Cornelius, a Roman army officer posted to the military HQ for the occupying forces, wanted to know God.  He was kind, generous and God-fearing: but he was a Gentile (Acts 10:1-2).   However, God knew his heart's hunger to know Him.  An angel spoke to him in a vision, telling him that God knew all about him, and then told him what to do (Acts 10:3-8).  It was not a vision of God or mystical experience of His presence; it was a set of instructions which set the pattern for Gospel ministry for the church.

The Lord was preparing Peter to visit the house of a Gentile Roman army officer - to tell him about Jesus and how to be saved (Acts 10:1-6).  But Peter believed that God only welcomed Jews into His kingdom, and not Gentiles (unless they first became Jews).  However, the Old Covenant, which was given to Israelites, was superseded by the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:25).  It was God's purpose to save everybody who believes in Jesus, irrespective of their religious roots or ethnic tradition (John 3:16).  However, the greatest obstacle, at that time, was the attitude of

Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius after two days' journey of about 30 miles along the coast road (Acts 10:24). When he got there, Peter was greeted by Cornelius, and a large gathering of his friends and relatives inside the house.

Cornelius was a Gentile Roman soldier. And Peter was a Jew who should never have gone into the home of a Gentile, according to the strict ceremonial laws. But God had prepared Peter to understand that in Christ there was no longer a special right of access to God for the Jews. Of course they were privileged to know what pleased God in the Old Testament law, and to have prophecies about Jesus coming as the Saviour God. They were also intended to announce the coming of the Messiah to the whole world.