The Vanishing Serpents - Aaron’s rod of life took on the nature of the serpent, just as Christ was made sin for us. But then it swallowed up the other serpent-rods, and the sting of “that old serpent” was put away. Thus, “death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?”

“For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” (Exodus 7:12)

Like the future image of the beast, which will seem to have life, these magician-induced serpents can only have been “lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).

Neither men nor demons can really create life; this is a prerogative of God alone, who “created every living creature” (Genesis 1:21). 

However, both human magicians and demons can generate hypnotic mental states and occult hallucinations that ungodly people like Pharaoh may be deceived into seeing as real physical entities.

When their demonstration was over, however, nothing was left. 

Even their rods (not “serpents”) were gone, for Aaron’s genuine serpent had made a meal of them. 

In a true miracle of creation, Aaron’s God had transmuted the dead atoms of a wooden stick (just as He later made it to produce blossoms and almonds, Numbers 17:8) into a living serpent, capable of consuming other sticks that only appeared to be serpents.

The deception of the magicians was revealed when they were unable later to imitate Moses’ miracle of turning dust into lice throughout the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:18).

Interestingly, many people believed for many centuries that similar phenomena — which they called “spontaneous generation *” — occurred naturalistically, but this notion was scientifically demolished by Pasteur over a hundred years ago. 

Only the living God can create life!

The miracle of Aaron’s rod is also a parable. 

Aaron’s rod of life took on the nature of the serpent, just as Christ was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

But then it swallowed up the other serpent-rods, and the sting of “that old serpent” was put away. 

Thus, “death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?” - (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). 

Henry M. Morris

Institute for Creation Research 

* Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise from inanimate matter such as dust, or that maggots could arise from dead flesh. wikipedia.org

Spontaneous generation is the theory that life can spontaneously form from nonliving material. For example, it was once thought that meat, if left out in the open, would spontaneously form maggots or that cheese and rags, if left alone long enough, would produce mice. This theory has been discredited. carm.org

Related Links:

Death the Last Enemy to be Destroyed - the defeat of death by the God of life proves the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Death can only be destroyed by the resurrection of both the wicked and the righteous, who will die no more

The Brazen Serpent - the brazen serpent is a type of Christ in which the sinless Jesus, who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, was made sin for us and raised up as a sacrifice on the cross. If we want to live, we must look to Christ, trust in Him, and be saved

Near-Death Experiences - any description of a near-death experience should be validated against the truth of Scripture. If such an experience comes from God, it will line up with what He has already revealed in His Word and ultimately bring Him glory in the name of Jesus Christ