The Book of Jude v 1-4 Jan 2016 Introduction It s a fascinating book. It has so much in it which take us all over the Bible and covers such a vast amount of teaching that its amazing it s all crammed into 25 verses. The reason we are studying this little epistle is that it s so relevant to us, here and now, It s an unusual book with a very timely message It is written for the end times, for the end of the Church Age. The beginning of the Church: Acts of the Apostles Jude is written for the end times, for the end of the church era. The end of the Church Age: Acts of the Apostates. The book of Jude takes us from the dawn of history, through Eden, through the ancient stages of Israel s history, through princes and prophets, saints, sinners and From eternal fires to everlasting darkness, to the strange happenings early on in the book of Genesis. Past judgements, strange beings and future glory. This book takes us on an amazing journey from past to present to future, it deals with angels and evil happenings. It covers a dispute between the archangel Michael and Satan who was a former Cherub that covered Ez 28:14 and how they had a dispute over the body of Moses. Jude mentions it as though we all know what that was all about. The strange thing is it seems to be a neglected book. How many have been to a bible study on Jude? Even the commentaries don t have much to say on the book of Jude. It has been neglected but not forgotten. Probably now is the time to really know what it is saying because we are now living in the times it is talking about. The time of the Apostacy. Also the 7 th letter to the churches that Jesus gave to John as the introduction to His Revelation to John about the end times. We have been through the books of Isaiah and Daniel about a chapter a week so it s taken some time. We won t be doing that with Jude. We will probably get through more than one verse a week but we won t be covering the whole chapter in one sitting.!! It s important to remember that the Church era begins with the Acts of the Apostles and closes with the book of Jude the Acts of the Apostates, closing the church era, We need to understand exactly what apostacy is, how it happened in the past, and how we can anticipate prophetically the GREAT Apostacy just before the Lord comes.
One reason why this book is so timely is that there are specific heresies already emerging within the church today, throughout the body of Christ worldwide. It s happening in the charismatic movement, in the fundamentalist movement, it s happening in the apologetic level and at the small groups level. It is involving some of the most distinguished leadership in America and the UK and elsewhere, and secretly where many in leadership don t come right out openly and yet in their hearts embrace it. A doctrine that is not only a heresy but may be laying the very philosophical foundation for the great tribulation. When the Lord laid it upon my heart to study the book of Jude I had no idea where He was going to lead me. We had been studying the Book of Daniel which covers Gods entire plan, the rise and fall of empires, how God raises up those whom He will, to be rulers even those who are evil in order to bring about the next phase in His Almighty plan. We covered the rise of the Antichrist and looked at the end times prophecies including false doctrines and heresies that would arise as the end drew near and I remember saying we must be discerning about what we get drawn into and pray that the Holy Spirit will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. It seems that is one of the things I am saying all the time. Then it came up to study the Book of Jude and although I knew it covered the end times and falling away I hadn t realised how timely it had now become. So I feel this is the Lord saying to us all to sit up and take notice. It has a message to you and I personally and a message to the body of true believers for the years we live in right now. Make a note in your margins ACTS 17:11 Be like the Bereans.. Go away and check it all out not listening to the opinions of others but by comparing scripture with scripture and prayerfully enquiring of the Lord and asking the Holy Spirit to open these things to your hearts. He is the best teacher and will not lead you astray. A good rule of thumb is if someone starts a teaching but cannot back it up with many scriptures then question it. If it s not in the Bible then It will probably be wrong. It depends what value you place on the Bible. If you believe it is the infallible word of God (and Jesus obviously thought it was) then everything must come in line with scripture. Jude is the only book devoted ENTIRELY to the great apostasy, and the Lord poses this question. Shall the Son of Man find faith on the Earth? (Luke 18:8). 2 Thess 2:3 is a classic chapter amongst students of prophecy because it s full of all kinds of insights but just to focus on verse 3. 2 Thessalonians 2:3King James Version (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; It then goes on to talk about the Antichrist.. (don t forget he has 50 titles this is just one of them.)
So an apostacy precedes the end times, (The word used in Greek is Apostosia, falling away), (2 Thess 2:3); A departure from the faith (1 Tim4:1); Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith seducing spirits. doctrines of demons. Paul is writing a practical letter to his friend This phrase, doctrines of demons. False doctrines is not just deviation from the truth, it s actually engineered deception by the host of darkness. Satan is behind all these things. There will be those who will be unwilling to endure sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3); Sound doctrine is what you will find in the Bible and at times it can be uncomfortable and challenging. People will want a message that softens, a comfortable, soft gospel. God is love but don t want to hear about His justice or judgements. Another sign of apostacy - false teachers, damnable heresies (2 Pet 2:1; & 3:3&4). One of the characteristics of these false teachers is that they will cast doubt on the second coming of Jesus Christ. It s a sceptical question where is this coming? Sounds as though they don t really believe He is coming. Their argument here doesn t seem linked until you see there is a doubt of creation as well as the 2 nd coming.. V5 deliberately forget. Evolutionists. What has evolution got to do with the 2 nd coming. A disparagement of the idea that there is a God who on the one hand created the universe in the first place and secondly intervenes in its history by returning and involving Himself. A faith in the creation is linked to a faith in prophecy and 2 nd coming. It has to do with recognition that there is a Creator who has a purpose and an involvement in your life and mine. The whole idea behind Gods purpose in the first place is His willingness and interest and involvement in intervening in man s history and intruding none other than His Son to come on a very special mission and one in which He will again intrude on history by returning again. So Genesis 1 is related to Rev 22 is all linked. The epistle of Jude and James have some unusual parallels, also links to the epistles of Peter which we will come to. James deals with good works as an outward expression or evidence of saving faith. Jude is structured in such a way as to show that evil works are an evidence of apostacy or a false faith. Another parallel is that they were brothers. Half brothers of the Lord Jesus Himself. Jude is the vestibule to the book of Revelation. Structurally it s very handy as it sets the stage for the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John. It is a book tragically neglected by students, yet filled with fascinating Old Testament references and allusions. Jude makes all kinds of offhand references to things he assumes you know, which then causes us to dig around to find out what on earth he is talking about.
The way the book of Jude is written is quite interesting because it has a pattern. The first and last verses of the book opens and closes with the same topic. Structural Outline Remember he is writing to believers not apostates. He wants to give us assurances and warnings. 1. Assurance for the Christian.. 1-2 2. The Believer and the Faith. 3 3. Apostates Described. 4 4. Apostasy in OT History..5-8 5. Apostasy in the Supernatural Realm...9-10 6. An Ancient Trio of Apostates.11 7. Apostasy in the Natural Realm 12-13 8. Apostasy in OT Prophecy.14-16 9. Apostates Described...17-19 10.The Believer and the Faith 20-23 11.Assurance for the Christian.. 24-25 There are lots of different ways to outline books but this one shows up an underlying structure that is quite fascinating. Remember the Holy Spirit inspired Jude to write this. Jude v1 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 = (Greek.) Judas (i.e., Apostasy, Traitor!) We call our sons Paul, Peter ; dogs Nero, Caesar... but...? Traitor? Very common name in Christ s day. There are 4 or 5 of them in New Testament. Yet because of one whose surname is Iscariot the name has got tainted. Bondservant of Jesus Christ : doulos= slave for life. Is He your LORD, too? Rev1:1, to show His servants... slaves. (true believers) (note: Revelation is a singular word. Some people refer to it as the Revelations. This is incorrect it s not a plural word it s not a book of many revelations, it s THE REVELATION of Jesus Christ Himself. He wrote it through John) Why did Jesus give it to us? To show to His Doulos- servants things which must shortly come to pass. James and Jude brothers of Jesus (Mk 6:3; Ps 69:7,8). Neither James nor Jude were among the 12. They didn t believe (at first); Jn 7:5.
Epistles: James good works as evidence of saving faith; Jude evil works as evidence of apostasy. Brother of James : James was Head of the Church in Jerusalem; author of the Epistle of James; the Lord s brother (Gal 1:19); one of four brothers plus sisters. Let s check our equipment before we plunge into the book. Jude v1 called loved - and kept Trinity can be seen here. : Called, Beloved, Kept Called Who has called you? The Father I have chosen you (Jn 15:16; 6:65); God has from the beginning chosen you (2 Thess 2:13, 14); (chosen from the beginning) Foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified (Rom 8:28-30). 5 verbs in Romans 8 (This also happens to be the structure of the book of Genesis) Abraham,(foreknew and predestined) Isaac, (called) Jacob,(justified- if God can justify Jacob He can justify anyone) Joseph (glorified- a type of Christ) Paul has apparently got in mind here in Romans the structure of the Book of Genesis. If you are foreknown, predestined and called, is He faithful to finish what He started.? Beloved Through whose love are you made beloved.? Jesus Love Who are the Beloved? (Jn 14:23; Jn 16:27; Jn 17:20, 23). The love that we share is the love the Father has for the Son. There s a lot of love being talked about here. Kept Who preserves, keeps us? Holy Spirit. It is the only salutation in any epistle in the New Testament that uses this particular verb. Watchful care; close attention; present possession. Preserved. Example: Peter and Paul s imprisonment (Acts 12:5; 25:4, 21); our heavenly inheritance (1 Pet 1:4). Perfect tense: Continually kept. He will keep us from the hour of trial (Rev 3:10). We are to be kept blameless unto the coming (1 Thess 5:23). Caution: We need to keep ourselves (Jude 21)! These verses are all ideas that are embodied in this word kept Fallen angels also kept (v.6) as they kept not their first estate. (This is the same word) We see that verse 1 is about being called, loved and kept by God. This is us, the saints.
Jude v2. Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied, (or be yours in abundance.) We are probably used to hearing Grace and Peace. It s interesting that this letter on apostacy speaks of Mercy rather than Grace. They are very close in meaning but there is a difference. We need both. Grace is getting something that you don t deserve Mercy is NOT getting what you DO deserve. (Heb 4:16) approach the throne of grace and mercy Mercy implies failure. We all need mercy because of our failure. (we have sinned) We welcome His Grace because it gives us that to which we are not entitled.(forgiveness) Mercy rather than Grace? It suits the forthcoming message. It s interesting how the Holy Spirit in the very subtleties of the letter anticipates the central message of the epistle. Have mercy O Lord Law = death (Num 15:32-36), failure (James 2:10); an apostate leaving the faith takes themselves outside of Gods mercy and puts themselves back under the law. Works = Their lives will reflect this. (Gal 5:19-21); Grace: Eph 2:4..It is by grace you have been saved Peace : We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom5:1). There is no peace for the wicked (Isa 57:20,21). Worry about nothing \ Pray about everything Thank God for anything / Phil 4:6,7 Worry is a sin. It shows a lack of faith. But we all do it.!!!! Love : This word appears in each of the first three verses: it must be important. (verse 3 begins Beloved in AV) It is our badge of identity and how men should recognise us as Christians. By our Love. (Jn 13:34, 35). Lack of love in end times (Philadelphia is followed by Laodicea). The 7 letters contain a history of the church through the ages. The church of Philadelphia was commended but the Laodicean church was rebuked and condemned. Ephesian pitfall: they were very rigorous and straightforward on their doctrine but, they lost their first love... Paul warned them in his letter he saw what was coming. But eventually they fell Rev 2 a warning that their lampstand would be removed.!! the same elements appear in verses Jude 20,21; Mercy: upward - Peace: inward - Love: outward
When studying the Bible and reading the epistles it s important to ask yourselves, to whom is it written and why. To whom is the epistle written? To the Beloved. This epistle will have very little meaning for you unless you are born again and are a part of God s family, abiding in Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 2:14) It holds little meaning to those not born into His family ( agapao : totally given over to) Jude v3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful (I was compelled) for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. This was Jude s objective for the epistle. BUT. A Divine Compulsion something changed his mind. (the word in the Greek. to compress; to put pressure on to be compelled ) Christ: must needs (Acts 17:3); Paul: Christ had to suffer or in the AV Christ must needs have suffered. The same compulsion. How urgent was it for Christ to suffer. It was essential. It s a very intense word. necessity is laid upon me... (1Cor 9:16). Paul is talking about his calling to preach the gospel...for I am compelled to preach. He couldn t do anything else. It is that kind of compulsion that Jude is talking about here. What Jude is saying is that he started off to write a letter about their common salvation but he was divinely compelled or forced to write a different message. The use of words is very precise. (2 Pet 1:21). Jude is being carried along by the Holy Spirit. Moved by the Holy Spirit. It s very important to acknowledge that everything that is written is God moving upon men who are thus inspired by the Holy Spirit. This means every word, every place name even every number is divinely inspired. We have already looked at many instances of this as we have been studying the Bible together. So Jude started to write a nice little letter of encouragement but was compelled to shift gears to exhort his readers that they should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. And that is the theme that the whole letter deals with. Exhort in the Greek is a verb - the noun is Paraclete.- comforter, called alongside First Exhortationthat the Holy Spirit is giving is : Contend earnestly for the faith. This is what we are called to do. Greek -. to agonize upon; contend strenuously in defense of. How are YOU faithfully following this exhortation?
To contend is an active military word. It means to struggle in opposition, to contend with the enemy. It has a battle element to it. This is because in the end times we will be up against those who are distorting the truth. We must remain true to the whole counsel of God. Strengthen and support the faithful. 1 Thess 5:14 Unflinching witness; be prepared. 2 Tim 4:2, 1 Peter 3:15 Withhold support and encouragement from those who compromise or deny the whole counsel of God; speak out against the preachingof another Gospel (Prov 19:27); There are many many churches now who have gone away from the central truths of the gospel, they preach the gospel but add to it things you can t find in the Bible. Gal 1:8 Work with a sword at your side (Neh 4:17, 18). A good way to live. They were building this wall under conditions of adversity. So they had a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. Whatever you are doing it s appropriate to have a sword by your side. The Word of God. The Bible. 1. So we are to contend earnestly For what? 2. For the Faith : more inclusive term than salvation or gospel. 2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. First of all it s a mystery (1 Tim 3:9) something that was hidden up to now but God is now revealing through what Jesus has done. It s not an obvious thing. You can t see it. Faith is more than belief, it is trust. I don t have faith until I rely on it. The Faith assumes it s the only one. THE..faith Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,(1 Tim 4:1) Faith (real true biblical faith is something that is going to depart from this earth to such a degree that Jesus Himself says will I find Faith on the earth?) Apostacy is something that is going to characterize the last days. Faith involves duty to others (1 Tim 5:8) Providing for our families is an obligation. If any does not provide for his own.. faithful teaching established the Church (Acts 16:5) all believers need exhortation to stand fast and to continue in the faith.(1 Cor 16:13; Acts 14:22) to remain true to the faith. Any claim of additional revelation outside of the Bible is evidence of apostasy (Deut 4:2; do not add do not take away (Rev22:18). All of this gives rise to Combat Faith. The Faith which we hold to is not just a passive private thing. There is great need for a Combat Faith (Eph 6)! If I had a real suit of armour I would stand it in the hallway as a reminder.!!
Jude v4 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (3 marks of an apostate we will come to) Why did Jude write this letter because of v4 to warn us of those who in the last days will slip in amongst the believers..so the Holy Spirit is admonishing us to contend for the faith. To stand up for the whole truth as revealed to us in God s word the Bible. So there are subversives in our midst. Verse 4: The Threat (contrast with 2 Peter 3:1). There are Tares among the Wheat (Mt 13:24-30); in the kingdom parables we have the same symbols used in several parables. A sower sowing seed (word of God) in the 2 nd parable at night an enemy came along and sowed weeds (taresthey are so similar to wheat they can hardly be distinguished) they had to be left to grow until the time of the end when they will be separated. False brethren have stolen into the Church (Gal 2:4-5); Saints are in peril (2 Cor 11:26); Paul is talking about perils.. whole list and the last one is in perils of false brethren. Saints can be in peril but particularly in the latter times Latter times: doctrines of demons (this is going to get increasingly relevant (1 Tim 4:1,6); The amazing thing is that the warnings of this were written as early as the earliest dawn of history. None other than the earliest prophet we know of. Enoch. The father of Methuselah. Whose child was a prophecy of the flood. Pre-written warnings: Enoch vv. 14,15. We will look at that when we get there. What Is an Apostate? Parable of the sower, the seed, the soils: If you study the words Rocky ground: in Luke 8:13 the word for receives (Greek dekomi) hardness no root in time of temptation (verb form Apostosia ) Good ground:the word used for receive : Paradekomai (Mk 4:20); welcomed it into their life. Apostates do not understand the Word; they do not bring forth fruit (Mt13:23). Without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by roots (v.12). They received light, but not life; written Word, but not Living Word. Deliberate rejection is involved not indifference, error, or involvement in heresy alone: Judas, Cain, Balaam, Korah (v. 11). What manner of men are these? Crept in secretly = have settled down alongside. These are false teachers, secretly shall bring in damnable
heresies (2 Pet 2:1). Three Identifiers of Apostates Jude v 11 Ungodly, perverts of grace, denying our Lord and Master. Cain, ungodliness; the earliest apostate (will take us to Eden) Balaam, perversion of grace; features prominently in book of Revelation Korah, denial of God s appointed leader. Shows how God enforces His authority in interesting ways. 1. Ungodly means destitute of reverential awe toward God. You don t have to be an atheist to be ungodly. It is someone who does not have a reverential attitude towards God. Secular humanism etc Form, but denies the power thereof (2 Tim 3:5); Denies the Gospel of Christ (Rom 1:16); Denies the transforming power of new life (Phil 3:10); someone can be ungodly if he is not embracing the essential truths of God. Heart vs. outward appearances is key (1 Sam 16:7; Isa 66:2); Where are they at really and truly. Universal Brotherhood of Man vs. Jn 8:44; Jn 1:12; Gal 3:26. We hear a lot about the brotherhood of man. All men are brothers. A comfortable and popular idea. How many good charities are under that banner. The only problem with that is in John 8:44 speaking to the Pharisees Jesus says you are of your father the Devil and the works of your father you will do. Is Jesus being tactful here??. John 8:19 where is your father.? What you can miss in the translation is the implied snide crack they are calling Him a bastard. They are alluding to His illegitimacy as they perceive. And Jesus just answers you neither know Me or My Father He doesn t defend His legitimacy but he comments on theirs.!! This builds up so by the time we get to v42 He is tells them You belong to your father the devil who was a murderer from the beginning. The devil murdered Adam by depriving him of eternal life and condemning him to mortality. At the end of John 8 v 56 59. Speaking words of truth your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day. They hated His words of truth. So the universal brotherhood of man first we need to understand that all men are not brothers there are those that are in the family of God and those who are not. It sounds appealing but denies the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees were not Brothers in that sense. The Common Market is a confederation of nations, common parliament, common currency etc. They have a national anthem, all men are brothers. Denies wrath against sin; God s holiness and God s acceptance of the finished work of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners; 2. Perverts the grace of God into lasciviousness : how easy to pervert the freedom we have in Christ into a license to do whatever we like. Perversion of Eph 2:8,9 vs. What does the grace of Jesus Christ call the Christian to do Titus 2:11-13; to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts..
rejection of the Word of God occurs whenever it is displaced by tradition, custom, creed, loyalty to an organization, etc. when any of these things replace the primacy of the Word of God in your life. Anything that gets in the way of your loyalty to Jesus Christ and His word is dangerous. 3. Denies our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet 2:1,2): There are 4 ideas embodied in this denial. 1. Sovereignty: pre-existent Creator of all things. 2. Lord : of all true believers (Acts 10:36; Rom 14:9). 3. Jesus : Jehovah the Saviour, our martyr-substitute. 4. Christ : Messiah, the Anointed One of OT Prophecy. If we deny Him, He will deny us (Mt 10:3; 2 Tim 2:12; 1 Jn 2:22,23). Homework : Num 14 (find the answered prayer); 1 Cor 10:1-12, Heb 3,4.