The Early Church

Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as he gave us after we had come to put our trust in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

On hearing these things, they stopped objecting and began to praise God, saying, “This means that God has enabled the Goyim as well to do t’shuvah and have life!”

Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution which had arisen over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch; they spoke God’s word, but only to Jews.

However, some of these, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, when they arrived at Antioch, began speaking to the Greeks too, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Yeshua.

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people trusted and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the Messianic community in Yerushalayim, and they sent Bar-Nabba to Antioch.

On arriving and seeing for himself the grace of God at work, he was glad; and he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with their whole hearts;

for he was a good man, full of the Ruach HaKodesh and trust.

Then Bar-Nabba went off to Tarsus to look for Sha’ul;

and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They met with the congregation there for a whole year and taught a sizeable crowd. Also it was in Antioch that the talmidim for the first time were called “Messianic.”

During this time, some prophets came down from Yerushalayim to Antioch;

and one of them named Agav stood up and through the Spirit predicted that there was going to be a severe famine throughout the Roman Empire. (It took place while Claudius was Emperor.)

So the talmidim decided to provide relief to the brothers living in Y’hudah, each according to his means;

and they did it, sending their contribution to the elders in the care of Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul.

It was around this time that King Herod began arresting and persecuting certain members of the Messianic community;

and he had Ya‘akov, Yochanan’s brother, put to death by the sword.

When Herod saw how much this pleased the Judeans, he went on to arrest Kefa as well. It was during the Days of Matzah,

so when Herod seized him, he threw him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, with the intention of bringing him to public trial after Pesach.

So Kefa was being held under watch in prison, but intense prayer was being made to God on his behalf by the Messianic community.

The night before Herod was going to bring him to trial, Kefa was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with two chains; and guards were at the door, keeping watch over the prison.

Suddenly an angel of Adonai stood there, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Kefa’s side and woke him. “Hurry! Get up!” he said; and the chains fell off his hands.

The angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals,” and he did. “Throw on your robe,” he said, “and follow me!”

Going out, Kefa followed him but did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real — he thought he was seeing a vision.

Having passed a first guard and a second, they arrived at the iron gate leading to the city. This opened to them by itself, and they made their exit. They went down the length of one street, and suddenly the angel left him.

Then Kefa came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod’s power and from everything the Judean people were hoping for.”