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Articles 2014-2017
The Book of Revelation envisions for us the past, present, and on-going spiritual war between the Lamb and the Beast. We who know Christ have been drafted into that war. To be clear, there are no spectators; there is no neutrality. While God loves His children, Satan hates us and seeks to both destroy us and establish his own wicked schemes on earth. Thankfully, God has given us a glimpse into Satan’s present strategy in the apostle John’s letter to the church at Pergamos.
Pergamos stands out among all the cities mentioned in the New Testament because Satan had set up his throne there. As a result, Jesus had some startling things to say to His people in that city. First, He revealed His warrior status to them.
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword.
Revelation Chapter One pictures for us the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who has a sharp two-edged sword coming from His mouth. Then near the end of the Book of Revelation, He appears in John’s vision as the Warrior King who rides into battle and defeats the Beast with the sword of His mouth (Revelation 19). In addressing His congregation at Pergamos, the Lord started His letter by first emphasizing that sword. Then He goes on to state that Satan himself was dwelling in their city.
I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
The church at Pergamos not only had to deal with fallen angels and demons, but with Satan himself. Believers know what it is to wrestle with spiritual powers (i.e., territorial spirits that influence cities, regions, and cultures). But the believers in this city had to face the manifest presence of Satan himself enthroned in their locale.
Since Satan is but a fallen angel, he is not omnipresent. Only the Lord Himself is simultaneously everywhere at once. Indeed, the Living God who lives in us is far greater than our foe.
One of the amazing attributes of God is that without diminishing the beauty of His universal presence, He can manifest His glory in a particular locale with a focused clarity. We call such an event a “visitation”. Acts Chapter Two reveals a visitation of God in the city of Jerusalem starting in the upper room of a mere house. Our omnipresent God came to this prayer meeting and revealed Himself in such awesome power that one hundred and twenty people were filled with His presence and spilled out onto the streets. The nearby crowds were overwhelmed by what was occurring and three thousand were born of God’s Spirit in a single day. What an amazing event. Such power was not manifest because of great planning by men; God simply arose and “came to the meeting”.
Church history records for us God’s consistent visitations among His people. We think of Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the Great Awakenings, etc.
On the other hand, unlike the Lord, Satan is not omnipresent; he is limited. The Scripture implies that he chose Pergamos as his base of operations from which to first influence that city and then the whole world. Of course, his plans did not hinder God from planting a church in the same city. Obviously, God’s Warrior King is not intimidated by the devil.
To understand Satan’s strategy in our day, let us look at his three tactics against the local church where he had established his throne.
The first thing we see in the above verse (Revelation 2:13) is martyrdom – the death of God’s faithful witness Antipas. Satan first stirred up persecution against God’s New Covenant people in the Book of Acts and then has continued to do so down through history. Today, physical mistreatment of the saints persists in Muslim nations, China, North Korea, certain parts of Africa, as well as in many other places.
God’s strategy is for us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
Secondly, notice the Lord’s words to His people in Pergamos.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Satan’s second tactic was to infect the church with the teaching of Balaam.
His third approach was to promote the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Christ’s word to the church was simple; they were to repent.
When Satan himself led the attack against a local expression of God’s house, he did so with two specific doctrines or teachings. If we are to gain insight into his strategies against Christ’s people today, then we must look at the doctrines of both Balaam and of the Nicolaitans.
Balaam had a powerful prophetic gift. When he cursed people, his prophetic words came to pass. When he blessed people, they experienced blessing. As a result, many people recognized his unique abilities (Numbers 22 - 24).
One who did so was Balak, the king of Moab. When he heard that Israel had come out of Egypt and was headed in his direction, he worried that his people might be devastated like Egypt had been. Perhaps the prophet could be of help. After all, whenever Balaam spoke a curse against people, they got cursed. So he sent messengers with a diviner’s fee to entice the prophet to come and curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:7).
It seems that if you gave Balaam the right financial remuneration, he would function in his prophetic gift on your behalf. Similarly today, some ministers will come and speak if you guarantee them a certain price. At the very least, such practices are troubling.
My main concern though is that Balaam was disconnected from God’s work among His people. The Lord’s purpose was being revealed in Israel; He was bringing His people out of Egypt in order to establish them as a nation. His intent was to give them His law, build His house in order to dwell among them, and then also to establish the Davidic genealogical line through which the Messiah would be born. So why was Balaam living among the Moabites?
Today, many in trans-local ministry across our nation run the risk of not being properly joined with God’s work. Prophets (like all ministers in the Lord’s house) should be functionally linked together with others whose ministries differ from their own. Such relationships should reflect accountability among peers. Too often, spiritually gifted people across our nation start their own ministry, form a corporation, and then for a fee will minister in your locale. And because God loves His children, He blesses much of what goes on in His name. But we must be clear on this: the Lord’s blessing is not the same as His approval (Matthew 7:21 - 23). The truth is, we need some spiritual adjustment.
Because Balaam was standing such a distance from God’s work, king Balak of Moab thought he could get the prophet to align himself with the Moabite cause and curse God’s people. Of course the prophet recognized that cursing Israel would fail unless God actually wanted them cursed. So he prayed and discovered that Israel was God’s blessed people. But when Balaam notified Balak that he could not curse them, the Moabite king responded with even more prestigious and dignified messengers. Again Balaam sought the Lord’s permission to curse Israel. This time God told him that if the messengers came and called him, then he could go with them. But the Bible never says that they came and called him, it just says that he went with them.
Why would Balaam do this? For one thing, he was being beckoned by the siren call of prestige, honor, and finances. It seems that Balaam wanted the recognition of being aligned and involved with the king of Moab.
But the Lord was angry. So the Angel of the Lord (probably a theophany – i.e., God manifesting Himself as His own messenger) came against Balaam with a drawn sword and stood before him to kill him. When the donkey saw the Angel, he turned and went into a field. So Balaam got angry and began to beat his donkey.
When the prophet got his donkey back on course, they encountered the Angel on a narrow walled path standing with a drawn sword again ready to kill Balaam. The donkey, having more spiritual insight than the prophet, saw the Angel, turned aside, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. That is when he began cursing his donkey.
The third time they encountered the Angel, the donkey was not able to go left or right, so it just lay down. That is called wisdom.
The fact that the donkey saw something that Balaam failed to see tells us that spiritual insight does not necessarily indicate spiritual maturity or holiness. The donkey had neither. But because of God’s mercy for its rider, He opened the donkey’s eyes. Any time we gain spiritual insight, it is because God has had mercy. And it may just have more to do with His mercy for those to whom we speak than because of our own spirituality.
So the donkey asked the prophet why he was so angry. Hadn’t he been faithful to his owner? Remarkably, Balaam answered as though it was quite normal to converse with a jackass. I must admit that in my own life, under certain circumstances, I have yelled at my car. But it has never spoken back. I suppose that if it did, my first thought would be to start looking for an angel with a sword. In any case, it seems that in this instance at least, the donkey had more sense than the man.
But when the Lord opened his eyes, the prophet realized that he was in trouble. Still, when God had him prophesy blessing for Israel against King Balak’s wishes, and the king suggested that maybe they could get God to curse Israel if they just sacrificed to Him from a different location, the prophet went along.
Here is how pagans think. If their religious efforts do not work in one particular place, then perhaps it will be different if they try again from a different place. Since the world’s gods are empowered by fallen angels that function as territorial spirits, different locations can reveal the influences of different regional spirits.
So Balak decided that a different locale might bring a different answer. Maybe God was like all the gods. How foolish. A different locale only brought forth a second word of blessing for Israel. When the king again got angry, they decided to move to a third place. This time Balaam did not use his usual system, his methods, or his religious enchantments. I don’t know exactly what he was doing, but Balaam was definitely a man of great spiritual mixture. And yet, God spoke with him.
And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
(Numbers 24:1 ASV)
In this third locale, when Balaam saw Israel in the wilderness, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.
And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
This is the first time that we read of God’s Spirit coming upon Balaam. What an extraordinary manifestation of God’s mercy! The Lord began to open Balaam’s eyes, not just to move in his spiritual gift, but to actually see what Heaven was doing. And as he gained insight, he began to prophesy blessing over Israel.
Of course, Balak got so angry that he told Balaam to just leave and go home. But the prophet began to utter a fourth prophetic word. And amazingly, it was about the coming Messiah.
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city.
Here is one of the first prophecies in scripture about the coming Messiah. And God gave it to Balaam – one who loved prestige, honor, wealth, and recognition. Though he wanted to, he realized that he couldn’t curse the people that God was blessing. And he clearly wanted some of the wealth and honor offered by king Balak. “How can I move in my spiritual gift with power, do what God says, and yet at the same time have the prestige, fame and honor offered by the king of Moab? There must be a way to do this.”
In his twisted thinking, Balaam came up with a strategy.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
The doctrine of Balaam was that he taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to get them to sin before God. “Listen O king. I can’t curse these people. But if you put temptations before them and lead them towards sin, then God Himself will have to destroy them. Thus, you win and I win. I can only prophesy what God gives me. But He will have to bring them to destruction if you can just get them to do evil.”
Here was someone who thought he could manipulate God into destroying His own people! And to be clear, the Lord did come to Israel bringing great judgment and destruction because of their sins. But at the same time, He was able to preserve them through it all, because He is greater and mightier than the sins of His chosen ones as well as the strategies of those who oppose them.
So how are we to understand the doctrine of Balaam in our day? God presently has many people that He wants to bless. Maybe some of them have offended us or grieved us in some way. And maybe it is not just individuals, but whole churches, streams, or denominations that seem at fault. But we must be careful when we consider our brethren whether locally, regionally, or nationally. We must bear toward them the heart of blessing. Even when believers have hurt us, or have propagated theologically unsound doctrine, our prayer must be that even if through trials, God would bless them into the truth, and conform them into His image. May it never be in us to even secretly delight in their hurt, pain, or loss.
To be clear, God wants us to have the heart of an intercessor. Since Jesus is the great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for His people (Hebrews 7:25), should we not seek to be united with Him in His mission? Sadly, it is possible to be powerfully gifted in spiritual matters and yet express a heart attitude contrary to the Lord’s. And while it is true that we should never bless theologically aberrant thinking or unbiblical practices, yet we must find God’s heart of redemption for those of His people who are mistaken in some way. Sometimes such redemption will require us to even deny fellowship for those who refuse to repent for their sin. But even then, our motive must be for their restoration.
One of Satan’s main strategies against the Church is to separate us from each other. But we succeed in spiritual warfare when we bless those whom God wants to bless. And even if they should reject us and want nothing to do with us, we defeat our spiritual foe when we embrace Christ’s intercessory heart to build His house, to integrate the separated members of His body, and to fully restore His purchased possession.
When you come right down to it, each of us will have either the heart of a critic or the heart of an intercessor. Frankly, I believe it is dangerous for us to be critical toward others in God’s house. On the other hand, I believe He will arise in mighty power on behalf of those given to intercession.
The word Nicolaitan comes from two Greek words that when combined means the conquering or the suppressing of the people. Some scholars have suggested that in using this term, John was referring to the beginning of a clerical hierarchy.[2] But whenever anyone other than Christ mediates between God and His people as His unique channel to inform them of what He is saying, it reinforces the concept that a privileged few (the clergy) are to have an intimacy privilege with God that excludes the majority (the laity). Such a concept however, is simply not found in the New Testament; Christ’s Church is comprised entirely of priests.
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light
(1 Peter 2:9 ASV)
All of us are called to dwell in His presence, in His marvelous light. Similarly, in the Old Testament, God’s call was for the entire nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). His people were to go into His presence, hear His voice, and then bear His word and His presence to the nations. So why did He institute the Aaronic priesthood? It seems that God wanted to set an example before the people of His calling upon the whole nation.
So here is the point. If the whole nation had simply responded to God’s call to love Him with all their hearts, He would have drawn them into a priestly function. Then their parish would have been the whole world. Instead, with the family of Aaron as the priests, and the nation of Israel as the parish, the rest of the world was left to stumble around in great darkness. When Israel missed her calling, the cost to the nations was staggering.
And when we look around us in our own day, we see the great worldwide darkness that continues to permeate the nations. The New Testament reveals that God has called us to be a nation of priests. But we have largely failed like Israel; we have not walked in our calling. Indeed, too many sit at a distance allowing a select company of professionals to tell them both what God is saying as well as how the Church should respond.
To be clear, the nations simply will not find their way out of this present darkness until the Church rediscovers her God-given calling to stand as priests on their behalf. But it is so much easier to simply find some evangelists and missionaries to represent us. Then we can take our ease as “the professionals” take care of business.
As a result, we have undermined the very evangelists and missionaries we have sent out because we have neglected our priestly calling. But if we would have them to be effective, our local churches must begin to actively stand in God’s presence on their behalf and also for those very nations to which we have released them. We must begin to bear before the presence of God our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nations.
Indeed, priests are to stand before God and to bear other people and their needs as a burden before Him. In fact, such a heart attitude is foundational for a local church to effectively send ministry to the world. And from Heaven’s side of things, God is giving us His heart for those to whom He would send us. And because the present expression of God’s kingdom on earth is greater than our own sphere of influence, He will send not only those we know but many whom we do not.
Clearly, Satan loves the doctrine of the Nicolaitans – let the Church have a select few who are spiritually gifted while the rest remain at a distance from God. And let the spectators feel like they are doing enough if they give financially.
While Satan loves the Nicolaitan philosophy, Jesus also feels quite strongly about it.
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Then Jesus went on to say:
Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Notice the “you” and the “them”. Christ would come to His people and fight with the sword of His mouth against those among them who were promoting the doctrines of Balaam and of the Nicolatians. Not everyone in the local church was guilty. But Christ would war against the ones bringing destruction through their teaching and practice. Our tendency is to think that when Jesus arises among His people it is for the sole purpose of blessing. But sometimes He comes for judgment. To be clear, Christ not only dwells in us, He arises among us (2 Corinthians 6:16), and He will come at specific times to specific churches.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
How do we overcome when confronted by the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? For one thing, we must stop standing at a distance. Indeed, we must draw near to God to hear what the Spirit is saying among His people. Only then will we be empowered to receive His heart for those who are in need. Here is where intercession is birthed. The result will be that we will discover hidden spiritual food, hidden manna from Heaven.
The reason it will be concealed to some is because those believers (the Nicolaitans) who see themselves as greater than others so as to then hear from God for them will fail to hear properly what the Spirit is actually saying to the churches. As well, the Balaamites who whether secretly or openly want success in the eyes of men and destruction upon whoever disagrees with them will also come short in discerning God’s true work.
So who will be able to hear what the Spirit is saying in our generation?
At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
The Greek word translated as “babes” in the above verse is NEPIOS. It basically refers to those who have not yet learned to talk. Have you ever had the Lord drop an insight into your heart where you had difficulty finding the proper words to express it? Then when you shared with others, you had the sense that you had failed to communicate fully what was in your heart. Later on after you had meditated some more on the thoughts of your heart, you found a way to express more clearly what the Lord was saying. We have all been through that scenario. Simply put, all of us are learning to communicate eternal truth; we are learning to talk.
Many times, the Lord has given me insights to share with His people from a particular passage of scripture. And when I spoke, the Lord graciously blessed the message. And it came with a certain measure of clarity. Often though, He would then send me with the same message to other groups. What I discovered was that after I had shared several times, the word got clearer and clearer. Not only that, He also gave new insights from the same passage. So the word increased not only in clarity, but in substance as well. In some ways, I’m still learning to talk.
Those who see their total inability to communicate eternal truth will cry out for God’s grace, God’s power to reveal what He is saying. Such “NEPIOS people” will gain insight into His heart for those around them; they will hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. On the other hand the “experts” will fail to understand.
The Kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor in spirit, to those who see their own poverty in eternal matters apart from God’s mercy and grace (Matthew 5:3). But as He trains us how to communicate eternal truth, the Holy Spirit will sharpen His sword as He wields it through us.
To sum up, Christ is making war against pride in His house. As He wields His sharp sword among us, He will make His present emphasis increasingly clear. But present truth always brings division. Either we divide from whatever pride is exposed in our hearts by humbling ourselves, or we divide from those through whom His word has come. Either way, the status quo cannot survive. Think of it. Whenever the King of the nations arises into our midst to communicate truth by the sword of His mouth, change is inevitable. In order to participate with Him, we must stay teachable, accountable, and humble.
The Lord’s promise to those who overcome is that He will give us a stone with a brand new name on it that no one else knows. In scripture, a name speaks of who you are, while a name change indicates that He has changed you. Simon became Peter because God changed him internally. Joseph became Barnabas (Acts 4:36), which means a son of encouragement, because the brethren surely saw operating in him the grace of inspirational support for others and renamed him according to the Lord’s work in and through him. One’s name meant something; and a new name meant that God had worked internal change.
As far as our receiving a name that no else knows, scripture says of the Lord Jesus, that He has a name written that nobody knows except Himself (Revelation 19:12). That seems to indicate that there are dimensions within His person that we just do not know. And if we prayed in the Spirit every day for the next thousand years, we still would not know. He is beyond figuring out. He is beyond our ability to comprehend. But if we humble ourselves before Him, He will allow us insight into the depths of His person.
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”–these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
(1 Corinthians 2:9 - 10 ESV)
In this paper, I am calling us all to the hidden place. To go there does not mean that we disappear from view, but that we cease making sure that others know how spiritual we are, how much we fast, pray, evangelize, or give offerings. We do not have to make people aware of the size of our ministries or of the increase of our budgets. Indeed, while it is good to testify of what God is doing among us, it is also tempting to broadcast our involvement in His work in such a way that attention falls on us. But Jesus said that the eternal reward is in the hidden place.
When we pursue obscurity among men so that Christ may be more revealed in His house, we specifically oppose the doctrines and practices of the Balaamites and the Nicolatians. While many may ambitiously seek fleeting fame, and success before others, there is another way; it is the way of God’s kingdom. It is true that He is making His kingdom increasingly visible among the nations. But authentic kingdom visibility comes from His initiative in His timing. Indeed, the world will see God’s increasing glory upon His Church in the coming years. But at the heart of His people will be the longing for Him to be seen, not for them to be noticed. In fact, such a people will each have received a new name, authored in the hidden place, embraced in intimacy with God, and known only between Him and them. And the fullness of that new name’s meaning will only be realized in eternity.
Donald Rumble – November 2014
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