Who did Paul and Barnabas encounter on the island of Paphos?
While beginning the missionary journey out among the Gentiles, Paul and Barnabas came to the island of Paphos and ran across a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew named Bar-Jesus, who was with the deputy or governor of the country, the Roman Sergius Paulus.
Les teaches that Acts 13:6 provides a brief preview of the mystery later explained in Romans 11, where Israel would be sovereignly and judicially blinded by God for a long period. On the island of Paphos, Paul and Barnabas encountered a sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was a Jew, and he was associated with the deputy or governor of the country, the Roman Sergius Paulus. The island was primarily Gentile and no doubt under Roman dominion. Paul was beginning his missionary journey out among the Gentiles, and the church in Antioch sent him and Barnabas out.
And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
More Questions
What does the island of Cyprus represent in Acts 13?
The Cyprus episode in Acts 13, where Paul and Barnabas encountered a false Jewish prophet, is a prophetic picture of the nation of Israel.