Revelation 2d Commentary
What exactly is Balaam’s teaching that the church at Pergamum must watch out for? The LORD Jesus gives us a hint but the details from the Book Numbers reveal more. Numbers 22.
Balaam was a false prophet – more appropriately, a spiritualist whose career was partly fortune-telling. People around believed Balaam had magical powers to curse or bless someone. That’s where King Barak of Moab comes into the picture. He hires Balaam to curse Israel. He wants to win the battle against Israel.
But you cannot curse what God has blessed. Numbers 23 verse 8. So Barak is stuck. Balaam also won’t collect his cash.
However, there was a way around this problem. The king would get his victory and Balaam could collect his fee for divination. How? This is where the meat of the warning lies.
Israel could be enticed into sin and bring upon herself the curse that no one else could command on the nation. Sin would serve as a self-destruct button on Israel. Sexual immorality was the answer. Women were sent to seduce Israelite men away from holiness. And it worked!
The Pergamum church needed to know these facts. Sexual sin has a hidden agenda. Enjoyment by the victim isn’t one of the reasons. There is always an agenda away from the actors (Israel and the seducing women). Barak needed to win the battle. Balaam needed to collect his fee. The actors are victims in a scheme hatched far away from the scene of crime.
You will have invited a battle into your own life! It’s a battle against God’s sword – introduced as a double-edged sword.
The “teaching of Balaam” could be reduced to “enticement”, seduction, or the deception of ungodly sexual relations. The mention of “food sacrificed to idols” reminds the reader of another trap based on the desires of the flesh. “Wrong” food is enticing and may even masquerade as a need without which you cannot survive.
Therefore, the “teaching of Balaam” becomes a warning against satanic worship disguised in activities that appear to satisfy the individual’s desires. The saint is warned to watch out each time they are promised a thrill or a great life. It’s a bait. The fisherman isn’t interested in feeding the fish when he dangles a worm on the hook!
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