SABBATH

God's Gift to Us

Biblestudy: Acts (Part Thirteen)

Acts 13: The Work of Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus
#BS-AC13

Given 13-Dec-88; 60 minutes

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description: Lying wonders and visions (such as those seen at Lourdes and Fatima) are predicted to become more frequent at the end times. This kind of spiritism involves the deceptive work of lying demons rather than disembodied "souls." In Acts 13, the first time Saul is called Paul, the false prophet Elymas is cursed with blindness, providing the witness prompting the Proconsul Sergius Paulus to become converted. It was Paul's custom to initially seek out the Jewish populations in Greek-populated Cyprus, attempting to connect their history, prophecies, and tradition to Jesus Christ's Messiahship. Paul declares that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection did not occur in a vacuum, but attended with an overwhelming number of witnesses. Paul and Barnabus make the case that the sacrifice of Christ provides the justification which animal sacrifices could never accomplish. Paul's success with the crowds (both Jew and Gentile) inflamed the rulers of the synagogue with jealousy, leading to persecution and banishment.