Acts 7:41-45
 
Acts 7:41 (KJB)
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
 
Since most pagan festivals were nothing more than drunken orgies and since this was an idol and they were rejoicing in the work of their hands and sacrificing unto it, then this too must have been a loud pagan orgy. Aaron made this golden calf out of the spoils they took from Egypt because as slaves they would not have any gold jewelry. It was not only Moses they has despised but their idol worship had taken God of the throne of their hearts and put man’s work in its place. Unfortunately this is something that is done to this day among many Christians. Without realizing it, even before they received the commandments of God, they had violated the second commandment. (Exo 20:4-5 KJV) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: {5} Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
 
Acts 7:42 (KJB)
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 ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
 
Since they had continually rebelled against God and rejected Him and Moses, His prophet, God had turned away from them and gave them up, that is, He gave them up to their own ways. Instead of worshipping God, they instead, turned to the false gods worshipped by the heathen nations which surrounded them. (Jer 7:18 KJV) The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. The stage was already set for their adopting the false gods which they would embrace until the time both Judah and Israel were carried away into captivity for their disobedience. (Amos 5:25-26 KJV) Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? {26} But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. The Amos passage teaches us that even in the wilderness wanderings, they were already steeped in the worship of the false gods. This is why God would not allow anyone, except Caleb and Joshua, above the age of twenty to enter the Promised Land. God did not want the generation which worshipped the false gods to infect the Promised Land.
 
Acts 7:43 (KJB)
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
 
Moloch was a god of Venus which was worshipped by the Ammonites and some other Semitic peoples. Remphan is believed to be the Assyrian name for Saturn and is called Chiun in Amos 5:26. The feast of Saturnalia is still celebrated to this day. In the face of all the miracles which God had performed on their behalf, they rejected Him and instead took up the practice of idolatry and all it did was lead them into captivity. Since they wanted these false gods, God had allowed them to have them but there would be definite consequences for their actions. One of the most frightening phrases in the previous verse is “God turned and gave them up.” When God gives them up, there is no chance for return. (Rom 1:24 KJV) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: God uses that term when dealing with Sodomites in Romans 1. Then God promises that they would be judged for their actions by being removed from the Land which God gave them. This means they lost the right to the land which God gave them and that is why the modern nation of Israel is not a true biblical nation, they had to steal and murder to take the land they are in because God gave them up. It is even thought by some that the six pointed star they tout is the star of Remphan. The six pointed star is one of the highest signs in Satanism.  They call it the Star of David “Mogen David” but David did not have a star because that would have been considered idolatry as one who worshipped the hosts of Heaven which the surrounding heathen nations did.  The six pointed star is not the star of David.  It is known as the Seal of Solomon which came into being when he degenerated into idolatry.  David never had a star.  The six pointed star dates back to the 12th century A.D. when an Ashkenazic Jew named Menahem ben Duji attempted to convince the Jews that he was the Messiah.  He changed his name to David al-Roy.  He gathered troops from Khazaria and Kurdistan but he was assassinated on his way to liberate Palestine.  The six pointed star was attributed to him and the first time it was displayed on a Jewish flag was in Prague in 1527.  The Encyclopedia Brittanica calls the six pointed star a “magical sign.”
 
Acts 7:44 (KJB)
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
 
The Tabernacle of Witness was with the Israelites in the wilderness wanderings and that was a witness to the fact that God was with them. Moses may have had a glimpse into Heaven to see the Tabernacle which God wanted to have him build on earth. (Heb 8:5 KJV) Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. There was no reason for any of them to take up the tabernacles of false gods. They were being rebellious in the presence of the Lord and that is why they so easily fell into all types of trouble, especially in the period of the Judges. They had the seeds of the false gods within them already and it did not take much for them to produce evil fruit and infect all the people with it.
 
Acts 7:45 (KJB)
Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
 
Jesus - Joshua
 
Stephen now turns to the next generation which was the time under Joshua when he brought them into the Promised Land. He focuses on the fact that when they entered the Promised Land that they had brought with them the Tabernacle. This verse covers a period of about 400 years when there was constant war between the heathen nations and the nation of Israel. Joshua was not successful in expelling all the Canaanites out of the land and that resulted in them having to constantly be in a state of war against them and other heathen groups. (Josh 13:1 KJV) Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. This type of war against the surrounding heathen nations had gone on until the time of David. It was not until Solomon reigned that Israel had peace all around. (1 Ki 4:24 KJV) For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
Back