Act 12:7 | KingComments | STEP | While Luke, in , has once again drawn attention to how firm the guarding of Peter is, we now see how the Lord is mocking it. He sends one of His angels to the prison cell in which Peter is sleeping. With the angel He brings heavenly light there. Peter doesn’t wake up because of it, so the angel has to strike him (cf. ). Then he gets the command to get up “quickly”. The fact of the supernatural deliverance doesn’t mean that Peter doesn’t have to do the necessary things himself and also do it quickly. God has set a certain time for deliverance and within that time it must happen. God’s intervention and what man has to do coincide here again. To enable the quick rise, the chains fall from his hands. The chains are not a problem to God, just like closed doors or tombs. The falling off of the chains will be accompanied by noise. We can assume that the guards have been put into a deep sleep by God. Just as the guards who had to guard the tomb of the Lord Jesus were put aside, so these guard are put aside by God. There, at the appearance of an angel, the guards “became like dead men” ( ). Here, they notice nothing about it. God treats them as if they were not there. They do not wake up from the light or the noise. The angel then gives Peter practical directions for his escape. The angel has unfastened the chains, but he must put on his sandals himself and also wrap his cloak around himself. To put on his sandals he has to bend down and after that he can walk. Wouldn’t Peter, every time he put on his sandals afterward, often be reminded of this extraordinary deliverance? Wouldn’t his trust in the Lord be encouraged by it? Peter does what the angel says and follows him outside. That is all he has to do at that moment. He experiences it as if he is dreaming. This is a reminder of the experience the faithful remnant will also have when they are delivered by the Lord from the greatest need in the last days ( ). On his way to freedom, following the angel, they pass two guards without them sounding the alarm. The iron gate that forms a final hindrance to freedom opens by itself, that is, God’s mighty arm opens the way to freedom. When they have passed through it, they are in the city. The angel goes on one more street and then his service is over. He disappears without saying anything else and returns to heaven to stand before the Lord, ready to be sent out for the next service. So now Peter stands there alone. Then he comes to himself. He realizes that he is free and that nothing of Herod’s expectations or those of the people of the Jews will come to pass (cf. ). We see that Peter is also aware of the close connection between these enemies of Christendom. As said, this close connection between Herod and the people of the Jews is a type of the connection between the antichrist and the apostate mass of the Jewish people in the end time. His deliverance does not make him careless. He knows he has to leave that place. Now that we have before us the death of James and the deliverance of Peter, the question arises: Why is James killed and why is Peter delivered from prison? These questions arise, but cannot be answered by us. These are God’s ways of government that we cannot fathom. Here it suits us to fully trust God that He is not mistaken.

‏ Acts 12:7

Peter Delivered

While Luke, in Acts 12:6, has once again drawn attention to how firm the guarding of Peter is, we now see how the Lord is mocking it. He sends one of His angels to the prison cell in which Peter is sleeping. With the angel He brings heavenly light there. Peter doesn’t wake up because of it, so the angel has to strike him (cf. 1Kgs 19:5).

Then he gets the command to get up “quickly”. The fact of the supernatural deliverance doesn’t mean that Peter doesn’t have to do the necessary things himself and also do it quickly. God has set a certain time for deliverance and within that time it must happen. God’s intervention and what man has to do coincide here again.

To enable the quick rise, the chains fall from his hands. The chains are not a problem to God, just like closed doors or tombs. The falling off of the chains will be accompanied by noise. We can assume that the guards have been put into a deep sleep by God. Just as the guards who had to guard the tomb of the Lord Jesus were put aside, so these guard are put aside by God. There, at the appearance of an angel, the guards “became like dead men” (Mt 28:4). Here, they notice nothing about it. God treats them as if they were not there. They do not wake up from the light or the noise.

The angel then gives Peter practical directions for his escape. The angel has unfastened the chains, but he must put on his sandals himself and also wrap his cloak around himself. To put on his sandals he has to bend down and after that he can walk. Wouldn’t Peter, every time he put on his sandals afterward, often be reminded of this extraordinary deliverance? Wouldn’t his trust in the Lord be encouraged by it?

Peter does what the angel says and follows him outside. That is all he has to do at that moment. He experiences it as if he is dreaming. This is a reminder of the experience the faithful remnant will also have when they are delivered by the Lord from the greatest need in the last days (Psa 126:1).

On his way to freedom, following the angel, they pass two guards without them sounding the alarm. The iron gate that forms a final hindrance to freedom opens by itself, that is, God’s mighty arm opens the way to freedom. When they have passed through it, they are in the city. The angel goes on one more street and then his service is over. He disappears without saying anything else and returns to heaven to stand before the Lord, ready to be sent out for the next service.

So now Peter stands there alone. Then he comes to himself. He realizes that he is free and that nothing of Herod’s expectations or those of the people of the Jews will come to pass (cf. Rom 15:30-31). We see that Peter is also aware of the close connection between these enemies of Christendom. As said, this close connection between Herod and the people of the Jews is a type of the connection between the antichrist and the apostate mass of the Jewish people in the end time. His deliverance does not make him careless. He knows he has to leave that place.

Now that we have before us the death of James and the deliverance of Peter, the question arises: Why is James killed and why is Peter delivered from prison? These questions arise, but cannot be answered by us. These are God’s ways of government that we cannot fathom. Here it suits us to fully trust God that He is not mistaken.