The Earthquake at the Prison
The expelling of the evil spirit from the damsel of Philippi brought trouble. The girl was a slave, who, through her demon, had prophesied and so brought money to her masters. These accused Paul and Silas of treason against Rome; there was an uprising of the mob against the newcomers, and they were dragged before the magistrates. They were stripped, beaten, and cast into prison.
While they lay there bound and in sore pain, there came an earthquake in the night and shook the prison to its foundations. The prisoners’ bonds were broken and the doors swung open. The jailer, awakened suddenly from sleep, supposed his charges had all escaped. Drawing his sword, he would have slain himself. But Paul called to him from the darkness, “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here.”
Deeply realizing that he was in presence of a power greater than that of man, the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas, asking what he must do to be saved. “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
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