ACT 12
12
The Death of James and the Imprisonment of Peter
1 Around that time, King Herod took aggressive action against some members of the church.
2 He had James, John's brother, executed by sword.
3 When he observed that this pleased the Jewish leaders, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. This occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
4 After capturing him, Herod placed him in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. His intention was to bring him before the people for trial after Passover concluded.
5 So Peter was kept under guard in the prison, while the church was making fervent prayer to God on his behalf.
Peter's Miraculous Escape
6 On the night before Herod planned to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, secured with two chains. Guards were stationed at the entrance, keeping watch over the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and light flooded the cell. The angel prodded Peter in the side, waking him, and said, "Get up quickly!" The chains fell away from his wrists.
8 The angel instructed him, "Fasten your belt and put your sandals on." Peter did so. Then the angel said, "Put your cloak around you and follow me."
9 Peter went out following the angel. He did not realise that what was happening through the angel was actual reality—he assumed he was experiencing a vision.
10 They passed through the first guard post, then the second, and came to the iron gate that opened into the city. It swung open for them automatically. They went through it and proceeded down one street, and then abruptly the angel departed from him.
11 When Peter came to full awareness of his situation, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord sent His angel and rescued me from Herod's grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
12 After realising this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark. Many people had assembled there and were praying.
13 When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to respond.
14 When she recognised Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that instead of opening the gate, she ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.
15 They told her, "You have lost your mind." But she kept insisting it was true. Then they said, "It must be his angel."
16 Meanwhile Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the gate and saw him, they were utterly astonished.
17 Peter gestured with his hand for them to be quiet, then described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. He said, "Report this to James and to the other brothers and sisters." Then he departed and went to a different location.
18 When morning arrived, there was considerable commotion among the soldiers regarding what had become of Peter.
19 Herod conducted a thorough search for him and, failing to find him, interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod travelled from Judea down to Caesarea, where he remained.
The Judgment of Herod
20 Herod had been harbouring intense anger towards the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came to him in a unified delegation. After securing the support of Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they requested peace terms, because their territories depended on the king's region for food supplies.
21 On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal robes, took his seat on the throne, and delivered a formal address to them.
22 The assembled crowd began shouting, "This is a god's voice, not a human being's!"
23 Immediately, because Herod failed to give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down. He was consumed by worms and died.
24 But God's message continued to expand and multiply.
25 Barnabas and Saul completed their mission and returned from Jerusalem, bringing John, who was called Mark, with them.
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ACT 12: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
