A Mad Prophet And a Blessed People

 

There is an account in the book of numbers that I believe has some important applications for us. As Paul told the Corinthians, what happened in the Old Testament, happened for our examples. We learn of a pagan king, a wayward prophet, and we also learn something of the character of the Lord and His heart towards His own people. To give some back-drop, the book of Numbers has been full of several failures by the children of Israel.  They murmured and complained against the Lord and against Moses and Aaron, they tried to form a mutiny against them, but probably the most tragic was their failure to believe the Lord and go in to possess the land of Canaan. This resulted in them being stuck wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Near the end of this 40-year period, Israel went to war with three different kings, and soundly defeated them. It was after these wars that Israel moved and encamped in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.

It was here that Balak, the king of Moab, saw them, and the Scriptures state the whole country was sick with dread because of the Israelites. This is understandable, for if you or I were a king, and we saw a nation of two to three million people encamped nearby who had just swallowed up three nations, we would probably be a bit uneasy as well. However, Balak’s solution to the problem was less than scrupulous. His problem was self-induced, for if he and his people were right with the Lord, Israel would not have been a threat to him.

Upon seeing this threat, Balak, king of Moab, met with the elders of Midian, and said to them, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” After this meeting, Balak sent messengers to a man named Balaam to come curse the nation of Israel. We don’t know for sure where Balaam was from, but it is thought that he came from Syria or from somewhere in the modern country of Jordan which would have been near Moab. Balak sent messengers, saying, “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 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.” The Bible refers to Balaam as a man who genuinely heard from the Lord, however, his heart was not right with the Lord, which will be demonstrated more by his actions than his words.

Well, Balaam told them to stay the night, and he would report back to them what the Lord would tell him. This sounds reasonable, right? Balaam wants to wait to see what the Lord will say. So far so good. The Lord appeared to Balaam that night, and asked him who the men were. Balaam replied that they were messengers from Moab to ask him to come curse the children of Israel. But the Lord said, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So, in the morning, Balaam told the princes to go back home, for the Lord had refused to give him permission to go back with them. This is speculation on my part, but you can almost hear the disappointment in Balaam’s words, “the Lord has refused to give me permission.”

So, the princes returned home, and told Balak what Balaam had said. Then Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than before, saying, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” Balaam replied that, though Balak would give him his house full of silver and gold, he could not go beyond the word of the Lord, less or more. Again, this sounds good. Then he told them to stay the night also, that he could find out what more the Lord would say to him. Now, this is interesting, for the Lord had already told him very directly and specifically what he was to do. He was not to go with them, and he was not to curse Israel, for they were blessed. This gives us some insight into Balaam’s character. He wanted them to stay, because he was hoping for a different answer. Truthfully, he wanted to go with them, for he wanted the wealth and the honor that was being promised. That night, the Lord appeared to Balaam again. He told him to go with the men if they came to ask him, but he warned him to only speak the word that He told him to speak.

The next day, Balaam saddled his donkey and left with the princes of Moab, and it states the Lord was angry with Balaam for going. “Wait a second,” you say, “didn’t God just tell him to go? So why is he angry with him for going?” I think there are a couple of reasons for this: First, I think the Lord told Balaam to go because he knew the wickedness in Balaam’s heart, and that Balaam was going to go anyway. The second reason I believe the Lord told Balaam to go was that, as we will see, He will use Balaam to pronounce a blessing on His people. The Lord can use whoever He wants to fulfil His will, even if they are in rebellion against Him.

As Balaam was riding on his donkey on the road, the angel of the Lord stood in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, but Balaam did not see him. The donkey, seeing the angel, turned off the road into the field, but Balaam struck her to get her back on the road. Then the Angel of the Lord stood on a narrow path between the vineyards, and when the donkey saw the angel, she pushed against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot. Then he struck her again.   The Angel of the Lord went further, where there was nowhere to turn, and, this time, the donkey lay down under Balaam. Balaam became angry, and struck the donkey a third time with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Now, rather than being shocked or bewildered that his donkey was talking to him, Balaam argues with her. He said, “Because you have abused (mocked) me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” The donkey replied, “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,” or as the King James puts it, “Nay.” It was quite a comical exchange really, except that Balaam was so bent on his mission that the Lord had to use a donkey to correct him. This is not a good place to be, just saying. Peter wrote the following, “but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.” (2 Pe 2:16)

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing with his sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell flat on his face. The angel of the Lord said, “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. 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.” Wow! The angel was going to kill Balaam, but save the donkey. This was a bad place to be indeed. His way was perverse before the Lord because the Lord already had told him not to go curse a people who were blessed by him, and that he was willing to disobey the word of the Lord for a monetary reward. Balaam told the angel that he had sinned, and that he would go back if he wanted him to. However, the Angel of the Lord told him to go, and to only speak what he was told to speak. When Balaam arrived at the border of Moab, the king of Moab came out to meet him, and asked him why he had not come when he was called, seeing he was able to honor Balaam? Balaam responded that he had no power to say anything but what the Lord would tell him to say.

The next day, Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal so he could observe all the Israelites. Balaam will give four different prophecies concerning the nation of Israel, and each of them will be quite profound. They will have application for the nation of Israel, as well as for you and me.

How to Be Rapture Ready

Since COVID, I have noticed an increasing interest in biblical prophecy, and I share this interest as well. It is exciting to see what is happening around the world, and how the pieces are falling into place just as the Bible states they will. Included in this excitement is the belief that the rapture of the Church is getting close. Again, I share this belief. I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture; it makes the most biblical sense to me when compared to other views of the end-times. The world events taking place as the Bible predicts means that the second return of Jesus Christ is getting close, which means the rapture is even closer. However, I do see some negative trends amongst some who ascribe to this view.

For some in this camp, the return of Jesus is so imminent that they believe there is nothing that can be done to resist the evils that are going on around us. It is unstoppable, so let’s just hunker down and take whatever comes our way, and even to look forward to things getting worse because that makes the rapture even more imminent. The problem with this mindset is, what if the rapture does not happen right away?

The belief in a pre-trib rapture carries with it the idea of imminence. It can happen at any time; nothing has to proceed it. This means that, yes, the signs of the end are coming at an increasing rate and, yes, this means the end is drawing near; however, that doesn’t automatically mean the rapture will happen tomorrow. Jesus could rapture the Church today, tomorrow, or 20 years from now. What if the rapture does happen 10-20 years from now? Think of all the time wasted hunkering down. Some may object, stating that there is no way we have 20 years, but if we don’t know the day or the hour, we cannot possibly know we don’t have 20 years. If you were to ask me my opinion, I do not believe we have 20 years, but truthfully, I don’t know. We don’t know how much time we have. That is why it is important to be ready.

This brings us to the question of what should we be doing? Jesus told His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mat 28:19-20) This making disciples of all nations should be our primary goal as Christians, and if we are not seeking to do this, we are missing the mark. We want to see as many persons come to faith in Jesus Christ as we can before the rapture takes place. However, this idea of making disciples in all nations is more than preaching the Gospel for a person’s salvation. Yes, that is first and foremost, but it also includes teaching them “to observe all things that I have commanded you,” meaning we are to teach them the word of God. We do this so that they will turn into mature Christians, and make a difference in their families, communities, and their nation. The word of God touches on every important area of our lives, including that of human government and the importance of making godly laws. The Lord told us to occupy (do business) until He comes, so we are to go to work, school, or spend our leisure time with His return in mind, and to be salt and light while we do. The Lord uses each of us in His own unique and sovereign way, and we are to stand for truth wherever He has us.

Closely related to this is the belief that there will not be a major revival before the rapture. I have written on this before, but it is a belief that is becoming more and more popular. This belief is held by many well-meaning people whom I hold a great deal of respect for, but nonetheless, I disagree with that belief. The truth is, we really don’t know if there will be a revival or how big it will be. The rapture is the game-changer, folks! Until then, I do not believe the Lord will allow the globalists to have complete control. However, we still may suffer under tyrannical rulers; just ask the Chinese who have lived under communist rule for decades.

The Scriptures I keep coming back to are 2 Chronicles 7:14 and 2 Peter 3:9, which state, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” And, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Yes, the passage in 2 Chronicles relates to God’s covenant with the Jewish people, but I believe the principles taught are consistent throughout the entire Scriptures. Therefore, they still apply to the Church today. If the Lord is willing that none should perish, then why wouldn’t He respond if we as the Church humbled ourselves, prayed and sought His face, and turned from our wicked ways. Peter is even stating the Lord delays His return in order for Him to allow more souls to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. There are a lot of godly Churches left in our nation, but the American Church at large is backslidden and needs revival before it can reach a lost and dying world. Maybe the Lord will allow our country to experience a severe form of judgment, and that will be what awakens and purifies the Church. However, it does not have to be this way. We do not have to wait until things get really bad before we earnestly seek the Lord. Let’s do it now!

The problem with believing there is nothing we can do to stop the onslaught of evil or see a significant revival keeps us from earnestly praying for it. I believe this is a deception of the enemy that has crept into the Church, and we need to counter it with the truth of the word of God. Evil does not happen because God wants it to; in fact, because of His holy nature, we know He does not want it to happen. He permits it at times because of man’s free will, and uses it for His ultimate good. Rather, He wants us to pray for our leaders so it will go well for us. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:1-4) James also writes, : The effective,

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fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16) Those who believe there is no use praying since things will only get worse, I believe, are failing to take into account all the Scriptures and the character and heart of the Lord toward His people. God still governs in the affairs of men today. Sometimes, He delivers us through suffering, and sometimes, He delivers us out of it. It is only up to us to pray in faith for His will to be done.

As it relates to revival, if we do not see a spiritual awakening, it is because we haven’t sought it. No, we will not change the prophetic time-table, but I do not see anything in Scripture that indicates there cannot or will not be a significant revival before the rapture. I believe the great Falling Away that must happen before the Lord’s return is ultimately fulfilled in the tribulation, either because the Great Falling Away is itself the rapture, or because the restraining force of the Holy Spirit working through the Church will be gone. This will allow the global elites who are under the control of the devil to mostly have their way for a time, but only for a time. The framework for the one-world government and the antichrist system will not go away; for the devil has to have everything ready for that seven-year time for which he does not know when it will occur. If this is really the end, then the world is quickly headed for judgment, but if it’s not, then the Lord can put the globalist agenda on hold until He is ready. So, until the rapture happens, we have more time to reach the lost and make a difference in our communities. We need to be as the 10 wise virgins with our lamps trimmed and full of oil. This means we are full of the Holy Spirit, and we are ready to share the light of Christ with others.

Somewhere between one quarter and one third of the Bible is prophecy, so to reject or otherwise ignore prophecy is to reject or ignore a significant portion of the Bible. On the flip side of that coin, to only focus on or over-emphasize prophecy is to ignore or down-play the other two thirds to three fourths of the Bible. Without a doubt, these are exciting times we live in, but I believe we still need to have this excitement grounded with all of God’s word in order to become stable and mature Christians. If we are unstable and immature believers, we will be less effective, ineffective, or maybe even hinder  the Lord’s work. So, Let’s look forward to and tell others of the Lord’s soon return, but at the same time, occupy or do business while He is returning.