![]() |
|
Spiritual Abuse Titles Spiritual abuse is the mistreatment of a person who is in need of help, support or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening, undermining or decreasing that person's spiritual empowerment. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
![]() |
#11 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 155
|
![]() Quote:
You're right. There is no perfect church. In fact, the Lord was very clear about this in Revelation 2-3. TJ brought the Church in Pergamos into focus. Pergamos is from the N.T. and points to the O.T. for supporting the Lord's message. I want to follow-up on it with some information about Rev 2:14 and the doctrine of Balaam. This will only take care of half of the equation on Pergamos. The other half is in the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. There are parts of this verse that are a bit of a puzzle. You cannot find a verse in the OT that points to the fact that Balaam "taught" Balak the particular thing that Balak learned and used to 'cast a stumblingblock' in front of the children of Israel. You can find a verse that shows that Balaam 'counseled' Balak (Numbers 31:16), but if you read through the entire account of Balaam (Numbers 22-25) you don't find him telling Balak how to cause the children of Israel to fall. Balaam works for personal profit (aka filthy lucre and selfish gain). Balaam even has direct contact with the Lord and speaks the Word that the Lord gives to Balaam. He was a prophet of God and spoke the words that the Lord gave him to speak to Balak, but he did it for his own (Balaam's) sake. Balaam is asked 3 times to curse the children of Israel and 3 times he ends up blessing them. Balak finally gets disgusted with it and Balak and Balaam part ways. Balaam doesn't "teach" Balak anything in the typical sense we think of "teaching". But Numbers 31:16 says: Num 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Jehovah. The word "counsel" is H1697 / dabar which means speaking or words. It doesn't mean "teach". It basically means talking. I can't find anything else in the OT that indicates that Balaam was "teaching". But the Spirit expressly says in Revelation 2:14 that Balaam "taught". The word in Greek is didaskos, which is used in many other places as "teach", "taught", etc. So, what did Balaam "teach"? He taught him this: If you can't beat them, entice them by means of wile and join them in 'friendship'. This is exactly what Balak did. Balak didn't come out to go to war with the children of Israel. No, he went out with the enticements. Num 25:1-2 And Israel abode in Sittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab: (2) for they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. If you have forgotten or I haven't said it, both 'meat' and 'women' were an enticement at this time. The children of Israel had already tested the Lord for want of meat. They complained about only having manna from heaven. They wanted meat to eat. So, yes, an invitation to sit at the table with Balak and eat meat was truly an enticement. (I don't have to explain the other one!) It should be noted that God saw this coming. Read what he said in Exodus 34 very closely. Okay, okay I'll bold it for you. Exo 34:14-16 for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: (15) lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice; (16) and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods, and make thy sons play the harlot after their gods. So back to what it says in Revelation 2:14. He says that some hold the 'doctrine of Balaam', who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. The call to Pergamos is this: Repent or else the Lord will come quickly and make war with the sword of His mouth. Connecting the Dots? Is anybody starting to connect the dots here? If not, I'll take a stab at it pretty soon, but I think we should get a reminder of the 'doctrines of the Nicolaitans'. What were the 'children (young people in the Lord in the 60's/70's) of the LC' enticed with? Matt Last edited by Matt Anderson; 08-25-2008 at 10:00 AM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|