Christ in Jude -- The Lord Who is Coming with 10,000 of His Saints

Jude, the brother of James and half-brother of Jesus, was the leader of the church in Jerusalem.  He wrote his letter to them late in the first century A.D.  By his own words, we know that he had wanted to write to them about salvation, but he felt that it was more urgent at that time to write about false prophets.  Remember, in those days, paper and ink were not as commonplace as they are today.  And a letter may have taken weeks to reach its destination.  We take letter writing for granted, and even more so, we type out an e-mail without giving it a second thought.  But Jude was not so fortunate.  He had to use his assets wisely, so he opted to save his message about salvation for another time and write this letter about false teachers.  He was obviously disturbed by the infiltration of false doctrine into the church in Jerusalem.  We need to be careful of false teachers and their false doctrine today, perhaps even more so than the first century church.  Jesus himself warned about false teachers, saying that they would be even more numerous in the time approaching His second coming:

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:17-19, NLT).”

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves (Matthew 7:15, NLT).”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many (Matthew 24:4-5, NASB).”

Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many (Matthew 24:11, NASB).

Jude began his warning by reminding his beloved friends of three lessons from the past.  The people at the church in Jerusalem would have been very familiar with these old stories, since they were Jewish and had been taught the history of the Jewish people from childhood:

1.  In verse 5, Jude compared the false teachers to the Israelites who were rescued from slavery in Egypt and promised a homeland of their very own.  They refused to trust God with their future, so God allowed an entire generation to die in the wilderness, denying them a future with Him in His Promised Land:

After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them . . . The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died (Numbers 32:9, 13, NLT).

2.  In verse 6, we read about how some of God’s angels were not content with their position in Heaven. They wanted to be like God.  They opposed the limitations God had placed on them even though they lived in the glorious light of God, so God cast them out of heaven and, at the judgment, they will be cast into eternal fire, forever bound in darkness:

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9, NKJV).

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41, NASB);’”

3.  And in verse 7, Jude reminds us of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah and surrounding towns.  The people there burned with an ungodly lust, so the cities and every single person in the cities were burned with fire:

But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” . . . Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation (Genesis 19:4-5, 24-25).

In verse 8, Jude wrote that the false teachers he was writing about are just the same as his three examples.  He said that they are dreamers, they create their own form of godliness, and they revile what they don’t understand.  I like to say that they create gods in their own image instead of confessing that God created us in His image.  Jude said that they live by animal instinct rather than by obedience to God.  The distorted, perverted use of sex was well known in the early church (see 1 Corinthians 5:1, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 12:21).  They ridicule God’s authority and insult His messengers, the angels and religious leaders (see Acts 7:38-39, Acts 7:53, Hebrews 2:2).  False teachers copy the behavior of Cain, Balaam, and Korah.  Cain murdered his brother, and false teachers destroy life – just think of the abortion industry! (See Genesis 4:8, 10).  Balaam was a “prophet for hire.”  For the right amount of money, he would bless or curse anyone.  The enemies of God’s people wanted him to curse Israel, and even though Balaam knew it was wrong, he was hoping that God would change his mind so that he could receive a reward.  Think about the nations today that are turning their backs on Israel for economic reasons, because of the oil in the other nations of the middle east. (See Numbers 22).  Korah refused to accept the authority God had given Moses and Aaron.  Think of all those today who refuse to accept God’s authority, who think they will never have to answer to a Holy God!  (See Numbers 16).

In verses 12 and 13, Jude used five examples from nature to describe false teachers:

1.  Hidden reefs could destroy a ship.  False teachers can cause believers to doubt their faith and destroy their relationships with God.

2.  Clouds without water are only a deception, a promise without a result.  False doctrine may sound good, but it is as dry as a wind-blown cloud that does not produce rain.

3.  Autumn trees without fruit have had since the spring to produce a worthwhile crop.  A tree that does not produce fruit will be uprooted by the grower to make room for a good tree.  Thus, the tree is twice dead – first in that it was barren, and second because it was uprooted.  A false prophet is the same in that he cannot produce holy fruit.  He will be uprooted at the judgment, thus twice dead.

4.  Wild waves of the sea churn up all the trash in the ocean.  Have you ever seen a beach after a storm, littered with trash, driftwood, dead fish, and seaweed?  False prophets stir up division in the church.  They leave a trail of broken promises and destroyed lives.

5.  Wandering stars cannot be relied on for navigation.  Most people in Jude’s time didn’t know anything about the planets – they called them wandering stars since they were in a different position in the sky every night.  The stars, on the other hand, were constant and could be used for navigation.  False prophets are also unreliable.  Their doctrine changes with the societal wind.  Their philosophies change based upon political pressure and financial influence.

But God will judge all these false teachers and all those who follow them.  Their judgment has been prophesied ever since Enoch, the seventh generation of man:

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him (Jude 14-15, KJV).

Notice the use of the word, “ungodly,” in verse 15.  Jude repeated that word 5 times in verse 15 alone!  Remember, when we study God’s word, we should always take note of repeated words and phrases.  They are used to emphasize a point.  Verse 16 tells us that these ungodly people are:

Grumblers
Fault-finders
Lustful
Arrogant
Flatterers

Then in verse 17 Jude turned his attention back to his beloved church, his dear friends.  He reminds them, and us, that these false teachers should come as no surprise.  He tells us how to recognize them in verse 19:

They cause divisions
They are worldly-minded
They are devoid of the Holy Spirit

He also tells us how to be protected from their influence in verses 20 - 23:

Build on your faith
Pray in the Spirit
Love as God loves
Wait anxiously for the mercy of Jesus
Have mercy on those who doubt (who have been led astray)
Share the true gospel with the lost
Be careful not to be influenced by those polluted by fleshly living

Nowhere in that list are we told to be judgmental or hateful.  Remember that Jesus never condemned anyone, but He loves everyone.  He died for you and for me while we were still in our sin.  And your sin and my sin is no less sinful than anyone else's.  We have no right to judge.  Jesus is the only Judge.

My prayer this week is Jude’s benediction, his prayer of praise that we read in verses 24 & 25 (KJV):

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

NASB = New American Standard Bible
KJV = King James Version
NLT = New Living Translation