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For false-christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.—St. Matthew 24:24
Will the false prophets towards the end of the world be working real miracles or false miracles? Our Lord says they will certainly appear to be “signs and wonders” performed by the enemies of His Kingdom. But they will not be actual miracles. They will be closer to magic than miracles. We will consider the Old Testament and St. Thomas Aquinas to see why magic is not the same as miracles.
When God asked Moses to free His people from the slavery of the Egyptians, Moses works many miracles to convince Pharaoh to “Let my people go” presumably so God did not have to strike down the first born of Egypt during the first Passover. But God obviously knew in His eternity that His own grace and mercy (seen in the miracles worked by Yahweh through Moses) would harden the heart of Pharaoh, leading to the greatest mystery of the Old Testament (Passover) and the greatest miracle of the Old Testament (the splitting of the Red Sea.)
The above picture reflects the following event from Sacred Scripture:
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.—Ex 7:8-13
Then, in Exodus 7-10, God sends nine plagues even before the Passover. Surprisingly, the magicians of Pharaoh are capable of replicating the first two, just as they imitated the serpent by their “sacred arts” as the above passage explains. The first plague is the water turned to blood. The Egyptian magicians can indeed replicate this sign or wonder. The second plague is God sending frogs upon Egypt. The magicians of Pharaoh can also imitate this one. But the third plague is a swarm of gnats all upon Egypt, and the magicians are unable to replicate this one. Neither are they able to imitate the subsequent plagues (eg flies, livestock, boils.)
Why were Pharaohs magicians able to replicate the wonders of blood and frogs but not gnats or flies? I do not know, but I suspect it was due to the sheer volume of the latter. That is, satan has only limited power over the forces of nature, whereas Yahweh is eternal and almighty in all His works and power. This brings us to to the distinctions made by St. Thomas on miracles versus magic.
Consider what St. Thomas Aquinas writes in his Summa, the Second Part of the Second Part, Question 178. This is found in Article one of that question:
Continued below.
padreperegrino.org
Will the false prophets towards the end of the world be working real miracles or false miracles? Our Lord says they will certainly appear to be “signs and wonders” performed by the enemies of His Kingdom. But they will not be actual miracles. They will be closer to magic than miracles. We will consider the Old Testament and St. Thomas Aquinas to see why magic is not the same as miracles.
When God asked Moses to free His people from the slavery of the Egyptians, Moses works many miracles to convince Pharaoh to “Let my people go” presumably so God did not have to strike down the first born of Egypt during the first Passover. But God obviously knew in His eternity that His own grace and mercy (seen in the miracles worked by Yahweh through Moses) would harden the heart of Pharaoh, leading to the greatest mystery of the Old Testament (Passover) and the greatest miracle of the Old Testament (the splitting of the Red Sea.)
The above picture reflects the following event from Sacred Scripture:
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.—Ex 7:8-13
Then, in Exodus 7-10, God sends nine plagues even before the Passover. Surprisingly, the magicians of Pharaoh are capable of replicating the first two, just as they imitated the serpent by their “sacred arts” as the above passage explains. The first plague is the water turned to blood. The Egyptian magicians can indeed replicate this sign or wonder. The second plague is God sending frogs upon Egypt. The magicians of Pharaoh can also imitate this one. But the third plague is a swarm of gnats all upon Egypt, and the magicians are unable to replicate this one. Neither are they able to imitate the subsequent plagues (eg flies, livestock, boils.)
Why were Pharaohs magicians able to replicate the wonders of blood and frogs but not gnats or flies? I do not know, but I suspect it was due to the sheer volume of the latter. That is, satan has only limited power over the forces of nature, whereas Yahweh is eternal and almighty in all His works and power. This brings us to to the distinctions made by St. Thomas on miracles versus magic.
Consider what St. Thomas Aquinas writes in his Summa, the Second Part of the Second Part, Question 178. This is found in Article one of that question:
Continued below.
Will the Antichrist Work Real-Miracles or Fake-Miracles?
For false-christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.—St. Matthew 24:24 Will the false prophets towards the end of the world be working real miracles or false miracles? Our Lord says they will certainly appear to...
padreperegrino.org
