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Now the Apostles, and the brethren in various parts of Judaea, heard that the Gentiles also had received God's Message;
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and, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the champions of circumcision found fault with him.
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"You went into the houses of men who are not Jews," they said, "and you ate with them."
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Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them from the beginning.
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"While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.
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Fixing my eyes on it, I examined it closely, and saw various kinds of quadrupeds, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.
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I also heard a voice saying to me, "`Rise, Peter, kill and eat.'
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"`On no account, Lord,' I replied, `for nothing unholy or impure has ever gone into my mouth.'
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"But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "`What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'
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"This was said three times, and then everything was drawn up again out of sight.