The visual Bible Acts chapters 5-7
INTRODUCTION
“In this long defense Stephen takes a
much wider range, and goes less directly into the point raised by his accusers,
than we should have expected. His object seems to have been to show (1) that so
far from disparaging, he deeply reverenced, and was intimately conversant with,
the whole history of the ancient economy; and (2) that in resisting the
erection of the Gospel kingdom they were but treading in their fathers'
footsteps, the whole history of their nation being little else than one
continued misapprehension of God's high designs towards fallen man and
rebellion against them.” [2]
Stephens Defense
PLEASE
READ (ACTS 6:`13-15) Verses 2-4 “Stephen began his speech
with a greeting that was polite and friendly. He called his audience ‘brothers
and fathers’. This reminded them that he was a Jew
too. Then he started his lesson from history. Abraham was
among the earliest people in all the Jewish history.
And he was among the most important people in it. Stephen showed how Abraham
had great faith. When Abraham lived, the Jews
did not have their own nation or Temple.
They did not get those until many hundreds (100s) of years later. But God
showed himself to Abraham. God told him to leave his country. Abraham did not
know where he was going. But he obeyed God. People who want to obey God must
always be willing to leave. They must go wherever God leads them. Stephen
showed that God can appear in front of people anywhere. They do not have to be
in a special place.” [2]
1:The high priest said,
“Are these things so?” 2: And he said,
"Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father
Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in
This response is one
of the longest peach in Acts
Stephen captured the
complete attention of the high priest by invoking the name of Abraham in his reply
(“…was
in Mesopotamia)
Stephen points to the fact that God can be worshiped anywhere.
3: and said to him,
‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the
land that I will show you.’ 4: “Then he
left the land of the Chaldeans and
settled in Haran. From there, after his
father died, God had him move to this country in
which you are now living.
All the members of
the Sanhedrin new the story of Abraham
and how he obeyed God,
Stephen was setting
the stage for Stephen obeying the Holy Spirit
This was not just a
story, Stephen was using this story to teach new things
Stephen points to
prophecy in the old testament and how it pointed to Jesus as the Messiah ( Luke 24:7)
Stephen continues the
story
5: “But He gave him
no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground,
and yet, even when he had no child, He
promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and
to his descendants after him.
Abraham
was swayed by his wife.
Abraham’s
wife did not believe God's promise for a child. Abraham yielded to his wife and
Ishmael was born.
Hagar was also promised by God that Ishmael's
descendants (Muslims) would be innumerable like those of Abraham.
God kept all his
promises to Abraham and also to Hagar his wife's servant.
However Abraham
disobeyed God and was not allowed into the promised land.
6: “But God spoke to
this effect, that his descendants would
be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved, and
mistreated for four hundred years.
The number four
hundred was not a precise number but rather a rounded off number. ( Genesis 15:13 Genesis 15:16)
The land God was
talking about was Egypt where God through Joseph saved the small Jewish nation
from starvation.
The Jewish nation prospered in Egypt but
eventually they were enslaved by a
fearful Pharaoh.
7: “ ‘And
whatever nation to which they will be in bondage I
Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they
will come out and serve Me in this place.’
combined; Stephen's object being merely to
give a rapid summary of the leading facts.
Descendents of
Abraham (Israel) will be a nation without a place until the Lord God judges
them for their transgressions.
In nineteen
forty-three the Jewish people, from around the world, were brought together in
their land as God had promised.
Although I don't feel
the promises of God are finished where Israel is concerned.
8: “And
He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and
so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and
circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father
of Jacob, and Jacob of the
Twelve patriarchs.
Circumcision was a
out-word sign of the covenant between God with Abraham and the nation of Israel.
We do not share the
Jewish covenant but rather fall under a new covenant as adoptive chidren of God.
Why did Stephen give
a history lesson to those who professed to be very knowledgeable in Jewish
history?
He wanted to remind
them of meaning of obedience to God.
9: “The
patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into
Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10: and rescued him
from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and
wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he
made him governor over Egypt and all his household.
Joseph was the
favorite son of Jacob (Gen 37:3),
Joseph's brothers were
Jealous of Joseph because their father favored him over them.
Why did Jacob favor Joseph over his other children?
Why did God remain
with Joseph during his captivity in Egypt?
and because of this,
God caused Joseph to have great wisdom.
Josephs wisdom and organizational skills
led Pharaoh to raise Joseph to a
position of great importance and power; second only to pharaoh.
This story was
teaching Gods faithfulness to those who remain faithful to Him.
This lesson was to
remind the members of the Sanhedrin concerning faithfulness to God.
Leading them to believe; Like Joseph Stephen too would
remain faithful to God and go on teaching the resurrection of Jesus.
Stephen
continues with the story of Joseph; knowing the Sanhedrin knew the story but
did not see the lessons of the story in Stephens actions.
11: “Now a
famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and
great affliction with it, and our fathers could
find no food.
Stephen told the
story in a new way. Showing how
faithfully God cares for the needs of His people even in a land which was not
their own.
We can see Stephen
pointing to how God works through others to suit His purpose.
In this case the
needs of Jacobs tribe were met; By God
providing, through Joseph, who was sold into slavery to Egypt.
“God had promised that the Jews would have
their own country. But that promise had become too important to them. They
could not make God stay in one place. They could not do that, even if that
place was special to them. God is with his people wherever they live. Stephen
was teaching this wonderful fact to them.” [2]
Stephen
continues with his lesson in verse 12 & following.
12 “But when
Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our
fathers there the first time.
Here Stephen uses the
term fathers for the sons of Jacob.
Historically accurate
but more importantly it personalized the story to the Sanhedrin.
13: “On the
second visit Joseph made himself known to his
brothers, and Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14: Then Joseph sent
word and invited his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five
in all.
Joseph made him self
known by way of the Jewish covenant.
This covenant
separated the Jew from the Gentile as Gods chosen people.
15:
“And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers
died.
Stephen
continues on with the history lesson for his defense.
16: “From
there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had
purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamorin shechem. 17: “But as
the time of the promise was approaching
which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
History tells us that
for two hundred years there was no increase of souls beyond the original 75.
Although there were
undoubtedly births an equal number of deaths kept a zero population growth.
However after that
the Jews multiplied at an amazing rate.
During these two
centuries 600,000 men described as fit for war along with countless women and
children were added to their
numbers.
(1) Part one came true; they were held captive in
a foreign land (Egypt) for approximately 400 years.
(2) They would be
given their own land.
Being Egyptian slaves, they must have felt
that there was no hope for the second part of Gods promise to be fulfilled.
18: until there
arose another king over Egypt who knew
nothing about Joseph.
“God
had warned Abraham about what would happen. And what God told him had become
true (Acts 7:6).
The Israelite s were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. But God had not forgotten
his promise. This promise had two parts.
1.
God had promised that Abraham he would have many descendants. This had already
happened. ‘Our people in Egypt had increased in number.’
2.
God had promised to give to his people their own land; This had not
happened yet. And it did not seem likely now, because they were slaves in Egypt.
Things had become worse, and the children of Israel cried out for deliverance.” [2]
19: “It was he who
took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our
fathers so that they would expose [mark
for death]their
infants and they would not survive.
The new king
(pharaoh) did not know of how Joseph helped Egypt, nor did he recognize the
contributions of the Jewish people.
The Pharaoh saw the
numbers of Jews were so great they could over throw him and take control of the
land.
With this command of
Pharaoh established the future judgment for Egypt's first born.
20: “It was at
this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely [God
saw his heart] in
the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in
his father’s home.
However we find him
speaking good things in this verse and following.
21: “And after he had
been set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter
took him away and nurtured him as her own son.
22:“Moses was
educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a
man of power in words and deeds.
When speaking of
Moses’ deeds Stephen was referring probably to unrecorded actions in his early
life.
If we are to believe
JOSEPHUS, his abilities and accomplishments were widely known in Egypt before
his exile.
23: “But when he
was approaching the age of forty, it
entered his mind to visit his brethren, the
sons of Israel.
Acts 7:23; Acts 7:30; Acts 7:36 , the life of Moses
is represented as embracing three periods, of forty years each; the Jewish
writers say the same; and though this is not expressly stated in the Old
Testament, his age at death, one hundred twenty years ( Deuteronomy 34:7 ), agrees with
it. [2]
Moses realizing who
Gods chosen people and that he too was a Jew also chosen by God to set His
people free.
Stephen told this
part of the story in a new way. He showed that the Israelites had tried to stop
God’s plan. [3]
Moses
was brought up as an Egyptian in Egypt, where his people were enslaved.
By pointing this out, Stephen had
established Moses was born in a foreign
land and he was loved by God.
Stating this, the
stage was set for the intermingling of Jew and Gentile.
Jews wanted to keep
themselves completely separate from Gentiles, believing them to be
inferior.
They were very prideful of their traditions and culture
and thought themselves better than anyone else.
This caused arguments in the first church. Stephen was
showing that Jews could mix with Gentiles. It did not make the Jews less holy.
[3]
24: “And when he
saw one of them being treated unjustly, he
defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by
striking down the Egyptian.
This moment of anger
set in motion Gods plan for Moses.
25: “And he
supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them
deliverance through him, but they did not understand.
Stephen was subtly
telling them that the brethren of Moses rejected him as their deliver at first.
They (the Sanhedrin) did likewise by rejecting Jesus as their deliver.
Failing to see His mission of spiritual
deliverance.
26: “On the
following day he appeared to them as they were
fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in
peace, saying, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?”
Here, not an
Israelite and an Egyptian, but two parties in Israel itself, are in collision
with each other; Moses, grieved at the
spectacle, interposes as a mediator; but his interference, as unauthorized, is
resented by the party in the wrong, whom Stephen identifies with the mass
of the nation ( Acts 7:35 ), just as
Messiah's own interposition had been spurned [3]
27: “But the one who
was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, who made you a ruler
and judge over us?” 28: ‘You do not
mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do
you?’
Moses was now seen as
a murder; someone to fear.
What parallels can we
draw between Moses and Jesus.
Moses delivered the
Jews from physical bondage and was initially rejected by the people.
Jesus was rejected and His influence with the people was feared
by the religious leaders. Christs teaching threatened their doctrine and
their power.
Jesus came to deliver
the world from spiritual bondage.
29: “
this remark, Moses fled and became an alien in
the land of Midian, where he became the
father of two sons.
We must remember hear
that Moses was treated by Pharaoh as his son.
Like the for fathers
(Abram and Jacob) Moses fled his home not knowing where he was going; and lived
as a foreigner. (Exodus 2:22)
30: “After
forty years had passed, an
angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of
a burning thorn bush.
Initially Moses did
not know what sort of spectacle he was witnessing. He thought it may be the appearance of an
angel.
The use of the term
angel refers to the angel of the covenant (God).
31: “When
Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he
approached to look more closely,
there came the voice of the Lord:
He was curious; after
all how could a bush be burning and yet not consumed by the fire.
When he heard the
voice coming from the bush he was afraid.
32: I am the
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.
God announced that He
was the God of the fathers of Israel. Thereby declaring that it was He, the same
God as the fathers of Israel.
This same God who made the covenant with
Abraham.
This part of the
Mosaic story points out that God spoke to Moses while Moses was neither in his
own land or in the promised land. Which
established the fact that God is not restricted to one place.
33: “But the
Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your
feet, for the place on which you are standing is
holy ground.
God declared Moses
stood on holy ground.
Once again Stephen is
pointing out that God is not restricted to just one Holy place, anywhere God
is, is a holy place; because God is holy and anything He touches is Holy.
God told Abraham to
remove his sandals because where he stood was Holy ground.
The sandals were made
of animal hide, and was seen as unclean.
God wants nothing to
come between He and us.
34: ‘I have
certainly seen the oppression of My people in
Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have
come down to rescue them; come now, and I will send you to
Egypt.
God reassured Moses
that he had not deserted his people.
God knows all and
hears all even to the smallest voice crying out to Him.
Nothing is hidden
from Him not your words not your thoughts nor your heart.
God could have
rescued His people with just a thought but instead He used a man to work
through.
God will use us if we
will just say YES to Him.
35:
“This Moses whom they disowned, saying,
‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the
one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a
deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in
the thorn bush.
There is a parallel
we can draw from this verse
Moses became the
leader of the nation of Israel; leading them out of captivity. You could say he was the corner stone of the
new Israel and he was initially rejected by the people of Israel.
Jesus was also
rejected by Gods chosen and He is called the cornerstone of the Church bearing
his name.
36:
“This man led them out, performing wonders and sings in the land
of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37: “This is the
Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will
raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’
“This is quoted to
remind his Moses-worshipping audience of the grand testimony of their faithful
lawgiver, that he himself was not the last and proper object of the
Church's faith, but only a humble precursor and small model of Him to whom
their absolute submission was due.” [2]
“Verse 37 Stephen
repeated Moses’ words about a prophet (the Messiah). This prophet would be
‘someone from among your people’, like Moses. (Look also at Acts 3:22.) As
those people had rejected Moses, so Jesus’ own people rejected Jesus.” [3]
38: "This is the
one who was in the congregation in the wilderness, together with the Angel who
was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he
received living oracles to pass on to you.
Stephen has curiously called Gods’ appearance
to him as being with an angel.
I believe Stephen was
trying to identify God as “the Angel (Holy One) of the Covenant from whom he
received all the institutions of the ancient economy, and to the people, to
whom he faithfully reported the living oracles and among whom he set up the prescribed
institutions. By this high testimony to Moses, Stephen rebuts the main
charge for which he was on trial. “ [2]
39: “Our
fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him,
but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to
Egypt, 40: saying to
Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will
go before us; for this Moses who led us out
of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’
While Moses was on
mount Sinai, the children of Israel reverted back to the ancient beliefs of
Egypt, and fashioned a golden calf; after one of the Egyptian gods; and they
did worship it.
They fashioned the
calf probably in the likeness of Apis – the Egyptian bull god.
41: “At that
time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to
the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.
The children relied
to heavily on Moses for their connection to God.
When Moses was gone
for a length of time. The Israelites felt abandoned and resorted to old habits
of idol worship.
By doing this they
were violating law which was given to Moses.
Exodus
22:20; He
who sacrifices to any god, other than to
the Lord alone, shall be utterly destroyed.
Exodus
34:14; -for you
shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
What
is worship?
Worship is to adore, open a reverence, focused, positive attention on Exodus
34:14; John 4:23]. Enjoy the presence
of God. Any action or attitude that expresses praise love and appreciation for
God. Worship can be expressed through obedience Micah 6:8
and the
way we treat people. Matthew
25: 37-40.
Worship can be private or public Matthew 6:6 Hebrew 10:
24-25 [5]
Are
you guilty of worshiping other than God?
Lets try an exercise by inserting "anyone or anything" after the word "on" in the second line of the above definition for worship . If this simple substitution makes you feel uneasy, then it's time to do something about it.
42: “But God turned away and
delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as
it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘It was not to Me that you
offered victims and sacrifices forty years in the
wilderness, was it, O house of Israel?
“the
book of the prophets--the
twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Amos 5:25 .” [2]
The golden calf was
not the only idol the people of Israel worshiped during their wilderness
journey.
God permitted them to
worship these idols; even though it grieved His heart.
God allowed them and
all of mankind free will to choose the path to follow.
The Holy Spirit will
guide the choices of the believer.
43: ‘You also took along the
tabernacle [a tent serving as a temple] of Moloch and
the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’
Moloch figures in
the Book of Deuteronomy and in
the Book of Leviticus (Leviticus
18:21)
as a form of idolatry.
Moloch had
associations with a particular kind of propitiatory child sacrifice by parents; (2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 19:2–6).
44: “Our fathers had the
tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who
spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had
seen.
The wilderness
tabernacle was made to precise specifications handed down to Moses from God and
it was the wilderness temple of God.
The people carried
this tabernacle with them when ever they moved.
They believed by
doing this God would be with them and was leading them.
Knowing this, it makes it that much more
difficult to understand their idol worship, while they were in the presence of God in the tabernacle.
45: “And having received it in their
turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon
dispossessing the nations whom God drove out
before our fathers, until the time of David.
The care of the
tabernacle was handed down from generation to generation in the tribe of
Levite; who served as priests.
Notice the use of
dispossessing in this verse.
Stephen was pointing
out that God had gone before them and made it possible for Israel to possess
the land.
Up until the time of
David the Jebusites controlled
Jerusalem.
The Jebusites were a
Canaanite tribe who inhabited and built Jerusalem prior to its conquest by King
David.
46: “David found favor in
God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of
Jacob.
David was not to
build the temple for God. Most
theologians believe God did not allow David
to built His temple because David sinned
(I
Chronicles 21:8 )
Although God forgave
David; He did not allow him to build His temple.
This honor was
relegated to David’s son who built the temple in Israel.
Even as splendid as
this temple was it was not a proper resting place for God upon the earth.
47: “But it was Solomon who
built a house for Him. 48: “However, the Most High does
not dwell in houses made by human hands; as
the prophet says:
We know from
scripture although God may not have dwelt in the temple of Israel; He did
receive the high priest once a year at in the Holy of Holies where the ark of
the covenant was kept. (Exodus
26:34 )
49: ‘Heaven is My
throne, And earth is the footstool of my feet; what kind of house will you
build for me." Says the Lord, "what places therefore my repose? 50: "Was not my
hand, which made all things?“
What was God saying
here?
He was saying, He
made all things to include man, and that He and only He could make a proper
resting place for Himself.
How then could the
created, create for the creator.
51: “You men who
are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are
doing just as your fathers did.
“we should view this
as the summing up, the brief import of the whole Israelitish history--grossness
of heart, spiritual deafness, continuous resistance of the Holy Ghost, down to
the very council before whom Stephen was pleading” [2].
Circumcision of the
body was the sign of God's covenant between the Israelites and Himself. The
circumcision referred to by Stephen was a spiritual circumcision of the new
covenant.
The Jewish leaders
were very proud of their religion and their knowledge of their religion.
However, like their fathers before them, they failed to see what God was really
saying to them. They rejected Jesus as their fathers rejected their profits who
prophesized of Jesus.
52: Which one of the prophets did your fathers
not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the
Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53: you
who received the law as ordained by angels,
and yet did not keep it.”
Stephen was reminding
them, they killed Jesus. By killing Jesus they were actually killing their
Messiah who was foretold by the prophets, Isaiah 53:11 , and Jeremiah 23:6 , &c.)
Those who were now
sitting in judgment over Stephen did not realize they were idolizers of the law
and were in fact disobedient of the law.
Stephen Put To Death
54: Now when they heard this, they were
cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.
They hated Stephen
for what he taught.
when he dared to give THEM a history lesson
they were enraged.
We all know what the
phrase gnashing of teeth means.
This phrase vividly describes the anger
they for Stephen, an anger that can not be adequately expressed in words.
55: But being full of the
Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56: and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens
open up and the son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
Earlier we read; the
Sanhedrin noticed Stephens' face had a supernatural glow.
Stephens’ face
appeared that way because he was full of the Holy Spirit.
Now Stephen was in a
enclosed room, and yet we read, he and only he could see heaven opening up.
I can only assume at
this point that Jesus was showing Stephen what was waiting for him; so he would
not fear what was to come.
Why was Jesus
standing and not seated at the Fathers right hand?
The saying sitting on
the edge of your chair applies here.
Jesus may have been
standing due to His intense engagement of what Stephen was witnessing to.
He was pouring the Holy Spirit into Stephen; which
resulted in the physical supernatural glow of Stephens face.
In verse 56 Stephen
called Jesus the Son of man.
This is the only time
that mortal man called Jesus “The Son of man” (this was a special name Jesus
used for Himself) after the ascension.
Stephen was not speaking with his own thoughts
but rather the Holy Spirit was speaking through him. ( Acts 7:55 ) The Holy
Spirit led Stephen to repeat the very words Jesus had used. ( Matthew 26:64 )
The high priest asked him if he was the Messiah, the Son of God.
Jesus
said, ‘I am.’
Then he added, ‘You will all see the
Son of Man. He will be sitting at Almighty God’s right side.
(‘Almighty’ means ‘the Lord of
everything’. Or it can also mean ‘totally powerful’.)
The Son of Man will come with the
clouds that are in heaven.’
There is a similar description in the
Old Testament, in the book called Daniel.
The *prophecy in Psalm 110 is also similar. In
Psalm 110:1, God invites *Israel’s king to sit at his right side.” [2]
57 But they
cried out with a loud voice, and covered their
ears and rushed at him with one impulse.
When Stephen told
them what he saw. They saw him as a blasphemer and did not want to hear his
words and covered their ears lest they hear words of blaspheme.
They thought Jesus as
a criminal who was killed as a blasphemer on a cross; which was the most lowly
of deaths.
At this time, Jesus
was standing at the right hand of God the Father. Thus showing the equality of power and
authority of God the Father. Jesus had
earned the right of Judge of all man kind on calvary.
58: When they
had driven him out of the city,
they began stoning him; and the witnesses [who
were the first to lay on their hands Stephen and were the first to throw the
stones Leviticus 24:14 ] laid aside their
robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
They took their outer
garment off and laid it Saul’s feet so
he would take care for them
In this manner he
took part and was in full agreement with stoning Stephen.
They drove Stephen out of
the city in accordance the law and custom , Numbers 15:35 , 1 Kings 21:13 .
59: They went on
stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit!” .
Stephen repeated very
a similar short prayer to Jesus as Jesus prayed to the Father.
By asking Jesus to
receive his soul; he was giving absolute divine worship to Jesus.
“Paul afterwards
followed in his footsteps with a calm, exultant confidence that with Him his
soul was safe for eternity ( 2 Timothy 1:12 ).” [2]
60:
Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a
loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” having said
this , he fell asleep.
Although Stephen died
in much pain, he did not lash out against the people who were stoning him.
Stephen became the
first of many martyrs who died in the name of Christ Jesus.
Tertullian wrote that
‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church’.
People through out
the years have tried to kill the church by killing the followers of Christ;
only to
find the church grows in strength.
CREDITS, LINKS, AND
CITATION
[4]
– Wikipedia. Org
[5]
– The student Bible dictionary – Karen Dockery, Johnnie Godwin, Phyllis Goodwin
