Acts 13:9

But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, and said, O full of all guile and all villainy thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Saul, who is also called Paul ... "The ALSO here does not mean that the name `Paul' was here given for the first time, but that he had always had it."[16] "Paul" was the Gentile form of the name "Saul"; and as Saul was here beginning his great work among the Gentiles, it was appropriate that the Gentile form of the name would be used henceforth by Luke, except on a few occasions referring to his previous life.

Despite the above, however, Conybeare said, "We cannot believe it accidental that the words `who is also called Paul' occur at this particular point."[17] He made the deduction that the conversion of Sergius Paulus brought the name Paul to the surface and precipitated the use of it, despite the fact that Paul had long possessed the name.

O full of all guile ... etc. This strong denunciation of Elymas was announced by Paul through a revelation of the Holy Spirit; and the divine authorization of Paul's condemnation of Elymas was at once evident in the miracle that confirmed it. The rationalization of this miracle by MacGreggor asserts that "Probably the facts are that Paul denounced Bar-Jesus' spiritual blindness, and this led to the legend"[18] of Paul's inflicting physical blindness upon him. Like every satanic falsehood, however, this one also carries its own refutation. In the matter of Elymas' seeking someone to lead him by the hand, the reality of the blindness is proved.

The extraordinary circumstances of Paul's denunciation of Elymas forbid preachers in all ages since then to speak similar anathema's against opponents of the truth. Paul was an inspired prophet and teacher, under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, and there was no possibility whatever of any mistake or error on Paul's part. The judgment against Elymas was not that of Paul but of God himself. "The hand of the Lord is upon thee."

A mist... This word, found nowhere else in the New Testament, is another example of Luke's medical vocabulary. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician called the "Father of Medicine," used this word "to express a darkening and dimming of the eyes by cataract or other disease."[19]

For a season ... shows that the unusual judgment against Elymas was not without its element of mercy. His blindness was not permanent.

[16] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 202.

[17] J. W. Conybeare, op. cit., p. 123.

[18] G. H. C. MacGreggor, op. cit., p. 169.

[19] A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 401.