Persecution vs. Deception

“Peter said to her, ‘How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.’ At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.” – Acts 5:9,10 To wrap up our discussion about Ananias, Sapphira, and the early church, I want to point out something that becomes clear when we look at the Book of Acts. From the start, Christians were the victims of all kinds of persecution. The more the Holy Spirit worked through believers, the more the Pharisees and the Roman world tried to shut them down. Although it was unpleasant for His children, God allowed persecution to continue; He would not, however, permit deception to take