“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 stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” (Revelation 2:14)
In this verse in Revelation, Jesus rebukes the church at Pergamus for following after the doctrine of Balaam.
What is the doctrine of Balaam? It means placing a stumbling block before the people of the church by engaging in practices that keep them from coming to God. These practices centered on including idol worship in their church, thus denying the sovereignty of Christ. Rather than following the pure word as it had been presented, they allowed evil to enter their church.
The history of Balaam is found in Numbers 22. The children of Israel were close to entering the Promised Land, and they were approaching the area of Moab, which was under the control of King Balak (sometimes spelled Balac.) The hoards of Israelites frightened Balak.
---And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, “Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field.”
---And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.” (Numbers 22:3-5)
Balaam was a prophet who communicated with God. Although God clearly told Balaam what he was to do and say, Balaam allowed his greed to turn him away from God while pretending to be a faithful follower of God. He was a man who enjoyed a privileged religious position without giving his heart to the Lord. The leaders of the church at Pergamus, mentioned in Revelation, were like Balaam, and so are many pastors in permissive churches today!
Balak bought Balaam off by giving him mounds of money, by showering him with prestige, and by treating him like royalty. Instead of blessing Israel as God commanded, he went to visit King Balak and show him how to corrupt the hearts of the Israelites. The prophet told the king to send beautiful girls to intermarry with the men of Israel so they would worship false gods.
That’s a summary of what the wicked prophet did. First he bargained with Balak’s men to pay him a good price. Then he bargained with God Himself, who warned him not to do the evil thing that he did anyway. We leave Balaam mounted on his donkey on the way to see King Balak. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the disaster that occurred on the trip. This event is one of the most amazing in the entire Bible.
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