Miracles

This is a hard item to write. We will consider miracles and what they do and do not portend or demonstrate. As we read through Exodus we find Moses and Aaron preparing to face Pharaoh and the Lord gives them some signs to perform to certify their being sent and to verify the power and authority of the One Who had sent them.

The story plays out in Exodus 7 and 8. There are two signs. They are snakes and blood. (My feelings on snakes was discussed earlier in “Snakes and Fear,” below. No need to cover that again.) Aaron was to throw down his staff and it would turn into a snake. If that did not convince Pharaoh, then Aaron was to strike the water and turn it into blood.

The Egyptians had about 64 gods, according to one listing that named 50 of them. In actuality they worshiped about 8700 gods. Sounds a little (or a lot) like the Corinthians at Athens when Paul said that they had many gods and just to make sure, had a worship place for any “unknown god.” (Acts 17)

Glancing down the list of Egyptian gods, a name pops out: Apophis, the god of snakes. So when Moses and Aaron made their staff into a snake, (a big one, I bet) they were challenging the god of Egypt. Or one of them, at least. And, the magicians were able to replicate the “trick.” They probably were pretty smug as they nodded to each other. “These hick Hebrews think that they can hoodoo us, but they have come to the big leagues.”

Next Mo and Aa changed water into blood. “Anuket, goddess of the Nile and Hapi, god of the Nile, along with Tefnut, god of water, were under assault. No sweat. “These boys are playing into our wheel house,” mused the magicians. Or so they thought.

Moses next threatened to bring frogs on the land. “Not paying attention, are you boys? Our gods own the Nile and water, sources of frogs, if you remember. We can make them appear as well. What is your next underwhelming trick?”

A subtle switch occurs here. The magicians could not get rid of the frogs. Ironic, too is that Mafdet was in charge of protecting the king’s quarters. This god turned out to be inept, ineffective, and impotent as the frogs swarmed the palace. Pharaoh appealed to Moses to remove the frogs.

God’s sovereignty is manifest in both allowing Pharaoh to choose the time, so that the magicians could not claim success after the fact, and in imposing the next plague, gnats. The magicians were unable to replicate this and were effectively eliminated from the narrative from here on.

God showed His power in attacking, head on, the gods of Egypt, and His superiority in maintaining or eliminating the plagues. He also initiated signs that they could not replicate. But a question rises, “How can the demon gods replicate the True God?”

First, they are not replicating, they are mimicking. That is important. Just as magicians today to not really do tricks, they merely produce illusions, so the Egyptian sorcerers were frauds. Even if they did actually do “miracles,” the human stooges were not doing it. The demons possessing them did the work and merely allowed the human shell to appear to be active. And do not forget that the actual One in control all the time was the Lord. Yahweh, as He introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 3.

But it is still unsettling to realize that demons can do miracles. And they look just like God’s miracles. When we hear, and sometimes even see, contemporary events that qualify as miraculous, how do we distinguish? We need a gift of discernment. Thankfully, there is one.

We find it in 1 John 4:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 
Test the spirits. That sounds a little ambiguous, doesn’t it? Indeed it does. John gives further instruction in verse 2:
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Remember when the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub in Luke 11:15-18? Jesus corrected them by invoking The Name again. And He even went farther, by pronouncing that any doubt of real, verified miracles is grounds for judgment. Our task is not necessarily “easy,” but it is clear and compelling. We have to do it. And many today are challenging the veracity and historicity of the New Testament stories. Watch out....

When false teachers take advantage of a lack of understanding and discernment, they are attacking the kingdom. We are to be on guard. Ezekiel calls for someone to stand in the gap. (22:30) Peter counsels us to be ready always to give a defense for the hope that is in us. (1 Peter 3:15)

Demon activity is increasing and will continue to accelerate. Jesus, Himself, warned us to beware of false Christs and demons, cautioning that they will be so compelling and convincing that they might even deceive the elect, if they were not prevented from doing so. (Mark 13:22) Albert Mohler said on the radio today, that false teachers are challenging the historicity of the New Testament stories. This is a demonic activity.

“They claim that there is ‘spiritual value’ in the stories even if they are not exactly true,” Mohler explained. The deception is pervasive and pernicious. It can and will lead to a lack of faith in the One Who can save. The guys who opposed Moses (1 Timothy 3:8) were quite effective in deluding Pharaoh.

Present day “sorcerers” are facing the same condemnation.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

They are “rejected,” lost, and taking others, like Pharaoh with them. And how did Moses and Aaron respond? They just kept repeating God’s message. There were no extended debates or pleas. They simply repeated what God said and let Him take care of the consequences. Whose side do you want to be on? Pharaoh and the boys lost it all. In fact, there is some question as to who this pharaoh actually was. But Moses and Aaron are inscribed in history to the extent that it is nearly impossible to go anywhere in the world and find someone who does not know who they are.

Stand for the truth. It is worth the effort. Reject the false spirits.