Jude 1
This is a short book but wow, does it pack a punch – there is so much here! When I taught the book of Jude back in 2019, it took me six weeks to get through this one chapter. Jude initially wanted to write a simple word of encouragement, but God had different plans and prompted him to write a letter of warning, urging the church to contend earnestly for the faith.
As you read through Jude you’ll notice the similarity between this work and Peter’s second letter, and there’s no doubt that Jude referenced Peter’s letter, but there are slight differences including the fact that Peter wrote his letter before it happened, while Jude wrote his letter after it happened. That certain men had crept into the church as false teachers and were turning the grace of God into a license to sin.
Jude writes to warn and remind the people that God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and how to judge the ungodly – big time! Just as God judged certain people in the days of the Exodus who did not believe. Just as God sentenced the fallen angels who crossed lines of demarcation, and are reserved in darkness awaiting the judgment of the great day. Just as God judged Sodom and Gomorrah, because of the fact that they went after “strange flesh,” in reference to the blatant homosexuality of that city. God is holy and just, and we must remember, He is the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25).
Jude reveals that these men, who could be identified as tares among the wheat (see Matthew 13:24-30) speak evil of dignitaries and reject authority. Jude mentions however, that even Michael the Archangel didn’t have the audacity to do that, as a matter of fact, when Michael contended with the Devil over the body of Moses, he didn’t go toe-to-toe with him, he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Some people have no problem whatsoever speaking disrespectfully to their spiritual leaders, but here’s Michael speaking humbly…even to the devil himself. Now, just as a side-note, we don’t have the Biblical record of why the devil wanted the dead body of Moses, but perhaps he wanted to desecrate the body of Moses, some even suggest that he wanted to possess Moses’ body.
Jude exposes these men as haters like Cain who killed and who was greedy for gain, prophets for profit like Balaam; these men were also rebels towards authority like Korah (Numbers 16).
There they were in the “love feasts” of the early church…without love. They were only in it for what they could get out of it. They were like clouds without water appearing to bring help, but unable to produce. They were unsaved and therefore fruitless, not just dead, but twice dead, roots and all, dangerous waves of the sea (the sea symbolic of the mass of humanity – the antichrist will rise from the sea – Revelation 13:1) – God has reservations for these men…blackness and darkness forever! Enoch spoke of their judgment one day when Jesus comes back and there we are with Him at His return.
Today, there are still many false teachers amongst us. May we contend for the truth, share with the lost (with urgency), and build ourselves up on our most holy faith…keeping ourselves in the love of God, right smack dab in the middle of that sphere of blessing.