False Teachers Can Duplicate But Can’t Negate God’s Power - Exodus 5-8

 When God delivered the nation of Israel out of bondage from Egypt, He sent plagues on the nation of Egypt.   When God performed the miracles in the land of Egypt, the Egyptians “magicians” also tried to duplicate the miracles.  But, as you can see, duplicating the miracle didn’t help them.  They needed to reverse the plague that God sent, not duplicate it.   Note:

Exodus 7:11-13 (ESV)

Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Exodus 7:21-22 (ESV)

And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Exodus 8:6-7 (ESV)

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Exodus 8:18-19 (ESV)

The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Exodus 9:11 (ESV)

And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.

We can take three things away from all this:

1. False teachers can perform miracles.   This is why Paul warned us about Satan’s trickery:  

2 Corinthians 11:14 (ESV)

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

2. False teachers can’t perform miracles that can or will stop the purposes of God.   

3.  At some point, even the prophets of the world will have to confess, “This is the finger of God.”