Acts 8:1 — No Fear

Dear Friends,

Greetings in Christ!

In this post, let us consider how the apostles patiently waited for the leading of the Holy Spirit in the midst of persecution. 

Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit and give us understanding as we read your word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

     And Saul was consenting unto his [Stephen’s] death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭

One of the things I have been contemplating as part of this study in Acts is how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit. To be led of the Spirit, I first need to hear the voice of the Spirit. In The Spiritual Man, Watchman Nee spends a lot of time talking about the need to differentiate between the various voices competing for our attention:

1 There are the many voices from the world that bombard us each day.
2 There are my thoughts, that come from my own soul, or mind. 
3 There is the voice of the enemy, who can inject thoughts into our minds.
4 Then there is the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The last three on the list are the tricky ones. One guideline that I have found helpful is to ask myself if I sense fear. If you sense that a directive you think may be coming from the Holy Spirit has an element of fear attached to it, that is an indicator that it is in fact coming from the enemy. 

One of my favorite proverbs is, ‘Worry is a sin’. (Phil 4:6)

This sort of thought inevitably comes when God is telling us to do something new for Him, when we really need to trust Him as we step out in faith. The enemy would love nothing more than to cripple us with fear. He wants us to be afraid of the government, or a new relationship, or some potential disaster that will befall us if we trust God and do as He says — anything he can use to scare us. Sometimes he will even pick some minor arbitrary issue. For example, I recently felt like God might be telling me if I rented a car to go to Philippi, it was going to turn out to be a hassle that was more trouble than it was worth. I’ve rented dozens of cars and I’ve never had a thought like this before. I almost listened to this thought, but then I realized it was coming from a place of fear. I went ahead a rented the car, and when I woke up on the day I had to return it, I was having a dream that the car was stolen. That was when I knew the enemy was trying to scare me. I had been wondering what the deal was, and now I knew. The dream was proof that I was worried.

In closing, as Saul was wreaking havoc on the church in Jerusalem, the apostles were waiting on the Lord, a good habit to get into. (Why didn’t Saul go after them? Probably because he saw what happened the first two times they tried.) David, who spent a lot of time waiting for the leading of the Holy Spirit, wrote: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. (Ps 56:3, 4)

Solomon, a chip of the old block, wrote:

     The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Proverbs‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬ 

Be brave friends, the Lord commands it: Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)

Acts 8:1-11 — Simon the Sorcerer Part I

Dear Friends,

Greetings in Christ!

When we left off in Acts 7, Stephen was being received into heaven as they stoned him with stones. Saul was present as a party to his execution. As Chapter 8 opens, Dr Luke mentions Saul again, as consenting to Stephen’s death, and then engaging in the persecution of other believers as well. Give us understanding, Father, and fill us with your Holy Spirit, as we read your word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Acts 8:1-11
AND Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The apostles did not fear the persecution. They stayed in Jerusalem and cared for the church.

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus gave the outline for Acts. We now come to Section II, as the gospel goes into Samaria. The persecution is watering the church and making it grow, as rank-and-file Christians go out from Jerusalem into Samaria. Similar to how the wind spreads the seeds of a dandelion, the Spirit is using their evangelism to spread the seeds of the gospel.

Just as the Holy Spirit raised up Stephen from among the seven deacons selected in Chapter 7, likewise now Philip steps out in faith:

5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies [paralized], and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city.

Wherever the gospel is received, it brings joy. Reading Acts reminds me of when I was young and living in San Diego. My friends and I met in houses, churches, Christian coffee shops, on the beach, in the park, and Jesus always came with. When one of my friends was diagnosed with a fatal disease, we all felt the leading of the Holy Spirit telling us to hold a prayer meeting. After we laid hands on her and asked for healing, the Spirit spoke to us and told us she was healed, so we sent her back to the doctor to get tested again. When we went to collect her at the hospital, she informed us the test was negative and she had a clean bill of health. Do you think we had joy? You bet we did, but eventually hardships hit our group and we all splintered off in different directions. That was bitter, but when I ended up in the mission field I found even more joy.

Paul’s treatise on joy, his letter to the Philippians, was written while he was in prison, as joy is not necessarily dependent on circumstances. As Christians, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10), whatever our situation may be. Moving through Acts, Dr Luke has been highlighting the joy and gladness that the gospel brings. (Acts 2:41, 46; 3:8f; 5:41; 8:8, 39) Dr Luke highlighted the joy that accompanies the gospel in his first letter to Theophilus as well, but not everyone is filled with joy. We should endeavor to rejoice in the Lord alway (Phil 4:4) but remember to weep with those who weep. (Rom 12:15)

9 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:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Acts 8:1-11

That is a very interesting word in verse 11, sorceries (Gk mageia).  Simon fooled people by pretending to be “some great one.” I suspect he wore a costume, as that is usually the first requirement to be a convincing con man sorcerer. For example, a Catholic priest wears a costume, says some mysterious-sounding Latin words, “Hoc est enim Corpus meum,” and turns a piece of bread into Jesus. (Did you know that is where the phrase ‘hocus pocus’ comes from?) 

Anthony Fauci’s costume was his tie and white lab coat. His silver tongue was every bit as effective as a mysterious-sounding foreign language. The tie and white lab coat is probably the most effective costume there is in this regard. People will believe almost anything or do almost anything if a man in a tie and a white lab coat tells them to. This has been demonstrated, for example, in the Milgram experiment, where people delivered what they believed were life-threatening electric shocks to others because a man in a tie and a white lab coat told them to. 

The TV set is an effective prop for sorcery as well. Viewing something on TV, or even in the new media if it is presented well, creates a psychological effect of believability. Why am I talking about this? Because Jesus warned us not to be deceived. (Matt 24:4) 

Whether Simon’s ‘sorcery’ involved any real magic, as seemed to be the case with Pharaoh’s magicians, for example, is not certain, but what real difference does it make? Consider our situation today; when spiritual wickedness in high places takes control of peoples’ minds through control of mass media, turns them away from the gospel, and convinces them to trust new-world-order narratives that are harmful to themselves and others, what real difference does it make how they manage to pull it off? 

Let us consider the contrast between the ‘magic’ Simon used and the power of the gospel that Philip possessed:

Magic requires skill, deception. It enriches the practitioner as he deceived his victims.

The gospel requires humility, obedience, and faith to minister the truth of the the word of God (creation, death and resurrection, second coming, etc). The gospel benefits all who receive it.

The word for Simon’s magic, mageia, is different than pharmakeia, which specifically refers to deception using drugs or poisons. That one, pharmakeia, is a hallmark of the end-times deception. (Rev 9:21; 18:23) 

Although we are not currently experiencing 2020-level lies and deceptions, there is deception all around us. Even for those of us who know Christ, this deception is dangerous. Otherwise, Jesus would not have bothered to warn us about it. Jesus said if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We will see what happens with Simon the sorcerer in our next post, but for now, let’s consider the Simons in our own day. Let’s carefully consider what we are being told. Question everything and examine all the evidence when considering important issues. Remember the key question, Who benefits? Pray for discernment. Most of what we are told in the media is lies, but if we keep our focus on Christ, if we keep our armor on and continue in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we will not have a hard time remembering that we are the ones who have the answers — not the talking heads on TV or on X. Most of them are just a distraction.

In closing, ‭‭I don’t often feel joy after reading the news, but I do after sharing the gospel with someone. It may be foolishness to those that perish, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Father, we are living in the age of deceit and the strong delusion is already taking hold of peoples’ minds. Strengthen us Father, that we may be strong in the Spirit and in the truth of your word, that we may light the way for others. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prophecy Update: Finally, let’s consider a bit of good news concerning one of the ‘Simons’ in our day, Jeffrey Epstein bud and tech titan, Bill Gates. He has been walking back his ridiculous claims about ‘climate change’. Notice the body language in the clips below as Gates realizes people are no longer fooled by his nonsense:

Of course, profiting from ‘climate change’ through things like carbon credits and fake meat was only one of Gates’ grifts. He is a party to the mRNA vaccine catastrophe, which used the same business model he used at Microsoft; create computer viruses, then market the solution. He applied this model to vaccines, mosquitoes (more vaccines), and more — all of it tied to the new world order and their agenda of depopulation.

PS: Endofdays.press will expire in January. Notes on Acts will continue to be posted at: MichaelJamesHarvey.substack.com

#ProphecyUpdate June 2025 #MustReading #IntelligenceBriefing:

Prologue

Dragon Slayer (2014),  P 161:

A well-rounded worldview is one that incorporates not just religion, philosophy, history, and current events, but politics as well — a reasoned view of politics. In order to truly understand an organization, one needs to understand its roots. Although the Democratic Party has styled itself as the party of civil liberties, their true roots are such that they were indeed the party of slavery. This is what they stood for historically. The Republicans, the party of Lincoln, started out well but have been co-opted in the twenty-first century by the ‘neocons’, a name they adopted for themselves. The neocons no longer represent American values as defined by the founding fathers. The anti-slavery stance for example was a founding-father value. Many of the founding fathers were abolitionists. The Declaration of Independence itself attacked slavery by declaring that all men are created equal. However the neocons are now championing the end of civil liberties by destroying the Bill of Rights, and by subjugating the modern populations of the world. The Democrats are complicit with them. 

Dragon Slayer (2014),  P 215:

The New World Order, with its intervention policies that erode national sovereignty, used to only appeal to the left. Then along came the neocons. The neocons have been in control of the Republican Party ever since George H.W. Bush. Irving Kristol is the “godfather of neoconservatism.” This is what Irving Krostol’s Wikipedia page says: “As a former Trotskyist, Irving was indeed himself mugged by the “reality” of conservative philosophy and enfolded leftist policies such as a lack of objection to welfare programs, international “revolution” through nation-building/ militarily imposed “democracy” and application of Fabian Socialism/Keynesianism coupled with a socially conservative viewpoint. These concepts lie at the core of neoconservative philosophy to this day.” [Emphasis added.] 

Dragon Slayer (2014), P 43:

After our involvement in Iraq, it was admitted that Iraq had nothing to do with September 11, nor were there any WMDs in Iraq.  Instead of liberation, our involvement only badly destabilized the area, forcing the Christians to flee the country. They sought refuge in Syria, where it was granted. Then we aided in the destabilization of Syria by supporting the Syrian rebels. The Christian refugees and the local Christians were badly persecuted by the very rebel forces the United States was supporting. The Christians were raped, killed, forced to convert to Islam, or beheaded in many cases. Many fled for their lives back to Iraq again. 

Notes on John (2020):

Essentially what we are looking at is Obama 2.0. [Biden] We can expect all the things I wrote about in Dragon Slayer Jesus Christ to resurface. For example, expect to see ISIS come back and wars in the Middle East to return. Added to this is the fact that Biden is 100% committed to medical tyranny in the name of COVID. Take heart though. All these are the beginning of sorrows [birth pangs]. Although dark times are upon us, the good news is we have a new birth of freedom coming. [Ie, 1000 years of peace (Rev 20)]

Notes on John (2021):

One of the greatest achievements of the Trump Administration was the defeat of ISIS and a drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the multiple peace treaties between Israel and her neighbors. Following the stolen presidential election of 2020, I wrote that we will soon see a return of the failed policies of the Obama Administration. Right on cue, Washington has been busy rebranding Mohammad al Jolani, the founder of al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, as a legitimate head of state dressed in Western business attire. In Dragon Slayer Jesus Christ, I wrote about how this shell game is played with al-Qaeda, blaming them for terrorism while at the same time using them to fight proxy wars. Now, they are being presented as our new ally, the legitimate government in Syria.

Fast forward to 2024: As the Biden Administration (Obama 2.0) was winding down, Syria was taken over by HTS in a lightning-fast eight-day blitz. Shortly afterward, the US lifted the terror designation from HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The wars in the Middle East are following a predictable pattern, ie the final stages of a plan set in motion over 25 years ago by the Project for a New American Century. After September 11, General Wesley Clark learned of these plans directly from the top brass in DC and made them public. The plan was to take over seven nations in the Middle East starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off, Iran. (See Dragon Slayer, p 179) 

That brings us to where we are now in 2025:

These events were orchestrated and executed by the Republican neocons. The Democrats under Obama were complicit with them. Now Trump — either wittingly or unwittingly, who knows — is embroiled in this plot. The momentum of this agenda is an unstoppable force, on a crash course with the immovable object of Bible prophecy. From a worldly perspective, what we see transpiring in the Middle East is essentially the Great Game Part II. This, however, is a very short-sighted perspective. To have an accurate worldview, one must examine everything through the lens of Scripture. 

Each stage in this process that kicked off on September 11, 2001 has antagonized various players in the Magog scenario of Ezekiel 38, 39. After the rapture of the church and the fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 (ie, the worldwide return of the Jews to Israel), Russia (Magog), Iran, and the other Muslim participants are going to be so incensed over their many losses that they are going to rise up in unison against Israel. They will feel invincible as they descend on their tiny adversary, only to be obliterated. After their defeat, their corpses will be buried in the valley of Hamon-gog. Their weapons will be burned for seven years. (Ez 39:1-16) Nevertheless, world sentiment will continue to turn against Israel (and toward the Antichrist) until Israel has to flee to Jordan, where they will find refuge in Petra. (Isa 16:1-4) When Jesus returns at the end of the Great Tribulation Period, Israel will receive her Messiah. (Zech 13:6) 

End of Prologue. Now we are prepared to proceed with this prophecy update:

In Daniel 9, Daniel recognized his people would soon be released from Babylon just as Jeremiah foretold. (Jer 29:10) Daniel knew that God was about to do something big. Daniel therefore prepared himself with prayer and fasting. God is preparing to do something big in our day too. The ‘great men’ of the earth make their plans. The Bible says God is laughing at them. (Ps 2:4) Father, give us understanding as we read thy word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daniel 9:1-21

1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20  And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

Daniel 9:1-21

In Daniel’s prayer, we see that one of the curses Israel brought on themselves through their transgressions was confusion. Daniel mentioned this twice. Daniel said this confusion had permeated their culture, affecting everyone from the head to the tail (v 7f). Mark Twain said history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Much like Israel, the church in these last days has sinned too. Hence, we are cursed with confusion just as they were. Let’s take a step back:

Do you remember where you were the first time you used the Internet? I certainly do. I also remember where I was when I first heard we were attacked on September 11, yet my emotional response to the one seemed to be an inverse function of the other. Like the precious Ring of Power in a Tolkien novel, the Internet captivated us. It then lured us away from our books, our critical thought patterns, and our communion with God. It was available to all, unprejudiced and nonthreatening. It was like a lotus salad on a silver platter served by an enchantress named Pandora. Once the Internet became part of our daily lives, I could not help but notice how people were embracing the opinions of total strangers. If their site appeared near the top of the search results, they were automatically an authority on any given subject. Before anyone even knew who was running Snopes it was widely regarded as the final arbiter of truth. When search results were later manipulated to hide certain hits and magnify others, the cancer metastasized

The complete control of the Internet was always the plan of the New World Order. I wrote about this in the 10-Year Anniversary Edition of Dragon Slayer (available for free here). Controlling the narrative is necessary for their plan of world domination, especially their plans to depopulate the world through vaccines, or what the Bible calls sorceries (Gk pharmakeia, Rev 18:23). Artificial Intelligence is taking the deception to the next level. I think the question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are going to let this trend affect us as Christians. Daniel serves as a model for us to follow in this regard. He refused to eat the rich food the Babylonians ate. He refused to follow their laws when they conflicted with his faith. Daniel was in Babylon but not of Babylon. Daniel was knowledgeable of the times and he exercised discernment; he prepared himself accordingly.

As for us, our King is coming back for us soon. Will He find you watching? Or will you be lulled to sleep by the alternate reality of Satan and his silicon army? Timothy Leary told his followers to “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” I say Turn off, tune out, unplug. I have never used Siri and I never will. I will always choose reality over AI. I do not own a TV. Digital lotus may be pleasurable for a season, but the end thereof is death. AI amounts to lies and deception. The Bible and analog reality point to the truth. Consider:

They are preparing to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. (Matt 24:15)

They are preparing the new economy of the New World Order. (Rev 13:16-18)

They are preparing the worldwide deception of the Antichrist. (2 Thess 2:11)

Are you prepared?

Whatever turn current events may take, the key thing to keep in mind is where all this is leading. Jesus is coming back soon. Jesus is not worried about the news headlines. We need to stay focused on Jesus. (Isa 26:3) Everything else is a distraction. 

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Hebrews 10:37

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 1 Peter 1:13

Keep your attention fixed on Christ and his kingdom. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Jesus is coming. In the final analysis that is all that really matters. Tell others. Be ready. Come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.