Egypt is also a place of magic and enchantments.

Much is told about these things history, and in the monuments of Egypt, and it shows up in Scripture from time to time. When the Pharaoh of the time of Joseph had his troubling dream, he first approached “all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it,” Gen 41:8. Such was common in the ancient world.

So when Aaron threw his rod down and it became a snake,

Pharaoh called “his wise men and the sorcerers,” and they did the same with “their enchantments,” Ex 7:11.

Paul compares the magicians of Egypt to
false teachers of the Christian age.

There has always been a certain fascination among some with secret knowledge. Some of this was mere tricks such as is seen with modern stage magicians. Some of this was primitive forms of chemistry and drugs, and indeed the later alchemists of medieval times sort of morphed into what is now modern chemistry. Some of this relied on hypnotizing the audience, with or without drugs, so that people “saw” what was intended.

Finally, some at least pretended that they were relying on supernatural spirits or so called “gods.” This last is the most ambiguous of all. It is true that angels are more powerful than men, 2Pe 2:11. Satan is powerful angel who has gone bad, and we saw in earlier lessons that he is capable of powerful works in nature (Job chapters 1 and 2), and that he can put ideas into men’s heads, as we can also see in Job 1 and 2, and also in our own lives. He is called “the devil and his angels,” Mtt 25:41. Further, these angels turned bad are also called demons, and “principalities” and “powers” and “the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age,” Eph 6:12, and that is what we as human beings are fighting against. Moreover when we worship other “gods” we are actually worshiping demons, Deut 32:17, 1Cor 10:19-20.

Two of the Egyptian magicians are named by Paul in 2Tim 3:8, Jannes and Jambres, and they are viewed as men who know that their own claims were fraudulent, but were still opposing Moses. Modern false teachers are said to be like these men.

“Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.”
2Tim 2:8

These are things we should avoid.

It is not a matter of whether these things sometimes may seem to “work.” Sorcery/witchcraft is one of the works of the flesh in Gal 5:20.

“There shall not be found with you anyone … who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, … or a wizard, or a necromancer.”
Deut 18:10-11

Spectacular signs will be given by Satan before the
final Exodus out of this world.

The man of lawlessness/the beast,

“even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”
2Thes 2:9

These signs will almost be enough to fool the chosen of God, Mtt 24:24.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.