- Mar 5, 2024
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Excising Evil, Before Spiritual Blemishes Contaminate The Flock Of God
I have watched Gnostics on the Christian forums for years. As I will cover in the last segment, I have seen them infiltrate sites and post all sorts of things, from how "evil" the God of the Old Testament was and how He treated poor Eve unfairly, to how Mary Magdalene was the sexual partner of Jesus, to how the Lord supposedly performed miracles through the use of sorcery and occult magick. I've seen them make repeated favorable references to using witchcraft in their avatars and posts while yet professing to be "Christians." I have also seen them post sexually suggestive material and make inside jokes, all while the staffs of these forums were usually either too undermanned to notice or had no idea what they were actually seeing, thinking they were just dealing with misguided seekers. I will relate my own experiences with a woman who tried to covert me over to the darkness in the last section.
But the question is this: What should be done about Gnostics when they appear amongst believers? Some think the focus should be on trying to "save" them, but this is actually not what the Lord often prescribed. They posed a threat to the flock of God - indeed to the entire church if their presence was not eliminated - so they had to be dealt with, not simply toyed with.
Peter now referenced this, stating how the Gnostics were not true children of God but "accursed children," not true members of the flock but "blemishes" Satan was now using to contaminate it. They were showing up at the Christian feasts only to "carouse in the daytime," or in other words laze around and indulge themselves, and then look for women to seduce, possessing no fear of God whatever. As such, Peter now described them as little more than wild animals born to be captured and killed; blemished sheep who abandoned the voice of the Great Shepherd to spiritually go astray.
12 But these, as irrational beasts of nature, having been born for capture and corruption, blaspheme what they know nothing of, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceits while feasting among you, 14 having eyes preoccupied with an adulteress and incessant sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained upon sexual covetousness. They are accursed children. 15 who have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 but was rebuked for his iniquity when a dumb ass, speaking with a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. (2 Peter 2:13-16)
Peter's allusion to inter-breeding was not by accident. When possible, the Gnostics were engaging in sexual intercourse with the gullible, which allowed for the transference of demonic spirits and made their corrupting influence all that much stronger. But as Peter told them in his first letter, believers were to be living sacrifices acceptable unto God. Just as the High Priest had to be unblemished, so too could no blemished animal be offered on the altar of the Lord (Lev. 22:17–25; Deut. 15:21–23; 17:1). So by their very presence, the Gnostics posed a grave danger.
What then was the solution? To remove them from amongst the congregations of God before they corrupted them. Hence this is why the Lord told the church in Thyatira that death was coming to the Gnostic "prophetess" Jezebel unless she repented:
20 I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. (Revelations 2:20-23)
To other churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus referred to these teachings as "the doctrine of Balaam," and it is why Peter would likewise bring Balaam up in the present passage. The tactics Balaam told king Balak to use were the same as the Gnostics were using: Use sexual seduction to lure the faithful away from God over into the worship of demonic gods, to their destruction.
12“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword... 14 "I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality."'" (Revelation 2:12-14)
The Story Of Balaam
According to Jewish tradition, Balaam wanted to receive financial rewards in exchange for cursing the Israelites, but when he was unable to do so, he instead gave advice to King Balak that if he sent the most beautiful women of his nation out to where the armies of Israel were, they could seduce them into sin and worshipping the gods of the Midianites, and in so doing the Lord would turn against them and destroy them Himself. The Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo spelled this out most plainly:
Balaam said unto Balak, "Come and let us advise what you shall do to [Israel]. Choose out the most comely women that are among you and that are in Midian and set them before them naked, adorned with gold and jewels. And when [the Israelite men] see them and lie with them, they will sin against their Lord and fall into your hands." (Psuedo-Philo, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 18.13)
Scripture itself appears to verify this is indeed what took place, because Numbers 25 says many of the Israelite men "joined themselves to Baal-Peor," a euphemistic phrase for the act of engaging in ritual fornication to the god Baal, which then caused a great plague to occur amongst the people of God which killed over 24,000 Israelites.
1 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel." 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor"... 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. (Numbers 25:1-5, 9)
Later, when the armies of Israel finally overcame Midian and destroyed them, they returned to Moses and reported they had saved the women alive, suggesting there was still an emotional attachment to them:
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel"... 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed - Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. 9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods... 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, and with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15 And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, through the counsel of Balaam, these women caused the children of Israel to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague amongst the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. (Numbers 31:1, 7-9, 14-18)
So what stopped the plague and appeased the Lord's anger? One man appeared to have the same heart as God, and was angered by what the enemy had done. Phineas knew who the leader of this spiritual rebellion against God was - a man named Zimri - for Zimri defiantly brought the Midianite princess Cozbi before all Israel and declared her to be his wife. So when the two went into their tent, Phineas entered and killed them both. This act pleased the Lord because Phineas understood Zimri was no longer a true Israelite but a spiritual threat to the entire nation.
I have watched Gnostics on the Christian forums for years. As I will cover in the last segment, I have seen them infiltrate sites and post all sorts of things, from how "evil" the God of the Old Testament was and how He treated poor Eve unfairly, to how Mary Magdalene was the sexual partner of Jesus, to how the Lord supposedly performed miracles through the use of sorcery and occult magick. I've seen them make repeated favorable references to using witchcraft in their avatars and posts while yet professing to be "Christians." I have also seen them post sexually suggestive material and make inside jokes, all while the staffs of these forums were usually either too undermanned to notice or had no idea what they were actually seeing, thinking they were just dealing with misguided seekers. I will relate my own experiences with a woman who tried to covert me over to the darkness in the last section.
But the question is this: What should be done about Gnostics when they appear amongst believers? Some think the focus should be on trying to "save" them, but this is actually not what the Lord often prescribed. They posed a threat to the flock of God - indeed to the entire church if their presence was not eliminated - so they had to be dealt with, not simply toyed with.
Peter now referenced this, stating how the Gnostics were not true children of God but "accursed children," not true members of the flock but "blemishes" Satan was now using to contaminate it. They were showing up at the Christian feasts only to "carouse in the daytime," or in other words laze around and indulge themselves, and then look for women to seduce, possessing no fear of God whatever. As such, Peter now described them as little more than wild animals born to be captured and killed; blemished sheep who abandoned the voice of the Great Shepherd to spiritually go astray.
12 But these, as irrational beasts of nature, having been born for capture and corruption, blaspheme what they know nothing of, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceits while feasting among you, 14 having eyes preoccupied with an adulteress and incessant sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained upon sexual covetousness. They are accursed children. 15 who have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 but was rebuked for his iniquity when a dumb ass, speaking with a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. (2 Peter 2:13-16)
Peter's allusion to inter-breeding was not by accident. When possible, the Gnostics were engaging in sexual intercourse with the gullible, which allowed for the transference of demonic spirits and made their corrupting influence all that much stronger. But as Peter told them in his first letter, believers were to be living sacrifices acceptable unto God. Just as the High Priest had to be unblemished, so too could no blemished animal be offered on the altar of the Lord (Lev. 22:17–25; Deut. 15:21–23; 17:1). So by their very presence, the Gnostics posed a grave danger.
What then was the solution? To remove them from amongst the congregations of God before they corrupted them. Hence this is why the Lord told the church in Thyatira that death was coming to the Gnostic "prophetess" Jezebel unless she repented:
20 I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. (Revelations 2:20-23)
To other churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus referred to these teachings as "the doctrine of Balaam," and it is why Peter would likewise bring Balaam up in the present passage. The tactics Balaam told king Balak to use were the same as the Gnostics were using: Use sexual seduction to lure the faithful away from God over into the worship of demonic gods, to their destruction.
12“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword... 14 "I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality."'" (Revelation 2:12-14)
The Story Of Balaam
According to Jewish tradition, Balaam wanted to receive financial rewards in exchange for cursing the Israelites, but when he was unable to do so, he instead gave advice to King Balak that if he sent the most beautiful women of his nation out to where the armies of Israel were, they could seduce them into sin and worshipping the gods of the Midianites, and in so doing the Lord would turn against them and destroy them Himself. The Biblical Antiquities of Pseudo-Philo spelled this out most plainly:
Balaam said unto Balak, "Come and let us advise what you shall do to [Israel]. Choose out the most comely women that are among you and that are in Midian and set them before them naked, adorned with gold and jewels. And when [the Israelite men] see them and lie with them, they will sin against their Lord and fall into your hands." (Psuedo-Philo, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 18.13)
Scripture itself appears to verify this is indeed what took place, because Numbers 25 says many of the Israelite men "joined themselves to Baal-Peor," a euphemistic phrase for the act of engaging in ritual fornication to the god Baal, which then caused a great plague to occur amongst the people of God which killed over 24,000 Israelites.
1 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel." 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor"... 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. (Numbers 25:1-5, 9)
Later, when the armies of Israel finally overcame Midian and destroyed them, they returned to Moses and reported they had saved the women alive, suggesting there was still an emotional attachment to them:
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel"... 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed - Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. 9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods... 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, and with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15 And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, through the counsel of Balaam, these women caused the children of Israel to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague amongst the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. (Numbers 31:1, 7-9, 14-18)
So what stopped the plague and appeased the Lord's anger? One man appeared to have the same heart as God, and was angered by what the enemy had done. Phineas knew who the leader of this spiritual rebellion against God was - a man named Zimri - for Zimri defiantly brought the Midianite princess Cozbi before all Israel and declared her to be his wife. So when the two went into their tent, Phineas entered and killed them both. This act pleased the Lord because Phineas understood Zimri was no longer a true Israelite but a spiritual threat to the entire nation.
