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Acts 12:1-11
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
I believe I had a genuine encounter with a genuine angel. It was a Sunday morning, shortly before worship was to start at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Vernal, Utah. A young man had visited, signed in for communion and taken a seat in the pew waiting for worship to begin. The encounter was polite and brief. I left him and turned to other people. Less than 5 minutes later he was gone. Without a trace. No one saw him leave. He didn’t speak with anyone.
Why do I believe he was an angel? It’s primarily because the occasion of the encounter I drew deeply-felt life-long conclusions about how I would handle ministry situations. I was too brief with the young man. I may have offended him. He may have been OK, but I fear that he likely misunderstood our conversation.
Angels are messengers from God. They are mighty in power and many in number. They worship God together with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. They serve him perfectly, protecting God’s chosen ones, and obeying God’s every command. The good angels that is. (There are evil angels as well).
It was a good angel who broke into(!) the cell where Peter was being held. And he took charge in every possible way. He stood next to Peter in the cell, appearing with light shining there. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” When the chains fell off Peter’s hands, the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” Then he told Peter, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” They passed the first and the second guard, came to the iron gate leading into the city, and it opened for them of its own accord. One street later the angel left him. Just like that.
There was a fairly obvious reason the angel was dispatched to release Peter from prison. Herod’s fierce persecution of the Christians meant that Peter was in grave danger. And Peter would be needed for the successful growth of the nascent church. Peter would ultimately not be spared a cruel death according to Church tradition. But for now he would be saved. There was work to be done. God sent an angel to help him along in that task.
Not every appearance of angels are that strategic. But many are. I’m thinking of the angel showing up after Daniel began praying (Daniel 10). Or the angels at the tomb telling the women that Jesus was alive. Angels were dispatched to tell Zechariah that he and Elizabeth were to have a child. The angel Gabriel told Mary she would conceive in her womb and bear Jesus, the Son of God. Angels will be dispatched on the Great Last Day to gather God’s people from the north, south, east, and west into his eternal kingdom.
Once in a while angels are sent to protect God’s people. Some we may not even recognize. We may have entertained many angels and have been completely unaware of it (cf. Hebrews 13:1-2). They are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:13-14). That’s you and me. Thank God for his holy angels – recognized or not!
David Bahn - Reflections 
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