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¶ THE first book have I written, O Theophilus, concerning all the things which our Lord Jesus Christ began to do and teach
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Until the day when he ascended, after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen,
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The very ones to whom he had also shown himself alive, after he had suffered, with many wonders during the forty days, while appearing to them and talking with them concerning the kingdom of God;
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And as he ate bread with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, the one of whom you have heard from me.
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For, he said, John baptized with water;
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.
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While they were assembled, they asked him, saying, Our Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
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He said to them, It is not for you to know the time or times which the Father has put under his own authority;
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But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea also in the province of Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.
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And when he had spoken these things, he ascended while they were looking at him;
a cloud received him and he was hidden from their sight.
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And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white robes;
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And they said to them, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus who has ascended from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him ascend into heaven.
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Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount which is called Olivet, Place of Olives, which is near to Jerusalem, about a mile away.
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And after they had entered into the city, they went into an upper room, where stayed Peter and John and James and Andrew, and also Philip and Thomas and Matthew and Bartholomew and James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judah the son of James.
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These all continued together in prayer with one accord, also the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
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¶ And in those days Simon Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (there were there a number of men, about a hundred and twenty), and said,
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Men and brethren, it was proper that the scripture should be fulfilled, that which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judah, who was guide to them that seized Jesus.
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For he was numbered with us and had a lot in this ministry.
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He is the one who earned for himself a field with the price of sin;
and falling headlong, he burst open in the midst and all his bowels gushed out.
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And this very thing is known to all who dwell in Jerusalem;
so that the field is called in the language of the country, Khakal-Dema which is to say Koriath-dem, the field of blood.
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For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no one dwell in it;
and let his ministry be taken by another man.
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It is necessary, therefore, that one of these men, who have been with us during all the time that our Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
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Beginning from the baptism of John until the day he ascended from among us, become a partner with us as a witness of his resurrection.
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So they appointed two: Joseph called Barshabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
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And as they prayed, they said, O Lord, thou knowest what is in the hearts of all men;
show which of these two thou dost choose,
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That he may receive the lot to the ministry and apostleship, from which Judah has been relieved to go his own way.
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Then they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias;
and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.