Jannes and Jambres
The power of Sauron is still less than fear makes it.
—J.R.R. Tolkien
Warm–up: Exodus 7:11-12, 22
Jannes and Jambres were the two court magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. They’re unnamed in the Old Testament, but in his second letter to Timothy, Paul uses the names tradition has assigned them (2 Timothy 3:8).
The two men appear frequently in extra–biblical sources as dark wizards. According to Jewish tradition, it was they who led Egypt’s pharaoh astray until he and his army met death in the sea, where the two magicians perished as well. One ancient traveler, Macarius of Alexandria, claimed he visited their garden tomb in Upper Egypt, an immense monument dedicated to the memory of their immense power and influence.
The essence of all the traditions regarding these magicians’ is their deliberate and determined opposition to God, driven by the forces of evil. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls relates how Moses and Aaron arose with the help of the Prince of Lights, while Belial (Satan) raised up Yohanah (Jannes) and his brother. For this reason many believe that Jannes and Jambres are the source of the German legend of Johann Faust, the magician and alchemist who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge.
But the biblical record is sparse. It simple reports that Jannes and Jambres were Pharoah’s magicians who through their magic were able to duplicate the plague on the Nile. They were also able to counterfeit the plague of frogs, but were unable to remove it, which suggests that the devil and his minions have no power to alleviate human suffering. It is our God of mercy who brings eternal consolation.
The magicians were frustrated at last by the plague of lice and confessed that their powers were limited. This is “the finger of God,” they said, in that this stroke could not be explained by natural causes. In the end, they were overwhelmed by the plague of boils and driven from Pharaoh’s court in disgrace (Exodus 9:11).
Paul, in speaking of the opponents of the gospel in his day, says of them: “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected as regards the faith. They will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, as also that of those two (Jannes and Jambres) came to be” (2 Timothy 3:9).
Interesting word, “folly.” Paul’s term means, “to lack understanding.” Those who promote error don’t “get it.” They may have a modicum of knowledge, but they have no real understanding, no answers for the deep distress of human existence, no counsel for the issues that break our hearts, which is why, in the end, even their own people turn away from them.
Furthermore, Paul says, they are wicked—“men of depraved minds” to use his precise phrase. Under the surface lies darkness and moral corruption. Though suave on the surface, they are corrupt and ruined people, and their character will come to the surface in time and be seen by all.
The only people who are seduced into cults and ensconced in them are those who want to be. Those who truly want God will always see through evil men and women. “The Lord knows those who are His,” Paul assures us and he will not let his children go (2 Timothy 2:17-19).
And so, we need not fear those who inveigh against the truth, though we feel their presence and they grow in strength and numbers. In due time, their folly and impotence will be manifest. “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots,” Jesus said. “Leave them (alone)” (Matthew 15:13, 14).
David Roper
From, Out of the Ordinary, David Roper, Discovery House Publishing, 2015,
