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Acts 10

1 - Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2 - a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God.
3 - At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, "Cornelius!"
4 - He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, "What is it, Lord?"He said to him, "Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God.
5 - Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter.
6 - He lodges with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the seaside.
7 - When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually.
8 - Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 - Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.
10 - He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance.
11 - He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
12 - in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky.
13 - A voice came to him,"Rise, Peter, kill and eat!"
14 - But Peter said, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
15 - A voice came to him again the second time,"What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean."
16 - This was done three times, and immediately the vessel was received up into heaven.
17 - Now while Peter was very perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood before the gate,
18 - and called and asked whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there.
19 - While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men seek you.
20 - But arise, get down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."
21 - Peter went down to the men, and said, "Behold, I am he whom you seek. Why have you come?"
22 - They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say."
23 - So he called them in and provided a place to stay. On the next day Peter arose and went out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
24 - On the next day they entered into Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his relatives and his near friends.
25 - When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell down at his feet, and worshiped him.
26 - But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up! I myself am also a man."
27 - As he talked with him, he went in and found many gathered together.
28 - He said to them, "You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn't call any man unholy or unclean.
29 - Therefore also I came without complaint when I was sent for. I ask therefore, why did you send for me?"
30 - Cornelius said, "Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour, I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31 - and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God.
32 - Send therefore to Joppa, and summon Simon, who is also called Peter. He lodges in the house of a tanner named Simon, by the seaside. When he comes, he will speak to you.'
33 - Therefore I sent to you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you by God."
34 - Peter opened his mouth and said, "Truly I perceive that God doesn't show favoritism;
35 - but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.
36 - The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ-he is Lord of all-
37 - you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
38 - even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
39 - We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree.
40 - God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed,
41 - not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 - He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead.
43 - All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins."
44 - While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word.
45 - They of the circumcision who believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles.
46 - For they heard them speaking in other languages and magnifying God.Then Peter answered,
47 - "Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us."
48 - He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.
Acts Images and Notes

The Book of Acts

Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 9:3-6 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Acts in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Luke by El Greco 1605
Painting of St. Luke by El Greco - 1605

Introduction to The Acts of the Apostles

Brief Summary. Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they are endued with power from on high, power to be his witnesses unto the ends of the earth. When the feast of Pentecost had fully come, the church was born and God poured out his Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. This began a fire which was spread throughout the whole world, Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and all who believe can be saved. This was the message of the gospel in the Book of Acts, and God confirmed his word with signs following. The church in Jerusalem had taken their time in fulfilling the commands of the Lord to go into all the world beginning in Jerusalem and Samaria and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. God called a man named Saul who was a persecutor of the church to be the hero in the Book of Acts. God would change his name to Paul the Apostle, and it was through Paul that the message of Christ would spread to the farthest parts of the known world. The Book of Acts records three of Paul's missionary journeys by which the church was established, the people of God, the Christians who would change the world.

Summary of The Book of Acts

Contents. The Book of Acts clearly focuses on the beginnings of the church, and two people� The apostle Peter, and the one who actually possessed the courage to go to the farthest parts of the known world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, his name was Paul the Apostle. The Gospel spread from Israel, northward to Antioch, and then westward to Asia Minor, Greece, and finally Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire.

The first 12 chapters of the book of Acts deal with Peter, and the remainder of the book, the last 16 chapters is devoted to the apostle Paul.

The major areas of history with which the author has dealt are :
1) The establishment and progress of the church at Jerusalem until the dispersion which arose at the time of Stephen's death (Acts 1-7);
2) The preaching of the gospel to the surrounding area, including its introduction to the Gentiles (Acts 8-12) ;
3) The preaching tours of Paul and the struggle to define the church's position with regard to the law of Moses (Acts 13:1-21:16); and
4) Paul's imprisonment, which began in Jerusalem and was concluded in Rome (Acts 21:17-28 :30).

Audience. The book of Acts is addressed to Theophilus, usually thought to have been a Gentile who was interested in learning more of Christianity and whose name suggests may have been a symbol of all lovers of God.

Authorship. Luke wrote the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke and he dedicated his work to a man named Theophilus as mentioned in the summary of the book of Luke. Luke was a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys, and in many parts of the book of Acts it says "we" did this or that (Acts 16:10-17:1; Acts 20:5-21:17; and Acts 27:2-28:31). These Scriptures indicate that Luke joined and left the missionary party on several occasions and that he accompanied Paul on his journey to Rome. Paul's calls Luke his companion in Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24, and 2 Timothy 4:11. The medical language in Luke and Acts gives credence to Luke "the beloved physician" (Col. 4:14) as the author of Acts. The early Church writers unanimously agreed that Luke was the author of the Gospel of Luke and Acts, for example Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, and Irenaeus.

Date. Scholars agree that Acts was written around 62 or 63 AD. It is interesting to note that Luke never intimated the event of the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD within the book of Acts. Jerusalem is pictured as a currently thriving center of Judaism, with the temple service and sacrifices being carried out in a normal manner. After 70 AD everything changed and it would have been obvious if Luke had written Acts after 70 AD. Luke concludes Acts with Paul in Rome living in a hired house, and awaiting trial before Caesar (Acts 28:30). This would have been 61 or 62 AD obviously before the great persecution of Christians by Nero and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Place Written. Most scholars believe that the place of the writing of Acts was in Rome. The whole book is an account of the advance of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the last events described take place in Rome.

Historical Accuracy. As has been noted in the introduction to Luke, the historical accuracy of the writings of Luke, once questioned widely, has now received extensive substantiation; there is little reason to suppose that the events took place in any way other than that described by Luke.

The Value of Acts. The Book of Acts is of great value to the Christian for many reasons. When Jesus commission His disciples to go into all the world, Acts informs us of the very events of the early Church in carrying out that commission. It tells us of their relationship to one another and to their other co-workers as they dealt with the various problems which faced the young church. It tells of the introduction of Christianity to the Gentile world and of the struggle for unity between Jew and Gentile.

Outline of the Book of Acts

The Gospel is Preached From Jerusalem to All Judea - Chapters 1-7
The Gospel is Preached in Samaria - Chapter 8
The Gospel is Preached to the Gentiles - Chapters 9-12
The Gospel is Preached to the Ends of the Earth - Chapters 13-28

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Acts Resources

Map of New Testament Israel
Map of the Roman Empire
Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey
Map of New Testament Cities
Map of the 7 Churches of Revelation (Asia Minor)
Map of the Roman Empire In the Time of Jesus
Map of Asia in Roman Times

Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus, in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary Journey's. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he returned to the cities he had first visited on his first missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19). (Color Map)

Map of Paul's Voyage to Rome (61 A.D.) - This map reveals the journey of the Apostle Paul to Rome in 61 AD. Paul had appealed to Caesar in Caesarea (Acts 24-25), his goal was to spread the Gospel of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire all the way to her great capital, Rome. He demanded that his case be heard by the Roman Emperor. According to the Book of Acts, after his shipwreck on the Island of Malta (Acts 28) he came to Italy and was put on house arrest for two years (Acts 28:30). (Color Map)

Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the "Nations" within the ancient world during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)

Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)

Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities within Greece in the ancient world during the first century A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like: Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia and Achaia. (Color Map)

Map of New Testament Italy - This map reveals the cities within Italy during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the principle cities of Italy like Neapolis and Rome. Follow the path of the Apostle