Overwhelming Power

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In the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles the overwhelming power of God, by the Spirit of God, sweeps all before it. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.... And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were silting" Acts 1:8; 2:28But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2). Immediately following, every man hears in his own tongue wherein he was born, the wonderful works of God.
In chapter one, there were one hundred and twenty; in chapter two, the Lord our God called and about three thousand souls were added; in chapter four, the number of men that believed was about five thousand. And the rulers demanded, "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”
The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip in Acts 8:3939And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39). in the words "caught away" we see the great power, force and facility by which Philip was transported and later found at Azotus, preaching in old Ashdod, the fortress of the Philistines where, in time past. Dagon fell across the threshold, a stump in the doorway.
The same word for "caught away" is found in Matt. 11:1212And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) where it is rendered "by force." To see what powers and principalities war against the believer, consider that in Matt. 13:19,19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (Matthew 13:19) the translation is "catcheth away." When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which receiveth seed by the wayside. But by contrast, in John 10:28, 2928And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (John 10:28‑29)—"Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" and "no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." No one in heaven or earth has the power to forcefully pluck the helpless sheep from the hands that hold them. Now Satan is the prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30,31Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (John 12:31)
30Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. (John 14:30)) and men prisoners of the earth (Lam. 3:3434To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, (Lamentations 3:34)). But God will deliver His own with force and great power. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
W. Bothwell