Acts 12

[Approximately 44 AD]

12:1 Now about that time Herod the king [Herod was offspring of the tribe of Esau.] stretched forth his hands to vex [Injure, harm, and hurt] certain [Members] of the church.

2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

[James is one of the twelve disciples. His brother John is the author of the book of St. John, The Epistles of John and the great book of Revelation.]

3 And because he [Herod] saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

[The Jews mentioned here were Residents of Judea who lived in the area. They were Kenites, the offspring of Cain. They were not of the tribe of Judah.]

4 And when he [Herod] had apprehended him, [Peter] he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers [Sixteen men] to keep him; intending after Easter [Passover] to bring him forth to the people.

[Easter is not in the Greek manuscripts. Paschal should be written in the King James Bible instead of Easter. Paschal meaning Passover. Easter came from Eastar a heathen deity. Easter took place about the same time as Passover. The Church at that time added the name Easter to Passover to bring people to the church. On the heathen day of Easter they rolled eggs of fertility, signifying fertility rights, and orgies were taking place at that time. They brought all this with them to the church. Then they brought the Easter bunny which means quick like rabbit. The rabbit is a fertility symbol because of their fast ability to multiply.
Easter is a heathen festival day not Passover. Jesus Christ became our Passover in 2 Corinthians 5:7&8. Allowing Easter to be involved in Passover is an abomination to Yahveh.]

5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto [To] 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: [He was bound to them.] and the keepers before the door kept the prison. [They were at the door watching.]

7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, [Peter] and a light shined in the prison: and he smote [Hit] Peter on the side, and raised [Woke] him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

[Yahveh [God] was in control.]

8 And the angel said unto [To] him, Gird thyself, [Yourself] and bind on thy [Your] sandals. And so he did. And he saith [Said] unto [To] him, Cast thy [Your] garment about thee, [You] and follow [Accompany] me.

[Gird thyself meaning to reach down between your legs and grab the back of your skirt [Men wore skirts in those days.] and pull it up and tuck it in your belt. Your legs are ready for action then.]

9 And he [Peter] went out, and followed him; and wist not [Didn’t know] that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

[In other words Peter didn’t know what was really happening.]

10 When they were past the first and the second ward, [Cage] they came unto the iron gate that leadeth [Leads] unto [To] the city; which opened to them of his own accord: [By itself] and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith [Then] the angel departed from him.

[As long as you are putting Yahveh [God] first in your life He will be with you, and when you are delivered up as in St. Mark 13:11 He will be with you. Yahveh [God] takes care of his own.
As it is written in St. Matthew 18:10 you have a guardian angel. Let’s go there and see what our Lord Jesus Christ has to say about our guardian angels.]

St. Matthew 18:10

Take heed [Understand clearly] that ye [You] despise not [That you don’t think against] one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels [Your guardian angel] do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.

[In other words your angel always has the attention of Yahveh.]

[Let’s return to Acts 12:11.]

11 And when Peter was come to himself, [When he understood what was going on.] he said, Now I know of a surety, [For sure] that the Lord hath [Has] sent His angel, [It was real and he knew It.] and hath [Has] delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

[In other words Peter’s angel kept the inhabitants of Judea, mostly Kenites in this case from doing what they had in mind to do to him.]

[Herod was a type of anti [Instead of] Christ.]

12 And when he had considered the thing, [When he had thought about it.] he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

[Actually they were praying to Yahveh [God] that He would help Peter.]

[Mark was the author of the Book of St. Mark.]

13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel [A female servant to Yahveh.] came to hearken, [To see who was there.] named Rhoda.

[Rhoda means Rose.]

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.

[She was so happy and excited when she heard Peter’s voice she didn’t open the door, she had to tell the others.]

15 And they said unto [To] her, Thou [You] art [Are] mad. But she constantly affirmed [She kept telling them.] that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

[They thought he was dead and in a spiritual body.]

16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.

[They were astonished because Yahveh [God] had answered their prayers. They didn’t think they would see him alive in the flesh again.]

17 But he, [Peter] beckoning unto [To] them with the hand to hold their peace, [To quite them down.] declared unto [To] them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew [Show] these things unto [To] James, [To the other James, there was two of them.] and to the brethren. [Brothers in Christ] And he departed, and went into another place.

[If the Kenites would have found him there, they all would have been in big trouble.]

18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.

[In other words they were in an uproar because Peter had disappeared.]

19 And when Herod had sought [Looked] for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he [Peter] went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

[In other words he left town and went to Caesarea and resided their.]

20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: [Tyre and Sidon was satan’s main place.] but they came with one accord [All thinking the same way] to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.

[They were blood suckers; they lived off of the king’s country.]

21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed [Dressed] in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.

[In other words he went on and on about how good everything was going to be, and how good he was, like he was God.]

22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

[Actually Herod was a type of anti [Instead of] Christ.]

23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, [He rotted from within.] and gave up the ghost. [His Spirit]

[Herod died and gave up his spirit, his spirit left his body. The instant your flesh body dies you go into your spiritual body.]

24 But the word of God [Yahveh] grew and multiplied.

[It was spreading throughout the region.]

25 And Barnabas and Saul [Paul] returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, [John meaning the grace of God.] whose surname was Mark.

[Mark was the author of the book of St. Mark.]