01-28-2023, 09:39 AM
I'm guessing you mean Simon the Magician, not Philip. The general tension of the population was rather high in those days, and everyone was expecting the Messiah to show up any day. Thus, anyone showing apparent powers were sure to draw some interest. Americans are looking for a political Messiah right now, and easily buy into all kinds of crazy nonsense. Lots of money to be made in that market right now.