1. At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius. He was an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army.
2. Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often.
3. One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius saw a vision clearly. In the vision an angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4. Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?”The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. He has seen what you give to the poor. And God remembers you.
5. Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon. Simon is also called Peter.
6. Simon is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a leatherworker. He has a house beside the sea.”
7. Then the angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier. The soldier was a religious man who worked for Cornelius.
8. Cornelius explained everything to these three men and sent them to Joppa.
9. The next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof to pray. It was about noon.
10. Peter was hungry and wanted to eat. But while the food was being prepared, he had a vision.
11. He saw heaven opened and something coming down. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners.