Following the declaration of Peter that Christ was the Son of the living God, Jesus promised to build His church with the assurance that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The words of Jesus have come through again and again both in ancient and modern history. The persecution of the church started soon enough after Christ’s ascension. The apostles were threatened and beaten. They were thrown into jail at some point. Herod took the persecution to a new height when he killed James. His attempt to follow on the heels of that with Peter’s arrest failed as God intervened supernaturally. When he could not kill Peter, he executed the soldiers who had custody of the apostle. Those men became a ransom for Peter.

God’s word will always outlive its persecutors…Those who stay faithful to the word of God will outlive their challenges.

Herod later overstepped his bounds when he engaged his oratorical power in addressing the people of Tyre and Sidon. He was instantly eaten by worms because he took the glory that rightly belonged to God. The lesson today is that the Word of God which he tried to silence by persecuting the leaders of the Church lived on. He died but the word lives! This has always been the case in history. God’s word will always outlive its persecutors. There is a personal application of this to life’s many challenges. When a child of God faces challenges, he or she should hold on to faith. Those who stay faithful to the word of God will outlive their challenges. The affliction of the righteous may be many, but as the scripture says, they shall be delivered from them all.