As Barnabas and Paul were being led by the Holy Spirit to Cyprus on their first missionary journey, they encountered opposition from a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. Like the false prophets of the Old Testament, his life exhibited distinct characteristics that revealed his true identity as an enemy of God. By examining these qualities, we can be prepared, like Paul and Barnabas, to stand in the Spirit’s power against the lies of impostors of the Gospel with boldness and wisdom.
Opposers of True Faith
In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas set out on an exciting mission to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to unreached people in Cyprus. One of the stops they made on this journey was the city Paphos, where they had an unusual encounter with a sorcerer and false prophet by the name of Bar-Jesus. Luke writes that he was an attendant to the proconsul -- an office that was similar to an appointed governor today. He heard news about the work and witness of Paul and Barnabas and sent for them. On learning about this, Bar-Jesus began opposing them and sought to “turn the proconsul from the faith” by speaking against the disciples (Acts 13:8).
Interestingly, Paul did not try to discourse with the false prophet or to evangelize him, but instead boldly opposed him. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he declared to Bar-Jesus, whose name ironically means “son of the Savior,” that he was the exact opposite – a child of the devil (Acts 13:10). Paul’s rebuke, which sounds harsh in our relativistic culture, was based on Jesus’ very words to those who opposed him in John 8:44. He declared, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.”
This reminds us of the central truth throughout Scripture that there is no neutrality. We are either for God or against him. The ones in the Bible and those we encounter in this life who not only reject God’s words for eternal life but who also actively speak against it show their true identity as false prophets and children of the wicked one.
Enemy of All That Is Right
Paul continues to tell Bar-Jesus that he is an “enemy of everything that is right” (Acts 13:10). To oppose the truth of the Gospel and the Lordship of Jesus is to oppose God himself and become his enemy. One of the chief characteristics of the false prophet is the inability to speak truth, just like Satan. Jesus describes him as a “murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
While Bar-Jesus and other false prophets masquerade as people of insight and integrity, the rottenness of their hearts prevents them from doing anything righteous. Not only are they unable to do good, they have yielded to the fleshly desire to destroy all that is good and comes from God. We can recognize them by the fruit of their lips, as they go about opposing the truth of the Word of God, and by their lives. About this, Jesus warned, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:16-18).
Full of Deceit and Trickery
It’s interesting to note the difference in the way Paul and Barnabas were sent off and how Bar-Jesus was driven. We see that they went out in the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit while he was driven along by the power of the wicked one. Paul rebukes him for being filled with deceit and trickery rather than truth and revelation from God, which he pretended to bring (Acts 13:10). Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15 when he said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."
Pervert the Right Way of the Lord
Paul uses another all-inclusive word to explain Bar-Jesus’ actions in subverting the truth. He declares, “You never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10). By this, Paul meant that he always distorted and twisted the way of Truth, which echoes God’s own declaration in Genesis 6 about sinful humanity -- that all the inclinations of the human heart are evil (Genesis 6:5). Paul’s words in Romans 3, which describe all of humanity in Adam, provide a detailed character sketch for the false prophet who knowingly has distorted the right way of the Lord.
The Hand of the Lord Against Him
Since Bar-Jesus was resisting and rejecting the person and work of Christ, Paul reminded him that the very hand of the Lord was against him (Acts 13:11). At this, God struck him blind so that he couldn’t even see the light from the sun. This physical demonstration of God‘s judgment, which happened immediately and left him groping about in the darkness, was a picture of his utter depravity and the spiritual darkness that he lived in. God exposed the wickedness of his heart through the apostle Paul’s rebuke and then laid bare his hidden sin before all those he sought to deceive. This immediate judgment revealed to all who were present that God was the sovereign Lord. His power, which trumped the power of the sorcerer and the demons controlling him, left the proconsul in awe. When he saw what happened, “he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12).
Like Bar-Jesus, the false prophets today seek to lead others astray. They oppose the Spirit’s revelation of the Messiah and work to hinder the advancement of the kingdom of God by spreading messages that are contrary to the Word. It’s vital to first remember that God is sovereign and reigns over them all. From this place of confidence in God we can remain sober-minded and alert so that we can discern and lovingly but firmly stand against their deception.
"Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11).
