Scripture Reading: Jude 1:8-19
In the foregoing message we saw that the subject of the Epistle of Jude is contending for the faith. Jude charges us to contend for the faith, and then he goes on to speak concerning apostasy (v. 4). In verses 5 through 7 he gives some historical examples of the Lord’s judgment upon apostasy. Now in verses 8 through 19 he points out the evils of the apostates and their punishment under the Lord’s judgment. Let us consider these verses one by one and pay attention to certain crucial points.
Verse 8 says, “Yet in like manner these dreamers also defile the flesh and despise lordship and revile dignities.” The ungodly men spoken of in verse 4 are dreamers, bearing the name of Christians yet doing things as in dreams, such things as perverting the grace of God into licentiousness to defile their flesh and denying Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord, despising His lordship and reviling the authorities in His heavenly government.
According to what we have observed throughout the years, those who deny the Lord Jesus and refuse to believe the holy Word eventually cast off the feeling in their conscience. In Paul’s words, their conscience has been seared (1 Tim. 4:2) and does not function properly. As a result, they may become unclean and immoral. Once a person’s conscience has become seared, he no longer has a protection or safeguard.
The apostates defile the flesh, despise lordship, and revile dignities because they do not care for God’s government. Having no regard for God’s authority, they are altogether lawless. They despise lordship; that is, they despise the lordship of Christ, which is the center of the divine government, dominion, and authority (Acts 2:36; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16). They also revile dignities, which probably refer to both angels and men in power and authority.
In verse 9 Jude continues, “But Michael the archangel, when disputing with the Devil, arguing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a reviling judgment against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you.” The body of Moses was buried by the Lord in a valley in the land of Moab, in a place known by no man (Deut. 34:6). It must have been purposely done in this manner by the Lord. When Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:3), Moses must have been manifested in his body, which was kept by the Lord and resurrected. Probably, in view of this, the Devil attempted to do something to his body, and the archangel argued with him concerning this. The reference in 2 Peter 2:11 is general, but this is a definite case, concerning the body of Moses.
Jude points out that Michael did not bring a reviling judgment against the Devil, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” This indicates that, in the Lord’s heavenly government, the Devil, Satan, was even higher than the archangel Michael. God appointed and set him so (Ezek. 28:14). In any case, Satan was under the Lord. Therefore, Michael said to him, “The Lord rebuke you.” Michael kept his position in the order of divine authority.
Verse 10 says, “But these revile whatever they do not know; and whatever they understand naturally, as animals without reason, in these they are being corrupted.” The first mention of the word “these” in verse 10 refers to the dreamers in verse 8. In Greek the word “know” here denotes a deeper sensing of invisible things, and the word for “understand” denotes a superficial realization of visible objects. We need both an understanding of visible things and a knowing of invisible things.
The Greek word rendered “naturally” also means instinctively. These dreamers revile what they do not know, things which they should know; and what they understand they understand naturally, instinctively, without reason, as animals of instinct. They do not exercise the deeper and higher knowledge of man with reason, including the consciousness of man’s conscience. What they practice is the shallow and base instinctive understanding, like that of animals without human reason. By behaving this way they are being corrupted or destroyed.
Verse 11 says, “Woe to them! Because they have gone in the way of Cain, and poured themselves out in the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” Here Jude refers to the way of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the rebellion of Korah. The way of Cain is the way of serving God religiously after one’s own will and rejecting heretically the redemption by blood required and ordained by God. Those who follow the way of Cain are according to the flesh and envy God’s true people because of their faithful testimony to God (Gen. 4:2-8).
Today some so-called Christians follow the way of Cain in that they serve God according to their own will. Because they like to do things a certain way, they do them that way. This is to serve God religiously after one’s own will.
We have pointed out that Cain rejected redemption by blood as required by God, and he was also envious of his brother, Abel. Abel was a true child of God, and his testimony was faithful to God and accepted by Him. God was pleased with Abel’s offering. But Cain envied his brother to such an extent that he killed him. In principle, this has happened throughout the last nineteen centuries. The ones accepted by God suffer at the hands of those who serve God religiously according to their own will.
In verse 11 Jude says that the apostates have “poured themselves out in the error of Balaam for reward.” For the apostates to pour themselves out in this way means that they gave themselves up to this error, rushed headlong into it, ran riotously into it.
The error of Balaam is the error of teaching wrong doctrine for reward, although the one teaching knows that it is contrary to the truth and against the people of God. The error of Balaam also involves abusing the influence of certain gifts to lead the people of God astray from the pure worship of the Lord to idolatrous worship (Num. 22:7, 21; 31:16; Rev. 2:14). Balaam knew that what he taught was against God’s truth and against His people, and he knowingly taught it for gain.
Today certain Bible teachers and preachers have fallen into the error of Balaam. Some of these know the deeper truths of the Word. However, fearing the loss of financial support, they do not dare to teach these truths. For example, in 1963 I had a pleasant fellowship with a particular preacher. He told me that he knew the truth concerning the church. But he said that he could not teach this truth, because if he did so, his organization would lose financial support. This indicates that he taught only those things that would enable him to receive financial support. At least to some extent, he practiced the error of Balaam.
If we know the truth, we should teach it and preach it at any cost. But if we dare not teach and preach the truth because we fear loss or because we desire financial gain, we are practicing the error of Balaam. What a shame that certain preachers do not preach the truth because they fear the loss of financial support! In principle, this is the error of Balaam.
In verse 11 Jude also speaks of those who perished in the rebellion of Korah. The Greek word translated “rebellion” here literally means contradiction, speaking against. The rebellion of Korah was a rebellion against God’s deputy authority in His government and His word spoken by His deputy (like Moses). This brings in destruction (Num. 16:1-40).
Moses was God’s deputy in authority and also in the speaking of His word. But Korah and two hundred fifty others rebelled against Moses’ authority and speaking. Actually, this authority and speaking were of God, not of Moses. Moses’ authority was God’s authority, and his speaking was God’s speaking. Nevertheless, Korah and his group rebelled against this. As a result, Korah and those with him suffered a serious judgment: the earth opened and swallowed them all.
We know from history that God always speaks through a deputy authority. To rebel against this authority and speaking is, in principle, to be in the rebellion of Korah.
In verse 12 Jude goes on to say, “These are hidden reefs in your love feasts, feasting together with you without fear, shepherds that feed themselves, waterless clouds, carried along by winds, autumn trees without fruit, having died twice, rooted up; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shames, wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept for eternity.” The Greek word translated “hidden reefs,” spilades, originally meant a rock. It may allude here to a sunken rock with the sea over it (Darby); hence, hidden rocks. The Greek word spiloi for “spots” in 2 Peter 2:13 is very close to spilades; hence, some translations render this spots. Actually, these two words refer to two different things. The spots are defects on the surface of precious stones; the hidden rocks are at the bottom of the water. The early heretics were not only spots on the surface but also hidden rocks at the bottom, both of which were a damage to the believers in Christ.
The love feasts mentioned in verse 12 were feasts of love motivated by God’s love (agape — 1 John 4:10-11, 21). In the early days the believers were accustomed to eating together in love for fellowship and worship (Acts 2:46). This kind of feasting was joined to the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 11:20-21, 33) and called a love feast.
Jude calls the apostates “shepherds that feed themselves.” The pleasure-seeking heretics (2 Pet. 2:13) pretend to be shepherds, but at the love feasts they only fed themselves, having no concern for others. To others, they were waterless clouds, having no life supply to render.
These heretics are also called “autumn trees without fruit, having died twice, rooted up.” Autumn is a season for reaping fruit. The self-seeking apostates seem to be fruit trees in season, but they have no fruit to satisfy others. They have died twice, not only outwardly in appearance as most trees do in autumn, but also inwardly in nature. They are thoroughly dead; they should be uprooted.
In verse 13 Jude goes on to speak of the heretics as “wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shames, wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept for eternity.” Shepherds, clouds, trees, and stars are positive figures in biblical metaphor, but hidden reefs, waves, and the sea are negative. These apostates are false shepherds, empty clouds, dead trees, and wandering stars. They are hidden reefs and wild, raging waves of the sea, foaming out, without restraint, their own shame. The metaphor of wandering stars indicates that the erratic teachers, the apostates, are not solidly fixed in the unchanging truths of the heavenly revelation, but are wandering about among God’s star-like people (Dan. 12:3; Phil. 2:15). Their destiny will be the gloom of darkness, which has been kept for them for eternity.
In verse 14 Jude continues, “And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied also of these, saying: Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints.” The coming of the Lord spoken of here must be the appearing of the Lord’s parousia (coming), as mentioned in 2 Thes. 2:8; Matt. 24:27, 30 and Zech. 14:4-5. The Greek words rendered “myriads of His saints” may also be translated “His holy myriads.” These myriads probably include, as in Zechariah 14:5, the saints (1 Thes. 3:13) and the angels (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38).
Different opinions may be held concerning the myriads of the saints, or the holy myriads, in verse 14. Some may claim that the saints here are angels, and others may say that these saints are believers. According to the Scriptures, when the Lord Jesus comes back to judge all persons and things, He will come both with the holy angels and with the holy believers. In His sight, both these angels and believers are holy ones. When the Lord Jesus comes back, He will come with His angels and with the overcomers. The overcomers will make up Christ’s bride, who will also be His army. Therefore, the Lord will come with these saints and angels to fight against Antichrist and his army.
We see from verse 15 that the Lord will come “to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly works which they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” The Lord’s coming will be to carry out God’s governmental judgment, and by this judgment all the ungodly ones will be dealt with.
In verse 15 Jude uses the word “ungodly” four times. He speaks of the ungodly and their ungodly works which they have done in an ungodly way. He also mentions the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against the Lord. All this will be judged by the Lord at His coming.
In verse 16 Jude says that these ungodly ones are murmurers and complainers. They go on according to their own lusts, their mouths speak great swelling things, and they admire persons for the sake of advantage. Then in verses 17 and 18 Jude reminds the believers of the words spoken by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ that in the last time there will be mockers going on according to their ungodly lusts.
In verse 19 Jude says, “These are those who make separations, soulish, not having spirit.” The Greek word translated “soulish” is psychikos, the adjective form of psyche, which means soul. “The psyche (soul) is the center of the personal being, the ‘I’ of each individual. It is in each man bound to the spirit, man’s higher part, and to the body, man’s lower part; drawn upwards by the one, downwards by the other. He who gives himself up to the lower appetites, is fleshy; he who by communion of his spirit with God’s Spirit is employed in the higher aims of his being, is spiritual. He who rests midway, thinking only of self and self’s interest, whether animal or intellectual, is the psychikos, the selfish (soulish) man, the man in whom the spirit is sunk and degraded into subordination to the subordinate psyche (soul)” (Alford).
In verse 19 Jude speaks of the apostates as “not having spirit.” This is the human spirit, not the Spirit of God. The apostates are devoid of spirit. They “have not indeed ceased to have a spirit, as a part of their own tripartite nature (1 Thes. 5:23), but they have ceased to possess it in any worthy sense: it is degraded beneath and under the power of the psyche (soul), the personal life, so as to have no real vitality of its own” (Alford). They do not care for their spirit or use it. They do not contact God by their spirit in communion with the Spirit of God; neither do they live and walk in their spirit. They have been drawn downward by their flesh and have become fleshy, so that they have lost the consciousness of their conscience and become animals without reason (Jude 1:10).
