Title: Acts (Part 13) 

Subject: Acts 13 The Work of Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus
Summary: In this thirteenth installment expounding the book of Acts, John Ritenbaugh spends some time explaining the phenomena of lying wonders and visions (such as those seen at Lourdes and Fatima) 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 chapter 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.

Keywords: Antioch Bernadette Christ's Messiahship Crucifixion of Christ Cyprus Demon Elymas Fatima Hellenistic Jews Justification Lady of the Rosary Light to the Gentiles Lourdes Lying wonders Mortality of the soul Persecution Sergius Paulus Visions