The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you trust God and that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.”
The Spirit of the Lord may carry you to some other place after I leave. If I go tell King Ahab you are here, and he comes and doesn’t find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy.
But the governors before me had placed a heavy load on the people. They took about one pound of silver from each person, along with food and wine. The governors’ helpers before me also controlled the people, but I did not do that, because I feared God.
I did not speak in secret or hide my words in some dark place. I did not tell the family of Jacob to look for me in empty places. I am the Lord, and I speak the truth; I say what is right.
They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.”
So you see that God is kind and also very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But God is kind to you, if you continue following in his kindness. If you do not, you will be cut off from the tree.
They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “You do great and wonderful things, Lord God Almighty. Everything the Lord does is right and true, King of the nations.
because his judgments are true and right. He has punished the prostitute who made the earth evil with her sexual sin. He has paid her back for the death of his servants.”