Acts 26:1-3 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, You are permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself: I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before you touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews, especially because I know you to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews, wherefore I beseech you to hear me patiently.

Acts 26:4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among my own nation at Jerusalem, know that all the Judeans,

Acts 26:5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

Acts 26:6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers.

Acts 26:7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa II, I am accused of the Jews.

Barnes Notes: Amidst all the sins of the nation, they observed with punctuality and zeal the outward forms of the worship of God. They served God in ordinances and observances of the temple (Old Testament stuff, now done away). As a nation, they didn't have heartfelt feelings for God.(*), but they kept up the outward form of religious worship. These twelve tribes peoples of old always were looking for a powerful king to come from the heavens and make them the top nation. When Emmanuel came riding on an ass (John 12:15), they viewed His sayings as competition and wanted rid of him.

Acts 26:8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

Why indeed, when the Creator told us these things? Is there any reason why you can't raise the dead? Ancient Elisha did it (2Kings 4:32-35; Jeremiah 32:27) and it's being done today.

Acts 26:9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Emmanuel of Nazareth.

Paul was violently and conscientiously opposed to Emmanuel of Nazareth, before God came to Paul.

Acts 26:10 Which thing I.(Paul).also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

Paul, before the true God was in his life, had the name of Saul. He had religious reasons against those he believed should be put to death, that is, he held his way to be right and they were not and were a threat to what he was brought up to believe was the 'true religion' of God. The ordinary low consciousness of man just cannot see the higher consciousness principles of God as having any value to him (Proverbs 14:12), that is, until God takes a hand in one's life, as God did here in Paul's life.

Paul, when he was called Saul, was violently against any and all who were not of the religion he was in:.Acts 8:1-3.

Acts 26:11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Cities Paul would not have normally gone to and didn't know much about them.

Acts 26:12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

The cabal was around then too and for eons of time previous to this. But the law of the multiverse works, that is, one reaps what he sows (also called the law of compensation) and it's that time now for these horribly evil ones.

Acts 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.

Acts 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the Earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? it is hard for you to kick against the pricks..(?)

Acts 26:15 And I said, Who are you? And he said, I am Emmanuel the Christ whom you persecute.

Acts 26:16 But rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared unto you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto you;

Acts 26:17 Delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you;

That is, I'll protect you from those who will be out to get you and from those not of your lineage who would normally be also out to get you.

Acts 26:18.To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Acts 26:18.To open their eyes.(we are here to awaken from what we are normally asleep to; awakening others with the same information that awakened you is what you can do; it's the dark side that keeps the world blinded, that keeps the world in ignorance {John 3:19; Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:13; 1Peter 1:14; 1Peter 2:9; Revelation 12:9} and away from the truth that would set them free:.John 8:32; Romans 6:20-22; 8:2).and to turn them from darkness.(where did the darkness come from?).to light and from the power of Satan unto God.(Satan has the power of death {Hebrews 2:14} and influences the pathway humans are on when they are not of higher consciousness; what can you do?), that they may receive.(original for word 'receive' is 'to take or lay hold of in order to use it'; not that they didn't have it and needed to yet receive it, but rather a taking hold of that which they had but didn't realize that they did and what was that?:.2Timothy 1:9).forgiveness of sins.(doesn't say you have to ask God for forgiveness, as it's a state one is given freely thanks to gift of Christ {2Corinthians 5:19; Romans 5:17} and that long before humanity was on Earth, again:.2Timothy 1:9. One awakens to this stste of being when God is ready to awaken an individual, but first they have some alerts, so this really is God working on this world stage; the original word for 'sin' is 'missing the mark'; the mark of the high life that brings all the good a person wants:.John 10:10. Note here in Acts 26:18 what it is that has been keeping one from receiving the higher consciousness things).and inheritance.(or, a place; what place?.John 14:2).among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.(verse 15 above and.*).

Note that they have to be awakened to light, the light of the truth of where they have always stood (2Timothy 1:9) in regards to forgiveness of sins in their eternity of being, but just didn't know it.

Acts 26:19 Whereupon O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.

Acts 26:20 But showed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coasts of Judea and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet.(fit for).for repentance.

Works befitting a person who has changed..What works would these be?

Acts 26:21,22 For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come;

Acts 26:23 That Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles,

And Christ did this work of reaching the hearts of the Gentiles through the efforts of Paul {who was Paul?}:.Romans 15:16.

Acts 26:24 And as he thus spoke for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself, much learning does make you mad.(crazy).

Acts 26:25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

Acts 26:26,27 For the king knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a corner.

Acts 26:27 King Agrippa, believe you the prophets? I know that you believe.

Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.

Acts 26:29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only you, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

Acts 26:30 And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up and the governor and Bernice and they that sat with them.

Acts 26:31 And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

Acts 26:32 Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
 

....continues to Chapters 27-28

.