Acts 8:1-20  As Yet [The Holy Ghost] had Fallen on None of Them

[Study Aired February 12, 2023]

Act 8:1  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.
Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.
Act 8:9  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:
Act 8:10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

In our last study, Stephen had been stoned to death and became the first Christian to die for His faith in Christ. That stoning was supervised by a young man named Saul:

Act 7:58  and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

This chapter begins by pointing out that the young man, Saul, consented to Stephen’s death, and then we are informed that the church came under great persecution at the time of Stephen’s stoning:

Act 8:1  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 whole church was still all Jewish and was still believing that physical Israel was God’s chosen nation. The first question they asked after Christ’s resurrection reveals that they believed Christ would very soon appear in power and deliver physical Israel from her Roman oppressors and establish physical Israel as the chief nation on earth. There was yet no concept of a spiritual seed of Abraham which included the Gentiles. This question reveals just how spiritually immature the apostles themselves were at the time of the resurrection of Christ:

Act 1:3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

The apostles were not yet given the understanding of the things of the spirit, and when Christ spoke to them “of things pertaining to the kingdom of God”, they were conflating “the kingdom of God” with the carnal nation of physical Israel.

These Christians who “were all scattered abroad” were not yet scattered beyond Israel. They were scattered “throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”, and the apostles themselves were not scattered at all. They were all still in Jerusalem, still believing that physical Jerusalem was to be the capital of the coming kingdom of God they had been commissioned to proclaim:

Luk 8:1  And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Luk 9:1  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Luk 9:2  And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

When the Pharisees had asked Christ about this coming kingdom, He had told them that His kingdom was an inward kingdom, but neither the Pharisees nor His disciples had a spiritual bone in their bodies at that time, and they were still looking for a physical kingdom:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christ certainly was not telling the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was within them. What He was saying is that the kingdom of God is within those it is within.

In the very next verse He is speaking to His disciples, and if any of us had heard these words with no spiritual insights we, too, would have been led to believe that soon after His death and resurrection the kingdom of God would come to this earth:

Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Luk 17:25  But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

It is true that Christ did not say, “Immediately after I suffer many things and immediately after I am rejected of this generation the Son of Man will appear to establish His kingdom as the lightning lightens out of one part under heaven and shines unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” His words would certainly lead one to believe that His kingdom was imminent. Indeed, His kingdom did come on the day of Pentecost when the holy spirit for the first time ever entered into and took up residence within the one hundred and twenty people who were in the upper room on that day. However, even after the holy spirit had come into the disciples, it would still be several years before they understood that being a physical Jew without Christ did not make one a ‘Jew’ at all:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Christ had made these statements also:

Mar 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Mar 14:25  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

The apostles Peter, James and John, “saw the kingdom of God come with power” the very next week as the very next verse explains with the conjunction ‘and’:

Mar 9:2  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
Mar 9:4  And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
Mar 9:5  And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mar 9:6  For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mar 9:8  And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Mar 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
Mar 9:10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

The apostles did not understand the meaning of “rising from the dead”. How could they possibly understand what “the kingdom of God is within you” meant?

There is no doubt the disciples and the apostles all thought the physical kingdom of God was imminent in their day. They were not yet given to understand the full meaning of “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

Judaea and Samaria are both within Israel, and there is yet no understanding of the gospel going to the Gentiles. Peter has not yet been sent to the house of Cornelius the Gentile Roman Centurion, and Saul of Tarsus has not yet been converted. In fact, it is at this point Saul makes the persecution of all Christians his life’s occupation:

Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where [within Israel] preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Christ had earlier told His disciples they were not to go to the Samaritans. He commissioned them to tell only the house of Israel that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is the first time anyone has gone to speak to the Samaritans since Christ spent a few days with them when He witnessed to the woman at Jacob’s well:

Joh 4:28  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Joh 4:30  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Joh 4:39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41  And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Christ had been well received by the Samaritans, and Philip capitalized upon the work Christ had done:

Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.

Here we are given another example of a Jew who believed in Christ but did not abide in His word as Christ told us in:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.

It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but it is only in our patience that the words of Christ within us give us dominion over sin in our lives:

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

We are now introduced to just such a Jewish believer; one who believes in Christ but is not given to abide in and “continue in [His] Word”:

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

These “sorceries” are the same “sorceries” associated with Babylon the great, the mother of harlots:

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Isa 47:4  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Isa 47:6  I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Isa 47:7  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
Isa 47:8  Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Isa 47:9  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Isa 47:10  For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Isa 47:11  Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Isa 47:12  Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Isa 47:13  Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Isa 47:14  Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Isa 47:15  Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

This is the spirit of this ‘Samaritan Simon’. He believed in Christ, but he did so for personal gain and not to glorify God and not for the benefit of his brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the spirit of all the prosperity ministers who cannot see that the apostle John says these words in Isaiah 47 are actually referring to Babylon the Great as “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified”, and Paul tells  us that “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” is the anti-type of Hagar, the bondwoman and her son Ishmael:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Physical Jerusalem typifies the Lord’s apostate church. This is what the Lord says of His apostate people:

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following [I must get to Jerusalem]: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

This is physical water baptism, which is a mere ritual and like physical circumcision, does nothing to change the heart and mind. The church in this reformation dispensation is still living under the law of Moses as we all first do. We all know at the beginning of our calling that Christ has made all the changes He proclaimed in Matthew 5-7 where He quoted the law of Moses every time He said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time… love your neighbor and hate your enemy… eye for eye and tooth for tooth… swear only by the name of the Lord your God.”  Then He reformed the law of Moses with the words of His New Covenant when He taught saying… “but I say unto you… love your enemy… swear not at all… resist not evil… turn the other cheek…” etc. Philip and all the apostles are aware of those changes, but if Christ had not spoken to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, they would have been hesitant to go in unto Samaritans who were Jews who worshipped in Bethel and in Dan where Jereboam, the son of Nebat, has erected two golden calves and had established a separate society with separate festivals to keep the people of Israel from worshipping at Jerusalem. “By little and by little” the Lord is opening the eyes and hearts of his Jewish disciples to accept the all-encompassing depth and width of His kingdom.

Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

There is all the proof needed to demonstrate that water baptism changes nothing. Simon the sorcerer “was baptized”, but as we will see in our next study, he was not at all converted and still had the same self-centered heart and mind. ‘Believing in Christ’ does not make one a “disciple indeed”. A true “disciple indeed” will continue in and abide and remain in the Lord’s words and His doctrines through thick and thin and through persecution and much tribulation:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? [‘We are professing Christians, how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?’]
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth [of sin] not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

According to the BT+ the name ‘Simon’ is defined as ‘Peter’ or ‘petros’, meaning ‘stone’. As with every word, there is both a positive and a negative application. Simon Peter was a “lively stone” in the Lord’s house. Simon the sorcerer of Samaria has been given a “stony heart” which is not revealed to be changed to “a heart of flesh” in this age.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

This Samaritan ‘Simon’ is given the same name as ‘Simon Peter’, but as we will see, he is not at all Peter.

Like Ananias and Sapphira, who sold their land and lied about how much of the proceeds they had given to the church, this ‘Simon of Samaria’ is introduced to us with the conjunction ‘but’. Here are those introductions side by side:

Ananias the liar:

Act 5:1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Simon the sorcerer:

Act 8:9  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:

Both Ananias and Simon of Samaria sought preeminence among the Lord’s people without having a humble servant’s spirit, which is the spirit of Christ.

Nevertheless, the work of the holy spirit through Philip was used by the Lord to begin to open the eyes of the apostles to the fact that physical Jerusalem was not the center of the universe, and Peter and John were sent to Samaria to further the Lord’s work among the apostate Jewish Samaritans. When I use the word ‘apostate’ here I am not referring to apostatizing from the faith of Christ. I use it to refer to the fact that the Samaritans had apostatized from keeping the holy days of Moses in Jerusalem as the woman at the well told Christ:

Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

The Samaritans were the despised outcasts of the people of God in Christ’s day, just as David was an outsider in the days when King Saul sought to kill him.

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Without adding to or taking away from the words of scripture, we can observe that both Philip and the apostles, Peter and John, were gracious toward Simon, until his actions revealed what was actually in his heart. Simon had been baptized in water by Philip, but Peter and John did not lay hands on him to receive the holy spirit. Peter had discerned that Simon was not a man who had been dragged to the Lord by the Lord’s chastening grace. Rather this ‘Simon’ still possessed a “stony heart” which actually believed that he had something to offer the Lord, and he had no idea why the apostles were not the least bit interested in his money.

In our next study we will see that the apostle Peter tells Simon to repent of this presumptuous spirit and pray that the Lord will forgive him of “this wickedness”. Peter has learned and now knows the Truth of the Lord’s words which were spoken while He was still here in a body of flesh and blood, when He told His disciples:

Joh 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43  Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Every part of the body of Christ is first “taught of God” and is “dragged [to] Him” before being brought into His corporate body. This principle applied to Peter himself:

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Peter knew and understood the truth of those words of the Lord, and he immediately rebuked this spirit which assumes it can buy off the God of Creation. “Thy money perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” is not a solicitous spirit one might have as he bears with the weak. The holy spirit has given Peter to understand that this person is not yet being shown who Christ is. Neither Christ nor His Christ will be bribed.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction [of their old man], whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Php 3:20  For our conversation [G4175: ‘politeuma’, citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

‘Enemies of the cross of Christ’ despise hearing of His judgments. They much prefer to hear smooth things (Isa 30:10), telling themselves they are ‘encouraging and helping others’ when the truth is they are doing others a disservice and spiritually spoiling those who are weak in the faith by failing to prepare them for the promised persecutions which come with being faithful to Christ and His doctrines.

Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

The gospel of Christ is not the smooth-talking enchantments and sorceries of Simon of Samaria. Rather, the true gospel of Christ acknowledges that serving Christ in this present evil age entails “fiery trials… suffering with [Him] and much persecution”. The gospel of Christ also includes the promise of the reward of being manifested as the sons of God, a  promise which far outweighs all the hardships of our faithfulness in this present evil age:

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature [mankind] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.