December 7, 2023: Jude 11 - Woe Unto the Ungodly!

“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.” - Jude 11

In continuing his description of the ungodly men who have crept in unawares, Jude discusses three men who all went astray: Cain, Balaam, and Core, also called Korah. Let us consider why Jude brought up the names of these three men and compared them to the ungodly men who had crept in unaware, both back then in Jude’s time and now in these end times. May we heed Jude’s words that he says of these men: Woe unto them! As it did not turn out well for Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah, neither will it turn out well for anyone who follows in their footsteps.

Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve and brother to their second son, Abel. Cain tilled the ground, and Abel kept sheep. In bringing an offering to the Lord God, “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” (Genesis 4:3-4) The Bible then tells us:

“And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:4-5)

The Bible does not tell us why God respected Abel’s offering but not Cain’s, but let’s look more in-depth as to what Cain and Abel sacrificed. Regarding Cain’s offering, it does not say that Cain brought the first of the fruits that the land bore and it doesn’t tell us that he brought the best fruit and offered them to God. Rather, it only says he “brought of the fruit of the ground.” If we contrast that to Abel’s offering, we see that Abel brought the fat, or the best portions, of the firstborns of the flock. Abel offered to God the best that he had to offer, putting God first, while Cain did not. There is also a difference of the blood sacrifice offered by Abel but not offered by Cain. Even though Cain tilled the ground and did not shepherd the sheep, there is nothing written that prohibited Cain from offering a blood sacrifice as his brother did.

God noticed that Cain was very upset because God had not respected Cain’s offering:

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

God told Cain that if he did well, he would be accepted. However, if he did not, then sin was at the door, waiting for Cain to let sin rule over his life. God warned Cain not to let sin rule over him but that Cain should rule over sin. God knew there was a heart issue in Cain, and God was trying to get Cain not to harden his heart by letting sin come in. However, Cain did not listen to God. Cain was jealous of Abel because God had respected Abel’s offering and not his own. Cain let the sins of jealousy, envy, and anger into his heart, where it caused him to commit the first murder in human history when he killed his own brother, his own flesh and blood. After Cain killed Abel, when God asked Cain if he knew where was his brother was, Cain answered sarcastically to God, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). The Bible then tells us God’s reply to Cain:

“And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” (Genesis 4:10-12)

The murder of an innocent human being is known to God, with even the blood of that person crying out from the ground to God. In the example of Cain, we see the fulfillment of sin, which began as jealousy and envy, filling Cain with wrath against his brother and also against God. Not heeding the warnings of God, Cain let sin rule over him, resulting in Cain murdering his own brother. If anyone believes that God does not see and know all who have killed an innocent person, including the slaughter of human beings in the wombs of their mothers, they are being deceived by the lies of the devil, and sin is ruling over them, just as sin ruled over Cain.

Next, let’s consider the example of Balaam that Jude provided. However, before discussing who Balaam was, let us go back to the time when God made His unconditional, unilateral, everlasting covenant with Abram, whose name God had not yet changed it to “Abraham.” God first spoke this covenant to Abram:

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

God had promised to make of Abram a great nation, but Abram and his wife Sarai were old at that time and yet had no children. Abram suggested to God that because he had not heir yet, the steward of his house named Eliezer of Damascus should be his heir. However, God made it clear to Abram that his heir would come from the seed of Abram:

“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, LORD GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:4-7)

God Himself then enacted the covenant (unilaterally). God told Abram to bring him a 3-year old heifer, a 3-year old female goat, a 3-year old ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon and to divide (cut) all but the birds and lay each piece against one another. After the sun went down, Abram fell into a deep sleep “and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon Abram.” (Genesis 15:12) God then made the unilateral covenant with Abram while he slept:

“And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Periizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:13-21)

Years passed and still Abram had no heir. Growing impatient with God, Sarai decided to take matters in her own hands and to help produce an heir for Abram. She asked Abram to let her Egyptian handmaid named Hagar have sexual intercourse with him to produce an heir for him. Abram agreed, and a male child was born whom they named Ishmael. Abram was 86 when Ishmael was born. Four years later and still without an heir produced from Abram and Sarai, God reaffirmed His promise to Abram and made another covenant with him:

“And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” (Genesis 17:2-10)

Next, God told Abram:

“And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Genesis 17:15-18)

Here we have Abraham disbelieving the words that God told him, for Abraham was only hearing the words as a man would speak them and not the words that Almighty God would speak. Abraham believed there was no way that he and Sarah could conceive and bear a child because they were long past childbearing age. Instead, Abraham proposed to God that Ishmael would be Abraham’s heir to the unconditional, everlasting covenant that God had made with him. However, there is nothing impossible for God, even causing a child to be born from a one hundred-year old man and a ninety-year old woman. Is there anything impossible for God, who created the heavens, earth, and sea and all that is within them? When we put out faith and trust in the One true God, we must trust in Him to do what He says He will do. God then confirmed that His covenant would be between Him and the seed of Abraham and his wife Sarah:

“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” (Genesis 17:19-21)

And as God promised Abraham, a son was born unto him and Sarah:

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” (Genesis 21:1-5)

Now, let us return to Balaam, whom Jude mentioned in Jude 11. Who was Balaam? He was a prophet of God, but he was a wicked prophet whose heart was motivated by money and not God. When the children of Israel were being led by Moses in the wilderness after God delivered them out of Egypt, they came near to the land of the Moabites, which at that time was in the possession of the Amorites. The king of Moab, King Balak, had seen that the Israelites had taken the Amorite cities and had smote the king, his sons, and all his people. “And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.” (Numbers 22:3)

Before discussing what Balak did next, let’s read about why God was brining the children of Israel into the land of Canaan. God had given the people in the land of Canaan over 400 years to change their ways and to stop worshipping false gods and sacrificing their children to them. During this 400-year time period, the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, a land that was not theirs, just as God had prophesied to Abraham (Genesis 15:13). However, the Canaanites did not change their ways but continued in their wickedness. Before God would lead the children of Israel into His land that He was giving to them, He spoke to Moses to warn the children of Israel not to do the things the people of Egypt had done when the children of Israel lived there and not to do the things the Canaanites were doing in the land of Canaan, as written in Leviticus 18 and in Deuteronomy 18:9-14, including those sins listed below:

“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourner among you: For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 18:21-30)

“When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

In His words to Moses, God made it clear as to why He was going to allow the children of Israel to come and take the land of the Canaanites: they had committed abominations against Him and He was visiting their own iniquity upon those who had committed the abominations.

Having seen the children of Israel coming near, Balak, the king of Moab, allied himself with the Midianites. Balak decided to send the Moabite and Midianite elders to the prophet Balaam to have him curse the children of Israel so that he could smite them and drive them out of the land. Balak also sent “rewards of divination in their hand” (Numbers 22:7), and the elders came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said. If Balaam truly loved God, he would have known that God would not want him to even consider the proposition they had just made to him and would have rejected it outright. However, Balaam told them to stay the night at his house and he would call upon the Lord God and see what He said to do. God then asked Balaam who the men were, and Balaam told God what they had said to him. God then responded with a clear message to Balaam:

“Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” (Numbers 22:12)

The next morning, Balaam told them, “Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.” (Numbers 22:13). Did you notice that it seems that Balaam wanted to go with them and put the blame on God as to why he wouldn’t go with them? Why didn’t he just say that he would not go and curse the people whom the Lord God has blessed? He seems to be saying in a not-so-subtle message that though he did want to with them and curse the children of Israel, God had forbid him to do it. His heart was not right with God, and he left the door open for sin to rule over him, just as Cain had done. Balak’s elders did leave and went and told Balak what happened. Balak then sent even more men of higher status with more promises of rewards to Balaam. Once again, Balaam’s actions spoke louder than his words. While his words again to Balak’s men said he must not go with them and curse the children of Israel, once again, he left the door open to sin. God then told Balaam, “If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” (Numbers 22:2) Next, we read that Balaam saddled his ass (“donkey” in our modern terms) and went with them. However, we do not read that the men called upon him but we do read that he went with them. God was not happy with Balaam:

“And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the away for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the LORD 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.,” (Numbers 22:22-23)

Three times God sent an angel to block the way of the donkey, and three times the donkey turned away from the angel. God was sending a roadblock to Balaam to prevent him from doing what God had forbade him to do. How many times has God sent roadblocks in our lives to prevent us from doing something He does not want us to do? God even gave Balaam’s donkey the ability to speak to try and speak some sense into him!

“And the LORD 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.” (Numbers 22:28-30)

Next, God opened the eyes of Balaam so he could see the angel, with his sword drawn in his hand, that God had put in the way of the donkey. When Balaam saw the angel, he bowed down and fell flat on his face. The angel asked Balaam why he persisted to go when the ass had tried to stop him three times. Balaam then admitted that he had sinned. The angel told Balaam to go ahead and go with the men but to give Balak only the word that he (the angel) would speak to him (Balaam). Balaam proceeded to go and met with Balak. Three times Balak took Balaam to the high places of Baal, which was where they worshipped the false gods. Three times Balaam told Balak to build altars and prepare burnt offerings, and he did. However, instead of cursing the children of Israel, each time Balaam spoke blessings upon them. Let’s read the first two of Balaam’s blessings of the children of Israel:

“How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from thee top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” (Numbers 23:8-9)

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination agains Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” (Numbers 23:19-24)

The third time that Balak asked Balaam to curse the children of Israel, there was something different about Balaam:

“And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag [king of the Amelekites], and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.” (Numbers 24:1-9)

This was obviously not what Balak wanted to hear! Balak was furious with Balam and said to him:

“I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.” (Numbers 24:10-11)

Balaam did remind Balak that he had told Balak’s messengers that he could only speak what the Lord had told him to say. Next, Balaam gave an amazing prophecy of what would happen in the latter days:

“And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth [tumult]. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.” (Numbers 24:14-25)

This prophecy and its exact meaning has been debated for a long time, and you can do your own research on it. My personal opinion, based on my understanding of the Bible through the guiding of the Holy Spirit, is that it is a two-fold prophecy, where the first part is referring to King David when he smote Moab and the Moabites became his servants (2 Samuel 8:2) and subjected the Edomites and they became his servants (2 Samuel 8:14). However, because Balaam stated his prophecy is in the context of the “latter days,” I believe this is also referring to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who did come from the line of Jacob out of Israel. I agree with what gotquestions.org writes about this passage of Scripture and how it refers to Jesus Christ: (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/scepter-of-God.html)

“The word scepter is also used to symbolize God’s rule, as in Psalm 45:6: “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom” (cf. Hebrews 1:8). In this verse the scepter represents the absolute and eternal supremacy of the Lord’s justice. When the Bible uses the word scepter as it pertains to God, it is talking about His absolute rule over His creation. The scepter of God also shows up in prophetic passages describing the coming Messiah who will rule the nations and restore righteousness. Numbers 24:17 says, “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”—clearly a prophecy about Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Jesus, from the tribe of Judah, will possess the scepter of God and be given charge over all the nations, in fulfillment of Genesis 49:10. At His second coming, Jesus will take His rightful place over the kingdoms of this world, and “He will rule them with an iron scepter” (Revelation 19:15).”

Similarly, another prophet, Daniel, also prophesied of the Messiah in his night vision. In the vision, Daniel saw Jesus, whom he described as one like the Son of man, and wrote of His everlasting dominion over all the nations:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

After Balaam gave this prophecy to Balak, it seemed like that was end of it as they each went their own ways. However, Balaam apparently found a way to get the rewards promised to him by Balak. Though Balaam could not curse the children of Israel directly, he had found a way to curse them indirectly. Balaam advised Balak to have the Moabite women seduce the men of the children of Israel, who then would be influenced to worship and sacrifice to false gods:

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-Peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel." (Numbers 25:1-3)

“Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.” (Numbers 31:16)

Consequently, God instructed Moses to kill all the men of Israel who had not only committed fornication with the daughters of Moab and Midian but also worshipped and sacrificed to their false gods, and 24,000 men were killed. (Numbers 25:1-9)

The book of Deuteronomy also describes how the Ammonites and Moabites did not help Israel after God led them out of Egypt through Moses and as they journeyed to the Promised Land but instead had hired Balaam to curse Israel but instead, he ended up blessing Israel:

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.” (Deuteronomy 23:3-6)

In the end, Balaam was killed by the children of Israel when God told Moses to war against the Midianites, “Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.” (Numbers 31:8) The account of Balaam is not to be taken lightly. He pretended to serve the one true God, but his heart was true to a false god, the god of money and sought in his heart to help those who desired to curse Israel. Jesus Himself spoke of Balaam when he warned the church of Pergamos in the book of Revelation. Jesus also warned that we cannot serve two gods; we will serve one or the other:

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

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money].” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 6:24)

Peter the apostle also spoke of Balaam when he warned against false prophets and false teachers who will “bring upon themselves swift destruction”: (2 Peter 2:1)

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 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; but was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.” (2 Peter 2:14-16)

The last man Jude named in this verse is Core, also referred to as Korah. In my October 30, 2023 devotional, I wrote about Korah and his rebellion with 250 men against Moses and Aaron. Korah and his men felt that they should be in charge of leading the people instead of Moses and Aaron and that Moses and Aaron had placed themselves above the people. Korah and his rebellious men were all swallowed up by the earth by the mighty power of God because they were not called by God to lead the children of Israel. Again, they had a heart issue, letting sin rule their lives, and were filled with envy and disobedience to God.

Jude used these three men, Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah, as comparisons to the ungodly men who have crept in unawares in the churches, and the same thing is happening now in churches today, including in American churches. As Jude wrote earlier in verse 4, they are“turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Instead of reading and heeding the words of Jude about Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah and not being like them, the opposite is true and they are lifting them up as role models. The Bible is clear: we are not to let sin rule us but we are to rule over sin:

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14)

When a pastor is not called by God to preach and teach the word of God, or once was called but has abandoned his faith and is instead motivated by something other than God’s calling, such as money, status, or acceptance, the result is what we see here in America: false pastors in false churches preaching to false converts seeking feel-good messages, where the churches have caved to the demands of governments and a sin-filled society to promote what God calls evil and reject and mock what God calls good. Long gone are the days when most American churches taught about sin, hell, judgment, and that Jesus Christ is the only way that one can be saved and that we should strive to live righteously and to desire to be like Christ and not like the world. Long gone are the days when pastors feared Almighty God more than they feared their governments and the ever-changing cultures and unashamedly preached the whole counsel of God, including Bible prophecy. Oh yes, just as Jude warned us, these wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing have crept in unawares and defiled the churches, and as Jude said, I say, “Woe unto them!” for their end will be as it was for Cain, Balaam, and Core! They have decided to let sin rule over their lives, and their due reward will be an eternity in hell, where they will have no peace, no joy, and will be forever separated from God and all that is good.

Writing this devotional on Jude 11 has definitely been an eye-opening study for me. It has caused me to go deeper into God’s word, into the Old Testament to learn more about Cain, Balaam, and Core. It was during this time of studying that I see the parallels between the Canaanite nations that were in the land that God was giving to the children of Israel, the Promised Land, and how the same types of sinful abominations the Canaanites were committing are the same ones that Americans are committing and, because of our status in the world, have been exporting to other nations, corrupting them as well. God was patient with these Canaanite nations, giving them 400+ years to change their ways, but they did not, and God brought judgment upon them. Let us remember that God brought judgment upon them because the land was defiled, saying, “And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” (Leviticus 18:25) What makes us, Americans and peoples of all nations, think that God will not bring judgment upon us? I think, perhaps, the last straw for America in particular is when we decide not to bless Israel but to curse it, and I believe we are on the leading edge for that to happen. When it does, then as the nations before us who have cursed Israel were cursed and saw the wrath of God come upon them, so will America be cursed and see the wrath of God come upon us, and it won’t end well for us. Our only hope is Jesus Christ. I pray we turn to Him, before it’s too late. 🙏🏻