Spoken Word no. 208
“The doctrine of Balaam”
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
December 5th, 2010 Communion service
Revelation
2:14 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
Jude 1:11
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of
Core.
2 Peter 2:15
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following
the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Now, from brother Branham’s sermon, The Spoken word is
the Original Seed we pick up at paragraph 90 where he begins to speak of
this diabolical doctrine of Balaam, and shows how the bride of Jehovah
committed spiritual fornication against him by receiving the doctrine of Balaam
which taught
90 Oh,
my. Now, notice: virgin womb, her mind,
virgin mind to believe God's Word.
Oh, you say, "Now, look here. Oh," say, "Brother Branham, it
couldn't be that way; it's impossible. John Wesley would've saw it; So-and-so
would've saw it."Sure, the devil could've said the same thing to Mary:
"Who are you? Why, you're the poorest of the city. You ain't nothing but a
young-un, sixteen years old--eighteen--down here packing water out of this
pump; father dead and your mother an old blind woman down there. Now, how in the
world will you ever... How... (Ann was her mother, we're told.) How in the
world are you ever going to do that?" "Listen, my old mother is a
blind woman, but she's a godly woman. Through her lips she's planted a seed in
my heart. I've read it out of God's Word that God said in Isaiah 9:6: 'A
virgin shall conceive.'"
91
Hallelujah. Can you see, the Word takes
flesh. There you are. God's going to have a church. It's going to be born of the Word of God, because it is the living Word of God. Do you see it? "How do
you know it?" "Why, it's going..." "You know what you're
going to be called from this on? You're going to be called..." "I
don't care what I'm called, that has nothing about it. Be it unto me according to the Word of the Lord." Oh, could everybody
say that today? Oh, if people could really from your heart, all of us could say
that (See?): "Be
it unto me according to Thy Word, Lord." Really mean it. One
or two or somewhere out in there It's going to pick up some predestinated that
really means that, and, brother, you're
going to see sparks flying right then (That's right.), when you really got that there to meet that what's coming, when
that irrigation begins to fall on that Word. Yes, sir.
92
Now, what was it? The virgin mind,
womb: virgin womb for the baby. Results? Eternal Life. Eve, a good woman as she
was, virgin as she was, but first she let the doubt come in by the word, a
devil's lie. What did he do? Brought her into contact in the wrong way. What
was her child? Death. Mary: virgin mind, virgin womb... When the devil tried to
tempt her, and he come--and the Angel come to her then and said, "You're
going to have a baby," Satan said, "Now, you better be
quiet about that." The Angel said, "It's a act of God."
And she no doubt thought of Isaiah
9:6; she said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."
What's the results? Virgin birth; Eternal Word in her, and she brought forth
Eternal Life.
93
All right, Jehovah's bride, mixed, Jehovah's bride, mixed seed... "How did
you say now, Brother Branham? This morning you said Jehovah's bride committed
adultery. "I won't leave it out. Now, let's watch real close now. Now, we
got just about another hour, I guess. I've got some over here. I'm just going
to have to skip some of them and start reading in just in a few minutes (See?),
just read just as fast as I can to get it out. Now, another hour I believe
we'll be out if you'll just bear with me and pray with me. See?
94
Now, where did Jehovah's bride ever do wrong? All right. Jehovah sent what down
to His bride in
95
What did He send them? Prophet. And “the Word of the Lord came to
the prophet,” raised him right up among them, a
prophet, and anointed him and a-vindicated him right in their midst of all the
other devils a-working, with miracles and everything else. Because Moses stayed
with the Word. Picked that bunch of people up; mixed multitudes started with them. When they got across towards
the promised land, before they got
there, His precious bride committed adultery with
96
Look. listen. listen close now. Here set
97
Now, as our text we
already read from the new testament about the doctrine of Balaam and what he
did to the children of Israel in getting them to compromise with the Word of
God. Now, lets see some old testament scriptures as well. The story is
contained in Numbers 22 through Numbers 24, but since we do not have time this
evening to read all of that, I am assigning your homework to read that sometime
during the next week so you will become more aware of the details as to how he
was able to bring down the children of Israel until God had to destroy all of
them that were 20 years and older at the time of Kadesh Peor where Israel and
Moab united in feast and fornication.
Other Old testament
scriptures include:
Nehemiah
13:2 Because they met not the children of
Joshua 24:9
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of
Deuteronomy
23:4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the
way, when ye came forth out of
Numbers
31:8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them
that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings
of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. 16 Behold, these caused the
children of
Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way
of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in
the gainsaying of Core.
2 Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are
gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages
of unrighteousness;
And in 2 John:8 we
read, “Look
to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have worked for, but that
we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever goes beyond
the limits, and remaineth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that remains
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”
So we see here that the real test at the end-time will
be whether we remain in the Doctrine of Christ or whether we go out from it and
are tempted with the Doctrine of Balaam.) 10 If there come any unto you,
and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
deeds.
Now, this is quite a
statement from the Apostle John because it is very strong language concerning
the Doctrine of Christ and our behavior towards them that do not believe it.
And John says if you even bid God speed to those who do not have this doctrine,
you are participating in their evil deeds.
So what are these evil deeds John is speaking of here? And why is he so
strong in his language towards those who oppose the doctrine of Christ?
The word John used
here for “evil” was translated from the
Greek word “Poneros” Now, this word “Poneros”
speaks of “evil in effect or
influence, and differs from other Greek words for evil which
have to do with the essential character as
well as those words which speak of degeneracy. This word “Poneros” also is used to refer to the devil himself,
and thus his influence upon others.
So what John is saying is that those who do not have the doctrine of
Christ are teaching contrary to the Doctrine of Christ, and if
you assist them in any way you are in essence assisting the devil himself. That
is why we are so careful not to assist with funds those who teach wrong
concerning the
doctrine of Christ which is the Godhead Why? Because, to fund heresy or one who
preaches it, is to assist the spread of it.
Now. Let’s take a further look at this word “Poneros” as John used it in 1 John 3:12 Notice here he says, “Not
as Cain, who was of that wicked one” (and
that word for wicked one is the Greek word “Poneros”
again, ands it speaks of the person of the devil himself. ), and slew his
brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil,
(notice that Cain’s works are said also to be “Poneros”
which means that if he was “of” that “Poneros”
“one”,
then the influence of that “Poneros”
“one” also has affected his
sacrifice to God, and thus has made that sacrifice itself evil. But notice it
is said that Abel’s sacrifice was righteous.) his brother's righteous.
Now, we know that this
word righteous means Rightly Wise”. So we see that Abel’s offering was based
upon Revelation which is Faith, and that is something that comes from God
alone. Thus, by
this Revelation he offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Cain’s sacrifice was not a wrong sacrifice.
In fact Cain had a Biblical sacrifice, as we see in Deuteronomy 26, for it was a first
fruit offering, which was a harvest offering, which represented the time of
Rapture. But it was evil because it was out of season. “For without the shedding of blood there’s no
remission of sin.” Hebrews 9
In the Book of Jude we are warned at the end-time there will be those who
depart from “The
Faith” and who go in “the way of Cain”. Cain was the first on earth
to depart from “The Presence of the Lord”, and those that
depart from the presence of the Lord will be religious just like Cain was and
they will make great sacrifice to God like Cain did but their sacrifice will be
considered evil just like Cain’s was.
Notice further, that Jude describes these men as not only following the
way of Cain, But notice also that Jude
warns us these men shall also follow after the “error of Balaam” and they will do it for money just like Balaam
did.
Jude 1: 11 Woe
unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,
(Notice that they run greedily. In other words, these are greedy men.
They run after the
error of Balaam because of their greed. So what was the error of Balaam that
men will run after it because of greed? The error of Balaam is a message of
unity. Bring everyone together for after all are we not all the same? “and perished in the
gainsaying of Core.”
What was the
gainsaying of Koreh? Korah led a rebellion against Moses and said, we are holy
too, and all the people are holy, and why do you take it upon yourself to rule
over us. There’s plenty of room for more than one to rule. We are holy too. You
see it was the gainsaying of Koreh. There was something in it for him to gain
from what he said. They didn’t want a One Man Message from a One Man ministry.
So they rebelled using the multitudes of people to stand with them against the
movement of God. And they are doing that same thing today, saying “we are five fold ministry, we got something to say as
well, “God doesn’t speak through one just one man!” And right
there they separate themselves from the true Five Fold ministry who will only
say what the vindicated prophet has told them to say. And why is it called
gain-saying? Because they are in it for the money like Koreh was. After all he
was a hireling and was given money to bring
Notice how Jude
continues to describe these false ministers at the end-time. 12 These
are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding
themselves without fear (Notice he says when they feast with you, so
these are those who come right into this Message and eat from the same Spiritual Food in Due Season that we also eat
from. Notice they came into the Message
as what Peter warned us they would do. Pentecostal ministers bringing their Pentecostal doctrine into the
Message with them. Also notice that Jude further describes these men by
saying,) clouds they are without water.
Now a cloud without
water is one without rain. And Paul calls witnesses of what took place clouds.
He calls them “clouds
of witnesse”. So Clouds represent people who have witnessed this
end-time ministry but those without water are those who are witnesses with the
doctrine, because God said His doctrine would fall like the rain, and these are
clouds without rain, without doctrine.
Paul spoke in Hebrews 12: 1 Wherefore seeing we
also are compassed about with so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Yet Jude speaks of
these clouds as having no water. These clouds are without water, Therefore clouds
without rain. Now, why is this so significant?
Because God said in
Deuteronomy 32:1-2 Give
ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words
of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech
shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the
showers upon the grass:) carried about of
winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by
the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out
their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
for ever.
So if these are clouds, which are witnesses, think it not strange that
there are so many witnesses to the ministry of William Branham who haven’t a
clue to the doctrine he taught? We are warned here in scripture and in 2 Peter of the same, as well as the Apostle Paul.
Notice here that Jude said clouds, not cloud. Now, this brings us to the
fact that there are two doctrines which are predominant in this hour. The
Doctrine of Christ for which if you do not have that Doctrine, you do not even
have God.
Then there is the Doctrine of Balaam which we are warned about that will
come in among us. And notice we are warned that men will run after the Doctrine
of Balaam because of their greed.
Now, the doctrine of Balaam is not that he went for money, but the
doctrine of Balaam is that he tried to unite the people of God with those
people who are not of God. And in order
to do that they must forsake the right way, which is God’s way.
2 Peter 2: 15 Which
have forsaken the right way, and are
gone astray, following the way of Balaam
the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of
unrighteousness; Notice he loved
not the wages, but the wages of un-right-wise-ness. In other words the wrong
understanding pays. In other words, there’s more money in preaching error than
truth.
Now, the doctrine of Balaam is explained further in the book of
revelations. Revelation
2: 14 But I have a few things against thee,
because thou hast there (Thou hast there where? Right in the Message that’s
where. Right in the end-time Church of the Living God, there are those who
regard the Doctrine of Balaam because of their greed.) them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who
taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of
Now, how is it possible that the Doctrine of Balaam could come right into
this message? Just the same way it came into the Pentecostal movement.
From Brother Branham’s sermon called, Who do
you say this is? 64-1227 P:80 See,
that's what he done to the Pentecostals. They said a few years ago, when you
all start up, "You wouldn't go nowhere. There wasn't nothing to you. You'd
burn out. You just a bunch of fanaticism." But every time they tried to
curse you, you come right on back again. God
kept revealing His Message. Down from the old Assembly, way back in the
beginning, the General Council. Then He brought in when they received the Name
of Jesus Christ for water baptism. Then one jumped this way, and one the other,
and one went off organized this and that. God kept blessing. Now, when he seen he couldn't curse you (See?),
so what's he going to do? He's going to organize you. Bring you, "Oh, we're all one anyhow. (See?) We all believe in the same God."
So that's just what Balaam did. And didn't Jude warn us of this? They erred in
the doctrine of Balaam and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. Doesn't Jude,
the foster brother of Jesus, warn us of this in the Bible? They're like Cain,
from the beginning, the hireling, the one that went to church and built
churches and built a altar and sacrificed. They err in the way of Cain. They
run in the way of Balaam, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. Jude lays
the whole thing out just like we're doing it this morning here before you, like
we've been doing it. The whole thing lays there.
81 They perished in the
gainsaying of Korah. Just think of that, how bad that was. Just to think of
what that Korah... See, he said, "Now,
we'll all go up to a feast. We're
all one." The Moabites believed in God. That was
82
Balaam come out, he looked down, said, "Well, my, I know one of them
ministers married another man's wife." All these other things, oh sure,
they had plenty. He forgot to hear The Shout
of the King in the camp. He
never seen that smitten rock, and that brass serpent hanging there for an
atonement. He didn't realize that they
wasn't hooked up to any organization. They was hooked up to God's covenant,
and were walking in that. See? And Balaam said (fundamentally), "Build me
seven altars." That's what Jehovah required. That's what Jehovah got on
both sides. "All right, put seven calves upon it." That's what they
was doing down there in that camp. "Put me seven rams on it because
there's coming a Messiah someday." All right.
83
See, fundamentally, they were both right: fundamentally. See? But one day when
he seen he couldn't get him on that, he said, "If we just organize ourselves together then." And that's where
they made their mistake...And that's
just exactly where Pentecost made its mistake, when it organized back like the rest of the churches. I'm not your
enemy. I'm your brother. Some of these days you're going to find out that
that's the truth. May take a little while yet (few turns of the sun), but
someday you'll see that that's right. Then Balaam's doctrine hit them just...
That's what they wanted. "We're all
one." See? So there they went. All of their prophets and all went
right with them. And was at the feast, the same said, "And we all believe that there's one God.
Let's believe it." Just what they would been looking for, just exactly.
2 Peter 2:1 But
as there were false prophets among the people, even so shall there be false
teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them, (that’s
the Son) and by
doing so, shall bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And
many (not a few, but
many) shall
follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil
spoken of. (In other
words, by what they do and teach shall bring the real truth which is the
message into disrepute or a bad reputation.) 3 And through covetousness (we all
know what that is. It’s the greed that Jude said was the motive behind the
doctrine of Balaam. So for money) shall they with feigned words (those are words
that they just make up, which are nothing but lies, and so with their lies
shall they) make
merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their
damnation slumbereth not.
Now notice verse 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, (in other words they are not born again. They have not
God. Therefore they have not the doctrine of Christ. And they are) made to be taken
and destroyed,(and it is these men who will) speak
evil of the things that they
understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
Now, remember, at the end time there will be a vast influx of these evil
men. They shall wax worse and worse as Paul warns us in 2 Timothy 3: 13 But evil men (“Poneros”
men. Now, if the devil Himself is called “poneros”,
then these are his children or offspring.) But evil men and seducers (and isn’t seduction
the method that the serpent used on Eve. Now, seduction is not rape. It is not
a forced thing. It is a very cleverly disguised way to get what they want, and
it is called seduction.
Notice it says, these evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (Or
able to deceive because they too have been deceived themselves so they appear
to be very sincere in what they believe, and they are very convincing to others
to come together and the larger the group the better for they believe that
safety is in numbers. And they are called seducers because they are able with
words to lead others astray into adulterating the Word of God which is the same
spirit as adultery.)
But we can be thankful because as God’s seed we have been given an
ability to be able to understand according to John
1:12 and 1 Corinthians 2: 1-10. That
is why the apostle Paul can say in Hebrews 5:14 But
strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
And we see the same thing in Malachi 3;16-18. 16 Then they that feared the LORD spoke often
one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it,
and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD,
and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall
be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels,(In that day when I come to assemble my people Lamsa translation); and I will spare
them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.
So we are looking at a relationship between Father and sons here. And because we are sons we
know as we are known, and we will know the difference between righteousness
(Right-wise-ness) and that which is error.) 18 Then
shall ye return,(return where? To
where you began at. The starting point. And where was that? When we were in
Christ before the foundations of the world. In other words, we will return to
the Original Word. And you can not return unless you were there to begin with.
And when we have returned to the Original Word, we shall) discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serve God and him that serves not God.
And that is where we are at this evening. Ephesians 4;14 That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
deceive; And just remember, it is not of your doing,
but His doing that counts. For the Apostle Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3: 3 But the Lord is faithful, who
shall establish you, and keep you from evil.
The Lord shall keep you from all “poneros”. He
shall keep you from being influenced by the wicked one and his devises. Philippians 1: 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ: Let us pray…