Study In Jude
by Sandy Simpson
Lesson 3 – Vs. 11
Vs. 11 - Woe to them! They have taken the way of
Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed
in Korah's rebellion.
Jude presents us with a very clear picture of false teachers by using
an illustration from the lives of three men: Cain, Balaam & Korah.
THE WAY OF CAIN
-
Gen. 4:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave
birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth
a man."
Notice that Eve recognizes that babies come with the help of the Lord,
not just from the biological union of a male and female.
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Gen. 4:2-7 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks,
and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of
the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought
fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked
with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did
not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If
you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what
is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you
must master it."
Why would Go not look with favor on Cain’s offering? Because Abel brought
the right sacrifice, and he brought the best part of that offering.
We'll look at that in a moment. But how did Cain and Abel even know
they were to bring an offering to God in the first place? What was this
offering for? It was for the forgiveness of sin! God was the first to show
that a blood offering was necessary for the forgiveness of sins.
-
Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his
wife and clothed them.
Where would you get garments made from animal skins? Not from a live animal,
but from a dead one. God made the first sacrifice of blood for the sins
of Adam and Eve. Jesus Christ is also the first and only perfect
blood sacrifice for sin. This first blood sacrifice prefigures the
ultimate sacrifice God made of His only Son. God is the only One
who can atone for sins, from beginning to end. So Adam and Eve, Cain
and Abel knew that a blood sacrifice, an animal offering, must be brought
to the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. When Cain was upset over God not
accepting his offering, he was acting like a rebellious child. God warned
him that he was giving himself over to sin with his rebellious attitude.
But Cain again didn't listen to God.
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Gen. 4:8-9 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let’s go out to the field."
And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed
him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don’t
know," he replied. "Am I my brother’s keeper?"
Now Cain takes his rebellion a step further and lies to God.
-
Gen. 4:10 The LORD said, "What have you done?
Listen! Your brother’s
blood cries out to me from the ground.
Sin demands a blood sacrifice. Only blood can cover over sins like murder.
God knew what had happened to Abel.
-
Gen. 4:11-16 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground,
which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You
will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment
is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I
will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not
so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then
the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill
him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land
of Nod, east of Eden.
God orders Cain to leave the ground he polluted with his sin and the blood
of Abel. God must judge those who sin. Anyone who lives in unrepentant
sin and does not obey the Lord will be driven from His presence in eternity.
God will send sinners away from His presence to a “land of Nod” in eternity
called Hell.
It is interesting that Cain is punished by being given a mark and sent
to the land of Nod. Some commentators think that the mark was trembling.
Nod means “agitation, commotion, quaking, trembling.” Whenever we see trembling
in the Bible it is usually associated with fear of God or fear of judgment
from God. That puts us in mind of those in the Third Wave who do slain
in the spirit and claim the trembling, shaking and crazy behavior that
comes from it are a blessing from God. The Shakers and Quakers, who were
instrumental in influencing the Third Wave historically, also did the same
thing. But trembling is usually not a blessing from God. It means judgment
is coming.
Some false teachers say that the mark of Cain was dark skin. This is
false doctrine. There is no support for this in the Bible. It is also silly
because the only family left after the flood was Noah’s family. He was
likely medium brown skin because it has been proven that all skin colors
can be produced from the genes of those who have medium brown skin. This
doctrine is still used by the KKK, Arnold Murray and other false teachers.
So how does the story of Cain help us understand false teachers?
(1)
False teachers bring a false gospel. Cain brought fruits
instead of a blood sacrifice. Cain worked the fields and the fruit of his
work was the fruit he brought as an offering. But we cannot be saved by
our work. We must bring the kind of offering God wants. Today God requires
us to believe in His Only Son, who shed His blood on the cross as the perfect
blood sacrifice for our sins. Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice is pictured
in all the imperfect animal blood sacrifices that God required before Christ.
Today there is only one way to be saved, and that is to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Third Wave, Catholics and many others add works
to salvation. Third Wavers say you must have a second experience of the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, adding this to salvation. Catholics add the
sacraments. They are bringing other sacrifices when only Jesus’ sacrifice
on the cross will do. They do this in rebellion just like Cain brought
an offering against the will of God. On judgment day many people will bring
their fruits before God hoping that will buy them salvation. But they will
be rejected if they do not claim the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on
the cross for salvation.
(2) False teachers try to worship God in a way He has not ordained.
We
cannot worship God in unbiblical ways. Cain brought an offering and thought
that bringing an offering was all that was needed. Worship other than God's
way is no worship at all--in fact it displeases God. Uzzah reached out
and touched the Ark on a manmade new cart he helped to build when God had
commanded only Kohathites to carry the Ark on poles and for no one to touch
it. Third Wavers, Benny Hinn, Brownsville, and Toronto do not follow Biblical
teachings, yet they have their hands all over Gods people. God will surely
judge them for their actions. They need to stop getting people to worship
God in ways He does not want.
(3) False teachers do not give their best to God. Notice that
Cain simply brought some of the fruit of the soil. Abel brought the fat
portions. The fat portions, in most cultures, are the most prized portions
of the meat. God wants our best, not our leftovers. Ananias and Saphira
promised God the money from the sale of their land, yet when it came time
to give it they withheld some of what they promised God. False teachers
today live lavish lifestyles, spending money sent in to them by poor people
for ministry. They are a bad example to people everywhere, showing them
that you can worship God the way you want, reserving the best for yourself.
Rebellion leads to separation from God and judgment.
BALAAM'S ERROR
-
Num. 22:4-35 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde
is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of
the field." So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,
sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the
River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt;
they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and
put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps
then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For
I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination.
When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said. "Spend the
night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer
the LORD gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him. God came to
Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?" Balaam said to God, "Balak
son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ‘A people that has come
out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them
for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’"
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse
on those people, because they are blessed." The next morning Balaam got
up and said to Balak’s princes, "Go back to your own country, for the LORD
has refused to let me go with you." So the Moabite princes returned to
Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us." Then Balak sent other
princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. They came
to Balaam and said: "This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let
anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely
and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me."
But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with
silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the
command of the LORD my God. Now stay here tonight as the others did, and
I will find out what else the LORD will tell me."
That night God came
to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them,
but do only what I tell you." Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his
donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God was very angry when
he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him.
Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When
the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn
sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat
her to get her back on the road. Then the angel of the LORD stood in
a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the
donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing
Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again. Then the angel of
the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no
room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the
angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat
her with his staff. Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she
said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three
times?" Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If
I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." The donkey said
to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to
this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said.
Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing
in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The
angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three
times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless
one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three
times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by
now, but I would have spared her." Balaam said to the angel of the LORD,
"I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose
me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back. The angel of the LORD said
to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam
went with the princes of Balak.
Balaam then proceeded to try to curse Israel three
times. Instead God only let him bless Israel. Notice that even though God
had told Balaam he was not to go with the men from Balak, he said he would
ask the Lord again. This is because he really wanted the money being offered
him. This is why God was angry with him. God knew that Balaam wanted to
be able to curse Israel so that Balak would give him money. We can also
see that Balaam was a prideful person, thinking he was important and the
incident with the donkey left him shamed faced. Later, Balaam found a way
for Balak to get back at Israel.
-
Numbers 31:16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and
were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened
at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD’s people.
Balaam advised Balak to get the people of Israel
to marry other peoples, to commit adultery, etc. This made the Lord angry
at Israel and God sent a plague as a judgment on Israel. But don’t think
that Balaam got off the hook for his evil plot.
-
Numbers 31:8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—
the five kings of Midian.
They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the
sword.
Peter says later that Israel had wandered away from
God to follow the ways of Balaam, who loved the wages of wickedness.
-
2 Peter 2:15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to
follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
In our Jude text we see that Balaam “ran greedily”
for profit. To run greedily is a picture of a river overflowing its banks.
Balaam was so greedy he beat his donkey because he was in a hurry to run
to Balak so that he could curse Israel and get paid.
(1) False teachers practice sorcery like Balaam. Sorcery is trying
to conjure up spirits or even God Himself. God cannot be conjured up or
summoned. He is completely sovereign and does things by His will, not the
will of men. Balaam was trying to get God to say what he wanted Him to
say so that he could be paid. If God was not going to say what he wanted,
then he was going to make up something. Word-Faith teachers like Kenneth
Copeland teach that Christians can speak whatever they want into existence,
using the power of faith just like God used that same power to create the
world. That is sorcery and witchcraft. The false prophets of the Third
Wave prophesy things that they know please people rather than God, and
they make a handsome living doing so. Trying to control God or work around
the will of God like Balaam did will only bring you to judgment.
(2) False teachers do what they do for profit - the love of money.
But
the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. TBN is full of televangelists
who spend a high percentage of their time asking for money. They use sorcery
to do slain in the spirit tricks so they can make a name for themselves
and lots of money. They sell things like “holy” anointing oils, and cloths
that have been touched by televangelists with the “anointing”. They claim
these things will heal. They then turn around and spend a lot of the money
they raise with these tactics on themselves, living lives like millionaires.
(3) False teachers lead people into immorality. Balaam was responsible
for leading the people of Israel into immorality. The followers of Balaam
and the Nicolaitans did the same thing in the time of the early church.
We have the same type of people in the churches today. The claim we have
freedom in Christ and can do anything we want and God will just forgive
us. But repentance from sin is more than just throwing up a quick prayer
“Scusi. Mini regretti.” It is turning from wicked ways. We do not have
a license to do whatever we want to do. We are not to commit adultery as
Christians with the idea that later we will just tell God we are sorry.
False teachers today in the Third Wave create events where people are allowed
to go wild. The music is wild, the preaching is wild, the manifestations
are wild. This stirs up the flesh. Once you get people wild, they naturally
want more. This leads to other sins like adultery, drug use, alcoholism,
and immoral behaviors.
The rush to riches is a highway to deceit, covetousness and seduction.
KORAH'S REBELLION
-
Num. 16:1-35 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of
Levi, and certain Reubenites— Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On
son of Peleth— became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them
were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed
members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron
and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,
every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves
above the LORD’s assembly?" When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will
show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come
near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. You, Korah,
and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put fire
and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the
one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!" Moses also said to Korah,
"Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel
has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought
you near himself to do the work at the LORD’s tabernacle and to stand before
the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow
Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.
It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together.
Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?" Then Moses summoned
Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come!
Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with
milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord
it over us? Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk
and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you
gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!" Then Moses became
very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I have
not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them."
Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the
LORD tomorrow— you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer and
put incense in it— 250 censers in all— and present it before the LORD.
You and Aaron are to present your censers also." So each man took his censer,
put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting.
When Korah had gathered all his followers in
opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of
the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. The LORD said to Moses and
Aaron, "Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them
at once." But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God
of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly
when only one man sins?" Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to the assembly,
‘Move
away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’" Moses got up and
went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned
the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not
touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of
all their sins." So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan
and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their
wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. Then Moses
said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these
things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death
and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not
sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth
opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them,
and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men
have treated the LORD with contempt."
As soon as he finished saying
all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their
possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they
owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from
the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting,
"The earth is going to swallow us too!" And fire came out from the LORD
and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
Korah and his followers questioned
the Lord’s will. The Lord had given them special places of authority. Korah
he was a Kohathite who was also in charge of the Holy of Holies and the
Ark. But he and his followers became prideful and thought they could dictate
the will of God. They rebelled against God’s instituted authority in Moses
and Aaron.
(1) False teachers claim an anointing and authority God has not given
them. Saying you are anointed when you are not is dangerous. It is
a quick way to be judged. The false teachers today go even further by saying
they have such a powerful anointing they can pass it on by their will to
others by laying on of hands. This is heresy. There is only one anointing
and that is the anointing of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.
-
2 Cor. 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in
Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his
Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come
-
1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and
all of you know the truth.
We share in His anointing through the Holy Spirit
when we believe that He is God and died and rose from the dead.
-
Tit. 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ
our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become
heirs having the hope of eternal life.
But false teachers often tell people they may be
Christians but they don’t have the Holy Spirit. Claiming to be more holy
than other Christians, the body of Christ, is a great sin. Many in the
Third Wave even claim to be equal with God. They claim to be gods themselves,
or little messiahs.
-
Isaiah 44:6 "This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer,
the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there
is no God.
They claim to be foundational apostles when that
is impossible by biblical definition.
-
Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
You cannot lay another foundation than that of the
apostles, prophets and Jesus Christ. They claim to be getting new revelation
apart from Scripture, though Paul taught us not to go beyond what is written.
-
1 Corinthians 4:6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself
and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning
of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will
not take pride in one man over against another.
(2)
False teachers claim they can create reality
with their words and force God to act. This is the false teaching of
Word-Faith. God is sovereign and we cannot dictate what God’s will might
be. Moses and Aaron waited upon the Lord for His will. But Korah and his
followers had decided to set policy themselves, and in doing so made themselves
enemies of God. It would do well for Third Wave people to understand they
have made themselves enemies of God by what they are doing and will suffer
judgment if they don’t repent of their blasphemies.
Pride and not following the will of God is an avenue that leads to destruction,
faction and sedition against leaders and ministry.
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