Centuries ago, on the island of Cyprus, there was a Jew named Bar-Jesus who practiced the occult. He was a sorcerer, known also as Elymas, which is a Greek form of a title given originally to Persian priests of Babylonian sorcery.

The Bible, at Acts 13:6-12, relates that when the apostle Paul came into the area and taught the proconsul the principles of Christianity, Elymas fiercely opposed, seeking to protect his influential position as “priest” of the divination cult.