Acts 7 · The Lantern

Then the high priest said, Are these things true?

And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran,

And still further, Stephen, who was chosen the first deacon by the apostles, and who, of all men, was the first to follow the footsteps of the martyrdom of the Lord, being the first that was slain for confessing Christ, speaking boldly among the people, and teaching them, says: "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, ...

In another way. See how he leads them away from bodily things, and meanwhile from place, attributing glory to God, not to place. For he himself is the source of glory, not in need of the glory which is by us through the temple.

They themselves did not even consider that they were permitting themselves blasphemous actions, yet they accuse him of blasphemy for his words. Moses was always on their mind – they were not so much concerned with the works of God as with the ordinances of Moses.

And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide.

"And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into a land which I shall show thee." "And from thy kindred." How then saith the Scripture, that Abraham's father was willing to go out? Hence we learn, that it was in consequence of Abraham's vision, that his father was moved to join in the migration.

"Leave your country and your kindred and come into the land I will show you." Then he left the land, etc. The land and kindred of Abraham refers to the homeland and race of the Chaldeans, from where he had long since left, who now lived in Mesopotamia, but because he left with hope of returning and longing, he hears from the Lord: "Leave your country." Not to physically move hi…

"Go out of your land and from your kindred." How then does Scripture say that Abraham's father wished to go out (see Gen. 11:31), while here it says that Abraham was told "go out of your land"? From this we conclude that the appearance of God to Abraham influenced his father, and he wished to go out from the land of the Chaldeans.

Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now:

And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time.

Thus, then, the promise of God, which He gave to Abraham, remains stedfast. For thus He said: "Lift up thine eyes, and look from this place where now thou art, towards the north and south, and east and west.

The first example is taken from Abraham, showing that one ought not to hasten what is delayed by divine promises, for Abraham indeed sought to hasten the departure of his descendants from Egypt: although it was revealed to him that their imprisonment was to be prolonged for four hundred years, and that with much affliction and subjection into slavery, and not merely some subjec…

"And gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on." Observe how by his discourse about the promised land he leads them to the truth. Why did the Lord not give an inheritance to Abraham? Because this land was a type of another land.

And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years.

For whence was Noah "found righteous," if in his case the righteousness of a natural law had not preceded? Whence was Abraham accounted "a friend of God," if not on the ground of equity and righteousness, (in the observance) of a natural law?

For his seed shall be a stranger in a foreign land, and they shall subject them to slavery and mistreat them for four hundred years.

"And God said to him that his descendants would be sojourners in a foreign land." See how many years before the promise was given and its type existed, and there was never a type of sacrifice, never a type of circumcision. But by this he also shows how God allowed the Israelites to endure misfortunes, even though there was nothing for which they were guilty.

And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place.

And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel.

And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him,

And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house.

Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food.

But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time.

And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family.

Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons.

And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers;

And they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

But when the time was near for putting into effect the undertaking which God had given to Abraham, the people were increasing in Egypt,

"But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph." Then again, fresh disappointment: first, famine, but they came through that: secondly, the falling into the hands of their enemy: thirdly, the being destroyed by the king.

But when the time of the promise which God had confessed to Abraham was drawing near, namely that which was said: And after these things, they will go out and serve me in this place.

The expression "as the time of the promise drew near" indicates not that they multiplied over the course of four hundred years, but that the end had to draw near, since four hundred and more years had already passed in Egypt.

Till another king came to power, who had no knowledge of Joseph.

He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living.

At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father's house:

"In which time," it says, "Moses was born, and was exceeding fair." If the former circumstance was wonderful, that Joseph was sold by his brethren, here again is another circumstance more wonderful still, that the king "nourished" the very person who was to overthrow his dominion, being himself the person that was to perish.

At that time, then, Moses was born, it says, and he was pleasing to God, that is, well-pleasing or beloved of God. The word "pleasing" primarily signifies one sinless in body in childhood.

"Moses… was beautiful before God." The parents gave birth and saw that the child was beautiful, because grace was flourishing in him. Having seen that he was beautiful, they spared him, but, frightened by the decree, they hid him.

And when he was put out, Pharaoh's daughter took him and kept him as her son.

And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works.

Josephus says, that when Moses had been brought up in the royal palaces, he was chosen as general against the Ethiopians; and having proved victorious, obtained in marriage the daughter of that king, since indeed, out of her affection for him, she delivered the city up to him.

Thus Moses led the people out of Egypt, and everyone who follows in the steps of Moses in this way sets free from the Egyptian tyrant all those guided by his word.

"And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Neither Moses, nor Ananias and Daniel with those who were with them, would have received a foreign education if necessity and the violence of despots had not compelled them to it, because it was of no use to them for anything—unless, perhaps, someone might say that receiving an education was good in order to uproot the…

But when he was almost forty years old, it came into his heart to go and see his brothers, the children of Israel.

And seeing one of them being attacked, he went to his help and gave the Egyptian a death-blow:

"And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not." See how up to this point he is not yet offensive to them; how they listened to him while he said all this.

For the Savior, seeing that those from Israel endured covetousness terribly (for Satan leapt upon them as though crushing them), had mercy and intended to free them. Having somehow killed the one destined to do wrong, he hid him in the earth, that is, he shut him up among the underworld into Hades.

"Having struck down the Egyptian," Moses avenged the one being oppressed by him. He did not kill the Egyptian out of frenzy or anger, but out of zeal for God. And that which is done out of zeal for God, even if it be killing, is not murder. Here is what Moses heard from the Lord concerning Phinehas, who killed two with one hand: "Phinehas… took a spear in his hand.

And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see.

And the day after, he came to them, while they were having a fight, and would have made peace between them, saying, Sirs, you are brothers; why do you do wrong to one another?

But the man who was doing wrong to his neighbour, pushing him away, said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

Will you put me to death as you did the Egyptian yesterday?

And at these words, Moses went in flight to the land of Midian, and was living there for a time, and had two sons.

At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree.

"And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush." Do you mark that it is not hindered by lapse of time?

Now he calls the Son of God an angel, just as elsewhere he calls him a man. For he is the angel of great counsel. (Isa. 9:6 LXX) Therefore shortly afterwards he shows him speaking to the blessed Moses: "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob." He is revealed in a flame of fire in a bush.

But his flight did not disrupt God's plans either, because it is said: "when forty years were fulfilled, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai" — He appeared when Moses was in flight, when he did not even hope to return, since he already had two sons. But notice: Stephen now calls the Son of God both an Angel and a man.

And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying,

I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it.

And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy.

It is upon us who continue in this quiet and peaceful course of life that the truth will shine, illuminating the eyes of our soul with its own rays. This truth, which was then manifested by the ineffable and mysterious illumination that came to Moses, is God.

What then is the riddle signified by the sandal? It is necessary to say that the sandal is a sign of death and corruption. For every sandal is a remnant of an animal already dead. Therefore the mind attempting to ascend to the divine contemplations must cast off every dead and fleshly imagination like some pair of sandals, and understand the mystery according to Christ.

"Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." The place is holy because of the appearance of Christ and is worthy of greater wonder than that which was in the Holy of Holies, because there was never such an appearance there.

Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt.

This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree.

This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years.

This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me.

"But also a witnessing voice was heard from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him.' And in addition to this, willing to convict more fully of error the prophets from whom they asserted that they had learned, He proclaimed that they died desiring the truth, but not having learned it, saying, 'Many prophets and kings desired to see what ye s…

This is Moses who said to the sons of Israel: God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. Like me, visible in the flesh, but more wonderful in majesty and more terrible in majesty than I.

"This is that Moses who said to the sons of Israel: 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren, like me,'" that is, like me, counted as nothing for that for which he should much sooner have been deemed worthy of honor. Pharaoh wanted to kill Moses, and Moses fled; and Herod wanted to kill the Lord, and the Lord escaped into Egypt.

This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you.

Luke also has recorded that Stephen, who was the first elected into the diaconate by the apostles, and who was the first slain for the testimony of Christ, spoke regarding Moses as follows: "This man did indeed receive the commandments of the living God to give to us, whom your fathers would not obey, but thrust Him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, s…

"This is he that was in the Church in the wilderness, and, that said unto the children of Israel." Do you mark that thence comes the root, and that "salvation is from the Jews?" "With the Angel," it says, "which spake unto him." Lo, again he affirms that it was He (Christ) that gave the Law, seeing Moses was with "Him" in the Church in the wilderness.

"This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai." The words before us show that people become better or worse not because of their location, for those spoken of here, though already outside of Egypt in terms of place, were in Egypt in their disposition and did not abandon thoughts of Egyptian customs, as the Gospel also s…

By whom our fathers would not be controlled; but they put him on one side, turning back in their hearts to Egypt,

For, withal, according to the memorial records of the divine Scriptures, the people of the Jews-that is, the more ancient-quite forsook God, and did degrading service to idols, and, abandoning the Divinity, was surrendered to images; while "the people" said to Aaron, "Make us gods to go before us." And when the gold out of the necklaces of the women and the rings of the men had…

Then follows the charge, in the first instance, against the patriarchs [after], the "signs and wonders," after the receiving of the "lively oracles: To whom," he says, "our fathers would not obey." But concerning those, Ezekiel says that they are not "living;" as when he says, "And I gave you statutes that are not good." It is with reference to those that he says, "Living.

And saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: as for this Moses, who took us out of the land of Egypt, we have no idea what has become of him.

And they made the image of a young ox in those days, and made an offering to it, and had joy in the work of their hands.

But God was turned from them and let them give worship to the stars of heaven, as it says in the book of the prophets, Did you make offerings to me of sheep and oxen for forty years in the waste land, O house of Israel?

And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, images which you made to give worship to them: and I will take you away, farther than Babylon.

"Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan: images which ye made to worship them." The cause of sacrifices! "And I will carry you away beyond Babylon." Even the captivity, an impeachment of their wickedness!

And the star of your god Remphan. You have forsaken (he says) the true and living God, and you have taken the star of Remphan, that is, your own creation, as God. But it signifies Lucifer, to whose worship the Saracen people were enslaved in honor of Venus. And because Remphan (as I said) means either your creation or your rest, the prophet subsequently added, and said:

"You took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan." The divine Moses went up to the mountain to receive the law, and they, Israelites by blood, stood before Aaron, saying: "Make us a god" (Ex. 32:1). So they made a calf in the wilderness, and this calf was an obvious idol; and gradually they fashioned many other idols as well.

Our fathers had the Tent of witness in the waste land, as God gave orders to Moses to make it after the design which he had seen.

"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 he had seen." "But a Tabernacle," say you, "there was (the Tabernacle) 'of Witness.'" (Yes,) this is why it was: that they should have God for Witness: this was all.

The tabernacle of testimony was with our fathers in the desert. Because they said he was acting against the holy place, here he shows that the Lord does not greatly esteem decorated stone but desires the splendor of heavenly souls.

"The tabernacle of witness was with our fathers in the wilderness." They had it in order to have God as a witness. He calls it the tabernacle of testimonies, that is, of miracles and commandments. "As He who spoke to Moses commanded." The establishment of the tabernacle took place on the mountain, and in the wilderness it was portable, not fixed in one place.

Which our fathers, in their turn, took with them when, with Joshua, they came into the heritage of the nations whom God was driving out before the face of our fathers, till the time of David,

Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon was the builder of his house.

But still, the Most High has not his resting-place in houses made with hands, as the prophet says,

Heaven is the seat of my power, and earth is a resting-place for my feet: what sort of house will you make for me, says the Lord, or what is my place of rest?

Did not my hand make all these things?

You whose hearts are hard and whose ears are shut to me; you are ever working against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death;

"Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One:" he still says, "the Just One," wishing to check them: "of Whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers"-two charges he lays against them-"who have received the Law by the disposition of Angels, and have not kept it."

"Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" If your fathers killed these foreheralds, then there is nothing surprising that I, who preach the One foretold by them, will be killed by you, who take too much pride in your ancestors.

The third high reputation concerns merits, miracles and martyrdom. And this certainty of truth appears when a man wills to die for the truth he preaches, such as Isaiah who was cut up, Ezechiel who was killed, Jeremiah and also the other prophets. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?

You, to whom the law was given as it was ordered by angels, and who have not kept it.

For he, too, says that the world was originated by those angels; and sets forth Christ as born of the seed of Joseph, contending that He was merely human, without divinity; affirming also that the Law was given by angels; representing the God of the Jews as not the Lord, but an angel.

For this is, "certain of you have received the law as commands of angels." And some also say this, that the one who was ordered by angels and entrusted through an angel to Moses, the one who appeared to him in the bush. "As regulations," instead of "according to the commands," just as those gave orders to Moses, having appeared in the bush and on the mountain. [CHRYSOSTOM]

For he says: "You have now become betrayers and murderers… you who received the law through the ministry of Angels and did not keep it," that is, arranged by Angels and delivered by the One who appeared in the bush. He shows that they did not obey and do not obey either God, or Angels, or prophets, or the Spirit.

Hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and moved with wrath against him.

See, once more, the wrong-doers in trouble. Just as the Jews are perplexed, saying, "What are we to do with these men?" so these also are "cut to the heart." And yet it was he that had good right to be incensed, who, having done no wrong, was treated like a criminal, and was spitefully calumniated. But the calumniators had the worst of it in the end.

"Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth. "The unbelieving, unable to tolerate Stephen's preaching, were hastening unanimously to effect his death. Stephen, raising his eyes to heaven, saw the Son standing on the right hand of the Father.

If the Jews wanted to kill Stephen, then why did they not kill him immediately? Because they wanted to present a plausible pretext for their audacity, since the insult he had caused them was not a plausible pretext for killing him; moreover, what they considered an insult to themselves was not his own insult, but rather a rebuke made to the Jews by a prophet.

But he was full of the Holy Spirit, and looking up to heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God.

He is seen by Stephen, at his martyrdom by stoning, still sitting at the right hand of God [Acts 7:55] where He will continue to sit, until the Father shall make His enemies His footstool. [Hebrews 10:12-13] He will come again on the clouds of heaven, just as He appeared when He ascended into heaven. [Acts 1:11]

The divine nature is invisible, but the thrice blessed Stephen said that he saw the Lord, so even after the resurrection the Lord's body is a body, and it was seen by the victorious Stephen, since the divine nature cannot be seen.

We must consider what it means that Mark says: He sits at the right hand of God; while Stephen says: I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. What does it mean that Mark testifies he is sitting, while Stephen testifies that he saw him standing?

And he said, Now I see heaven open, and the Son of man at the right hand of God.

The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said: 'You just one, in whom we ought all to have confidence, forasmuch as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.' And he answered with a loud voice, 'Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man?…

This is Stephen the first martyr of the New Testament and the first Deacon, who had for his slayer the great Paul while he was as yet zealous for the law—who alone by himself contended against the whole synagogue and made the Judge of the contest rise from his seat to witness the spectacle.

If you take a straight look at the leaders of the city, the foremost chief is Christ. In terms of the fight, although the angels and the saints help, yet the principal contender is Christ.

But with loud cries, and stopping their ears, they made an attack on him all together,

Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And Stephen, while he was being stoned, made prayer to God, saying, Lord Jesus, take my spirit.

With this strength of patience, Esaias is cut asunder, and ceases not to speak concerning the Lord; Stephen is stoned, and prays for pardon to his foes. Oh, happy also he who met all the violence of the devil by the exertion of every species of patience!

O martyr, embark on struggles which will cause happy deaths, where punishment is glory and to fall is a rising, and by slaughter is born immortality embracing the rewards of everlasting life. Lo, to have merited thus to die was the beginning of a blessed life without end.

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" is a saying that teaches and shows them that he will not perish. "They were stoning Stephen." Since justification is accomplished by faith in Christ, and in Him human nature received innocence in abundance and granted us a new right, by virtue of which our souls no longer go to Hades, but, as before, are sent into the hands of the Living God, kno…

And going down on his knees, he said in a loud voice, Lord, do not make them responsible for this sin. And when he had said this, he went to his rest.

What beyond;-that you should not swear nor curse; that you should not seek again your goods when taken from you; that, when you receive a buffet, you should give your other cheek to the smiter; that you should forgive a brother who sins against you, not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, but, moreover, all his sins altogether; that you should love your enemies; th…

And in the Acts of the Apostles, blessed Stephen prays for those by whom he is being stoned, because they had not as yet believed in Christ and were not contending against that universal grace.

"Having knelt down, he cried out with a loud voice: Lord! do not charge them with this sin." He does not simply pray, he says, but with fervor, since God permitted his soul to remain in his body until that moment. Notice the voice and the excess of patience in suffering.

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