Berean Study Bible (BSB) Reader

Acts 12

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Current outline context

Introduction 1:1–26
Matthias Replaces Judas 1:12–26
Pentecost 2:1–47
The Holy Spirit at Pentecost 2:1–13
Peter Addresses the Crowd 2:14–36
Three Thousand Believe 2:37–41
The Fellowship of Believers 2:42–47
Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Colonnade 3:11–26
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin 4:1–12
The Name Forbidden 4:13–22
The Believer’s Prayer 4:23–31
Sharing among Believers 4:32–37
The Apostles Heal Many 5:12–16
The Apostles Arrested and Freed 5:17–23
The Apostles before the Sanhedrin 5:24–32
Gamaliel’s Advice 5:33–42
The Arrest of Stephen 6:8–15
Stephen’s Defense 7:1–53
Patriarchal Narratives 7:1–19
Joseph Sold into Egypt 7:9–14
Israel Oppressed in Egypt 7:15–19
Moses Narrative 7:20–38
The Birth and Adoption of Moses 7:20–22
The Rejection and Flight of Moses 7:23–29
The Call of Moses 7:30–38
The Rebellion of Israel 7:39–43
The Tabernacle of the Testimony 7:44–50
The Accused becomes the Accuser 7:51–53
The Stoning of Stephen 7:54–60
Witnesses in Judea and Samaria 8:4–12:25
Philip’s Ministry 8:4–40
Simon the Sorcerer 8:9–25
Philip and the Ethiopian 8:26–40
Conversion of Saul of Tarsus 9:1–30
Ananias Baptizes Saul 9:10–19
Saul Preaches at Damascus 9:20–22
The Escape from Damascus 9:23–25
Saul in Jerusalem 9:26–30
The Healing of Aeneas 9:31–35
The Raising of Tabitha 9:36–43
Peter’s Vision 10:9–16
Peter Called to Caesarea 10:17–23
Peter Visits Cornelius 10:24–33
Good News for Gentiles 10:34–43
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit 10:44–48
Peter’s Report at Jerusalem 11:1–18
The Church at Antioch 11:19–30
Herod Persecutes the Church 12:1–25
The Rescue of Peter 12:5–19
The Death of Herod 12:20–25

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1 About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.

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1 study connection

Job 15:25 OpenBible reference

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2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

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2 study connections

Mark 10:38 OpenBible reference
Mark 10:35 OpenBible reference

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3 And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

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8 study connections

Acts 24:27 OpenBible reference
John 12:43 OpenBible reference
Acts 25:9 OpenBible reference
Acts 20:6 OpenBible reference
John 21:18 OpenBible reference
John 19:11 OpenBible reference
Acts 4:13 OpenBible reference
Acts 2:14 OpenBible reference

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4 He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

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1 study connection

Amos 3:37 OpenBible reference

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5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

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2 study connections

Luke 18:1 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:12 OpenBible reference

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6 On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.

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3 study connections

Acts 21:33 OpenBible reference
Acts 28:20 OpenBible reference
Acts 5:23 OpenBible reference

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7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

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11 study connections

Acts 16:26 OpenBible reference
Acts 5:19 OpenBible reference
Acts 27:23 OpenBible reference
Acts 27:24 OpenBible reference
Acts 10:30 OpenBible reference
Acts 2:24 OpenBible reference
Luke 24:4 OpenBible reference
Luke 2:9 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:23 OpenBible reference
Acts 9:3 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:6 OpenBible reference

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8 “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

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9 So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.

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6 study connections

Acts 10:3 OpenBible reference
Acts 26:19 OpenBible reference
John 2:5 OpenBible reference
Acts 10:17 OpenBible reference
Acts 9:10 OpenBible reference
Acts 11:5 OpenBible reference

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10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.

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5 study connections

Acts 16:26 OpenBible reference
Acts 5:19 OpenBible reference
John 20:19 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:4 OpenBible reference
John 20:26 OpenBible reference

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11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

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3 study connections

Job 5:12 OpenBible reference
Job 31:31 OpenBible reference
Job 5:19 OpenBible reference

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12 And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

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10 study connections

1 John 5:14 OpenBible reference
1 John 5:15 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:5 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:25 OpenBible reference
Acts 13:5 OpenBible reference
Acts 4:23 OpenBible reference
Acts 13:13 OpenBible reference
Acts 15:37 OpenBible reference
Acts 15:39 OpenBible reference
Acts 16:40 OpenBible reference

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13 He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

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4 study connections

Acts 12:16 OpenBible reference
Luke 13:25 OpenBible reference
John 18:16 OpenBible reference
John 18:17 OpenBible reference

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14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”

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1 study connection

Job 9:16 OpenBible reference

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15 “You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

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Job 9:16 OpenBible reference

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16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

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Job 9:16 OpenBible reference

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17 Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.

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12 study connections

Acts 21:40 OpenBible reference
Acts 13:16 OpenBible reference
Acts 19:33 OpenBible reference
Acts 21:18 OpenBible reference
Acts 15:13 OpenBible reference
John 11:54 OpenBible reference
John 8:59 OpenBible reference
Luke 1:22 OpenBible reference
John 10:40 OpenBible reference
Acts 16:40 OpenBible reference
John 13:24 OpenBible reference
John 7:1 OpenBible reference

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18 At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

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4 study connections

Acts 5:22 OpenBible reference
Acts 5:25 OpenBible reference
Acts 16:27 OpenBible reference
Acts 19:23 OpenBible reference

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19 After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

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9 study connections

Acts 16:27 OpenBible reference
John 12:10 OpenBible reference
John 12:11 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:4 OpenBible reference
Acts 8:40 OpenBible reference
Acts 12:6 OpenBible reference
Acts 21:8 OpenBible reference
Acts 27:42 OpenBible reference
Acts 25:13 OpenBible reference

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20 Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

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3 study connections

Ezra 3:7 OpenBible reference
Amos 4:6 OpenBible reference
Amos 4:9 OpenBible reference

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21 On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.

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1 study connection

Job 15:21 OpenBible reference

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22 And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

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3 study connections

Job 20:5 OpenBible reference
Job 32:21 OpenBible reference
Job 40:11 OpenBible reference

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23 Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

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10 study connections

Job 20:5 OpenBible reference
Job 32:21 OpenBible reference
Job 34:20 OpenBible reference
Job 19:26 OpenBible reference
Job 7:5 OpenBible reference
Job 12:21 OpenBible reference
Job 15:21 OpenBible reference
Job 15:25 OpenBible reference
Job 33:22 OpenBible reference
Job 40:11 OpenBible reference

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24 But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

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4 study connections

Acts 6:7 OpenBible reference
Acts 19:20 OpenBible reference
Acts 11:21 OpenBible reference
Acts 5:39 OpenBible reference

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25 When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

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7 study connections

Acts 12:12 OpenBible reference
Acts 15:37 OpenBible reference
Acts 11:29 OpenBible reference
Acts 11:30 OpenBible reference
Acts 4:36 OpenBible reference
Acts 13:1 OpenBible reference
Acts 13:52 OpenBible reference

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Study connections for Acts 12

Dictionary

Angel

A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a "messenger," and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam. 11:3; Luke 7:24; 9:52), of prophets (Isa. 42:19; Hag. 1:13), of priests (Mal. 2:7), and ministers of the New Testament (Rev. 1:20). It is also applied to such impersonal agents as the pestilence (2 Sam. 24:16, 17; 2 Kings 19:35), the wind (Ps. 104:4). But its distinctive application is to certain heavenly intelligences whom God employs in carrying on his government of the world. The name does not denote their nature but their office as messengers. The appearances to Abraham at Mamre (Gen. 18:2, 22. Comp. 19:1), to Jacob at Peniel (Gen. 32:24, 30), to Joshua at Gilgal (Josh. 5:13, 15), of the Angel of the Lord, were doubtless manifestations of the Divine presence, "foreshadowings of the incarnation," revelations before the "fulness of the time" of the Son of God. (1.) The existence and orders of angelic beings can only be discovered from the Scriptures. Although the Bible does not treat of this subject specially, yet there are numerous incidental details that furnish us with ample information. Their personal existence is plainly implied in such passages as Gen. 16:7, 10, 11; Judg. 13:1-21; Matt. 28:2-5; Heb. 1:4, etc. These superior beings are very numerous. "Thousand thousands," etc. (Dan. 7:10; Matt. 26:53; Luke 2:13; Heb. 12:22, 23). They are also spoken of as of different ranks in dignity and power (Zech. 1:9, 11; Dan. 10:13; 12:1; 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 1:9; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16). (2.) As to their nature, they are spirits (Heb. 1:14), like the soul of man, but not incorporeal. Such expressions as "like the angels" (Luke 20:36), and the fact that whenever angels appeared to man it was always in a human form (Gen. 18:2; 19:1, 10; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10), and the titles that are applied to them ("sons of God," Job 1:6; 38:7; Dan. 3:25; comp. 28) and to men (Luke 3:38), seem all to indicate some resemblance between them and the human race. Imperfection is ascribed to them as creatures (Job 4:18; Matt. 24:36; 1 Pet. 1:12). As finite creatures they may fall under temptation; and accordingly we read of "fallen angels." Of the cause and manner of their "fall" we are wholly ignorant. We know only that "they left their first estate" (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7, 9), and that they are "reserved unto judgement" (2 Pet. 2:4). When the manna is called "angels' food," this is merely to denote its excellence (Ps. 78:25). Angels never die (Luke 20:36). They are possessed of superhuman intelligence and power (Mark 13:32; 2 Thess. 1:7; Ps. 103:20). They are called "holy" (Luke 9:26), "elect" (1 Tim. 5:21). The redeemed in glory are "like unto the angels" (Luke 20:36). They are not to be worshipped (Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10). (3.) Their functions are manifold. (a) In the widest sense they are agents of God's providence (Ex. 12:23; Ps. 104:4; Heb. 11:28; 1 Cor. 10:10; 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chr. 21:16; 2 Kings 19:35; Acts 12:23). (b) They are specially God's agents in carrying on his great work of redemption. There is no notice of angelic appearances to man till after the call of Abraham. From that time onward there are frequent references to their ministry on earth (Gen. 18; 19; 24:7, 40; 28:12; 32:1). They appear to rebuke idolatry (Judg. 2:1-4), to call Gideon (Judg. 6:11, 12), and to consecrate Samson (13:3). In the days of the prophets, from Samuel downward, the angels appear only in their behalf (1 Kings 19:5; 2 Kings 6:17; Zech. 1-6; Dan. 4:13, 23; 10:10, 13, 20, 21). The Incarnation introduces a new era in the ministrations of angels. They come with their Lord to earth to do him service while here. They predict his advent (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:26-38), minister to him after his temptation and agony (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43), and declare his resurrection and ascension (Matt. 28:2-8; John 20:12, 13; Acts 1:10, 11). They are now ministering spirits to the people of God (Heb. 1:14; Ps. 34:7; 91:11; Matt. 18:10; Acts 5:19; 8:26; 10:3; 12:7; 27:23). They rejoice over a penitent sinner (Luke 15:10). They bear the souls of the redeemed to paradise (Luke 16:22); and they will be the ministers of judgement hereafter on the great day (Matt. 13:39, 41, 49; 16:27; 24:31). The passages (Ps. 34:7, Matt. 18:10) usually referred to in support of the idea that every individual has a particular guardian angel have no such meaning. They merely indicate that God employs the ministry of angels to deliver his people from affliction and danger, and that the angels do not think it below their dignity to minister even to children and to the least among Christ's disciples. The "angel of his presence" (Isa. 63:9. Comp. Ex. 23:20, 21; 32:34; 33:2; Num. 20:16) is probably rightly interpreted of the Messiah as the guide of his people. Others have supposed the expression to refer to Gabriel (Luke 1:19).

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