9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
Just as the magicians in Egypt failed to defeat Moses, Timothy was to understand that false teachers will not ultimately succeed in their underhanded methods.
9 but they will progress no further,
False teachers will fail, just like Jannes and Jambres of the previous verse (2 Tim 3:8). These two magicians failed to produce the miracles Moses did. Moses won the duel between him and Pharaoh’s magicians. Apostates of Timothy’s day would meet their demise as well.
for their folly [without understanding] will be manifest to all,
The phoniness of the magicians was clear to Pharoah and everyone else. God showed them to be frauds diminished of truth. He would do the same with false teachers of Timothy’s day.
as theirs also was.
God would show the false teachers of Timothy’s time in Ephesus to be frauds. The defeat of heretics is inevitable. We can equate the fate of the antics of the magicians who opposed Moses with Timothy’s antagonists.
PRINCIPLE:
Unscrupulous teachers will face defeat.
APPLICATION:
Some use their religious standing to take advantage of unsuspecting believers; however, Christians can take hope in the ultimate demise of false teachers. Those who accommodate the gospel to culture will meet their fate.
