One of the first tactics the false prophets and teachers will use in the “last days” for their campaign of deception launched against Israel’s believing remnant will be infiltration.

“When the Lord Jesus says there are going to be wolves in sheep’s clothing, the idea is they’re going to impersonate the ‘little flock,’ ” explains my preacher, Alex Kurz. “In other words, these impostors—that’s why Peter says their ‘feasting among you.’ ”

Specifically, Peter describes them as “spots” and “blemishes” who are “sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you.”

“I think on Thanksgiving we all pretty much knew everybody we sat down to eat with,” says Kurz. “There’s a familiarity there. Rarely do you go to someone’s home and there’s a complete stranger there. If they’re feasting with the ‘little flock,’ that clearly tells us there’s fellowship, there’s camaraderie, and yet, what is Peter saying? ‘They’re deceivers. They’re infiltrating privily.’

“Jude says, and I love the way he describes these guys—‘they creep in.’ They don’t knock on the door with a banner saying, ‘I am a flaming apostate and my desire is to victimize you and to lead you astray.’ These false prophets and teachers creep in like a bunch of roaches under your door and, you know, when you expose the light, what happens? They scatter.

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Both Peter and Jude identify a specific false prophet for which “Balaam is the poster child,” says Kurz. “Balaam, back there in Numbers 22, behaves in such a way that serves as a pattern for what’s going to happen in the 70^th Week. You can just check off the characteristics.”

‘One of the more obvious ones is he’s double-minded. Remember what James says: ‘The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ Remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said: ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’ Well, look at what Peter says in II Peter 2:15: ‘Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.’

“What is the way of Balaam? Jude will identify the way. He says, ‘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.’

“What was the way of Cain? Why did Cain kill his brother Abel? Remember what the Lord said to Cain? ‘God had respect unto Abel’s sacrifice.’ Why? Because Abel believed God’s Word and responded in faith to the claims of the Lord, bringing the proper sacrifice. Cain thought the fruit of his own labor was equal to the lamb Abel brought. The way of Cain is simply the rejection of the claims of God; rejection of God’s Word and doing things in your own way.

“When it says they ‘ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,’ what we’re going to find out regarding Balaam . . . listen, he was a professional denominationalist! He was a professional theologian.

“In other words, what Peter and Jude are warning the ‘little flock’ against is the professional institution of religion that takes the Bible and imposes it on the ‘little flock,’ going greedily after the paycheck. We’re going to find out that as they creep into various homes, they’re being financially rewarded.

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From II Peter 2, we know one of the primary teachings of the false prophets and teachers is to ‘deny the Lord that bought them.’ As Kurz explains, “One of the principle doctrines of heresy in the 70^th Week by those theological professors and teachers is they’re going to take the Old Testament—Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy—and teach it and impose it upon the nation of Israel, denying the claims of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. No. 1, they deny the Lord Jesus Christ.”

II Peter 3 warns that they deny the doctrine of wrath, too. Kurz explains, “What did Balak want Balaam to do against Israel? Balaam tried to curse Israel and couldn’t do it. It’s interesting that when there was an attempt to curse Israel, it couldn’t be done, but when God now says, ‘I’m going to curse Israel,’ guess what the false prophets in the 70^th Week teach? ‘There is no wrath,’ and they’ll use the Bible to do it.

“You know why water baptism was extremely important (during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry)? ‘To flee the wrath to come.’ John the Baptist didn’t say, ‘Oh, if you want to demonstrate your faith to God, get wet,’ as a sign and all that kind of baloney. He said, ‘You’re coming for water baptism to flee the wrath to come.’

“Isn’t that what Peter said in Acts 2 when the audience—they were pricked in their heart and said, ‘What must we do?’ and Peter says, ‘Save yourself from this untoward generation.’ How do you save yourself from the wrath that’s going to break out? ‘Repent and be baptized.’ Water baptism is to escape wrath.

“You see why it’s inconsistent for a Believer today to get water baptized? Are we fleeing the Fifth Course? Are we fleeing the Lord’s Day of wrath today? Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles says about the dispensation of grace, ‘Grace and peace.’ God’s extending His love, mercy and longsuffering. God’s not threatening us with His Lord’s Day of wrath.

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Peter assures in II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

He goes on in the next verse, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Kurz explains, “You see why Peter has to say that? Because there is this general teaching by the institution of religion that denies the Fifth Course of Judgment. Do you understand that the Israelite in the Lord’s Day believes they’re immune from judgment; immune from wrath?

“Their teaching and perspective was God’s going to destroy the Gentiles, and their attitude was that they’re God’s favored people, possessing a privileged status before God and as Jews. ‘As Israelites, we’re immune from any kind of punishment. Punishment is reserved for everybody else.’ ”

(Editor’s Note: To be continued . . . )