Q&A—another concern about Balaam
The reference to the Old Testament story of Balaam and Balak continues to throw people, mostly because these guys aren’t household names, but also because it’s challenging to try to figure out what kind of relationship Balaam had with God.

Q: Question 7 in this lesson asks us to read the book of Numbers 22:1—24:5, when to get the full story of what happened between Balaam and Balak. I had to read the book of Numbers 22:1—25:5. Even then I couldn’t see what he’d done wrong. I had to search other Scripture passages, and then I could see that he was being blamed for what happened in the book of Numbers 25:1-5. I saw he had gone home at the end of the twenty-fourth chapter in the book of Numbers, so I still didn’t see what he’d done. It also confused me why God got mad at him for going on the trip when God told him he could go. Only after reading the commentaries in several different translations of the Bible, did I realize that his avaricious love of money may have caused him to give bad advice to the Moabites, and maybe he got paid after all. There are several places in the New Testament (including in the Second Letter of Peter 2:15) in which Balaam is blamed for the sins of the Israelites with the Moabites. We couldn’t possibly have time to fully discuss it in our groups, so I summarized it and included the comments of the commentaries before class began. That way the long story didn’t take up class time.

A: [Here’s the updated question; the revised Scripture range for the book of Numbers will be reflected in subsequent printings. Question 7 (Read the book of Revelation 2:12–17; the instruction with Question 6 still applies). What does Jesus criticize about the church in Pergamum? Refer to the book of Numbers 22:1—25:5 to learn about Balaam and Balak. Why might the author have wanted to mention them? What do they have in common with the Nicolaitans? What warning does Jesus give to those in Pergamum who fail to repent? How will those who conquer be rewarded? How are these blessings related to the temptations overcome by those in Pergamum who conquer?]

Thank you for your insightful comment. We agree with you that it’s necessary to read a long section of the book of Numbers to even begin to understand Balaam. He’s not an Old Testament figure with whom most Christians are familiar. That means that the reason Jesus is so critical of Balaam’s behavior in the letter to the angel of the Christian community in Pergamum isn’t obvious in the present day. We also think that the amount of Scripture we were asking people to refer to in conjunction with Question 7 borders on excessive. We couldn’t see any good way around it, given that we’re sure almost no one will come into this study knowing much of anything about Balaam. That Scripture range may be a typo, though. It’s entirely possible that we originally intended to include material up to and including the book of Numbers 25:5. We’ll correct future printings of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness to extend that range. (As an aside, we never think it’s a problem when someone chooses to read more Scripture than we suggest in order to better understand what’s going on. There is, however, a limit on how much extra Scripture we’re comfortable including in our study books.)

Most studies of the book of Revelation gloss over the letters to the seven Christian communities. It’s tempting to skip what we don’t understand. Our study doesn’t do that, but as you correctly point out, to fully delve into the details of what’s going on with Balaam requires a lot more time than is available to most discussion groups. It was wise of you to summarize what you gleaned from your preparation. Obviously, if Jesus thought Balaam important enough to mention, we should be trying to understand why. But while the author of the book of Revelation could expect his audience in Pergamum to know what he was writing about, very few present-day Christians have heard of Balaam, let alone know why God is offended by Balaam’s behavior—and that part is tough.

The thing to look for, as you did, is this: What does this mention of Balaam tell us in the present day about God and about God’s expectations regarding Christian behavior? There’s not an easy or straightforward explanation. You landed on what might have been motivating Balaam to behave the way he did. Greed is one explanation that fits, especially when we look at the Second Letter of Peter 2:15. To our way of thinking, greed seems almost too easy an answer, but that doesn’t mean greed isn’t an important element. It definitely doesn’t mean that your interpretation is wrong or that greed isn’t what Jesus is cautioning against. But greed isn’t the only way to look at that New Testament mention of Balaam.

The online study pages contain a lot of extra information, and much of it is related to material that didn’t fit in the books or to questions or comments other participants have had. In this particular instance, we’d previously responded to a related question about Balaam. It isn’t necessary that you agree with our thinking, but it may have saved you some time to look at the online study page when you were preparing for your discussion. Had you contacted us prior to your group meeting, we might have been able to save you some frustration as well.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness is a tough study, and Balaam and the Nicolaitans in Lesson 3 are among the more obscure references we’ll encounter. Oddly, the bizarre images used throughout the book of Revelation seem easier for most of us to wrap our heads around. It may aid your understanding of Balaam to think about what he and the Nicolaitans have in common. Jesus seems to be lumping them together in the letter to the Christian community in Pergamum. The human desire to know or to appear to know supernatural things that are intended to be generally inaccessible to men and women seems to be a factor here. The Church calls this Gnoticism, and it’s considered a heresy.

In the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps identifies the criticism against false doctrine leveled at the community in Pergamum as perhaps the thing that present-day Christians should be focusing on. Matthew is careful to point out that as important as right doctrine is, it ultimately will be more productive to concentrate on our behavior and on making choices based on the will of God. Your idea that greed is the cause of God’s anger speaks to Balaam’s behavioral choices.

What makes the example of Balaam especially difficult is that—like legitimate prophets, most of whom show up much later in Scripture—he’s able to speak for God. The question we need to ask, then, is this: Why is God so angry with him? It’s a legitimate question, and we should be considering what about Balaam’s situation is relevant in the present day. Greed may indeed play a big part in Balaam’s behavior. The Second Letter of Peter certainly describes that, and you’re free to stop there. God speaks to us through the questions we encounter when we read Scripture. Thinking about Balaam suggested something different to us, and you can read where that led in the earlier posted Q&A and related information on this study page.

What would be a serious mistake would be to decide that because we don’t get who Balaam is or what’s going on between him and God, then he’s not important enough to bother with—and further, that he’s irrelevant to present-day Christianity. When we were thinking about the focus of this lesson, it really wasn’t possible to exclude a reference to Balaam from the questions, although we know this opens up some confusing issues. It’s terrific that you didn’t make the mistake of writing him off.

if it’s any consolation, this reference to Balaam probably is one of the most difficult things we’ll encounter in our study of the book of Revelation. But there are definitely more challenges to come.

Jesus doesn’t hate the Nicolaitans
An intriguing theme in the second chapter in the book of Revelation has to do with the Nicolaitans, whose works are singled out for special criticism by Jesus Christ. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that he hates the Nicolaitans themselves, only their works. This is reminiscent of a parent saying to a child: “I love you, but I don’t love what you’re doing.” Divine criticism in the book of Revelation amounts to criticism of what humanity is or isn’t doing. This means that the way for men and women to please God is through our behavior. “Heresy” on page 23 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness addresses the particular heresy of the Nicolaitans, and it’s one that remains popular in the modern world.

?  What are the works of the Nicolaitans?
?  Why does Jesus hate these works so much?
?  Consider what it is that the Nicolaitans worship more than God.
?  What are some of the false idols prevalent in the secular world in the present day?
?  What dangers related to false worship might exist even within the Church?

there’s a lot of tribulation in the book of Revelation
So far, we’ve encountered the word “tribulation” four times in the biblical text for this study. The letter to the angel of the Christian community in Smyrna twice mentions tribulation, and in the book of Revelation 2:10 tribulation is linked to the number 10. Tribulation refers to suffering. When we run across the number 10 elsewhere in the book of Revelation, we should ask ourselves if in those instances the number 10 also is used in connection with tribulation and suffering.

the popes inspire us—love is a weapon to use against idolatry
In a homily given on October 15, 2013, Pope Francis addressed idolatry among present-day Christians, saying: “All of us have some form of hidden idol. We may ask ourselves in front of God: What is my hidden idol, that which occupies the place of God?” As a weapon against idolatry and hypocrisy, the Holy Father suggests increased love of God above all else paired with love of neighbor. “It’s so simple, yet very difficult! This only can be done through grace,” the Pope said.

Q&A—what’s going on with Jezebel?
One sharp-eyed participant noticed that Jezebel, who’s mentioned by name in the book of Revelation 2:20–23, isn’t mentioned at all in the online glossary for this Turning to God’s Word Bible study. We apologize for the mistake, which now has been remedied. It’s our intention that the glossaries include every proper noun in the biblical text, and we’re glad to learn about any that we’ve missed. (At this writing, not all of the Turning to God’s Word studies have online glossaries, but we hope to add more over time.)

Q:  I love your online lessons and glossaries and appreciate the effort and extra nuggets of information you include in them. I found Balaam and Balak there and went looking for Jezebel in the Revelation glossary, but she wasn’t included. I read somewhere that what Ahab’s Jezebel did to the Israelites, this false prophetess Jezebel did to the Christians.

A: Thank you for pointing out that we failed to include Jezebel in the Revelation glossary. While this notorious queen is mentioned by name in the letter to the angel of the Christian community in Thyatira, it’s not completely obvious what Jezebel has been teaching that Jesus finds so objectionable. It’s apparent from the context that the Jezebel in Thyatira isn’t the same person as the Jezebel who appears in the eighteenth through twenty-first chapters in the First Book of the Kings (she would have been long dead), but Jesus clearly is implying that there’s some sort of link between the wife of Ahab and the false prophetess in the book of Revelation. Your suggestion makes sense. What Ahab’s wife Jezebel did in leading Israelites away from the worship of God well may be similar to what the false prophetess Jezebel has been doing to Christians trying to worship God in Thyatira. In both cases, a woman named or referred to as Jezebel is leading God’s people to certain death. The name Jezebel, surprisingly enough, means “pure” or “virginal.” [Editor’s note: Go figure.] You can learn more about Ahab and Jezebel and their reign over the northern kingdom of Israel in Lessons 6 Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath through Lesson 14 Jezebel’s Violent Death in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

the popes inspire us—more about the first & last
In the final book of the New Testament, first and last are represented by alpha and omega. “First & Last” on page 21 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness is an excerpt from Ecclesia in Europa (The Church in Europe). In it, Pope St. John Paul II reflects on the biblical text on which this lesson is based in order to explain that all of history finds its meaning and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The saint also makes a profound statement about the seven stars that are mentioned in the book of Revelation 1:16 and 1:20—and that are tied to the theme of completion woven throughout the book of Revelation. You can find links to other magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents.

a reflection on the morning star
In the book of Revelation 2:28, Jesus promises faithful Christians in Thyatira that he’ll give them the morning star. It isn’t easy to understand exactly what Jesus means by this image, especially when present-day scientific understanding muddies the water by identifying the ancient morning star as the planet Venus. Jesus clearly isn’t planning on giving his faithful followers a planet. The following meditation is by Damasus Winzen, O.S.B., originally from Maria Laach Abbey in Germany, who founded Mount Savior monastery near Elmira, New York, in 1951. He died 20 years later.

In perfect obedience to his heavenly Father, the star of Christ has run its course. His death on the cross was his setting as the evening star. His Resurrection was his rising as the morning star. All those who die with him in Baptism and open themselves to his light have become sons and daughters of the morning star, sons and daughters of God. When the last day dawns, the day star will arise in their hearts and they will hear from the lips of the risen Savior the blessed words: “I will give you the morning star.”

how soon is soon?
Lesson 2 Behold I Am Alive For Evermore in this Bible study included a look at the more obvious unanswered questions we still have about the book of Revelation. There are quite a few things about which we’d like to learn more.

?  What is it that this book of Scripture is revealing?
?  When Jesus Christ says that he’s coming “soon,” what kind of time frame do we think he actually has in mind?
?  Is John’s apocalyptic vision intended to be understood as universal, or is he writing about something that will be experienced universally by people at an individual level?

the second Comforting Mystery of the Rosary—Jesus lives & acts in his Church
The second Comforting Mystery of the Rosary, a set of Mysteries often used in private prayer by Catholics living in German-speaking countries, is “Jesus lives and acts in his Church.” In our second lesson in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, we studied the importance of the fact that Jesus is alive. Our third and fourth lessons are connected to the remainder of the second Comforting Mystery, “Jesus acts in his Church,” which is apparent in the series of letters dictated by Jesus to be sent to the seven churches. You can learn more about the traditional Mysteries of the Rosary in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels. Free digital lessons from that Bible study are available on our website on a rotating basis throughout the liturgical year.

?  How can Jesus be seen to be living and acting in Church parishes today?
?  How does Jesus’ ongoing presence as a living force within the Church touch your own life?

pray the traditional mysteries of the Rosary
We invite you to pray the Rosary along with Turning to God’s Word co-founder Tami Palladino and her daughter Anne Marie. The prayers can be found at how to pray the Rosary, along with Tami and Anne Marie’s videos of each of the traditional Rosary Mysteries—the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous. Click on the diagram (right) to link to their how-to video. Visit the study directory of our most popular Catholic Bible study, Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, for more information about the Rosary and access to free online lessons.

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however.

the book of Revelation 2:1—3:22—paragraph 401
the book of Revelation 2:5—paragraph 1429
the book of Revelation 2:16—paragraph 1429
the book of Revelation 2:17—paragraphs 1025, 2159

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the cross references pertaining to it—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

review previous lessons
As we progress through the book of Revelation, the images become more complex, increasing the potential for confusion. To help participants in our study keep track of what’s happening in the Scripture, we’ve prepared a chapter-by-chapter review of key events and images in the book of Revelation. A link can be found at the top of every online study page that accompanies The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Revelation 2:1–29 (NIV)

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lessonMany of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Revelation.

O God, you sent your Son to establish your Church on earth.
Grant that we in our parish communities
may not be led astray by false present-day idols.
Help us to listen to what the Spirit has to say,
that we may repent and be numbered among those who conquer.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
who conquers with the sharp, two-edged sword of truth. Amen.

Lesson 4 He Who Has an Ear, Let Him Hear, the book of Revelation 3:1–22
Lesson 2 Behold, I Am Alive for Evermore, the book of Revelation 1:9–20

you also may like our study of Scripture & the Rosary
Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, a 26-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, looks at the biblical foundations of the Rosary. The study includes lessons on Pope St. John Paul II’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Virgin Mary), the Apostles’ Creed, and the Luminous Mysteries as well as the original 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. Color photographs of stained glass windows depict key scenes in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Free digital lessons rotate throughout the year on our website.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions and offer support. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online pages of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.