The story of Stephen is a fantastic story of faith for God’s Elect today. He was full of wisdom that comes only from the Holy Spirit. It begins in Acts chapter 6 and verse 1 reads.
Acts 6:1] And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Grecians is G1675 in the Strongs’, Hellenist which means a Jew who speaks Greek. You might wonder why they themselves didn’t take care of their widows, but we will see that is not what is being said, we continue.
Acts 6:2] Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
[3] Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Teaching the word of God to them is what they really wanted. Notice that they wanted men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
Acts 6:4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
[5] And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
This Philip is called an evangelist in the Strongs’, G5376. Now we can see more clearly what was needed for the widows. There was a need for an Evangelist among them, and the Apostles picked 7 men quite capable.
Acts 6:6] Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
[7] And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
The church grew greatly, even the priest from their synagogues rightly believed. I must ask, believe what? They believed that Jesus was the Son of God, this is faith.
Acts 6:8] And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
The Holy Spirit did great wonders and miracles through Stephen.
Acts 6:9] Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
Looking up these names I found Libertines is Latin, and of course means a Roman freedman. One liberated from slavery. These others are Jews born from these locations. Remember all Jews would come to Jerusalem to worship and make sacrifice. They were disputing whether or not that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 6:10] And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
[11] Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
Because he was more educated in the word of God they could not argue with him. So, as Kenites always do, they found men that would falsely accuse him publicly.
Acts 6:12] And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
[13] And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
[14] For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
[15] And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Let’s look at this more closely. Did they not accuse Jesus of this very thing, when they also had false witnesses say that Jesus said he would destroy the temple? Let’s go to John 2 and pick it up with verse 19.
John 2:19] Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
[20] Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
[21] But he spake of the temple of his body.
Jesus didn’t say he would destroy the temple, he said “If” you destroy the temple he would raise it up in three days. They also accused Stephen of wanting to change the customs of Moses, meaning changing the law. Again, let’s go to Mat.5 and verse 17 reads.
Mat.5:17] Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
[18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Now, we know who it is that is trapping Stephen, the same Kenites who crucified our Lord. We continue in Acts chapter 7 and verse 1 reads.
Acts 7:1] Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
Stephen will give the most beautiful summary of God’s word here. How will they react?
Acts 7:2] And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
[3] And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
You can find this in Gen.12:1.
Acts 7:4] Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
[5] And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
You can find this in Gen.12:4.
Acts 7:6] And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Prophesied by God himself in Gen.15:13 that Israel would go into captivity for four hundred years.
Acts 7:7] And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
[8] And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
[9] And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Joseph’s brothers sold him for 20 pieces of silver to Ishmaelites and they took him to Egypt and sold him there. Gen.37.
Acts 7:10] And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Now he will take them through to the end of Genesis.
Acts 7:11] Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
[12] But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
[13] And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
[14] Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
75 souls of Jacob began in Egypt, not as slaves but as free men.
Acts 7:15] So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
Our fathers would be the twelve patriarchs and their children.
Acts 7:16] And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
[17] But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
[18] Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
Here is when they become slaves.
Acts 7:19] The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
They were afraid that the house of Jacob would become great in their land. Making a decree that all male children would be drowned in the river. Exo.1:22.
Acts 7:20] In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
[21] And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
This is written in Exo.2:1-10.
Acts 7:22] And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
When God is for us, who can be against us. All this being part of God’s plan for a mighty nation, Israel. Just like with Joseph, Moses found grace in the Lord’s eyes, both would be an example of Savior.
Acts 7:23] And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
[24] And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
[25] For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
[26] And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
[27] But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
[28] Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
[29] Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
Medan was a son of Abraham by his wife Ketura. Sent away from the land where Isaac was so that he would not inherit Isaac’s inheritance, he went east. Moses took a wife of Abraham’s seed. Keeping true with the laws of God.
Acts 7:30] And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
[31] When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
[32] Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
[33] Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
[34] I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
[35] This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
This being the angel of the LORD.
Acts 7:36] He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
[37] This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
Now anyone who called himself a scribe or a priest should have known this scripture. Instead, they crucified our Lord and chose not to believe. Written in Due.18 and verse 18 reads.
Due.18:18] I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Moses wrote the law, and in the law, he prophesied that the Messiah would come. And when the Christ came, they who said they were scripture lawyers and high priest crucified him. They were Kenites, the same that Jesus warned us about in Mat.13, the parable of the tares. Who Jesus spoke to directly in John 8 and told them they are of that wicked one, the Serpent. Stephen is really giving a lesson here, back to Acts 7 and verse 38 reads.
Acts 7:38] This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Saying Moses was the one given the Ten Commandments to give to us by God.
Acts 7:39] To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
[40] Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Moses was on the mount receiving the Commandments from God at the time his brother Aaron, the high priest, was making them the golden calf.
Acts 7:41] And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
[42] Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
[43] Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
I want to stop here and search this word Remphan. After finding it comes from a mis-transliterated word I found it is H3594 Chiun in Hebrew and find it is a god of Babylon and represent the planet Saturn. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun, giving it the number six for the antichrist. Also stating it represents the symbolism of the Israelites apostacy. Think of the apostacy (the falling away) of these end times.
Acts 7:44] Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
[45] Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
Jesus should have been translated Joshua. They both mean the same, one Greek and the other Hebrew. Both however being translated into our English.
Acts 7:46] Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
David wanted to build the temple for the LORD, but was instead given the promise from God that he would build his house.
Acts 7:47] But Solomon built him an house.
[48] Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
[49] Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Said by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 66 verse 1.
Acts 50] Hath not my hand made all these things?
[51] Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
He has brought them through the law and has pointed out how Israel always falls away from God when things are going good for them. He then takes them through the prophets. Not one could argue with anything said up till now, but now he will cut them deep.
Acts 7:52] Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
He just told them they were Kenites. They killed all the prophets from righteous Abel to Zacharias whom they killed between the porch and the alter. And has now accused them of killing Jesus.
Acts 7:53] Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
[54] When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Expect this today, you who are God’s elect, they will do to you what they did to Stephen. Fear not, for God is with us. Was Stephen afraid or did he keep preaching the truth? He kept teaching without fear of man, for his heart was with the LORD.
Acts 7:55] But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
[56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
[57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
They couldn’t stand to hear the truth anymore, proving they were indeed Kenites.
Acts 7:58] And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Yes, this is Paul, the same writer that wrote most of the New Testament.
Acts 7:59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
[60] And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen showed great faith and dedication to the Lord. No one could give a better testimony or argue scripture with him. His testimony would ultimately cause him to be put to death. Let’s look at the word Martyr. We find it is G3144 in the Strongs’ and here is the definition given. 1. those who after his example have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing a violent death. I know it’s hard to understand, but in these end times we will be called and we will stand before Satan, and give our testimony for the world to hear. God’s elect will be faithful like Stephen, and our jobs on earth will be done. Let’s go to Mark 13 and read our destiny for these end times that will be similar to Stephen’s. Verse 9 reads.
Mark 13:9] But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
This word testimony is G3144, Martyr.
Mark 13:10] And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
[11] But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
We are not to say a word, but let the Holy Spirit speak through us. Just like Stephen being full of the Holy Spirit we shall be also. Come, Lord Jesus, come, let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.
KJV along with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible