unable to activate Galaxy S3

[Saundra Sheets]

I purchased a used phone and SIM card. I called Verizon to activate the SIM card and the phone. Everything appears to be going fine but it does not go past the "please wait while your phone is activated" screen. After about 8-10 minutes on this screen an error message that says " there was trouble with your activation, please restart the phone" I do this and it is a circle, same thing happens. Any thoughts, Ideas or suggestions?