Messianic Perspectives

Lizz Ajello: The book of Numbers records a remarkable series of four prophecies, including a startling prediction about the coming of the Messiah. But what makes these four prophecies even more amazing is that God gave them not through Moses or through a Jewish prophet, but through a pagan priest named Balaam.

Stay tuned as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses Balaam's four prophecies, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

[Music]

Lizz Ajello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Lizz Ajello. Today, our Bible teacher is Dr. Gary Hedrick, and he's talking about four remarkable prophecies given through a pagan priest named Balaam.

I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

[Music]

Dr. Gary Hedrick: We welcome our listening friends. If you have a Bible handy, why don't you follow along as we turn to the Old Testament book of Numbers? We've been looking at this series of prophecies given by the pagan prophet Balaam, a fascinating series of prophecies outlining the past, present, and future of the nation Israel.

You know, sometimes people say, "Why do we need to spend so much time studying Israel in prophecy? Why is Israel so important in God's prophetic plan?"

The reason is, and it's very important that you understand this, or you're never going to get a handle on God's plan for the end times. The reason it's so important is that God's prophetic plan for the entire world revolves around Israel.

In fact, Israel is God's timepiece for the world. In other words, if you want to know what time it is on God's prophetic clock, just look at Israel. Now, the clock stopped back in the first century when Israel rejected Christ as Messiah at the end of the 69th week of Daniel. So the clock stopped. And it hasn't ticked in over 1,900 years. It just stopped.

But now the Jews are back in the land, and the stage is being set, and any day now, the clock could start ticking again. And when it does, my friend, that will be what we know in prophecy as the 70th week of Daniel, the Tribulation period.

So that's why Israel is so important in God's prophetic plan, because all of God's plan revolves around Israel. And that's why this series of prophecies in the book of Numbers is so interesting to those of us who are students of the prophetic word.

Today we come to the third in this remarkable series of prophecies in Numbers chapter 24, verse 3. It says, "And he took up his parable and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said." Verse 4, "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, as cedar trees beside the waters." Verse 7 says, "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, 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." Verse 9, "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."

Look at King Balak's response here in the next verse, when he heard what Balaam said. It says in verse 10, "And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam and he smote his hands together. And Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times."

Balak says, "Why do you think I brought you down here, Balaam? I'm paying you to curse these people, and every time you open your mouth a blessing comes out." He was upset. You see, Balak is catching on here that something is wrong. And of course, you and I know that what's wrong is simply the fact that he's trying to do something that's impossible. No one can curse the people of Israel, whom God has blessed. It's as simple as that.

Again, in this third prophecy, the Millennial Kingdom is in view, with Israel dwelling in peace and prosperity in the promised land. In verse 7, Balaam says, "Israel's king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted." And that, of course, is the Messiah himself. You know, when Jesus came the first time 2,000 years ago, they mocked his kingship. They put a robe on him and a crown of thorns. When they crucified him, they nailed a crude sign over his bleeding head, and the sign said, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." He was mocked and beaten and scourged and spat upon.

But let me tell you something, my friend, Balaam's prophecy here in Numbers chapter 24 looks beyond his first coming to his second coming. And he says, "Israel's king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted." You see, when Jesus came the first time, he was humiliated, but when he comes the second time, my friend, he will be exalted.

Revelation chapter 19 says in verse 11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed, verse 13 says, "With a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Verse 16, "And he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

That's the second coming of the Messiah, the same thing Balaam is talking about here in Numbers. Now, verse 9 of this third prophecy of Balaam says, "He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion, who shall stir him up?" And do you know who he's talking about there? Judah. It's from Genesis 49, where Jacob gives those prophecies concerning his 12 sons.

When he comes to Judah in verse 9 of Genesis 49, Jacob says, "Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion and as an old lion. Who shall rouse him up?" And in verse 10, Jacob says, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. And unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Until Shiloh come. That is until the coming of the Messiah, the one whose right it is. That's what Shiloh means. And of course, the Lion of the tribe of Judah is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He came through the line of Judah.

Now, look at this. Here you have three strands of prophecy: one from the book of Genesis, one from the book of Numbers, and one from the book of Revelation. And do you see how it all flows together? It all fits like the pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle, all falling into place.

Now we're going to try to finish this up today, so let's move on into the fourth of Balaam's prophecies here quickly. I'm going to begin reading in verse 15 of Numbers 24. It says, "And he took up his parable and said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said." "He hath said," verse 16 says, "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." Verse 17, "I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall arise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." "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."

Now, go back and look at that 17th verse again. "I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not near. There shall come a star out of Jacob and a scepter shall arise out of Israel."

Isn't it interesting, particularly if it's true that Balaam was a member of the ancient mystical order of the Magi, as we discussed on a couple of programs ago? Isn't it interesting that 1,500 years later after Balaam uttered this prophecy, wise men, Magi, would come to see the baby Jesus? In fact, Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.'"

Lang in his commentary says, "The star which the wise men from the east saw and which led them in the way to the newborn King of the Jews, refers clearly to the prophecy of Balaam." "There shall come a star out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." But he says, "I see him, but he is not now. I behold him, but he is not near."

You see, Balaam was looking through the prophetic telescope, which brings far away things close enough for us to see them. But the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah's first coming was still 1,500 years away, and the fulfillment of the prophecies of his second coming was another 1,900 years or more beyond that. So these prophecies of Balaam, you see, contain beautiful, wonderful, remarkable prophecies of the first and second comings of the Messiah.

Well, I wish we had more time, but those are the four prophecies of Balaam. Four times King Balak tries to get Balaam to curse Israel, and four times he fails. The first oracle comes out as a blessing. Then Balak moves the group to another vantage point where they're looking down on the camp of Israel there in the plains of Moab. But again, the second oracle is a blessing. So they move to another place and they try again, and a fourth time, and they try again. But Balaam cannot curse Israel whom God has blessed.

Well, that concludes our study on Balaam's four prophecies. I hope you enjoyed it. Bye-bye.

Lizz Ajello: Thank you, Gary, and thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together.

Now, let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on Balaam's Four Prophecies. And it can be yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292.

When you write, just ask for the series Balaam's Four Prophecies. Balaam is spelled B-A-L-A-A-M. Or just ask for CD number GT20. That's G-T-2-0 and enclose $6.

To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives? Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details.

[Music]

Lizz Ajello: And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Lizz Ajello. Join us next time, won't you, for another edition of Messianic Perspectives.

[Music]

Lizz Ajello: Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the free will contributions of our listeners in this area.

[Music]