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Today’s topic relates to the season we’re currently in: December, actually already halfway through it. Soon, the holidays will take place. You can already see them in the commercial sphere: wherever money is to be extracted from people, carols appear, decorations, pushy calls to buy gifts—all those features characteristic of this season start well in advance. Talking about this celebration, about this holiday, is rather specific in that it is, in a certain sense, unbiblical. Why? Because the Bible contains no mention of such a holiday. There’s not a single command to honor the appearance of the Son of God on earth in any specific way. Of course, his coming was a momentous event and a reason for joy for humanity, because the Savior arrived. He came to carry out a plan: to free people from the bondage of sin. For that purpose, he had to die for humankind, but he also proclaimed the truth, because even the most zealous in Israel had trouble telling what was true. At that time, there was already a lot of confusion about interpreting the Scriptures: many, including priests, didn’t acknowledge any Old Testament books outside of the Five Books of Moses, while others attached great importance to the prophets. So those who were supposed to teach the Scriptures sometimes didn’t fully recognize them themselves. In this situation, Christ told Peter that he came to bear witness to the truth. He also said of himself: “I am the truth.” So, his appearance is that truth which saves—or at least can save, if we follow his will, believe in him, and imitate him.

As is usually the case, Satan tries to make salvation harder for people. What can be done so that even those who believe are not pleasing to God? As I mentioned, Christmas is not in the Bible: none of God’s servants ever celebrated it, so it’s clear that it arose later. There’s much to suggest that earlier pagan celebrations were adapted, especially Saturnalia—very lively holidays in Rome—which were replaced by an equally joyous “Christmas.” At the same time, there are indications that Christ may have been born roughly at this time, though we don’t know the exact date. Satan took advantage of this uncertainty and suggested the idea of substitution: eliminate Saturnalia and make it easier for people to move away from those customs while keeping their festive spirit. There were gifts, feasts, even a day in which slaves and masters swapped roles—the masters became slaves for a day, while the slaves became masters. You can imagine how much joy that brought and how many people looked forward to that moment. How to get rid of such a popular holiday? They gave it a Christian character, adapting it, but the problem is that no prophet or servant of God said this was God’s will. This leads to the suspicion that it happened not from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but from a deceiving spirit. Especially since it happened during a period when non-biblical teachings, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, were being spread. In that same fourth century, the name Yeshu was changed to Isus—in Greek, the way of reading one letter was changed, from reading it as “e” to “i,” resulting in “Iisus,” and later “Isus.” That’s how it became established in some languages. As I said, in the fourth century other falsehoods accumulated as well. In fact, that’s when Catholicism arose as a Christian, but state, religion.

Few people remember that the pagan emperor claimed the right to be the head of every religion, the chief priest of all cults, including Christians. The Christians agreed to this. This refers to Constantine, later called the Great by Christians, who, until almost his death, remained an unbaptized supporter of Christians, yet at the same time exercised authority over religions. If Christians wanted to pray in public, they had to ask the emperor’s permission—and they accepted this. He also convened synods to decide whether there is a Trinity or not. As a result, under his leadership, the Trinity prevailed, which shouldn’t surprise, since it was foretold, that before the return of Christ there would be a falling away—and indeed, it came on a grand scale. It got to the point that Christians living farther from Rome at times preferred the rule of the Muslims to that of Rome, which brutally enforced the unity of faith. Rome decided what could and could not be believed. There were disputes about what we would today call the communion wafer, about the understanding of “eating the body of Christ,” as well as about the person and nature of Christ—the disputes never ceased. Persecutions were so bloody that Muslims sometimes appeared as those who brought relief. That’s why Christians at first were not particularly eager to defend against the Muslims. In Muslim countries, they were able to live fairly peacefully and remained there up until our times, when only under the rule of ISIS—a modern caliphate, a terrorist entity sponsored by today’s Sanhedrin, that “great harlot”—Christianity once again went underground.

In any case, at that time the Vatican imposed many solutions, often by force. And just as today many Catholics are outraged that the Vatican changes something, “modernizes,” yields to influences, for example from homosexual circles or Judaism, so it was back then. It’s sad that today’s Catholics often fail to see that they defend dogmas which their great-grandparents refused to accept and died at the hands of Rome—at the hands of the bishop of Rome—precisely because those innovations were imposed by force. We’re talking about such shocking changes at the time as the cult of the saints, the cult of images, the Marian cult, or the doctrine of the Trinity—all of this was enforced by violence. The tragedy lay in the fact that defenders of the pure faith were killed or exiled, and if they remained, they lived in hiding. Their children and grandchildren were already born into a changed religion and had no idea that their ancestors were persecuted because they opposed, for example, the cult of Mary; they themselves then went on to persecute others, having been raised from childhood in the conviction that this was the true teaching. It was the same with holidays: adopted from paganism, over subsequent generations they became “ours” and are defended to this day. Today we see zealous Catholics saying that the pope is leading in the wrong direction, that it’s apostasy, that one must disobey him. They don’t realize that this has been going on for centuries—and that at the same time they accept earlier-imposed dogmas that once shocked and scandalized, and today are vigorously defended by them. The only dispute is over the new. It is also sad that their children in 40, 50, or 100 years will accept even those most shocking teachings that the Church introduces now and will defend them. If some, who consider themselves intelligent Catholics, realized what they are really defending and what kind of community they belong to, they would take a more sober look at what they accept.

And—as I said—the same goes for the teachings and various types of holidays, which are simply adaptations of pagan customs. Interestingly, they didn’t appear immediately—they evolved. The Christmas tree, for example, for a very long time was unknown. It’s a new fashion, and today it has become an inseparable symbol. Nevertheless, all the customs that found their way into this holiday, sooner or later, have their counterparts in paganism. As if from time to time Satan tossed another rotten egg into this nest. That’s why we can’t speak of Christmas in biblical terms, we can’t honestly point to a single verse and say, “It’s about this.” Because such verses simply aren’t in the Bible.

Notice: not only are there no verses supporting the doctrine of the Trinity, but in the case of Christmas, there are attempts to “stretch” certain passages of Scripture, though in this case there’s really nothing even to stretch. There’s no visible biblical basis on which one could defend this custom. There remains one way to defend it, to which supporters most often resort: that it’s so beautiful, so pleasant, family-oriented, moving. And that’s exactly where the problem lies—things that people like and that excite them are implemented, even if they have no divine sanction. Immorality itself, notice, is also sometimes “attractive.” One could say, that sex is beautiful – and indeed, in marriage it is an expression of love and unity – but immorality is merely a duplication of what is beautiful in the marital bed, torn from the framework established by God. When God’s boundaries are crossed, what appears beautiful ceases to be so – though for lost people, chasing only what is carnal, it still seems attractive, which is why they pursue it. It’s important to realize that the problem lies in the fact that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, not in what is pleasant, pleasing, and spectacular. I hope you know what I mean. The Bible does not provide anything to justify celebrating Christmas – apart from the account of the birth of Christ itself. So this is not a strictly biblical dispute about a holiday, because such a holiday simply does not exist in Scripture. Fortunately, we have the Holy Scriptures – and let’s start from there. There are words in them that I will quote:

2 Timothy 3:14-15 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have been entrusted with, knowing from whom you learned it. And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Messiah Yeshu.”

Salvation is by faith, but the Scriptures can make us wise, that is, actually help on the way to salvation. We then read:

“All Scripture inspired by God is also useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction, for training in virtue [righteousness], for equipping so that the person of God may be prepared for every good work.”

So even if something is not directly described in the Bible, and today we struggle with new phenomena or practices and would like to know how to relate to them, we can find guidance in Scripture: wisdom, examples, numerous events that help us recognize God’s will, gain instruction, convince others, make corrections, and educate ourselves in virtue – so that we adjust to the will of God. That’s why today I want to refer to the biblical model: if Scripture is to be our guidepost as to how to act regarding holidays not present in the Bible, we’ll look at examples where a similar issue already appeared. Let’s start with 1 Corinthians. Notice that we are doing exactly what the apostle Paul did: we’re reaching to Scripture to illustrate something. Paul referred to an ancient event – about 1,500 years earlier – to make believers in Christ aware that if they do not behave properly, they can lose grace, even though they have received it, even if they have been immersed and received the Holy Spirit. Let’s see what words he used and to what examples he referred.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that all our ancestors were under the cloud and all passed through the sea. All were also baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,”

This refers to the later immersion in the name of our Lord Yeshu – in water and in the Holy Spirit – which the recipients of the letter received and which we receive today. They “were immersed into Moses” in the cloud (as if into the Spirit) and in the sea (as if into water). They all had this privilege. So after being delivered by God from Egypt, after the gift of freedom and journeying toward the Promised Land, was nothing threatening them? It turns out they were a threat to themselves.

“all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was the Messiah. But most of them did not please God, for they fell [were scattered] in the wilderness. This happened as an example to us, so that we would not be people desiring evil as they desired.”

See? Sometimes we are surprised at the severity of God’s punishments toward the Israelites, but Paul says they were written down precisely for our warning. These were not trivial offenses, but truly serious matters. So today we want to understand what their mistake was. Paul continues to warn:

“Do not become idolaters, as some of them were;”

Not all, but “some.” And he explains what this idolatry involved, quoting:

“The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”

Is eating and drinking bad? After all, you can’t live without it. Is playing bad? In itself, no. And yet in this case, it was bad. To understand this, we need to look into the Book of Exodus and recall the example Paul referred to. We read there that Aaron:

Exodus 32:4 “And after taking it from their hands, he had it melted down and made into a statue of a calf cast from metal. And they said: 'Israel, here is your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

The very fact of making a calf can be shocking. But in reality, it doesn’t matter whether it was a calf or a human figure—the core of the problem lies in making an image intended to represent God or to symbolize Him. Scripture repeatedly condemns exactly this: creating images for worship purposes. Also notice that this calf was meant to symbolize the very God who actually led Israel out of Egypt. And who did that? God, who revealed Himself by the name we abbreviate as YHWH. Someone could then say—and many do today—that since it’s known whom one is worshiping, the form doesn’t matter. But the Bible denies this. It was the very introduction of the statue that meant God’s law was broken—and not even a potentially „noble intention” of honoring the true God nullifies this. For this transgression, the people were later punished, and Paul recalled this episode as a warning to the Corinthians so they would not repeat the mistake. Further on we read that Aaron:

“had an altar set up before it and said: 'Tomorrow will be a feast to YHWH.’”

In many translations it says „feast to the Lord,” but the manuscripts have the tetragrammaton. So this celebration was given the character of worshiping the true God. And yet Scripture calls this idolatry. This is a very important lesson: we must not introduce customs or traditions and say, „this is to honor the true God,” if God did not command it, and the very practice is borrowed, similar or even directly taken from pagan cults. Even the use of the holy name does not legitimize such worship—it remains idolatry. In the next verse we read:

“Rising early in the morning, they performed burnt offerings and offered fellowship sacrifices. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

The sacrifices themselves were basically not evil—burnt offerings and fellowship sacrifices had their place in worship. The problem concerned what accompanied them and in what context it was set. Something that could—in the right framework—be an act in honor of the true God, was perverted by introducing a pagan element: an image, an idol. That’s exactly why Paul recalls this example in the context of warning against idolatry and desiring things that God rejects. And here we return to our question about holidays not found in the Bible. If we introduce practices not established by God, justifying them as „beautiful” and „in His honor,” then we are not essentially different from those who declared before the calf a „feast to YHWH.” The fact that something is pleasant, familial, and moving does not constitute God’s authorization. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth, guided by His Word. Scripture says that it is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that we may be prepared for every good work.” If so, let us use its patterns.

Notice as well that the doctrine „once saved, always saved” does not fit with this biblical warning: if it were true, Paul’s argument would make no sense. He shows that the people who experienced God’s grace could still be rejected because of their transgressions. Our age has its own „modern” elements that tempt with attractiveness, aesthetics, spectacle. But that is not a biblical criterion. The criterion is God’s will as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, when faced with the issue of holidays absent from the Bible—such as Christmas—let us refer to biblical examples. Paul did this with the Corinthians; let us do so today, asking: does what we practice stem from God’s command, or rather from human tradition with pagan roots? Does the form of worship remain faithful to the Word, or is it a compromise with what is „beautiful” according to the world? May Scripture, which can make us wise for salvation through faith in the Anointed One Yeshu, guide us in discerning what is pleasing to God. And when we find light in it – let us hold on to it, even if it means giving up practices that evoke warm feelings. Faithfulness to the truth is more important than momentary pleasure, and obedience is better than the most beautiful tradition. In this spirit, let us read, reflect on, and apply the Word – for teaching, convincing, correcting, and training in nobility – so that each of us, as a person of God, is prepared for every good work.

Returning to the Book of Exodus. This is precisely the moment the people stood up, ate, and drank. This is what Paul refers to. And that was the sin – says Paul. It was idolatry, because this was done – that is, there was eating, drinking, and revelry – as part of a ceremony that was not pure. Even though it was declared to be in honor of the true God, it was tainted with paganism. The same thing happens today in Christmas or Easter ceremonies, where there is an abundance of symbols. Not just images – though some also use them in their homes, especially among Catholics – and although they claim it is all in honor of the true God, celebrating the birth of the Son of God, the ceremony itself is often contaminated with pagan elements, just as it was in the first century. And for that, the Israelites were punished.

Since we now know what it was about – that it was a ceremony supposedly in honor of the true God, but with pagan admixtures – let us return to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 10:8 “And let us not give ourselves over to immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.”

So we have a warning not to desire evil (verse six), then – not to eat and drink in an idolatrous way (verse seven). And now – not to engage in any form of immorality. Of course, immorality can be literal, but it can also be symbolic, because God considers the worship of false gods to be spiritual adultery. That is why Israel was repeatedly called a harlot by the prophets – precisely because they engaged in immorality with false deities, introduced foreign cults to the nation of Israel, and also because instead of trusting God, they placed their confidence in politicians, rulers, kings, their strength, and many other things. Because idolatry takes many forms. I think we talked about it last week – even belief in money can be idolatry. In fact, any faith in anything other than God, placing trust in anything other than Him, can be seen by God as a form of idolatry. We should place our hope only in God, and material things, like money, are just tools. Money is a tool for serving God – that is how we should treat it. But to stay on topic, let us return to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 10:9-10 “Let us not put the Anointed to the test, as some of them did and perished by snakes, nor grumble, as some of them grumbled, and perished by the destroyer.”

They grumbled mainly against Moses, but God considered it rebellion against Himself. They died – and this is interesting – by the destroyer. The Bible talks about the angel of destruction who went from place to place, and where he passed, people fell as if someone had switched off their lives. You can imagine it like this: the angel walks, and everyone nearby falls. He went through all of Israel and only – for example, in one case – Aaron stood in the way and in a sense pleaded for the punishment to stop so the angel of destruction would go elsewhere. We have at least two such cases. The second was in the time of King David, when punishment came for his sin. In any case, the point is that the people God brought out of Egyptian bondage and gave a great chance to serve the true God, not demons, did not appreciate this gift and began to look for variety, entertainments, fun, pleasures – just anything to have a good time. They didn’t like the harsh life in the desert. We know they also grumbled about not having meat: they ate manna and said it was better for them in Egypt, in slavery, than here, in freedom. There are many analogies for us here – we should draw wisdom from them, so as not to lose grace with God today because of foolish desires of the flesh, purely carnal things, based on something being “cool,” fun, pleasant; that we want to have a good time, so “let’s do it.”

We read further: “All this happened to them and was written down as an example, to admonish us, upon whom the end of the eons has come.”

We are even closer to the end of the eons than the apostles were, so this word is all the more for us, that we may draw wisdom from this example and not fall into arrogance, thinking “everything is permitted for us,” “once saved, always saved,” so even if we sin, nothing will happen. No, that’s not how it works. The Holy Scripture does not teach this. On the contrary: it teaches that one can fall away from the faith through desires of the flesh, among other things. That is why Paul goes on to warn:

“So, let anyone who thinks they stand take heed lest they fall.”

Let’s not be too sure of ourselves, because we can fall. I found this out three days ago, when I was walking to the store for rolls for breakfast. The road was slippery, I slipped – I didn’t expect it, you could say I wasn’t paying attention, I was walking confidently – and I landed headfirst on the asphalt. People were scared, so was I. I didn’t have the strength to get up, I thought I was going to faint. I didn’t faint, but people helped me up – I couldn’t do it on my own. For me, this is an example that I was careless. If I had been careful, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen, or if I did, it would have been safer, without hitting my head on the hard surface. May we only have such problems as a bump after hitting the asphalt; but let’s not crash in our faith. Because even if we lose our current life in an accident, that is trivial compared to losing the eon-life we are waiting for. If we lose grace with God – only then is there a real problem, a real tragedy. So let us be careful. Paul continues:

“A trial has not overtaken you except what is human. God is faithful and will not allow you to be tried beyond what you are able, but with the trial will also provide a way out, so that you can bear it. Therefore, my beloved! flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise people; judge for yourselves what I say.”

You see, this often quoted verse (“God doesn’t allow us to face trials harder than we can bear”) is not at all only about torture or extreme suffering, but above all is in the context of temptations: to carnality, to celebrating in the wrong way, to eating, drinking, partying, revelry. So here we have a warning not only against Easter or Christmas tainted by pagan influences but also against New Year’s Eve and all kinds of revelry. Let’s learn from this, so we don’t participate in what doesn’t please God. We read further in verses 16–17:

“The cup of blessing, which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Anointed? The bread, which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Anointed? For we, many, are one bread and one body, because we all share of the one bread.”

Paul reminds us that those who have believed in Christ are united in Christ: they participate in His body and blood, and themselves are His body – each like part of an organism – or, in another image, a brick in God’s temple. We are a part of God’s temple. Elsewhere, Paul admonishes not to give our body, being the temple of the Holy Spirit, into the service of fornication. Since this body is for God, let’s not give it to an adulteress nor to debauchery. But let’s return to our context: we have fellowship in the body and blood of Christ. We read further (verse 18 and following):

“Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners of the altar? What am I saying then? That an image [idol] is anything? Or that what is sacrificed to images is anything? But, what they offer, they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to become participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot be participants in the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

Let’s remember: it’s always within the context of “they ate, drank, and feasted”—the sin of idolatry which they committed. At the end, we’ll discuss from another angle what was going on there, but notice that Paul refers to making offerings. Those who made offerings in the temple to God YHWH were participants at the altar. Yet at the same time, pagans made offerings in other temples, and whoever ate those offerings entered into fellowship with pagan worship. Paul insists that we distinguish: we should not have fellowship with those who are in fellowship with demons. Of course, this isn’t about a regular meal at an unbeliever’s birthday party—we’re guests there—but about ceremonies, religious rituals, things of a worshipful nature. Furthermore:

“Are we provoking the Lord?”

The question implies that if we were to do so, we would be provoking God, our Lord Yeshu—just as the Israelites provoked God YHWH when they made the calf and claimed it was in honor of God YHWH; that they were holding a feast for Him. By that single pagan custom, which God did not want, they provoked Him.

“Are we provoking the Lord? Are we stronger than He is? Everything is permitted to me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permitted to me, but not everything builds up.”

Because today we don’t have as detailed a list of commandments as Moses received, it’s easy to think that if the Bible doesn’t directly forbid something, then it’s allowed. In fact, that sounds familiar from civil law too: the citizen is allowed anything that is not prohibited. That way of thinking then forces lawmakers to expand regulations to prohibit as many borderline situations as possible. Nevertheless, in a certain sense you could say: God did not give you a literal prohibition for every specific act. So you won’t find a rule in Scripture saying, “Do not participate in Christmas, Easter, or New Year’s Eve.” Yet from the entirety of revelation, we know what pleases God and what does not. Paul, in his teaching, dealt precisely with such issues: matters that weren’t directly regulated but were still subject to the judgment of conscience and the principle of building up one another. The Corinthians struggled, for example, with meat that had been offered to idols. They had other problems too, as we learn more about in the Book of Revelation. We read further:

“Let no one seek their own, but each (the good) of the other (person). Whatever is sold in the meat market, eat, asking no questions for the sake of conscience;”

Let’s give an example. Suppose dishes from a Christmas Eve table later ended up at a regular market. If they are being treated as ordinary food, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s different if someone clearly notes: “This is in honor of God,” and expects you to eat “in honor of Jesus.” Then you shouldn’t accept it. An ordinary fair is different from a “Christmas fair” precisely in the intention and occasion associated with it. Paul reminds us:

“Whatever is sold in the meat market, eat, asking no questions for the sake of conscience; for the earth is the Lord’s, and all that fills it. And if someone who doesn’t believe invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience. But if someone says: This was offered as a sacrifice—do not eat, for the sake of the one who disclosed it and for conscience’s sake.”

And he immediately adds:

“I’m speaking of conscience, not your own, but that of the other; for why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with gratitude, why should I be slandered for that for which I give thanks? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

This frequently quoted verse has an important clarification: not every “feast” is for the glory of the same God, and not every form of worship aligns with God’s will. It can happen that someone invites us to a meal that turns out to be part of a religious ceremony—even a school “Christmas Eve,” which by then is already a religious act, not just a regular, neutral gathering. So as not to put children in a difficult situation of conscience, on such days I simply didn’t send them. The principle is simple:to eat and drink – and whatever we do – we should do “in honor” of the true God; at most, in honor of our Lord Yeshu, through whom honor returns to the Father. Not in honor of deities about whom Paul writes directly that demons actually stand behind them. And here lies the tragedy: people are convinced they are giving glory to the true God, while, according to the apostle, they are giving it to demons. “What they offer, they offer to demons, and not to God” – so we cannot “partake at the table of demons.” We must remain vigilant and wise: to apply ancient examples to modern practices, so that we know how to proceed when someone urges us to take part in rituals or feasts of a religious nature. These are not ordinary, family gatherings – above all, they have a cultic dimension.

“Be (people who) give no cause for stumbling either to Judeans or Hellenes [Greeks], or to the congregation of God,”

Let us imitate Paul’s attitude, who says:

“As I also strive to please everyone in everything, not seeking my own advantage, but that of the many, so that they may be saved.”

Let us seek the glory of God, that which builds up; let us not hide behind the slogan “I have the right,” since it might offend a brother or sister. Maybe our conscience allows something, but if another person’s conscience does not – it is better to give something up than to lead someone astray. This is practical instruction derived from Paul’s teaching. There is no direct word there about Christmas, but the conclusions are clear: we may be called to salvation, receive the privilege of the Holy Spirit, undergo immersion in Yeshu’s name, and call ourselves brothers and sisters – and yet, if we feast at the table of demons, we will not find favor with God. We are to draw lessons from the history of Israel: their failures were described so that we understand what does not please God.

So let us turn to the Book of Revelation, written after the death of the apostle Paul, when tendencies began to emerge whose fruit we see today, for example in the figure of “Nicholas.”

Revelation 2:14-16 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those holding to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to set a trap before the sons of Israel, through the eating of offerings to images and sexual immorality. So you also have those holding in the same way to the teaching of the Nicolaitans [followers of Nicholas]. So correct your reasoning! But if not – I am coming to you quickly and will fight them with the sword of my mouth.”

Note: it is about people who believed in Christ, belonged to the community of the called, yet committed what God condemns. They did not take the lesson from the story described in the Second Book of Moses and from events associated with Balaam, who taught Balak how to bring destruction upon Israel. Let me briefly recall this story, as it is very instructive.

Balaam was not an Israelite, yet he had the Spirit of God. It was known of him that his blessing brought blessing, and a curse – disaster; the Spirit of God revealed His will to him. How is this possible? Perhaps it is a remnant of earlier, true worship of God outside Israel – as with Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, who also was not an Israelite. Balaam came from the area through which Abraham once traveled; a tradition of true worship could have survived there. Previously, after all, there were people like Job – also not from the nation of Israel – who knew the true God and served Him. Only later did deviations cause authentic faith to concentrate in Israel; and when Christ came, even there it was mostly a remnant, since religious leaders went in the wrong direction: they deceived the people, persecuted the prophets, and distorted the teaching. But that is a topic for another conversation.

Returning to Balaam. He was in contact with the Holy Spirit and was known for the power of his word. When the local peoples could not cope with Israel – which was taking possession of the lands promised by God – they reached for a “spiritual weapon.” The princes came to Balaam, asking him to curse Israel, convinced that then they would win. They offered a fortune. At first, Balaam refused, but in the end yielded to the pressure. The Angel said to him: “Go with them, but say only what I tell you.”And Balaam went. He experienced dramatic events along the way, and when he tried to curse, he was unable: instead of cursing, he blessed, because that was how the Spirit of God led him. He couldn’t manage to curse them. But that’s not the end of this story or the warning that comes from it. This desire for gain—because the Bible says he did it for payment, simply for money—caused him to look for another way. And in his cunning, he suggested to Balak, the king who hired him, what to do so that God himself would strike Israel.

It is this very example that the Book of Revelation refers to, showing that the Nicolaitans do the same: what they do brings ruin upon people, even though they are followers of Christ. After all, we often hear, “You believe in Christ—you will be saved.” However, it turns out that their faith can be defiled.

The trap involved eating sacrifices offered to idols and debauchery. This is exactly what Paul spoke about earlier: “they rose up, ate, drank, and had fun.” That was the sin. Why? Because even though they supposedly did it for the name of YHWH, they made an idol, and on top of that, they mixed with the local women. Balaam suggested a way to seduce Israel: “be nice to them, welcome them warmly, be hospitable to them; let your women approach them, let them please them”—and that’s what happened. The Israelites fell into immorality with these women, ate and drank at feasts of a religious nature—and that was enough, even though they had earlier been under the cloud and passed through the Red Sea, for God to become angry with them and decide on their death. As a warning also for us. Why? So that we know you don’t “get away with it”: if we participate in foreign religious ceremonies—foreign, meaning not based on the Holy Scriptures, not stemming from a clear command from God, but arranged by humans, often borrowed from other beliefs—we find ourselves out of favor. And we shouldn’t count on salvation then. So let’s learn in order to avoid this evil. Even today, avoid holidays of a religious nature, feasting with relatives or friends “because it’s fun,” if the event has questionable connections. Also, New Year’s Eve and other customs with a suspicious background—let’s simply avoid them.

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Glory to Yeshu!!!