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Simon The Magician
“Simon the Magician came from the Middle East, but his religious cult expanded over a wide area perverting the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned in the book of Acts and founded a counterfeit Christianity promoting false ideas and doctrines.
After Jesus' crucifixion, death and resurrection His followers spread the Gospel message. A disciple named Philip taught in Samaria, an area not far from Jerusalem, and many people began to respond to his message.
During his time in Samaria Philip came in contact with a pagan religious leader known as Simon the Magician, who is described in Acts 8:9-10: “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one. To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God.”
Many of Simon's followers believed Philip's message about Jesus as the prophesied Messiah, and were baptized. Even Simon himself professed to be a Christian and he too was baptized (Acts 8:12-13). A short time later the Apostles Peter and John traveled to Samaria to teach the new converts and lay hands upon them so they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17-19). When Simon saw the people were given God's Spirit, he offered the Apostles money to give him this power. (This is the origin of the English word ‘simony’, which refers to the selling and buying of religious offices.)
The biblical account doesn't say Simon wanted to give up his false teachings or even change his way of life. What he wanted was power (Acts 8:19). The Apostles knew this and called him a man of “...bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” rejecting his request (Acts 8:23). After this, Simon Magus (magus means magician or sorcerer) disappears from the biblical account, but he continued to lead his religious cult, adding elements of the teachings of Jesus to his pagan-Jewish mixture, and becoming part of a movement to create a paganized Christianity.
Simon carried his message from city to city, just as Christ’s Apostles spread the true Gospel. He translated the doctrine of grace as license to disobey God’s law. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 25, states, in its article titled “Simon Magus,” that he identified with the “Hellenized Gnosticism of Samaria.” The article referred to him as the “Samaritan Messiah” and the “father of all heresy.” The Samaritans had been placed in the land from which the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians. These Samaritans had been brought from Babylon and continued to practice their ancient Babylonian religion, mixed with other religions.
The belief, at the heart of Simon's heresy, was he could receive power from God without changing his ways. The religious movement became known as gnosticism, and in the New Testament this false teaching is referred to as ‘lawlessness’. Even today many believe the law of God was done away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul maintained this approach was already gathering momentum during his lifetime, "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work..." (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
The Ten Commandments define the most basic behaviors of love. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not murder. 1 John 5:3 very plainly tells us that love is keeping the commandments. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded the meaning of the word ‘love’ beyond the simple letter of the law. For example he explained obedience to the commandment "do not murder" entailed learning not to hate, because hatred is the root cause of murder.
Nearly 300 years after Peter confronted Simon, a bishop named Eusebius lamented the Simonian cult still existed: "It is an astonishing fact that this is still the practice of those who to the present day belong to his (this) disgusting sect. Following in…. [Simon's] footsteps they slip into the church like a pestilential and scabby disease, and do the utmost damage to all whom they succeed in smearing with the horrible, deadly poison concealed on them" (The History of the Church by Eusebius.)
Even after Simon died in AD 68 his greatest heresies were still infecting Christianity hundreds of years after he is mentioned in the book of Acts. One of the reasons God inspired Luke to record these events is because Christians will be combating the "mystery of lawlessness" until the return of Jesus Christ. No wonder the Apostle John warns Christians: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1)
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A Great Blessing
“The desire for revenge, retaliation and mudslinging is reflected in our entertainment and society in general. In spite of the fact we are told to forgive, many seek an active or passive form of revenge against their real or perceived enemies.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ paid the death penalty earned by mankind as a result of sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.... when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son..." (Romans 5:8-10). God expects us to develop this same attitude of mercy, graciousness and forgiveness. He will not forgive our sins if we are unforgiving toward others.
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.... For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:12,14-15). II Timothy 3:1-4 includes being unforgiving in the list of characteristics people will exhibit in the “perilous times” prevalent in the “last days” just before Jesus Christ returns to earth.
When a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus the Scribes and Pharisees demanded: “'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery...Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?' This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.” Jesus’s response was, “'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.' And…those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one…When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers ... .Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more'" (John 8:1-11).
Another example showing Christ expects us to develop a forgiving attitude occurred when Peter asked, “‘…how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, “…up to seventy times seven'" (Matthew 18:21-22). The Apostles were stunned at this statement and answered, “‘Increase our faith.’” (Luke 17:5).
The parable in Matthew 18:23-35 illustrates the consequences of being unforgiving. The account of the forgiven servant persecuting someone who owed him a pittance in comparison with the amount he had just received forgiveness for is a lesson for us. Christ warned the unforgiving servant his attitude was unacceptable, pointing out: "Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' (verse 33).
This is not to say we cannot make a judgment regarding other people's actions as to whether or not we should follow their example, but we cannot read minds and hearts. Christ instructs us not to judge others: "Judge not, that you be not judged... First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1 and 5). Luke 6:36-37 reinforces this admonition: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).
Proverbs 19:11 states, “it is his [our] glory to pass over a transgression” (King James Version). Jesus' example just before His death sets the standard for us as far as forgiveness is concerned: "When Jesus was being crucified and in agony He prayed: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). When we forgive, we reflect the Father’s love, giving us the opportunity to extend to others the great blessing God has extended to us.
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God Cares About What We Eat.
“God’s instructions to mankind concerning the food we should eat was an established law of God long before the time of the Mount Sinai covenant (See Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14).
Noah was aware of these laws at the time of the flood. When God told him in Genesis 7:2, “You shall take with you seven…pairs of every kind of clean animal…and one pair of every kind of unclean animal….” He did not explain which creatures were clean and unclean because Noah already knew.
Act 10:13-35 describes a dream the Apostle Peter had ten years after Christ’s crucifixion, in which he initially thought God was instructing him to eat unclean food. It is clear from Peter’s reaction the Apostles did not think Christ had abolished the food laws of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. His response was: "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean" (Acts 10:14). Peter eventually correctly understood the significance of his dream was that God’s message of salvation applies to all nations, and He was calling people from all races and backgrounds. “...God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean (verse 28).” Shortly thereafter Peter baptized the first uncircumcised gentiles God called into the Church (Acts 10:34-35; 45-48).
The account in Mark 7 is also often misunderstood and thought to indicate the food laws in Deuteronomy and Leviticus no longer applied in the New Testament era. However, the topic of discussion here is food in general, as Mark 7:2 points out: “Now when they (the Pharisees) saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault." They then asked Jesus, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" (verse 5).
In Mark 7:18-19 Jesus explained: “...whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him because it doesn’t enter his heart, but his stomach, and is eliminated….” Many modern translations of the New Testament erroneously insert additional words into the text of Mark 7:18-19. The New International Version ends verse 19 with the comment: "In saying this, Jesus declared all foods 'clean'." The New King James Version has "thus purifying all foods." The food laws are not in question here. The disciples were being criticized for not following ceremonial hand-washing procedures and, after decrying the hypocrisy of this and other religious practices, Jesus describes the attitudes that defile us “... out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21-23). Some of these same qualities are listed in Galatians 5:19-21 as "works of the flesh." They are contrasted with the "fruit of the Spirit" which are listed as: "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness [and] self-control…." (Galatians 5:22-23).
Many also believe Romans 14 tells us Christians are free from all former biblical restrictions regarding the meats they may eat. They cite as proof verse 14 in which Paul wrote, "I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." This approach, however, fails to consider the context of Paul's letter as well as the specific Greek words he used.
The food controversy here was over meat sacrificed to idols. The Romans of the day commonly offered both meat and wine to idols, with portions of the offerings later being sold in the marketplace. Some thought there was nothing wrong with eating this meat, while others had a guilty conscience about it. Paul explained those whose consciences were not troubled by eating meat that might have been ceremonially offered to idols could go ahead and eat it as long as they did not offend others who may believe it was a wrong thing to do. Paul instructs, "..let each be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5) because "...whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). (See our article Does Romans 14 Abolish God’s Law About Clean And Unclean Meats for a more detailed explanation of these scriptures and the Greek words Paul used here.)”
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“Without a belief in God, there is no anchor for absolute moral truths. Russian novelist, writer and philosopher Fyodor Dostoyevsky, in his novel The Brothers Karamazov, wrote, “If God does not exist, everything is permitted.”
“Many think of "faith" as a feeling or a collection of ideas representing our convictions, but although these concepts involve elements of faith, the full definition is much broader. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “...being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (New International Version).
With all my tiny heart, 
“Did you know that honey contains a substance that helps the human brain work better?
