Acts 1:8
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses — to the ends of the earth.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
What Acts 1:8 means
These are Jesus’ last recorded words before the ascension. The disciples had just asked whether he was about to restore the kingdom to Israel — a political question — and he answers with something far larger, redirecting them from speculation about timing to the work they are being given.
The geography doubles as the outline of Acts itself: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the ends of the earth. Power comes first, and it is given for witness rather than for display. Memorised, it keeps the order straight — the Spirit enables, and the task is testimony.
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Questions about Acts 1:8
What does Acts 1:8 mean?
It promises that the Holy Spirit will give Jesus’ followers power, and sends them out as his witnesses in ever-widening circles from Jerusalem to the whole world.
How does Acts 1:8 outline the book of Acts?
The book follows the same movement: the gospel spreads from Jerusalem, through Judea and Samaria, and outward across the Roman world to Rome itself.