Who were Jannes and Jambres?

These are mentioned by Paul as having withstood Moses; to whom he compares those who by imitation were resisting the truth in the church. 2 Tim. 3:8. Jannes and Jambres were doubtless the leaders of the Egyptian magicians who imitated the first plagues before Pharaoh; but who, when it was a question of the creation of life, had to confess that the finger of God was there. The judgement of God fell upon them also, for they were smitten with the boils and blains. As their folly was manifest in contending with the God of Israel, so shall be the folly of those who oppose the truth.

In 2 Tim. 3:8, Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres as those who withstood Moses; to whom he compares those who by imitation were resisting the truth in the Assembly. "Now in the same manner in which Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, thus these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, found worthless as regards the faith." These two men were doubtless the leaders of the magicians in Egypt who were able to imitate the initial plagues, but when it came to the creation of life they had to confess that the finger of God was there, and they too came under the blighting effect of the power of God, for they were smitten with boils and blains. Just as their folly was manifested in contending with the God of Israel, so with those who withstand the truth. "But they shall not advance further, for their folly shall be completely manifest to all, as that of those (Jannes and Jambres) also became" (2 Tim. 3:9).

What true believers may expect in the closing days of this age, if they walk in separation and are faithful in their testimony, is the theme of these verses. Jannes and Jambres were the Egyptian sorcerers who withstood Moses. Jewish tradition gives the information that the magicians of Ex. 7:11-22 bore these names. The Spirit of God assures us here that this is correct. Another Jewish tradition claims that they were the sons of Balaam. They worked by imitations. They produced by Satanic powers certain miracles which were imitations of God's power. Such is the case in our own days. Christian Science, Spiritism and other systems are the sphere where Satan's power of imitation is manifested. Satan also imitates in a still more subtle way the work of the Holy Spirit. All this will work on till finally (after the Church has been called away) the times are reached as prophetically described in 2 Thess. 2:3-12. And like the folly and wickedness of Jannes and Jambres were manifest, so will these deceivers and perverters of the truth be uncovered. This will be when the Lord comes.

Pharaoh called for his priests. And his Wise men and Sorcerers appeared before him. In a very definite way the Wise men were connected with the god of Letters, Thoth, who had knowledge under his supervision, and communicated wisdom of a celestial nature to "the knowing ones." Thoth represented the divine intelligence. The priests were of the greatest of the Egyptian nobles, indeed many were of blood royal. Moses knew their wisdom well, for having been trained as a son of Pharaoh's daughter, he had been initiated according to royal custom into certain of their mysteries. The Wise men were priests learned in the dark secrets of their religion, and as such were armed with hidden powers: the Sorcerers were priests whose special powers enabled them to drive away evils by muttering magic formulas. These formulas frequently related to the fascination or the repelling of serpents, and were treasured up in the secret books of the "scribes of the sacred house."

Now the magicians of Egypt they also did in like manner with their enchantments. Their "enchantments" were calls on the name of the special god summoned to help them. These scribe-priests or magicians withstood Moses by the help of their gods, "for they cast down every man his rod and they became serpents." The names of the two who were chief among them who withstood Moses by imitating his power, are preserved (2 Tim. 3:8). Their names, Jannes and Jambres, are Egyptian, "in which language An, or Anna, identical with Jannes, means a scribe. It was also a proper name borne by a writer well known in papyri of the time of Rameses II. Jambres may mean scribe of the south: it is the name of a sacred book."

Other details not mentioned in the OT we are learning in the NT only. As an example we come to know the names of the Egyptian magicians which were Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. 3:8). In Jewish oral tradition not only tales but also various true incidents of former days were kept. The writers of the NT could refer to such incidents under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But was it not possible that they received direct revelations from God also? Nowadays these references in the NT are mostly considered to be quotations from Apocryphal books, for example Moses’ ascension and the Book of Enoch. Such fantastic apocalyptic works came into existence a lot from Jewish-Christian background in the first and second century AC. The “ascension of Moses” is considered to have been written around the year 0 and the “Book of Enoch” between 170 BC and 70 AC. – One cannot imagine though that a biblical writer under the guidance of the Holy Spirit would have taken incidents of the dealings of God or his servants out of such human works. And the origin of these works is clearly religious fantasy and fanaticism.

We shall now consider, in the second place, the opposition of "Jannes and Jambres," the magicians of Egypt. We should not have known the names of these ancient opposers of the truth of God, had they not been recorded by the Holy Ghost, in connection with "the perilous times" of which the Apostle Paul warns his son Timothy. It is important that the Christian reader should clearly understand the real nature of the opposition given to Moses by those magicians, and in order that he may have the subject fully before him, I shall quote the entire passage from St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy. It is one of deep and awful solemnity.

"This know, also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also was." (2 Tim. 3:1-9)

Now, it is peculiarly solemn to mark the nature of this resistance to the truth. The mode in which "Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses" was simply by imitating, so far as they were able, whatever he did. We do not find that they attributed his actings to a false or evil energy, but rather that they sought to neutralise their power upon the conscience, by doing the same things. What Moses did they could do, so that, after all there was no great difference. One was as good as the other. A miracle is a miracle. If Moses wrought miracles to get the people out of Egypt, they could work miracles to keep them in; so where was the difference?

From all this we learn the solemn truth that the most Satanic resistance to God's testimony, in the world, is offered by those who, though they imitate the effects of the truth, have but "the form of godliness," and "deny the power thereof." Persons of this class can do the same things, adopt the same habits and forms, use the same phraseology, profess the same opinions as others. If the true Christian, constrained by the love of Christ, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, visits the sick, circulates the scriptures, distributes tracts, supports the gospel, engages in prayer, sings praise, preaches the gospel, the formalist can do every one of these things; and this, be it observed, is the special character of the resistance offered to the truth "in the last days" — this is the spirit of "Jannes and Jambres." How needful to understand this! How important to remember that, "as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do" those self-loving, world-seeking, pleasure-hunting professors, "resist the truth!" They would not be without "a form of godliness;" but, while adopting "the form," because it is customary, they hate "the power," because it involves self-denial. "The power" of godliness involves the recognition of God's claims, the implanting of His kingdom in the heart, and the consequent exhibition thereof in the whole life and character; but the formalist knows nothing of this. "The power" of godliness could never comport with any one of those hideous features set forth in the foregoing quotation; but "the form," while it covers them over, leaves them wholly unsubdued; and this the formalist likes. He does not want his lusts subdued, his pleasures interfered with, his passions curbed, his affections governed, his heart purified. He wants just as much religion as will enable him "to make the best of both worlds." He knows nothing of giving up the world that is, because of having found "the world to come."

In marking the forms of Satan's opposition to the truth of God, we find that his method has ever been, first, to oppose it by open violence; and then, if that did not succeed, to corrupt it by producing a counterfeit. Hence, he first sought to slay Moses, (Ex. 2:15), and having failed to accomplish his purpose, he sought to imitate his works.

Thus, too, has it been in reference to the truth committed to the Church of God. Satan's early efforts showed themselves in connection with the wrath of the chief priests and elders, the judgement-seat, the prison, and the sword. But, in the passage just quoted from 2 Timothy, we find no reference to any such agency. Often violence has made way for the far more wily and dangerous instrumentality of a powerless form, an empty profession, a human counterfeit. The enemy, instead of appearing with the sword of persecution in his hand, walks about with the cloak of profession on his shoulders. He professes and imitates that which he once opposed and persecuted; and, by so doing, gains most appalling advantages, for the time being. The fearful forms of moral evil which, from age to age, have stained the page of human history, instead of being found only where we might naturally look for them, amid the dens and caves of human darkness, are to be found carefully arranged beneath the drapery of a cold, powerless, uninfluential profession; and this is one of Satan's grand masterpieces.

Jannes and Jambres were the magicians of Egypt (Ex. 7:22; 8:7, 18, etc.) who withstood Moses by means of imitating the miracles God wrought by him; thereby attempting to discredit these. Such imitations of God's power we may expect in the last days, with claims of having revived former days of the miraculous. Jude shows us too that imitations would even invade the realm of God's grace, through ungodly men turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 4). Such men are reprobate concerning the faith: being guilty of a calculated refusal of it, they choose to be rejected by God. But there is a definite limit: their folly will be exposed to all men: whatever success they claim is only momentary.

We cannot however, shut out from all this the power of Satan, as verses 8 and 9 show us. Jannes and Jambres were evidently leaders of the band of magicians who influenced Pharaoh's court and withstood Moses, working their wonders in league with demons. The deceivers of the last days will be like them, resisting the truth as agents of the devil. God has however, set a limit to their power and ultimately their folly shall be manifest to all. This does not mean that this kind of evil is going to receive an immediate check for, as verse 13 tells us, evil men and seducers are going to wax worse and worse until the end of the age. We are not left in any uncertainty as to what we must expect.

The next two verses give further instruction on the subject. "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith, but they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." vv. 8, 9. Jannes and Jambres were the magicians of Egypt who withstood Moses and Aaron in the presence of Pharaoh. When Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, as the Lord had commanded, and it became a serpent, the magicians "also did in like manner with their enchantments" (Ex. 7:10-11). They thus resisted the truth by imitating the action of the Lord's servants; and it is in this way the truth will be, and is being, opposed in the perilous times. It is precisely in this character of opposition that the danger lies for unwary souls. Thus at the present moment all the false systems of men claim that they present all the characteristic truths of Christianity, or that these truths are only expounded in accordance with modern ideas. Satan is too subtle to commence by denying the truth of God; and hence he seeks first of all to insinuate that which seems like the truth, but which, under the expansion of which it is capable, finally ripens into anti-Christian error. This is why the name of Christ is attached, for example, to many soul-destroying systems, and why men, who really ignore every fundamental truth of Christianity, claim to be Christians.

The outward garb, then, of these resisters of the truth will be Christian in appearance, but the opened eye will detect that it is not the real thing, but an imitation. More than this — for the Holy Ghost exposes their true character — they are men of corrupt minds, and reprobate, tried and found worthless, concerning the faith. Inwardly they were evil men, and, tested by the Christian faith, they were to be rejected.

The question is, was the action of the magicians a real miracle or produced by juggling? Snake charming was carried on in ancient Egypt . However, these magicians were the instruments of Satan, who manifested his power through them. What they did were "lying wonders." The names of two of these endued with demoniacal powers are given in 2 Timothy 3:8, Jannes and Jambres. Such manifestation of demon power is found today in spiritualism and will be fully revealed during the days of Antichrist at the end of this age (2 Thess. 2:9-12). Pharaoh's heart was hardened (literal translation) because he wilfully rejected the sign given.