“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 1:20 – 2:1
Verse 1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Jude introduces himself as a servant of Jesus Christ who is God, very God wearing a human body, the creator of all things. He put on humanity so that He could be slain as the perfect Lamb for the remission of human sins. Jude states he is also the brother of James. It is not really known who this writer was. Could he have been the brother of James, one of the sons of Mary and Joseph? The name Jude can also be translated as Judas or Judah. Matthew 13:55 lists the physical brothers of Jesus as being James and Joses and Simon and Judas. What is known for sure is that he is writing to people who are dedicated to the LORD and who are kept and cared for by the LORD because of their relationship with Jesus. In other worlds, this letter is written to believers, to the Church.
Application: Not everyone who enters a church is sanctified. To be sanctified is when a person is filled with the Spirit of God and His power sweeps over that person so that they are never the same again. They are a new creation and the old person is gone. The believer now operates in the power of God through His Spirit indwelling their being.
Verse 2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Mercy is given to believers by the LORD. Mercy is kindness or good will towards people who do not deserve it. By God entering into a human body and offering salvation to mankind, He extended mercy. Jude writes that peace and love should be multiplied. Believers who are truly saved from sin, death and Hell should have peace and love in their lives which should be extended to others. When something is multiplied, it increases rapidly. Think about all the blessings in life and the multiplication of mercy, peace and love can be seen.
Verse 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jude reports that he “gave all diligence” (full effort and concentration) which means there was a haste and earnestness in the writing of the letter to these believers for the purpose of exhorting (strongly encouraging or urging them) to “contend for the faith”. The definition of “contend” is to “struggle to surmount, to engage in a competition or campaign in order to win or achieve something.”
How many kinds of salvation are there out there? Some people believe there is more than one salvation and more than one way to get that salvation. Some people believe there is a salvation for the Christians and a different salvation for the Jews. But there is only one common salvation open to all mankind and that is through the shed blood of the LORD Jesus Christ. We are all saved the same way, by the blood of Jesus Christ and the call of the Gospel. No church membership or doctrine of man can save a person from Hell.
Jude states that the “faith” is what believers are to contend for. Faith in the Bible can mean both a religion and the strong belief and trust in something or someone: in this case, trust in God. For example, there is a Christian faith or a Jewish faith or a Hindu faith. There is also the faith a person possesses each time he/she reaches for a light switch, believing that the lamp or ceiling light will turn on and dispel the darkness.
Notice that the faith was delivered just once to the saints. A saint is one who is set apart by God and who is part of God’s heavenly kingdom. A saint is not someone who is dead and buried and then given the title of “saint” by a committee that examines the person’s conduct and decides that they merit the title. The word, saint, is found throughout Scripture, starting in Deuteronomy chapter 33 and extending to Revelation chapter 20. The New Testament letters often state that they are written to the saints. Dead people cannot read letters written in life.
Application: Every believer operating in the Spirit of God is a saint in this earthly life.
Again, notice that Jude states that the faith (Christianity) was delivered just once to the saints. It was not delivered and then revised, and then revised again and again. Jesus came one time and ministered here on Earth one time and died at the hands of the Jews and Romans one time and rose from the dead one time and ascended into Heaven one time. The apostles wrote the New Testament books or letters one time. The apostle John wrote the last book of the New Testament library one time. The Church formed one time and from it Christianity spread and multiplied throughout the Earth. What happened approximately 30AD by the ministry of the LORD Jesus Christ will not repeat. Jesus stated from the cross, “It is finished.” John 19:30 No more Bible will be written. What is here today is what God wants to be here today. No more man made doctrines can be added to the divine text of the Scripture. All the false, so called Bible translations on book shelves today cannot stop the message of the Gospel. It has been delivered once.
Application: In order to be and to remain a Christian, the believer must constantly fight for the faith which is attacked by devils, by individual people, by institutions, by governments, by educators, by scientists, by law enforcement and judicial systems, by media, and by churches and church leaders calling themselves Christian and yet not really knowing the meaning of the Word. Stand strong and put on all the armor of the LORD to remain standing.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
Verse 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Falsity has always plagued the Church. There are spirits of darkness, fallen angels that hate God and that hate the people of God. These spirits never attack the Church openly, but sneak in through false doctrine, false Bible editions, and false people claiming to be followers of Christ. Jude is warning the believers of his day and all believers reading his letter in this present time not to be fooled.
Notice that the believers are unaware of these evil men but that God knew before they were in existence that they would be trying to attack the Church. These can be seen today preaching and teaching in pulpits a watered down version of the Gospel. Jude states they are ungodly. These are the pastors who are pursuing a career in the Church for financial gain and for prestige. These pastors/teachers are not called by God or sent by God but went into the ministry on their own volition. These are the pastors and teachers that deny the power of Christ and preach that healing and the gifts of the Spirit were only for the Apostolic church and are not relevant for today. These are the pastors/teachers that deny the power of God to provide for the needs of their church and blackmail their congregations into giving financial gifts in order to be blessed by God. These are the pastors/teachers that preach/teach doctrines that are not scriptural but are the inventions of man. They deny the “only Lord God” by perverting the words of His books, the Bible. Paul states in Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Application: It is vitally important that the believer has the correct Bible translation (one that is a word for word translation from the original languages and not one that is a thought translation that reveals what the translator personally thought the words were saying), that the believer knows what the Bible says so that false doctrine can be spotted, and that the believer has the spiritual strength to confront anyone who is teaching/preaching falsehood. That is what contending for the faith is all about.
Verse 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
It appears that the recipients of this letter have forgotten their past history as Jude reminds the believers by using the Old Testament, which is an example for the New Testament Church, that God judged and destroyed the unbelievers that were causing division in the Hebrew nation. God does not change. He will judge evil people today who are causing division in His Church. This writer lived to observe the rise and fall of the Christian Cathedral in California. What appeared to start out as a godly effort turned into false doctrine, social gospel, theater, money laundering and demise. It is no longer functioning as a Christian church. It was judged by God.
Application: Evil people infiltrating the body of believers do not have to be pastors and teachers, but can also be men and women sitting in the pews that present a different gospel in their everyday conversations. Be aware of what people around you are saying and do not be afraid to tell them they are wrong. Just be sure to know what is scriptural before correcting them, and correct them in a Christ-like manner.
Verse 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” 2 Peter 2:4 Some angels were cast out of Heaven and some left by their own choice. Those that chose to leave and defy the God that created them, have been locked up in chains somewhere to be judged on the day of judgement according to Jude.
Verses 7-8 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
As a vivid description of what will happen to these evil men when judged by God and consigned to Hell, Jude uses the Old Testament example in the book of Genesis of the judgement and total destruction of these cities and their occupants due to homosexuality and possibly the practice of bestiality (strange flesh). They were destroyed by fire and brimstone (sulfur) never to be rebuilt or resettled.
Verse 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Michael is thought to be one of the chief princes in the angelic realm and is thought to be the guardian angel of Israel. This writer does not know of any verses of Scripture that talk about the body of Moses except the reference in Deuteronomy 34:5-6 which states that Moses died in Moab and was buried in a valley by God so that no one knew where his grave was. It is thought that God did not allow for Moses’ grave to be known because the people would have built a shrine and eventually began worshiping Moses instead of the LORD. Regardless, Jude is demonstrating that even a powerful angel like Michael did not bring any accusations against the devil but just left it to the LORD to deal with him.
Application: Believers are to function in the power and authority of the LORD Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost/Spirit that dwells within them. As such, believers have the power and the authority to rebuke devils and cast them out of people they have in bondage. Spiritual captives are to be set free by the Church. Think about that.
Verses 10-11 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Cain was a murderer as he killed his brother, Abel, out of jealousy.
Balaam can be read about in chapter 22 of the book of Numbers. He was the son of a man named Beor and it was Balaam who owned a donkey that spoke to him. See verse 28. He was hired by the king of Moab, Balak, to curse the Hebrews and stop them from traveling through his land by using divination or witch craft. Balaam was to receive a reward for his efforts.
Core was the Korah written about in Numbers chapter 16 who rebelled and caused others to rebel against Moses. God had the earth open up and swallow Korah, his family, his stuff, and all those that conspired with him in the rebellion.
When putting the characteristics of the three men above together, a picture of the type of person that can infiltrate the Church is clearly seen. These people kill the good news of the Gospel, turn the ministry of the Church into a business or reward situation, and rebel against the doctrine and the person of the LORD Jesus Christ. Like Jude states above, these people are ungodly, bringing in false Bibles and doctrines and turning the grace of God into something that must be earned or achieved, denying the only LORD God and Jesus Christ and bringing in doctrines of devils.
Verse 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
The imagery in the verse above is of useless things. A cloud without water or rain is not beneficial. Fruit trees without edible fruit are not beneficial. So these people within the church body are not beneficial.
Verse 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Foaming waves may be interesting and lovely to look at, but they serve no purpose and can cause harm. Stars moving about in the heavens are also interesting and lovely to look at, but they are not necessarily beneficial and can cause harm when linked to witchcraft and astrology.
Verses 14-15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 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.
This writer loves these verses. Why? Because they are triumphant. The good guys or white hats win in the end. The LORD Jesus Christ will return to this Earth just one time, accompanied by those saints that have already died and gone to Heaven, to gather up those saints that are still here on Earth and to judge and sentence those wicked, evil people that have caused so much pain and suffering to all that God has created. Believers have a lot to look forward to. Believers should rejoice and be glad. The ungodly should live in fear.
Enoch is written about in Genesis chapter 5. According to verse 24, “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 states, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death: and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.“ Enoch was bodily removed from this Earth without dying first. This was a miracle and points to the end of time when Jesus returns for His saints and they are bodily removed from this Earth without dying. Enoch was a godly man and a prophet. His testimony is amazing. Think about it. Can you be sure that your walk in the faith pleases the LORD?
Verse 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
Have you, the reader, been in a church congregation or in any other social setting where there are individuals who complain about everything, or who brag about themselves or their knowledge, and/or who “kiss up” to those who have money or position or who may be useful or profitable to them? Annoying, isn’t it? It is annoying to the LORD also. There is no room in the body of Christ, in His Church, for such nonsense. Don’t be afraid to gently and kindly rebuke these people. If left to their own behaviors and dialogue, they will harm the Church and send themselves to Hell. Rebuking them will give them a chance to repent. Think about it.
The Greek word translated as “murmurers” is “goggustes” and it means one who discontentedly complains against God. A person who constantly finds fault with the pastor, with the service, with the music, and so forth is complaining against God. The pastor, the service, and the music belongs to Him and to the worship of Him. This is not constructive criticism. This is petty, annoying and of no benefit.
Verses 17-19 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Verses 20-21 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
How does the believer protect himself/herself from the evil influence of these ungodly people who the Devil makes sure are in the congregations of the people of God? By doing what Jude advises in these verses. Building up in the faith requires diligent and serious Bible study, serious prayer, and serious practice of the principles of the faith. Witnessing to others, giving of time and treasure to the things of God, participating in the local body of believers, caring for the less fortunate and just being available for God to use in ministry will strengthen the believer as trust and faith in the LORD grows and knowledge of His Word is acquired, always remembering that this earthly life is temporary and that eternal life with Jesus in Heaven is the goal.
Verses 22-23 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Application: One of the hallmarks of a believer is the ability to have compassion towards people regardless of their circumstances. God expects the believer to intervene in the life of sinners and to try to point them towards the saving grace of the LORD Jesus Christ. The believer is to be like Jesus Christ on Earth. Jesus never ignored a needy sinner nor failed to minister healing and hope to all that He interacted with. Be like Jesus
Verses 24-25 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, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude)
Jesus is able to keep believers from falling into sin that will separate them from His presence, and He is able to keep them from falling away from the faith. This is not the promise of eternal salvation in which it is taught that once a person is saved, they can never fall away from that salvation. Salvation is a gift given freely by God. Like all gifts, it can be returned by the recipient. This simply means that if believers stays close to Jesus, Jesus will stay close to them and guide them by His Spirit through the pitfalls of living in a sinful world.
Jesus Is Found in Every Book of the Bible
In the book of Jude, Jesus keeps the believer from falling into the trap of sin. Jesus is the preserver of His Church.