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1“Are these things spoken against you true?” the chief holy man asked him.
2He said to them, “Fellow Tribal Members, my brothers and fathers, hear what I have to say! The Great Mystery, the one who shines like the sun, appeared to our ancestor Father of Many Nations (Abraham) while he was still living in Land Between Rivers (Mesopotamia) , before he pitched his tipi at Mountain Where the Roads Cross (Haran) .
3“‘Leave your people and the land of your ancestors,’ Creator instructed him, ‘and go to the land that I will show to you.’[#7:3 Genesis 12:1]
4“So he went out from the people of the land of Field of Spirits (Chaldeans) and pitched his tipi at Mountain Where the Roads Cross (Haran) until his father crossed over to death. Creator then moved him to the land where you now live,
5but he found no place to live there, not even a piece of ground to set his foot on. It was there that Creator promised him and his descendants a lasting home—even though he had no children.
6“The Great Spirit told him that his descendants would be wanderers in a land of strangers, who would force them to work hard for them and mistreat them for four hundred winters.
7‘But I will decide against this nation that forced them to be slaves,’ Creator promised, ‘and when they are set free, they will honor and serve me in this land.’[#7:7 Genesis 15:13-14]
8“Creator gave to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) the peace treaty that was sealed with the cutting of the flesh ceremony. Then Father of Many Nations (Abraham) became the father of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) and, eight days after he was born, performed the cutting of the flesh ceremony on him. He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) became the father of Heel Grabber (Jacob) , and he became the father of the twelve ancestors of our nation.
9“Our ancestors became jealous of Creator Gives More (Joseph) and sold him as a slave into Black Land (Egypt) , but the Great Spirit stood with him and
10set him free from all his troubles. Creator then honored him in the eyes of Great House (Pharaoh) , the ruler of Black Land (Egypt) , who made him a ruler over Black Land (Egypt) and over his own family.
11“A time of hunger came upon Black Land (Egypt) and Lowland (Canaan) . It was a time of great suffering for our ancestors, for they could not find enough food.
12When Heel Grabber (Jacob) heard that there was grain in Black Land (Egypt) , he sent his sons—our ancestors—there to trade for some.
13When Heel Grabber (Jacob) sent them a second time, their brother, Creator Gives More (Joseph) , whom they had sold as a slave , made himself known to them. That is how Great House (Pharaoh) learned about his family.
14Then Creator Gives More (Joseph) sent a message to his father Heel Grabber (Jacob) and welcomed him and all his family—seventy-five in all—to come to Black Land (Egypt) under his protection .
15“So Heel Grabber (Jacob) pitched his tipi in Black Land (Egypt) . It was there that he and our ancestors all crossed over to death.
16Their bones were later moved to Burden Carrier (Shechem) and placed in a burial cave that Father of Many Nations (Abraham) had traded for from the sons of Red Donkey (Hamor) .
17“Many generations later , when the time had come for the Great Spirit to keep his promise to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) , the number of our people in Black Land (Egypt) had grown from small clans to a great tribe.
18But a new ruler arose in Black Land (Egypt) who did not know about Creator Gives More (Joseph) .
19This new ruler oppressed our people and forced them to leave their newborn children outside to die, to make our numbers smaller .
20“It was during this time that Drawn from the Water (Moses) was born—a beautiful baby. Creator’s eye was on this one! For three moons his family fed and cared for him.
21When the time came that they had to leave him outside to die, the daughter of Great House (Pharaoh) rescued him and raised him as her own son.
22So that is how Drawn from the Water (Moses) was taught all the wisdom of the people of Black Land (Egypt) and became powerful in his words and in all that he did.
23“When he was a full-grown man of forty winters, he decided to visit his tribal family—the descendants of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) .
24When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his defense and, on fire for justice, he struck down the man of Black Land (Egypt) .
25He thought his tribal family would understand that the Great Spirit had sent him to set them free—but they did not.
26“The following day Drawn from the Water (Moses) saw two Tribal Members fighting and tried to make peace between them.
“‘Men!’ he said to them. ‘You are brothers. Why do you want to hurt each other?’
27“But the one who had attacked his fellow Tribal Member pushed Drawn from the Water (Moses) away from him.
“‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ the man said in anger .
28‘Do you want to kill me the way you killed that man of Black Land (Egypt) yesterday?’
29“When he heard the man’s words, Drawn from the Water (Moses) ran from there as fast as he could and went to live as an outsider among the people in Land of Conflict (Midian) . It was there that he had two sons.
30“Forty winters later, in the desert wilderness near Mountain of Small Trees (Sinai) , a spirit-messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning thorn bush.
31When Drawn from the Water (Moses) saw it, he wondered what it was. As he came close to see it better, he heard the voice of Creator.
32“‘I am the Great Spirit of your ancestors. The Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham) , and of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) , and of Heel Grabber (Jacob) .’[#7:32 Exodus 3:6]
“Drawn from the Water (Moses) began to tremble with fear, and he dared not to even look at the bush.
33“‘Take your moccasins off and let your feet touch the earth,’ Creator said to him, ‘for the ground you are standing on is sacred.’”
34“‘With my own eyes I have seen the way my people have suffered in Black Land (Egypt) . I have heard their deep sighs and groanings, and I have come down to set them free. Come now, it is time to go, for I am sending you back to Black Land (Egypt) .’[#7:34 Exodus 3:5,7,8,10]
35“So Creator sent back the same man who had been rejected by his own people when they said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ Through the spirit-messenger, who appeared to him in the burning thorn bush, the Great Spirit sent Drawn from the Water (Moses) to be both their ruler and the one who would pay the price to set them free.
36With the powerful signs and omens he performed in Black Land (Egypt) , at the Red Sea, and in the desert wilderness, he set them free and guided them through the desert wilderness for forty winters.
37“Drawn from the Water (Moses) was the same one who said to the descendants of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) , ‘The Great Spirit will raise up a prophet like me from among your own people.’
38When our ancestors were gathered together in the desert wilderness, Drawn from the Water (Moses) was there with them. On the Mountain of Small Trees (Sinai) a spirit-messenger from Creator spoke to him. It was there that he and our ancestors were given the words of life, which have been handed down to us.
39“But our ancestors were not willing to follow his guidance. They turned away from him and turned their hearts back to the ways of Black Land (Egypt) .
40They said to Light Bearer (Aaron) , the brother of Drawn from the Water (Moses) , ‘We do not know what has become of Drawn from the Water (Moses) , so carve for us an image of spirit-beings who can guide us.’
41“So they formed an image shaped like a calf, offered ceremonial sacrifices to it, and celebrated what their own hands had formed.
42But the Maker of Life turned his face away from them and then handed them over to serve the evil warrior-spirits who rule in the dark spirit-world above and around us.
“In the book of the prophets, it says, ‘Was it to me that you offered ceremonial sacrifices for forty winters in the desert?’ Creator asked the family descendants of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) . ‘No!
43Instead you carried an altar for Child-Burning Spirit (Moloch) and one for Wandering Star Spirit (Rephan) . These were images you formed with your own hands that you chose to serve. So, because you have chosen this path, I will make you walk it to and beyond Village of Confusion (Babylon) .’[#7:43 Amos 5:25-27]
44“Our ancestors carried the sacred tent of Creator’s peace treaty with them during their desert wanderings. The Great Spirit gave Drawn from the Water (Moses) a vision for this sacred tent and the full instructions on how to make it.
45When the time came to enter the Land of Promise, our ancestors carried this sacred tent with them as Creator Gives Freedom (Joshua) led the way. The Great Spirit removed the Outside Nations from the land, and our ancestors took possession of it. The sacred tent remained there until the days of Much Loved One (David) .
46Creator’s great kindness rested on Much Loved One (David) , so he asked whether he could build a lodge for the Great Spirit of Heel Grabber (Jacob) .
47But it was his son Stands in Peace (Solomon) who built a lodge for him.
48“But the One Above Us All does not live in lodges built by human hands, for the prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) has said,
49‘The spirit-world above is my seat of honor, and the earth below is a resting place for my feet. Could you build me a lodge like this?’ says the Great Spirit. ‘One that I could rest in?
50Have I not formed all of these things with my own hands?’”[#7:50 Isaiah 66:1, 2]
51“You are a bullheaded people! Your hearts of stone and deaf ears have made you no different from the nations around you. Just like your ancestors, you continue to oppose the Holy Spirit.
52Did not your ancestors hunt down, torture, and kill the prophets who foretold the coming of the Upright One? You have now become his betrayers and murderers!
53You, the ones to whom our tribal law was given by spirit-messengers, a law that you have not followed!”
54When the council heard these words, they were filled with rage and ground their teeth in anger and frustration at him.
55But then the Holy Spirit filled Many Feathers (Stephen) with a great vision. He looked up into the spirit-world above and saw a bright light shining from the Great Spirit, and standing next to him at his right hand was Creator Sets Free (Jesus) !
56“Look!” he said, “I can see into the spirit-world above! The sky has opened, and there at the right hand of the Great Spirit is the True Human Being!”
57But they put their hands over their ears and screamed out loud as they all rushed together to take hold of him.
58They dragged him outside of the village and began to throw stones at him to kill him. Those who spoke against him laid their outer garments at the feet of a young man whose name was Man Who Questions (Saul) .
59As they threw the stones at Many Feathers (Stephen) , he was sending his voice to the Great Spirit.
“Creator Sets Free (Jesus) my Honored Chief,” he called out to Creator. “Welcome my spirit as I come to you !”
60He then fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Honored One, do not hold this wrong against them!”
Then, with a final breath, he fell asleep and crossed over to death.