Acts

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Acts:

This book, by the same writer as the book of Luke, tells what happened after Jesus' crucifixion -- Jesus appearances to the apostles (disciples) for forty days after the crucifixion. Then, Jesus rose into the sky into a cloud.

Another disciple, Matthias, was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot (who had betrayed Jesus and then killed himself), so that the disciples/apostles were again twelve.

In Acts, there was mention of a soul (i.e., Jesus) being in hell until the resurrection (Acts 2:27-31, from King James' Version). The disciple, Simon Peter (or, just Peter) healed a crippled beggar. The Sadducees (who disbelieved in resurrection of the dead) were upset over the disciples Peter and John telling of Jesus' rising from the dead. The disciples kept speaking of Jesus as the Messiah and as the "the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone," saying further that "Salvation is found in no one else..." (Acts 4:11-12) The disciples/apostles were arrested and put in jail often, yet they preached on -- once released from jail by an angel (Acts 5:19). Administrators (i.e., deacons) were picked for handling many of the duties of the church, so that the disciples could spend their time preaching.


Stephen Stoned to Death (Acts 7):
Stephen, a believer in Jesus, was brought to the high priest and spoke to the Jewish leaders, saying that "...I see...the Son of Man (i.e., Jesus the Messiah) standing at the right hand of God." Stephen was stoned to death and martyred (died, arousing sympathy to his beliefs).


As Peter and John preached, a Roman citizen and Jew named Saul (or Paul) of Tarsus was persecuting all believers in Jesus, until near Damascus, when the voice of Jesus spoke to Paul and blinded him for three days, after which Ananias (a Damascus believer in Jesus instructed to heal Paul) touched Paul to give him his sight back. Paul then became a believer in Jesus, was baptised and preached that Jesus was the Christ (i.e., the Messiah; Son of God). (Acts 9)

Peter healed a man bedridden for 8 years and then brought a dead woman (Dorcas) back to life (Acts 9:32-42). Then Peter had a vision that showed him that people other than Jews are valued by God. (Acts 10:9-15:34-35) So, the early church then came to the thought, "...God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)

Barnabus and Paul at Tarsus (at Antioch) preached to the people -- there first called "Christians." (Acts 11:26) The apostle James was killed; Peter was arrested but rescued by an angel, who unchained him. (Acts 12:6-10)

Paul and Barnabus preached to many that both Jews and Gentiles could accept Jesus. In Jerusalem, Peter said that Gentiles were welcome and that they did not have to obey Jewish laws (circumcision was not required), except that they should abstain from eating meat sacrificed to idols, from eating unbled meat from strangled animals, and from fornication (having sex outside of marriage). (Acts 15) Paul then preached with Silas, Timothy, and others in many places, often in Greece -- at Corinth. There were many riots and attacks on Paul by jealous Jewish leaders wherever he went. At Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed, then released from prison by an earthquake that caused their chains to fall off, after which the jailer was baptized. (Acts 16:22-33) Paul healed a young man after a fatal fall during a sermon in Troas (in Turkey) (Acts 20:7-12). Paul went back to Jerusalem and told the people again of his experience on the road nearing Damascus (Acts 22:6-16). Paul was arrested and was charged by Ananias (the Jerusalem High Priest) as worthy of execution. (Acts 21-28) Paul would have been set free (Acts 26:32), but he "appealed to Caesar" (being a Roman citizen) -- requiring that he be sent to Rome for trial. Paul's trip to Rome was detailed, with an account of his being bitten by a poisonous snake without effect. (Acts 28:3-6)

 

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