Ananias and Sapphira

¹Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

²With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

⁴Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

⁵On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

⁶Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened.

⁸“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”

⁹“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁰At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

The Apostles Heal Many

¹²The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹³Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them.

¹⁴Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

¹⁶Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

The Apostles Arrested and Freed

¹⁷Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out

¹⁸and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,

²⁰“Go, stand in the temple courtsand tell the people the full message of this new life.”

²¹At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.

²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report:

²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

The Apostles before the Sanhedrin

²⁴When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.

²⁵Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”

²⁶At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.

²⁷They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.

²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.

³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

³¹God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Advice

³³When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolvedto put the apostles to death.

³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

³⁵“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men.

³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.

³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

⁴²Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul’s First Missionary Journey Begins

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

On Cyprus

⁴So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.

⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.

⁶They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

⁷an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

⁹Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas

¹⁰and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹¹Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

¹⁴And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me!

¹⁷The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.

¹⁸He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.

¹⁹And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.

²⁰All this took about 450 years.After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.

²¹Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.

²²After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

²³From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.

²⁴Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.

²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.

²⁹When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised Him from the dead,

³¹and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.

³²And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers

³³He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:‘You are My Son;today I have become Your Father.’

³⁴In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said:‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’

³⁵So also, He says in another Psalm:‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’

³⁶For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.

³⁷But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴¹‘Look, you scoffers,wonder and perish!For I am doing a work in your daysthat you would never believe,even if someone told you.’”

A Light for the Gentiles

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.

⁴³After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us:‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.

⁵⁰The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.

⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

To the Church in Sardis

¹“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:These are the words of the One who holds the seven spiritsof God and the seven stars.I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead.

²Wake up and strengthen what remains, which is about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.

³Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

⁴But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.

⁵Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot outhis name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.

⁸I know your deeds. Behold, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.

⁹As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.

¹⁰Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

¹¹I am coming soon.Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹²The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

¹³He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originatorof God’s creation.

¹⁵I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!

¹⁶So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.

²¹To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Do Not Harden Your Hearts

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!

²Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

³For the LORD is a great God,a great King above all gods.

⁴In His hand are the depths of the earth,and the mountain peaks belong to Him.

⁵The sea is His, for He made it,and His hands formed the dry land.

⁶O come, let us worship and bow down;let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

⁷For He is our God,and we are the people of His pasture,the sheep under His care.Today, if you hear His voice,

⁸do not harden your heartsas you did at Meribah,in the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹where your fathers tested and tried Me,though they had seen My work.

¹⁰For forty years I was angry with that generation,and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,and they have not known My ways.”

¹¹So I swore on oath in My anger,“They shall never enter My rest.”