Works of The First Century Ecclesia

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“Now during these days Jesus went up into the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to The God.” (Lu 6:12 MHM)

“All of these apostles were continually in devotional prayers along with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his [fleshly] brothers.” (Ac 1:14 MHM)

“And after they had prayed, the place where they had assembled together was shaken, and everyone was filled with the holy Pneuma, and they continued to speak the Word of The God with boldness. Now the entire community of those who had believed was unified in heart and soul. Not one claimed they had any possessions belonging to them, but rather they possessed everything communally. And with great power the apostles continued giving their testimony about the resurrection of the Master Jesus. Great charity [and a willingness to share] permeated the whole community. For there was no one needy among them, because anyone who owned lands or houses sold them, and they continued bringing the value of the things they sold, placing them before the feet of the apostles. The apostles then distributed to each person as they had need.” (Ac 4:31-35 MHM)

“During this period king Herod began to violently attack some in the Church. He killed with the sword [the apostle] James the brother of [the apostle] John. Now seeing this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest also Peter–now this was during the festival days of Unleavened Bread– and put him in jail. [King Herod] put Peter in the custody of four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He intended to bring Peter before the Jewish people after the Passover. For this reason Peter was kept in jail. However, the Church of The God continued to earnestly pray for Peter. Now when the time was near to lead him out [to the Jews], Herod had Peter bound with two chains and was made to sleep between two soldiers. There were also guards before the door and were keeping watch over the jail. And, behold, YHWH’s angel approached and shining light filled the whole room. Then [the angel] kicked Peter in the side and raised him up, saying: “Get up now!” The chains binding Peter’s hands fell off. Then the angel said to Peter: “Buckle up and put on your sandals.” And he did so. Then the angel said to Peter: “Put on your garment and follow me.” And as they left, Peter was following the angel and he did not know whether something real was happening with the angel. He thought he was seeing a vision. Then they went past the first guard and then the second, and as they came to the iron gate leading into the city it opened by itself before them. Now as they left and went down one street, instantly the angel left him. Then, all by himself Peter continued on his way, and said: “Now I surely know that the Master sent forth his angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod, and thus from all what the [Jewish] people expected.” Now as soon as Peter realized [what had happened] he arrived at the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. There were many assembled there for prayer. When Peter knocked on the door of the gate, a servant girl Rhoda heard it and came to the gate. But recognizing Peter’s voice she ran back inside and out of sheer joy reported that Peter was standing at the gate. But those there with her said: “You are crazy!” However, she kept insisting it to be so. They all said: “It is his angel!” Now Peter kept knocking, and when they opened the gate they saw him and were astonished. Her motioned to them with his hand to be silent and then told them how the Master led him out from the jail. He told them: “Report to James and the brothers what has happened.” And then he left to another place. Now in the morning there was considerable commotion among the soldiers regarding what happened to Peter. So when Herod searched for Peter and did not find him, he questioned the guards, and then commanded them to be taken away [to death]. Then he left, and descending from Judea, he remained in Caesarea.” (Ac 12:1-19 MHM)

“And all those believing were gathered at the same place and they had everything in common. They would sell their possessions and went to distributing the money to everyone as each had a need. And daily they continued in harmonious devotions in the Temple area sharing their meals in private homes. They shared food with jubilation and sincerity of heart, praising The God and finding favor with all the people. And at the same time YHWH continued adding daily to those being saved.” (Ac 2:44-47 MHM)

“And so every day in the Temple area, as well as in private homes, they did not stop teaching and preaching Christ Jesus.” (Ac 5:42 MHM)

“However, of course, those [disciples] that had been scattered went everywhere proclaiming the Good News of the Word.” (Ac 8:4 MHM)