<p>1:11 <i>Woe to them For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah</i>- Cain, Balaam and Korah represent a heady mix of lust for money, power and sex. I mention &quot;sex&quot; because this was the method used by Balaam to entice Israel to sin so that they would fall, and thereby he could receive the promised &quot;hire&quot; from Balak. Those men were all within the community of God's people in Old Testament times. The past tense &quot;perished&quot; implies they had already been condemned; but that condemnation was still going to be ministered to them at the last day. They were the living dead, already &quot;perished&quot;. Balaam &quot;ran&quot; for reward, so wanting to do Balak's will in order to receive the promised &quot;hire&quot;; and the Angel and donkey tried to arrest him in his headlong rush. He paid no attention, just as the efforts of Jude and Peter to arrest the madness of these men were not being heeded.</p><p>The condemned amongst the first century ecclesias &quot;cast themselves away through the error of Balaam&quot; (Jude 11 RVmg.)- and yet it is the Lord who will &quot;cast away&quot; the bad fish in the last day. Yet those He casts away have in fact cast themselves away. Those who lay in wait for others to kill them &quot;lay wait for their own blood, they lurk privily for their own lives&quot; (Prov. 1:11,18). There is a <i>direct</i> relationship, in God's judgment, between how we treat others and what will happen to us.</p>