When Paul visited EPHESUS, his message was consistent, no matter to whom he spoke: ‘repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’, Acts chapter 20 verse 21. If we want to see what this message ‘looks like’ in reality, we need look no further than first century Ephesus, It was renowned for every form of spiritism and magic. These evils had impregnated all aspects of its society, both secular and religious.
Sadly, we discover that these same facets of the occult are very much ‘alive’ in the 21st century. Even a cursory glance at the literature on sale in bookshops provides abundant evidence of this. Maybe, some of us, even Christians, would prefer others not to see the books we have on our shelves at home! This was certainly the case in Ephesus, when Paul visited the city. The Lord performed some remarkable miracles through him, while he was there, Acts chapter 19 verses 11-12. so much so that ‘many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and BURNED THEM IN THE SIGHT OF ALL. And they counted up the value of them, and it totalled fifty thousand pieces of silver’, Acts chapter 19 verse 19.
THIS WAS GENUINE REPENTANCE! The owners of the books could have become rich, if they had sold them; however, they were so convicted about the evil they contained that the only honourable thing to do was to consign them to the communal bonfire, in front of witnesses! The result of their actions was that ‘the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed’, Acts chapter 19 verse 20. Occult books can easily be destroyed but the Word of God will never pass away. Occult books do untold harm but God’s Word brings a message of love, hope and forgiveness, through faith in Christ.
Have you read the Book of Books, the Bible? Please contact us and we will gladly send you a Bible wherever you are. We will pray for you. Come back again for another Message of Hope.