Topical Bible: Blindness: Elymas

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Elymas, also known as Bar-Jesus, is a significant figure in the New Testament, particularly in the Acts of the Apostles. He is described as a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet who resided in Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. Elymas is most notably associated with an incident involving the Apostle Paul and his companion Barnabas during their first missionary journey.

The account of Elymas is found in Acts 13:6-12. Paul and Barnabas, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, traveled through the island of Cyprus and eventually arrived in Paphos. There, they encountered Elymas, who was closely associated with the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus. Sergius Paulus was described as an intelligent man who sought to hear the word of God from Paul and Barnabas.

Elymas, however, opposed them and attempted to turn the proconsul away from the faith. His actions were seen as a direct challenge to the message of the Gospel and the authority of the apostles. In response to Elymas's opposition, Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, confronted him directly. Acts 13:9-11 records Paul's rebuke: "Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas and said, 'You son of the devil, full of every deceit and every fraud, enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord? Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.'"

Immediately, a mist and darkness fell upon Elymas, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. This miraculous act of judgment served as a powerful demonstration of the authority of the apostles and the truth of their message. The proconsul, witnessing what had happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

Elymas's blindness is symbolic of spiritual blindness and opposition to the truth of the Gospel. His attempt to hinder the proconsul from embracing the faith highlights the spiritual warfare that accompanies the spread of the Gospel. The temporary nature of his physical blindness serves as a divine rebuke and a call to repentance, illustrating the power of God to overcome opposition and reveal His truth.

The account of Elymas underscores the theme of spiritual conflict and the triumph of the Gospel over deceit and falsehood. It also emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering the apostles to confront and overcome challenges to their mission. Elymas's account serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of resisting God's work and the ultimate futility of opposing His purposes.

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Acts 13:11
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
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Library

Acts xiii. 4, 5
... the expos. of v. 8, pantachou he kenodoxia kai he philarchia aitiai ton
kakon, and below, the allusion to the blindness of Elymas. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xxviii acts xiii 4.htm

Heralds of the Gospel
... The fact that he was obliged to grope about in blindness proved to all that the
miracles which the apostles had performed, and which Elymas had denounced as ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 17 heralds of the.htm

Of the Difference Between Discipline and Power, and of the Power ...
... Ananias with death, Elymas with blindness"in order that by this very fact it might
be proved that Christ had had the power of doing even such (miracles). ...
/.../tertullian/on modesty/chapter xxi of the difference between.htm

That the Christian Miracles are not Recited, or Appealed To, by ...
... 3), during the whole tour through the Upper Asia (xiv.27; xv.12), at Ephesus
(xix.11, 12); secondly, in specific instances, as the blindness of Elymas at Paphos ...
/.../paley/evidences of christianity/chapter v that the christian.htm

Magic and Sorcery Only Apparent in their Effects God Alone Can ...
... [1823] Many attempts were also wrought against the apostles by the sorcerers Simon
and Elymas, [1824] but the blindness which struck (them) was no enchanter's ...
/.../tertullian/a treatise on the soul/chapter lvii magic and sorcery only.htm

First Missionary Journey Scripture
... The chief incidents in the ministry here were the smiting of the Jewish sorcerer,
Elymas, with blindness for his persistent opposition and the conversion of ...
/.../sell/bible studies in the life of paul/study iii first missionary journey.htm

The Extension of the Church Throughout the World
... continued before the heathen proconsul Sergius Paulus; and through it and the judicial
blindness inflicted by St. Paul on the false prophet Elymas, the gentile ...
/.../blunt/a key to the knowledge of church history/chapter iii the extension of.htm

He Shows by the Example of victorinus that There is More Joy in ...
... run after Thee." [630] Do not many men, out of a deeper hell of blindness than that ...
or a ruler may stand for a thousand; therefore saith Paul to Elymas when he ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/chapter iv he shows by the.htm

Application of these Motives
... And who would not have been afraid to contradict the gospel, that had seen Elymas
smitten with blindness And shall we prove idle, self-seeking ministers, when ...
//christianbookshelf.org/baxter/the reformed pastor/article 4.htm

Letter cix. To Riparius.
... death Ananias and Sapphira, [3035] and of the firmness of Paul who, when Elymas
the sorcerer withstood the ways of the Lord, doomed him to lifelong blindness. ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cix to riparius.htm