Acts 7: Stephen's Defense: Part 1 of 3
1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ [Genesis 12:1] 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ [Genesis 15:14] said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ [Exodus 3:12] 8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.
"Are these things so? - Hast thou predicted the destruction of the temple? And hast thou said that Jesus of Nazareth shall change our customs, abolish our religious rites and temple service? Hast thou spoken these blasphemous things against Moses, and against God? Here was some color of justice; for Stephen was permitted to defend himself. And, in order to do this he thought it best to enter into a detail of their history from the commencement of their nation; and thus show how kindly God had dealt with them, and how ungraciously they and their fathers had requited Him. And all this naturally led him to the conclusion, that God could no longer bear with a people the cup of whose iniquity had been long overflowing; and therefore they might expect to find wrath, without mixture of mercy." (Adam Clarke Commentary) Yet, this sermon was yet another offer of mercy.
"The false witnesses had accused Stephen of blaspheming God (Acts 6:11). He proceeded to show the Sanhedrin that his view of God was absolutely orthodox. However in relating Israel's history during the patriarchal period, he mentioned things about God and the patriarchs that his hearers needed to reconsider." (Dr. Thomas Constable)
"Brethren; to take away any prejudice they might have conceived against him, and to recommend, not his person as much as his doctrine to them, he calls them brethren; 1. As hoping in the same promises with them; 2. Observing the same law; 3. Worshipping the same God.
And Fathers; a word of respect; especially the elder amongst them, or his judges: thus the Roman senators were called fathers; and magistrates ought to be reverenced as the fathers of their country." (Matthew Poole)
Listen... harken unto my words. "The God of glory" appeared to our father Abraham... "from Psalm 29:2 where it occurs in a context of God revealing His glory by speaking powerfully and majestically. God had revealed His glory by speaking.. to their father (ancestor) Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia (cf. Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7)." (Dr. Thomas Constable) Jesus is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person." (Hebrews 1:3)
"In his defense Stephen proved that the promises made to Abraham had spiritual meaning." (Charles Box's Commentaries) "He begins his defense by relating God’s dealing with their great progenitor Abraham; how God led Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans and brought him into the land of Canaan, and definitely promised the land of Canaan to him and to his seed after him. But Abraham died without possessing any of it, except the grave in which he buried his wife Sarah. Yet Stephen had the confidence that eventually Abraham would possess the land of Canaan, which God promised to him. It is true he has passed on to a better country, 'for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.' But nevertheless, the promise remains, that land shall yet be the dwelling place of the seed of Abraham." (Ironside's Notes on Selected Books) The promise was and is heavenly!
But there were physical descendants (sand of the seashore) and spiritual ones (stars of the sky). And as this is the closing of a chapter in the ministration of Yahweh - as the reigns are being transferred to those who believe in Jesus, they needed to see the similarities.
So, Stephen makes the classic case for justification by faith. "First, he describes the state of Abraham while he dwelt in Haran, as a state of uncircumcision when he received the promise of the Messiah, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. Secondly, in this state of uncircumcision he believed in God, and became heir of the righteousness which is obtained by faith." (Sutcliffe's Commentary)
9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.
The children of Israel had rejected Joseph out of jealousy. And they had similarly rejected Jesus. In fact, "Israel had always been stiffnecked and froward, and ought not history to warn Stephen's hearers against taking a similar attitude towards Jesus of Nazareth? Might not Jesus prove to be as great a blessing in that generation as Joseph or Moses had been in theirs?" (F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible')
Joseph was made manifest to the children of Israel when they went to Him a second time. "Joseph’s brethren made a great discovery the second time; you are in similar circumstances to them. Go a second time [to consider the person of Jesus]; for-- 1. You must go or perish. There was corn only in Egypt; and there is salvation only in Christ. 2. Others have gone and speeded. All nations went to Egypt, and none were refused. Has Jesus cast out one? 3. You have lingered too long already, even as did Israel’s sons. 4. A welcome awaits you. Joseph longed to see his brethren, and Jesus longs to see you... There are forecasts of what will happen if you go. The story lends itself to prophecy. As the sons of Israel fared with Joseph, so shall you fare with Jesus. 1. You will tremble in His presence. 2. He will bid you draw near. 3. He will comfort you by revealing Himself to you. 4. He will bless and enrich you and send you home rejoicing, to fetch all your family to Him 5. He will rule all the world for your sake, and you shall be with Him, and be nourished by Him. Conclusion: Let us hasten to go to our Saviour the second time. Surely this is the season, for the Holy Ghost saith “today.” (C. H. Spurgeon)
Acts 7: Stephen's Defense Part 2 of 3
14 "Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five [compare Exodus 1:5] people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
17 “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 18 till another king arose who did not know Joseph. 19 This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
20 At this time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
Possibly following tradition, “...Stephen points out that the patriarchs are buried in Shechem, in the territory of the Samaritans. If the patriarchs allowed themselves to be buried in Shechem — and proper burial was important to Jews — it implies again that God can work anywhere. The point is, one need not be buried on ‘holy ground’ to be resurrected to life.” https://www.gci.org/bible/acts7
But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, they ceased to grow and prosper. Yet we still see all things working for their eternal good- Romans 8:28. Another king arose which knew not Joseph - "That is, did not approve of him, of his mode of governing the kingdom, nor of his people, nor of his God." (Adam Clarke) He dealt subtly, "he acted deceitfully; he used fraud. The cunning or deceitful attempt which is referred to, is his endeavour to weaken and destroy the Jewish people by causing their male children to be put to death, Exodus 1:22...[by causing] them to cast them out. He dealt with them in this cruel manner, hoping that the Israelites themselves would destroy their own sons, that they might not grow up to experience the same sufferings as their fathers had. The cunning or subtilty of Pharaoh extended to everything that he did to oppress, to keep under, and to destroy the children of Israel." (Albert Barnes' Notes)
Moses was "exceeding fair” - Greek: 'was fair to God'" (Barnes) When the new Pharaoh, threaten the lives of the male babies in Goshen, God saved Moses from death in the Nile river and raised him up him up in Pharaoh’s house to be a ruler and deliverer to Israel. (14-21) "Note the latitude and extent of Moses's learning. He was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians. Where remark, the different end which God had in his providence, from what Pharoah's daughter had in her particular care. She intended by this education, of Moses, the good of Egypt; but God intended the good of Israel: She designed the service of Pharoah; but God designed Moses to be a deliverer from Pharoah. Thus the wise and holy providence of God useth the diligence of men to effect and bring things about which they never thought of."(Expository Notes with Practical Observations)
Moses was mighty in words and deeds. In words -”From Exodus 4:10, it seems that Moses was 'slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.' When it is said that he was mighty in words, it means that he was mighty in his communications to Pharaoh, though they were spoken by his brother Aaron. Aaron was in his place, and 'Moses' addressed Pharaoh through him, who was appointed to deliver the message, Exodus 4:11-16.
And deeds - Miracles, Exodus 7, etc." (Albert Barnes' Notes)
23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ [Exodus 2:14] 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ [Exodus 3:6, 15] And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”’ [Exodus 3:5, 7, 8, 10] 35 This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ [Exodus 2:14] is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, [Deuteronomy 18:15] ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’
Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.. . "probably on the ground of trying to deliver them from their oppressive bondage. This desire seems to have been early infused into his mind by the Spirit of God; ...
He supposed his brethren would have understood… He probably imagined that, as he felt from the Divine influence he was appointed to be their deliverer, they would have his Divine appointment signified to them in a similar way; and the act of justice which he now did in behalf of his oppressed countryman would be sufficient to show them that he was now ready to enter upon his office, if they were willing to concur." (Adam Clarke Commentary)
"Stephen showed that Moses, in his rejection at first, and acceptance the second time, is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ironside) But there is more here- much more. The first time Jesus was not with him, but then when the time had come, the Angel of Jehovah appeared to Moses in the burning bush, “‘the Son of God; as appears from his styling himself Jehovah...” (Wesley) for "...when Luke shall say afterwards, that this was the same angel through whose assistance and guiding Moses delivered the people: and Paul, in the 10th chapter of the First to the Corinthians, (1 Cor 10:4) doth affirm that Christ was that guide, there is no cause why we should now wonder that the angel taketh to himself that which is proper to God alone." (Calvin)
Moreover, "Stephen stressed the fact that ‘this’ Moses was the man who had given the prophecy about the coming prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) and had received other divine oracles for the Israelites. ‘This’ (Gr. houtos estin) with the articular adjectival participle in Acts 7:37-38 is an intensified form of the demonstrative pronouns translated ‘this’ in Acts 7:35 (touton) and 36 (houtos). Stephen clearly respected Moses, but he noted that Moses himself had predicted that a prophet like himself would appear (cf. Acts 3:22). Therefore the Jews should not have concluded that the Mosaic Law was the end of God’s revelation to them. The fact that Stephen spoke of the Mosaic Law as ‘living oracles’ suggests that he viewed it more in its revelatory than in its regulatory aspect... preaching Christ was not disloyalty to an ancient tradition, but its fulfilment. This was powerful argument, and a continuation of Peter's theme (iii22 , 23) (This truth was to be more fully developed for similar minds in the Epistle to the Hebrews...)’ [Note: Blaiklock, p76.].” (Dr. Thomas Constable) And like Jesus through Moses, Emmanuel did many signs and wonders among them. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written- John 21:25.
Acts 7: Stephen’s Defense- Part 3 of 3- And Stephen Stoned for His Faith
38 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, 39 whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ [Exodus 32:1, 23] 41 And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, images which you made to worship; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ [Amos 5:25–27]
“Their glory being in their fathers, St. Stephen reminds them that many of them rebelled against God and his servant Moses; as they (their posterity) now were rebellions against Christ, who came to save them, as Moses before had done; but from a greater bondage, and by more valuable means.” (Matthew Poole Commentary)
They crucified Jesus. “This is he, even the prophet promised by Moses, that was in the church in the wilderness. The God who spake to Moses at the burning bush, is called the Angel of JEHOVAH, and a little afterwards, JEHOVAH. When Moses asked his name, he answered, I AM THAT I AM. And Moses, the prince of prophets, prays for 'the good will of him that dwelt in the bush' to be with Israel. Deuteronomy 33:16. The fathers of the church with one consent attribute all these words to Christ, and infer his deity, his preëxistence, and power to remit or punish the sins of Israel." (Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments)
And in their hearts the fathers turned back again into Egypt, "became idolaters, and preferred their Egyptian bondage and their idolatry to the promised land and the pure worship of God. See the whole of these transactions explained at large in the notes on Exodus 32:1-35 (note)." (Adam Clarke Commentary)
"'You talk about your fathers,' God gave them these living oracles but they would not obey them, but they thrust him out from among them, and their hearts turned back again to Egypt ( Acts 7:39 ). You talk about your fathers, 'Oh, our fathers this and our fathers that.' Your fathers rejected the law of God. They again cast Moses out and in their hearts they returned back to Egypt. Saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don"t know what's become of him ( Acts 7:40 ). He had been forty days up in the mountain, the people became impatient, and they came to Aaron and said, 'We're going to go back to Egypt. Make us gods that will lead us back to Egypt. We don't know what's happened to Moses.' And so they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'O ye house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?' Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which you made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon..:"
(Chuck Smith Bible Commentary)
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, 46 who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built Him a house.
48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? 50 Has My hand not made all these things?’[Isaiah 66:1, 2]
Stephen then turns to the tabernacle of witness- the tabernacle of God’s presense. “The tabernacle was built according to the pattern shown Moses. The Tabernacle was a perpetual witness between God and the people. Later the people had the temple. Yet '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...'
Solomon built God a house, but God's presence cannot be confined to a house. Stephen and the apostles rejected the Temple as the one exclusive place of worship. Gods throne is in Heaven, the earth is His footstool and to Him all places are alike. The constant presence of God restrains us from sin and stimulates us to virtue." (Coke) The day had come when worship of the Father was in Spirit and in truth.... wherever two or three believers in Jesus were gathered in His name. (John 4:21: Matthew 18:20)
51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
"Stephen charged the people with: (1) being stiff necked,
(2) uncircumcised in heart, (3) resisting the Holy Ghost, and
(4) failing to keep the word of God." (Coke Commentary)
And which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? “And if you go back into their history, you'll find that their fathers persecuted every true prophet of God. Isaiah was persecuted and was sawn in two, ultimately. Jeremiah, thrown into the dungeon for speaking in the name of the Lord. Elijah and Elisha had real problems because they spoke out against the evil kings. 'Your fathers? Tell me now which of the prophets did they not persecute?' and they have slain those, which showed them before of the coming of the Just One ( Acts 7:52 ). In other words, these prophets who were telling them of the coming of the Messiah, these true prophets of God, they had killed these prophets who had prophesied of the coming of the Just One, the Messiah, of whom ye now have been now the betrayers and murderers ( Acts 7:52 ): 'I mean, you're worse than your fathers. They killed all of the prophets that came to them who were telling them of the coming of the Messiah. But you killed the Messiah!!'"
(Chuck Smith Bible Commentary)
Words like these could not be forgiven. “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.” And they stoned Stephen laying his garment at the feet of Saul, known now as Paul of Tarsus. Stephen saw heaven open up and Jesus at the right hand of God. This was the faith for which he was slain. As he was dying, he knelt down and cried out,…, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Asleep in Jesus; there is no better state.
Acts 7:The Blessed State of Sleep in Jesus
Lutheran Hymn – Asleep in Jesus https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx88oLzXyxM
59-60 "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 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.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, “Lord Jesus…”, “the word God is not in the original, as its being printed in italics shows. The prayer was offered to Jesus Christ, and it was the custom of the Christians in the days of the apostles to pray to him. Luke 23:42-43; Acts 9:21; Acts 22:16; 1 Corinthians 1:2. The Holy Spirit leads those who are under his influence to pray to Jesus Christ, and ask of him the richest blessings, not only for themselves and their friends, but also for their fellow-men. In thus honoring him as they honor the Father, they glorify him on earth, and prepare to dwell with him in heaven." (Justin Edwards' Family Bible NT)
Stephen prayed, “Receive my spirit…”, “the life-power which God gives. (Job 34:14,15; Gen. 7:21,22, - -‘the breath of the spirit of life’.” (WrestledScriptures.com below)
"Kneeled down... Second aorist active participle of τιτημι — tithēmi placing the knees (on the ground). This idiom is not in the old Greek for kneeling, but Luke has it five times (Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5) and Mark once (Acts 15:19). Jesus was standing at the right hand of God and Stephen knelt before him in worship and called on him in prayer.'" (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)
Then Stephen continued his prayer,
"Lay not this sin to their charge.”… “do not weigh it, reckon or impute it, that it may not remain against them, to hinder their conversion. This our Saviour commanded, Matthew 5:44, this he practised, Luke 23:34 and whosoever can thus pray for his enemies, and do good for evil, hath a great evidence that the Spirit of Christ is in him.
The he fell asleep; he died; his death being thus expressed, in that, 1. He died quietly, as one fallen into a sleep. 2. Because of his certain hope of the resurrection. 3. As easily to be raised again by Christ, as one that sleeps is to be awaked by us. 4. It is an ordinary Hebraism to express death by sleep; which made St. Luke use it amongst them, with whom it was frequently thus expressed."
(Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible)
“Problem: It is frequently understood from this passage that Stephen expected Jesus Christ to immediately receive his ‘immortal soul’ in heaven.
Solution:
1. If the real Stephen was the spirit, what is the "he" of verse 60 which ‘fell asleep’? The personal pronouns are associated with the body, not something inside the body. This use of the pronouns is fatal to the idea that the real Stephen was an immortal essence within the body.
2. ‘Sleep’ is a scriptural expression describing the unconsciousness of death and implying the waking at the Resurrection Day. For this there is unimpeachable evidence in John ll; esp. vs. 11, 14, 24, cf. Dan. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:6,18. The fact that Stephen fell asleep indicates he did not immediately go to his reward. (See 1 Thess. 4:13-16.)
3. One could handle the problem of what Stephen meant by the expression ‘Lord Jesus receive my spirit’ by taking the following approach;
* Show scripturally when the righteous (and hence Stephen) will receive their reward, e.g., 1 Cor. 15:22-23.
* Indicate the uses of spirit - e.g., that the 'spirit' is not the immortal part of man, but the life-power which God gives. (Job 34:14,15; Gen. 7:21,22, - -"the breath of the spirit of life" mg.).
* Then finally show that Stephen had the confidence that as God sent forth His Spirit and raised Jesus, likewise he would be raised. In the death state Stephen's life would be 'hid with Christ', and when Christ appears the second time, then Stephen would appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:3,4).
4. Jesus uttered similar words to those of Stephen, 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit'. (Luke 23:46). But Christ went to hell [1], not heaven. (Acts 2:27; cf. John 20:17 -- 'I am not yet ascended to my Father').
Footnote: The Greek word 'hades' translated 'hell' in Acts 2:27 simply means 'the grave'. This can be proven from other passages which state that after his crucifixion, Jesus was placed in the tomb. (Matt. 12:40; Acts 10:38-40; 1 Cor. 15:4-5. 'Hades' is translated 'grave' in 1 Cor. 15:55).” http://www.wrestedscriptures.com/b01immortality/acts7v59.html