Menof Renown Heros and Villans of the Bible Who am I? I was a Jew I tried to prevent the leader of my country from believing in Jesus Christ I was a resident of Cyprus I was a sorcerer I was blinded for a time I am Elymas the Scorcerer Elymas the name Elymas, also known as Bar-Jesus (arc. Bar-Yeshua, lat. Bariesu), His name was Bar-Jesus or Bar-Yeshua which means "son of Joshua" in Aramaic. He was known as a sorcerer Elymas means "Wise" in Arabic and was interpreted as sorcerer in KJV Who was Elymus? a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, His name was Bar-jesus Known as Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) Acts, chapter 13 4: So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5: And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 6: And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: 7: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8: But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9: Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10: And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11: And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt 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. 12: Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Where is Paphos? Who was Sergius Paulus? deputy of the country a prudent man; called for Barnabas and Saul, he was a Proconsul the Romans sent two different kinds of governors into the provinces. ◦ Some of the provinces were Caesarean or imperial into those they sent a proprætor, a magistrate of ancient Rome who governed a province after serving as a prætor in Rome. ◦ Other provinces belonged to the senate and people of Rome into those they sent proconsuls, a governor appointed for one year by the senate ◦ Cyprus had formerly been an imperial province; but Augustus, who made the distinction, had given it to the people, so it was governed by a proconsul. (Rosenmuller) Why was Elymas where he was? common for Roman officials to retain the services of Jewish civic leaders as close personal counselors and advisers throughout the Empire. Elymas was probably an extremely highly placed individual within the local Jewish community. There is a tradition in Cyprus ◦ Paul was taken to the entrance of the local synagogue and tied to a special pillar ◦ received 39 lashes for the ‘intentional sin’ of preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ◦ This pillar at St Paul’s church in Paphos, is still visited by countless pilgrims What Paul did He was filled with the Holy Ghost, He set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord He performed his first recorded miracle What Sergius Paulus did was obviously impressed by this miracle performed before his very eyes. he converted to the Faith. Sergius Paulus may have himself given him the name Paulus in token of his favour and respect to him Importance of this event Conversion of a Roman official Paul’s first recorded miracle officially marks the name change from Saul to Paul. Paul becomes the missionary leader .