Great Distress Coming, and God’s People Not Prepared For It
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power which he held over mankind would be subject to Christ. It was
no human influence or power Moses possessed, which wrought on the
minds, that produced those miracles before Pharaoh. It was the power
of God. These signs and wonders were wrought through Moses, to
convince Pharaoh that the great “I am” sent him to command Pharaoh
to let Israel go, that they might serve him.
Pharaoh called for the magicians to work with their enchantments.
They also showed signs and wonders, for Satan came to their aid,
to work through them. Yet even here, the work of God was shown
superior to the power of Satan, for the magicians could not perform
all those miracles God wrought through Moses. Only a few of them
could they do. The magicians’ rods did become serpents, but Aaron’s
rod swallowed up theirs. After the magicians sought to produce the
lice, and could not, then they were compelled by the power of God
to acknowledge even to Pharaoh, saying, “This is the finger of God.”
Satan wrought through the magicians in a manner calculated to harden
the heart of the tyrant Pharaoh against the miraculous manifestations
of God’s power. Satan thought to stagger the faith of Moses and Aaron
in the divine origin of their mission, and then his instruments, the
magicians, would prevail. Satan was unwilling to have the people of
Israel released from Egyptian servitude, that they might serve God.
The magicians failed to produce the miracle of the lice, and could
no more imitate Moses and Aaron. God would not suffer Satan to
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proceed further, and the magicians could not save themselves from the
plagues. “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because
of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the
Egyptians.”
Exodus 9:11
.
God’s controlling power here cut off the channel through which
Satan worked, and caused even those through whom Satan wrought
so wonderfully to feel his wrath. Sufficient evidence was given to
Pharaoh to believe, if he would. Moses wrought by the power of God.
The magicians wrought not by their own science alone, but by the
power of their god—the Devil. Satan has ingeniously carried out his
deceptive work in counterfeiting the work of God.
As we near the close of time, the human mind is more readily
affected by Satan’s devices. He leads deceived mortals to account for
the works and miracles of Christ upon general principles. Satan has
ever been ambitious to counterfeit the work of Christ, and establish