rsv Acts:11-12 SEEK
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Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God .
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So when Peter went up to Jerusalem ,
the circumcision party criticized him ,
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saying , "
Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them ?"
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But Peter began and explained to them in order :
* "
I was in the city of Joppa praying ;
and in a trance I saw a vision ,
something descending ,
like a great sheet ,
let down from heaven by four corners ;
and it came down to me .
*
Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air .
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And I heard a voice saying to me , `
Rise ,
Peter ;
kill and eat .'
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But I said , `
No ,
Lord ;
for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth .'
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But the voice answered a second time from heaven , `
What God has cleansed you must not call common .'
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This happened three times ,
and all was drawn up again into heaven .
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At that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were ,
sent to me from Caesare '
a .
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And the Spirit told me to go with them ,
making no distinction .
These six brethren also accompanied me ,
and we entered the man '
s house .
*
And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying , `
Send to Joppa and bring Simon called Peter ;
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he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved ,
you and all your household .'
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As I began to speak ,
the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning .
*
And I remembered the word of the Lord ,
how he said , `
John baptized with water ,
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit .'
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If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ ,
who was I that I could withstand God ?"
*
When they heard this they were silenced .
And they glorified God ,
saying , "
Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life ."
*
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoeni '
cia and Cyprus and Antioch ,
speaking the word to none except Jews .
*
But there were some of them ,
men of Cyprus and Cyre '
ne ,
who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also ,
preaching the Lord Jesus .
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And the hand of the Lord was with them ,
and a great number that believed turned to the Lord .
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News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem ,
and they sent Barnabas to Antioch .
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When he came and saw the grace of God ,
he was glad ;
and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose ;
*
for he was a good man ,
full of the Holy Spirit and of faith .
And a large company was added to the Lord .
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So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul ;
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and when he had found him ,
he brought him to Antioch .
For a whole year they met with the church ,
and taught a large company of people ;
and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians .
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Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch .
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And one of them named Ag '
abus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world ;
and this took place in the days of Claudius .
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And the disciples determined ,
every one according to his ability ,
to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea ;
*
and they did so ,
sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul .
*
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church .
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He killed James the brother of John with the sword ;
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and when he saw that it pleased the Jews ,
he proceeded to arrest Peter also .
This was during the days of Unleavened Bread .
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And when he had seized him ,
he put him in prison ,
and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him ,
intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people .
*
So Peter was kept in prison ;
but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church .
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The very night when Herod was about to bring him out ,
Peter was sleeping between two soldiers ,
bound with two chains ,
and sentries before the door were guarding the prison ;
*
and behold ,
an angel of the Lord appeared ,
and a light shone in the cell ;
and he struck Peter on the side and woke him ,
saying , "
Get up quickly ."
And the chains fell off his hands .
*
And the angel said to him , "
Dress yourself and put on your sandals ."
And he did so .
And he said to him , "
Wrap your mantle around you and follow me ."
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And he went out and followed him ;
he did not know that what was done by the angel was real ,
but thought he was seeing a vision .
*
When they had passed the first and the second guard ,
they came to the iron gate leading into the city .
It opened to them of its own accord ,
and they went out and passed on through one street ;
and immediately the angel left him .
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And Peter came to himself ,
and said , "
Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting ."
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When he realized this ,
he went to the house of Mary ,
the mother of John whose other name was Mark ,
where many were gathered together and were praying .
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And when he knocked at the door of the gateway ,
a maid named Rhoda came to answer .
*
Recognizing Peter '
s voice ,
in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and told that Peter was standing at the gate .
*
They said to her , "
You are mad ."
But she insisted that it was so .
They said , "
It is his angel !"
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But Peter continued knocking ;
and when they opened ,
they saw him and were amazed .
*
But motioning to them with his hand to be silent ,
he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison .
And he said , "
Tell this to James and to the brethren ."
Then he departed and went to another place .
*
Now when day came ,
there was no small stir among the soldiers over what had become of Peter .
*
And when Herod had sought for him and could not find him ,
he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death .
Then he went down from Judea to Caesare '
a ,
and remained there .
*
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon ;
and they came to him in a body ,
and having persuaded Blastus ,
the king '
s chamberlain ,
they asked for peace ,
because their country depended on the king '
s country for food .
*
On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes ,
took his seat upon the throne ,
and made an oration to them .
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And the people shouted , "
The voice of a god ,
and not of man !"
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Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him ,
because he did not give God the glory ;
and he was eaten by worms and died .
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But the word of God grew and multiplied .
*
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission ,
bringing with them John whose other name was Mark .
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Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers ,
Barnabas ,
Simeon who was called Niger ,
Lucius of Cyre '
ne ,
Man '
a-en a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch ,
and Saul .