Jude 14-16
(14) It was about these men that Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying,
"Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, (15) to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (From non-Scriptural writings.)
(16) These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
These are more characteristics of the false teachers Jude has been warning us against.
Stay away from these people, they will be judged by the Lord. Depart from them, so that you won't be influenced by them, and suffer their punishments with them.
O my Father, You are so good to describe all the sundry and varied traits of these evil people who have sneaked into Your church, the tares that the enemy has sown with the good seed. Please help Your children to identify these wicked people, to call them out and stay away from them.
Father, help Your children to be strong in the Lord, and to strengthen one another against these evil, wicked men and women.
Gather all of your lost sheep, Father; help us to rescue them from the brambles and the pits and the very fire of Hell!
Fill Your great house with Your children, and may every place at Your grand banquet table be occupied; that we all will spend eternity in sweet fellowship with You and one another!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Jude 12-13
Jude gives us some more characteristics of these false teachers:
These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;
A reef will sink your boat. You can't see it, it's hidden below the surface, but it's deadly. And here they are, freely enjoying the dinner service, stuffing their faces without a care.
They are the ones you wouldn't suspect, unless you looked below the surface to see what their motivations are. So we need to get to know our leaders, to discern why they're really there.
clouds without water, carried along by winds;
Clouds bring the promise of rain, but these are empty. They are carried along by every wind of gossip or worldly idea that blows.
autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
It's by their fruits you shall know them, but they have no fruit that is not withered and dead, and their roots cannot drink up the spiritual nourishment that will give them life. They are dead these two ways.
wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam;
(The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Isaiah 57: 20.)
Wild sea waves are a picture of chaos, that works against God's order. And what these teachers cast up out of their own lifestyles is shameful.
wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
The word wandering is planetes, which means "an erratic teacher" who "wanders;" this word comes from planos, "an impostor or misleader, deceiver, seducing." So these teachers are trying to seduce their hearers into deceptive ideas, that lead away from knowing God.
And since they have refused God's Light, then they have chosen darkness, which will last forever.
We must be able to recognize these teachers who are in our churches today. We need to call them out on their misuse of Scripture in taking verses out of context. And we are to deal with these erring teachers in a gentle and caring manner, to set them aright with God's Truth that will set them free.
And if your church has already lost its way, then you must have the courage and strength to leave it and find another congregation that is true to the purity of God's Word. This takes much prayer and leaning on our Lord's leading here.
O my Father, may Your children be strong in Your grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we seek Your face and Your pure Truth of Your Word, connecting the dots to understand Your ways and Your plans for each of us, in our place in Your grand Plan of the Ages.
Strengthen us, Father, in the power of Your might through Your Spirit in us, to follow You in Your footsteps in the path You have placed our feet upon; that narrow road that leads to Light and Life eternal.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Jude 11
Woe unto them!
Now Jude is going to tell us of some more of the characteristics of these false teachers.
For they have gone in the way of Cain,
Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's first children. And we're told that God accepted Abel's sacrifice of a lamb, but He didn't acknowledge Cain's offering of his vegetables (Genesis 4: 3-5.) And Cain murdered his brother, Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous (I John 3: 12.)
So these false teachers may be trying to get rid of the those who are teaching righteousness.
And ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,
Balak, the king of Moab was afraid of the Israelites, and hired Balaam to curse them for him. But God told him not to go, for these were God's people and were not to be cursed, because they were blessed (Numbers 22: 12).
But Balaam went anyway, because he was greedy for the reward Balak promised him. God put blessings in his mouth for the Israelites, which made Balak angry, so Balaam conspired to make the people sin so that God would curse them.
So we need to discern if the teacher we're considering to hire is overly concerned about the remuneration he or she would receive.
And perished in the gainsaying of Korah.
Korah was a Levite of the family of Kohath (Numbers 16: 1). The Kohathites had a very high position in the handling of the Tabernacle in the desert--they had the responsibility for the holy items inside the tent (Numbers 4: 4). They were not allowed to look on them, but after the Priests would cover them and pack everything for moving, then the Kohathites would be permitted to come in and carry out all the sacred furniture to the next place of the camp (Numbers 4: 15).
Korah teamed up with Dathan and Abiram, who were not even of the tribe of Levi, but of Reuben. And they gathered two hundred and fifty of the princes of Israel, and confronted Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16: 1-2).
They accused them of lording their power over the people, and that the people were just as holy and had as much authority as Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16: 3). They didn't consider God's order of authority at all, but wanted as much status as the top guys.
Because of the disrespect they showed God and His ways, the ground opened up and swallowed them and all they had (Numbers 16: 32-33), and fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred fifty who were offering incense (Numbers 16: 35).
So they all perished. God is serious about His order of authority. And when there are people in the church who are reaching above their position, we need to take note of who they are, and speak out. We cannot allow the Truth of God's Word to be diluted or twisted or discounted in our churches.
Too many have already gone down this path, and are no longer God's church, but are just Christian in name.
We need to be alert to discern who would be displaying these characteristics: if they seem overly concerned about their paycheck more than caring for the people, or if they don't seem to respect God's order of authority in the church, or if they seem like they're against others who are righteously teaching God's Word faithfully and accurately.
O my Father, please help us to keep the purity of Your Truth as You have given it to us in Your written Word. Teach us how to deal with people who err in this, to set them aright, or remove them from having influence in our congregations, with gentleness and firmness.
And Father, when Your children realize that their local church has strayed from Your righteousness, give them the strength and courage to leave those congregations and lead them to Your faithful assemblies.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Jude 8-10
(8) Yet in the same way
These false teachers who have sneaked into the church are just like the angels who did not keep their own domain that we saw yesterday, that were imprisoned in eternal bonds for their gross immorality.
these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh,
The KJV calls them "filthy dreamers" indicating that they have dirty dreams that they act out, by using their bodies in grossly immoral ways.
and reject authority,
It seems that almost everyone who is worldly thinks that they are their own authority, that they don't have to listen to anyone else, they're smart and can decide for themselves. This attitude is pervasive in every human society. Thinking this way makes us our own gods.
and revile angelic majesties.
This refers to a command given by Moses in a list of commands concerning the laws of human relations. Exodus 22: 28 says,
"You shall not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people" KJV.
The "gods" mentioned here is the same word that is used to refer to all the pagan idols that surrounded the Israelites in the land. So it is telling the people to have respect for all authority, whether it is their local governor or the spiritual power behind the pagan god.
(9) But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
Michael the archangel is a member of the angelic hierarchy, and is called "the first of the chief princes," and "your prince," in the book of Daniel 10: 13, 21.
This is another glimpse into the spiritual activity that is going on around us all the time. Michael is the "prince" over the nation of Israel, and as such, we are told here, that he argued with the devil over Moses' body when he died. Deuteronomy tells us that the Lord buried him, and that no one knows where the grave is (Deuteronomy 34: 6).
It is commonly believed among theologians that if the people knew where Moses was buried, that they would have worshiped him. So the devil wanted the people to be drawn away from God, as he always does, and Michael argued with him about it.
But Michael had respect for even the devil's authority, and didn't accuse him, but just left him to the Lord to deal with.
(10) But these men revile the things which they do not understand;
These false teachers have no idea of the authority and power these spiritual beings in the hierarchy of the angelic principalities have. They have no respect, and they endanger themselves in their treatment of them.
and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Animals have only their physical life, so these men are only looking at the physical, and by using their bodies in grossly immoral ways, they are contracting and spreading serious diseases and disorders, destroying themselves physically as well as spiritually.
God is the Designer and Maker of this universe, and the Earth we live on, and He fashioned it all to run according to His rules, the Natural Laws. And He set in order the moral laws, also, to guide our decisions. Everything in order.
When we take something and use it for what it's not made for, to misuse it, that will damage or destroy it, like using a screwdriver to pound a nail.
We need to see these people for who they are, and not listen to them, or even allow them to remain in our congregations; a little leaven (sin) leavens the whole lump (church) (see I Corinthians 5: 5-6). We have whole denominations today that have been taken over by unrighteous, evil people, who have spread their sinful thinking processes to their whole church.
People of God need to be strong in the Lord and reject these ideas and reasoning. We need to leave these congregations that have fallen.
Come out of her, My people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues. Revelation 18: 4
We are in the last days, people! My dear brothers and sisters, we must be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, wearing the whole armor of God! (Ephesians 6: 10-17.) We must be bold to speak out against these damaging and diseased attitudes and ideas.
We walk the line here, beloved. We respect all authority, both good and evil, and we fight the good fight, knowing that our Lord has already won the war!
O my Father, we need Your wisdom in discerning what words we are to say! We need Your strength for the boldness to speak out! We need Your protection in storming the very gates of Hell!
Father, please help us! Strengthen us in our weaknesses, give us success in our failings, grant us Your victories in our losses! Give us Your eyes to see Your spiritual reality in our physical world.
And use us, that our lives of peace and wisdom and gentleness will show Your Love to those in the world around us, to draw them to You, Father, in our Lord Jesus Christ, through His precious blood shed for our cleansing.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth is our Christ Messiah, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Jude 5-7
Now Jude is going to compare these false teachers to others in the past who also followed wrong paths and faulty thinking processes, and their end.
(5) Now I desire to remind you, though you once knew all this, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
First he mentions the children of Israel that God performed many great miracles for, in delivering them out of slavery and providing for all their needs in the desert; how they refused to trust Him and follow Him, and all died in the desert, never seeing the land that was promised to them.
(6) And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great Day,
We don't know a lot about these angels, but some scholars have linked this passage with Genesis 6 that tells of "sons of God" who "saw the daughters of men" and produced children who were "men of renown," and "giants" (Genesis 6: 1-4). So these could have been angelic beings who left their heavenly domain to come to the Earth instead, and diluted the human DNA, to change the purity of what God designed.
Then God called out Noah, because he was "a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6: 9). So Noah worshipped God, and his lineage was not polluted with the mixture that was spreading.
And these angels are imprisoned in darkness, held by eternal chains. They are not the demons who follow our adversary, who roams the Earth "seeking someone to devour" (I Peter 5: 8).
(7) just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
This story is in Genesis 19: 18-29. Jude says that these false teachers that have wormed their way into the church are just like those men of Sodom and Gomorrah who indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh.
The gross immorality was their lifestyle of sensuality, seeking physical relationships with anything other than God's design, including everything imaginable. And when the angels came, they wanted this new experience, too. So they went after strange flesh.
This is so twisted that it turns God's stomach, and He destroyed that whole plain so that these evil ideas would not spread. They are given to us as an example of the righteousness of God in justly dealing with all evil.
Jude is very serious with his readers, that they understand that the false teachers that are sneaking into the congregations of the church need to be recognized for what they are doing, and dealt with, to not pollute the purity of the gospel of Christ.
God is very serious about His message, and He will not fail to punish everyone who rejects Him and lives ungodly lives, teaching others to do the same evil that they indulge in.
We also need to be serious about examining our leaders and teachers, to make sure that they don't deviate from God's Truth. To be able to do that, we need to know God's Truth. Then we will recognize whatever doesn't conform to it as counterfeit.
We can't just listen to a sermon and assume it's all right. We as members of the congregation must look at the Scriptures, and see that our pastors and teachers are not taking them out of context.
We need to do our own studies, also, so we will be able to see what conforms and what does not conform to the whole story God gives us there. This is our personal responsibility as children of God.
God loves us, and wants us to know Him. Our enemy doesn't want us to know God, so he sends in his lackeys to disguise themselves as "ministers of righteousness" to draw people away from God (see II Corinthians 11: 14-15).
O my Father, You are so good to give us Your written Word to study and research and understand and know; and to know that we can trust You for what we don't understand.
Teach us, Father; lead us into Your Truth, guide us all into a more complete understanding of what You want us to know. We want to know You, Father, and to know Your ways.
We want to follow Your ways, and to not be turned away to the right or to the left, to not wander away or fall into a ditch, to not run ahead of You or lag behind. Keep our hand in Yours to follow in Your footsteps, until we reach the end of the road, into Your eternal Day!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
Jude 4
For certain persons
These are specific people.
have crept in unnoticed,
These specific people have quietly infiltrated the congregation and insinuated their ideas subtly into the life of the church.
those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation,
These are people who it has been written out before ages past that they would be judged and condemned for their crimes.
ungodly persons
They are impious, the word is often used for notorious sinners.
who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness
They demean the graciousness of God into a loose morality that makes light of moral depravity.
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Their attitudes and lifestyles run counter to the commands of Christ, denying His sovereignty and lordship over them.
This is very strong language against these interlopers, which explains Jude's urgency to write about them.
Even today there are still people who go to churches in order to disrupt the congregation, to slip errors into the doctrines of the church, and promote acceptance of ungodly lifestyles.
There are whole denominations that have "gone off the rails" in their teachings.
This is one of the signs of the last days, and it has been going on now for centuries.
O my Father, thank You for Your Word, telling us all that we are to look out for, and what to expect as the days and years and centuries pass. Each moment brings closer the time of the Lord's return.
Please open our eyes to see what is going on around us, to recognize the signs of the last days, and the imminent return of our sovereign King. Help us to number our days, so that we might apply our hearts to Your wisdom, Father, in dealing with the times we face. We need to discern how to use our days, that our work will promote Your Kingdom and not let any moments slip away useless.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Jude 1-3
(1) Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
Jude calls himself a slave of Jesus, and a brother of James. This James must be a very well-known person among the Christians to just be named without any qualifiers. The most well-known was James the brother of the Lord who was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Jesus' brothers (named in Mark 6:3) didn't believe in Him until after His resurrection, but were with the apostles in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 13-14). So this Jude is also the brother of the Lord.
to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
This letter is to Christians, generally. Not to any specific area, but for all Christians, and us, too.
(2) May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
This is typical of the greeting that was customary in ancient letters. Mercy is God's compassion in refraining from pouring His justly deserved wrath upon us, peace is His gift of quiet confidence in the work of Jesus, and His Love gives us His generosity in granting us His favors and meeting our needs.
(3) Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Jude says that he wanted to write about all the good and wonderful things God has done for us, but because of circumstances, he was compelled by an urgency to warn them (and us) to be ready to fight the battle to preserve the true faith.
This is a short, one-chapter letter, but it contains very serious warnings that we need to pay attention to.
O my Father, thank You for sending Your own Son to be our Lord and Savior. Thank You for placing Him in a family with brothers and sisters, and for using the members of His family in the writing of Your Word.
Father, help us to pay attention to Jude's warnings, and to recognize the people in our world today who we need to avoid.
Teach us to contend for the Truth that we are to believe and trust, and not allow any deceptions to dilute the power of Your Word.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
