The Prophetic Word - Days 95 thru 100: The sin of Balaam and being left behind

The Prophetic Word Day 95: The great Apostasy involves the sin of Balaam.

In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on the following scriptures:

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” ‭‭II Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭31‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ NKJV

““And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” ‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The word of God tells us that there will be a great falling away (Apostasy) from The Faith, just before the revealing of the Antichrist. Over the next several days we will explore what this falling away has to do with the sin of Balaam; and, how to make sure we are not a part of it!

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord

The Prophetic Word Day 96: What God blesses cannot be cursed.

“Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love. Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord. Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing! May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭109‬:‭26‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When the children of Israel finally made the move to go into the Promised Land (after their 40 years of wondering because of their unbelief), they were a force that made the nations tremble. It seemed that they were unbeatable; and this fact was not lost to the king of Moab.

Fearing that the Israelites would conquer and absorb his kingdom, the king of Moab (Balak) hatched a plan.

“Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites. And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!” So Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yes, Balak thought that if Balaam would curse the Israelites, they would then be defeatable.

Now, Balaam was a prophet from Aram (Mesopotamia). And he did possess power to bless and to curse. This is illustrated in the fact that God instructed that he not curse the people. And, because God forbade him not to curse Israel, he at first refused to go with the representatives sent by the king of Moab.

“But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will not let me go with you.”” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭22‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now, strangely, this didn’t settle the situation for Balaam. In fact, through many twists and turns (including a talking donkey), he ended up trying to curse Israel three times!

After the first attempt, Balaam had this to say:

“But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned? I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭23‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Trying again to curse them, he was compelled to confess the faithfulness of God:

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭23‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Not ready to relent, Balaam tried a third time to curse Israel and ended up giving a prophecy that included a prophetic word concerning our Lord!

“This is the message Balaam delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

At this point Balaam seems to come to the knowledge of a great revelation: cursing Israel would be a boomerang!

“Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God has blessed Israel; and any attempt to curse Israel by Balaam—or anyone else—will come back on their own head.

In our opening scripture David is asking for the Lord’s help, yes, for the Lord’s blessing. He knows that what God’s blessing is on, cannot be cursed; and anyone attempting to do so, will end up humiliated.

The Lord recently instructed me to give this passage to a young woman who was very concerned about someone threatening to curse a member of the young woman’s household. The “targeted” person had done what was right and had spoken the truth. The offended party then railed threats involving cursing (by witchcraft) the person who had told the truth.

Now, nobody likes to be threatened with being cursed. But remember, there is no curse greater than God’s blessing.

Indeed, we saw that Israel could not be cursed by Balaam. So, how is it that they did end up somehow being cursed? We’ll take that issue up tomorrow.

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord

The Prophetic Word Day 97: Covenant breaking leads to a curse.

“And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭31‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Yesterday we discussed the fact that Balaam was unable to curse the children of Israel because they had the blessing of God upon them.

Oddly enough, when we go into chapter 25 of Numbers—with chapter 24 having ended with Balaam leaving because he could not curse the people—we now see that the children of Israel have fallen into harlotry with the women of Moab and Midian. As well, they have been punished with a plague that killed 24,000 people!

“Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

So what happened here? The people could not be cursed by Balaam; yet, now they seem to have brought a curse upon themselves by mingling with ungodly women.

Sadly, the breaking of covenant with God would repeatedly lead to much distress and destruction on the children of Israel.

Here, the psalmist recounts this tragic pattern of covenant breaking, then destruction:

“The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions. They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them, the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt. But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him. So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭9‬-‭12‬, ‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What a sad commentary. What the enemy could not do to them, they opened themselves to experiencing through covenant breaking and disobedience!

OK, but what does this have to do with Balaam?

Our opening scripture looks further into the story concerning the Balaam incident. We see that just before Moses died, the Lord instructed him to take vengeance on the Midianites.

The armies of Israel went against Midian and had a stunning victory. Indeed, it was in this battle that Balaam was killed!

Having had a great victory against the Midianites, the captains and leaders of the armies brought back all the Medianite women with the spoils.

Moses was greatly angered with the leaders of the army for bringing the women with them, giving the explanation seen in the opening scripture: “Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.”

Wow! There it is! Apparently, after not being able to curse the children of Israel, Balaam instructed the enemy as to how to get the children of Israel to curse themselves by getting them to mingle with the women of Moab and Median and learning their idolatrous ways because of their sexual involvement.

Remember, what God blesses cannot be cursed…unless the one who is blessed, breaks God’s covenant.

“Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving].” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Yes, a curse without a cause can’t land on whom God has blessed. But if those who are blessed, become covenant breakers, they will bring disaster on themselves (curse themselves)!

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord

The Prophetic Word Day 98: Departing from the faith is nothing new.

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Apparently, the people in the church at Thessalonica had become disturbed, believing some false teachers who were saying that Jesus had already returned. Paul addresses their concern by giving them a sure sign that must happen before the Lord’s Second Coming.

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” ‭‭II Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Paul instructs them that there will be a great falling away, that is, a great backsliding or Apostasy, before the return of the Lord; and, since that had not yet happened, it was not possible that He had already come and left them.

The general idea of people backsliding or falling away from God is found throughout the Bible. Indeed, there was a falling away in the heavenly hosts, resulting in their being imprisoned.

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬, ‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In the following scripture we see one of the many times the Lord references the backsliding of His people. Indeed, He likens their departure as being as fast as a horse running into the battle!

“Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return. I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jesus once lost a multitude of His followers after a message He gave speaking of the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood.

“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” ‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭60‬, ‭66‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Because of the hardness of their hearts, they couldn’t see what He was actually saying, and ran for the exits.

The apostle Paul spoke of people who had departed from him and his teaching.

“That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.” ‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our opening scripture we see that Paul was concerned that after he was deceased, others would come and lead the people astray.

Sadly, falling away from The Faith is nothing new. But—make no mistake—there is a falling away, a Great Apostasy, that will be new in terms of its scope. We will talk more about that tomorrow.

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord

The Prophetic Word Day 99: Loving things of this world leads to falling away from God.

““And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV

The way that Balaam got the children of Israel to become defeatable, was by tempting them to run after things displeasing to God.

We are not told in vain to make sure that our affection is not on the things of this world.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” ‭‭I John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Remember, friends of the world cannot be friends of our Lord.

“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As Jesus put it, love of this world will compete with your love for Him; and the results won’t be good.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As James put it, a strong desire for things of the world will take us into temptation.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jude warned against following after those who—like Balaam—set their affection on things of the world and not of God.

“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” ‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬, ‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As well, Peter warned against following after those who run after the things of this world and encourage, yes, entice, others to do the same.

“and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our opening scripture we see the Lord warning the church at Pergamos concerning their walking in the error of Balaam. He gives a very stern warning about what will happen for those who continue to follow Balaam’s path.

Tragically, there will be—and even now are—those who call themselves Christians, yet their affection is on the things of this present world. And, the mixing with the world resulting from misplaced affection, will indeed become a stumbling block which will lead to the great falling away!

Tomorrow we will bring all of this together.

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord

The Prophetic Word Day 100: Don’t be left behind.

“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭8‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We began this week by talking about the sin of Balaam.

Now, Balaam could not curse Israel because God had blessed Israel. But, it seems that he advised the enemy that the Israelites could be defeated if they compromised themselves through mingling with the things of this world (in this case, idolatry and sexual immorality).

Indeed, the advice of Balaam led to the people of God treating God‘s blessing, their special covenant relationship with the Lord, as something “common” (used here to reference the things of this world).

Hezekiah was a good King of Israel and God had blessed him, even giving him a 15 year extension on his life.

Sadly, during the time of his life-extension, he made an awful mistake. You see, the king of Babylon, having heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered, sent representatives to him with presents. Hezekiah was so flattered by this gesture, that he treated what God had given him as being common, putting it on display to the representatives from Babylon.

“Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭39‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

They would lose everything because it wasn’t treated as Holy.

When we go after the things of this world, when we mingle ourselves with those operating in the world system, we make common what God has made to be holy, opening ourselves up to forfeiting the sustaining power of God in Jesus Christ.

Indeed, it would be Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, who would lead the people astray again.

“So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.” ‭‭II Chronicles‬ ‭33‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Mingling with the world, loving what it has to offer, will eventually lead to being open to deception. Walking in deception leads to falling away from God’s blessings, and even from the Faith.

Continuing on, whereas departing the Faith is nothing new, there is coming a Great Apostasy just before the return of our Lord.

Jesus spoke of the falling away coming at the time of the end.

“And then many will be offended [fall away], will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our opening scripture Jesus is teaching the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.

Because the Bridegroom delayed His coming, half of the virgins did not have what it took to go out and meet Him. And, their lack could not be made up by those who were ready to go.

My friend, Jesus is coming back and He is coming back soon! Let’s stay prepared and watchful so that we are not part of the Great Apostasy that has already begun.

“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;” ‭‭II Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭10‬-‭14‬, ‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Peace to you. Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him! #ThePropheticWord