What Did Stephen See?
Do You Believe The Martyr Stephen Was Cross-Eyed?
At first notion that may seem to be a silly question to ask. But there is a good reason to ask it.
What was it that Stephen saw in Heaven?
The Bible in the Book of Acts chapter six, describes the man Stephen as, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)…”. (KJV)
Stephen had a vision by means of Holy Spirit just before his death. After eloquently defending his faith in Jesus Christ before a mob who were about to take him out and stone him, this is the account of what he saw: Acts 7:55-60
55 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly 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,
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.
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”. (KJV)
Stephen said that he saw the resurrected Jesus standing, “on the right hand (on the right side) of God”. Stephen saw two distinct personages. He saw Jesus and he saw that he stood next to God Almighty.
This does not square with those who teach and believe that Jesus Christ was God come down to Earth in flesh.
For that belief to be true then either Stephen had a vision of God standing next to Himself which is impossible, or….Stephen had to have been cross-eyed and suffered from double-vision.
He didn’t see just one, he saw two individuals.
At the time when Jesus was baptized by John the baptizer, a voice was heard out of Heaven, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Matthew 3:17 (KJV)
Do you believe that Jesus in some sort of trickery, pitch his voice in order to deceive those with him? Who then was it that spoke from Heaven if he were God on Earth?
Those who believe Jesus and God Almighty are one and the same person misinterpret John’s personal expression in found at John 1:1 as he begins his gospel in which he gives an account of what Jesus himself said and did. The words at John 1:1 are not the words of Jesus, but of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. (KJV)
The John who wrote what is recorded as the Book of John is the same John who wrote what is recorded in the Book of Revelation. In reading the Book of Revelation it is quite obvious the John did not believe Jesus was God Almighty.
How is Jesus ‘godly‘?
Jesus is unique from all other creation. He is divine in that he is “begotten” of God. This mean God took of himself and formed His son. As your offspring are of your flesh, Jesus is of the same of what God’s body consist of and shares in this way godliness.
Jesus states himself as John records, what his relationship to God Almighty is. In John chapter 14 verse 28 we read:
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I“. (KJV)
Jesus clearly states that God the Father is greater than himself.
Also in the same Bible book of John chapter 6 verse 38, Jesus makes this statement regarding himself:
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. (KJV)
Who can send God Almighty anywhere? No one.
But God Almighty can send a lesser than himself to Earth and He did in sending His only begotten son.
Also note what occurred at the transfiguration scene found at Luke 9:34-35:
34 “While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him”. (KJV)
If Christ were God in flesh, who was it that spoke from Heaven?
Paul said this about Almighty God,
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen”. 1 Timothy 1:17 (KJV)
God is and has alway been immortal. Therefore it is impossible for Him to die.
Yet we know the Jesus Christ did die and had to be resurrected. Ask yourself: By whom was he resurrected?
According to what is written in 1 Corithians chapter 15, it wasn’t until after Christ resurrection that he put on immortality.
While the picture illustration that accompanies this article may seem humorous, it should cause you to think quite seriously about the subject and what you have been taught.
Do you believe Stephen full of Holy Spirit and what he saw?
Do you believe Jesus and the words from his own mouth identifying himself as lesser than God the Father?
Do you believe God Almighty who twice identified Jesus as His son?
Or do you stubbornly insist on believing the misinterpretation of John 1:1 and ignore what the Bible clearly states concerning God the Father and Christ Jesus his son?
brotherjohnsite.org 