John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
So, let’s reiterate again, under the outpouring of the early rain, The Holy Ghost does not view the witch doctor as an existential threat to the true believer. God didn’t use His foreknowledge to try to preempt Simon from having a shot at eternal life because the good news of the gospel is for anyone who believes.
Therefore, if Simon fulfills the stated prerequisites, and if he wants to join the church, he should not be prevented from doing so, for if Phillip were to try and prevent Simon, he may inadvertently prevent other witch doctors from joining, some of whom may actually be sincere in their motives.
Equal opportunity means equal opportunity, and for anyone who believes and is baptized, the possibility of being converted and saved is there for the taking. This is one of the reasons why we stated up front, that our ways, means, methods and understandings would need to be revisited, as the last-ditch effort to save the lost ramps up.
Acts 19: 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!