God Puts His Light On A Lampstand For The Whole House To See

5 But because Peter was kept in the prison, prayer was being continually offered by the church to God for him. 6 And when he was to be presented before Herod, that same morning Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound securely with two chains; both of the guards before the door were also watching the prison. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared like a light shining in the cell, striking the side of Peter, startling him awake, saying, "Arise quickly!" Immediately falling off were those chains from his hands. 8 So the angel said to him, "Prepare yourself and tie on your sandals;" as he did so, he also said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." 9 Following him out, he was perplexed by the reality of what was happening, thinking he was seeing a vision because of the angel. 10 Passing through the first and second guard-post, they came to the gate of iron that leads into the city, which automatically opened for them. Going through, they went down a single lane, and suddenly the angel disappeared from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I truly know that the angel was sent of the Lord, and that it was He who has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the anticipation of the people of the Judean heritage. (MAST)

5 But because Peter was kept in the prison, prayer was being continually offered by the church to God for him. In contrast to the motives of Herod, to destroy the hopes of these Christians to have their theology heard on par with the rest of the nation, the believers sought the hand of God to deliver their most outspoken leader. The church knew what was to become of Peter, hearing their fellow countrymen accusing him of treason and blasphemy. The Jewish mob wanted blood, and Herod was well pleased to give it to them. These were people who were under the same theological depravity that cried out for the crucifixion of Christ. This wasn't preparation for persecution; this was persecution. Peter was well loved by the church, so this continual prayer shows the type of love that was operated by these Christians. The type of prayer spoken of is not just a few people, for a few minutes, throwing up a prayer before God. This is written by the Spirit as a singular prayer. Notice that is doesn't say the church offered prayers but prayer. They were praying together as one mind, with one will and one purpose, and offered this during the whole length of Peter's arrest. So it may be safe "to assume" that they were fasting also, but the text doesn't promise this. But if you were going to offer persistent prayer, food would not be first on the mind of such a faithful group. They feared for the life of Peter, especially since James was just openly killed with the sword, and so they went to God in prayer for him. They wanted him, specifically him. I believe that is why Herod isn't struck down by the angel of the Lord until after Peter's release. For upon his release, the direction of their prayers would have come under new management, and been more violent against sin and it's dominion over them. And so the saga continued until the dominion of sin was broken, but the Lord answers this with Herod's violent death, to demonstrate that the Lord rules the hearts of men, with an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and in this case life for life because Herod was responsible for premeditated murder, and carried it out to the pride of his own glory (Acts 12:23). If we are not specific in our prayers, God will not be in the details of our life before Him, and you can take it to the bank that the devils absolutely will. But if we are specific, God will be in the details for the sanctification and salvation of those chosen for His glory and for His honor. So they were in a fight for their very life, both body and soul; and therefore, Peter's new management wasn't going to permit Herod's household of sin to have dominion over the household of faith because Herod's god (himself) was no god at all. 6 And when he was to be presented before Herod, that same morning Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound securely with two chains; both of the guards before the door were also watching the prison. Herod had made an appointment for Peter ... with death, and the dawn was on the rise of which this death was to knock on Peter's door. But before the dawn of this day, Peter would be set free from this man-made appointment with death, to demonstrate the superiority of the Lord's dominion. Little is often said about Peter sleeping in the face of death. But it should be duly noted that Peter, on the morning of his trial, was peacefully sleeping between the faces of the men who would potentially be the ones to separate his head from his body at the murderous orders of Herod. It's not that the Lord is against the death penalty but that Peter (in this case) is sentenced to this capital punishment unjustly, and of a crime against [the name of God] that the State just has no jurisdiction to enforce by means of the sword. It was for freedom of speech and freedom of conscience that Peter was on trial. The Jews wanted Peter's blood for blaspheming the name of their so-called God, and Herod wanted blood to demonstrate his new power and authority, but Peter just wanted to peacefully, though publically, proclaim the whole message of the Gospel of God. And in spite of all this, God was demonstrating, even in this, the ongoing news of the gospel, for this too, will demonstrate the superiority of the Lord's power over the State. So, Peter being completely at rest while this wild mob and blood-thirsty king plot to kill him should remind us of the Omnipotence of the Lord when he also was fast asleep in a boat in the midst of a raging storm. Matthew 8:23–27 (NKJV) 23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Here is where Peter first learned to trust the omnipotence of the Lord. It is because Peter knew the power of the Lord first hand that his faith permitted him to rest so securely between two faces of evil, the face of the Jewish mob and the face of Herod's lust for prestige; and yet Peter was as a calm and peaceful breeze, with no fear in his heart to die in demonstration for the love of this gospel message. The Lord's omnipotence should cause every devil to fear (Matt.8:29) but every little child of the faith to live in peace with His benevolent love, for this is the Omnipotence that saves. Does the love of God control you? Does the love of God restrain you to His rest and ways of peace? Are you chained to His omnipotence? Has His love arrested you? Can you walk through the valley of the shadow of death (the Devil's accusation of your sin) and fear no evil because His love has been poured out into the emptiness, the void, the dark abyss of your heart?(Rom.5:5;2Cor.5:14) If the devils, the winds, and the seas obey Him, surely you can find rest for your souls in His omnipotent and sovereign, arresting love! Surely you can be chained between the body of your death and the judgment of the face of evil, and still find rest in the joy of His love for your soul, in the face of Christ's Omnipotent righteousness to free you from sin's dominion (in your soul). Now while these soldiers were guarding the prison, watching the nakedness of Peter, the door of their hearts was left unguarded to watch and pray over their own sin. For two of these fell asleep with the truth of God staring at them in the face. Two of these were at ease with their own sin and thought themselves free of sin's corruption. And it was sin's dominion that ordered them to lock up the truth and serve the lie. This very day these two soldiers would face the shadow of death without any peace or grace from God. But what about the two who were watching Peter's door? Grace was about to walk through it, and these two were blind to the power of God's love; their eyes wide open, yet not able to see the love of God pass in the midst of them; their hearts hardened to His love by the deceitfulness of sin. This Omnipotent love will walk right past them a second time and they still choose not to drop their swords and follow Him. This very day these two would also lose their life to the mask of hatred (a false love for a false honor) that they truly served with their hearts full devotion. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared like a light shining in the cell, striking the side of Peter, startling him awake, saying, "Arise quickly!" Immediately falling off were those chains from his hands. The soldiers chained to Peter were blind to their spiritual depravity, but were also most likely sleeping on the job. The text doesn’t give us the necessary information to judge if they were asleep, but it's a fair estimate that they were not able to discern the evil of the situation they were placed in. So when this angel appears, all four men watching him, two of which under lock and key with him, were all blind to the light of this angel and the power of God on Peter’s life. This is a similar experience that occurred in Caesarea to Cornelius. But there is no talk of a vision except that Peter couldn't discern that this was really happening as it was happening. He didn't believe this was reality until he was actually out of the prison and alone on the path to the house of Mary. The power of the unseen battle is so bright that if we were aware of it 100 % of the time our eyes too would think that we have seen a vision. But the reality is that this battle goes on around us all of the time, unaware of how it works for our good. Angles who never receive a thank you for their service are continually serving the will of God for our salvific end. Consider this dark cell. It is designed to keep any light from the outside entering in, to hold the accused alone with his dark and evil motivations and to snuff out any hope of life in isolation from light's mercy. These four prison guards served the darkness of this cell, and were also chained to its power over their soul, to delude them. These four men were residents here, even in this cell, as much as the accused, and maybe more so. So when this light appears, it appears to the soul that has been made alive to the power of God; it appeared to the innocent soul whose hope is in the light of Christ; it appeared to the man who had been appointed as a witness of the light's power, but to these four soldiers this light did not appear.

2 Peter 1:16–21 (NKJV) 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Peter has seen this light before, a light that clothes the elect angels and sons of God who have gone on to glory. A light that radiated off of the Word made flesh in His transfigured presence with the Father. A light that only the sons of light can perceive (1Thess.5:4-11), for they alone are partakers of its nature. This light is a knowledge of the Holy One and is a garment that covers the nakedness of flesh and blood, to fill the soul with the power to be unstained by the dark desires of the flesh. This Angel of light was sent to free Peter from this poverty and power of darkness so that the enemies of the LORD are made a footstool of His light (Heb.1:13-14). Their best efforts to put out this light only magnifies it. God's will for this Word of light to spread cannot be choked out by the darkness. The light is too strong for the will of man. Where this light chooses to shine, there is no door or inner room where this light cannot penetrate, and there is no lifeless substance that this light cannot revive. So the question is, why don't these soldiers arise to attention at the power of this light? Why do they continue to dream to be the next prince of darkness? Surely, there must be a reflection of this light in their armor. Aren't these men protectors of the land and its peace? There must be some what of a reflection of goodness in their metallic armor. No, not these men. These men were not God-fearers like Cornelius had been. These men served the pride of the flesh and the lusts of their dreams. Their armor protected the pride of life and a love for this world's sinful desires. They cared nothing for the glory of Christ or the light of His image, and so there was no light shining in their armor to reflect His light. These men were wholly of this carnal world and of its substance of the lifeless dust. There was no light in them to behold the face and glory of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 (NKJV) 1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Peter was a son of the light's mercy because the Word of God has shone in his heart. But notice that Paul recognizes the fact that there is (a god) that has blinded the minds of those who are perishing without this light. Later, this man Herod is killed by God for crediting himself with the nature of the Light of God (Acts 12:23) apart from the witness of the Word of God. And so these soldiers, staring into the face of Peter, had an opportunity to respond to the witness of the light in the face of the Word of God, but chose to follow the orders of the god of that present age (Herod), to hold the Word of God in contempt and in the chains of darkness, yet the witness of Christ proved greater in strength. Peter had a testimony to complete, and it was the will of God for him to complete it (Phil.1:6). So while this light was not veiled to the eyes of Peter, it passed over the eyes that loved darkness (Jn.3:20). These men would not rise from their deceitful slumber and sinful stupor to investigate this light because their present love for this world consumed their thoughts. They loved the pleasures that Herod provided them and his darkness stained and clouded the armor that covered their heart. And so there was no room on it for the reflection of the light of the Lord's angel, being held under the darkness of Herod's kingdom and the false promise of their carnal dreams. This armor is not strong enough to protect them from the vengeance of the light of the LORD (Matt.10:28). 8 So the angel said to him, "Prepare yourself and tie on your sandals;" as he did so, he also said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." But Peter arose and stood to his feet at full attention to the light. Though somewhat dazed and confused at the awe of this power, he quickly gathered himself and followed the angel out. So often, as Christians, when we only choose to perceive the sin we are shackled to, we become weighed down by its deceptive power which holds us under its darkness, but this is because we also choose to forget to behold the light of Christ's power. While we should never ignore the fact that sin will always be a part of our fallen human nature, there is a nature that, as believers, we are make partakers of; and this nature is what gives us the power to live in this body of darkness and still be a body of light (Lk.11:33-36). The light of this nature is to keep us unstained by the body of sin and to overcome its temptations (James 1:27;1Jn.3:3), walking in the light as Christ was in the Light. Christ is the garment of light that covers our propensity to sin and acts as the armor that guards our soul from sin's destruction (Gal.5:18-26). Romans 13:11–14 (NKJV) 11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. This is not the armor that Herod's soldiers were wearing. The chains that held Peter to two of the soldiers were already fallen from his hands. In beholding the light of Christ, like Peter, we are to be reminded that our sin no longer has power to restrain us from obeying and honoring the light. There is nothing that restrains us from doing the will of God. We are like Peter in this dark cell awakened by the power of the light. We just need to get up and walk out of the presence of sin's power. Now while we are still the body, we are never freed from sin's presence, only its power, but the nature of the light is always present with us to lead us out of its decaying bondage. Christian sinner, if you find yourself drowning in despair of sin, behold the light; the chains of sin have fallen from you, and you can rise and go to your Master's will. There is nothing pulling you under but your unbelief. Go to Him, and find life for your soul. Dress for action, and go to war against the god of this age who has blinded the minds of unbelievers. Go and pray with the saints who are together divine partakers of this same light, partakers of the Word of God, partakers of this common salvation together.