1 Happy those who do not follow

the counsel of the wicked,

Nor go the way of sinners,

nor sit in company with scoffers.

2 Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy;

God’s law they study day and night.

3 They are like a tree

planted near streams of water,

that yields its fruit in season;

Its leaves never wither;

whatever they do prospers.

4 But not the wicked!

They are like chaff driven by the wind.

5 Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment,

nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.

6 The LORD watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Psalm 1

The Holy Bible, The New American Bible, (Nashville, Tennessee: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) 1997.

Jude 3 Jude had originally intended to write about the glorious salvation that is the common possession of all believers. But God’s Spirit so influenced this yielded scribe that he sensed a change of direction. A simple doctrinal essay would no longer do; it must be a fervent appeal that would strengthen the readers. They must be stirred up to contend earnestly for the faith. Attacks were being made on the sacred deposit of Christian truth, and efforts were already launched to whittle away the great fundamental doctrines. God’s people must stand uncompromisingly for the inspiration, inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of God’s Holy Word.

Yet in contending for the faith, the believer must speak and act as a Christian. As Paul wrote: "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient" (II Timothy 2:24). He must contend without being contentious, and testify without ruining his testimony.

What we contend earnestly for is the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Notice that! Not "once upon a time" but once for all. The body of doctrine is complete. The canon is finished. Nothing more can be added. "If it’s new it’s not true, and if it’s true it’s not new." When some teacher claims to have a revelation which is above and beyond what is found in the Bible, we reject it out of hand. The faith has been delivered and we neither need nor heed anything else. This is our answer to the leaders of false cults with their books that claim equal authority with the Scriptures.

Jude 4 The nature of the threat is unveiled in verse 4. The Christian fellowship was being invaded by subversive elements. Certain men had wormed in unnoticed. It was an underground movement of stealth and deceit.

These fifth-columnists long ago were marked out for this condemnation. This seems to say that God selected these particular individuals to be doomed. But that is not the meaning. The Bible never teaches that some are chosen to be damned. When men are saved, it is through the sovereign grace of God. But when they are finally lost, it is because of their own sin and disobedience.

This expression teaches that the condemnation of apostates has been determined long beforehand. If men choose to fall away from the Christian Faith, then their condemnation is the same as that of the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness, the rebel angels, and the Sodomites. They are not foreordained to fall away, but once they do apostatize by their own choice, they face the punishment predetermined for all apostates.

Two prominent features of these ungodly persons are their depraved conduct and their corrupt doctrine. In their behavior, they turn the grace of God into lewdness. They twist Christian liberty into license, and pervert freedom to serve into freedom to sin. In their doctrine, they deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. They deny His absolute right to rule, His deity, His vicarious death, His resurrection—in fact, they deny every essential doctrine of His Person and work. While professing an expansive liberality in the spiritual realm, they are dogmatically and viciously opposed to the gospel, to the value of the precious blood of Christ, and to His being the only way of salvation.

Who are these men? They are supposed ministers of the gospel. They hold positions of leadership in Christendom. Some are bishops or church council members or seminary professors. But they all have this in common—they are against the Christ of the Bible and have invented for themselves a liberal or Neo-Orthodox "Christ", stripped of glory, majesty, dominion, and authority.

Jude 5 There is no question about God’s attitude toward these apostates. He has revealed it in the Old Testament on more than one occasion. Jude now wants to remind his readers of three such example—the unbelieving Israelites, the angels that sinned, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The first example is Israel in the wilderness: The Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe (see Numbers 13, 14; I Corinthians 10:5–10). God had promised the land of Canaan to the people. In that promise was all the enablement they needed. But they accepted the evil report of the spies at Kadesh and rebelled against the Lord. As a result, all those men who were twenty or over when they left Egypt perished in the wilderness, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua (see Hebrews 3:16–19).

Jude 6 The second example of rebellion and apostasy is the angels who sinned. All we know about them for certain is that they did not keep the domain that was assigned to them, they abandoned their own abode, and they are now restrained in everlasting chains under darkness for their final judgment.

It seems from Scripture that there have been at least two apostasies of angels. One was when Lucifer fell and presumably involved a host of other angelic beings in his rebellion. These fallen angels are not bound at the present time. The devil and his demons are actively promoting war against the Lord and His people.

The other apostasy of angels is the one referred to by Jude and also by Peter (II Peter 2:4). There is considerable difference of opinion among Bible students as to what event is referred to here. What we suggest is a personal viewpoint, not a dogmatic assertion of fact.

We believe that Jude is referring to what is recorded in Genesis 6:1–7. The sons of God left their proper estate as angelic beings, came down to the earth in human form, and married the daughters of men. This marital union was contrary to God’s order and an abomination to Him. There may be a suggestion in verse 4 that these unnatural marriag es produced offspring of tremendous strength and wickedness. Whether or not this is true, it is clear that God was exceedingly displeased with the wickedness of man at this time and determined to destroy the earth with a flood.

There are three objections to this view: (1) The passage in Genesis does not mention angels, but only "sons of God." (2) Angels are sexless. (3) Angels do not marry.

It is true that angels are not specifically mentioned but it is also true that the term "sons of God" does refer to angels in Semitic languages (see Job 1:6; 2:1).

There is no Bible statement that angels are sexless. Angels sometimes appeared on earth in human form, having human parts and appetites (Genesis 18:2, 22; compare 19:1, 3–5.

The Bible does not say that angels do not marry but only that in heaven they neither marry nor give in marriage (Matthew 22:30).

Whatever historical incident may lie behind verse 6, the important point is that these angels abandoned the sphere which God had marked out for them and are now in ... chains and in darkness until the time when they will receive their final sentence to perdition.

Jude 7 The third Old Testament apostasy which Jude mentions is that of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them (Genesis18:1–19:29). The introductory word as shows that the sin of the Sodomites had features in common with that of the angels. It was gross immorality that was utterly against nature and abhorrent to God.

The specific sin of perversion is discussed by Paul in Romans: "Their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:26b, 27). The men of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboi im were greatly addicted to homosexuality. The sin is described here as having . . .gone after strange flesh, meaning that it is completely contrary to the natural order which God has ordained.

Is it mere coincidence that many modern day apostates are in the vanguard of those who publicly defend homosexuality and campaign for it to be legalized as long as it is done between consenting adults?

To all such libertines the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are exhibited as an example in suffering the punishment of eternal fire. That last expression eternal fire cannot mean that the fire which destroyed the wicked cities is eternal, but rather that in the thoroughness and vastness of its consuming power, it pictures the eternal punishment which will fall on all rebels.

Jude 8 Jude reverts to the subject of present-day apostates, and launches into a description of their sins, their indictment, their counterparts in nature, their doom, and their ungodly words and deeds (vv. 8–16).

First of all is the matter of their sins. By dreaming they defile the flesh. Their thought life is polluted. Living in a world of filthy fantasies, they eventually find fulfillment of their dreams in sexual immorality, just like the men of Sodom.

They reject authority. They are rebels against God and against governmental institutions. Depend on them to be proponents of lawlessness and anarchy. Their names are on the membership rolls of organizations that are dedicated to the overthrow of government.

They speak evil of angelic dignitaries. It means nothing to them that "there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans 13:1b). They scorn the divine command, "You shall not ... curse a ruler of your people" (Exodus 22:28). They speak contemptuously and spitefully against authority, whether it be divine, angelic, or human.

Jude 9 In this respect they take liberties which even Michael the archangel would reject. When Michael disputed with the devil about the body of Moses, he did not dare rail against him but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Here Jude shares with us an incident which is found nowhere else in the Bible. The question naturally arises, "Where did he get this information?"

Some say that the information was passed down by tradition. This may or may not be so.

The most satisfying explanation is that the information was supernaturally revealed to Jude by the same Holy Spirit who moved him to write the Epistle.

We have no definite knowledge why the dispute arose between Michael and Satan about the body of Moses. We do know that Moses was buried by God in a valley of Moab. It is not unlikely that Satan wanted to know the spot so that he could have a shrine built there. Then Israel would turn to the idolatrous worship of Moses’ bones. As the angelic representative of the people of Israel (Daniel 10:21), Michael would strive to preserve the people from this form of idolatry by keeping the burial site secret.

But the important point is this. Even if Michael is an archangel, the one whom God will use to cast Satan down from heaven (Revelation 12:7–9), still he did not presume to speak reproachfully to the one who rules in the realm of demons. He left all such rebuking to God.

Jude 10 Headstrong and brazen, the apostates speak disrespectfully in areas of which they are ignorant. They do not realize that in any ordered society, there must be authority and there must be subjection to that authority. And so they surge forward and swagger around in arrogant rebellion.

The area in which they are most knowledgeable is that of natural instincts, the gratification of sensual appetites. With the mindlessness of unreasoning animals, they abandon themselves to sexual gratification, and in the process they corrupt and destroy themselves.

Jude 11 A stinging indictment is pronounced upon them. Woe to them! Because of their stubborn and unrepentant heart, they store up wrath for themselves in the Day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:5).

Their career is described as a plummeting fall of ever increasing velocity. First they have gone in the way of Cain. They have run greedily in the error of Balaam. Finally they perished in the rebellion of Korah. Error and apostasy are never static. They lead people pell-mell to the precipice, then over it to destruction.

The way of Cain is basically the rejection of salvation through the blood of a sacrificial victim (Genesis 4). It is the attempt to appease God by human efforts. C. H. Mackintosh says, "God’s remedy to cleanse is rejected, and man’s effort to improve is put in its place. This is ’the way of Cain.’." But, of course, reliance on human effort leads to a hatred of grace and to the objects of grace. And that hatred eventually leads to persecution and even murder (I John 3:15).

The error of Balaam is the desire to become personally wealthy by making a business out of the service of God. Balaam professed to be a prophet of God, but he was covetous, and willing to prostitute his prophetic gift for money (Numbers 22–24). Five times Balak paid him to curse Israel, and he was more than willing to do it, but he was forcibly restrained by God. Many of the things that he said were true and beautiful, but for all that, he was a hireling prophet. He couldn’t curse the men of Israel, but he eventually succeeded in luring them into sin with the daughters of Moab (Numbers 25:1–5).

Like Balaam, the false teachers of today are suave and convincing. They can speak out of both corners of their mouths at once. They suppress the truth in order to increase their income. The principal point is that they are greedy, seeking to make the house of God a house of merchandise.

Christendom today is leavened by the sin of simony. If the profit motive could somehow be removed, much of what passes as Christian work would come to a screeching halt. C. A. Coates warns:

Man is so base that he makes gain for himself out of God’s things. The ultimate point of man’s baseness is that he will make gain out of God’s things for himself. The Lord has a definite judgment on it all. We can see how Christendom is full of it, and we have to watch it in ourselves lest that element come in.

The third reason for the woe pronounced by Jude is that these false teachers have perished in the rebellion of Korah. Along with Dathan and Abiram, Korah rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron and desired to intrude into the priestly office (Numbers 16). In this they were actually spurning the Lord. For their insubordination, they were swallowed alive in a great earthquake. God thus showed His extreme displeasure at rebellion against those whom He has set up as His representatives.

Jude 12 Next Jude chooses five similes from the world of nature to picture the character and destiny of the apostates. Moffatt says that "sky, land and sea are ransacked for illustrations of the character of these men."

They are spots in the love feasts which were held by the early Christians in connection with the Lord’s Supper. They fear neither God nor man, and care for themselves rather than for the flock. They lure others to besmirch the faith.

They are clouds without water, appearing to hold promise of refreshment to the parched countryside, but then carried along (NKJV margin) by the winds, and leaving disappointment and disillusionment.

They are late autumn trees, stripped of leaves and fruit. Twice dead may be an intensive form meaning thoroughly dead—or it may mean dead in the root as well as the branches. Also they are pulled up by the roots, as if torn out of the ground by a strong wind and leaving no stump as a possible future source of life and growth.

Jude 13 They are raging waves of the sea, ungovernable, boisterous, and furious. For all their noise and motion, there is nothing to show but the foam of their shame. They glory in what they should be ashamed of and leave nothing of substance and value behind.

Finally, they are like wandering stars, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Wandering stars are celestial bodies that do not move in regular orbit. They are worthless as navigational aids. How appropriate a description of the false teachers! It is impossible to get spiritual direction from these religious meteors, falling stars, and comets who blaze brightly for a moment, then fizzle out into darkness like firework rockets.

Jude 14 The doom of the apostates was foretold by Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam. It is a prophecy that is found only in Jude’s Epistle. Some think it is taken from the apocryphal Book of Enoch, but there is no proof that that spurious book existed in the time of Jude. Kelly said:

It [Enoch] has every mark of having been written subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem [and therefore after Jude’s Epistle was written], by a Jew who still buoyed himself up with the hope that God would stand by the Jews.

While we do not know how Jude learned of this ancient prophecy, a simple and plausible explanation is that the Holy Spirit revealed the words to him just as He guided in all the rest of the Epistle.

The prophecy begins: "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints." The prediction will have a preliminary and partial fulfillment when the Lord Jesus returns to earth after the Tribulation to destroy His foes and to reign as King. It will have its complete and final fulfillment at the end of the Millennium when the wicked dead are judged at the Great White Throne.

Jude 15 Christ comes to execute judgment on all. The rest of the verse shows that the all here means all the ungodly. True believers will not be included. Through faith in Christ, they have been granted immunity from judgment, as promised in John 5:24: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." As the Son of Man to whom all judgment has been committed, the Lord Jesus will convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Four times in this one verse we find the word ungodly occurring. The people are ungodly, their deeds are ungodly, the manner in which they perform these deeds is ungodly, and they further manifest their ungodliness by their blasphemies against the Lord. He will convict them of the whole ungodly business, not just in the sense of making them feel a deep sense of guilt, but convicting them by pronouncing sentence as a result of their proven guilt.

Jude 16 Their ungodly words and deeds are now described in more detail. They are grumblers, complaining against the providences of God instead of being thankful for His mercies. The fact that God hates such griping is abundantly proved by His punishment of Israel in the wilderness.

They are always finding fault with the Lord. Why does He permit wars and suffering? Why doesn’t He put an end to all the social injustice? If He is all-powerful, why doesn’t He do something about the mess the world is in? They also find fault with God’s people for being narrow-minded in creed and puritanical in conduct.

They live lustfully, indulging the passions of the flesh and being the loudest in advocating permissiveness in the sexual realm.

Their arrogant speech proves a real attention-getter. By their shocking espousal of political, economic, and social extremism, they make the headlines. And their bold, shameless repudiation of basic Christian doctrines, such as their assertion that God is dead, give them a certain notoriety among liberal theologians.

Finally, they are masters in the art of flattery, thereby gaining a following for themselves and a comfortable income as well.

This portrait is true and accurate. It is confirmed almost every day by the news media of the world.

I