Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter seven
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Important messages
7. CHRIST, THE ADVERSARY WITH THE
SWORD
“The One who has
the sharp two-edged sword says this… ‘I have a few things against you, because
you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to
put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to
idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same
way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans (which thing I hate KJV). Therefore
repent; or else I am coming to you quickly and I will make war against them
with the sword of My mouth.”Revelation 2:12, 14-16
What we will consider in
this last chapter is something different from that, which we have presented in
the other six, and along with the content, the book must undergo a certain
change of temper or mood. The theme continues to concentrate on the person of
the Angel of the Lord, the same Lord Jesus Christ, but now we are going to see
Him trying very serious matters that have put the souls of many in imminent
danger. If we are going to be faithful and balanced in our presentation, then
we must see Him also, as He will be presented in this chapter.
We have days ahead of us
that are extremely dangerous. At this moment, the people of God are exposed to
elements that never appeared before, in all the history of the church. Many of
those, who are coming to know the gospel in this generation, are not aware that
it is so and cannot see the seriousness of the situation. They have known no
other spiritual atmosphere and therefore believe it to be normal. It is not
normal! Many, who have decided to enter into the gospel, in truth have never
been born again of the Spirit of God and their lives testify that no miracle of
regeneration has taken place. The church today expects these spiritual goats to
behave like sheep, while the only hope for them is a change of nature.
I must give you a warning,
my reader friend. The spirit and doctrine of Balaam not only exist today, but
are accepted by the greatest number of people in the evangelical world.
Therefore, you must be advised of what is happening and have your eyes opened
wide. I do not know if a modern prophet, who spreads the doctrine of Balaam,
would be interested in reading a book like this one. If he would read it, I
wonder if it could awaken him from the spiritual slumber, into which he has
settled, where there is so much surrounding him that is to his liking and
support. However, if possible, let this book serve as an alarm clock. God, in
great mercy, is the only one who can bring us through these days triumphantly.
His mercy begins, as in the churches of Revelation, with an accurate diagnosis
of our personal, spiritual condition, and with a rude awakening in our minds
and hearts to the Christianity which is prominent today.
THE
SERIOUSNESS OF ENTERTAINING FALSE DOCTRINE
Although the things that
Jesus had against the church in Pergamos were few, as the text above states,
they were not insignificant or small. A false doctrine is not just about words.
Any doctrine is an expression of that, which is believed in the heart and, if
what is believed is false, it will manifest itself in erroneous acts. As Jesus
was tempted in the wilderness and counteracted the lies of the devil by quoting
Scripture, so false doctrine is always challenged by the sword of His mouth,
which is the word. The word is truth and it has the capacity, not only to free
those who humbly submit, but also to defeat all opposition.
Possibly you have noted,
as the New Testament approaches the end, it seems to become even more earnest
than before and the writers strongly bring to light, that which is false. Peter
in his second epistle, chapter 2, writes to us of false prophets in the time of
the New Testament, who are presumptuous and self-willed (vs.10). “Forsaking the
right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of
Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his
own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man,
restrained the madness of the prophet” (vs.15,16).
Peter wrote of Balaam, as
Jesus also spoke of him in Revelation. Who is this man and why did he merit
such infamy throughout the millennia? What is the doctrine that had done so
much damage to Israel and later to the church? To know what the Spirit is
saying to us today about the doctrine of Balaam, there is only one thing we can
do. We must direct our attention to the Old Testament, because there we will
learn to understand the same danger that threatens our souls and the spiritual
body of Jesus in the 21st
century. The story of Balaam begins in Numbers 22 and covers
three chapters. Chapter 25 relates in detail the consequences that Israel
suffered, to which Jesus referred in the text in Revelation.
Also we ought to consider
the tactics that the enemy used to oppose the people of God. What is seen in
this story is repeated many times in the Bible and continues throughout church
history. As the children of Israel journeyed from the south and came to the
east side of Canaan, the devil, through the Amorites, came against them in a
direct attack. However, Israel was able to defeat them and took possession of
many of their cities. Now, the only nation between them and the Jordan River
was Moab. Since the direct attack had been frustrated, Satan put another plan
into action. His strategy consisted in introducing himself within the company
of the people and teaching them his perversities, until he got them to
compromise with him.
We ought to take into
account the seriousness of a mistaken teaching. In the verse that heads this
chapter, Jesus stated His hatred for the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. In verse
20, he rebuked the church of Thyatira, because it tolerated “the woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants
astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to
idols.” Jezebel was a pagan queen, the evil wife of Ahab, king of Israel, who
worshiped Baal. But now in the church, using Christian terms, a woman was
teaching the same doctrine and the result was the same in the church as it was
in Israel. Likewise, the doctrine of Balaam came disguised, mixed with
Christian words. Because Jesus understood perfectly the dangers contained in
these doctrines, he was moved to hatred. What was it that so disturbed Him?
I am sure that these
teachers did not directly command their followers to fornicate and eat things
offered to idols, but these were the natural results that stemmed from the
doctrines. They simply were tolerant and permitted the manifestations of the
flesh, instead of putting on the brakes. Besides, they mixed the things of God
with the principles of the world. Balaam used a mixture of God’s words with his
divinations and omens. Even though we do not know exactly the content of the
doctrine, we can see its characteristics. It is something deeper than words. A
false doctrine demonstrates a false understanding and a wrong way of viewing
and interpreting the things of God, by people who have rejected the pure truth.
Their teachings are as seeds that fall into the hearts of their listeners,
germinating and finally producing bad fruit. It is highly dangerous. Can it be
that the many moral failures in the church today are caused by false doctrines?
BALAAM
ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE MANIPULATED
It is evident that Balaam
was a man of renown and much sought after in his day for participation in
spiritual matters. He lived by the river, it tells us in Numbers 22:5.
Speaking about the river, people of that eastern region understood that
it had to do with the Euphrates River in the territory of the Chaldeans, which
in the future flourished to become the Babylonian Empire. This place was the
cradle of many beliefs in gods, which to this day exist under other names.
King Balak of Moab knew
that he could not confront the army of Israel in a battle, so he sent
messengers far away to contact the powerful prophet Balaam. Balak said of him, “I
know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (vs.6).
He wanted him to curse Israel and promised a great reward for doing it. The
king of Moab was an expert in manipulation in order to gain his goals and
manipulation is a satanic practice commonly used by men in positions of power.
Balaam called Jehovah, the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his God, but it is difficult to know to
what point Balaam really knew His person and ways. If Jehovah had been his God,
why until now had he not taken His people Israel into account? We do not know
in what form God had revealed Himself to Balaam in the past, but now we can
see, since His people are threatened, God speaks to him clearly: “Do not go
with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Balaam
informed the messengers of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has
refused to let me go with you” (vs.12,13). Now this should be flatly the end of
the matter and also the end of this story, without the awful consequences in
chapter 25. God had spoken to Balaam and he ought to have obeyed without
wavering.
The apostle John teaches
us a principle that has been valid since the foundation of the world. It would
have worked effectively in the Garden of Eden: “If anyone comes to you and does
not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give
him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil
deeds” (2 Jn. 10-11). If Balaam was innocent at first, before God had spoken,
when he received the first envoy from Balak, he was no longer innocent, when he
received the second party. Balaam extends hospitality to them, inviting them to
spend the night and allowed them to entertain the possibility of a change in
God’s command. Why did he do this? Peter did not tell us that Balaam loved
evil, but that he “loved the wages of unrighteousness”. The manipulator,
Balak, played with the greed and the pride of the prophet and this time sent a
more honorable group of dignitaries than the first. Besides, he promised that
he was prepared to “honor richly”, or in other words, he would make it well
worth his while economically. Because he did not keep his heart right, the
prophet fell into the trap.
ACTING
TO APPEASE THE WRATH OF GOD
Centuries later, Nehemiah
was well aware of the error of Balaam. After years of captivity, Israel began
to return to their land and was threatened by two enemies, named Sanballat and
Tobiah, who wanted to launch a violent attack on Jerusalem. It never came to
pass, because of the prayers of the Jews, but then they sought to negotiate
with Nehemiah. We can observe again the tactics of the devil, which were
employed in the case of Balaam and Balak. After only two attempts, Balaam
succumbed to the temptation, but Nehemiah stood firm and continued to give a
negative response even after five attempts. At all times, he avoided any kind
of a relationship between God’s people and outsiders, because he remembered
that the Ammonites and Moabites “hired Balaam against them to curse them” (Neh.
13:2). As Nehemiah, we ought to take advantage of the lessons of history, so as
not to repeat the same errors.
God knows the heart of
every person and acts accordingly. Balaam loved the reward of unrighteousness
and wanted to go with the princes to collaborate with Balak, so God gave him
his desire, with the one condition that he would not pronounce a word against
Israel. Nevertheless, God was against him, because of the condition of his
heart, and the Angel of the Lord goes to encounter him.
Afterwards, the people
began to fornicate with the daughters of Moab and to participate in the
sacrifice to their gods. Balaam’s doctrine had done its damage and the
consequences followed. The account tells us that “the Lord was angry against
Israel (25:3), and so He ordered the hanging of the twelve princes and of all
those who had gotten involved with the idolatry. By the time it was over,
24,000 people died.
Still there was a man, a
leader of an Israelite clan, and with him a woman, a daughter of a leader of a
Moabite clan, who thought themselves too important to be subjected to God’s
commandment and immune to the judgment that the others had suffered. In broad
daylight, before Moses and the entire congregation, who were before the
tabernacle lamenting the loss of thousands, these two entered the man’s tent to
fornicate. Fortunately, the chief priest in the time of Moses had the same
attitude as Nehemiah did years later.
Phinehas entered the tent
and pierced them both through the body, because he was the one who should carry
out justice in the name of God and the nation. Because of this one act of
justice, the death plague ceased. God said, “Phinehas... has turned away My
wrath from the sons of Israel” (25:11). What Phinehas did is called propitiation
in the Bible, which means that something is done to appease the wrath of
God and provide a way for the people to make reconciliation with Him. The same
took place when Joshua and Israel stoned Achan: “And the LORD turned from the
fierceness of His anger” (Josh. 7:26). Propitiation was applied many times and
in different manners throughout the Old Testament, put it was performed finally
and perfectly in the crucifixion of Jesus, “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation
in His blood through faith” (Rom. 3:25). “and He Himself is the propitiation
for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world…
(God) sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 2:2;
4:10).
God does not permit that
we exercise the death sentence in any personal form, but there is a real need
in our day for a non-humanistic people, who have the heart of God beating in
their breast. Feeling His wrath, they come to His side against the evildoers.
In other words, there is a great need that there be those who honor God and
love him above all other things and persons. Today, it is necessary that the
church should recognize and respect the wrath of a holy God.
THE
NARROW WAY
Balaam did not say that he
did not want to oppose the word of God, but that he could not. Balaam
was on a delicate mission. Because of the evil desires in his heart, God, for
His own wise reasons, permits him to be the one to go and give testimony to
Balak and Moab. No one, who has a sincere desire to please God, should ever
want to be in that place of compromise with the enemies of the people. His
mission is fearfully like that of Judas Iscariot, who played out a damnable
role, after hearing Jesus say, “What you do, do quickly” (Jn. 13:27), so that
the Scriptures would be fulfilled (Acts 1:16). Balaam did know one thing: He
knew that the word of God is as sovereign as His person. In spite of the bad
intentions of the men involved in this story, God’s word prevailed.
Then, “the angel of the
LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him (22:22), with a
sword in His hand. Balaam’s donkey saw more than the prophet did and turned off
the road. Soon they came to a place, where it was impossible to step aside,
because there was a wall on each side. The donkey tried to squeeze by the
Angel, pressing against one wall and wounding Balaam’s foot. Balaam beat her.
They continued and came to a part so narrow that there was absolutely no way to
pass and the donkey fell to the ground with Balaam below. Balaam again angrily
beat her with a stick.
In the narrow way, there
is no passage to the right side or to the left. There is no room for contrary
thoughts and intentions. The truth, by its own essence, does not tolerate
detours and the One, who is the truth personified, will not tolerate more: “Your
ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you
turn to the right or to the left” (Is. 30:21). We must recognize the voice that
personally conducts us along the way.
Jesus said, “I am the
way”, and the way is narrow. Only he allows entrance and it is impossible to
avoid an encounter with Him and His two-edged sword, which is His word that
never suffers defeat: “The word of God is living and active and sharper than
any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of
both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Those who held the
doctrine of Balaam in Pergamos had Jesus as an Adversary and, if they would not
repent, they would have to fight with Him. We do well to admit to the truth of
the same danger in our time. His faithfulness that guarantees the fulfillment
of His promises is no surer than His faithfulness in fulfilling a curse. Woe be
to those, who have Jesus to face as an adversary with a sword in His mouth!
The sword penetrates to the
depths of our being and does not stop, when it reaches the emotions. It will
slice farther to deal with the thoughts and judge the motivations. He was doing
that with Balaam. He was not satisfied, because Balaam said the right things
and delivered His word. Balaam was found in a place of encounter with an angry
Lord, due to a twisted heart and there was no escape.
Tests such as this can
have a positive result, if the one involved is ready to give up his deeds,
thoughts and intentions. Then, he can pass the test approved, but if he does
not, there will be no entrance for him on the road to heaven. All must be
corrected by a face-to-face encounter with Jesus Christ. Each one must
recognize his sin and know that he is by nature an enemy of God. The Scriptures
teach this in the New Testament, as well as the Old. Jesus is the sinner’s
adversary and therefore, “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while
you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the
judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say
to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent” (Mt.
5:25-26). Also, “Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do
homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way” (Ps.
2:11-12).
It is not enough, just to
have fear for the consequences, because we have done evil. True fear, which is
the beginning of wisdom, always is rooted in the person of the Lord. If He is
the greatest reward that can be obtained, then the worst misfortune is His
absence in our personal lives or among His people. If He abandons us, we have
lost everything.
BALAAM
CONTINUES HIS PERVERSE WAY
When Balaam’s eyes were
opened, he did reverence and bowed to the ground. All the world will do the
same: “At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11). It is not
enough to have our eyes open to recognize the Angel of the Lord. We must make
peace with our adversary and enter into a friendly relationship with Him, a
goal which Balaam never reached. He failed the test and went on his way an
enemy, following his own rebellious, selfish motives. The Lord said to him, “Your
way was contrary to me (22:32). Because he walked in darkness, he got off the
straight way and Peter tells us that for him, “the black darkness has been
reserved (forever)” (2 Pt. 2:17).
The doctrine, by which he
lived and walked, was also perverse. Balaam loved another reward and this was
the idolatry, which his teaching tolerated; that is, his doctrine allowed him
to cater to personal advantage over the will of God. When God’s people adopted
it, it unleashed sin among them. I cannot understand why Balaam did not value
the revelation and the word, which he received. I do not know, how he could
continue to pay attention to the evil designs of a mere man (ver. 37). The
sharp sword of the word discerned that an error was rooted in the depths of his
being and for that reason God gave him over to the king and the people of Moab.
Peter mentions the madness of the prophet and, really, I think that “insanity”
is the only word that explains his behavior. When Israel did battle against
Midian (Moab), Balaam died with them: “They also killed Balaam the son of Beor
with the sword” (31:8). In this case, the Angel of the Lord permitted Israel to
carry the sword.
Observe how Balaam did all
that he could in an attempt to influence God and how Balak used psychological
pressure to get the prophet to try to change the blessing into a curse: “Come
with me to another place from where you may see them” (23:13), he said. On the
next occasion, he repeats the same tactic: “Come, I will take you to another
place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from
there” (23:27). Balak wanted Balaam to see things from another point of view,
which might cause him to vacillate and play with the word that God had given.
Different points of view
and opinions of men are corrupting the purity of the gospel these days. They
should never influence those, who have heard the voice of the Lord. The
doctrine of humanism teaches that everyone freely has a right to their own
opinion, but that belief has nothing to do with true Christianity. What God has
said is not negotiable. His word is definite and He wants it to be pronounced
and carried out with exactitude.
Take for an example the
word to Ananias: “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and
inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul,
for he is praying” (Acts 9:11). Or this word to Cornelius: “Dispatch some men
to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called
Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by
the sea” (Acts 10:5-6). How precise these words were! They had to be
followed carefully, so that these people would not go astray and miss heaven’s
appointment.
What if Ananias had said
something like this? “Well, I found someone called Saul, but it wasn’t on
Straight Street and he wasn’t blind; he was deaf.” Or what if the servants of
Cornelius had returned to him, saying, “We found a man named Simon, but he
wasn’t called Peter, although the tanner was named Peter; but his house wasn’t
by the sea, it was in the middle of town.” Such ridiculous conclusions would
have totally thwarted God’s instructions and purpose. We dare not play with the
things of God!
THE
PROMISES OF BLESSING
In all cases, the Word of
God prevails and never suffers a loss. His word is like His person; it is
sovereign. Balak, the king, and Balaam, the prophet, searched for a “hole in
the dyke” to drown that which God had decreed, but it was impossible and they found
none. He had pronounced His blessing upon Israel. It had no flaw and had to
triumph over all obstacles. We have great reason to rejoice, because it is so.
All our future is based on the faithfulness of his promised blessings.
Blessing number one (Num.
23:7-10): Balaam climbed up a hill to meet with God and told him about seven
sacrifices that he and Balak had offered, but God paid no attention to that.
Then, for the first time, Balaam saw the thousands upon thousands of the
children of Israel camped below. Their security and protection did not come
from any earthly source. They had a protector that could guarantee a thousand
times more security than anything that the world can offer (just to mention a
quantity that our limited minds can capture). In fact, there are no grounds of
comparison between the two sources. There in the desert, living in tents,
exposed to the elements of nature and threatened by enemies around them, Israel
lived in complete safety.
The word of God filled
Balaam’s mouth. “Behold, a people who dwells apart, and will not be reckoned
among the nations” (vs.9). They are a unique, separated people on the earth and
they will always carry that characteristic. More than once, accusers used it to
threaten them before political powers. Haman, for example, said to King
Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people
in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all
other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it in not in the
king’s interest to let them remain” (Es. 3:8). The individual or the company,
who is the Lord’s possession, cannot be counted among the nations, function as
they do, or copy their ways, because they have another leader. Only Jesus
should be the head of the Church.
“Let me die the death of
the upright, and let my end be like his!” (vs.10). The entire world would like
to experience the end that is in store for God’s people, just as Balaam did,
but in his case, he would never have what he desired. Balaam made a bad choice
and it left him spiritually impoverished. However, those who have surrendered
their destiny into God’s hands, have an enviable future. “I am going to prepare
a place for you”, Jesus said and the promise is still in effect. We will soon
see it fulfilled.
Blessing number two
(23:18-24): The God of Israel is unchangeable. “God is not a man, that He
should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He
not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have
received a command to bless; when He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it” (vs.19-20).
Balak and Balaam were not able to remove the smallest fraction of God’s
blessing. Balak could manipulate men, including a prophet, but never in his
experience had he confronted anyone like the One that he was dealing with in
this case. His word is not “yes” and “no”, but “yes and amen”. His promises are
surer than the universe. The Almighty will do what He has said and just the
fact that He has pronounced blessing, will be sufficient guarantee for us. The
one who receives the promise can begin to rejoice, because it is as sure as if
he already had the future in his hands. Nothing and no one can revoke it.
God will not take the sin
of Israel into account: “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob” (vs.21). Paul
quotes David, who applied the same blessing to individuals. “Blessed are those
whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed
is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account” (Rom. 4:7-8). Had
Israel not sinned? Of course! We read of one sin upon another since they left
Egypt and right up to this point. However, here is the answer to the sin
problem: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us… If anyone sins, we have
an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn. 1:9-10; 2:1).
He is the same as the Angel of the Lord who was the advocate in Israel’s case
before Balak. Nothing that has happened has changed God’s purpose for His
people. He has provided a remedy in the cross of His Son for those who have
sinned.
“There is no omen against
Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel” (vs.23). No spiritual weapon
is effective against the people, whom God is keeping in His hand. No kind of
witchcraft or curse can hold them back or conquer them: “No weapon that is
formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment
you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
vindication is from Me, declares the LORD” (Is. 54:17).
I had an old friend of the
Navajo tribe, one of the greatest indigenous people in the United States. When
he was a young man, Herman went to an Indian reservation in Dakota, where there
was a small chapel and there he held meetings, besides visiting in homes.
Because no one came to the meetings, Herman faithfully preached his messages to
his wife and two children. One day, a man came to his house, speaking kindly
and offering to cut his hair without charge. After doing so, he gathered the
hair that he had cut into a bag. Herman thought that he was only cleaning up
after his work, but shortly afterwards he began to have breathing problems,
symptomatic of someone with asthma. At night, he had to sleep in a sitting
position in order to breathe somewhat adequately. He decided to visit a doctor,
who had his practice outside the reservation, and when Herman crossed the
border, the problem suddenly disappeared. Nonetheless, the doctor gave him
medicine and driving home, upon reentering the reservation, the problem
returned. The prescribed medicine did not relieve it.
One night he heard
chanting and the beating of tom-toms very near, but he could not pinpoint its
source. Finally, Herman came to realize that this was a spiritual attack and he
audibly rebuked whatever it was behind the circumstances. Immediately he was
entirely well and never again did the symptoms appear. However, the astounding
end to this story is that the man, who had cut and gathered his hair into a
bag, died of a mysterious attack on the same day that Herman was healed. He was
an evil medicine man. Soon the chapel filled with people, until another
building had to go up to house the congregation. Look at it closely and you
will see that the story is not very different from that of Balaam and Balak.
The spiritual world has not changed and we continue in the same battle, but we
have been promised the same victory.
“Let the godly ones exult
in glory… Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword
in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the
peoples… to execute on them the judgment written…” (Ps. 149:5-7,9). Israel
carried the sword that killed Balaam and Paul taught us that God’s people have
the two-edged sword in their hands and it is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). Even
though they are sent out “as sheep among wolves… and harmless as doves (Mt.
10:16), God will give the victory. He will back His word with all the power of
heaven and woe be to those who oppose or form a stumbling block!
Blessing number three
(24:3-9): On the third occasion, Balaam did not seek an omen, as he
contemplated Israel. He saw them camping tribe by tribe and the Spirit of God
came upon him. He prophesied of the Messiah, the coming King of Israel: “His
king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted” (vs.7).
Centuries later, this King came to His own and was rejected. Pilate, the Roman,
although he condemned Him, at the same time gave testimony in Latin, Hebrew and
Greek. He hung it over the cross for the whole world to know down through the
centuries: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Jn. 19:19). He arose
from the dead, ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father
and will soon return to this world to reign. He will do so from Jerusalem for a
thousand years and that same people, Israel, will then be a Christian nation. “There
will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of
David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and
righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will
accomplish this” (Is. 9:7).
Blessing number four
(24:15-24): All the blessing of God over any people, at any time, has to do
with His Son. There is no prophecy of future well-being that is worth considering,
if He is not centric in it. God’s blessing comes to us personally in the Lord
Jesus Christ: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall
come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel” (vs.17). The prophet
sees the future and the Messiah. In the third prophecy, he spoke of a King and
now sees Him as a Star of Jacob.
Many centuries later, wise
men embarked on a long journey to see the King of Israel, because they had seen
His star in the east. Because they came from the same territory, might it not
be possible that they had access to the prophecies of Balaam? They were
preserved in Israel, so it would be very probable that the Chaldeans also kept
them, since it was a work of one of their most distinguished and ancient
figures. Is this why the magi came from afar, having seen the star of
the King of Israel?
Also, we need to consider
this: When Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar his dream and interpretation, the king of
Babylon made him supreme prefect over all the wise men of the kingdom (Dan.
2:48); that is, he was over the magi, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the
astrologers (vs.2). In his interpretation, Daniel said that the dream had to do
with a future kingdom that God would bring upon the earth and it would never be
destroyed. The kingdom would crush and put an end to all others and would
continue forever.
Is it not probable that
the wise men from the east would have read the book of Daniel in their
homeland? These first chapters of the book of Daniel are the only part of the
Old Testament not written in Hebrew, but in the language of Babylon, which was
Aramaic. Later, Daniel wrote clearly of the Messiah Prince (9:25). Daniel was
president of the magi in the most glorious time of the Babylonian Empire and it
is logical that the writings of such a distinguished man would be studied by
future generations.
The King of Kings and Lord
of Lords is sovereign over all men, all things, and all happenings in the
history of the world. He is the Word of God and His word was, is and will be
spoken, kept and fulfilled with total assurance, not only for the Jewish
people, but for all peoples of the earth, to whom He will reveal Himself. He
comes sovereignly also to individual lives. The Angel of the Lord, Jesus
Christ, is the Adversary of the perverse race of Adam. He has the sharp,
two-edged sword, which is His word, coming from His mouth, to war against every
philosophy and humanistic belief, fabricated by men. Each individual must pay
attention and submit himself to the sword.
The Christian must repent
of all false presumption, ideas and doctrines that he might be carrying with
him, when he intends to enter the straight gate. If inside the church, he later
learns teachings, which are contrary to Scripture, as those that were taught in
the days of the Apostle John - the doctrines of Balaam, Jezebel and the
Nicolaitans - he must forsake them. Christ hates them and He is “the same
yesterday, and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange
teachings” (Heb. 13:8-9). If he has held to deceiving concepts and revelations,
without delay he must surrender them and pledge to hold to the Bible as the
maximum authority over his life, before the intolerant sword is unsheathed to
fight against him.
Everyone, personally, must
hear the voice of Him, who by His word formed the universe. His voice is the
word of truth that sets free (Jn. 8:32). It creates in us a new heart and makes
us compatible with His nature, so that we can participate in heavenly, eternal
things. We will experience His great promises coming to pass in our times and
there will be no earthly authority or prophet, government or human council,
demon or Satan himself, that can revoke what He says and does. He will continue
to do His work in this age, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today
and forever. As top priority in our lives, we must seek the true King of the
Kingdom of God, with no love for a reward of unrighteousness.
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