A Jailer Learns the Truth

In Philippi, there was a slave girl who had a demon inside of her. The demon used the girl as a fortune-teller, and she made a lot of money for her owners that way. When Paul and Silas came to Philippi, she followed them around for many days. The demon made her shout: “These men are slaves of the Most High God.” Finally, Paul told the demon: ‘In the name of Jesus, come out of her!’ The demon left the girl.

When the girl’s owners realized that they would no longer make money from her, they were very angry. They dragged Paul and Silas to the civil magistrates, saying: ‘These men are breaking the law and upsetting the whole city!’ The magistrates ordered that Paul and Silas be beaten and thrown in jail. The jailer threw them into the deepest, darkest part of the prison and put them in stocks.

While the other prisoners listened, Paul and Silas sang praises to Jehovah. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful earthquake shook the prison from top to bottom. The prison doors burst open, and the prisoners’ chains and stocks came loose. The jailer rushed to the inner prison and saw that the doors were open. Certain that all the prisoners had escaped, he took a sword to kill himself.

Just then, Paul called out: ‘Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here!’ The jailer rushed in and fell down before Paul and Silas. He asked them: “What must I do to get saved?” They told him: ‘You and your household need to believe in Jesus.’ Then Paul and Silas taught them the word of Jehovah, and the jailer and all his household got baptized.