But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

  • Revelation 2:14 (KJV)

The Failed Curse That Led to a Cunning Plan

When we encounter this verse in Revelation, we’re witnessing Jesus addressing the church at Pergamos about ab ancient yet ever-relevant danger. To understand the gravity of Christ’s warning, we must look back to the story of Balaam - a tale of frustrated curses and devastating counsel.

Balaam had been hired by King Balak to curse Israel, but God intervened at every turn. Instead of curses flowing from Balaam’s lips, blessings poured forth. Balak’s fury grew with each failed attempt, but Balaam had learned something crucial: if you cannot destroy God’s people through supernatural means, perhaps you can undermine them through natural appetites.

The Strategy of Immediate Gratification

Balaam’s advice to Balak was diabolically simple: use food and fornication.

Why these two particular temptations?

Because they offer something that spiritual warfare often lacks - immediate, tangible pleasure. The satisfaction is instant, the gratification real, and the justification easy.

Food and sexual desire are not evil in themselves; they are gifts from God designed for specific purposes within His boundaries. But when these appetites become our masters rather than our servants, they transform from blessings into stumbling blocks. Balaam understood that what supernatural curses could not accomplish, natural cravings might achieve.

The apostle Paul would later warn of those “whose God is their belly” (Philippians 3:19), recognising that our appetites, when uncontrolled, can become the very idols that separate us from our true calling.

The Long Shadow of Compromise

The effectiveness of Balaam’s strategy becomes painfully clear when we turn to Nehemiah 13. Even centuries later, the consequences of these compromises still plagued God’s people. What began as seemingly small concessions - sharing meals with pagans, intermarrying with unbelievers - had grown into systemic spiritual decay.

This is the insidious nature of pleasure: it rarely announces itself as outright, overt, rebellion against God. Instead, it whispers of freedom, of experiencing life to the fullest, of not being bound by restrictive rules. The immediate pleasure masks the long-term spiritual death that follows.

The Divine Command to Flee

It’s no accident that when Scripture addresses fornication, the command is not to resist it or fight it, but to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18). There’s wisdom in this urgency. Some temptations are best met with contemplation and reasoned resistance, but the allure of immediate physical gratification often overwhelms our reasoning faculties before we realize what’s happening.

The same principle applies to any appetite that promises immediate satisfaction at the cost of long-term spiritual health. Whether it’s the food we eat, the entertainment we consume, or the relationships we pursue, the pattern remains the same: what feels good now may be setting us up for spiritual destruction later.

Breaking Free from Balaam’s Doctrine

Jesus’ warning to Pergamos, and to us today is clear: we must reject the doctrine of Balaam. This means:

Recognizing the strategy. Satan often cannot destroy us through direct assault, so he uses our legitimate desires against us. Understanding this helps us see temptation for what it really is.

Guarding our appetites. We must ask ourselves honestly: what desires in our lives have moved from servant to master? What “immediate pleasures” are we prioritizing over long-term spiritual health?

Choosing delayed gratification. The kingdom of God operates on different principles than the world. What we sow in self-discipline today, we reap in spiritual strength tomorrow.

Finding satisfaction in God. Ultimately, Balaam’s strategy works because we’re looking for satisfaction in the wrong places. When we find our deepest fulfillment in our relationship with God, the appeal of substitute pleasures begins to fade.

A Present Warning for Present Dangers

The doctrine of Balaam didn’t die in the ancient world. It lives wherever immediate gratification is offered as a substitute for spiritual maturity. It thrives in a culture that markets pleasure as the highest good and self-denial as outdated religion.

But Christ’s warning reminds us that some things never change. The battle for our souls is still fought on the battlefield of our desires. The question remains: will we allow our appetites to become stumbling blocks, or will we submit them to the lordship of Christ?

The choice, as always, is ours. But the consequences as Balaam knew and as Nehemiah discovered extend far beyond the moment of decision.

Take time today to examine your own life. Where might the strategy of Balaam be at work? What immediate pleasures are you tempted to prioritize over long-term spiritual health? Bring these areas to God in prayer, asking for His strength to choose His ways over the world’s shortcuts to satisfaction.