Book of Common Prayer

Signs of the new covenant

³² The company of those who believed had one heart and soul. Nobody said that they owned their property; instead, they had everything in common. ³³ The apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and great grace was upon all of them. ³⁴ For there was no needy person among them, since any who possessed lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale, ³⁵ and placed it at the feet of the apostles, who then gave to each according to their need.

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, to whom the apostles gave the surname “Barnabas” (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold some land which belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Disaster

5 There was, however, a man named Ananias, married to a woman called Sapphira. He sold some property, ² and, with his wife’s knowledge, kept back part of the price. He brought the rest and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³ “Ananias!” said Peter. “Why did the satan fill your heart, to make you tell a lie to the holy spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? ⁴ While it was still yours, it belonged to you, didn’t it? And, when you sold it, it was still in your power! Why did you get such an idea in your heart? It isn’t humans that you’ve lied to: it’s God!”

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. Everyone who heard about it was scared out of their wits. ⁶ The young men got up, took him away, wrapped up his body and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸ Peter spoke to her.

“Tell me,” he said, “did you sell the land for this much?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹ “So why,” Peter answered, “did you agree together to put the holy spirit to the test? Look: the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door—and they will carry you out too!”

¹⁰ At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men were just coming in, and they found her dead, so they took her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ Great fear came upon the whole gathering, and on all who heard about these things.

The distress of Jerusalem predicted

²⁰ “But,” continued Jesus, “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that her time of desolation has arrived. ²¹ Then people in Judaea should run off to the hills, people in Jerusalem itself should get out as fast as they can, and people in the countryside shouldn’t go back into the city. ²² Those will be the days of severe judgment, which will fulfill all the biblical warnings. ²³ Woe betide pregnant women, and nursing mothers, in those days! There is going to be huge distress on the earth, and divine anger against this people. ²⁴ The hungry sword will eat them up. They will be taken as prisoners to every nation; and Jerusalem will be trampled by the pagans, until the times of the pagans are done.

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars. On earth the nations will be in distress and confusion because of the roaring and swelling of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear, and from imagining all that’s going to happen to the world. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the son of man coming on a cloud’ with power and great majesty. ²⁸ When all these things start to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because the time has come for you to be redeemed.”