The Lord Smote Him (Acts 12:23)

2024-11-05

And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. (Acts 12:23)

Herod did much evil, including killing James the son of Zebedee and arresting Peter for no reason other than the Gospel. It was only later, when he was accepting worship before a crowd, was he struck of the LORD and died.

Why couldn’t he die before killing James and causing all that pain? The reason is simply that God had mercy on Herod. He still had a chance while he lived to turn to Christ. He most certainly heard the Gospel while persecuting those people. Even James and Peter would want it that way, that he might turn to the Lord.

However, he sealed his fate after doing that evil and still having the audacity to accept worship as a god. God was merciful, but He was not merciful forever.

So it is with every non-believer. God has mercy, but He does not have mercy forever.