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I. THE FALSE PROPHET. Bar-jesus may stand as the type of one class of foes with whom Christianity has to contend. He is described as a "mage" and a "false prophet." It appears that he gave himself the title of Elymas (to which word the modern Turkish ulema corresponds) - "wise man" par excellence. The essence of the magic calling is the pretension to override the laws of nature and providence in obedience to the wishes and fantasies and caprices of the individual. It would make imagination and feeling the test of truth and right, rather than the fixed truth and Word of God. The spirit of this false prophet is seen in his attaching himself to the proconsul, as the parasite attaches itself to the sound life, and in the endeavor to divert him from Christianity. Here is a test of the false spirit in the teacher. If we really love the truth and possess it, we have no desire to divert the course of argument from other minds. The more light and discussion, the better for the truth. Suspect the man who tries to silence another by clamor or prejudice the ear of the audience against him.

II. THE TRUE APOSTLE. Paul had been "sent by the Holy Spirit," and now he is filled by the "Holy Spirit." This gives him boldness and directness in dealing with the impostor.

1. There are times when denunciation may be used by the servant of Christ; for there are times when evil, stripped of its disguises, is manifest, and no terms can be held with it. And the denunciation of the apostle points to the secret root of evil in the false prophet's life, and which poisons all his teaching. There is craft, guile, the design to deceive Others for private ends. Then there is a certain lightness and recklessness of conduct connected with this, denoted by a peculiar Greek word (radiourgia). The false teacher will respect no truth and no sanctity which stands in the way of his objects and ends. Such a man may well be called a "child of the devil." The idea of the devil is that of an accuser or slanderer; and the false prophet will stick at no lies to serve his ends. He is the foe of all that is good, and must he; for the good and right, resting on the principle of truth, is deadly opposed to him, the living lie. He is the perverter of the Lord's straight ways. While the servants of God proclaim, in the words of the ancient prophet, the leveling of inequalities and the making of the crooked straight, the object of the deceiver is to twist the straight into crookedness, and bring back old chaos and disorder. Such are the arrows of denunciation launched at his head; such, in brief words, are the traits of the deceiver, drawn by the firm hand of the apostle.

2. The occasional revelation of Divine judgment against the ungodly. Such acts as that of Paul, in virtue of a Divine authority, in their occasional character, reveal a general principle of judgment. "The hand of the Lord is upon thee," not to strengthen and to illuminate, but to weaken and to deprive of light. The unused or misused sense decays. "From him that hath not shall be taken even that which he hath." If we use not our intelligence in the cause of truth, we cannot expect to retain it in its clearness. And if our conscience is not guided by love, it will become darkened. And if the light within becomes darkness, how great is that darkness i At the same time, mercy mingles with judgment. It is for a season only, that the opportunity for reformation and repentance may be given, and blessed the suspensions of activities which we have misused, if, in the enforced silence and privation, we are led to reflection and back to God.

III. CONVERSION FOLLOWS THE MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUTH. The fall of error means the establishment of a conviction in the mind. The overthrow of a lie delights the spirit, which is made for truth. Falsehood tempts and enthralls when it appeals to cur passions; let the falsehood be exposed, and spiritual emancipation follows. Fear and astonishment are often the means God employs to break up the fatal slumbers of the soul. They are like volcanic forces, which prepare for the working of the genial forces of nature. Every conversion implies in the subject of it the knowledge of the superiority of truth over falsehood, the presence of the soul at a moral victory. Truth in conquering us, sets us free. - J.

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KJV: So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

WEB: So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.