Deadly Combination

Balaam wasn’t ready to give up after his curse against Israel failed. While God’s people camped in Acacia Grove, the greedy false prophet devised a scheme to lead the Israelites astray—sending them food and immoral women. His strategy was so successful that when the dust finally settled, 24,000 Israelites had perished, the most Hebrew deaths at one time in the wilderness.

It wasn’t just sexual immorality that incurred God’s wrath, but the combination of food and idol worship that led disobedient men to bow down to other gods. Uniting God’s people with the people of the world, the mingling of true worship with false worship, has always been condemned with strong words from the Lord.

Thus, what better Old Testament story could have been used to warn the believers in Pergamos to separate themselves from the pagan world and to stay true to the faith? Yet, during the representative period of church history (ad 323 to 538), ungodly beliefs would slip into the church.

Not all the Christians in Pergamos succumbed to the doctrines of Balaam. But just as Balaam, a compromised prophet of God, joined hands with Balak, a pagan king, so also compromised Christian leaders would succumb to pagan traditions and guide the church into apostasy.

The marriage of church and state always leads to spiritual disaster. What may appear at first to be a powerful opportunity to exalt the church ends with the persecution of God’s people and the exiling of His pure truth. Mixing truth with error is the way of Satan, and he doesn’t give up so easily. We must be on constant guard, as this tactic is being utilized in the world today. (See Revelation 13.) God calls us to set ourselves apart from the world (1 Peter 2:9) and not to commit spiritual adultery with the enemy.

Heavenly Father, grant that I may be vigilant to keep Your commandments, never compromising my faith for the purpose of looking better in the eyes of the world.

For Further Study: Numbers 25:1–18; 2 Peter 2:14, 15; Jude 1:11

Key Bible Texts

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (Revelation 2:14 KJV)