The early church and Stephen: I see heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand! Acts 7:56

The Book of Acts relates that despite the help of the Holy Spirit and its gifts to the early Church, the early days of this institution were times of oppression and persecution, and those who professed their faith in the name of the Lord Jesus had to go through very difficult situations. As Jesus had taught his disciples, the Kingdom that he had announced, an indestructible and endless Kingdom as the prophets had prophecied, has both friends and enemies, and so the sect of the Nazarenes, as the Church and the Christian faith were called at that time, entered into its darkest point. And an example of this was the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Church.
The Bible does not make many mentions about Stephen and says that he was filled with the spirit of wisdom with these few words: "Stephen, a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performed great miracles and wonders among the people" Acts 6:8. Most likely Stephen was a person who, with his charisma, attracted the simple and common people of Jerusalem and its surroundings to the early Church for conversion from sins, somewhat similar to what John the Baptist did, and for this reason he was chosen as a victim by the enemies of the Kingdom of God, the most important religious authorities of that time.
Thus Stephen was accused of blaspheming against Moses and God by false witnesses and arrested. Once arrested, Stephen knew the intentions of his enemies, and in the Sanhedrin, Stephen presented his defense, and thus at the end of his speech he accused the members of the Sanhedrin of being enemies of God and the truth. The Book of Acts relates that Stephen had a heavenly vision before being stoned to death outside the city: "I see heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!" Acts 7:56. Stephen, with his faith, was one of the great examples of holiness in the early Church, and his death inspired many Christians after his death.

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