!"

14 But Kefa said, "No, sir! Absolutely not! I have never eaten food that was unclean or treif."

15 The voice spoke to him a second time: "Stop treating as unclean what God has made clean."

16 This happened three times, and then the sheet was immediately taken back up into heaven.

17 Kefa was still puzzling over the meaning of the vision he had seen, when the men Cornelius had sent, having inquired for Shim'on's house, stood at the gate

18 and called out to ask if the Shim'on known as Kefa was staying there.

19 While Kefa's mind was still on the vision, the Spirit said, "Three men are looking for you.

20 Get up, go downstairs, and have no misgivings about going with them, because I myself have sent them."

21 So Kefa went down and said to the men, "You were looking for me? Here I am. What brings you here?"

22 They answered, "Cornelius. He's a Roman army officer, an upright man and a God-fearer, a man highly regarded by the whole Jewish nation; and he was told by a holy angel to have you come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

23 So Kefa invited them to be his guests. The next day, he got up and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Yafo;

24 and he arrived at Caesarea the day after that. Cornelius was expecting them - he had already called together his relatives and close friends.

25 As Kefa entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell prostrate at his feet.

26 But Kefa pulled him to his feet and said, "Stand up! I myself am just a man."

27 As he talked with him, Kefa went inside and found many people gathered.

28 He said to them, "You are well aware that for a man who is a Jew to have close association with someone who belongs to another people, or to come and visit him, is something that just isn't done. But God has shown me not to call any person common or unclean;

29 so when I was summoned, I came without raising any questions. Tell me, then, why did you send for me?"

30 Cornelius answered, "Three days ago around this time, I was at minchah prayers in my house, when suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me

31 and said, 'God has heard your prayer and remembered your acts of charity.

32 Now send to Yafo and ask for Shim'on, known as Kefa; he is staying in the house of Shim'on, a leather-tanner, by the sea.'

33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now all of us are here in the presence of God to hear everything the Lord has ordered you to say."

34 Then Kefa addressed them: "I now understand that God does not play favorites,

35 but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.

36 "Here is the message that he sent to the sons of Isra'el announcing shalom through Yeshua the Messiah, who is Lord of everything.

37 You know what has been going on throughout Y'hudah, starting from the Galil after the immersion that Yochanan proclaimed;

38 how God anointed Yeshua from Natzeret with the Ruach HaKodesh and with power; how Yeshua went about doing good and healing all the people oppressed by the Adversary, because God was with him.

39 "As for us, we are witnesses of everything he did, both in the Judean countryside j

40 but and in Yerushalayim. They did away with him by hanging him on a stake;God raised him up on the third day and let him be seen,

41 not by all the people, but by witnesses God had previously chosen, that is, by us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen again from the dead.

42 "Then he commanded us to proclaim and attest to the Jewish people that this man has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

43 All the prophets bear witness to him, that everyone who puts his trust in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

44 Kefa was still saying these things when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on all who were hearing the message.

45 All the believers from the Circumcision faction who had accompanied Kefa were amazed that the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh was also being poured out

46 on the Goyim, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Kefa's response was,

47 "Is anyone prepared to prohibit these people from being immersed in water? After all, they have received the Ruach HaKodesh, just as we did."

48 And he ordered that they be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. Then they asked Kefa to stay on with them for a few days.

Acts 11

1 The emissaries and the brothers throughout Y'hudah heard that the Goyim had received the word of God;

2 but when Kefa went up to Yerushalayim, the members of the Circumcision faction criticized him,

3 saying, "You went into the homes of uncircumcised men and even ate with them!"

4 In reply, Kefa began explaining in detail what had actually happened:

5 "I was in the city of Yafo, praying; and in a trance I had a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came down to me.

6 I looked inside and saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, crawling creatures and wild birds.

7 Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Kefa, slaughter and eat!'

8 I said, 'No, sir! Absolutely not! Nothing unclean or treif has ever entered my mouth!'

9 But the voice spoke again from heaven: 'Stop treating as unclean what God has made clean.'

10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled back up into heaven.

11 "At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying;

12 and the Spirit told me to have no misgivings about going back with them. These six brothers also came with me, and we went into the man's house.

13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Yafo and bring back Shim'on, known as Kefa.

14 He has a message for you which will enable you and your whole household to be saved.'

15 "But I had hardly begun speaking when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on them, just as on us at the beginning!

16 And I remembered that the Lord had said, 'Yochanan used to immerse people in water, but you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh.'

17 Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as he gave us after we had come to put our trust in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who was I to stand in God's way?"

18 On hearing these things, they stopped objecting and began to praise God, saying, "This means that God has enabled the Goyim as well to do t'shuvah and have life!"

19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution which had arisen over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch; they spoke God's word, but only to Jews.

20 However, some of these, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, when they arrived at Antioch, began speaking to the Greeks too, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Yeshua.

21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people trusted and turned to the Lord.

22 News of this reached the ears of the Messianic community in Yerushalayim, and they sent Bar-Nabba to Antioch.

23 On arriving and seeing for himself the grace of God at work, he was glad; and he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with their whole hearts;

24 for he was a good man, full of the Ruach HaKodesh and trust.

25 Then Bar-Nabba went off to Tarsus to look for Sha'ul;

26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They met with the congregation there for a whole year and taught a sizeable crowd. Also it was in Antioch that the talmidim for the first time were called "Messianic."

27 During this time, some prophets came down from Yerushalayim to Antioch;

28 and one of them named Agav stood up and through the Spirit predicted that there was going to be a severe famine throughout the Roman Empire. (It took place while Claudius was Emperor.)

29 So the talmidim decided to provide relief to the brothers living in Y'hudah, each according to his means;

30 and they did it, sending their contribution to the elders in the care of Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul.

Acts 12

1 It was around this time that King Herod began arresting and persecuting certain members of the Messianic community;

2 and he had Ya'akov, Yochanan's brother, put to death by the sword.

3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Judeans, he went on to arrest Kefa as well. It was during the Days of Matzah,

4 so when Herod seized him, he threw him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, with the intention of bringing him to public trial after Pesach.

5 So Kefa was being held under watch in prison, but intense prayer was being made to God on his behalf by the Messianic community.

6 The night before Herod was going to bring him to trial, Kefa was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with two chains; and guards were at the door, keeping watch over the prison.

7 Suddenly an angel of ADONAI stood there, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Kefa's side and woke him. "Hurry! Get up!" he said; and the chains fell off his hands.

8 The angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals," and he did. "Throw on your robe," he said, "and follow me!"

9 Going out, Kefa followed him but did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real - he thought he was seeing a vision.

10 Having passed a first guard and a second, they arrived at the iron gate leading to the city. This opened to them by itself, and they made their exit. They went down the length of one street, and suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Kefa came to himself and said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Judean people were hoping for."

12 Realizing what had happened, he went to the house of Miryam the mother of Yochanan (surnamed Mark), where many people had gathered to pray.

13 He knocked at the outside door, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer.

14 She recognized Kefa's voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Kefa was standing outside.

15 "You're out of your mind!" they said to her. But she insisted it was true. So they said, "It is his angel."

16 Meanwhile, Kefa kept knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

17 Motioning to them with his hand to be quiet, he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and said, "Tell all this to Ya'akov and the brothers." Then he left and went elsewhere.

18 When daylight came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Kefa.

19 Herod had a thorough search made for him, but they failed to find him, so he cross-examined the guards and ordered them put to death. Then Herod went down from Y'hudah to Caesarea and spent some time there.

20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tzor and Tzidon, so they joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, the king's chief personal servant, they asked for peace; because they depended on the king's lands for their food supply.

21 A day was set, and Herod in his royal robes sat on the throne and made a speech to them.

22 The mob cried out, "This is the voice of a god, not a man!"

23 At once, because Herod did not give the glory to God, an angel of ADONAI struck him down. He was eaten away by worms and died.

24 But the word of the Lord went on growing and being multiplied.

25 Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul, having completed their errand, returned from Yerushalayim, bringing with them Yochanan, surnamed Mark.

Acts 10; Acts 11; Acts 12

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Acts 10

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Acts 12