Acts 12:6
And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
On the last night before Herod Agrippa intended to bring him out to be put to death, Peter lay sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains fastened to their wrists, with keepers guarding the door and sixteen soldiers set to watch him in turn. Though doomed and closely held in a rock-hewn cell with bolts and bars, he slept soundly and peacefully with a clear conscience and complete trust in God. Heaven sent a mighty holy angel on a mission of mercy to rescue him, showing that God knows and cares for His trusting children in danger and connects heaven with earth by angelic ministry. With all human help shut off and escape impossible, Herod in lifting his hand against Omnipotence was utterly defeated, for man's extremity is God's opportunity to make His triumph complete. God did not forget Peter but freed him from Herod's power because He cares for the true and faithful and still had work for him to do.
Night Before Execution
The Herod who held Peter was Herod Agrippa, ruler of Judea under Claudius the Roman emperor and tetrarch of Galilee, a professed proselyte to the Jewish faith zealous for the ceremonies of the Jewish law who persecuted the church of Christ to obtain the favor of the Jews and make secure his offices and honors, spoiling the houses and goods of believers and imprisoning leading members of the church. He had James the brother of John killed with the sword to please the Jews, as another Herod had beheaded John, and because the Jews were well pleased he seized Peter also and cast him into prison bound and guarded for death. The verse describes the last night before Herod intended to bring him forth to execution and put him to death the next day.
Peter lay between two soldiers bound with two chains, sleeping on the night before his appointed execution while guards watched the prison door and entrance. Each chain was fastened to the wrist of a guard, so that he could not move without their knowledge. The barred prison and watch cut off escape or rescue by human means and left no possibility of deliverance except by God.
The cell was rock-hewn, cut off by massive rock, with prison doors securely fastened, bolted and barred and a strong guard before them. He was put under sixteen soldiers guarding in different watches day and night, with four on watch at a time, made answerable for him with their own lives and therefore especially vigilant. Precautions were intensified because Peter and John had previously escaped prison, and the chains, barred doors, bolts and Roman guard left no possibility of rescue or escape by human means. In the morning the bolts and bars remained secure and the guards were still at their posts, yet human precautions could not prevent God from intervening to save Peter from the death the Jews desired.
He was stripped of his sandals and outer garment, asleep bound between two soldiers with cruel irons on his wrists that left them swollen. Herod had arranged a conspicuous show of armed force to prevent escape, intimidate Peter's sympathizers, and display his power. The guards, bolts, bars and chains could not prevent God from delivering him, so that in the morning the prisoner was gone though the guards and prison appeared secure.
Peaceful Sleep Trusting
Though doomed to death and closely held, Peter was sleeping peacefully on the night before his execution, chained between two soldiers and held under close watch. His rest was sound and renewing, as usual, not intimidated, resting in the face of danger even though he could not move or free himself. That sleep reflected innocence and a clear and good conscience, with complete and perfect trust in God.
He believed the time had come to die for Christ and to give his life for Him. While he was bound, believers prayed for him yet expected he would suffer death, after James had been beheaded to please the Jews. When the angel came, the light filling and illuminating the cell did not wake him. He awoke only when he felt the angel's touch and heard the voice saying Arise up quickly, then waking enough to see his cell illuminated and an angel of great glory standing before him.
Heaven Delivers Faithful
This night introduces a rescue by a mighty holy angel sent from heaven on a mission of mercy, one example of how holy angels in all ages minister to God's people. Peter lies doomed in the dungeon on the last night before proposed execution, sleeping the peaceful sleep of perfect trust while light surrounding the angel fills the cell without rousing him until he feels the touch of the angel's hand and hears the voice saying Arise up quickly. He awakens enough to see his cell illuminated by the light of heaven and an angel of great glory standing before him, and as he rises and lifts his hands the chains fall from his wrists.
The account shows God employs angels to communicate with human beings and sends them as powerful helpers and guides of His chosen messengers on earth, with instruction often given to men by immortal messengers. It reveals the close connection between heaven and earth, that Heaven knows the circumstances and needs of people in danger and that God's care reaches His trusting children even through ordinary human needs and simple details. On this night Peter is held between two soldiers with a chain fastened to each guard so he cannot move without their knowledge, the prison doors secured and guards watching them and the entrance, leaving no possibility of escape or rescue by human means, yet God's angels guard him while believers pray for him.
The shutting off of all human help only made more complete the triumph of God in his deliverance, for man's extremity is God's opportunity. Because of the former escape of the apostles from prison, Herod put him under sixteen soldiers guarding in different watches day and night, in a rock-hewn cell between two soldiers and bound by two chains each fastened to the wrist of one soldier so he could not move without their knowledge, with the prison doors securely fastened, bolted and barred and a strong guard before them made answerable for him, cutting off all chance of rescue or escape by human means. In holding him Herod was lifting his hand against Omnipotence to kill God's servant and save the precious life the Jews were plotting to destroy, and was to be utterly defeated and humiliated when God by the putting forth of His might saved him.
God did not forget Peter but sent His mighty angel to deliver him from Herod's power and his persecutor because He always cares for the true and faithful and still had work for him to do. He had been cast into prison after James was beheaded because it pleased the Jews, bound and guarded for death the next day, while prayers were made in his behalf by believers who expected he would suffer death. Herod intended to put him to death, but God rescued him, and Herod later remembered that rescue as he faced judgment for persecuting Christ's followers.
In the morning the bolts and bars remained secure and the soldiers, chains, doors and guards remained in place and at their posts, yet Peter was gone, showing divine power had frustrated Herod's plan and thwarted his purpose. The guards were especially vigilant because their own lives would answer for the prisoner's escape, and Herod had arranged a conspicuous show of armed force to prevent escape, intimidate sympathizers, and display his power. Herod refused to acknowledge God's power and instead ordered the guards executed.
At the angel's presence the prison was illuminated with bright light and the doors flew open and Peter's bands were loosed as he rose. Sleeping and awakened by the angel's touch, he was so amazed and astonished that he thought he saw a vision and thought not of his garments until told to gird himself and put on his sandals. Led past the guards and out through the prison doors and gate, he was left alone after the angel departed in a familiar silent street with cool night air on his brow and profound darkness after the heavenly light faded, in a part of the city he had often frequented and had expected to pass for the last time on the way to execution. Stripped before of sandals and outer garment with cruel irons on wrists left swollen, he now examined himself and found himself fully dressed and girded with wrists free from manacles, and knew of a surety that the Lord had sent His angel and delivered him out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews, blessed reality and no delusion, dream or vision.
God can open prison doors and iron gates to free His servants, just as He can release the words of life from the chains that conceal them. Peter's imprisonment for proclaiming Jesus after the resurrection though human law forbade preaching exemplifies obeying God rather than man. Taking a stand for truth against prevailing iniquity brings reproach, persecution and strait places, especially when the message goes with a loud cry, because the whole world will not be in harmony with the law, and believers still have a message to bear wherever they are and must constantly let their light shine, even inside prison walls.