He begged Peter, 'Pray to the Lord for me that none of theseĪfter the apostles had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. Repent of your sins and pray for God'sįorgiveness, for there is still sin in your heart.' You do not have any part in this matter, for your heart is not right with God. To Simon he said, 'May your money die with you if you think God's Peter was indignant that anyone would try to buy the Holy Spirit. Because he was used to buying the things he wanted, Simon offered the apostles money and asked, 'Give me, too, this power that I may lay my hands on a person and he will receive the Holy Spirit.' He wished he had the kind of power Peter and John had. These people, too, received the Holy Spirit. Their hands on the new believers and prayed. As soon as Peter and John arrived, they went to find Philip and the new believers.

The apostles sent Peter and John to help. News reached the apostles in Jerusalem that many Samaritans had accepted Jesus as Savior after hearing Philip preach. Perhaps he hoped to learn to do the same miracles Philip did. And he, too,īecause Simon was so impressed by the miracles that Philip did, he followed him everywhere. He watched this preacher from Jerusalem heal the sick and make the lame walk. Simon, too, heard about Philip and came to see and hear. Many men and women believed in Jesus Christ and were Philip work miracles in the name of Jesus, they marveled at the great They had never heard the gospel story before. God declares it, and in all history he has kept his word. What does the Bible say about rebellion For rebellion must and will be punished. Since Philip had little to do in Jerusalem now, he traveled about preaching the gospel. What is a sorcerer in the Bible Simon Magus, (Latin), English Simon the Magician, or The Sorcerer, (flourished 1st century ad), practitioner of magical arts who probably came from Gitta, a village in biblical Samaria. Wherever they went they told about Jesus Christ, and the new religion spread fast. Live in Jerusalem, most of them had gone elsewhere. Now that it was not safe for believers to Philip was one of the seven men who had beenĬhosen to care for the poor. Then Philip came to Samaria and preached about Jesus Christ and 'This man has the power of God,' they said. Great person, for he did tricks and magic they could not understand. The people of all that country thought Simon was a Samaria, about thirty miles north of Jerusalem. Peter and John did not use their status to control others but to release them from sin so they could experience Christ’s promise of true liberation.Simon The Sorcerer Simon lived in the city of While Peter and John freely shared the Spirit, empowering all who believed, Simon saw the Holy Spirit as a means of gaining power for himself some deep magic that he could dispense for a price. Simon had a fundamentally flawed understanding of the Holy Spirit. Nothing more is said about Simon, except that he begged Peter to pray on his behalf now afraid to even speak to the God whose power he just tried to purchase. Enraged, Peter reduced Simon to a whimpering wreck, denying him any part in their ministry and warning him to beg God’s forgiveness before it was too late. After all, he had spent years pretending to do just that now, he thought, the real thing was within his grasp! Desperate for his former glory, he offered the apostles money in exchange for the ability to dispense God’s Spirit. When Peter and John came to impart the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan believers, Simon was beside himself. However, Simon seems to have been drawn to the power rather than to its source. Even Simon was impressed so much so that he “believed and was baptized” (Acts 8:13). As a follower of the resurrected Jesus, Philip possessed a power that made Simon look like the conjurer of cheap tricks by comparison. Sorcerers like Simon were in great demand.īut all that was before the arrival of Philip, the man famous for taking the gospel to unexpected places.

In a time when most people assumed the existence of a spiritual world and believed that it was not likely a benevolent force Pretending to be someone important perhaps even claiming to be the incarnation of God Himself (depending on the meaning of the phrase “Great Power” in Acts 8:10)-Simon wowed the people with his sorcery, convincing them that he exercised control over the spiritual realm. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ACTS 8:18–19īefore the gospel came to Samaria, Simon was a minor phenomenon with a major ego. Simon’s fame was injured by Apostle Philip who performed miracles with the help of the Holy Spirit. Simon was a Samarian Sorcerer who claimed to have control over the spirit realm.

Simon the sorcerer in bible