FIRST OF ALL, READ THIS INSTALLMENT OF THE 13TH DISCIPLE
The 13th Disciple
I had headed to the prison to see if there was anything that I could do for Peter. You never know if they let you have contact with the prisoners. Sometimes they let you. Once, I was able to bread some bread and cheese for a poor farmer who spend some time in chains for a robbery I don't think he committed. His family, including uncles and aunts, sent food to take care of him. Good thing; he was nearly starved with the meager rations the prison was giving him. I have helped more than one missionary under house arrest because of preaching. House arrests are pretty tame in comparison, and we can bring food and talk.
This, however, seemed more difficult, and I will admit to you that I was scared. Would they throw me in jail as well, just because i'm a Believer? I stayed near an outdoor fire pit, trying to get up my nerve. I tried to lie down and sleep but my unrest - included with the fact that I was alone outdoors outside the gate of the city - kept me awake. This prison was outside the city walls. I stayed nearby, but not too close. Too many guards around.
I can't tell you how late at night it was when I got up and snuck over in a far view of the front of the prison. The moon was bright that night, but just the same i was in total shock when I saw some people simply walk through the front of the prison. Were visitors allowed this late at night? I thought the law said...
Wait. One of those people is Peter. He was freed! A guard was escorting him back to the city.
That guard was a pretty tough-looking fellow. Lots of muscles and a set jaw of determination. He seemed to be making strides faster than Peter. I didn't want to surprise them, so I followed at a distance. I could hear the guard speaking distinctly but gently. A guard speaking with compassion?
Peter seemed a bit confused, so the guard would gesture and assist him. He must have had some authority; just as they approached the city gate, it swung open. You know those giant iron gates? Swung right open, both of them. They swung so wide that I darted in myself. I took to the shadows so I wouldn't get into any trouble with the gatekeepers, and so I scrambled here and there among the buildings and caught up with peter down the road. Just as I caught up with him - I knew the direction he was heading, over there towards John's mother's house - he turned to me was saying something about '...rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
The guard must have slipped into the shadows and ran back to the prison.
He wasn't surprised to see me, even that late at night. He seemed as confused as I was. I figured I might as well ask him.
"Peter, why would a guard risk everything to get you free? Was he a Believer?"
Peter chuckled. I guess ... well, I guess, yes, you could say that he was a Believer. But he was no guard."
"Oh? He was undercover?" I asked.
"Yes ... well, no," Peter said as he reached the front of Mary's household. He turned to me. "That, my friend, was an angel."
Do you understand me? I walked behind an angel last night.
This, however, seemed more difficult, and I will admit to you that I was scared. Would they throw me in jail as well, just because i'm a Believer? I stayed near an outdoor fire pit, trying to get up my nerve. I tried to lie down and sleep but my unrest - included with the fact that I was alone outdoors outside the gate of the city - kept me awake. This prison was outside the city walls. I stayed nearby, but not too close. Too many guards around.
I can't tell you how late at night it was when I got up and snuck over in a far view of the front of the prison. The moon was bright that night, but just the same i was in total shock when I saw some people simply walk through the front of the prison. Were visitors allowed this late at night? I thought the law said...
Wait. One of those people is Peter. He was freed! A guard was escorting him back to the city.
That guard was a pretty tough-looking fellow. Lots of muscles and a set jaw of determination. He seemed to be making strides faster than Peter. I didn't want to surprise them, so I followed at a distance. I could hear the guard speaking distinctly but gently. A guard speaking with compassion?
Peter seemed a bit confused, so the guard would gesture and assist him. He must have had some authority; just as they approached the city gate, it swung open. You know those giant iron gates? Swung right open, both of them. They swung so wide that I darted in myself. I took to the shadows so I wouldn't get into any trouble with the gatekeepers, and so I scrambled here and there among the buildings and caught up with peter down the road. Just as I caught up with him - I knew the direction he was heading, over there towards John's mother's house - he turned to me was saying something about '...rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
The guard must have slipped into the shadows and ran back to the prison.
He wasn't surprised to see me, even that late at night. He seemed as confused as I was. I figured I might as well ask him.
"Peter, why would a guard risk everything to get you free? Was he a Believer?"
Peter chuckled. I guess ... well, I guess, yes, you could say that he was a Believer. But he was no guard."
"Oh? He was undercover?" I asked.
"Yes ... well, no," Peter said as he reached the front of Mary's household. He turned to me. "That, my friend, was an angel."
Do you understand me? I walked behind an angel last night.
The fact that God has created a realm of personal beings other than mankind is a fitting topic for systematic theological studies for it naturally broadens our understanding of God, of what He is doing, and how He works in the universe.
We are not to think that man is the highest form of created being. As the distance between man and the lower forms of life is filled with beings of various grades, so it is possible that between man and God there exist creatures of higher than human intelligence and power. Indeed, the existence of lesser deities in all heathen mythologies presumes the existence of a higher order of beings between God and man, superior to man and inferior to God. This possibility is turned into certainty by the express and explicit teaching of the Scriptures. It would be sad indeed if we should allow ourselves to be such victims of sense perception and so materialistic that we should refuse to believe in an order of spiritual beings simply because they were beyond our sight and touch. - BIBLE.ORG
We are not to think that man is the highest form of created being. As the distance between man and the lower forms of life is filled with beings of various grades, so it is possible that between man and God there exist creatures of higher than human intelligence and power. Indeed, the existence of lesser deities in all heathen mythologies presumes the existence of a higher order of beings between God and man, superior to man and inferior to God. This possibility is turned into certainty by the express and explicit teaching of the Scriptures. It would be sad indeed if we should allow ourselves to be such victims of sense perception and so materialistic that we should refuse to believe in an order of spiritual beings simply because they were beyond our sight and touch. - BIBLE.ORG
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