“The Great Pretender” Acts 8:9-25
In the first eight verses of chapter 8 we saw revival come to Samaria as Philip the Evangelist preached the good news of Jesus Christ. Miracles were performed, souls saved.
Just a few verses in and we see that wherever God sends genuine revival, Satan attempts to send counterfeit revival. For example: John the Baptist preached a message that centered on repentance, saying “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
Repent is defined as a change of mind which leads to change of life.
When I got saved, I didn’t continue to walk and talk the same way because God gave me a new heart, new desires, and pointed me in a new direction!
The idea that you can be genuinely saved and not turn from sin, is foreign to the Bible.
2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized, John the Baptist saw they had not repented of their sins, and there was no evidence they had been truly converted. The evidence clearly shown by their lifestyle was just as wicked as it had always been.
That’s why we read in, Matthew 3:7-8
“But when he [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
In other words John was calling them a bunch of fakes or pretenders!
And the truth is that where there is the real thing, Satan will plant counterfeits. He is able to make them look real.
It’s a shame but true that if the Rapture occurs during church time it really does not matter how deep the foundation of the church is, there will be some sitting, wondering, scratching their heads. There will be some left behind!
In the book and the movie “Left Behind” it was a pastor who got left behind! He had a title but no real relationship with Jesus.
The same thing also happened in the ministry of Paul.
False teachers had come in and were leading people astray, saying they had divine authority, even declaring themselves to be above the apostles, which was false. They claimed to be true servants of God, but were they were nothing more than impostors or pretenders.
[2 Cor 11:13-14 NKJV] “13 For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”
Did you know that for everything God has, Satan has a counterfeit?
Here is Satan’s counterfeit gospel:
[Gal 1:6-9 NKJV] “6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
Counterfeit righteousness:
[Rom 10:3 NKJV] “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”
There is a huge difference between righteousness and self-righteousness!
The prophet Isaiah says in: [Isa 64:6 NKJV] “But we are all like an unclean [thing], And all our righteousnesses [are] like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
Counterfeit church:
[Rev 2:9 NLT] “I know about your suffering and your poverty--but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.”
They gather in buildings locally and all over the world today, thinking they know the true and living God, without ever realizing they bow before Satan himself!
It may be politically correct, but it’s dead wrong to say “we all call God by different names, but we mean the same thing!”
Counterfeit preachers:
[2Pe 2:1 NIV] “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
Some do some things in the name of Jesus, but what they do is contrary to the Word of God. Some of those healing services. One guy is nothing more than a comedian, who spends more time making fun of those who don’t act like him, etc.
Satan is a master counterfeiter! He will go so far as to even create a
Counterfeit Christ
during the tribulation…the antichrist.
[1Jo 2:18 NLT] “18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.”
By the way, some counterfeit preachers water down their message so much to this world that they unintentionally create a counterfeit Jesus of their own! They preach another Jesus…not the literal God-Man of the Bible, but a more tolerable Jesus. This Jesus is so tolerable one might think He just stepped right out of pop-culture and into their church!
Now I don’t believe anyone in this room would accept Buddha or Mohammed, but I would venture to say that many regular American churchgoers this very hour accept and follow another Jesus than the One whose precious feet walked this earth and died on the cross 2k years ago!
Satan has a counterfeit gospel, righteousness, church, preachers, Christ…and on top of all of this, yes, Satan has:
Counterfeit Christians:
Such is the case of Simon here in Acts 8. A great revival occurs and untold numbers are being saved, and along comes a man named Simon, a reminder that Satan attends true revivals and leaves his business card behind!
Simon is a classic example of a counterfeit Christian—we could call him “The Great Pretender”.
1. Simon’s claim to fame.
According to verse 9 he was his own best advertiser and the people were astounded and amazed.
Simon did indeed work miracles. 2 verses earlier Philip worked miracles…but his were of God, and the sorcerer does his miracles by the power of Satan.
Did you know that the Bible strictly forbids having anything to do with sorcery and the like: such as astrology, horoscopes, fortunetelling, psychics, tarot cards, palm reading, séances, Ouija boards, spirit-channeling, divinations, enchantments, incantations, witchcraft, wizardry, charms, spells, or anything else invented by the occult world, including today’s big names: Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons and similar video games, and the death-obsessed “gothic” movement!?
The Bible forbids involvement in these things! God goes so far as to call these things, in the KJV, an abomination.
[Deu 18:10-12 NLT] “10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.”
It’s because they all have their roots in Satan’s kingdom.
Some say, “you don’t understand, it’s real, they really did tell my fortune or that board really did move or that table really did hover!”
I don’t doubt it for a second! The spirit world is real, Satan is as real as my God is real…and IF I believe in Heaven’s Angels I MUST believe in the fallen angels of hell!
Satan fills and empowers today, and in the tribulation both the antichrist and his false prophet will rise to power on a platform of miracles they are able to work!
Some people say, “If they do miracles, if they perform healings, they must be of God!”
[not necessarily!]
[1 John 4:1] “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
These occult practices ran rampant in the 1st century.
Here’s something to consider when it comes to the occult: supply is regulated by demand…that’s economics 101. Why are 4 out of 5 restaurants fast food based and why can’t you get close to one around noontime? Because of the high demand today for the quick and easy regardless of the health risk!”
Demand creates supply… supply NEVER creates demand!
The only reason Simon could have a following was because of the sad spiritual state of Samaria! There was a famine in the land…not a famine of food, but of the Word of God!
This isn’t something new! It has been going on since the Garden.
Do you think we are just beginning to see this in America? It didn’t slip in overnight.
**Between the years of 1997-2001 occult book sales doubled.
• Colleges/Universities offer credited courses on the occult and more than 2k college campuses are known to be set up with computerized horoscopes, 24 hours a day, so students can seek the guidance they are demanding!
• Psychic hotlines, once were small-time and laughed at, are now a multi-billion dollar a year business employing tens of thousands and touching tens of millions!
• Americans today spend over 200 million per year on Astrology.
• Today there are over 10k practicing witches registered in America.
• NYC yellow pages: look up witches and it takes up 2 full columns!
• America buys 2 million Ouija boards each year.
• Thousands of public schools w/ prayer outlawed now have courses which teach witchcraft and many make Harry Potter required reading!
Now tell me something. Does America need a revival?
Where there is no truth people believe a lie! I strongly believe that if the church doesn’t stand for something people will fall for anything.
That’s Simon’s message was that he was some great one and people were believing the lie, without realizing that he was empowered by Satan himself!
Next I want to look at;
2. Simon’s profession of faith: Look at verse 13.
When it says Simon believed also, does that mean he got saved?
Not necessarily!
Are we saved by believing? Yes, by believing on. But look at
[Jas 2:19 NLT] “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”
The demons of hell believe…they believe IN God, not ON Him!
They believe in His existence. They believe in His deity… In other words they believe He is the one true God.
[Mark 3:11] “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.”
According to Matthew 8:29, the demons also believe Jesus is the final judge w/ power to send them to hell.
The demons believed with their head but not with their heart.
Simon believed in his head. Now maybe it touched his heart, but he never submitted his will to the will of God. He was a pretender and his faith wasn’t based on the Word of God, but on the miracles he saw.
It was the miracles that so interested him and he had no intention of following Christ, simply wanted to be able to work miracles. We see this today, as thousands fill auditoriums each and every week, looking for the very same thing!
Look at verses 18-19
Listen! It’s one thing to walk an aisle or pray some prayer. It’s another thing to be truly born again!
Final proof: verses 21-23
Do these verses sound like a saved man?
Verse 24 is no evidence of salvation. He just didn’t want these bad things to happen to him!
You and I can pray for those who ask us to pray for them to be saved, but they will ONLY get saved is when they pray for themselves!
This passage shows us just how close someone can come to salvation and yet never be genuinely converted!
Simon followed others down the aisle, made a profession of faith, was even baptized, but he was never born again.
Simon’s claim to fame, his false profession… Finally:
3. Simon’s presumption. Verses 18-19
Simon walked in carrying a big bag of money and asked the apostles, “What is the going rate for the Holy Ghost these days?”
Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, started pastoring at age of 16…by the time he was 25 he led his church to build a 5k seat auditorium that would never be big enough. And he preached all over Europe as well.
At the same time, there was a great circus builder prominent: P.T. Barnum…he heard about Spurgeon and the great crowds coming out to hear him…he sent him a telegram w/ an offer of a large sum of money to come and preach in his circus tents. [charge admission was the idea]
Spurgeon sent a short reply: Dear Mr. Barnum, you’ll find my answer in Acts 8:20.
I’d love to have been there when he read these words. [Acts 8:20 NIV] “Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!”
Money can buy a lot of things, but money cannot buy your salvation!
