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Imprisonment Roles Placed With King's PrisonersImprisonment roles placed Potiphar became very angry and threw Joseph in the same prison where the kings prisoners were kept. While Joseph was in prison, the Lord helped him and was good to him. Genesis 39:19-21 Rebuking seer imprisoned Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said: You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the Lord your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. Imprisonment roles placed Remember how powerful the Ethiopian and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the Lord to help you then, and you defeated them. The Lord is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again. When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people. 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 Deterrent to crime When we see criminals commit crime after crime without being punished, it makes us want to start a life of crime. Ecclesiastes 8:11House prison They were angry and ordered the soldiers to beat me. Imprisonment roles placed Then I was taken to the house that belonged to Jonathan, one of the kings officials. It had been turned into a prison, and I was kept in a basement room. After I had spent a long time there, King Zedekiah secretly had me brought to his palace, where he asked, Is there any message for us from the Lord? Yes, there is, Your Majesty, I replied. The Lord is going to let the king of Babylonia capture you. Jeremiah 37:15-17 Set free by angels The high priest and all the other Sadducees who were with him became jealous. Imprisonment roles placed They arrested the apostles and put them in the city jail. But that night an angel from the Lord opened the doors of the jail and led the apostles out. The angel said, Go to the temple and tell the people everything about this new life. So they went into the temple before sunrise and started teaching. Acts 5:17-21 Prison escape At that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. Imprisonment roles placed When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival. While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him. Peter Is Rescued The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. Imprisonment roles placed A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, Quick! Get up! The chains fell off his hands, and the angel said, Get dressed and put on your sandals. Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, Imprisonment roles placed Now put on your coat and follow me. Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. They went past the two groups of soldiers, and when they came to the iron gate to the city, it opened by itself. They went out and were going along the street, when all at once the angel disappeared. Acts 12:1-10 Set free by earthquake One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners. Imprisonment roles placed The girl followed Paul and the rest of us and kept yelling, These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved. This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone! At once the evil spirit left her. When the girls owners realized that they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court. They told the officials, These Jews are upsetting our city! They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do. The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Imprisonment roles placed Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. Imprisonment roles placed The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted, Dont harm yourself! No one has escaped. The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, What must I do to be saved? They replied, Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home. Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. They were very glad that they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat. Imprisonment roles placed The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. The jailer told Paul, The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace. But Paul told the police, We are Roman citizens, and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out. When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. So they came and apologized. Imprisonment roles placed They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lords followers and encouraged them. Then they left. Acts 16:16-40 Paul arrested in Jerusalem The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. Imprisonment roles placed So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered. As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. Acts 21:30-33 Imprisoned aboard ship When it was time for us to sail to Rome, Captain Julius from the Emperors special troops was put in charge of Paul and the other prisoners. Imprisonment roles placed We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to some ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus from Thessalonica in Macedonia sailed on the ship with us. Acts 27:1-2 Prison epistles I was sent to do this work, and thats the reason I am in jail. So pray that I will be brave and will speak as I should. Ephesians 6:20 And because of this message, I am locked up in jail and treated like a criminal. But Gods good news isnt locked in jail, and so I am willing to put up with anything. Then Gods special people will be saved. Imprisonment roles placed They will be given eternal glory because they belong to Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:9-10 I beg you to help Onesimus! He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. Philemon 10 I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. Philemon 13 You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work that God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail. Philippians 1:7 Imprisonment roles placed The Roman guards and all the others know that I am here in jail because I serve Christ. Now most of the Lords followers have become brave and are fearlessly telling the message. Philippians 1:13-14 They love Christ and know that I am here to defend the good news about him. Philippians 1:16 Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. Colossians 4:3 Imprisonment roles placed I am signing this letter myself: PAUL. Dont forget that I am in jail. I pray that God will be kind to you. Colossians 4:18 Satan imprisoned I saw an angel come down from heaven, carrying the key to the deep pit and a big chain. He chained the dragon for a thousand years. It is that old snake, who is also known as the devil and Satan. Imprisonment roles placed Then the angel threw the dragon into the pit. He locked and sealed it, so that a thousand years would go by before the dragon could fool the nations again. But after that, it would have to be set free for a little while. Revelation 20:1-3 At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be set free. He will fool the countries of Gog and Magog, which are at the far ends of the earth, and their people will follow him into battle. Imprisonment roles placed They will have as many followers as there are grains of sand along the beach, 9 and they will march all the way across the earth. They will surround the camp of Gods people and the city that his people love. But fire will come down from heaven and destroy the whole army. Revelation 20:7-9
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