Demas (; probably a short form of ''

Demetrios Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhim ...

'') was a man mentioned by the

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the Bible, and appears to have been involved for a time in his ministry. Demas is mentioned in three of the

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...

: *In Philemon (dated to ) he is mentioned as a "fellow worker". *In

Colossians The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately f ...

(AD 62) he is mentioned along with

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

(the physician and writer of the Luke–Acts). *In

Second Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Saint Timothy, Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle Paul wrote before ...

, a letter traditionally ascribed to Paul near the end of his life, where it is mentioned that "...for Demas, because he loved this world, he has deserted me and has gone to

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

." This has led to one commentator to describe Demas as 'Paul's

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

'. Demas is also mentioned in the non-canonical ''

Acts of Paul and Thecla The ''Acts of Paul and Thecla'' () is an apocryphal text describing Paul the Apostle's influence on a young virgin named Thecla. It is one of the writings of the New Testament apocrypha. Edgar J. Goodspeed called it a " religious romance". ...

'', where he is described as holding views similar to the author of Second Peter. Based on this, Dale Martin speculates that whichever one of the ''Acts of Paul and Thecla'' and the Pastoral Epistles (including Second Timothy) was written later may have been arguing against the other. Dale Martin 2009 (lecture). .

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Accessed October 5, 2016
Lecture 20 (transcript)
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Fictional references

In ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

'',

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

writes of Demas, a deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill Lucre, urging them to join in the supposed

silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...

being carried out there; he is described as a "fellow pilgrim", just as Demas is described by Paul as a "fellow worker," but has a love for earthly treasures which caused him to desert the path and could lead to his death, just as Demas's love for the world caused him to stop following God and potentially to lose his salvation. In

Lora Johnson Lora Johnson was an American author best known for the novel ''Ice.'' Her works included numerous original novels and ''Star Trek'' reference books, including '' Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise'', the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation Technic ...

's 2007 novel, ''"The Demas Revelation,"'' Demas plays a pivotal role in the plot of the story and lends his name to the title. In ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'', St. John notes that Jane is free of "the vice of Demas" when trying to convince her to join him as a missionary in India.

References

{{New Testament people People in Acts of the Apostles People in the Pauline epistles