when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos (the Capitol of Cyprus), they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus (this man claimed to be of God, but in reality was of Satan): 7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man (he had this sorcerer with him; being a pagan, he did not know the difference between sorcery and that which was legitimately of God); who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the Word of God (the news of these men had got around). 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them (he saw a threat in Paul and Barnabas), seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith (means that the Governor was believing the Message of Jesus Christ, as presented by Paul and Barnabas). 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) (presents here the change of name; he will be referred to as Paul from now on; “Paul” is the Roman derivative of the Hebrew “Saul”), filled with the Holy Spirit (not only speaks of an ongoing state, but seems to imply a special new Anointing), set his eyes on him (did so according to the leading of the Holy Spirit), 10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, you child of the devil, you enemy of all Righteousness (this was the Gift of “Discerning of spirits” [I Cor. 12:10]), will you not cease to pervert the Right Ways of the Lord? (This glaringly proclaims that this sorcerer who claimed to be of God was not of God at all, but rather of Satan.) 11 And now, behold, the Hand of the Lord is upon you (would have been better translated, “is against you”), and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season (there is indication that there was opportunity for Repentance; in other words, it was a remedial chastisement). And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness (was used by the Holy Spirit to teach this man that his message was “darkness”); and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand (indicates that he now has no followers due to the fact that he has been shown up for what he truly is, an imposter!). 12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed (he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour), being astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord (speaks to the fact that this “Doctrine” was not mere rhetoric, but was accompanied by Power as well). 13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia (presents them going back to the mainland from the Island of Cyprus): and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem (speaks of Mark who wrote the Gospel which bears his name; even though the Holy Spirit is silent regarding why Mark did this, we do know that his departure caused hardship on this Missionary Team [Acts 15:37-39]).
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 22:54:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015