Suddenly he became extremely hungry and fell into a trance. He saw the heavens open and a large sheet come down. In it were all kinds of animals that Jews weren’t allowed to eat. A voice said, “Peter, get up. Kill one of these animals and eat it.”

“Lord, you know I’ve never eaten anything common or unclean.”

The voice said, “When God has made something clean, never call it common or unclean.” This happened a second time, and a third. Then the sheet went back into heaven.

Peter woke up but was confused about what this vision meant. At that moment, the men from Cornelius were at the gate. The Holy Spirit said, “I’ve sent these men to you. Don’t hesitate to go with them.”

Peter went down and greeted the men. They told him about Cornelius, and he agreed to go with them. In the morning he took several believers and they started on their trip.

They arrived the next day, and Cornelius ran to meet them. He fell down in front of Peter and started to worship him. Peter said, “Stand up! I’m just a man.” He went into Cornelius’s home and saw that he had invited others to be there so they could hear God’s message. Peter said to the group. “God revealed to me that he has opened the door and is now calling people from other nations to himself. Therefore, I’ll tell you the message that was given to Israel. It is that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.”

He then told them about Jesus and his miracles. He described how the Jewish leaders killed him, but God raised him from the dead. Peter said, “Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins.”

As soon as he said those words, the Holy Spirit filled every person in the house. This shocked the Jewish believers when they saw that the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to Gentiles.

Peter turned to them and said, “Is there any reason why we shouldn’t baptize these people?” They all agreed, so the new believers were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

News of this quickly spread to believers throughout the nation. The leadership in Jerusalem asked Peter, “You stayed in the home of Gentiles and even ate meals with them?”

He explained exactly what happened. He told them about the vision on the housetop, the crowd at the house of Cornelius, and how the Holy Spirit filled the people. He concluded by saying, “God gave them the same gift he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. How could I fight against God?”

The believers in Jerusalem had no argument when they heard this. They said, “God has given forgiveness of sins and eternal life to the Gentiles.”