Well, hello and welcome to the next in our series on understanding the times in which we live. A very important subject. Stay tuned, we'll be looking at this in just a moment. In the early part of the book of Revelation, God wrote seven letters to seven pastors. In Revelation chapter 2 and verse 14, we read, I have a few things against thee, pastor. Now keep in mind, this is important. All seven of these letters were addressed to the pastor. The pastor was supposed to teach this stuff to his people, but the letters, the rebukes, and the things that God had to say to these people were addressed to the pastor, not to the people. And to the pastor he said, I have a few things against thee, because thou hast them there that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Revelation 2.14. Now as we go through this, we're going to see that some promoters of apostasy are unsaved, and some of them are Christians. It would seem obvious that the apostasy-promoting pastor that is mentioned in Revelation 2.14 was a Christian. There's nothing to indicate that he wasn't. However, Balaam, who sounded like a solid fundamentalist, was unsafe. He was one of the greatest hypocrites on the face of the earth at that time. In Numbers chapter 22 and 13, he sure did sound fundamental when he refused to go with the enemies of God. He said, and it says here, and Balaam rose up in the morning and said unto the princes of Balak, get you into your land for the Lord refuses to give me leave to go with you. That sounds pretty fundamental. Then in chapter 22 in verse 18, Balaam sounded like a fundamental leader. We read, and Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord, my God, to do less or more. First of all, the Lord was not his God. He was a hypocrite. You'll see that as we go through it. But he sure sounded like a fundamental leader. Then in chapter 22, in verse 38, he said, And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee. Have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God putteth in my mouth That shall I speak. Well, that sounds pretty fundamental. He'd be welcome to preach in most of our fundamental churches today. And then chapter 23 in verse 8, we read, he sounded like a fundamentalist when he said, How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied? Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his. Wow, that sounds pretty fundamental to me. Then in chapter 23 and 12, we read, and he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? I'll tell you, Bill, I would be welcome to preach at most of our national meetings. Then in chapter 23, verse 18, Balaam makes a bold statement to the king of Moab that could have got him killed. He said, Rise up, Valak, and hear, hearken unto me, thou son of Zephor. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. That sounds pretty fundamental to me. Chapter 24 and 13, we read that if Balaam would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord to do either good or bad in my own mind. But what the Lord sayeth, that will I speak. You can't get much stronger fundamental preaching than that. Well, what did Jude say about Balaam? He said this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He talked about those who crept in unawares and he said that Balaam had turned the grace of God into lasciviousness, and Jude said Balaam went to hell when he died. Verse 13, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. A solid sounding fundamentalist went to hell according to Jude. What did Joshua say about Balaam? Joshua 13.22, Joshua saw this fundamental sounding leader as a soothsayer. What about Moses? Did he have anything to say about Balaam? Yes, he did. Deuteronomy 23, 4, Moses said, They hired against thee Balaam. Numbers 3, 31 and 16, Moses said, Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Well, we see that Jude said he went to hell. Joshua, Moses, they didn't have anything good to say about him. What about Nehemiah? Well, in Nehemiah 13 and 2, Nehemiah reminded God's people how Balak had hired Balaam against them. Well, did Peter have anything to say about Balaam? Yes, 2 Peter 2 15, Peter knew that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. Actually, Balaam died fighting against God's people. We read in Numbers 31 and 8, Moses recorded his death saying, And they slew Balaam, also the son of Beor, they slew with the sword. Joshua 13 and 22, Joshua said, Balaam, also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them. Unfortunately, they were too late. Israel fell deep into apostasy. As we've seen in Revelation 2 and 14, it tells us Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication. Again, in Numbers 31 and 16 tells us Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, committed a trespass against the Lord in the matter of Beor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. 24,000 Israelites died in that plague because they allowed a fundamental-sounding leader to promote apostasy in Israel. We can only guess how many churches will die under the direction of some of our modern-day fundamental-sounding promoters of apostasy. Now, let's remember, it says in 1 Corinthians 10, verse number 11, Now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. We need to be admonished and look out in these days in which we are living, not everything that is sounding fundamental is fundamental. Balaam was used of Satan to introduce apostasy among God's people. He was very successful because God's people were unaware of what he was up to and he'll be very successful today if we're not aware of what he's up to and if we're not going to understand the times in which we are living. Apostasy promoting pastors in our age? Yes. All seven of John's letters, as we said here in Revelation, were addressed to the pastors, not to the people. Some of the pastors were honoring the Lord. Some were compromisers. As previously mentioned in Revelation 2, 12, John addressed his letters to the pastor, and the pastor at Pergamos, he said in verse 14, to the pastor, he said, I have a few things against thee because thou hast them there that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Now we need to keep in mind that this pastor was doing some great things in many areas. The Lord said, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, and was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. But we read the pastor allowed some to hold the doctrine of Balaam. The warning was plain. The Lord said, repent or else. He said it to the pastor, repent or else. However, the pastor did not turn from his compromising position. And as a result, by the time we get to the Laodicean church, Balaam's doctrine is full blown and the church is in such a sick state that we read that the Lord is no longer welcome. Back in Revelation 2.1, we find Christ walking in their midst. But now in Revelation 2.20, Christ said, behold, I stand at the door and knock. As previously mentioned, some promoters of apostasy were unsaved and some were Christians. Balaam was unsaved. The pastor at Pergamos was a Christian. God warned the pastor to repent or else. Our problem today does not rest in our understanding of God's will. It is a case of being willing to do God's will regardless of the cost. Now the name Balaam actually means not of the people. Although he talked like he was one of God's people. We must always remember that talk is cheap. It is the walk that cost us something. Balaam was an unsaved fundamentalist who was used of Satan to introduce apostasy among God's people. Well, how did God react? The book of Numbers presents us with a very angry God. Nine times in Numbers we read of the anger of the Lord being kindled. Numbers 11, God sent a fire and a plague. Numbers 12, God struck Miriam with leprosy. In Numbers 14, when the spies returned with their evil report, God was ready to kill all Israel as one man. Number 16, God opened the ground and swallowed up those who were sowing discord against the leadership of Moses. And also some people complained that God killed 14,700 more of them. In Numbers 21, when people complained, God sent snakes to kill the complainers. In Numbers 25, at Balpior, another 24,000 died. In Numbers 32 and 14, records the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. Not towards those Gentiles out there. toward Israel. And God was angry with Balaam. In Numbers 22 and 33, we read that God was so angry with Balaam, he told him if it had not been for his donkey, he would have killed him. King Balak, he's back there in Moab, he's very concerned. As we begin Numbers 22, Israel is at the end of her wilderness wanderings, and God's people are defeating her enemies, and they have advanced to the border of Moab, and we read that King Balak and his followers were so afraid that they were distressed. Well, we have Balaam, who is mentioned 49 times in the book of Numbers. He lived in Bithura, which was located almost 400 miles from Moab. It took about a month to travel one way from Moab to Bithura. The name Bethor means soothsayer. This place was a hotbed of soothsayers, or diviners, and Balaam was the most famous diviner of them all who lived in that city. Balak should have stopped and talked with Moses before he got into all this mess. Balak was concerned about being attacked. However, Moses was not about to attack Moab. Deuteronomy 2.9 says, And the Lord said unto me, that is Moses, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle. Balak wasted a lot of time and energy because he did not talk with someone who was in touch with God, and many people, including many Christians, are doing the same thing today. Well, Moab was concerned about having their lifestyle changed, and the biggest concern, the biggest concern was not that Israel was going to attack, but through it all, their lifestyle would be changed. We read in verse 4, 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 in the field. It's the same today. I've seen people who do not fear Christians because they might attack. They simply do not want their lifestyle changed. They know who these people are. They're referred to as the people that came out of Egypt in verse 5. It had been 40 years since God's people had come out of Egypt. Those who rejected God remembered what God had done through his people 40 years earlier. It was in the same time frame that Rahab said, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. Joshua chapter 2 verse number 10. The Christ rejecters are watching. It says in Hebrews 12 and 1, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed above with so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. It says, we also are encompassed with so great a cloud of witnesses. It's not talking about people in heaven looking down and watching us. We also, like all of those who are listed in Hebrews chapter 11, they were watching. There is a great cloud of witnesses. And they're watching us today. And they're wanting to see what we're going to do. And they don't have a whole lot of respect for the things of God because we just don't want to do what God wants us to do anymore. And yet we call ourselves fundamentalists. Well, Ballot wanted the best soothsayer to get his hands on and he said, I want that he whom thou blessed is blessed and he whom thou cursed is cursed. So he goes on a 400 mile trip to get Balaam to come and curse Israel. Well, we'll see how all that turned out. Be sure to tune into our broadcast again tomorrow. We will try to make it plain and we will try to make it simple. so so you