Laurie, Marilyn & Bill,

          Finally, in response to the other two letter, that I sent, there was yet another thing that used to confuse me.

Which also had caused me to ask the following question:

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Who did Stephen see?

 

What if one may say that Stephen saw the body and throne of the Father and the body and throne of the Son?

Acts 7:55  But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly 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.
   
The scripture states that Stephen did see two things.  Does the scripture state that he saw the Father and the Son?
No,  it says that he saw:  the glory of God  and that he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

The scripture does not say that he “saw God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God”.
The scripture does not say that he “saw the Father and Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father”.
The scripture does not say that he “saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of the glory”.
When he saw the glory of God,  what did he see?

Ezekiel 1:26 ¶ And above the firmament that was  over their heads was  the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was  the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was  the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
 
Ezekiel saw two things as well,  he saw:

upon the likeness of the throne was  the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it and he saw that:  it had brightness round about.

As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was  the appearance of the brightness round about. This was  the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

 

The glory of the LORD is mentioned many times throughout the word of God,  and sometimes it is spoken of in a fashion similar to that Ezekiel spake.

It is hard to say that the glory of the LORD is the being that he saw,  rather than the brightness round about the being on the throne.

It is hard when comparing other scriptures showing that the glory of the LORD can fill the tabernacle or the temple,  which is not something that the form of a man does.

Exodus 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
 
I Kings 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
 
II Chronicles 5:14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
 
II Chronicles 7:2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house.
 
The glory of the LORD is also mentioned as:

Exodus 24:17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was  like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
 
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
 
Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 
The return of the Lord Jesus Christ is described in terms of the Son coming in the glory of his Father:

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
 
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
 
Later in the book, Ezekiel sees the glory of the LORD again, but it appears that he always sees it as one with the being; as “the glory of the LORD stood there”, and “whereupon he was”, and “he called”:

Ezekiel 3:23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
 
Ezekiel 8:4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was  there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
 
Ezekiel 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
 
Ezekiel 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.
 
Ezekiel 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was  like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
 4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is  toward the east.
 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
 
Ezekiel 44:4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.
 
Could it be that when one sees God that:

·       The being he sees is like the form of only one man,  not two or three.

·       That the form he sees is the Son.

·       That there is a brightness round about this form like a man.

·       That the brightness round about and the form like a man are one.

II Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give  the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
 
Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is  the light thereof.
 
So Stephen saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.

It would appear that Stephen saw the brightness and the Son,  the same as Ezekiel saw,  and the same as John saw.

Yet,  one may say that Stephen saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God, therefore he had to see God to know that Jesus was standing on his right hand side.

First,  Jesus is God,  as shown in:

Acts 7:59  And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Second,  Stephen was not calling on God on the left and Jesus on the right,  he called upon Jesus as God.

Yet one may say that  Jesus standing on the right hand of God,  means the Father (called God) on the left,

and the Son (called Jesus) standing on the Father’s right hand ‑ the form of two men,  the one on the left and the other on the right –

and that it must be taken “literally” and “letterally” to mean the location to the right of.

Not to sound blasphemous,  God forbid,  but the words Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

taken “literally” and “letterally” would mean that the foot or feet of Jesus were on top of the right hand of the Father –

which is an abomination to think of,  let alone write of ‑ so care must be taken when it is insisted that these words must be taken “physically”.