2 Timothy 3:6-9

The Work of Apostates

The hypocritical men Paul had just described would sneak into the homes of the saints and take advantage of the unsuspecting nature of women. Particularly, the silly, or little or weak, women whose consciences are loaded down with sins and uncontrolled desires. It may be false teachers somehow promised them freedom from the guilt they felt. Whatever the case, they were able to lead them away like prisoners of war. Such women, and men who are like them, constantly crave new knowledge. So, they are ever listening for something new and never finding time to really understand the truth (2 Timothy 3:6-7).

Jannes and Jambres were two of the magicians who opposed Moses before Pharoah. They used deception to make it appear that they were able to work the same miracles as the man of God (Exodus 7:11; Exodus 7:22). The false teachers Paul warned against were also resisting God's truth. Their minds were destroyed by false teaching and the faith they had once had in God could no longer withstand the test and was not fit for anything. The false teachers of Paul's day would be exposed just as the magicians of Moses' day were. Remember that Moses' rod which became a snake devoured all of the snakes the magicians had used in their trickery (Exodus 7:12). Eventually, they could not even stand before Moses because of the plague of boils (2 Timothy 3:8-9; Exodus 9:11).