quote:

---

Originally posted by <Cedric>:
False prophets can give true predictions (Balam) and true prophets can fall into error (Jonah). But prophecy from God will come to pass.

---

"The fate of Balaam was similar to that of Judas, and their characters bear a marked resemblance to each other. Both these men tried to unite the service of God and mammon, and met with signal failure. Balaam acknowledged the true God, and professed to serve Him; Judas believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and united with His followers. But Balaam hoped to make the service of Jehovah the steppingstone to the acquirement of riches and worldly honor; and failing in this he stumbled and fell and was broken. Judas expected by his connection with Christ to secure wealth and promotion in that worldly kingdom which, as he believed, the Messiah was about to set up. The failure of his hopes drove him to apostasy and ruin. Both Balaam and Judas had received great light and enjoyed special privileges, but a single cherished sin poisoned the entire character and caused their destruction."
{PP 452.1}

"Balaam was once a good man and a prophet of God; but he had apostatized, and had given up to covetousness; yet he still professed to be a servant of the Most High."
{PP 439.2}

"Balaam confessed that he came with the purpose of cursing Israel, but the words he uttered were directly contrary to the sentiments of his heart. He was constrained to pronounce blessings, while his soul was filled with curses."
{PP 447.1}

"At Balaam's suggestion, a grand festival in honor of their gods was appointed by the king of Moab, and it was secretly arranged that Balaam should induce the Israelites to attend. He was regarded by them as a prophet of God, and hence had little difficulty in accomplishing his purpose. Great numbers of the people joined him in witnessing the festivities. They ventured upon the forbidden ground, and were entangled in the snare of Satan. Beguiled with music and dancing, and allured by the beauty of heathen vestals, they cast off their fealty to Jehovah. As they united in mirth and feasting, indulgence in wine beclouded their senses and broke down the barriers of self-control. Passion had full sway; and having defiled their consciences by lewdness, they were persuaded to bow down to idols. They offered sacrifice upon heathen altars and participated in the most degrading rites."
{PP 454.3}

"Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord."

1 Samuel 10:10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

Joshua 13:22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

22. The soothsayer. Balaam was a one time a prophet of God, but sold himself for reward and honor, and degraded his position as a prophet until he became known as a soothsayer. After returning home from his unsuccessful attempt to curse the camp of Israel, Balaam decided to resort to other means to obtain the reward offered by Balak. Returning to the land of Moab, he persuaded the Moabites to entice the children of Israel into idolatry and immorality. The plan was successful. For thus opposing God’s people Balaam shared the fate of God’s enemies in the destruction that fell upon the Midianites (Num. 25:16–18).

Soothsayer. One claiming to possess the special gift of accurately determining the destiny and predicting the future of individuals and nations. By recourse to various occult arts they made their computations, divinations, and subtle prognostications.
In the OT “soothsayer” is the translation of: (1) a form of the Aramaic gezar (Dan 2:27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, KJV), “to decide (destiny),” “to determine (destiny),” hence “astrologers”; (2) a form of the Heb. Ôanan (Deut 18:10, 14, RSV; Is 2:6; Mic 5:12), “to make appear,” “to raise spirits,” “to practice soothsaying”; (3) a form of the Heb. qasam (Jos 13:22), “to practice divination.”
In the NT the form “soothsaying” is found in Acts 16:16 as a translation of the Gr. manteuomai, “to divine,” “to practice soothsaying.” This term consistently appears in the LXX to describe the work of a lying prophet (Deut 18:10; 1 Sa 28:8; Eze 13:6), and is to be understood in this sense in Acts 16:16. The careful avoidance of manteuomai, “to divine,” and the frequent use of propheµteuoµ, “to prophesy,” by the NT writers in describing the work of God’s representatives is significant.