`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' (Acts 7:35).

The entry into the land under Joshua (Acts 7:45), which becomes a fresh start corresponding with the call of

Abraham, is followed by David and Solomon, two further types of Christ. Although David was rejected at first but

ultimately reigned over Israel, this fact is not mentioned, but instead David is used, in conjunction with Solomon, to

substantiate Stephen's teaching concerning the Temple that had so infuriated his hearers. His last words, before the

devastating application of his summary of Israel's history, are concerned with this vexed question of the Temple.

`Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 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? Hath

not My hand made all these things?' (Acts 7:48-50).

The echo of these words in Acts 17 suggests how deep was the impression made upon the heart of at least one of

Stephen's hearers, a fact that will more than compensate Stephen for all his suffering, when Stephen and Paul stand

together in that day.

`God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in

temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed any thing' (Acts

When Paul was afterwards charged by the Jews with teaching `all men every where against the people, and

the law, and this place' (Acts 21:28), he must have remembered with feeling the face of Stephen, who had some

years before stood in the same place upon a similar charge.

The two main themes of Stephen's speech, namely, the typical character of Joseph and Moses in their rejection

and subsequent acceptance by Israel, and of David and Solomon in their testimony concerning the Temple, are given

an emphatic place in the structure of the section.

A 6:15 to 7:1.

STEPHEN before the Council. They looked

stedfastly and saw his face like an angel.

B C 7:2-36.

JOSEPH and MOSES. Rejected by Israel.

Accepted THE SECOND TIME.

D 7:37-45.

Application. Our fathers did these things.

Thrust away (39).

DAVID and SOLOMON. Build Temple.

NOT MADE WITH HANDS.

Application. As your fathers

did resist (51).

A 7:54 to 8:1.

STEPHEN before the Council. He looked stedfastly and saw the glory of God.

Not one word of Stephen's speech could be controverted, but its application was devastating. As the history of

the past was unrolled before the Council, as they were reminded of the attitude of the fathers, the application cut

them to the heart.

`Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so

do ye' (Acts 7:51).

Here were the representatives of the people, charging Stephen with blasphemy and with teaching that both the

law and the temple were to pass away, and they themselves are found guilty of resisting the Holy Ghost. They had

`received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it' (Acts 7:53).

It would be out of place in this study to examine the various Old Testament references in Stephen's speech. In

the series entitled Fundamentals of Dispensational Truth (The Berean Expositor Vol. 12) we have considered both