The Way, The Error & The Doctrine of Balaam

Yeshua (Jesus) and the Apostles warned us to beware of false prophets. A few false prophets are mentioned in the Bible, but there is one false prophet, Balaam, who receives more attention than all the other false prophets combined.

Balaam’s story spans three lengthy chapters in the Bible, so lengthy and so significant that some Jews were of the opinion that these three chapters (Numbers 22-24) should be regarded as “The Book of Balaam,” thus making the Torah consist of seven books instead of five (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers chapters 1-21, “The Book of Balaam,” Numbers chapters 25-36, Deuteronomy). Balaam is also mentioned three times in the New Testament. Therefore Balaam is set forth in Holy Scripture to reveal the patterns by which false prophets operate.

Peter mentions the way of Balaam; Jude mentions the error of Balaam; John mentions the doctrine of Balaam. (See 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, Revelation 2:14.)

The way, the error, and the doctrine of Balaam overlap one another, yet they are somewhat distinct from one another. If we understand the way, the error, and the doctrine of Balaam, it will help us recognize and expose false prophets, so we can warn others to avoid them.

Who was Balaam? Balaam was a non-Israelite who lived during the time of Moses. After the Israelites defeated the armies of King Sihon and King Og in the wilderness, Balak king of Moab was afraid that he and his people might be the next kingdom to be defeated by Israel. Balak thought he could prevent this from happening by hiring a prophet to curse Israel. Balaam had a reputation as a reliable prophet. Whomever Balaam pronounced blessed was blessed, and whomever Balaam pronounced cursed was cursed. So Balak sent messengers to hire Balaam to come and curse Israel.

When King Balak’s messengers told Balaam why they had come, Balaam said, “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me.”

God came to Balaam and asked him, “What men are these?”

Balaam told God who the men were and why they had come.

“Thou shalt not go with them,” God said. “Thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”

Balaam told the king’s messengers what God had said, and sent them back to Balak.

Balak sent more messengers to Balaam and offered him more wealth and honor. Balaam said to them, “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.”

That should have been the end of the story. If Balaam had stopped there and firmly resisted Balak’s attempts to hire him, he would have been okay. But Balaam, having already been told by God Himself not to go, told the messengers, “Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.”

That night God came to Balaam and told him to go with the men, but added: “but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.”

“And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him.”

Balaam was blind to the angel, but Balaam’s ass saw the angel and refused to go forward. After Balaam beat the ass three times, the LORD opened the ass’s mouth, and the ass spoke and rebuked Balaam.

After Balaam finally met up with King Balak, Balaam tried to curse Israel, but he could not do it. Each time Balaam opened his mouth to curse Israel, words of blessing came out. Of course this displeased King Balak.

“I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times,” Balak said. “Therefore now flee thou to thy place.”

Balaam returned home, but not before uttering a fourth blessing on Israel.

Balaam was a non-Israelite, but his prophetic gift and his spiritual experiences were genuine. They were not imagined, nor phony, nor satanic counterfeits. Seven significant facts about Balaam:

1. God came to Balaam and spoke to him. (Num. 22:9 & 20)

2. God met him. (Num. 23:4)

3. YHWH put a word in his mouth. (Num. 23:5, 12, 16)

4. The Spirit of God came upon him. (Num. 24:2)

5. He heard the words of God and saw the vision of the Almighty. (Num. 24:4)

6. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. (Num. 24:16)

7. He prophesied the truth about Israel’s destiny, including the coming of the Messiah as “a Star out of Jacob.” (Num. 24:17)

If that were the only information we had about Balaam, we might wonder why he is considered a false prophet. It sounds like Balaam had a real connection to God, a genuine prophetic gift, so what was the problem?

We will get to that, but first notice how “The Book of Balaam” (Numbers 22-24) ends: “And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way” (Num. 24:25). This is the very end of chapter 24, and it appears to be the end of the story of Balaam. Chapter 25 seems to begin a brand new story:

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined herself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel” (Num. 25:1-3).

This sin brought a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. Even more would have died if Phinehas had not used a javelin to skewer two brazen fornicators and thereby stop the plague.

How did this sad turn of events happen? We see Balaam profusely blessing Israel multiple times in chapter 24. Then in chapter 25, we suddenly see God cursing Israel with a deadly plague that wipes out 24,000 Israelites. What happened between the wonderful blessings at the end of chapter 24 and the horrible sin and its curse at the beginning of chapter 25? We find the answer to that question in Numbers 31:16, where Moses refers to Moabite women as those who “caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor.”

King Balak had told Balaam, “Curse Israel and I will make you wealthy.”

Balaam wanted the wealth, but he knew he could not curse those whom God had blessed. Balaam had to think of some way to get that wealth. What could he do?

In effect, Balaam told Balak, “I cannot curse Israel, because God has pronounced them blessed. But if you tell the women of Moab to entice the Israelites to sin against their God, then God Himself will curse them.”

When Peter warns us about false prophets, he compares them to Balaam. Peter says that false prophets “have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Pet. 2:15). Jude likewise compares false prophets to Balaam, and says they “ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward” (Jude 11).

It was Balaam’s love for money that caused him to forsake the right way, the way in which he had been walking with God before this offer of wealth came from King Balak.

When Yeshua spoke to the church in Pergamos, one of the things He rebuked them for was for having “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” (Rev. 2:14).

The way of Balaam is forsaking that which you know to be true and right for the sake of earthly wealth. The error of Balaam is thinking there will be no consequences for abandoning the right way. The doctrine (or teaching) of Balaam is teaching God’s people to do things that God has commanded them not to do, in an effort to manipulate the circumstances to benefit you.

Balaam is the archetype of the typical false prophet. When Christians hear the term “false prophet,” they usually think a false prophet is one of two things. He might be just a pretender, an actor, a con artist running a scam, someone with no spiritual powers, someone just using psychological tricks on gullible people. Or, he might be someone with real spiritual powers, but his powers are demonic. All his visions, revelations, and demonstrations are the workings of demons, not the work of the Holy Spirit.

A man or a woman in either of those two categories is certainly a false prophet. However, the most dangerous false prophets are in neither of those two categories. The most dangerous false prophets are those in the category of Balaam. Remember, Balaam was not just an actor with no real prophetic gift, nor did he receive his visions and revelations from demons. His prophetic gift was real, and he received his visions and revelations from YHWH. God came to Balaam and spoke to him; God met him; YHWH put a word in his mouth; the Spirit of God came upon him; he heard the words of God and saw the vision of the Almighty; he knew the knowledge of the Most High; he prophesied the truth about Israel and the Messiah who would be “a Star out of Jacob.”

A false prophet like this is the most dangerous false prophet, because he starts out as a true prophet with a true spiritual gift. But if such a man “forsakes the right way and goes astray, following the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,” and “runs greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,” and “teaches God’s people to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication,” that man is a false prophet. Even if he has a history of genuine spiritual experiences from God, he is a false prophet if he goes the way of Balaam and runs after the error of Balaam and teaches the doctrine of Balaam.

It is important for Christians to remember that Balaam is the poster boy for false prophets. Yes, we need to beware of being led astray by con artists who use psychological manipulation, or by devil worshippers, pagan priests, and New Age Nature Boys. However, the Bible does not emphasize these sorts of false prophets as much as false prophets like Balaam.

Remember what Yeshua said about false prophets: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15a). Which false prophets did He tell us to specifically beware of? The ones “which come to you in sheep’s clothing.” Outwardly they look like sheep. There is nothing on the surface to make us think they are not good Christians. They look like sheep, talk like sheep, act like sheep, sing and pray like sheep. But something is wrong on the inside: “but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15b).

How do we discern if someone is a sheep or a wolf? “Ye shall know them by their fruits,” Yeshua said. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Of course not. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit” (Matt. 7:16f).

After elaborating on the contrasting fruits of grapes and figs versus thorns and thistles, the Lord repeats this principle in His concluding statement about the two types of fruit: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:20).

The verses immediately following this statement is the passage that contrasts two types of professing believers on Judgment Day: those who call Jesus “Lord, Lord” but work iniquity, and those who do the will of the heavenly Father by obeying the teachings of Jesus. The first group corresponds to thorns and thistles. The second group corresponds to grapes and figs.

The false prophets in sheep’s clothing, along with their followers, are in the first group, whom the Lord rejects because they “work iniquity.” What does it mean to work iniquity? The Greek word translated “iniquity” is anomos. This word is formed from the Greek word for “law,” nomos. The negative a- prefix means “no, not, without,” as it also does in English words like atheist, amoral, apolitical, asymptomatic, etc. The Greek word anomos means lawlessness, and is so translated in many English versions. The NASB, for example, says “you who practice lawlessness.”

This Greek word anomos is the source of our English words anomian and antinomian. Webster’s defines an antinomian as “one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation.”

If that describes your pastor, you need to find a different church, because antinomianism is the doctrine of Balaam, who taught God’s people to do things that God commanded them not to do. Yes, salvation comes by faith. The antinomians are right about that. But after we are justified freely by God’s grace, God expects us to obey His Law, His Torah, His instructions.

Some Christians get interested in the Messianic Movement and become infatuated with all the “Torah stuff” because it is new and different from what they have learned in church. But some of them think that the “Torah stuff” is just an option that a believer can do just for a season until the novelty wears off, then go back to doing things the Torah forbids. Christians need to understand that deliberately disobeying the Torah is antinomianism. Those who teach God’s people to disobey God’s Torah have gone the way of Balaam, and have embraced the error of Balaam, and are teaching the doctrine of Balaam.

Teaching God’s people to disobey God’s commandments is the mark of a false prophet. A history of genuine spiritual experiences in the past is not proof that the man is a true prophet. The proof of a prophet is in the fruit, not in spiritual experiences, because spiritual experiences can be counterfeited by psychological manipulation or by demonic powers. The antinomians in Matthew 7:22 had prophesied in Jesus’ name, cast out devils in Jesus’ name, and done many wonderful works in Jesus’ name. Yet Jesus says to them, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, ye that practice lawlessness.”

Peter begins his warning about false prophets in 2 Peter 2:1: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies.”

Before Peter mentions the dangers of being deceived by false prophets, he tells us the key to avoiding their deception. This key, Peter tells us, is “a more sure word of prophecy,” i.e., the Holy Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:19). “Knowing this first,” Peter adds, “that no prophecy of the scriptures is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:20f).

It is in this context, immediately after this appeal to the Scriptures, when Peter begins his warning about false prophets. Therefore the primary key to avoiding deception by false prophets is the Scriptures. More specifically, the Scriptures without private interpretation.

What is “private interpretation”? One form of private interpretation is interpreting the Bible through the lens of our own individual personal experiences and our own personal opinions, biases, and preferences. Our personal opinions and preferences are irrelevant. What we personally think a Bible verse means is not what matters. What matters is what the verse actually means.

Another form of private interpretation is “privatizing” a Bible verse or passage. By that, I mean divorcing a verse from its immediate context and isolating it from the rest of the Bible. If your interpretation of a verse clearly contradicts other verses in the Bible, then your interpretation is a flawed, private interpretation. A correct interpretation will harmonize with the rest of the Bible, not contradict it.

The primary key to avoiding deception is the Scriptures without private interpretation, i.e., the Scriptures correctly understood and interpreted. To correctly understand and interpret the Scriptures, we need the Holy Spirit. I say that because if it took holy men, moved by the Holy Spirit, to write the Holy Scriptures, then it will take holy men, moved by the Holy Spirit, to correctly understand and interpret the Holy Scriptures.

Beware of the Balaams. They are not outside the church. On the contrary, they are “among you” Peter said. They do not wear a name tag or bear a title that identifies them as “False Prophet Smith.” They “privily” bring in damnable heresies, Peter said. Their initial entrance into the congregation is unnoticed. They “crept in unawares,” Jude said. Then they muscle their way in and jockey for positions of power, like “Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them” (3 John 9).

John said that this Diotrephes refused to receive the Apostles or the brethren, and cast the brethren out of the church. If “the brethren” were cast out of the church, who then were the people left in the church? They were not true brethren, because Diotrephes had cast the true brethren out of the church. The only people left in the church were the deceived followers of Diotrephes, who went the way of Balaam.

Unfortunately, this casting out of the true brethren by Diotrephes has been repeated again and again throughout the centuries, as false prophets have taken over the church. We still see it happening today, as leaders of various Christian denominations condone homosexual acts, forcing the true Bible-believing brethren to leave their church.

The followers of false prophets like Balaam will not be just a small handful of people. Peter says that “many shall follow their pernicious ways” (2 Pet. 2:2).

“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” (2 Pet. 2:3). Here again we see the greedy pattern of Balaam, coveting money.

The Greek word translated “feigned” is plastois, where we get our English word plastic. In the 1960s, the word plastic was used by hippies as a slang term to describe people or ideas or institutions that were considered fake or insincere. So if we want to use old hippie slang to describe Balaam and other false prophets who go the way of Balaam, we could say they are plastic prophets.

Plastic prophets are usually good speakers. If they use “feigned words” to deceive their victims, then they must have fairly good speaking skills. In Revelation, John saw “three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet” (Rev. 16:13). What is the connection between frogs and false prophets? They both use their tongue to catch their prey.

Beware of the Balaams. Watch out for the unclean spirits like frogs that come out of their mouths. Frogs are unclean, not kosher. If unclean, non-kosher teachings come out of the mouth of a man, reject him as a false prophet.

| DB

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Image: Balaam by Daniel Botkin from his Portraits of Prophets Gallery. See all Daniel’s artwork on his art website, DanielBotkin.com.