<p>6:12 <i>And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and came upon him and</i>- The first reference in Acts to the masses being poisoned against the Christians. Again we see how fickle people are.</p><p><i>Seized him, and brought him into the council</i>- This again is the language of the Olivet prophecy about the situation in the 'last days' (same words used in Mk. 13:11; Lk. 21:12). The prediction there was that when they were &quot;brought&quot; to councils etc., they should not worry what they were to say, because the Spirit would teach them what to say. We can therefore view Stephen's speech in Acts 7 as not premeditated but directly inspired by the Spirit in response to his having been &quot;brought&quot; into the council.</p>