He saw in a vision - See the notes on Acts 9:10.
Evidently - Openly; manifestly.
About the ninth hour - About 3 o’clock p. m. This was the usual hour of evening worship among the Jews.
An angel of God - See the notes on Matthew 1:20. Compare Hebrews 1:14. This angel was sent to signify to Cornelius that his alms were accepted by God as an evidence of his piety, and to direct him to send for Peter to instruct him in the way of salvation. The importance of the occasion - the introduction of the gospel to a Gentile, and hence, to the entire Gentile world - was probably the chief reason why an angel was commissioned to visit the Roman centurion. Compare Acts 16:9-10.