 CHURCH OF THE FIRST DAYS Acts 1 verse 12 to 2 verse 47. After the Lord Jesus had gone away to heaven, the eleven disciples and a small company of those who believed in Christ were left alone on the earth. But they were not sad, as we should have expected them to be. They were very happy, for their Lord had left them with His promise to send power from God upon them. Every day they met together and praised God, and prayed in the large upper room where Jesus had taken His last supper with them. The eleven disciples chose a twelfth man to take the place which had belonged to Judas the Trader. His name was Mateus. With these were Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers, and the women who had been at the cross and the tomb, and a number of others, men and women, who believed in Jesus as the Christ. The whole number of the company was one hundred and twenty people. In all the world these were all who at that time believed in Christ. Seven days after Jesus went away to heaven there came a day which the Jews called the Day of Pentecost, or the Fiftyth Day, for it was just fifty days after the feast of the Passover. On that day the believers in Christ were altogether in the upper room praying, when suddenly a sound was heard, like the rushing of a mighty wind, coming straight down from the sky, and what looked like tongues of fire seemed to be over the heads of all the company. Then the Spirit of God came upon them all, and they began to speak of Christ and of His Gospel with a power that none of them had ever known before. This strange noise as of a sounding wind was heard all over the city, and at once a great crowd of people came together at the place to learn what the sound meant. There they saw these people, one hundred and twenty in number, singing, praising God and telling of His wonderful works, and there was another marvellous thing. These people who had heard the noise and had been drawn to the place were Jews from many lands who had come up to Jerusalem to worship, some from lands far in the east, others from lands in the west, and others from isles of the sea. Every man heard these believers in Jesus speaking in the language of the land from which they had come. It was as though in every tongue of the earth men were telling of God's wonderful work. What is all this mean? asked some, and others said these people act as though they were drunken with wine. Then stood up Simon Peter with the other apostles around him, for from that time the twelve disciples were called apostles, which means the men sent forth, because they were now sent out to win the world to Christ. Peter spoke in a loud voice to all the crowd of the people and said, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that live in Jerusalem, listen to me. This which you see is what the prophet said long ago should come to pass, that God would pour out His Spirit upon men. This is the great day of the Lord when every one who shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. Jesus of Nazareth, one who wrought wonders and signs among you, you did put to death on the cross, by the hands of wicked men, but God has raised him up from death. We who have seen him living declares this to you, that he whom you killed on a cross is now the Lord and the Christ. Then many of the people began to see how wicked had been the deed of their people in killing Jesus, whom God had sent to them as his son, and they cried out to Peter and to the other apostles, men and brethren what shall we do? When Peter answered them, turn away from your sins, believe in Jesus, and be baptized in his name, and your sins shall be taken away, and you shall have this power of the Holy Spirit of God. Then a great many people believed in Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and were baptized by the apostles. And on that day three thousand were added to the Church of Christ, and they too met with the believers daily in the upper room and worshipped in the temple, and listened to the teaching of the apostles. And all the followers of Jesus were like one family of brothers and sisters. Those who had money gave it to help those who were in need, and some who had lands and houses sold them and gave all for those who were poor. All were happy praising God, loving and loved by each other, and every day more and more of those who were being saved were united to the Church. End of story one. Story number two of Hurlbot's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbot's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbot, part seven. The man at the beautiful gate. The two apostles, Peter and John, were one day going up to the temple at the afternoon hour of prayer, about three o'clock. They walked across the court of the Gentiles, which was a large open square paved with marble, having on its eastern side a double row of pillars with a roof above them, called Solomon's porch. In front of the porch was the principal entrance to the temple, through a gate which was called the beautiful gate. At this gate outside the temple, they saw a lame man sitting. He was one who in all his life had never been able to walk, and as he was very poor, his friends carried him every day to this place. And there he sat, hoping that some of those who went into the temple might take pity on him and give him a little money. In front of this man, Peter and John stopped, and Peter said, Look at us. The lame man looked earnestly on the two apostles, thinking they were about to give him something. But Peter said, Silver and gold have I known, but what I have that I will give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. And Peter took hold of the lame man's right hand and raised him up. At once the lame man felt a new power entering into his feet and ankle bones. He leaped up and stood upon his feet, and began to walk, as he had never done before in all his life. He walked up the steps with the two apostles, and went by their side into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. The people who now saw him leaping up and running knew him, for they had seen him every day sitting as a beggar at the beautiful gate, and every one was filled with wonder at the change which had come over him. After worshiping and praising God in the temple, the man, still holding fast to Peter and John, went out with them through the beautiful gate into Solomon's porch. And in a very few minutes a great crowd of people were drawn together to the place to see the man who had been made well, and to see also the two men who had healed him. Then Peter stood up before the strong of people and spoke to them. Ye men of Israel, he said, why do you look wandering on this man, or why do you fix your eyes upon us, as though by our own power or goodness we had made this man to walk. The God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, has in this way shown the power and the glory of his son Jesus, whom you gave up to his enemies, and whom you refused before Pontius Pilate, when Pilate was determined to set him free. But you refused the holy one and the righteous one, and chose the murderer Barabbas to be set free in his place, and you killed the prince of life whom God raised from the dead. We who have seen him risen declare that this is true, and the power of Jesus through faith in his name has made this man strong. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has given him this perfect soundness before you all. Now, my brothers, I am sure that you did not know that it was the Son of God and your own Savior whom you sent to the cross. Therefore turn to God in sorrow and for this great sin, and God will forgive you, and in his own time he will send again Jesus Christ. God who has raised up his son is ready to bless you, and turn away everyone of you from his sins. While Peter was speaking, the priests and the captain of the temple and the rulers came upon them, for they were angry as they heard Peter speak to his words. They laid hold of Peter and John and put them into the guard room for the night. But many of those who had heard Peter speaking believed on Jesus and sought the Lord, and the number of the followers of Christ rose from 3,000 to 5,000. On the next days the rulers came together, and Annas and Kayapas, the two high priests, were there, and with them many of their friends. They brought Peter and John and sent them before the company. The lame man who had been healed was still by the side of the two apostles. The rulers asked them, By what power or through whom have you done this? Then Peter spoke boldly to the priests and the rulers. He said, Ye rulers of the people and elders, if you are asking us about the good deed, down to this man who was so helpless, how it was that he was made well, I will tell you that by the name and the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, whom God raised from the dead, even by him this man stands here before you all strong and well. And there is no salvation except through Jesus Christ, for there is no other person under heaven who can save us from our sins. When these rulers saw how bold and strong were the words of Peter and John, they wondered, especially as they knew that they were plain men, not learned in books, and not used to speaking. They remembered that they had seen these men among the followers of Jesus, and they felt that in some way Jesus had given them this power. And as the man who had been healed was standing beside them, they could say nothing to deny that the wonderful work had been done. The rulers sent Peter and John out of the council room while they talked together. They said to each other, What shall we do to these men? We cannot deny that the wonderful work has been done by them, for everyone knows it. But we must stop this from spreading any more among the people. Let us command them not to speak to any man about the name of Jesus, and let us tell them that if they do speak, we will punish them. So they called the two apostles into the room again and said to them, We forbid you to speak about Jesus and the power of his name to any man. If you do not stop talking about Jesus, we will lay hands on you and put you in prison and will have you beaten. But Peter and John answered the rulers, Whether it is right to obey you or to obey God, you yourselves can judge. As for ourselves, we cannot keep silent. We must speak of what we have seen and heard. The rulers were afraid to do any harm to Peter and John, because they knew that the people praised God for the good work that they had done, and they would be angry to have harm come to them. For fear of the people, they let them go. Being let go, they went to their own friends, the company who met in the upper room, and there they gave thanks to God for helping them to speak his word without fear. End of Story Number 2 Story Number 3 of Hurlbett's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbett's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbett, Part 7. The Right Way to Give and the Wrong Way. Acts 4, Verse 32 to Verse 42. In those early days the Church of Christ in Jerusalem was like a great family, for each one was full of love for all the others. No one said of anything that he owned, this is mine, but they had all things together as belonging to all. Those who owned lands or houses sold them and brought the money and laid it down at the feet of the apostles. This was not because a rule was made commanding it, but because each member loved the rest and wished to help them. The money that was given in this free way the apostles divided among those that were poor so that no one among those who believed in Christ was in need. There was one man especially who gave away all that he had to help the Church. His name was Joseph, but he was called Barnabas, which means the one who encourages, because he was so helpful in cheering in his words. Barnabas sold his land and gave the money from it to the apostles that they might help with it those who were poor, and Barnabas spent all his time as well as his money in doing good. But there was another man in the Church at Jerusalem whose spirit was not that of Barnabas to give up all and live fully for the Lord. This man, whose name was Ananias, wanted to have the name of giving all while he kept apart for himself. Ananias sold some land which he had owned and agreed with his wife Saphira to give a part of the money to the apostles for the Church and to keep back a part for themselves. This they had a right to do, or even to keep it all, but they agreed together to act as though they were giving all the money and that was agreeing to tell a lie. Ananias brought his money and laid it down before the apostles, but Peter by the power of God saw what was in the thought of Ananias and said to him, Ananias, why has the evil spirit filled your heart to tell a lie by your act in keeping back part of the money? Before it was sold was not the land your own, and after it was sold was not the money in your hand. You have tried to tell a lie not to man but to God, and God will judge you. As Peter spoke these words, Ananias fell down before him and in a moment was lying dead upon the floor. The young men in the meeting took up his dead body and wrapped it with long rolls of cloth and carried it out and buried it, as was the manner of the Jews. After three hours Saphira, the wife of Ananias, came into the room. She did not know that her husband was dead, for no one had told her. Such was the fear upon all. Peter said to her, Tell me, did you sell the land for so much? And he named the sum that Ananias had placed before him. Peter said, Yes, that was the price of the land. But Peter said to her, How is it that you two people agreed together to bring down God's anger upon you? Those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out also. Then Saphira fell down, struck dead by the power of God. The young men coming in found her dead, and they carried out her body and buried it beside her husband. A great fear came upon all the church, and upon all who heard how Ananias and Saphira died. After that no one dared to try and deceive the apostles in their gifts to the Lord's church. And every day the apostles went to the temple, and standing in Solomon's porch they preached to the people about Jesus and salvation through his name. They wrought many wonders also in healing the sick. From the houses those that were sick were brought out into the street, lying on beds and couches, so that as the apostle Peter passed by his shadow might fall upon them. And from the villages around Jerusalem they brought people that had diseases or were held by evil spirits, and by the power of God in the apostles they were all made well. All these wonderful works brought great multitudes to hear the apostles as they spoke in Solomon's porch. Very many believed in Christ as they heard, and men and women in great numbers were added to the church. But all these things, the wonders wrought and the crowds brought together and the people believing in Christ gave great offense to the high priests and the rulers, for they were the ones who had led in sending Jesus Christ to the cross only a few months before. These rulers sent their officers who seized all the twelve apostles and thrust them into the common prison of the city. But at night an angel of the Lord came and opened the doors of the prison and brought the apostles out and said, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. Then very early in the morning just at the breaking of the day they went into the temple and preached to the people. On that day the high priests and all the rulers met together and sent to the prison house to have the apostles brought before them. But the officers who were sent did not find them in prison. They came back to the rulers and said, the prison we found shut and locked, and the keepers standing at the doors, but when we opened the doors and went inside we found none of the prisoners there. When the captain of the temple and the rulers heard this they wondered greatly, for they could not understand it. Then came someone who said, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and are teaching the people. Then the captain of the temple went with his officers and again took the apostles but without doing them any harm, for they were afraid that the people would stone them if they dealt harshly with these men, whom all held in high honour. They brought them into the hall where the rulers were met together. The high priests said to them, we told you not to speak in this name or about that man, and now you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are trying to bring the blood of this man upon us. But Peter, in the name of all the apostles, answered the high priest, we must obey God rather than men. You put Jesus to death, hanging him upon the cross. But the God of our fathers raised him from the dead and lifted him up to be at his right hand as a prince and a savior to give the forgiveness of sins, and we declare these things and God's Holy Spirit tells us that they are true. When the rulers heard these words they were made very angry and thought of causing the apostles to be slain. But there was among them one very wise man named Gamaliel, a man who was held in honour by all the people. Gamaliel asked to have the apostles sent out of the hall while he would speak to the rulers. When the apostles were taken away Gamaliel said, ye men of Israel, be careful in what you do to these men. If what they say comes from themselves alone it will soon pass away. If it be of God you cannot destroy it and you may even find yourselves to be fighting against God. My advice to you is do no harm to these men and leave them alone. The rulers agreed with these words. They sent for the apostles and caused them to be beaten. Then they commanded them again not to speak in the name of Jesus and then they let them go. The apostles went forth from the meeting of the rulers, happy and suffering for the name of Jesus. And in the temple and among the homes of the people they did not cease from preaching Jesus as the Saviour and the Lord. End of story number three. Story four of Halbert's story of the Bible, part seven. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Halbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Halbert, part seven. Stephen with the shining face. Act chapter six verse one to chapter eight verse three. We have read how the members of the church in Jerusalem gave their money freely to help the poor. This free giving led to trouble as the church grew so fast. For some of the widows who were poor were passed by. And their friends made complaints to the apostles. The 12 apostles called the whole church together and said, It is not well that we should turn aside from preaching and teaching the word of God to sit at tables and give out money. But brethren, choose from among yourselves seven good men, men who have the spirit of God and are wise. And we will give this work to them so that we can spend our time in prayer and in preaching the gospel. This plan was pleasing to all the church. And they chose seven men to take charge of the gifts of the people and to see that they were sent to those who were in need. The first man chosen was Stephen, a man full of faith and of the spirit of God. And with him were Philip and five other good men. These seven men they brought before the apostles. And the apostles laid their hands on their heads, setting them apart for their work of caring for the poor. But Stephen did more than look after the needy ones. He began to preach the gospel of Christ and to preach with such power as made everyone who heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw before any other man in the church saw that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but for all men, that all men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus. And this great truth Stephen began to preach with all his power. Such preaching as this, that men who were not Jews might be saved by believing in Christ, made many of the Jews very angry. They called all the people who were not Jews gentiles. And they looked upon them with hate and scorn. But they could not answer the words that Stephen spoke. They roused up the people and the rulers and set them against Stephen. And at last they seized Stephen and brought him before the great council of the rulers. They said to the rulers, this man is always speaking evil words against the temple and against the law of Moses. We heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the laws that Moses gave to us. This was partly true and partly false. But no lie is so harmless as that which has a little truth with it. Then the high priest said to Stephen, are these things so? And as Stephen stood up to answer the high priest, all fixed their eyes upon him. And they saw that his face was shining as though it was the face of an angel. Then Stephen began to speak of the great things that God had done for his people of Israel in the past, how he had called Abraham their father to go forth into a new land, how he had given them great men as Joseph and Moses and the prophets. He showed them how the Israelites had not been faithful to God, who had given them such blessings. Then Stephen said, you are a people with hard hearts and stiff necks who will not obey the words of God and his spirit. As your fathers did, so you do also. Your fathers killed the prophets whom God sent to them. And you have slain Jesus, the righteous one. As they heard these things, they became so angry against Stephen that they gnashed on him with their teeth like wild beasts. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up toward heaven with his shining face, and he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on God's right hand, and he said, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. But they cried out with angry voices and rushed upon him and dragged him out of the council room and outside the wall of the city. And there they threw stones upon him to kill him, while Stephen was kneeling down among the falling stones and praying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, lay not this sin up against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep in death, the first to be slain for the Gospel of Christ. Among those who stoned Stephen was a young man named Saul. He showed his fierce hate against Stephen and against the Gospel which Stephen preached by holding the loose garments which the slayers of Stephen flung off so that they might the more easily throw the stones upon him. Saul had heard Stephen speak, and he saw his glorious face, but he gave his help to those who killed him. And after Stephen had been slain, Saul went out to seize those who believed in Christ. He dragged men and women out of their houses and thrust them into prison. He went into the synagogues and seized them as they were worshipping and stripped of their garments and caused them to be beaten. By the hands of Saul and those who were with him, the Church of Christ, where so many had lived in love and peace, was broken up, and its members were scattered far and wide over the lands. The apostles stayed in the city, and no harm came to them, for they were kept hidden, but all the rest of the believers were driven away. And for the time, the Church of Christ seemed to have come to an end. End of Story 4, Recording by Ezwa in Belgium in October 2008. Story number five of Herobot's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Herobot's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Herobot, Part 7, The Man Reading in the Chariot. We have seen how the first church of those who believed in Christ was broken up, and its members were driven away by the fury and rage of its enemy, the young man Saul. But as those who were scattered went into other places, they told the people about Christ and his gospel. And very soon new companies of believers in Christ began to rise up, all over the land. In place of one church in Jerusalem, there were many churches among its cities and villages of Judea. Thus Saul, for all his hate toward Christ, really helped in spreading the gospel of Christ. Among those driven away by Saul was a man named Philip, not Philip the Apostle, but another Philip, who had been one of those choosing with Stephen to care for the poor. Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria, near the middle of the land, and there he began to tell the people about Christ. These people were not Jews, but were of the race called Samaritans. The woman of Samaria, with whom Jesus talked at Jacob's well, as we read in Story 117, was of these people. The Lord gave to Philip the power to work many wonders among these Samaritans. As Philip's word, evil spirits came out of man. Those who had the palsy were cured, and the lame were made to walk. The Samaritans saw these things done by Philip, and they believed that he spoke to them, the words of God. But in many of them became believers in Christ, and were baptized, and there was great joy in that city. At that time there was in Samaria a certain man named Simon, who had made the people believe that he had great power and could do wonderful things by some magic that he used. But the works wrought by Philip, through the power of Christ, were so much greater and more wonderful than his own, than Simon himself listened to the teaching of Philip, claimed to believe in Jesus, and was baptized. But his heart had not been touched. He thought only that Philip's magic was better than his own, and he hoped to find out what it was, so that he too could use it. The twelve apostles, you remember, were still in Jerusalem, for they did not leave the city when Saul broke up the church. After a time Saul ceased to trouble, and some of the believers began to go back to Jerusalem. A new church grew up in that city around the apostles, though it never became as large or as wholehearted as had been the church of the early days. News came to the apostles of the great work wrought by Philip in Samaria, and they sent Peter and John to visit the new church in that place. Peter and John came to Samaria, and were glad when they saw how many and how faithful were the believers in Christ. They prayed for them that the same power of the Holy Spirit that had come upon the disciples in Jerusalem might come upon those in Samaria. And the power of the Lord came when the apostles laid their hands on the heads of the believers. When Simon saw that the strange power of God came with the laying on the apostles' hands, he offered Peter and John money, saying to them, �Sell me this power, so that I may give the Holy Spirit to those on whom I lay my hands.� But Peter said to him, �May your silver perish with you if you think to buy the gift of God with money. You do not really belong to Christ, and your heart is not right with God. Turn away from this to your sin, and pray God that he will forgive you. For I see that you are yet in your sins, sins that are as bitter as gold, and you are fast bound in evil as with the chain.� Simon could not understand this, but he said, �Pray for me for the Lord, that none of these evils that you have named come upon me.� After this Peter and John preached among many villages of the Samaritans, and then they went back to Jerusalem. Philip's work in Samaria was now done, and an angel of the Lord spoke to him, saying, �Rise up, and leave this city, and go towards the south, and the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.� This was the road through a desert region, without villages or people, but Philip at once obeyed the word that came from the Lord. He left Samaria and walked southward, until he came to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. While he was on this desert road, he saw a chariot drawing nearer, and in it was seated a black man reading from a roll. This man had come from the land of Ethiopia in Africa, far to the south of Egypt. He was a nobleman of very high rank, the treasurer of the Queen in that land, and though he was not a Jew, he had taken a journey of more than a thousand miles to Jerusalem, riding in his chariot all the way that he might worship God in his temple. He was now going back to his own land, and in his hands was the roll of the prophet, Isiah, from which he was reading aloud while he was riding on his journey. As the chariot of this black man came inside, the spirit of the Lord said to Philip, �Go near and stand close by the chariot.� And Philip ran towards the chariot and spoke to the man and said, �Do you understand what you are reading?� The nobleman answered him, �How can I understand it, unless someone tells me what it means? Can you show me? If you can, come up into the chariot and sit with me.� Then Philip came up and sat down in the chariot. The place where he was reading was the fifty-third chapter of Isiah, with words like these. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamp before his shearer is done, so he opened as not his mouth, his story who shall tell, for his life is taken from the earth. These are the words that the prophet spoke of Jesus many hundred of years before he came to the earth. Philip began with those words, and told that Ethiopian nobleman all about Christ. And the man believed, and took into his heart the word of the Lord. As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the nobleman said, �See, here is water. Why may I not be baptized?� And Philip said to him, �If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized.� And he answered, �I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.� Then the nobleman gave order for the chariot to stand still, and Philip and the man went down into the water together, and he baptized him as a follower of Christ. And when they came out of the water, the spirit of the Lord took Philip away, so that the nobleman saw him no more. But he went on his way home, happy in the Lord. Philip went next to a city near the shore, and there he preached, and from that place he went northward, through the cities by the great sea, preaching in them all, until he came to Caesarea, and at Caesarea he stayed for many years. End of story number 5. Story number 6 of Hurlbut's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, part 7. The Voice that Spoke to Saul. Acts 9, 1-31, 12-1-21, Galatians 1, 11-24, Saul, the young man who had taken part in the slaying of Stephen and who had scattered abroad the believers in Christ, was still the bitter enemy of the gospel. He heard that some of those who had fled away from Jerusalem had gone to Damascus, a city outside of the Jewish land far in the north, and that there they were still at work teaching Christ. Saul made up his mind to destroy this new church in Damascus, as he thought he had destroyed the church in Jerusalem. So he went to the high priest and said, Let me have a letter to the chief of the Jews in Damascus. I have heard that there are some followers of Jesus of Nazareth in that city, and I will go with some men, and will take these people and bind them and bring them in chains to Jerusalem. The high priest gave to Saul the letters that he asked for, and Saul found a band of men to go with him to Damascus. It was a journey of about ten days, riding on horses or mules. While Saul was on his way to Damascus, he had time to think about Christ and his gospel. He saw again in his mind Stephen's shining face, and heard his words. He thought of the sweet and patient way in which the followers of Jesus had met their sufferings and their wrongs at his hand. Deep in Saul's heart there arose a feeling which he could not put down, that the gospel of Christ was true, and that it was wicked for him to fight against it. Yet he still went on, firm in his purpose to destroy the church of Christ. At last he came near to Damascus. Suddenly at full noon a light flashed from heaven, brighter far than the sun. For the time the light blinded Saul's eyes, and it came so suddenly upon him that like a bolt of lightning it struck him down, and he fell upon the ground. In the midst of the light Saul saw one whom he had never seen before, and a strange voice came to him saying, Saul, Saul, why are you fighting against me? And Saul answered the voice, Who art thou, Lord? Then the answer came, I am Jesus whom you are trying to destroy. Then, trembling with surprise and alarm, Saul said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And the Lord said to Saul, Rise up and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Those who were with Saul wondered, for they had seen a light and they had heard a sound, but had beheld no face and had heard no words, for the vision of Christ had come to Saul alone. They raised him up from the ground and found that his eyes had been made blind by the brightness of the light. They led him by the hand into the city and took him to the house of a man named Judas. There Saul stayed for three days in the deepest suffering of mind and body. He could see nothing, and he neither ate nor drank, but in the darkness he was praying to God and to Christ with all his heart. In the city of Damascus there was a follower of Christ named Ananias, a good man, held in respect by all who knew him. To this Ananias the Lord spoke, calling him by name, Ananias, and Ananias answered. Here I am, O Lord! And the Lord said to Ananias, Rise and go into the street named Strait and find the house of Judas, and in that house ask for a man named Saul from Tarsus. This man Saul is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming into his room and laying his hands on him to give him his sight. This command from the Lord was a surprise to Ananias. He answered the Lord, Lord I have heard from many people about this man Saul. What great evil he has done to all thy people in Jerusalem, and here he has an order from the High Priest to bind and to carry away all who call upon thy name. Shall I go and visit such a man as he? But the Lord said to Ananias, Go thy way, for I have chosen this man to bear my name before the people of all nations and kings and the children of Israel, and I will show him how many things he must suffer for my sake. Then Ananias went as the Lord had bitten him. He found the house and he came to Saul. He laid his hands on the head of Saul and he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who met you in the way as you were coming has sent me, that you may have your sight and that the Holy Spirit may come upon you. Now wait no longer but rise up and be baptized and call upon the name of Jesus who will wash away your sins. Then there fell from the eyes of Saul what seemed like scales and at once his sight came to him. Saul was baptized as one who believed in Christ and food was given him and he became strong in body and in soul. Saul had gone forth to bind the disciples of Christ in Damascus, but now he came among them, no more as an enemy but as a brother. And he went into the synagogues where the Jews worshiped in Damascus and began to preach Jesus to them declaring that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. And all that heard him were amazed and they said to each other, Is this not the same man who in Jerusalem wrought ruin among them who believed in this name? And did he not come to this place intending to bind the believers in Jesus and bring them before the chief priests? And Saul grew stronger and stronger in his spirit and in his words. None of the Jews in Damascus could answer him as he showed that Jesus is the anointed one, the Christ, but he did not stay long in Damascus. After a time he left the city and went away to a quiet place in the desert of Arabia where he stayed for a year or longer thinking upon the gospel and learning from the Lord. And again Saul came to Damascus and again he preached Christ and salvation through his name not only for Jews but for Gentiles, all people besides the Jews. This made the Jews in Damascus very angry. They formed a plan to kill Saul and they watched the gates day and night hoping to seize him as he went out. But Saul's friends, the disciples of Jesus, brought him by night to a house on the wall and let him down in a basket to the ground so that he escaped from his enemies and went away in safety. Saul now journeyed back to Jerusalem. He had left it three years before a bitter enemy of Christ. He came to it again a follower of Christ. But when Saul sought to join the believers in Jerusalem they were all afraid of him for they could not believe that one whom they had known as the fierce destroyer of the church was now a friend to Jesus. Then Barnabas, the man who had given all his land to the church as we read in story 150, believed in Saul when he heard his story and brought him to Peter and told how he had seen the Lord in the way and how boldly he had preached in Damascus in the name of Jesus. Then Peter took the hand of Saul and received him as a disciple of Christ. For a few weeks Saul stayed in Jerusalem and he preached in the synagogues of the Jews as Stephen had preached before that Jesus is the Savior not only of Jews but also of Gentiles. Gentiles was the name that Jews gave to people of every other nation except their own. When Saul preached the Gentiles might be saved in Jesus Christ it made the Jews angry just as it had made it Saul himself angry in other days to hear Stephen preach this same gospel. They would not listen to Saul and they sought to kill him as they had killed Stephen. One day Saul was praying in the temple and the Lord came to him once again and Saul saw Jesus and heard his voice saying, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for the people here will not believe your words about me. Then Saul said to the Lord, Lord they know that I put into prison and beat in the synagogues those who believed on thee, and when they servant Stephen was slain I was standing by and was keeping the garments of those who stoned him. And the Lord said to Saul, Go from this place for I will send thee far away to preach to the Gentiles. Then Saul knew that his work was not to preach the gospel to the Jews but to the Gentiles the people of other nations. The disciples in Jerusalem helped them to get away from his enemies in the city and let him down to a place called Caesarea on the seashore. There Saul found a ship sailing to Tarsus a city in Asia Minor. Tarsus was Saul's birthplace and his early home. He went again to this place and in that city he stayed for a few years safe from the Jews. He was a tent maker and he worked at his trade while preaching the gospel in Tarsus. And we may be sure that Saul would not be silent about the good news of the gospel. He preached in Tarsus and in all the places near it. Now that Saul the enemy had become Saul the friend of the gospel all the churches in Judea and Samaria and Galilee had rest and peace. The followers of Christ could preach without fear and the number of those who believed grew rapidly for the Lord was with them. All through the land from Galilee down to the desert on the south there were meetings of those who believed in Jesus as the Savior and the apostles Peter and John went among them to teach them the way of life. End of story number 6 Recording by Sean Megahy DuctapeGuy.net Story 7 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut Part 7. Story 7 What Peter Saw by the Sea. Acts 9 32 to 11 18. As the church was now planted in many cities throughout the land of the Jews, Peter, who was a leader among the apostles, went from place to place visiting the believers in Christ and preaching the gospel. At one time Peter went down to the plain beside the great sea and came to a city called Lida. There Peter found a man named Anais who had the palsy and could not walk and had been lying on his bed eight years. Peter said to him, Anais, Jesus Christ makes you well. Rise up and roll up your bed. Then at once Anais rose and was well and he took up the roll of bedding on which he had been lying so long and laid it away. All the people in Lida and Sharon heard of this great work and many people turned to the Lord. There had been living at Joppa, not far from Lida, a very good woman whom everybody loved. She was called the gazelle, which is the name of a beautiful animal like a deer. For her name in Hebrew was Tabitha and in Greek was Dorcus, words which mean gazelle. Tabitha or Dorcus was a believer in Christ and like her Lord she loved the poor and helped them. By her work and by her gifts. While Peter was at Lida Dorcus was taken ill and died. They laid her body in an upper room and then they sent two men to Lida for Peter begging him to come without delay. Peter went to Joppa at once and when he came to the house where the body of Dorcus was lying he found the room filled with widows and poor women who were weeping and showing the garments which Dorcus had made for them. But Peter sent them all out of the room and when he was alone with the body of Dorcus he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said Tabitha arise. And she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter she sat up. Peter took her by the hand and raised her up. Then he called into the room the widows and the believers in Christ and showed Dorcus to them alive and well. The news of this wonderful work of life given to the dead amazed all the city of Joppa and led many to believe in Christ. Peter stayed many days in Joppa at the house of a man called Simon who was a tanner and lived near the sea. At that time an officer of the Roman army was at Caesarea about thirty miles north of Joppa beside the great sea. His name was Cornelius and he was the commander of a company of a hundred soldiers. We would call such an officer a captain but in the Roman army he was called a Centurion. The Centurion Cornelius was not a Jew but a Gentile which was the name that the Jews gave to all people except themselves. Yet Cornelius did not worship idols as did most of the Gentiles. He prayed always to the God of Israel and feared God and gave to the poor and he taught his family to worship the Lord. One day in the afternoon Cornelius was praying in his house when an angel came to him and called him by name, Cornelius. Cornelius looked at this strange and shining being and he was filled with fear but he said, What is it Lord? And the angel said to him Cornelius the Lord has seen your gifts to the people and has heard all your prayers. Now send men to Joppa and let them bring to you a man called Simon Peter. He is staying in the house of Simon the Tanner who lives by the sea. Then the angel passed out of sight and Cornelius called two servants and a soldier who worshipped the Lord. He told them what the angel had said and sent them to Joppa for Peter. These men travel all night following the road southward by the Great Sea and about noon of the next day they drew near to Joppa. On that day just before these men came to Joppa at noon Peter went up to the roof of the house to pray. He became very hungry and wished for food but while they were making ready the dinner he fell into a strange sleep and a vision came to him. In his vision he saw what seemed to be a great sheet let down by its four corners from above. In it he saw all kinds of beasts and birds and creeping things. Some of these were animals and birds that the Jews were allowed to eat but many others were of kinds that the old law forbade the Jews to eat and such as were forbidden the Jews called cobbin and unclean. Peter saw in this great sheet many beasts and birds and creeping things that in his sight were common and unclean. As he looked he heard a voice saying to him, rise Peter, kill and eat. Peter had always been very strict in keeping the Jewish rules about food and he answered, not so Lord for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. Then he heard the voice saying to him, what God has made clean, do not thou make common or unclean. Three times Peter heard these words spoken and then the great sheet with all the living creatures in it was lifted up to heaven and passed out of his sight. Peter knew at once that the vision and the words which he had heard must have a great meaning but as he thought upon it he could not see what the meaning was. While he was thinking of the vision and wondering at it the spirit of the Lord spoke to him saying, Peter, three men are looking for you. Go down to the door and meet them and go with them without doubting for I have sent them. Just at that moment the three men from Caesarea knocked at the door and asked for Simon Peter. Peter met them and said to them, I am here the man whom you are looking for. For what reason have you come to me? And they said Cornelius, a centurion at Caesarea, a good man, one that fears God and is well spoken of by all the Jews, was yesterday commanded by a holy angel to send for you and listen to words from you. Then Peter called the men into the house and heard all their story and kept them there that night. On the next morning he went with them and some of the believers from the church at Joppa went with the party. On the next day they came to Caesarea and entered into the house of Cornelius. There they found Cornelius waiting for them and with him a number of his family and friends. As Peter came into the room Cornelius fell down at his feet and was about to worship him but Peter raised him up saying, stand up, I myself also am a man and not God. And as Peter looked around he saw many people that had met together and they were all Gentiles, men who were not Jews. And Peter said, you know that it is against the law of the Jews for a man that is a Jew to come into the house with one of another nation or to meet with him. But God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. For this reason I came at once when I was sent for. Now I ask for what purpose you have sent me. Then Cornelius said, four days ago I was praying at three o'clock in the afternoon when a man stood by me clad in shining garments and he said to me, Cornelius, your prayer is heard and your good deeds are known to God. Send now to Joppa and send for Simon who is called Peter. I sent it once for you and you have done well to come so soon. Now we are all here before God to hear whatever God has given you to speak to us. Then Peter opened his mouth and began to speak, for he saw now what the vision meant which he had seen on the housetop. He said, I see now that God cares for all men alike, not for the people of one nation only, but that in every nation those that fear God and do right are pleasing to him. Then Peter began to tell the story of Jesus, how he lived, how he did good works, how he died, how he rose again, and how in Jesus Christ everyone who believes may have his sins forgiven. While Peter was speaking the Holy Spirit fell on all who were in the room, and the Jews who were with Peter were amazed as they saw the Spirit of God given to Gentiles, men who were not Jews. Then Peter said, Can any man forbid that these should be baptized with water, upon whom the Spirit is come, as he came upon us? Then, by Peter's command, these Gentile believers with Cornelius were baptized as members of Christ's Church. And Peter stayed with them a few days, living with Cornelius and eating at his table, though he was a Gentile, something which Peter would never before have thought it right for him to do. Soon the news went through all the churches in Judea that Gentiles had heard the word and had been baptized. At first the Jewish believers could not believe that this should be allowed, but when Peter had told them all the story of Cornelius and the angel, of his own vision of the great sheet full of animals, and of the Spirit coming upon the Gentiles, then they all praised God and said, So to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews, God has given to turn from their sins and to be saved in Jesus Christ and to have everlasting life. Acts 12 verses 1 to 24. You remember that in the years while Jesus was teaching, Jerusalem and the part of the land near it was ruled by a Roman governor whose name was Pilate, and that he was the ruler who sent Jesus Christ to the cross. After some years, the emperor at Rome, who ruled all the lands around the great sea, gave all the country of the Jews to a man named Herod Agrippa and made him king of Judea. He was the nephew of the Herod who killed John the Baptist, as was told in story 127, and the grandson of the other Herod who killed all the little children of Bethlehem in trying to kill the little child Jesus, as we read in story 112. Herod Agrippa was the king of Judea when Peter saw the vision on the housetop and preached to the Gentiles, as we read in the last story. Herod wished to please the Jews in Jerusalem, and he seized one of the apostles, James, the brother of John, one of the three disciples who had been nearest to Jesus. He caused his guards to kill James with the sword, just as John the Baptist had been killed by his uncle, Herod Antipas. When he saw how greatly this act pleased the chief priests and rulers, he laid hands on Simon Peter also, and put him into prison, intending, at the next face of the Passover, to lead him forth and put him to death. Peter therefore was kept in the prison with sixteen soldiers around the prison to guard him, four soldiers watching him all the time. But all the church prayed very earnestly to God for him. On the night before the day, when Peter was to be brought out to die, he was sleeping in the prison, bound with two chains, while guards before the door were watching. Suddenly a bright light shone in Peter's cell and an angel from the Lord stood by him. The angel struck him on the side and awoke him, and said, Rise up quickly! As Peter awaked and stood up, his chains fell from his hands, and the angel said to him, Tie your girdle about your waist and bind your sandals on your feet. And Peter did, as he was told, scarcely knowing what he was doing. Then the angel said, Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And Peter followed the angel, thinking that he was dreaming. They passed the first guard of the soldiers, and the second, but no one stirred to hinder them. Then they came to the great iron gate on the outside of the prison, and this opened to them, as if unseen hands were turning it. Then went out of the prison, into the city, and passed through one street. Then the angel left Peter as suddenly as he had come to him. By this time Peter was fully awake, and he said, Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and has set me free from the power of King Herod. Peter thought of what he should do, and where he should go. And he turned toward the house of a woman named Mary, who was near of kin to Barnabas. And who had a son named John Mark. Then a young man the same who many years afterwards wrote the Gospel according to Mark. At Mary's house many were met together, and they were praying for Peter. Peter came to the house and knocked on the outside door and called to those who were within. A young woman named Rhoda came to the door. She listened, and at once knew the voice of Peter. So glad was she that she did not think to open the door, but ran into the house and told them all that Peter was standing at the door. They said to her, You are crazed. But then she said that she was sure that Peter was there, for she knew his voice. And then they said, It must be an angel who has taken Peter's form. But Peter kept on knocking, and when at last they opened the door and saw him, they were filled with wonder. With his hand he beckoned them to listen, and he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison, and Peter said to them, Tell these things to James and to the other apostles. And then he went away to a place where Herod and his men could not find him. The morning came, and there was a great stir among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. Herod the king sought for Peter, but could not find him, and in his anger he ordered that the guards in the prison should be put to death. And not long after this, Herod himself died so suddenly that many believed his death came from the wrath of God upon him. So Herod perished, but Peter, whom he sought to kill, lived many years working for Christ. The James of whom Peter spoke, when he said, Tell these things to James, was not James the apostle, the brother of John, for already that James had been put to death by Herod. He spoke of another James, a son of Joseph and Mary, a younger brother of Jesus, one who was always called the Lord's brother. This James was a very holy man, and a leader of the church in Jerusalem, where he lived many years. Sometime after this James wrote the book of the New Testament called The Epistle of James. End of Story 8. Recording by David Lawrence, July 29, 2008, in Brampton, Ontario. We have seen how, after the death of Stephen, those who were driven out of Jerusalem went everywhere telling of Jesus. Some of these men traveled as far as to Antioch, in Syria, which was a great city far in the north, two hundred and fifty miles from Jerusalem. At first they spoke only to Jews, preaching the word of Christ, but soon many Gentiles, people who were not Jews, heard about the gospel and wished to have it preached also to them. So these men began preaching to the Gentiles, telling them about Jesus Christ and how to be saved. The Lord was with the gospel, and in a little time many believed in Christ, a great number, both of Jews and Gentiles. Thus Antioch and Syria arose a church where Jews and Gentiles worshiped together and forgot they had ever been apart. The news came to the Mother Church in Jerusalem that in Antioch Gentiles were coming to Christ, as all the followers of Christ in Jerusalem were Jews. They were not sure whether Jews and Gentiles could worship together as one people. It was decided after a time that some wise man should go from Jerusalem to Antioch and see this new church of Jews and Gentiles. For this errand they chose Barnabas, the good man who had given his land to be sold to help the poor, and who had brought salt to the church when the disciples were afraid of him. So Barnabas took the long journey from Jerusalem to Antioch. When he saw these new disciples, so many, so strong in their love of Christ, so united in their spirit and so earnest in the gospel, he was glad, and he spoke to them all, telling them to stand fast in the Lord. For Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. The church at Antioch was growing so fast that it needed men for leaders and teachers. Barnabas thought of Saul, who had once been an enemy, but was now a follower of Christ. Saul was at that time in Tarsus, his early home. And to this place Barnabas went to find him. He brought salt to Antioch. And there Barnabas and Saul stayed together for a year, preaching to the people and teaching those who believed in Christ. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called by the name Christians. At one time some men came from Jerusalem to Antioch, to whom God had showed things that should come to pass. These men were prophets speaking from God. One of them, a man named Agabas, said through the Spirit of God that a great famine, a need of food, was soon to come upon all the lands. This came as Agabas, the prophet had said, and the days when Claudius was emperor at Rome. Over all the lands, food was very scarce and many suffered from hunger. When the followers of Christ in Antioch heard that the brethren of Jerusalem and Judea were in need, they gave money, as each one was able to help them. And they sent Barnabas and Saul with it. Barnabas and Saul carried the gifts of the church to Jerusalem and stayed there for a time. When they went back to Antioch, they took with them the young man, John Mark, the son of the Mary, to whose house Peter went, when he was set free from prison. So we read in the last story. Some time after they returned to Antioch. The Lord called Barnabas and Saul to go forth and preach the good news of Christ to the people and other lands. At one time, when the members of the church were praying together, the spirit of the Lord spoke to them, saying, set Barnabas and Saul apart for a special work to which I have called them. Then the leaders of the church at Antioch prayed and laid their hands on the head of Barnabas and Saul. And Barnabas and Saul went forth, taking with them John Mark, the young man from Jerusalem, as their helper. They went down to the shore of the great sea at Seleucia and took a ship and sailed to the island of Cyprus. In that island they visited all the cities and preached Christ in all the synagogues of the Jews. At a place called Paphos in the west of the island of Cyprus, they met the Roman ruler of the island, a man named Sergius Pallas. He was a good man and sent for Barnabas and Saul that he might learn from them of Christ. But with the ruler was a Jew named Elimus, who claimed to be a prophet, and who opposed Barnabas and Saul in their teaching, and tried to persuade the ruler not to hear the gospel. Then Saul, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on this man Elimus, the false prophet, and said to him, Oh, thou man full of wickedness, thou child of the evil one, thou enemy of the right, will thou not stop to oppose the word of the Lord? The hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind for a time, not able to see the sun. And at once, a mist in the darkness fell upon Elimus, and he groved about, feeling for someone to lead him by the hand. When the ruler saw the power of the Lord in bringing this stroke of blindness upon his enemy, he was filled with wonder and believed the gospel of Christ. From this time, Saul ceased to bear his old name, and was called Paul. He was no longer Saul, but Paul the Apostle, having all the power that belonged to Peter and John and the other apostles. From the island of Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas and John Mark sailed over the sea to a place called Perga. At this place John Mark left them, and went back to his home in Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas went into the land of Asia Minor, and came to a city called Antioch. This was not Antioch and Syria, from which they had come, but another Antioch, in a region called Pisidia. There they went into the synagogue, and Paul preached to both Jews and Gentiles. Not many of the Jews believed in Paul's words, but a great number of the Gentiles. People who were not Jews became followers of Christ. This made the Jews very angry, and they roused up against Paul and Barnabas, all the chief men of the city, and they drove Paul and Barnabas away. They went to Econium, another city, and there they preached the gospel with such power that many of both Jews and Gentiles believed in Christ. But the Jews who would not believe stirred up the city against Paul and Barnabas. They gathered a crowd of people, intending to seize the apostles, and to do them harm, and to kill them. But they knew of the coming of their enemies, and as they had now done their work in Econium, and had planted the church, they quietly went away from the city. The apostles Paul and Barnabas next went to the city of Lystra, and the land of Lyconia, and there they preached the gospel. There were few Jews in that city, and they preached to the people of the land who were worshipers of idols. Among those who heard Paul speak at Lystra was a lame man who had never been able to walk. Paul fixed his eyes on this man, and saw that he had faith to be made strong. He said to him with a loud voice, Stand up on your feet, and with the words the man leaped up and walked. As the people saw how the lame man had been healed, they were filled with wonder and said in the language of their land. The gods from heaven have come down to us in the form of men. They thought that Barnabas was Jupiter, whom they worshiped as the greatest of the gods, and because Paul was the chief speaker they thought that he was Mercury, and the messenger of the gods. In front of their city was a temple of Jupiter, and the priest of the temple brought oxen and garlands of flowers, and it was about to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul as gods. It was some time before the two apostles understood what the people were doing. But when they saw that they were about to offer sacrifice to them, Paul and Barnabas rushed out among the people and cried out, Men, why do you do such things as these? We are not gods, but men, like yourselves, and we bring you word that you should turn from these idols, which are nothing to the living god, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things. It is God who has done good to you, and given you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling you with food and gladness. And even with words like these they could scarcely keep the people back from offering sacrifices to them. But after a time some Jews came from Econium. These Jews stirred up the people against Paul so that instead of worshiping him, they stoned him and dragged out of their city what they supposed was his dead body. Then they left him, and as the believers gathered around, weeping, Paul rose up alive and went again into the city. On the next day he journeyed with Barnabas to Derby. There they preached the gospel and led many as disciples to Christ. After this they went again to the cities where they had preached, to Lystra and Econium and Antioch and Pisidia and to Perga in Pamphylia and visited the churches which they had founded. They encouraged the believers, telling them to continue in the faith and saying to them that those who would enter into the kingdom of God must expect to meet with trouble and that God would give them a full reward. End of story number nine. Story number ten of Herobot's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Rosanna Taranta. Herobot's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Herobot. Part seven. The Song in the Prison After Paul and Barnabas brought to Antioch the news that the Gentiles had turned to the Lord, a great question arose in the church. Some of the strict Jews said, all these Gentile believers must become Jews and keep the Jewish laws about food and feasts and washings and offerings. Others said that the laws were made for Jews only and that Gentiles who believed in Christ were not called upon to live as Jews. After many words on both sides, Paul and Barnabas with other believers went up to Jerusalem to lay this matter before the apostles and the elders of the church. They listened to Paul's story of God's great work among the Gentiles and talked about it and sought God in prayer and at last the apostles and elders and the whole church in Jerusalem sent a message to the Gentiles who believed telling them that Jews and Gentiles were like before God that both were saved by believing in Christ and that Gentiles who believed were not called upon to keep the laws given to the Jews only. The apostles sent with Paul and Barnabas two men, Judas and Silas, to bring this news to the church at Antioch. They came and read the letter which brought great joy to the Gentile believers for now the Gentiles who believed in Christ were able to serve the Lord without obeying all the rules which the Jews themselves found very hard to keep. After a time Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit the brethren in the cities where we preach the gospel and see how they are doing. Barnabas was willing to go and wish to take again with them John Mark as their helper in the work, but Paul did not think it well to take with them the young man who went home in the middle of their journey and left them to visit strange lands alone. Barnabas was determined to take Mark and Paul refused to have him go, so at last Paul and Barnabas separated. Barnabas took Mark and went again to the island of Cyprus. Paul chose as his helper Silas who had come from Jerusalem to Antioch and Paul and Silas went together through the lands in Asia Minor which Paul had visited on his earlier journey. Everywhere they sought out the churches which before had been planted by Paul and Barnabas and they encouraged the disciples to be faithful in the Lord. When Paul came to Derby and Lystra he found a young man named Timothy whose mother was of the Jewish race and a believer in Christ. Timothy had known the word of God from his childhood and had given his heart to Christ and all the believers in church at Lystra and Iconium knew him and spoke well of him. Paul asked this young man Timothy to leave his home and to go out with him as his helper in the Gospel. Timothy went and from that time was with Paul as a friend and a fellow worker, dearly beloved by Paul. Paul and Silas and Timothy went through many lands in Asia Minor preaching the Gospel and planting the church. The Spirit of the Lord would not let them go to some places which were not yet ready for the Gospel and they came down to Troas which was on the sea and opposite to the land of Macedonia in Europe. While they were at Troas a vision came to Paul in the night. He saw a man of Macedonia standing before him and pleading with him saying come over to Macedonia and help us. When Paul told this vision to his friends they all knew that this was a call from the Lord to carry the Gospel of Christ to Macedonia. As soon as they could find a vessel sailing across the sea they went on board and with them went a doctor named Luke who at this time joined Paul. Luke stayed with Paul for many years and Paul called him the beloved physician. Afterward Luke wrote two books which are in the Bible the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Paul and his three friends set sail from Troas and on the third day they came to the city of Philippi in Macedonia and there they stayed for some days. There was no synagogue in that city and scarcely any Jews and on the Sabbath day Paul and his company went out of the city gate to the riverside where was a place of prayer. There they sat down and talked with a few women who had met together to pray. One of these was a woman named Lydia who had come from Theotera in Asia Minor and was a seller of purple dyes. She was one who was seeking after God and the Lord opened her heart to hear the words of Paul and to believe in Christ. She was baptized and the first one brought to the Lord in all Europe and with her all in her house were baptized also. Lydia said to Paul and to his company if you count me as one who is faithful to the Lord come into my house and stay there. She urged them so strongly that they all went to Lydia's house and made it their home while they were in the city. One day while they were going to the place of prayer a young woman who had in her an evil spirit met them. She was a slave girl and through the spirit in her her owners pretended to tell what was to happen and by her they made great gains of money. As soon as she saw Paul and his friends she cried out these men are servants of the most high God who tell you the way to be saved and this she did day after day following Paul and his companions. Paul was troubled to see her held in the power of the evil spirit and he spoke to the spirit. I command they in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and in that hour the spirit left the girl and with the evil spirit gone from her there were no more gains to her masters they were very angry and took hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them before the rulers of the city and they said these men who are Jews are making great trouble in our city and are teaching the people to do what is against the laws for Romans and they stirred up the crowd of the lowest of the people against them to please the throng the rulers stripped off their garments from Paul and Silas and commanded that they should be beaten with rods when they had received many cruel blows they were thrown into the prison and the Jaller was charged to keep them carefully he took them all beaten and wounded into the dungeon which was in the very middle of the prison and made their feet fast in the stocks but about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God and the other prisoners were listening to them suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken every door was opened and all the chains on the prisoners were loosed and all could have gone out free the fear had not held them in their places the Jaller of the prison was suddenly roused out of sleep and saw the prison doors wide open by the laws of the Romans a man in charge of a prisoner must take his place if his prisoner escaped and the Jaller thinking that the men in the prison had gotten away drew out his sword and was just going to kill himself when Paul called out do yourself no harm for we are all here then the Jaller called for lights and spring into the room where Paul and Silas were and trembling with fear fell down at their feet and cried out oh sirs what must I do to be saved and they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and those in your house with you and that night in the prison they spoke the word of the Lord to the Jaller and to all that were with him the Jaller washed their wounds and he and all his family were baptized in that hour afterward he brought them from the prison into his own house and set food before them and the Jaller and his household were all happy in the Lord believing in Christ the rulers of the city knew well that they had done an unjust act of beating Paul and Silas and thrusting them into prison but they did not know that Paul and Silas though Jews were also free citizens of Rome who it was unlawful to beat or to put in prison without a fair trial in the morning the rulers sent their officers to the Jaller saying let those men go and the Jaller brought their words to Paul and said the rulers have sent to me to let you go therefore not come out of the prison and go in peace but Paul said we are free citizens of Rome and without a trial they have beaten us and have cast us into prison and now do they turn us out secretly no indeed let those rulers come themselves and bring us out the officers told these words to the rulers and when they learned that these men were Roman citizens they were frightened for their own lives were in danger for having beaten them they came to Paul and Silas and begged them to go away from the prison and from the city then Paul and Silas walked out of the prison and went to the house of Lydia they met the brethren who believed in Jesus and spoke to them words of comfort and of help and then they went out of the city in Philippi from this time there was a church which Paul loved greatly and to which in after times he wrote the epistle or letter to the Philippians end of story number 10 story 11 of Hurlbut's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Hurlbut's story of the Bible part 7 Paul's speech on the hill acts 17 verses 1 to 34 Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica which was the largest city in Macedonia there they found many Jews and a synagogue where the Jews were shipped for three weeks Paul spoke at the meetings in the synagogue and showed the meaning of the Old Testament writings that the savior for whom all the Jews were looking must suffer and die and rise again from the dead and Paul said to them this Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ the Son of God and the King of Israel some of the Jews believed Paul's teachings and a far greater number of Greeks the people of the city who were not Jews became followers of Christ and with them were some of the leading women of the city so that a large church of believers in Christ arose in Thessalonica but the Jews who would not believe in Jesus were very angry as they saw so many seeking the Lord they stood up a crowd of the lowest people in the city and raised a riot and led a noisy throng to the house of a man named Jason with whom they supposed that Paul and Silas were staying the crowd broke into the house and sought for Paul and Silas but they could not find them then they seized Jason the master of the house and some other friends of the apostles and dragged them before the rulers of the city and cried out these men who have turned the whole world upside down have come to this city and Jason has taken them into his house they are acting contrary to the laws of Caesar the emperor for they say that there is another king a man whose name is Jesus the rulers of the city were greatly troubled when they saw these riotous people and heard their words they knew that Jason and his friend had done nothing against the law of the land but to content the crowd they made the believers promise to obey the laws and then they let them go free the brethren of the church sent away Paul and Silas in the nighttime to the city of Berea which was not far from Thessalonica there again they found a synagogue of the Jews and as in other places Paul went into its meetings and preached Jesus not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles many of whom worship with the Jews these people were of a nobler spirit than the Jews of Thessalonica for they did not refuse to hear Paul's teachings they listened with open minds and every day they studied the Old Testament writings to see whether the words spoken by Paul were true and many of them became believers in Jesus not only the Jews but the Gentiles also for those who studied the Bible will always find Christ in its pages but the news went to Thessalonica that the word of Christ was being taught in Berea the Jews of Thessalonica sent some men to Berea who stirred up the people against Paul and Silas to avoid such a riot as had arisen in Thessalonica the brethren in Berea took Paul away from the city but Silas and Timothy stayed for a time the men who went with Paul led him down to the sea and went with him to Athens there they left Paul alone but took back with them Paul's message to Silas and Timothy to hasten to him as quickly as they could come while Paul was waiting for his friends in Athens his spirit was stirred in him as he saw the city full of idols it was said that in the city of Athens the images of the gods were more in number than the people Paul talked with the Jews in the synagogue and in the public square of the city with the people whom he met for all the people of Athens and those who were visiting in that city spent most of their time in telling or in hearing whatever was new and there were in Athens many men who were thought very wise and who were teachers of what they called wisdom some of these men met Paul and as they heard him they said scornfully what does this babbler say and because he preached to them of Jesus and of his writing from the dead some said this man seems to be talking about some strange gods there was an Athens a hill called Mars's hill where a court was held upon seats of stone ranged around they brought Paul to this place and asked him saying may we know what is this new teaching that you are giving you bring to our ears some strange things and we wish to know what these things mean then Paul stood in the middle of Mars's hill with the people of the city around him and he said ye men of Athens I see that you are exceedingly given to worship for as I passed by I saw an altar upon which was written these words to the unknown God that God whom you know not and whom you seek to worship is the God that I make known to you the God who made the world and all things that are in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not dwell in temples made by the hands of men nor is he served by men's hands as though he needed anything for God gives to all men life and breath and all things and he has made of one blood all the people who live on the earth that all men should seek God and should feel after him and should find him for he is not far away from any of us for in him we live and move and have our being even as some of your own poets have said for we also are the children of God since we are God's children we should not think that God is like gold or silver or stone wrought by the hands of men now God calls upon men to turn from their sins and he tells us that he has fixed the day when he will judge the world through that man Jesus Christ whom he has chosen and whom he has raised from the dead when they heard Paul speak of the dead being raised some laughed and scorn but others said we will hear you again about this after a time Paul went away from Athens very few people joined with Paul and believed on Jesus among these few was a man named Dionysius one of the court that met on marces hill and a woman named de meris a few others joined with them but in Athens the followers of Christ were not many end of story 11 recording by duct tape guy and starlight july 26 2008 story number 12 of herbert's story of the bible this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org herbert's story of the bible by jessie lineman herbert part seven paul at Corinth acts 18 verses 1 to 22 paul went from Athens to Corinth another city in the land of greece he was alone for his fellow workers silas and timothy had not yet come from Thessalonica but in Corinth paul met people who soon became his dear friends they were a man named aquila and his wife priscilla who had lately come from Rome to Corinth every jew in those times was taught some trade and paul's trade was the weaving of a rough cloth used to make tents it happened that aquila and priscilla were tent makers also and so paul went to live in their house and they worked together at making tents on the Sabbath days paul went into the synagogue and there preached the gospel and talked about christ with the jews and also with the greeks who worshiped god in the synagogue some believe paul's words and some refuse to believe but opposed paul and spoke against him after a time silas and timothy came from thessalonica to meet paul they brought to him word about the church at thessalonica and some questions that were troubling the believers there to answer these questions paul wrote from corinth two letters which you can read in the new testament they are called the first epistle to the thessalonians and the second epistle to the thessalonians these two letters are the earliest of paul's writings that have been kept we do not know that paul wrote any letters to churches earlier than these but if he did write any the letters have been lost now that silas and timothy as well as aquila and priscilla were with paul he was no more alone and he began to preach even more earnestly than before telling the jews that jesus was the christ of god when he found that the jews would not listen but spoke evil words against him and against christ paul shook out his garment as though he was shaking dust from it and he said to the jews your blood shall be on your own heads not on me i am free from sin for i have given you the gospel and you will not hear it from this time i will see speaking to you and will go to the gentiles and paul went out of the synagogue and with him went those who believed in jesus he found a house near to the synagogue belonging to a man named titus justice a gentile who worshiped god and in that house paul preached the gospel to all who came both jews and gentiles many who heard believed in christ and were baptized and among them was a jew named christus who had been the chief ruler of the synagogue but most of those who joined the church of christ and corinth were not jews but gentiles men and women who turned to god from idols one night the lord came to paul in a vision and said to him paul do not be afraid but speak and do not hold thy peace i am with thee and no one shall come against thee to do the harm for i have many people in this city and paul stayed in corinth a year and six months teaching the word of god after a time the jews in a great crowd rushed upon paul and seized him and brought him into the court before the roman governor this man is persuading people to worship god in a way forbidden by the law paul was just opening his mouth to speak an answer to this charge when gallio the governor spoke to the jews oe jews if this were a matter of wrongdoing or of wickedness i would listen to you but if these are questions about words and names and your law look after it yourselves for i will not be a judge of such things and gallio drove all the jews out of his court then some of the greeks sees sasinis who was the chief ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judge's seat in the courtroom but gallio did not care for any of these things for he thought it was a quarrel over small matters after staying many days paul took leave of the brethren in the church at corinth and sailed away in a ship across the agian sea to emphasis which was a great city in asia minor with paul were his friends aquila and persilla at emphasis paul went into the synagogue of the jews and talked with them about the gospel and about christ he could stay only for a little while although they asked him to remain longer but he said i must go away now but if it be the will of god i will come again to you and he set sail from emphasis but left aquila and persilla there until he should return paul sailed over the great sea to cesaria in the land of juda at that place he landed and from thence went up to jr and visited the mother church then he journeyed back to antioc the city from which he had set forth and this was the end of paul's second journey among the Gentiles preaching the gospel end of story 12 recorded by david lorenz august the first 2008 in brampton ontario story number 13 of hallbott's story of the bible this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org hallbott's story of the bible by jesse lineman hallbott part seven paul at emphasis the apostle paul did not stay long at antioc but soon started out for another journey among the churches already formed and into new fields he went through syria the country around antioc and then to the region near tassos which had been his early home everywhere preaching christ he crossed over the mountains and entered into the heart of asia minor coming to the land of galicia the people in this land were a warm hearted race eager to see and to hear new things they listened to paul with great joy and believed at once in his teachings paul wrote afterward that they received him as an angel of god as though he were jesus christ himself and that they were ready to pluck out their own eyes and give them to him so eager were they to have the gospel but soon after paul went away some jewish teachers came saying to these new believers you must all become jews and take upon you the whole jewish law with all its rules about things to be eaten and fasts and feast days or you cannot be saved and the people in galicia turned quickly away from paul's words to follow these new teachers for they were fond of change and were not firm in their minds there was danger that all paul's work among them would be undone but as soon as news came to paul of their sudden turning from the truth of the gospel he wrote to them a letter the epistle to the galatians in this letter he called them back to christ and showed them that they were free and not slaves to the old law and urged them to stand fast in the freedom which christ had given them paul went through fagia and from that land came again to Ephesus which he had visited before as we read in the last story this time he stayed in Ephesus more than two years preaching the gospel of christ at first he spoke in the synagogue of the jews telling the jews that jesus was the anointed christ the king of israel and proving it from the prophets of the old testament but when the jews would no longer listen to him but spoke evil against the way of christ paul left the synagogue and spoke every day in a school room which was opened to him his work became so well known that almost all the people in Ephesus and many in the lands around the city heard the work of the lord god gave to paul at this time great powers of healing they carried to the sick the clots with which paul had wiped the sweat from his face and the aprons that he had worn while he was at work making tents and the diseases left the sick and evil spirits went out of men these wonderful works drew great crowds to hear paul and led many more to believe in his words they were in that city some jews who wandered from place to place pretending to drive evil spirits out of men these men saw how great was the power of the name of jesus as spoken by paul and they also began to speak in jesus name saying to the evil spirits in men i command you to come out in the name of jesus whom paul preaches and the evil spirit in one man answered two of these pretenders jesus i know and paul i know but who are you and the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them and threw them down and tore off their clothing and beat them so that they ran out of the house naked and covered with wounds everybody in the city both jews and greeks heard of this and all knew that even the evil spirits feared the name of jesus as spoken by paul and many of those who had dealt with evil spirits came and confessed their deeds and turned to the lord and some who had books claiming to tell how to talk with spirits brushed them and burned them as bad books although the books had cost a great sum of money thus the work of the lord grew in Ephesus a great number believed in christ and a large church arose paul now began to feel that his work in Ephesus was nearly finished he thought that he would go across the igan sea and visit the churches at philippi and tesala naika and beria in the land of massidonia and then the church had Corinth in Greece and then go once more to jesus and after i have been there said paul then i must also see room so to prepare for his coming into massidonia he sends timbunsi and another friend named erastus while he himself stayed in Ephesus for a time longer but soon after this a great stair arose in that city over paul and his preaching in the city of Ephesus was standing at that time an idol temple one of the greatest and richest in all the world around the temple stood a hundred and twenty great columns of white marble each column the gift of a king and in it was an image of the goddess diana which the people believed had fallen down from the sky people came from many lands to worship the idol image of diana and many took away with them little images like it made of gold or silver the making and selling of these little images gave work to many who wrote in gold and silver and brought to them great riches one of these workers in silver a man named Demetrius called together his fellow workmen and said to them you know my friends that by this trade we are living and win riches and you can all see and hear that this man paul has persuaded and turned away many people not only in the city but also throughout all these lands by telling all men that there are no gods which are made by hands there is danger that our trade will come to an end and danger too that the temple of the great goddess diana may be made of no account it may be even that the goddess whom all Asia and all the world worships shall fall down from her greatness when the workmen heard this they became very angry and they set up a great cry shouting out great is diana of the efficiency great is diana of the efficiency and soon the whole city was in an opera people were running through the streets and shouting and a great multitude was drawn together most of them not knowing what had cost the crowd and the noise in the side of the hill near the city was a great open place hollowed out having stone seats around it on tree sides it was used for public meetings and was called the theater into this place all the people rushed until it was drunked while Demetrius and his fellow workers led on the shouting great is diana of the efficiency they seized two of Paul's friends who were with him in the city Gaius and Aristachos and dragged them with them into the theater Paul wished to go in and try to speak to the people but the disciples of Christ would not let him go and some of the chief men of the land who were Paul's friends sent words to him urging and besetting him not to venture into the theater the noise and the shouting and the confusion were kept up for two hours when the trunk began to grow tired and were ready to listen the clerk of the city came forward and quieted the people and said ye men of Ephesus what is the need of all this riot is there anyone who does not know that this city guards the temple of the great goddess Diana and of the image that fell down from the heavens since these things cannot be denied you should be quiet and do nothing rash or foolish you have brought here these men who are not robbers of temples nor have they spoken evil against our goddess if Demetrius and the men of his trade have a charge to bring against any men the courts are open and there are judges to hear their case but if there is any other business it must be done in a regular meeting of the people for we are in danger for this day's riots and may be brought to account for this gathering of a crowd and after the city clerk had quieted the people with these words he sent them away when the riot was over and all was peaceful again Paul met the disciples of Christ and spoke to them once more he had been in Ephesus for three years preaching and while there he had written besides the epistle or letter to the Galatians that to the Romans and two letters to the Corinthians the believers in Christ at Corinth in Greece he now sailed away from Ephesus across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia where he had preached the gospel before on his second journey end of story 13 story number 14 of Hallbeth's story of the bible this is a Librivox recording all Librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Librivox.org Hallbeth's story of the bible by Jesse Lyman Hallbeth part 7 Paul's last journey to Jerusalem acts chapter 20 from verse 2 to verse 16 of chapter 21 after his three years at Ephesus in Asia Minor Paul sailed across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia there he visited again the churches in Philippi, Taslanica and Beria then he went southward into Greece and saw again the church at Corinth to quit shortly before he had written two long letters while Paul was visiting these churches he told them of the believers in Christ among the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea that many of these were very poor and since they had become disciples of Christ the other Jews would not help them therefore Paul asked the Gentile churches everywhere to send gifts to these poor people he said in his letters these people have sent the word of Christ to you now send to them your gifts to show that you love them and to show that you thank God for the gift of his son who saves you from your sins from each of the churches men were chosen to go with Paul to Jerusalem and to carry these gifts from Beria the place where so many had studied the scriptures as we read in story 158 went a man named Sopata from Taslanica went Aristachos and Secondos from Derb in Asia Minor Gaius and Timothy were sent and from the other churches in Asia Minor Thaikikos and Throphimos all these went on before and waited for Paul at Truas on the shore of the Aegean Sea Paul's friend Luke the doctor joined him again at Philippi and they sailed together to Truas there the other disciples met them and they stayed for a week on the evening of the first day of the week a farewell meeting was held at Truas for Paul and his party who on the next day were to start on their journey to Jerusalem the meeting was in a large upper room on the third story of a house and it was filled with people who had come to hear Paul while Paul was speaking one young man named Utikos who was sitting in a window dropped a slip and in his sleep fell out of the window upon the ground two stories below he was taken up dead but Paul went down and fell on him and placed his arms around him saying do not whip for him for his life is still in him then Paul went up again and broke the bread with the believers and held with them the Lord's supper and then he talked again for a long time even until the break of day and they brought the young man living at which they were very happy all the rest of the party going to Jerusalem except Paul went on board the ship at Truas but as the ship was to stop on the way at a place called Asos Paul chose to go to that place on foot at Asos they took Paul on board and sailed for some days among the islands of the agency and stopped at Miletus which was not far from Ephesus Paul did not wish to go to Ephesus but he sent to the elders of the church asking them to come and meet him at Miletus they came and Paul said to them you know from the first day that I set foot in this part of Asia after what manner I was with you all the time serving the Lord with a lowly mind and with tears and with many troubles which came upon me from the plots of the Jews you know too how faithfully I spoke to you teaching you in public and from house to house to repent of your sins and to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and now bound in my spirit I am going to Jerusalem not knowing what shall come upon me there except that the Holy Spirit tells me in every place that chains and troubles will meet me but I do not hold my life of any account as there to me so that I may run out my race in Christ and may do the work given me by the Lord Jesus to preach the good news of God's grace and now I know that you all among whom I went preaching the kingdom shall see my face no more take heed to yourselves and to all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care as shepherds to feed the church which the Lord Jesus bought with his own blood I know that after I go away enemies like savage wolves shall come among you not sparing the flock and also among yourselves men shall rise up speaking false things and leading away disciples after them therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not see his warning you night and day with tears and now I leave you with God and with the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to make you fit to dwell among his holy ones I have not sought among you gold or silver or fine clothing you yourselves know that these hands of mine have worked for my own living and to help those who are with me I have tried to show you by my own life how that you should in the same way help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus it is more blessed to give than to receive when Paul has said this he kneeled down and prayed with them all and they all wept and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him for they felt very sad at his words that they should see his face no more they went with him to the ship and saw him sail away from them Paul and his company sailed among the islands and toward the land of Judea and went ashore at Tyre there they found disciples and stayed with them a week some of these spoke to Paul in the spirit of God and told him not to go into Jerusalem but Paul had set his face toward that city and when he found a ship going from Tyre to Judea all the disciples with their wives and their children went with him out of the city and all knelt down together on the beach and prayed before they parted from each other Paul's party left the ship at a place called Tolymias from which they had walked down the shore to Caesarea this was the place where years before Peter had given the gospel to the Roman centurion Cornelius as we read in story 154 and there Paul found Philip the man who had preached to the Samaritans and to the noble man from Ethiopia of whom we read in story 152 in those old days Paul then saw had been Philip's enemy and had driven him out of Jerusalem now they met as friends and Paul stayed as a guest at Philip's house while they were at Caesarea an old man named Agabus came down from Jerusalem he was a prophet to whom God had shown some things that were to come to pass we have read of a prophecy by this man before in story 156 this man came to Paul and took off Paul's ghetto and with it bound his own feet and hands and he said thus seared the spirit of God so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this ghetto and shall give him into the hands of the Gentiles when they heard this all Paul's friends and Philip and the disciples of Caesarea pleaded with Paul and begged him not to go up to Jerusalem but Paul answered what are you doing weeping and breaking my heart I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus when they saw that Paul could not be moved from his purpose they ceased trying to persuade him saying the will of the Lord be done after some days in Caesarea Paul and his friends with some of the believers from Caesarea went up the mountains to Jerusalem