1 About that time King Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church.
2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword,
3 and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the festival of the Unleavened Bread.
4 Herod had him seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers, to guard him. He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after the Passover feast,
5 but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church prayed earnestly for him.
6 On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch at the gate of the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, "Get up quickly!" At once the chains fell from Peter's wrists. The angel said, "Put on your belt and your sandals." Peter did so,
8 and the angel added, "Now, put on your cloak and follow me."
9 Peter followed him out; yet he did not realize that what was happening with the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 They passed the first guard and then the second and they came to the iron door leading out to the city, which opened of itself for them. They went out and made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel and has rescued me from Herod's clutches and from all that the Jews had in store for me."
12 Peter then found his bearings and came to the house of Mary, the mother of John also known as Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
13 When he knocked at the outside door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it.
14 On recognizing the voice of Peter she was so overcome with joy that, instead of opening the door, she ran in to announce that Peter was at the door.
15 They said to her, "You are crazy!" And as she insisted, they said, "It must be his angel."
16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking and, when they finally opened the door, they were amazed to see him.
17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. And he said to them, "Report this to James and to the brothers." Then he left and went to another place.
18 At daybreak there was a great commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
19 Herod began a search for him and, not finding him, had the guards questioned and executed. After that, he came down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
20 At that time Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. By general agreement they appeared before him and, after having won over Blastus, the king's treasurer, they asked for peace, for their country was supplied with food from the territory of Herod.
21 On the appointed day Herod, clothed in royal robes, sat on his throne and addressed them.
22 So the assembled crowd shouted back, "A god is speaking, not a man!"
23 The angel of the Lord immediately struck Herod for he did not return the honor to God, and he died eaten by worms.
24 Meanwhile the word of God was increasing and spreading.
25 Barnabas and Saul carried out their mission and then came back from Jerusalem, taking with them John also called Mark.
Versículos relacionados com Acts, 12:
Acts of the Apostles 12 reports the arrest of Peter and his subsequent supernatural liberation by the angels of God. Also mentioned is the death of James, John's brother, at the hands of Herod. The selected verses are:
Isaiah 43:2: "When I pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when through the rivers they will not submerge you; when you pass through fire, you will not burn you, nor the flame will burn in you." Peter went through a moment of great danger and anguish as he was arrested and placed in prison, but the Lord was with him, protecting him from Herod's wrath.
Psalm 34:19: "There are many afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from all." Peter was a fair man who was unjustly arrested. However, the Lord delivered him from Herod's hands and freed him from prison.
Proverbs 21:1: "The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as deep waters; He tilts it wherever you want." Herod was determined to kill Peter, but God had other plans. He used an angel to free him from prison and frustrate the king's plans.
John 16:33: "In the world, you will have afflictions; but it tends good courage; I have overcome the world." James' death and Peter's arrest are examples of the afflictions that the disciples of Jesus faced. However, Jesus gave them the promise that they would have peace in the midst of tribulations, for he had won the world.
Acts of the Apostles 12:24: "But the Word of God grew and multiplied." Despite persecution and attempts to silence the Gospel message, God's Word continued to spread and reach more people. Peter's arrest and James' death failed to stop the advance of the Kingdom of God.
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