Balaam’s
motive was greed, but what he actually did was what almost got him
killed!
Today, what Balaam did serves as a warning to all
of Yahuweh’s
people. In this writing, we will summarise what Scripture reveals about
what Balaam did. We will then see that what Balaam did is a
warning for all Believers today. The
Reader is urged, however, to
read the Scriptures for
himself,
and
cease
hearing the teaching
that leads us astray (Prov
19:27).
Thus as a preface, the Reader is encouraged to study the Scriptures,
to see exactly what Balaam did. We should look carefully to find
exactly what Balaam’s iniquity was — what Balaam did, even before the
angel of Yahuweh became angry with Balaam, and stood in the Way, with
sword drawn, intending to kill him.
Notice that Balaam’s iniquity had already occurreed — even before Balaam arrived at his destination, even before Balaam prophesied, and before
he could influence, or cast a stumblingblock before, the children of
Israel. (See Numbers chapters 22-25; Num 31:16; 2 Pet 2:15; Jude 1:11;
Rev 2:14-16).
Before we
summarise what Balaam did,
let’s first look
at the warning to us today.
The Doctrine of Balaam: The Warning
In the Book of Revelation, Yahushua gives this warning for
His people today:
But I have a few things
against thee,
because thou
hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balac to
cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication… 16 Repent;
or else I
will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with
the sword
of my mouth. (Revelation 2:14,16)
Here we see Yahushua gives us the
following warnings:
- Yahushua is giving us a
revelation, a ‘revealing’ for His people today,
that we are holding on strongly to the Doctrine of Balaam.
Although we
have not realised this, Yahushua is revealing this
Truth
to us, as part of our necessary cleansing and preparation as a Bride.
We must first be aware of any problem, before we can remedy it.
- Yahushua is
then telling us
the results of our
having held to the Doctrine of Balaam. He tells us that this doctrine
has resulted in idolatry and fornication among His people! Some
examples of this idolatry will be seen later in this writing.
- Yahushua is
also giving us
the
only remedy of having held to the doctrine of Balaam: to repent,
and
change direction. We
have all been walking in our own ways. Those who desire to
be
among ‘My People’ must choose, however, to walk in
Yahuweh's way.
- For
those of us who claim to be among His people, and do not
repent, He will fight against
us (the unrepentant among us) with the ‘Sword’ of
His mouth.
For
those
who desire to press in, to know Him, and
to please Him, this is a very serious matter. We would want
to find out exactly what the Doctrine of Balaam is, so we can repent
from it!
Therefore this writing is for
those who have a repentant
heart, and
who desire to prepare themselves for going into the presence of the
Bridegroom-King. Before we see what the Doctrine of
Balaam is, let’s first look at the great danger it poses, both to individuals and to congregations.
The Doctrine of Balaam: The Great Danger
Again, the Reader is encouraged to read through these Scripture
passages, to see exactly what Balaam did, and to notice why Yahuweh
became angry
with him. (See Numbers chapters 22-25; Num 31:16; 2 Pet 2:15;
Jude
1:11; Rev 2:14-16).
We are told of the
Error
of Balaam in Jude 1:11, and the
Way
of Balaam
in 2Pet 2:15. We see the
Counsel of Balaam
in Num 31:16. Then in Rev 2:14-16 we see the
Doctrine
of
Balaam.
Let's first notice the progression. When
someone commits the
Error of
Balaam (what Balaam actually did), he is in danger of walking
in the
Way of Balaam
(repeatedly committing the Error of Balaam), unless he repents.
Continuing
to walk in the Way of
Balaam, without repentance, results in speaking the
Counsel
of Balaam (the
words of Balaam), also
called the
Doctrine of Balaam (the teaching,
by word and by example, of the
Way of Balaam). The Counsel or
Doctrine of Balaam
then
results in a plague coming upon the
entire congregation (Num 31:16). Beloved, this example of
Scripture is for us today, to see that this is happening to
congregations today that embrace this Doctrine!
We
may
summarise that the
Doctrine of Balaam
originates as
1) the practice of the
Error of Balaam,
which
2) later becomes an example seen in the lives and teachings of the spiritual Leadership as the
Counsel of Balaam and
Doctrine of Balaam, which
3) results in
the
Error of Balaam being committed in the lives of their followers (the
people), and which results in their idolatry and fornication, for
which the people will be judged (2Pet 2:1-15; Jude 1:4,
11).
But what is the Doctrine of Balaam?
And what is the Error of Balaam? What did Balaam do
— that almost
got him killed?
Let’s summarise what we
see in the
Scriptures.
The Doctrine of Balaam: What it Is
First,
notice
Yahuweh told Balaam, "You shall not go with them..." (Num 22:12). At
first Balaam agreed to that word, but later, with the possibility of
riches and fame, Balaam decided to ask Yahuweh again.
So
later Yahuweh told Balaam, "If the men come to call you, rise
up and go with them" (Num 22:20).
Then
in the morning, Balaam went with the men (Num
22:21) — and next
we see the angel of Yahuweh standing in the way, sword in hand,
intending to kill Balaam (Num 22:22; 31-33).
Yahuweh
told Balaam that the reason He intended to kill Balaam was because his
Way
was perverse (Num 22:32).
In order to see clearly
what Balaam's error was, and what his perverse way was, let's
recap what we have seen.
First,
we see that Balaam disregarded, and did not obey
Yahuweh’s earlier
command to him ("Do not go with them").
Next,
we see that Balaam regarded, and obeyed Yahuweh's
later command to him ("rise up and go with them").
Then,
we see Yahuweh as an adversary with a sword, who told Balaam his way
was perverse.
From this we see immediately
that Balaam did not keep
every
word of Yahuweh, by which we must all live (Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4; Deut
8:3).
Instead, Balaam rejected Yahuweh's
earlier word, in
favour of His
later word.
Notice
that Balaam may have assumed Yahuweh’s
later
word had
nullified Yahuweh’s
earlier
word.
Next, we see that Balaam had even disobeyed the
later
word,
when he left the next morning without meeting the terms of
Yahuweh’s
condition ("if the men come to call you") (Num
22:20,21). This imperfect obedience to the
later
command, however, is a
consequence of disobedience to the
earlier.
We
might say that
Balaam held to a
twisted version
of Yahuweh’s
later command. We might also say that the later Word is always wrested, or twisted, if it does not agree with the earlier Word!
Thus
we see that because Balaam rejected Yahuweh’s
earlier
word, Balaam failed to live by
every
Word of Yahuweh. This is the way Yahuweh calls perverse, and it was for
this reason that Yahuweh sought to kill Balaam with a sword!
To
summarise, we might say that what Balaam did was to simply
reject the
Earlier Word of Yahuweh, with the hope
that the
Later Word of Yahuweh would be more
favourable to his purposes, and more agreeable to his motive.
His
motive was greed, but his action was to reject, and deny
the
earlier Word, in thinking the
earlier
word had been somehow 'nullified.'
How is the Doctrine of Balaam seen today?
Let’s
look.
The Doctrine of Balaam Today: Examples
The
Doctrine of Balaam today is simply the
teaching
that Yahuweh’s
earlier word has been
nullified,
in favour of Yahuweh’s
later word.
The
Error of Balaam is seen today in most
Believers’
rejection of the
Torah (Law) of the "Old Testament," in exchange for the teachings of
the
Doctrines of
Men! For it is the Doctrine of men — and not Scripture — that
states the
"Old
Testament" (the Law or Torah) has been
nullified
by the "New Testament."
Many precious Believers today are
being taught that the "Old
Testament" commandments of Yahuweh have been somehow
nullified
or have been done away with! This is a notion that is contrary to all of
Scripture!
This old-wives-tale is contrary to
all
of
Scripture, for it is contrary to the
Words of the Prophets,
contrary to
the
Words of the
Apostle Paul, and contrary to the
Words of Yahushua Himself.
For
example, the Scriptures tell us that the Greek word
'dogma,'
Strong’s numbers <1378> and
<1379>, the "Decrees of Men," were
against us, and contrary to us, and so they have been blotted out, and
taken out of the way, nailed to the cross, and abolished by the
crucifixion of Yahushua's body on the tree.
Yahushua’s
crucifixion has thereby
removed, and has taken out of the way, the very
thing that was against us, and which brings division, and separates men from Him, by leading them astray — the
Commandments of
Men.
The
Reader is urged to study these six verses that use these two Strong's
numbers. We must be as the Bereans, and see for
ourselves whether these things are so! (see Luke 2:1; Acts
16:4;
Acts 17:7; Eph 2:15; Col 2:14; Col 2:20.)
It is the
man-made commandments of men that appear in the Talmudic
writings, which say “touch
not, taste
not, handle not.” (Luke 2:1; Acts 16:4; 17:7; Eph 2:15; Col
2:14; Col
2:20-22). The Torah of Scripture makes no mention of these.
However, most cemetery-trained
Leaders today, in their ignorance of the
Talmud, claim that it was the Biblical Law or
Torah
(the
earlier word of Yahuweh) that has been
nullified, abolished, taken out of the way, etc., thus contradicting
the plain and
clear words of the Apostle Paul!
Since when is the pure
Word of Yahuweh
equivalent to the
dogma or
Decrees of Men?
It is the
Doctrine of Balaam
that nullifies and removes the Truths of Yahuweh’s
earlier
word, and this in turn results in disobedience to Yahuweh’s
later
word. We will see some examples of this below.
Therefore multitudes
of Believers today, embracing this deceptive Doctrine, are walking in
disobedience to Yahuweh’s
earlier
Word. Rejection or denial of
part of the words of
Yahuweh — by Yahuweh's own
people — is the equivalent of wholesale rejection
and denial of
all
the Words of Yahuweh, which is precisely what the Error of Balaam is!
This partial rejection of Yahuweh's Word is the 'perverse way'
of Balaam, for which Balaam was almost killed. (see Jer 11:10; Jer
13:10; Eze 3:10; John 5:46-47;
Jas 2:10).
So we see that what Balaam
did in his day, multitudes of
Believers
are doing today, as they are taught the
Doctrine of Balaam
by their
spiritual Leaders!
What are the end results of the
Doctrine
of
Balaam today? Let’s look at some examples.
The Doctrine of Balaam Today: Results
Today, most Believing Congregations have replaced
the
Biblical Truths with the
Commandments of Men
that 'appear' on the surface to be true, to those who do not study the Scriptures on
their own. Instead, these
Commandments of Men have
actually turned most
people away from practicing the Truth (Titus 1:14).
Only
a few remnants of Truth remain in
most congregations, because they have allowed men to re-define Biblical
Words, Doctrines, and Practices, replacing them with
man's
notions of Biblical words,
man's
Doctrines, and
man's practices.
Indeed,
we hear much of Christmas, Easter, and Lent; and nothing at all of the Passover bread, and Passover cup —
without which
participation there is 'no life in you' according to
Yahushua Himself (Matt 26:18-29; Mark 14:16-24; Luke 22:11-20; John
6:53-54).
Notice it is Yahushua Himself who defines and
illustrates these words
and terms used in Scripture; it is not our place to re-define Bible
Words
and terms.
Likewise today, we hear of many
things considered to be
holy and
'Scriptural,'
such as Communion or the Lord's
Supper. These terms
are Biblical, but
as used today they sometimes describe man's
replacement for the Biblical Passover! As we saw in a previous article, any man-made replacement for Yahuweh's Word is a form of idolatry.
Let's look now at how the
Doctrine of Balaam promotes this idolatry.
The Result is Idolatry
Note in Scripture that the
Biblical Passover is the only
sacrifice commanded to be
eaten by all of Yahuweh's people. The Passover is to be celebrated
only
by Yahuweh's people, either home-born or Strangers, that are
first circumcised, telling us that Passover is only for Yahuweh's
Covenant people. We are further told that the Passover is to be kept
only on the Day of Passover, the fourteenth day of the Biblical month (Lev 23:5). Any man-made changes to Yahuweh's
Word are considered 'strange fire.' Any substitutes of His Word or ordained practice is considered
idolatry,
and any man-made substitute for any of Yahuweh's Word is considered an
idol.
We see furthermore, that the communion or Lord's Supper as described in Scripture is to be taken
at the conclusion of the Passover meal. Therefore
any practice that differs from Scriptural practice is merely a
clever, man-made counterfeit; it is a
substitute for the True, and is thus an
idol.The
Doctrine of Balaam denies earlier Word of Yahuweh, and so it must necessarily deny the
Passover
as being a vital part of New Covenant life. The Passover is part of the
earlier
word of Yahuweh, so
the Doctrine of Balaam must create a substitute Passover to take the place of the True Passover. Today most of the evangelical world have embraced the man-made counterfeit, substitute Passover, rather
than
the Biblical Passover!
We therefore see the warning in Revelation, where Yahushua tells us it is the
Doctrine of Balaam today that teaches His people to eat the
man-made
substitute Passover bread and cup of wine. Because these elements as
used today are substitutes for the True Passover elements, Yahushua
does not mince words, but tells us He sees this as
"eating of things sacrificed to
idols" (Rev 2:14,
20).
Indeed, when we reject Yahuweh's Words
and
Scriptural practices,
in order to
embrace the words and practices of men, Yahuweh tells us throughout
Scripture He sees that as "whoring" after other gods.
Thus we see the
rejection of Yahuweh's word is called
fornication
in our
subject passage
in Revelation 2:14!
Yahuweh's
remedy is that we would simply
repent.
This tells us to
cease
our disobedience, and
begin
obedience to
all of
His Word.
Let's now look at the
results we can expect if we repent.
The Remedy: Results of Repentance
For those who
repent, and walk in a different path, a path of obedience, Yahuweh makes these
promises:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the hidden
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
new name
written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
(Revelation 2:17)
Here we see Yahuweh promising to give two
hidden
rewards, in exchange for overcoming ('prevailing')
in only one hidden aspect of His Covenant.
To
those who do
not repent, there is likewise a
promise and a
consequence.
The Remedy: Consequences of No Repentance
For those
who do not actively repent, or who think they can put it off until a
later day, Yahuweh has this Word:
Repent; or else I
will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with
the sword of my mouth. (Revelation 2:16)
The result of continuing in the
Error
of Balaam is the same result Balaam
had:
Yahuweh’s SWORD will be against those who do not repent.
And
Yahushua also tells us in the above verse, that He will come come
quickly to fight against those who do not repent.
According to the warning to the Pergamos church, the end-time
body
of Believers (we today are among those Believers!) are apparently
practicing, and teaching, this same
Doctrine of Balaam; hence
Yahuweh will again use a SWORD to stand in their (our) way, just as He
did
against Balaam.
When the Sword of
Yahushua's mouth fights against the
Believers, the
result is usually not made known immediately. We see in 2Thess 2:8-11,
where the sword of His mouth will bring a "strong delusion,
that they
might believe a Lie."
Someone who is believing a
lie, and who is deluded by Yahuweh
Himself, is not even aware of his delusion! He thinks
"I'm OK — I'm
saved!" "You know, 'Once a Tree, Always a
Tree!'" — "Surely Yahushua must
have meant something different in Luke 13:6-9!"
When
we toy around with the word of Yahuweh, and re-invent
definitions for Biblical words and terms, and apply our own definitions
to them, we are headed for our ruin, as well as for the ruin of those
who follow us. Thus it is imperative that we get back to the
Scriptures!
Conclusion
The end-time, New Covenant Believers are given the warning of
the
Doctrine of Balaam. They are warned to be
aware of what it is, and to repent.
The
Doctrine
of Balaam is perhaps the
most prominent feature of today's evangelical Doctrine. This
teaching results in the
Error of
Balaam in the lives of the people.
The
Doctrine of
Balaam results in deceiving multitudes to
think the
earlier word of Yahuweh has been
nullified.The
Doctrine of Balaam is causing many of Yahushua's
precious lambs
to be led off into idolatry and fornication, because they are being taught
to practice counterfeits of Yahuweh's prescribed set-apart days, mere substitutes created by the Commandments of Men, which
turn men away from the Truth, and which
lead them astray.
As a side issue, many
of our precious Jewish Brethren
have yet to receive the message of Messiah, simply because many of the
carriers
of the Gospel message reject the foundational Truths of living in obedience to the Torah, as
the Prophet Isaiah warns in Isaiah 8:20.
Unless the
Pastors and spiritual Leaders of today —
and their
followers — repent, Yahushua will most likely not meet
them
at the
door of the Wise Virgins, or receive them as part of the Bride
Company. Instead, He will most likely allow them to remain among the
foolish virgins.
The warning of the
Doctrine
of Balaam
is
a warning to the Bride!
---
Proceed
to
Eating Things Sacrificed Unto Idols: A
Warning to the Bride