_THE LAST DAYS.--THE BEARING OF THE MENTION OF JANNES AND JAMBRES ON THE
QUESTION OF INSPIRATION AND THE ERRORS CURRENT IN EPHESUS._
"But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. For
men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty,
railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.... And like as
Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the
truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith."--2
TIM. iii. 1, 2, 8.
In the first chapter the Apostle looks back over the past; in the second
he gives directions about the present; in the third he looks forward
into the future. These divisions are not observed with rigidity
throughout, but they hold good to a very considerable extent. Thus in
the first division he remembers Timothy's affectionate grief at parting,
his faith and that of his family, and the spiritual gift conferred on
him at his ordination. And respecting himself he remembers his teaching
Timothy, his being deserted by those in Asia, his being ministered to by
Onesiphorus. In the second chapter he charges Timothy to be willing to
suffer hardships with him, and instructs him how to conduct himself in
the manifold difficulties of his present position. And now he goes on to
forewarn and forearm him against dangers and troubles which he foresees
in the future.
There are several prophecies in the New Testament similar to the one
before us. There is that of St. Paul to the Ephesian Church some ten
years before, just before his final departure for the bonds and
afflictions which awaited him at Jerusalem. "I know that after my
departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the
flock; and from your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts xx. 29, 30). The
Epistles to Timothy show that this prediction was already being
fulfilled during the Apostle's lifetime. There is, secondly, the
prophecy respecting the great falling away and the revealing of the man
of sin, which is somewhat parallel to the one before us (2 Thess. ii.
3-7). Thirdly, there is the similar prediction in the First Epistle to
Timothy (iv. 1-3). And besides these three by St. Paul, there are those
contained in 2 Peter ii. 1, 2 about the rise of false teachers, and in
the First Epistle of St. John (ii. 18 and iv. 3) about the coming of
antichrist. Those in 2 Thessalonians and 2 Peter should be compared with
the one before us, as containing a mixture of present and future. This
mixture has been made the basis of a somewhat frivolous objection. It
has been urged that the shifting from future to present and back again
indicates the hand of a writer who is contemporary with the events which
he pretends to foretell. Sometimes he adopts the form of prophecy and
uses the future tense. But at other times the influence of facts is too
strong for him. He forgets his assumed part as a prophet, and writes in
the present tense of his own experiences. Such an objection credits the
feigned prophet with a very small amount of intelligence. Are we
seriously to suppose that any one would be so stupid as to be unable to
sustain his part for half a dozen verses, or less, without betraying
himself? But, in fact, the change of tense indicates nothing of the
kind. It is to be explained in some cases by the fact that the germs of
the evils predicted were already in existence, in others by the practice
(especially common in prophecy) of speaking of what is certain to happen
as if it were already a fact. The prophet is often a _seer_, who sees as
present what is distant or future; and hence he naturally uses the
present tense, even when he predicts.
The meaning of the "last days" is uncertain. The two most important
interpretations are: (1) the _whole_ time between Christ's first and
second coming, and (2) the portion _immediately_ before Christ's second
coming. Probability is greatly in favour of the latter; for the other
makes the expression rather meaningless. If these evils were to come at
all, they _must_ come between the two Advents; for there is no other
time: and in that case why speak of this period as the "last days"? It
might be reasonable to call them "_these_ last days," but not "last
days" without such specification. At the present time it would not be
natural to speak of an event as likely to happen in the last days, when
we meant that it would happen between our own time and the end of the
world. The expression used in 1 Tim. iv. 1 very probably does mean no
more than "in future times; hereafter" (=en hysterois kairois=). But
here and in 2 Pet. iii. 3 the meaning rather is "in the last days; when
the Lord is at hand." It is then that the enemy will be allowed to put
forth all his power, in order to be more completely overthrown. Then
indeed there will be perilous, critical, grievous times (=kairoi
chalepoi=). The Apostle treats it as possible, or even probable, that
Timothy will live to see the troubles which will mark the eve of
Christ's return. The Apostles shared, and contributed to produce, the
belief that the Lord would come again soon, within the lifetime of some
who were then alive. Even at the close of a long life we find the last
surviving Apostle pointing out to the Church that "it is the last hour"
(1 John ii. 18), obviously meaning by that expression, that it is the
time immediately preceding the return of Christ to judge the world. And
some twenty years later we find Ignatius writing to the Ephesians "These
are the last times (=eschatoi kairoi=). Henceforth let us be reverent;
let us fear the longsuffering of God, lest it turn into a judgment
against us. For either let us fear the wrath which is to come, or let us
love the grace which now is" (_Eph._ xi.). Only by the force of
experience was the mind of the Church cleared so as to see the Kingdom
of Christ in its true perspective. The warning which Jesus had given,
that "of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in
heaven, neither the Son, but the Father," seems to have been understood
as meaning no more than the declaration "in an hour that ye think not
the Son of man cometh." That is, it was understood as a warning against
being found unprepared, and not as a warning against forming conjectures
as to how near Christ's return was. Therefore we need not be at all
surprised at St. Paul writing to Timothy in a way which implies that
Timothy will probably live to see the evils which will immediately
precede Christ's return, and must be on his guard against being amazed
or overwhelmed by them. He is to "turn away from" the intense wickedness
which will then be manifested, and go on undismayed with his own work.
"Like as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand
the truth." The Apostle is obviously referring to the Egyptian magicians
mentioned in Exodus. But in the Pentateuch neither their number nor
their names are given; so that we must suppose that St. Paul is
referring to some Jewish tradition on the subject. The number two was
very possibly suggested by the number of their opponents:--Moses and
Aaron on one side, and two magicians on the other. And on each side it
is a pair of brothers; for the Targum of Jonathan represents the
magicians as sons of Balaam, formerly instructors of Moses, but
afterwards his enemies. The names vary in Jewish tradition. Jannes is
sometimes Johannes, and Jambres is sometimes either Mambres or
Ambrosius. The tradition respecting them was apparently widely spread.
It was known to Numenius, a Platonic philosopher of Apameia in Syria,
who is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria (_Strom._, I. xxii.), and
quoted by Origen and Eusebius as giving an account of Jannes and Jambres
(_Con. Cels._, IV. li.; _Praep. Evang._, IX. viii.). In Africa we find
some knowledge of the tradition exhibited by Appuleius, the famous
author of the _Golden Ass_, who like Numenius flourished in the second
century. And in the previous century another Latin writer, Pliny the
Elder, shows a similar knowledge. Both of them mention Jannes as a
magician in connexion with Moses, who is also in their eyes a magician;
but Pliny appears to think that both Moses and Jannes were Jews.[93] It
is highly improbable that any of these writers derived their knowledge
of these names from the passage before us; in the case of Pliny this
would scarcely have been possible. His _Natural History_ was published
about A.D. 77, and at that time the Second Epistle to Timothy must have
been known to but few, even among Christians. The author of the
apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus very possibly did derive his knowledge of
the names from St. Paul; yet he may have had independent sources of
information. He represents Nicodemus as pleading before Pilate that
Jannes and Jambres worked miracles before Pharaoh; "but because they
were not from God, what they did was destroyed." Whereas "Jesus raised
up Lazarus, and he is alive" (chap. v.).
One of the ablest of English commentators on these Epistles remarks upon
this passage, "It is probable that the Apostle derived these names from
a current and (being quoted by him) _true_ tradition of the Jewish
Church." And in a similar spirit a writer in the _Dictionary of the
Bible_ thinks that it would be "inconsistent with the character of an
inspired record for a baseless or incorrect current tradition to be
cited."
Let us look at the phenomena of the case and see whether the number and
the names appear to be trustworthy or otherwise, and then consider the
question of inspiration. To drag in the latter question in order to
determine the former, is to begin at the wrong end.
That there should be a pair of brothers to oppose a pair of brothers,
has been pointed out already as a suspicious circumstance. The jingling
pairing of the names is also more like fiction than fact. Thirdly, the
names appear to be in formation, not Egyptian, but Hebrew; which would
naturally be the case if Jews invented them, but would be extraordinary
if they were genuine names of Egyptians. Lastly, Jannes might come from
a Hebrew root which means "to seduce," and Jambres from one which means
"to rebel." If Jews were to invent names for the Egyptian magicians,
what names would they be more likely to fasten on them than such as
would suggest seductive error and rebellious opposition? And is it
probable that a really trustworthy tradition, on such an unimportant
fact as the names of the enchanters who opposed Moses, would have
survived through so many centuries? Sober and unbiassed critics will for
the most part admit that the probabilities are very decidedly against
the supposition that these names are true names, preserved from oblivion
by some written or unwritten tradition outside Scripture.
But is it consistent with the character of an inspired writer to quote
an incorrect tradition? Only those who hold somewhat narrow and rigid
theories of inspiration will hesitate to answer this question in the
affirmative. No one believes that inspired persons are in possession of
all knowledge on all subjects. And if these names were commonly accepted
as authentic by the Jews of St. Paul's day, would his inspiration
necessarily keep him from sharing that belief? Even if he were well
aware that the tradition respecting the names was untrustworthy, there
would be nothing surprising in his speaking of the magicians under their
commonly accepted names, when addressing one to whom the tradition would
be well known. And if (as is more probable) he believed the names to be
genuine, there is still less to surprise us in his making use of them
to add vivacity to the comparison. Nothing in God's dealings with
mankind warrants us in believing that He would grant a special
revelation to an Apostle, in order to preserve him from so harmless a
proceeding as illustrating an argument by citing the incorrect details
which tradition had added to historical facts. And it is worth noting
that nothing is _based_ upon the names; they occur in what is mere
illustration. And even in the illustration it is not the names that have
point, but the persons, who are supposed to have borne them; and the
persons are real, although the names are probably fictitious. Still less
are we warranted in believing, as Chrysostom suggests, that St. Paul by
inspiration had supernatural knowledge of the names. As we have seen,
the names were known even to Gentiles who cannot well have derived their
knowledge from him; and why should he have received a revelation about a
trifle which in no way helps his argument? Such views of inspiration,
although the product of a reverential spirit, degrade rather than exalt
our conceptions of it. The main point of the comparison between the two
cases appears to be opposition to the truth. But there is perhaps more
in it than that. The magicians withstood Moses by professing to do the
same wonders that he did; and the heretics withstood Timothy by
professing to preach the same gospel as he did. This was frequently the
line taken by heretical teachers; to disclaim all intention of teaching
anything new, and to profess substantial, if not complete, agreement
with those whom they opposed. They affirmed that their teaching was only
the old truth looked at from another point of view. They used the same
phraseology as Apostles had used: they merely gave it a more
comprehensive (or, as would now be said, a more _catholic_) meaning. In
this way the unwary were more easily seduced, and the suspicions of the
simple were less easily aroused. But such persons betray themselves
before long. Their mind is found to be tainted; and when they are put to
the proof respecting the faith, they cannot stand the test (=adokimoi=).
There is nothing improbable in the supposition that St. Paul mentions
the magicians who withstood Moses as typical opponents of the truth,
because the false teachers at Ephesus used magic arts; and the word
which he uses for impostors (=goêtes=) in ver. 13 fits in very well with
such a supposition, although it by no means makes it certain. Ephesus
was famous for its charms and incantations (=Ephesia grammata=), and
around the statue of its goddess Artemis were unintelligible
inscriptions, to which a strange efficacy was ascribed. The first body
of Christians in Ephesus had been tainted by senseless wickedness of
this kind. After accepting Christianity they had secretly retained their
magic. The sons of the Jew Sceva had tried to use the sacred name of
Jesus as a magical form of exorcism; and this brought about the crisis
in which numbers of costly books of incantations were publicly burned
(Acts xix. 13-20). The evil would be pretty sure to break out again,
especially among new converts; just as it does among negro converts at
the present day. Moreover we know that in some cases there was a very
close connexion between some forms of heresy and magic: so that the
suggestion that St. Paul has pretensions to miraculous power in his
mind, when he compares the false teachers to the Egyptian magicians, is
by no means improbable.
The connexion between heresy and superstition is a very real and a very
close one. The rejection or surrender of religious truth is frequently
accompanied by the acceptance of irrational beliefs. People deny
miracles and believe in spiritualism; they cavil at the efficacy of
sacraments and accept as credible the amazing properties of an 'astral
body.' There is such a thing as the nemesis of unbelief. The arrogance
which rejects as repugnant to reason and morality truths which have
throughout long centuries satisfied the highest intellects and the
noblest hearts, is sometimes punished by being seduced into delusions
which satisfy nothing higher than a grovelling curiosity.
FOOTNOTES:
[93] Est et alia Magices factio a Moyse, et Janne, et Jotape Judaeis
pendens (Plin. _Hist. Nat._, XXX. ii.).
Si quamlibet emolumentum probaveritis, ego ille sim Carinondas, vel
Damigeron, vel is Moses, vel Jannes [_al. l._ Johannes], vel Apollonius,
vel ipse Dardanus, vel quieunque post Zoroastren et Hostanen inter Magos
celebratus est (Appul., _Apologia_, 544, p. 580 ed. Oudendorp).