Acts, Chapter 12
© Copyright 2007 Darroll Evans, all rights reserved

 

Acts 12:1-11
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

 

About that time, King Herod became irritated with the Church. He killed the Apostle John’s brother, James.

When Herod saw that it pleased the Jewish leadership, he decided to execute Peter too.  This happened during the days of unleavened bread, Passover week.


He arrested Peter, and put him in prison.  There were 4 “quaternions” of soldiers, 4 squads of 4 soldiers each. Sixteen soldiers in total were assigned to guard Peter. 

 

Herod intended to execute Peter after Passover.  The word “Easter” is found only in the KJV and is an incorrect anti-Jewish translation of the Greek word, Pascha, or Passover. 

 

The Bible makes no reference to “Easter,” the supposedly Christian holiday dedicated to the pagan goddess Ishtar.

 

The word “Easter” was brought into Christianity by the Roman Catholic Church in order to pacify the worshippers of Ishtar, a pagan Babylonian “mother goddess.” 

 

In the early centuries of the Church, the RCC defrauded, conned many pagans into mistakenly thinking Christianity was actually part of their pagan religion, much in the same way they now teach that Muslims are candidates for salvation due to their false claim that Abraham’s God and their false god, Allah are the same.  The RCC increased its size and political influence by introducing false worship. 

 

The KJV kept the ball rolling through that false translation of “Easter.”  Fortunately, other good translations have not followed that fraudulent behavior.

 

As Peter was in jail, the Church prayed for him, and that presents a theological problem that we will shortly address.

The night before the planned execution, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers.  He was bound to them by two chains. There were other soldiers at the door.

Amid all that, the Angel of the Lord came to Peter.  His light filled the prison, but did not awake the guards. (the unregenerate heart will never see the light of God!) In fact, the Angel had to kick Peter in the side to awaken him.

 

The Angel told Peter to get up, and the Chains fell off of him.  Then, the angel told Peter to get dressed and follow him.

He did as the angel ordered, but Peter thought he was seeing a vision.  They went through the prison, and at the exit door, the gate opened of its “own accord.”  Upon arriving at the street, the angel left Peter.

 

It was at that point that Peter knew the truth.  He said, “Now, I absolutely know that the Lord sent His angel, and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”

 

Acts 12:12-17
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.

 

As Peter walked along thinking about all that, he came to the home of Mary the mother of John Mark.  That is the same John Mark that went on the trip with Paul and wrote the Gospel of Mark.  It was at his mother’s home that prayers were being offered for Peter.

Peter knocked on the gate door, and young girl named Rhoda heard him.  She knew it was Peter’s voice asking to come in.

Happily she ran inside to tell those praying for Peter, but how did those great men and women of faith react?  They did not believe her. Instead of faith and trust, their prayers were filled with a total lack thereof.

 

They told her that she was “mad.”  However, Rhoda insisted.  Then they claimed that she only saw Peter’s angel.  In those days, the rumor was that all Jews had an angel.  James’ angel must have gone on vacation when he was executed.

 

Peter kept knocking! Finally they opened the door, and surprisingly Peter was standing there.  The Bible says that they were “astonished.”

 

Think about that.  They prayed, God answered their prayer, or did He?  Instead of instant rejoicing, they were astonished.

 

That brings be to a question that many do not acknowledge, or are even willing to ask. 

 

Did God answer their unfaithful prayers?


We will get back to that question in a moment.

 

As Peter entered the home, he motioned that they should be quiet.  Then, he told them story of his release from prison. 

 

Peter told them to go and tell what happened to James, Jesus’ brother and the other disciples, then he left.


Now, back to that question:

 

Does God answer unfaithful prayers?

 

Does God respect unfaithful prayers? 

 

I don’t think so!

 

So, what happened?

 

How did Peter get out of prison?

 

It was an answer to a personal prophecy given by Christ Jesus!

 

John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

 

As Peter lay in that prison, the words of the Lord came to him.  They were spoken while he was still considered to be young.

 

However, Jesus said, “When you shall become old.”

 

Jesus told Peter that he would become old.  If he was to become old, he could not die at the time Herod appointed.

 

So, why worry?  Just get a good night’s rest and let God do what God does best.  He saves His people!

 

It was none of Peter’s business how God would get him out of prison, but in order for Christ’s words to be true, God had to get him out!  And, He did!

 

Acts 12:18-23
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

 

When the day had come for the execution and Peter could not be found, there was no small stir among the officials in Jerusalem.   Herod ordered the soldiers in charge of keeping Peter to be executed, due to part (no doubt) to public embarrassment. Herod left Jerusalem and went to Caesarea.

At this point, Luke writes, “Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon.”  But, Luke makes no attempt to tell us why Herod was displeased. Whatever the reason for his displeasure, they attempted to reconcile the situation, because their country was dependent, to some extent, on Herod’s good will.

Herod set a day when he would appear and make a speech.  He was dressed in his royal apparel. As he sat on his throne to give the oration, the people in attendance gave him what amounted to a standing ovation.  They shouted, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.”  No doubt, it was a “slight” enhancement.  But it was accepted by Herod as his just due.  After all, he was the king.

Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down, because did not give glory to God.  Luke writes, “He was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”  Herod Agrippa died in approximately 44 AD. Josephus reports that Herod suffered terrible abdominal pains for 5 days and then died.Herod

 

 

Acts 12:24-25
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

 

Verse 24 tells us that “the word of God grew and multiplied.”  Many suppose that to be symbolic of the size of the Church.  However, it may mean that the power of the Church grew and multiplied.

 

Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch.  They had fulfilled their ministry effort to bring offerings to the Christians in Jerusalem.  John Mark, the writer of the gospel of Mark had accompanied them.

 

Chapter 13

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