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Peter escapes from prison

Peter, an Angel, a girl called Rhoda and prayer.
Contributed by Lars-Goran Ronnberg
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese, German
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King Herod felt threatened that so many people were following Jesus. So he arrested James, the brother of John, and had him executed. This made him very popular with the Chief priest and Jewish leaders. – Slide 1
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So that got Herod thinking, ‘If I imprison Peter and execute him, I'll become even more popular! What a great idea!’ – Slide 2
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So King Herod had Peter imprisoned in the great fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem. – Slide 3
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That night, 16 soldiers were guarding Peter. He was chained between two soldiers and others kept guard on the doors. The soldiers were very surprised to see how well Peter slept and that he was not at all worried about what would happen next. – Slide 4
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‘For a man who is going to be executed it’s strange he can sleep so well,’ a soldier muttered. – Slide 5
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In the middle of the night, while everyone was asleep, an angel of God came down from heaven. A bright light illuminated the prison cell. The angel nudged Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains broke and fell off Peter’s wrists. <br/>‘Put on your clothes and sandals,’ said the angel. ‘Wrap your cloak around yourself and follow me.’ <br/>None of the soldiers woke or noticed anything. – Slide 6
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The angel led Peter out of the prison past all the guards who did not see them. – Slide 7
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As they approached the great iron gate in the wall of the prison entrance, God opened it and they walked out into the street. – Slide 8
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Peter stood outside the prison wondering if he was dreaming. – Slide 9
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But suddenly the angel disappeared, and Peter was alone. – Slide 10
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He looked around and gasped. God had rescued him from King Herod. Peter hurried off to a house where many of the disciples had gathered to pray. – Slide 11
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Inside the house, a servant girl called Rhoda heard a knock on the door. – Slide 12
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Then she heard Peter´s quiet voice asking to be let in. She was so delighted to hear Peter´s voice she did not open the door but ... – Slide 13
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… rushed to tell the others who had been praying for Peter. ‘Peter is at the door,’ she exclaimed. – Slide 14
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‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. ‘Now we must continue to pray to God for Peter.’ – Slide 15
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Peter kept knocking and others went to the door and heard his voice begging them to let him in. – Slide 16
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When they opened the door they were both very surprised and happy. Peter signaled with his hand that they must be silent. – Slide 17
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They quickly ushered him inside and began to praise God together. – Slide 18
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When the soldiers awoke in the morning, they were greatly alarmed to find that Peter was gone. Herod was angry and had the soldiers guarding Peter severely punished. Herod himself died shortly afterwards of a serious illness. – Slide 19
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Peter, on the other hand, continued to preach about Jesus. He also wrote two letters to the Christians. And those two letters are in our Bible. In the letters, he urges all Christians to continue to believe and follow Jesus. Peter suffered martyrdom for Jesus under Emperor Nero in Rome sometime between the years 60-67. – Slide 20
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Slide 21