03-22-2025, 04:18 PM
In John's Revelation, among the seven churches to which the Spirit of God has him write is Pergamum in chapter 2.
He goes on to compare that with the teaching of Nicolaitans. We can only guess at the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, but we do know a thing or two about Balaam.
The primary narrative of his actions are in Numbers 22-24. The Hebrew name for his town is ambiguous, but a good guess is a city mentioned in Assyrian records as "Pitru" just a few miles from Carchemish, on one of the tributaries flowing into the Euphrates. The problem is that the name of the town itself can be taken to mean "diviniation", so maybe Balaam was part of community that did such work. Still, we have nothing else that comes close.
A working map in your mind should be the Jordan River and the Dead Sea for the initial scene in Numbers. Israel had hiked way around Edom and Moab because God insisted He would not give them into the hand of Israel. However, He did not declare protection on Ammon, the nation that arose from Moab's brother (the sons of Lot).
At this point, the Amorites had more or less seized some of Moab's ancient lands on the northeastern shore of the Dead Sea. They moved in and occupied ruins and so forth, wedging themselves in between Moab and Ammon. If you recall, the name "Amorite" is rather like calling them "Gypsies" -- not so much an ethnic identity, but a type of people who survived as raiders, reselling what they stole, and setting up shrines for ritual prostitution. Somehow, we also find that a portion of the Midianites lived in this area, and may have qualified for the term "Amorite".
Thus, when Balak of Moab sees Israel down on the floor of the Jordan Valley east of the river, he is almost certainly standing near a shrine on some high peak overlooking the valley. He confers with the local Midianites and suggests they go in together on calling a diviner from up in Pethor. This is no quick journey, but took a couple of weeks minimum.
There is some back and forth and Balaam eventually gets permission from Jehovah to go, but then nearly gets executed by an angel. So, his onager gets to talk to him about the situation and he is fully aware he cannot branch off on his own, seeking his personal benefit.
We know that he fails to curse Israel, but blesses them. Then he prophesies of how other nations were doomed because Israel had come. The text says Balaam went home, but then we learn later he stopped to teach Balak and his friends how to mess with Israel, removing their covering and invoking God's wrath. The next chapter of Numbers (25) we see the results of Balaam's suggestions. The Moabites declare a festival and seduce some Israelites to join in pagan offerings and ritual sex.
We have the scene where Phinehas nails one couple to the ground with his spear. The plague would have most likely been some kind of venereal disease, since that would have been common among a people who made so much of ritual prostitution. You can imagine what this was such a threat to Israel, because most of those ancient venereal plagues were harder on men than women.
Jump forward a few chapters to 31 and we see God instruct Moses to mobilize against the Midianites who helped Moab, without attacking Moab. They wiped out that particular bunch of Midianites, which were probably only distant relatives of Moses' father-in-law. In the process, the Israelites also executed Balaam.
We hear more about this in Psalms 106:28-31. The festival was in the name of Baal of Peor, at a shrine that may have been in disputed territory at the time. This is why the Midianites would have been a major sponsor, since it may been in their hands. Again in Micha 6:5, the prophet recounts how this all happened right before Israel crossed the Jordan, and they really needed all the purity and strength they could muster for the conquest.
Back to the opening reference to John's Revelation: We get a picture of how a church could have an infestation of people claiming that it's okay to eat food offered to idols and make use of ritual sex. While the ruins of that ancient city include temples to Zeus and Athena, there was also the one for Dionysus. You can imagine what a major temptation it was to join in the local festivals there.
Quote:But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat the food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
He goes on to compare that with the teaching of Nicolaitans. We can only guess at the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, but we do know a thing or two about Balaam.
The primary narrative of his actions are in Numbers 22-24. The Hebrew name for his town is ambiguous, but a good guess is a city mentioned in Assyrian records as "Pitru" just a few miles from Carchemish, on one of the tributaries flowing into the Euphrates. The problem is that the name of the town itself can be taken to mean "diviniation", so maybe Balaam was part of community that did such work. Still, we have nothing else that comes close.
A working map in your mind should be the Jordan River and the Dead Sea for the initial scene in Numbers. Israel had hiked way around Edom and Moab because God insisted He would not give them into the hand of Israel. However, He did not declare protection on Ammon, the nation that arose from Moab's brother (the sons of Lot).
At this point, the Amorites had more or less seized some of Moab's ancient lands on the northeastern shore of the Dead Sea. They moved in and occupied ruins and so forth, wedging themselves in between Moab and Ammon. If you recall, the name "Amorite" is rather like calling them "Gypsies" -- not so much an ethnic identity, but a type of people who survived as raiders, reselling what they stole, and setting up shrines for ritual prostitution. Somehow, we also find that a portion of the Midianites lived in this area, and may have qualified for the term "Amorite".
Thus, when Balak of Moab sees Israel down on the floor of the Jordan Valley east of the river, he is almost certainly standing near a shrine on some high peak overlooking the valley. He confers with the local Midianites and suggests they go in together on calling a diviner from up in Pethor. This is no quick journey, but took a couple of weeks minimum.
There is some back and forth and Balaam eventually gets permission from Jehovah to go, but then nearly gets executed by an angel. So, his onager gets to talk to him about the situation and he is fully aware he cannot branch off on his own, seeking his personal benefit.
We know that he fails to curse Israel, but blesses them. Then he prophesies of how other nations were doomed because Israel had come. The text says Balaam went home, but then we learn later he stopped to teach Balak and his friends how to mess with Israel, removing their covering and invoking God's wrath. The next chapter of Numbers (25) we see the results of Balaam's suggestions. The Moabites declare a festival and seduce some Israelites to join in pagan offerings and ritual sex.
We have the scene where Phinehas nails one couple to the ground with his spear. The plague would have most likely been some kind of venereal disease, since that would have been common among a people who made so much of ritual prostitution. You can imagine what this was such a threat to Israel, because most of those ancient venereal plagues were harder on men than women.
Jump forward a few chapters to 31 and we see God instruct Moses to mobilize against the Midianites who helped Moab, without attacking Moab. They wiped out that particular bunch of Midianites, which were probably only distant relatives of Moses' father-in-law. In the process, the Israelites also executed Balaam.
We hear more about this in Psalms 106:28-31. The festival was in the name of Baal of Peor, at a shrine that may have been in disputed territory at the time. This is why the Midianites would have been a major sponsor, since it may been in their hands. Again in Micha 6:5, the prophet recounts how this all happened right before Israel crossed the Jordan, and they really needed all the purity and strength they could muster for the conquest.
Back to the opening reference to John's Revelation: We get a picture of how a church could have an infestation of people claiming that it's okay to eat food offered to idols and make use of ritual sex. While the ruins of that ancient city include temples to Zeus and Athena, there was also the one for Dionysus. You can imagine what a major temptation it was to join in the local festivals there.