THE WAY OF CAIN, BALAAM, AND CORE

Jude 11 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 continues, by analogy, to describe false prophets, preachers, and teachers as certain men that crept into the church of Christ unawares, as ...ungodly men (Vs. 4), filthy dreamers (Vs. 8), and those that ...speak evil of the things which they know not (Vs. 10). And here, in the lesson text, he says Woe unto them! That is, great sorrow, grief, trouble, and misery, Jude says by inspiration, will be the just reward of such ungodly men, if not here on earth, at least in their future life to come in the hereafter.

Why? Jude writes that the first reason is because they have gone in the way of Cain. Like Cain, their lives are filled with selfish pride and hate for others. As Cain took the physical life of his brother, Abel, so also do false teachers, by teaching a doctrine that opposes the will of God, lead others in a path that will destroy their spiritual souls. Both are considered to be murders in the sight of God. As did Cain, so do false teachers openly despise the authority of God, and disobey His commandments. Both are envious, and covet that which belongs to others. Both disregard God's righteousness, and replace it with their own self-righteous ways. Both lack the love required by God, and have hatred in their hearts for their brethren. The apostle John says this about hatred: Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15). The world is full of false teachers that have gone in the way of Cain.

The second reason, woe will be the lot of all false teachers, is because they run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward. Reading from the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters 22 through 24 we learn that Balaam was a man of God, endowed with the gift of prophecy, and evidently well regarded throughout the known world during his lifetime. Balak, the king of Moab, knew of him, and sent for his prophetic services to curse the Israelites and allow their defeat. Prevented by God, Balaam first refused to do so. However, he was later offered riches and prestige by Balak, and yielded to the temptations of earthly wealth and honor. God intervened and turned Balaam's curses into blessings. But greed prevailed, and Balaam convinced the Moabites, who lost the immediate battle at hand, to seduce Israel lureing them into committing fornication. Without great military armies, Israel was subdued by the Moabites by enticing them to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and to worship the god of the Moabites, Baal-peor. Peter sums up this analogy when he wrote this about false teachers: (they) have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet. 2:15). Such has been true of false teachers throughout all ages, and certainly is evident in today's "religious" society. When tempted, false teachers run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward.

Finally, Jude says that false teachers have, in the past, and will continue to, parish as in the gainsaying of Core. A gainsayer is one that opposes, contradicts, speaks or acts against, or denies the message and/or the authority of another. The person here translated Core, is the same as Korah described in Numbers 16:1, as the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. Reading the remainder of this chapter of Numbers we find Korah was a leader of a rebellion against the commandments of God, that was given to the children of Israel, through Moses and Aaron. No doubt Korah's unrestrained, arrogant, and selfishly proud characteristics led him to demonstrate a contemptible disdain for the authority of God's chosen leaders of the children of Israel. Because of his rebellious attitude God, meted out punishment against him, his family, and his followers, by causing an earthquake to open up and swallow them beneath the earth. Because of his evil speaking, Korah perished. His story, and the punishment he received, has been given to us as an example of what God has in store for all false prophets, preachers, and teachers that rebel against His will, speak out in opposition to His commandments, and teach others to follow their same sinful ways.

The false teachers referred to here, are described as ungodly men. They openly opposed the authority and teaching of Jesus Christ, His apostles, and all other inspired disciples that had been chosen to preach God's Word throughout the world. Jude writes, 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. Like Cain, they are selfish and full of hate; like Balaam, they seek personal gain and honor by their teaching; like Core, they openly oppose God's authority and His holy will. Such false teachers will perish eternally!