What will you be remembered for?
Here’s 2 people that are remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Paul has just written telling us to have nothing to do with people who have a form of godliness but deny its power.
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” (2 Timothy 3 v 6-9)
These 2 men opposed Moses according to Paul. However, you will never find their names in the Old Testament, They are just not there, I checked.
These two are traditionally identified as the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh in the book of Exodus. According to Exodus 7-8, when Moses and Aaron performed miracles before Pharaoh – like turning Aaron’s staff into a serpent and turning water into blood – Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate some of these signs through their own arts.
In later Jewish literature, particularly in works like the Targums and various midrash texts, these magicians were given the names Jannes and Jambres. They became symbolic figures representing those who use supernatural powers to oppose God’s will and deceive people.
The apostle Paul uses them as a comparison point, suggesting that just as these ancient magicians opposed Moses, certain people in Timothy’s time would similarly oppose the truth with their own form of deceptive religion or false teaching. Paul assures Timothy that these “Jannes and Jambres” people will not get very far. We shouldn’t be dismayed when false teachers and opponents to our message seem successful initially. For Timothy’s ministry context, this meant he could faithfully preach and teach without being paralysed by the opposition he faced. He is encouraged to hold on to patience, persistence, and confidence that truth will ultimately prevail, even when circumstances seem to favour those who oppose it.
Missions Paul 