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Thursday, September 3 2009
The persecution of the church by Herod Agrippa I (see The Herods):
"12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 12:3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread [see Fundamentals Of True Christianity: Lesson 12]. 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter [note that the King James use of "Easter" in this verse was a blatant mistranslation of Passover; practically all other translations correctly translate Passover as Passover in this verse - as does the King James itself in other verses in the King James] to bring him forth to the people." (Acts 12:1-4 KJV)
"He came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying"
The time of Peter's prophesied martyrdom (see Peter's Prophecy) was not yet, so the LORD sent an angel to remove him from the custody of the Roman occupation forces (see Ancient Empires - Rome) that had invaded the land of Judah (see also Landmark).
"12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.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. 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
12:8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 12:9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. 12:10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
12:11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews." (Acts 12:5-11 KJV)
Peter had a home and a wife in Capernaum, up in Galilee ("8:14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever" Matthew 8:14 KJV), but in the south, in Jerusalem, he needed a place to go for refuge. He went to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (who wrote the Gospel book of Mark) - a house where the church, the people of God, met and prayed.
"12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. 12:13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 12:14 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.12:15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
12:16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. 12:17 "But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place." (Acts 12:12-17 KJV)
Fact Finder: (a) What is the correct Biblical meaning of "church"? (b) Due to persecution and rejection by the politically-powerful false-Christian "churches of the world," where have God's true people often resorted to meet, such as in the above-quoted example of the house of Mary, the mother of Mark?
(a) See What Is The Church? and Church of God
(b) See Houses Of The Holy
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This Day In History, September 3
1189: Richard I (Richard the Lion-Heart) was crowned king of England.
1260: The Battle of Ayn Jalut, a decisive victory of the Mamluks of Egypt over the invading Mongols, which saved Egypt and Islam and prevented the western expansion of the Mongol empire.
1658: Oliver Cromwell, "lord protector" of England, died at age 59.
1752: Britain and the American colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (named after Roman Catholic Pope Gregory XIII - see Pope Gregory's Calendar), replacing the less accurate Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar). To implement the new calendar, 11 days were officially omitted that year i.e. September 2 was followed by September 14. Some people rioted, accusing the government of stealing 11 days of life from them.
1783: The Treaty of Paris was signed between Britain and the newly-created United States, officially ending the American Revolutionary War.
1939: Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France and India declared war on Germany in response to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland 2 days earlier. The beginning of the Second World War in Europe.
1940: The United States traded Britain 50 navy destroyers in exchange for rights to build an American military base in Newfoundland, which was then a British colony. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1948.
1944: British troops liberated Brussels.
1975: Viking 2 landed on Mars.
1978: Albino Luciani was coronated as Pope John Paul I. He died only 34 days later, some say under mysterious circumstances, at age 66. He was succeeded by Polish-born Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, 58, who took the name Pope John Paul II - the first non-Italian Catholic pope in 450 years.
