Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #18 of Revelation 2, and we are going to read Revelation 2:14:

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam…

In our last study, we began to look at the “doctrine of Balaam,” and in order to understand what the Lord is referring to we have gone back to the book of Numbers to read the account concerning Balaam.  We read in Numbers 22 that the princes of Moab came to Balaam in an attempt to hire him to come with them and curse Israel.

Surprisingly, Balaam had communication with God, and he went to the Lord to find out if he should go with them.  The Lord told him not to go with them, and not to curse the people for they were blessed.  The Moabites returned a second time with more honorable princes and, seemingly, a greater offer to Balaam.  So Balaam once again went to the Lord, requesting that he might go with them.  God’s first response to him would not have changed, so this reveals that there was a deep-down problem in Balaam’s heart.  God permitted Balaam to go with them in the sense that the Lord often allows people to commit sins by going after sinful things, even though he may restrain sin in our lives to a large degree.  But from time to time, He permits it.

In this case Balaam was not truly a child of God, and the Lord allowed him to go with the men to Moab.  Then we read that God’s anger was kindled because he went, and that confirms that it was not according to the will of God, but God allowed him to go on in his sin.  It tells us in Numbers 22:22:

And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of JEHOVAH stood in the way for an adversary against him…

The angel of JEHOVAH is another name for God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  God was now in opposition to Balaam.  What was the “way” that Balaam was going?  He was just taking a road to Moab, following these princes, so why would God stand in the way against him?  But it was more than just a journey to Moab.  It was a pathway that was going contrary to the will of God because God had said, “Thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”   So the “way” that Balaam was going was to curse the people of God, and God was the one who had blessed them.  God was the one who had saved the Israelites, although that is just a figure of God’s people because God had delivered them from Egypt, physically, but only a handful of them were truly saved.  But the important thing is what they represented, and Balaam was on his way to curse the people that God said were not to be cursed. 

God will resist anyone who goes in that direction.  Man may go on a sinful course as he goes his own way, and yet not be a particular threat to the people of God.  He may be a harm to himself, his family, or others, but when men commit sins in the world they are not too much of a threat to the people of God.  But when unsaved people are involved with the Gospel, or when they claim to have a relationship with the Lord, and then they proceed to “curse” the people of God, it does have a great deal to do with the Lord because the people of God are blessed through the Word of God and the truth that they hear from God through His Word.  When a person like Balaam sets himself against the people of God, there is danger that God will fight against him, and the Lord was set in opposition to this man, as it says in Numbers 22:

…. and the angel of JEHOVAH stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

Balaam was riding upon his ass, and he went with two of his servants.  Balaam had owned this ass, or donkey, for some time, and he had, perhaps, not given this ass much thought in the past.  But now we are going to read something that is really spectacular that God has recorded, which is a true historical event that really happened.  This “dumb ass” is going to speak.  It says in 2Peter 2:15:

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam…

That was the way of Balaam.  He was not going the right way of Christ, but he was going against Christ.  It goes on to say I 2Peter 2:15-16:

…following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

That tells us that the ass would have spoken with a normal human voice, talking to Balaam.  Let us read this amazing account in Numbers 22:23-33:

And the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of JEHOVAH stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. And the angel of JEHOVAH went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And JEHOVAH opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. Then JEHOVAH opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of JEHOVAH standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. And the angel of JEHOVAH said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

What an amazing tale!  Of course some people think it is just a “tale,” as they think it is just some sort of fantasy story that never happened.  You know, I do not know why anyone would doubt that God could cause a “dumb ass” to speak by giving it a man’s voice.  Why would they think it too hard for the Lord?  I especially do not understand why the people of the world would reject this as some kind of fairy tale because they know a donkey cannot speak, and yet they confess to believe the idea of evolution which claims that man came from lower life forms, even much lower than a donkey.  They say we evolved to be the creatures we are, and yet they laugh at the idea of a donkey speaking.  What is more ridiculous?  Was it that God temporarily gave a donkey a human voice, or the idea that mankind evolved over billions of years to reach this point?  The far more ridiculous idea is evolution.  It is absurd and foolish.  There is no possibility that evolution is true.

Of course it is true what God did through this donkey.  God has His purposes and reasons for why He did this, and much of it was to teach us spiritual things of the Gospel.  But God used a “dumb ass” to accomplish the purpose of being a witness to Balaam, and “forbad the madness of the prophet,” as we read in 2Peter 2.  Balaam was going in a way contrary to Christ to curse the people of God, so the Lord used this animal as a means to stop him.

But let us think about the spiritual meaning.  We are not studying the book of Numbers, but we are studying Revelation 2, and Revelation 2 mentioned Balaam.  So since we are studying the Bible, we want to learn truth.  We want to learn what the Bible teaches about these things. 

Here, God is giving us a historical account that is so unusual and out-of-the-ordinary that many people do not believe it actually happened.  Why?  God typifies “man,” and specifically in this case, “His people” as an “ass” in the Bible.  It says in Exodus 13:13:

And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

That is how the Lord speaks of redeeming the firstling of an ass with a lamb.  “To redeem” is language to salvation.  Redemption has to do with being “bought with a price,” and that price was the death of the Lord Jesus Christ as He died for the sins of His elect people.

Here, the firstling of an ass was to be redeemed with a lamb.  Remember what John the Baptist cried out when he saw the Lord Jesus approaching: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  The firstling of an ass is a type and figure of an individual who is to be redeemed with a Lamb, the sacrifice of Christ.  But if you would not redeem it, then you were to break his neck, which points to judgment.  You were to be killed if you were not redeemed, and that is what will happen to every unsaved man.  If an individual is not redeemed by the blood of Christ, finally he will die.

This is one place where the Lord is making the connection between a man and an ass.  There is another place in the book of Judges where we read a rather unusual account in the life of Sampson, the Judge of Israel.  It says in Judges 15:15:

And he found a new jawbone of an ass…

This is very interesting because we are reading of a situation where the Lord opened up the mouth of an ass.  Let us continue to read in Judge 15:15-17:

….and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

What does this mean?  If the Bible did not reveal to us that it is God’s intent to speak in parables, and that all the Bible is parabolic to one degree or another, we would read these antidotes, and that would be exactly what they would remain no more than an antidote, something curious, unusual, and just a story to read to a child that is exciting or interesting, but having nothing to do with the Gospel.  But it is only when we follow the guideline that the Lord spoke in parables, and without a parable He did not speak, that we seek for more and more truth.  Why did Sampson put forth his hand, pick up the jawbone of an ass in his hand, and slay a thousand men?  Why did God tell us this?  Why was it a jawbone of an ass?  Why was it a thousand men that were slain?  We ask the questions, and then we understand that it is a jawbone of an ass, and an ass can typify men, and God’s elect are men.  So God is teaching us that it is by the mouth of men as God puts forth His hand, which represents the will, and God controls the mouth of man.  He opens up to His elect the understanding of the hidden truths of His Word, and He causes us to proclaim it with our mouths.  He uses men to teach through the proper methodology, and He feeds His people.  When Christ broke bread, He would give it to the disciples, and then He gave the disciples to the multitudes.  That is what He is referring to, and the Lord does not want us to get “exalted above measure,” so He uses an animal like an ass, a stubborn donkey, that is known by its ability to stubbornly resist.  How accurate that creature is to typify the sinful condition of men.  God is humbling us by the use of this type of spiritual picture of an ass typifying a man.  And Sampson took that jawbone of an ass, and he slew a thousand men, as the number “1,000” represents completeness.  The Lord Jesus Christ with His Word slays all those that hear.  Some are cut with that knife unto salvation, and for others it cuts to condemnation, but all are “slain.”  They are either slain “in Christ,” or they are slain by Christ.  So Sampson slew a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass.

So in this historical parable concerning Balaam, God has opened up the mouth of an ass.  Not only did He open the mouth, but He first opened his eyes, as it says in Numbers 22:23:

And the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH standing in the way…

Then it says in Numbers 22:25:

And when the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH…

Also, it says in Numbers 22:27:

And when the ass saw the angel of JEHOVAH…

You see,  Balaam did not see the angel of JEHOVAH, eternal God, standing in the way against him, but the ass, or donkey, saw the angel of JEHOVAH, which points to spiritual sight.  Of course the animal itself was not saved, but it typifies God’s elect, those individuals that are saved and given spiritual sight.

Notice the relationship between the ass and Balaam.  They had a very close relationship.  They had a longstanding relationship.  Later after Balaam had struck the ass three times, remember what the animal said to Balaam in Numbers 22:28-30:

And JEHOVAH opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

They had a relationship for some time, and the ass had never acted this way before.  The ass had never been so rebellious in that sense.  Remember that Balaam wanted to go the way where the angel of JEHOVAH was standing against him with His sword drawn, but the ass turned out of that way into a field.  But Balaam insisted, and he turned the ass back into that path.  Then she thrust herself unto the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot, and he fought her.  Finally, there was nowhere to turn.  There was nowhere to go because the way was so narrow, so the ass fell down under Balaam and refused to go further.

What is God teaching?  Balaam was an unsaved man.  We know the donkey is a type of the elect.  When Balaam was riding the donkey, they were in a close relationship, saved and unsaved going together.  They had been in that relationship for some time, and I think we can understand this to point to the church age where the wheat and the tares were growing together for a long time.  God forbade harvesting during the church age, lest some of the wheat be taken up in the gathering up of the tares.  It would not be until the time of the harvest, and the Lord allowed the saved and the unsaved to flourish together in the midst of the congregations.  They were in a close relationship, and oftentimes the true believers would have been just humble, lowly members of the church, and they went the way of the congregation throughout the church age.  As long as the church remained reasonably faithful to the Word of God, they did not fight against the direction the pastor, elders, or deacons were taking the church.  Satan infiltrated those positions, and he had his people in places of authority where they could direct the course of the church itself.  And the child of God within the congregation went along with it, for the most part, because if the church were going a certain way, they would go along very humbly and very lowly.  They did not think too much of themselves at all.

But it was only when Balaam made a conscious decision to go in a way that was against the angel of JEHOVAH to curse the people of God, and not to bless them, that the donkey refused to go.  Her eyes had been opened, and the ass saw the danger, seeing the angel of JEHOVAH.  “No. We must not go that way.  Let us turn into the field.  That is where we should go.”  Remember the field is the world, and the elect were to go into all the world with the truth of the Gospel.  The ass was directing Balaam to go the way that he should go, but Balaam does not want to go that “way,” but he wants to go his own way, the way of greed to receive the reward of divination.  He turned the ass back, but the ass would not go that direction.  It was too dangerous. 

The ass would not go against the angel of JEHOVAH, so she thrust herself unto the wall.  Why the wall?  The Bible points to “the wall of salvation.”  That is what the wall points to spiritually, according to the book of Nehemiah.  So the ass was reminding Balaam that this was what we are to be concerned with during the time of the church age, and not going in his direction.  But Balaam violently forced the ass to go down a wrong path until the animal fell down, refusing to go another step.  Now we had come to the end of the church age, and the relationship between Balaam and the ass must end.  God had opened the eyes of the ass, and He had opened her mouth.  She could not go on any longer together with the false prophet.