This is the Story of Balaam and his Error

The Story of Balaam and the Error of Balaam

Things in [] and underlined and in bold-faced are my emphasis.

Numbers 22:1-41 (NKJV) ¹  Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. ²  Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³  And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴  So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵  Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ⁶  Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” [Why did he even consider cursing Gods’ people? And, they thought Balaam had the power to curse Gods’ people though God alone has that power.] ⁷  So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. [Why would Balaam even consider a diviners’ fee? Did he seek personal gain from being the “prophet of God”?] ⁸  And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. [Then he asks the enemy to stay in his house. He could have sent them off immediately.] ⁹  Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” [translation: What are you doing with these men in your house? God knew already.] ¹⁰  So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ¹¹  ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ” [Hey Balaam, He already knew the answer, the     question is to you saying why.] ¹²  And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” [Why did God even need to be asked when the answer is so obvious? If God calls them blessed, they are blessed. God plainly says do not go with them, and, you will not curse them. If God says no, that is what He means, He does not change.] ¹³  So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.” [Balaam fails to tell them all God said. He also told Balaam not to curse them, this should have ended all communication on this subject. Failing to do full disclosure is dishonest for the man of God.] ¹⁴  And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” ¹⁵  Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. [Balaam was moved by the “honorable” nature of the men. God is not, and, Gods’ prophet should not be either.] ¹⁶  And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; [Balaam was disobedient, he listened to man when God said no.] ¹⁷  for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” [The lure of power over the King enticed Balaam] ¹⁸  Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. [If  this was true and Balaam really believed this then why did he even entertain them and ask God again when He said no the first time? If God says no and you keep asking Him for it, He might just go ahead and give you what you should not have been asking for. In the end it was the death of Balaam.] ¹⁹  Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” ²⁰  And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you–that you shall do.” ²¹  So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. [God said; “if the men come to call you, then go”. There is no record they came to call him the next morning, he just went of his own will and want.] ²²  Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. [When we are disobedient to God we unwittingly begin to fight against God. Who can stand against Him.] ²³  Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] standing in the way with His drawn sword[the Word] in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ²⁴  Then the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵  And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD[Jesus], she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. [How far does God have to go to save us from ourselves? How many times? For Israel it was seventy times seven.] ²⁶  Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷  And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD[Jesus], she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. [Balaam now has anger and it is manifesting again.] ²⁸  Then the LORD[Jesus] opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” [The donkey had more spiritual vision than Balaam] ²⁹  And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” [The donkey speaks like a human and Balaam isn’t even surprised. Beware when you start holding conversations with a beast of the field that show more wisdom than you.] ³⁰  So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” [You would think at this point the alarms would be going off in Balaam’s mind. How much does it take before the alarms go off in our minds when we are doing wrong?] ³¹  Then the LORD[Jesus] opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. [We become blind when we no longer have the mind/sight of the Lord. Disobedience/sin separates us from that intimate fellowship with God as God has to speak through a donkey to get Balaam to listen.] ³²  And the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. ³³  The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” ³⁴  And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD[Jesus], “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.” [How is it that he does not know that God would be against him when he was knowingly disobedient? Why does he even ask if he should turn back or not. He was disobedient already. Just run back to where you got off track lest you get into even more trouble. He was still hoping for the gain he sought. How far off track do we have to get before we realize we are in deep trouble?] ³⁵  Then the Angel of the LORD[Jesus] said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. [In the end Balaam does speak what God did not say to speak. He tells Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves.] ³⁶  Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. ³⁷  Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” [Balaam did indeed want the honor.] ³⁸  And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” [Darn it, but I can say more.] ³⁹  So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. ⁴⁰  Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. ⁴¹  So it was the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people. [Now Balaam is in the temple of Baal. Wow did he go down hill or what. When you wake up from your drunken stupor and you find yourself in the camp of the enemy, do what David did and fall on your face and beg God for forgiveness.]

 

Numbers 23:1-30 (NKJV) ¹  Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” [So, catch the scene; Balaam is now in the temple of Baal and he wants to offer a sacrifice to God? Seven alters? God is not impressed, it should have been none. Balaam was trying to be spiritual and copying the number of completeness. This is fake righteousness and holiness.] ²  And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. [Is Balak now a priest unto God? No! What in the world is he thinking! Can I still make a gain here?] ³  Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. ⁴  And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” [God shows Him great patience and mercy here. He could have killed him long before now.] ⁵  Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” [Hey Balaam, you are pulling second to a donkey, how does it feel? The further you get from God, the harder it is to see your errors.] ⁶  So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. ⁷  And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’ ⁸  “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? [I wonder what Balaam is thinking now, he must realize he has lost now. No, he did not even yet realize it was over, even as the words are coming out of his mouth. God can use us in spite of ourselves, and usually does. Just don’t forget this fact.] ⁹  For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations. ¹⁰  “Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!” [In the end I bet Balaam wished he had heeded these words.] ¹¹  Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!” ¹²  So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?” ¹³  Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” [Balak sure is persistent here. Satan can be just that. We must be even more so persistent in the God way.] ¹⁴  So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. [If it didn’t work the first time, what made him think it would work the next time? Satan can cloud your senses until right is wrong and wrong is right.] ¹⁵  And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there.” [Does he think that moving a short distance from sin is a real separation? Not.] ¹⁶  Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ¹⁷  So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” ¹⁸  Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! ¹⁹  “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? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? [God is God and there is no other. God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Will He not fulfill His Word?] ²⁰  Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. ²¹  “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them. [May this be our calling card! Is God with you?] ²²  God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox.[Unicorn] ²³  “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ [Sorcery and divination is what Balaam will now turn to now that he is separating himself from God. [May it be said of us; “Oh, what God has done!] ²⁴  Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” [Israel could have passed by them and entered the promised land. Now, they need to slay them. Balak should have left well enough alone. How about you? If God says no to us, there is a reason, trust Him, He knows the whole picture. He promises to do what is best for us. Trust Him, it is His Word.] ²⁵  Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” ²⁶  So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?” ²⁷  Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” [What, again! The pain of correction was not enough to make him repent even now? Do not think; if I am going to fall I might as well fall big.] ²⁸  So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. ²⁹  Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” [He returns to a temple of Baal of Peor. Is this us? Does a dog return to his vomit? Do we? Both Balaam and Balak did.] ³⁰  And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Numbers 24:1-25 (NKJV) ¹  Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. [His rebellion is the sin of witchcraft. 1 Sam 15:23] ²  And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. ³  Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, ⁴  The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: [With open eyes Balaam taught Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves. At this point Balaam has no more excuses.] ⁵  “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! ⁶  Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. ⁷  He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸  “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox[unicorn]; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. ⁹  ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.” [Talk about talking through a donkey.] ¹⁰  Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! ¹¹  Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the LORD has kept you back from honor.” [Balaam, now you have gone and done it, no goodies for you.] ¹²  So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ¹³  ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD, to do good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I must speak’? [Balaam does do his own will in the end and causes the Israelites to curse themselves.] ¹⁴  And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” ¹⁵  So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; ¹⁶  The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: [Actually, he did not have the knowledge of the Most High. That could not have been in him or he would not have sought to do this.] ¹⁷  “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob[Jesus]; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel[Jesus], And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. ¹⁸  “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly. ¹⁹  Out of Jacob One shall have dominion[Jesus], And destroy the remains of the city.” ²⁰  Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” ²¹  Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; ²²  Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” ²³  Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? ²⁴  But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.” ²⁵  So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way. [Sometime after this Balaam tells Balak the secret to his success. It also brings his death. The way that seems right to man.]

 

Numbers 25:1-9 (NKJV) ¹  Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. [Balaam told Balak how to get the Israelites to curse themselves this way.] ²  They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³  So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. [Baal is the sun-god.] ⁴  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” [In the sun is because Baal is the sun-god.] ⁵  So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” ⁶  And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷  Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; [Boldness for God] ⁸  and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. [This shows us that the man and woman were probably having sex, one on the other. It also shows us how to deal with sin, cut it out, kill it.] ⁹  And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. [Sin brings death, and not just yours but others too. Think about that next time you decide to be disobedient against God.]

 

Numbers 31:1-11 (NKJV) ¹  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ²  “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” ³  So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on Midian. ⁴  A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” ⁵  So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶  Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. ⁷  And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. ⁸  They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed–Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. [Moses ordered his death as he is now in bed with the enemy. Sin/disobedience brings death, and not just yours. Balaam was from Mesopotamia not Midian, so he must have decided to stay with the enemy.] ⁹  And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. ¹⁰  They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. ¹¹  And they took all the spoil and all the booty–of man and beast.

 

Numbers 31:12-18 (NKJV) ¹²  Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. ¹³  And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷  Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. [Isn’t this what Saul does later with Amalek? Yes, and history is forced to repeat its self.] ¹⁸  But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.

 

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 (NKJV) ³  “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, ⁴  because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵  Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you. ⁶  You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever. [Do not seek peace with those who God has cursed. This lesson is still not learned by Israel today as they seek peace with the so-called Palestinians who are these very same people.]

 

Joshua 13:21-23 (NKJV) ²¹  all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses had struck with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. ²²  The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them. ²³  And the border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

 

Joshua 24:8-10 (NKJV) ⁸  ‘And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹  ‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰  ‘But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

 

Nehemiah 13:1-3 (NKJV) ¹  On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, [Temple or Tabernacle or live in the cities of the Israelites] ²  because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³  So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

 

Micah 6:1-5 (NKJV) ¹  Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. ²  Hear, O you mountains, the LORD’S complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the LORD has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. ³  “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. ⁴  For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. ⁵  O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

 

2 Peter 2:12-17 (NKJV) ¹²  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, ¹³  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, ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; [power, authority, honor, gain from God’s Word] ¹⁶  but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷  These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. [useless, empty vessels]

 

Jude 1:5-19 (NKJV) ⁵  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. ⁶  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; ⁷  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. ⁸  Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. ⁹  Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” [There is a way to do this right, it is God who does righteousness.] ¹⁰  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. ¹¹  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. ¹²  These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; [useless, lifeless, empty, dead] ¹³  raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. ¹⁴  Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵  to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶  These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. [Balak did this to Balaam] ¹⁷  But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸  how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹  These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

 

Revelation 2:14-16 (NKJV) ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. [A subtle degradation, a little here a little there, no big deal until put together. The slow cooking of the frog]   ¹⁶  Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. [I will uphold My Word says the Lord.]