Acts 1:8 (KJV)

Passage

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Nearby Context

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Acts 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "receive", "power", "after", "holy", "ghost", "come", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "receive", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And he said unto them It is..." into verse 9's "And when he had spoken these things...", so "shall" and "receive" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "receive" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.