In this lesson, we want to notice some of the things about his "religion" and the way many of the Samaritans viewed him. "His name, Simon, suggests he was of Jewish or Samaritan origin. He is known as Simon Magus or " Simon the Sorcerer. There is nothing more known for certain about this man other than what Luke wrote about him. The early " Church Fathers " wrote much about this man-some of their accounts are highly imaginative. His credentials as a " faith healer " would have been impressive. He could have had his own TV show and felt right at home on stage with several false teachers of our day. Prior to his conversion, Simon would have made a good televangelist. One Christian, a man by the name of Philip went down to Samaria to preach the Word. Having been chased out of the city by the uproar caused by Saul's persecution. One of the greatest stories of conversion in the book of Acts deals with a grifter by the name of, Simon, Simon the sorcerer.Īs we pick up the story, the Christians, except for the apostles went everywhere preaching the Word. Peter alludes to this, " by covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. Today, this genre of men often pushes religion as a means of making merchandise of the brethren. A century ago, they came in the form of rainmakers and snake oil salesmen. We'll be reading about the conversion of the church in Samaria and one person in particular in Samaria, a man by the name of Simon, known today as Simon the Sorcerer, or Simon Magus.Įvery generation of people has had to contend with charlatans, con-artists, swindlers, and hucksters. Turn your attention to the book of Acts, we're looking in Acts chapter 8.
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