Today Peter and John go to the temple and Peter heals a lame man, who lies each day at the gate of the temple. When the people see that the man is healed, they are filled with wonder and amazement.

Peter responds to the crowd asking why they marvel. He tells them that this man wasn’t healed by their power but by the power of Jesus Christ, the man they killed. Paul says, “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” 

But the Jewish leaders aren’t too fond of this message, so they grab Peter and John and put them in custody. “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

When Peter and John stand before the Jewish Council, Peter tells them that the lame man was healed by the power of Jesus Christ. He goes on to say, ”Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” However, the Jewish leaders do not want this message to spread among the people. Therefore they tell Peter and John not to teach anymore about Jesus Christ. But Peter and John respond saying, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 

When Peter and John are released, they report back to their companions all that happened. Then they all pray – “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” This is when we meet Barnabas, Paul’s future missionary partner. He sells all of his land and gives the money to the apostles to distribute. Then we also meet Ananias and his wife Sapphira, who say they too sold all of their possessions to give to the church. However, they were lying to receive public glory from man and God knew it, as God knows all things. So instead of receiving respect from the church, they are rebuked by Peter and the Lord strikes them dead. The Lord is not going to allow anything to taint the purity of the newly formed church. “So great fear came upon the church and upon all who heard these things.”

The apostles continue doing many signs and wonders and the church continues to grow. “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.’”

When the Jewish leaders find them in the temple, they question why they are teaching about Jesus Christ when they were told to stop. “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’”

The leaders now want to kill the apostles. So Gamaliel, a Pharisee, intervenes saying, “Keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

Tomorrow the first disciple is martyred. Keep reading. (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-2:47)

Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus blesses His disciples and then is taken up to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God, bringing an end to the Gospel Era and launching us into the Church and Missions Eras. 

Before Jesus went to be with His Father, He commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem “but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now… But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”

So the disciples return to Jerusalem and go into the upper room where they are staying. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

Peter organizes the selection of another disciple to replace Judas the betrayer. “And they prayed and said, ‘You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.’ And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

Ten days after Jesus’ ascension, on the day of Pentecost, “suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.” The people say, “we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” But some mock them by saying they are drunk.

Peter addresses the crowd, telling them that they are not drunk but that the Scriptures which were spoken by the prophet Joel have been fulfilled. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy… And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:28,32). 

Peter explains that God has raised Jesus, whom they crucified, from the grave and has given His people the power of the Holy Spirit as He promised. These words cut to the heart of the people and they ask what they must do. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”

“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them… So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Welcome to the Church Era! The church will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, many are going to oppose the growth of the church as we will begin to see in tomorrow’s reading, so keep reading.  (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-2:47)

14 Eras: 

Creation Era (Gen 1:1-11:26) ✔️

Patriarch Era (Gen 11:27-50:26 and Job) ✔️

Exodus Era (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) ✔️

Conquest Era (Joshua) ✔️

Judges Era (Judges, Ruth) ✔️

Kingdom Era (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 1-9, 1 Kings 1-11, various Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) ✔️

Divided Kingdom Era (2 Chronicles 10-36, 1 Kings 11-22, 2 Kings, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and some of Jeremiah) ✔️

Captivity Era (the rest of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) ✔️

Return Era (Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) ✔️

Silent Era (Inter-Testament period) ✔️

Gospel Era (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) ✔️

Church Era (Acts, the Epistles, Hebrews) up now!

Era to follow: 

Missions & End Times/New Beginnings