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ANANIAS
1. Member of the early church in Jerusalem. Along with his wife, Sapphira, he was struck dead for attempted deception with regard to some money (Acts 5:1-5).
2. Early convert to Christianity who was living in Damascus when Saul of Tarsus (Paul) arrived there supposedly to arrest Christians. Ananias knew that Paul was a deadly enemy of Christians, but the Lord reassured him, explaining that Paul had been chosen as a special messenger of the gospel (Acts 9:13-16). The Lord sent Ananias to the newly converted Paul to restore his eyesight (Acts 9:17-19). Ananias told Paul the meaning of his unusual encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:12-16) and probably introduced him to the church there as a new Christian brother rather than a persecutor. Various traditions say that Ananias later became one of the 70 disciples of Jerusalem, a bishop of Damascus, and a martyr.
3. High priest who presided over the Sanhedrin when the apostle Paul was arrested and questioned by that council in Jerusalem at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 22:30–23:10). Ananias was one of the witnesses who testified against Paul in Caesarea when he was on trial before Felix, the Roman governor (Acts 24:1). This Ananias was appointed high priest by Herod Agrippa II in AD 48 and served until AD 59. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that he was wealthy, haughty, and unscrupulous. He was known for his collaboration with the Romans and for his severity and cruelty. Hated by nationalistic Jews, he was killed by them when war with Rome broke out in AD 66.