1. During this same time, King Herod began to do harm to some of those who were part of the church.
2. He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed with a sword.
3. Herod saw that many of the Jews liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
4. He arrested Peter and put him in jail, where he was guarded by a group of 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people, but he wanted to wait until after the Passover festival.
5. So Peter was kept in jail, but the church was constantly praying to God for him.
6. One night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two of the soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. Herod was planning to bring Peter out before the people the next day.
7. Suddenly an angel of the Lord was standing there, and the room was filled with light. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry, get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s hands.
8. The angel said, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.”
9. So the angel went out and Peter followed. He did not know if the angel was really doing this. He thought he might be seeing a vision.
10. Peter and the angel went past the first guard and the second guard. Then they came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened for them by itself. After they went through the gate and walked about a block, the angel suddenly left.