who had not voted for the plan or action of the council. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and lived in expectation of the Kingdom of God.

They said, "What are we to do with these men? For it is plain to everyone in Jerusalem that an extraordinary wonder has been done by them. We cannot deny that.

This plan met the approval of the whole body, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, who had been a convert to Judaism.

so that the requirement of the Law might be fully met in our case, since we live not on the physical but on the spiritual plane.

It is with this knowledge of what the fear of the Lord means that I appeal to men. My true character is perfectly plain to God, and I hope to your consciences too.

We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error.

But he must ask with faith, and without any doubt, for the man who doubts is like the billowing sea, driven and blown about by the wind.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear an oath, either by heaven or by the earth, or by anything else; let your "Yes" be a plain Yes, and your "No" a plain No, or you will fall under condemnation.

They came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the encampment of God's people, and the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them,