Judas 1
William Barclay · Citado em PreceptAustin
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - In a sense it is true to say that all preaching within the Christian church is not so much bringing to men new truth as confronting them with truth they already know, but have forgotten or are disregarding… Jude chooses his examples to make clear that, even if a man has received the greatest privileges, he may still fall away into disaster, and even those who have received the greatest privileges from God cannot consider themselves safe (Ed: Although if one is genuinely saved, he cannot lose his salvation! See Can a Christian lose salvation?) but must be on constant watch against the mistaken things. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Know (1492)(eido is used only in the perfect tense = oida) means in general to know by perception. Eido/oida is distinguished from ginosko (epiginosko, epignosis- the other major NT word group for knowing) because ginosko generally refers to knowledge obtained by experience or "experiential knowledge". On the other hand, eido/oida often refers more to an intuitive knowledge, although this distinction is not always clear cut. Eido/oida is a perception, a being aware of, an understanding, an intuitive knowledge which in the case of believers can only be given by the Holy Spirit. Jude is saying that at one time ''all things'' were revealed to their hearts and they still know these things (perfect tense speaks of permanence of their knowing). But we are a forgetful lot and all of us need reminders, of the radical change wrought in our depraved hearts by the glorious Gospel and of God's hatred and condemnation of sin. And so Jude presents several OT reminders of divine judgment, beginning with God's Chosen People, Israel! All things - Jude is emphasizing how well acquainted his readers were with the Gospel in contrast to the perversion of the Gospel by their opponents, as well as how well they knew the OT examples he is now going to review. NET NOTE - Jude is stressing that the readers have been informed once for all of the OT illustrations he is about to mention. Where would they get this information? Most likely from having read 2 Peter. Earlier Jude used the same adverb to indicate that these believers had a written record of the faith. This seems to be his implication here, too. Thus, for the second time Jude is appealing to the written documents of the early church as authoritative as opposed to the messages of the false teachers. As the 1st century began to draw to a close, the early church found itself increasingly dependent on the letters and gospels of the apostles and their associates. Once those apostles died, false apostles and false teachers sprang up, like wolves in sheep's clothing (cf. Acts 20:29-30+). To combat this, some of the latest books of the NT stressed the authority of what had been written (so Hebrews, Jude, Ephesians, 1 John). Although these writers anticipated the return of the Lord, they also braced their audiences for a delay of the parousia (the Second Coming of Christ) by suggesting that when they were gone the NT documents should guide them. Lord (2962)(kurios from kuros = might or power) describes the supreme one, one who is sovereign and possesses absolute authority, absolute ownership and uncontested power. Some versions have "Jesus" instead of Lord, regarding which the ESV Study Bible says "Jesus … saved a people out of the land of Egypt (cf. Ex 1-15). This may seem puzzling, because the name “Jesus” is not applied to the Son of God in the OT. It is a prime example of the apostolic understanding of the OT, according to which the Son of God, in His eternal divine nature, was active in the world from the beginning of creation, long before His incarnation (cf. Lk 24:27; Jn 1:3; 8:56-58; 12:41; 1Cor. 10:4, 9; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:8-12; 11:26). Jesus, then, judged and destroyed those in Israel who escaped from Egypt but failed to keep trusting in God, and therefore they did not reach the Promised Land (cf. 1Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:16-19). After saving (delivering) a people out of the land of Egypt - God saved Israel out of Egypt physically (A summation of Exodus 6-14, the Exodus), and gave them many signs and opportunities to believe in Him, which, if they had believed, would have resulted in their spiritual salvation. Yet they rejected His revealed presence and consequently He judged and destroyed them (meditate on 1Cor 10:1-12). This aptly illustrates the heretic’s history, for he, like Israel, has experienced and knew God’s word, and thus had ample opportunity to accept Jesus as his Savior (cp 2Pe 2:20-21+). Yet he, like Israel, preferred to pursue his own interests and therefore refused to subject himself in faith to God. And so he, like Israel, will suffer God’s judgment. Out of Egypt - (1Co 10:1-12, Ex 12:37-41, 51, Acts 7:36,43, 51, Nu 13:1-3, 21-33, Nu 14:1-35) - Although many of these Scriptures illustrate how they had been rescued out of Egypt, Egypt was (their love of the world instead of love of God - cp 1Jn 2:15-17+) was not out of them. As Stephen summarized, they were stiff-necked, rebellious and uncircumcised in heart (See Excursus on Circumcision) (Acts 7:39, 43, 51+). Saving (4982)(sozo) basically means to rescue from peril, to protect, keep alive. It involves preservation of life, physical or spiritual. Whenever sozo is used, the context must be considered to determine whether preservation of physical life or spiritual life is in view. While all of Israel was physically rescued, not all of Israel was spiritually rescued (saved), as Jude's following description explains… The Lord… subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. Destroyed (622) (apollumi from apo = away from or wholly + olethros = state of utter ruin <> ollumi = to destroy <> root of apollyon [Rev 9:11+] = destroyer) means to destroy utterly but not to caused to cease to exist. Apollumi as it relates to men, is not the loss of being per se, but is more the loss of well-being. It means to ruin so that the person (or thing) ruined can no longer serve the use for which he (it) was designed. To render useless. The gospel promises everlasting life for the one who believes. The failure to possess this life will result in utter ruin and eternal uselessness (but not a cessation of existence). Apollumi then has the basic meaning of describing that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. Subsequently (1208) (deuteros) is literally second or second time. After the "first time" having delivered the people out of Egypt. The consequences of unbelief are eternally costly! Believe (4100) (pisteuo from pistis; pistos; related studies the faith, the obedience of faith) means to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To accept the word or evidence of. To consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust. To accept as true, genuine, or real. To have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To consider to be true. To accept the word or evidence of. The Septuagint (Lxx) translation uses pisteuo in Nu 14:11-12 which is apparently the event Jude appeals to in order to illustrate Israel's unbelief… The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe (Lxx = pisteuo) in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?: I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them (cp "subsequently destroyed those who did not believe") , and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.” (Nu 14:11-12) The respected Greek lexicon author W E Vine defines genuine (spiritually saving) belief as consisting of (1) A firm conviction which produces full acknowledgment of God's revelation of Truth - (2Th 2:11+ -"in order that they all may be judged who did not believe [pisteuo] the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.") (2) A personal surrender to the Truth (Jn 1:12+ "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe [pisteuo] in His name" - See Spurgeon's Sermon on John 1:12) and (3) A conduct inspired by and consistent with that surrender. (See relationship between conduct and belief = Obedience of faith and the Relationship of faith and obedience in covenant; See also James explanation of faith and works = James 2:14-26+) Jude's point is that intellectual belief in truth does not save anyone. If those… did not believe then they were non-believers, emphasizing that while they had been physically delivered (saved as it were), they had never experienced circumcision of their hearts (cp Ezekiel 36:27+, Dt 10:16, Ro 2:25, 26+, Col 2:11+), their unregenerate state being dramatically illustrated by their unremitting rebellion against God in the wilderness. A parallel teaching in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 3:10+, Heb 3:18,19+, Heb 4:1,2+) also strongly supports that most of those "saved" out of Egypt were not truly regenerate, because what they had heard from God was not united ("mixed with") genuine saving faith. And thus most of Israel died in their trespasses and sins in the wilderness. (Nu 14:22-37+). If we have no real faith, we may appear to go a long way towards heaven, but we shall not enter the heavenly Canaan. -- C H Spurgeon
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - They perverted the grace of God into an excuse for blatant immorality. The Greek which we have translated blatant immorality is a grim and terrible word (aselgeia). The corresponding adjective is aselges. Most men try to hide their sin; they have enough respect for common decency not to wish to be found out. But the aselges is the man who is so lost to decency that he does not care who sees his sin. It is not that he arrogantly and proudly flaunts it; it is simply that he can publicly do the most shameless things, because he has ceased to care for decency at all. These men were undoubtedly tinged with Gnosticism (What is Christian Gnosticism) and its belief that, since the grace of God was wide enough to cover any sin, a man could sin as he liked. The more he sinned, the greater the grace, therefore, why worry about sin? Grace was being perverted into a justification for sin. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) NET NOTE on Turned the grace of our God into a license for evil. One of the implications that the gospel in the apostolic period was truly a gospel of grace was the fact that the enemies of the gospel could pervert it into license. If it were a gospel of works, no such abuse could be imagined. Along these lines, note Rom 6:1 - "Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?" This question could not have even been asked had the gospel been one of works. But grace is easily misunderstood by those who would abuse it. Turn (3346)(metatithemi from meta = change of place or condition + tithemi = to put or place) literally means to put in another place, as used in Heb 11:5 in the passive sense meaning to be taken or transferred. We find another literal use in Acts 7:16 where bodies are transferred to a burial place in Shechem. In the figurative sense as in Jude 1:4 metatithemi means to effect a change in state or condition and so to alter something (as when the priesthood is changed Heb 7:12). Metatithemi - 5v - changed(1), deserting*(1), removed(1), taken(1), took(1), turn(1). Acts 7:16; Gal. 1:6; Heb. 7:12; Heb. 11:5; Jude 1:4 Grace (5485) (charis) is not just God's unmerited favor but is also His supernatural enablement and empowerment for salvation and for daily (progressive) sanctification. Little wonder that the devil's emissaries would seek to "sink" God's good ship "Grace!" Licentiousness (766) (aselgeia from aselges = licentious <> a = negates next word + selges = continent) originally referred to any excess or lack of restraint but came to convey the idea of shameless excess and the absence of restraint, especially with sexual excess. Thus like koite, aselgeia was used almost exclusively of especially lewd sexual immorality, of uninhibited and unabashed lasciviousness. It refers to the kind of sexual debauchery and abandonment that characterizes much of modern society and that is often flaunted almost as a badge of distinction! Aselgeia refers to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame and without concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected). Aselgeia - 10v - licentiousness(1), sensual(1), sensuality(8). Mk. 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Co. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 4:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 2:7; 2 Pet. 2:18; Jude 1:4 And deny our only Master (despotes) and Lord (kurios), Jesus Christ - Deny (arneomai) present tense which depicts their denial as habitual. They were repeatedly denying, repudiating or disowning Jesus by words and by deeds (licentious lifestyle). They are reminiscent of the men Paul described on the isle of Crete, warning Titus to watch out for those who "profess (present tense) to know God, but (strategic term of contrast!!!) by their deeds they deny (present tense) Him (IT'S NOT WHAT THEY SAY BUT WHAT THEY DO), being (present tense) detestable and disobedient and worthless (adokimos = failing to stand the test, unqualified) for any good deed." (Titus 1:16+). THOUGHT - Does your practice line up with your profession? Does your life match your lips? If not then you need to take a test! Paul's gives you the test in 2Cor 13:5+ "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test (adokimos)?" God does not grade on a curve. It's either pass (receive Christ) or fail (reject Christ)! Barclay - There is more than one way in which a man can deny Jesus Christ. (a) He can deny Him in the day of persecution. (b) He can deny Him for the sake of convenience. (c) He can deny Him by his life and conduct. (d) He can deny Him by developing false ideas about him. If these men were Gnostics, they would have two mistaken ideas about Jesus. First, since the body, being matter, was evil, they would hold that Jesus only seemed to have a body and was a kind of spirit ghost in the apparent shape of a man. The Greek for "to seem" is dokein (1380); and these men were called Docetists (see note). They would deny the real manhood of Jesus Christ. Second, they would deny his uniqueness. They believed that there were many stages between the evil matter of this world and the perfect spirit which is God; and they believed that Jesus was only one of the many stages on the way. No wonder Jude was alarmed. He was faced with a situation in which there had wormed their way into the church men who were twisting the grace of God into a justification, and even a reason, for sinning in the most blatant way; and who denied both the manhood and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Deny (720)(arneomai from "a" = negation + rheo = say) literally means "to say no", to say one does not know about or is in any way related to some person or something. Webster says that to deny implies a firm refusal to accept as true, to grant or concede or to acknowledge the existence or claims of. The picture is of those who "say no" to Jesus' offer of freedom from their bondage to sin. They want their sin more than they want Jesus but that tune will probably change when they end up eternally in the lake of fire! Deny (arneomai) is used by Peter writing But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce (pareisago COMPARE "CREPT IN UNNOTICED") destructive heresies, even (present tense - continually) denying the Master (despotes) who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.(2 Peter 2:1+) John uses deny (arneomai) Who is the liar but the one who (present tense - continually) denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who (present tense - continually) denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever (present tense - continually) denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. (1Jn 2:22-23+)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - It is my purpose to remind you--although you already possess full and final knowledge of all that matters--that, after the Lord had brought the people out of Egypt in safety, he subsequently destroyed those who were unbelieving; (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Balaam stands for two things. (a) He stands for the covetous man, who was prepared to sin in order to gain reward. (b) He stands for the evil man, who was guilty of the greatest of all sins—the sin of teaching others to sin. So Jude is declaring of the wicked men of his own day that they are ready to leave the way of righteousness to make gain; and that they are teaching others to sin. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - The first example is from the history of Israel. He goes for his story to Numbers 13:1-33; Numbers 14:1-45. The mighty hand of God had delivered the people from slavery in Egypt. What greater act of deliverance could there be than that? The guidance of God had brought the people safely across the desert to the borders of the Promised Land. What greater demonstration of His Providence could there be than that? So, at the very borders of the Promised Land, at Kadesh Barnea, spies were sent out to spy out the land before the final invasion took place. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, the spies came back with the opinion that the dangers ahead were so terrible and the people so strong, that they could never win their way into the Promised Land. The people rejected the report of Caleb and Joshua, who were for going on, and accepted the report of those who insisted that the case was hopeless. This was a clear act of disobedience to God and of complete lack of faith in him. The consequence was that God gave sentence that of these people, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, all over twenty would never enter the Promised Land but would wander in the wilderness until they were dead (Numbers 14:32-33; Numbers 32:10-13)… Johnstone Jeffrey tells of a great man who absolutely refused to have his life-story written before his death. "I have seen," he said, "too many men fall out on the last lap." John
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - and that he has placed under guard in eternal chains in the abyss of darkness, to await the judgment which shall take place on the great day, the angels who did not keep their own rank but left their own proper habitation. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay on angels - The Jews had a very highly developed doctrine of angels, the servants of God. In particular the Jews believed that every nation had its presiding angel. In the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, Deuteronomy 32:8 reads, "When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." That is to say, to each nation there was an angel. The Jews believed in a fall of the angels and much is said about this in the Book of Enoch which is so often behind the thought of Jude. In regard to this there were two lines of tradition. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Peter said the angels sinned writing For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment. (2Peter 2:4) Did not keep (5083) (tereo) means they did not keep their proper domain in view, and did not watch over it carefully. Tereo speaks of guarding something which is in one’s possession, something these angels did not do. These angels did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them. The verb expresses the act of watchful care. That is, these angels did not fulfil their obligation of carefully guarding and maintaining their original position in which they were created, but transgressed those limits to invade territory which was foreign to them, namely, the human race. "The idea is that certain angels acted improperly, going outside the bounds prescribed by God (their proper domain)." (NET NOTE) Their own (2398)(idios) means belonging to oneself and not to another, one’s own, peculiar. Wuest on "their own domain" - Their own is idion which means “one’s own private, personal, unique possession,” Heaven was made for the angels, not for man. It is the temporary abode of the departed saints until the new heavens and new earth are brought into being, but man’s eternal dwelling-place will be on the perfect earth (Rev 21:1-3+). (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) Domain (dominion, authority, power) (746)(arche) refers to the commencement of something as an action, process, or state of being. Arche originally signified beginning but from this comes a secondary meaning of the beginning or first place of power = sovereignty, dominion, magistracy (principalities = Ro 8:38; rule = 1Co 15:24). Thus arche refers to the domain or rule or sphere of influence given to the angels. The implication is that God assigned angels stipulated responsibilities (arche, "dominion") and a set place (oiketerion). NET NOTE "The idea is that certain angels acted improperly, going outside the bounds prescribed by God (their proper domain)."
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Just so Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, who in the same way as these took their fill of sexual sin and strayed after perverted sexual immorality, are a warning by the way in which they paid the penalty of eternal fire. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Sir George Adam Smith in The Historical Geography of the Holy Land points out that no incident in history ever made such an impression on the Jewish people, and that Sodom and Gomorrah are time and time again used in Scripture as the examples par excellence of the sin of man and the judgment of God; they are so used even by Jesus himself (Deuteronomy 29:23; Deuteronomy 32:32; Amos 4:11; Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 3:9; Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; Jeremiah 49:18; Jeremiah 50:40; Zephaniah 2:9; Lamentations 4:6; Ezekiel 16:46; Ezekiel 16:49; Ezekiel 16:53; Ezekiel 16:55; Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:24; Luke 10:12; Luke 17:29; Romans 9:29; 2 Peter 2:6; Revelation 11:8). "The glare of Sodom and Gomorrah is flung down the whole length of Scripture history."… The sin of Sodom is one of the most horrible stories in history. Ryle has called it a "repulsive incident."… This disaster was localized in the dreadful desert in the region of the Dead Sea, a region which Sir George Adam Smith calls, "This awful hollow, this bit of the infernal regions come to the surface, this hell with the sun shining into it."… Jude is insisting that they should remember that sin and judgment go hand in hand, and that they should repent in time. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Since they in the same way as these - Who is these? In context this has to refer to the rebellious angels in Jude 1:6. In the same way (3668)(homoios from hómoios = like, resembling) means similarly, likewise, of equal degree or manner and denoting perfect agreement. In most of the NT uses homoios conveys the sense of "to do likewise". Hiebert - This connection with the men of Sodom throws additional light on the sin of these angels. Both groups were guilty of lusting after forbidden things and violating the divinely established order to satisfy their lust. The sin of both was sexual in nature; yet, as “in like manner” implies, their sins were not identical. Ward observes, “The sin of the angels was fornication; that of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality (cf. Ro. 1:27).” Both were guilty of going after “strange flesh” (sarkos heteras). (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary - page 236) Gross immorality (1608) (ekporneuo from ek = out or from + porneuo = commit fornication or lewdness) is used only here in the NT and means to be to be utterly unchaste. To give self over to fornication and indulge in flagrant immorality. The force of ek is out and out and depicts the Sodomites as giving themselves up utterly to fornication. The inhabitants of these depraved cities have made "an “out and out surrender to” extravagant sexual lust. Ge 19:5-9 clearly portrays the sin of the Sodomites as homosexuality. They were thoroughly committed to its practice." (Hiebert) Ekporneuo - 37v in the OT where it often translates zanah which means Played the harlot - Ge 38:24; Ex 34:15, 16; Lev. 17:7; 19:29; 20:5f; 21:9; Num. 15:39; 25:1; Deut. 22:21; 31:16; Jdg. 2:17; 8:27, 33; 2 Chr. 21:11, 13; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 6:9; 16:16f, 20, 26, 28, 30, 33; 20:30; 23:3, 5, 30, 43; Hos. 1:2; 2:5; 4:12f, 18; 5:3 Ezekiel 16:49-50+ explains Sodom's sin was not solely sexual debauchery… Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance (PRIDE), abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy (SELFISHNESS, LACK OF COMPASSION). Thus they were haughty (PRIDE - Heb = gabah = to be high, exalted, speaking of pride) and committed abominations (Hebrew = toebah; Lxx = anomema in plural = iniquities; lawless actions ) before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. Comment: Note that toebah translated abominations refers to something that is morally disgusting and is also used in Lev 18:22 to describe homosexuality. Went (565)(aperchomai from apó = separation + érchomai = come or go) literally means to go away or to depart, but here used in a metaphorical sense. "The force of apo- is away; turning away from purity, and going after strange flesh." (Vincent) Aperchomai is an aorist participle indicating "having gone." Aperchomai is found in combination with opiso (= after, a position behind, back) in Mk 1:20 (James and John leaving their father and going after Jesus) and Jn 12:19 ("The world is gone after him"). "The compound expression “went after” (apechomai opisō) indicates a departure from the established order in nature to follow a practice contrary to nature. Deserting the established male-female relationship, they deliberately pursued a relationship with “strange flesh” (sarkos heteras, literally, “other flesh”); that is, they followed a course of action in conjugal matters other than that prescribed by God." (Hiebert) Strange flesh (sarx) - Strange is heteros ~ flesh of a different kind. (Cp 2Pe 2:10+; Ro 1:27+; Lev 18:22-23) See lengthy explanatory note on strange flesh ("Unnatural desire" = NET) NET Note Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος (heteros; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelthousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them. A WARNING TO ALL WHO REJECT CHRIST Are exhibited (4295) (prokeimai from pros = in front of + keimai = lie outstretched) means to be set before one or in front of. To be placed before the eyes so as to expose Here in Jude prokeimai refers to destroyed cities exhibited as an example for all to see. Prokeimai was used of meats on the table ready for the guests; of a corpse laid out for burial; of a question under discussion. Thus the corruption and punishment of the cities of the plain are laid out in plain sight. As an example (1164)(deigma from deiknumi = to display or exhibit) means something which is held up to view as a warning. Deigma is used only in Jude 1:7 (3Macc 2:5 [mouseover for popup] uses paradeigma = a pattern of the thing to be executed -) where it presents the suffering of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of the future suffering which is a consequence of God’s judgment (cf. 2Pe 2:6+). Hiebert - Let it never be forgotten that Genesis 13:10, which describes it as “well watered everywhere,” was once true of this bleak and blasted area. The very character of the region is a timeless warning that evil will not triumph… “Suffering the punishment of eternal fire” points to the lasting retribution for such flagrant sin. The fire that destroyed the cities was a type of the fire of eternal punishment that will befall all rebels. (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary - page 238) In undergoing the punishment of eternal fire (Mt 3:12; 18:8; 25:41; Mk 9:43, 44, 46, 48; Lk 3:17; Rev 19:20; 20:14,15; 21:8) Sodom and Gomorrah illustrate God’s fire of earthly judgment (Rev 16:8,9; 20:9) but it was only a preview of the fire that will never be quenched throughout eternity in hell, the second death (Mk 9:48, Isa 66:24, Rev 20:6+, Rev 20:14-15+) for all rebellious hearts who reject Jesus as their Savior. The truth in passages such as Jude 1:7 should make believers overwhelmingly grateful, knowing we are in Jesus and are rescued from the wrath to come (1Th 1:10+). And it should stimulate a deep compassion for the lost and an undying passion to share Christ with them (2Cor 5:18-21+). It was said of D. L. Moody (see some of his classic sermons) that he never referred to Hell without tears. The amazing results of Moody's sermons likely would never have occurred had they not been inspired by the Holy Spirit and soaked in old Moody's heartfelt tears. Do you weep for those who stand on the edge of the abyss ever in danger of eternal fire and worst of all eternal separation from their Creator? (2Th 1:8-10) Punishment (KJV = vengeance) (1349)(dike) speaks of punishment on the basis of what is rightly deserved. This makes one recall the immutable divine law of sowing and reaping (Gal 6:7+). Eternal fire - this exact phrase in NAS - 3x = Jude 1:7, Mt 18:8, Mt 25:41 (read for whom Hell was actually created!) See Jonathan Edwards "sobering" article: To Help Your Conception of What Hell Is (Woe! Woe! Woe!) Eternal (166)(aionios from aion) means existing at all times, perpetual, pertaining to an unlimited duration of time (Ro 1:20 - God's power, Mt 18:8 - God's place of judgment, Ro 16:26 - God's attribute). And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented (see basanizo) day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:10+, see Isa 30:33) "A destruction so utter and so permanent as theirs has been, is the nearest approach that can be found in this world to the destruction which awaits those who are kept under darkness to the judgment of the great day" (Lumby). Undergoing (KJV = suffering) (5254)(hupecho from hupó = under + écho = have) (Only here in NT) means literally to hold under, and so metaphorically to undergo, endure or experience something. "The participle is present tense, indicating that they are suffering to this day the punishment which came upon them in Lot's time." (Vincent) QUESTION - What is the strange flesh in Jude 1:7? ANSWER - Jude 1:7 speaks of “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh” (KJV). In context, Jude is assuring his readers that God has punished sin in the past and, therefore, He will continue to do so in the future. Jude gives a list of incidents as evidence of God’s judgment, and one of the incidents that he cites is the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. The King James Version and the New American Standard Version are similar in the translation of Jude 1:7, and both use the term strange flesh. “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire” (NASB). The ESV has a more interpretive translation: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” The ESV includes an alternate translation, “different flesh,” in a footnote. The NIV provides the most interpretive translation: “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” The traditional understanding of this passage is that the “strange flesh” refers to homosexual desire similar to what was exhibited in Sodom in Genesis 19. Two angels (appearing as men) visited Sodom. Lot, not knowing that they were angels, asked them to come into his home. The men of the city learned of the visitors and mobbed Lot’s house, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them” (verse 4). In recent years, there has been an attempt to legitimize homosexual desire and even to look for ways to make it compatible with biblical teaching. Some have challenged the traditional understanding that the pursuit of “strange flesh” refers to homosexual lust. Jude 1:7 begins with “in the same way,” which calls our attention to the situation in the previous verse. Verse 6 says, “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” This has often been understood as a reference to Genesis 6. The first verses of that chapter highlight the wickedness that precipitated the flood. Many interpret the Genesis passage as referring to angels who in some way had sexual relations with human women. According to some, the logic in Jude 1 runs this way: in verse 6 angels have sexual desire for human beings, and in verse 7 human beings have sexual desire for angels. The conclusion is that the desire for “strange flesh” in Jude 1:7 refers to human-angel relations, not any kind of human-human relations. This interpretation has several problems. First, it is far from clear that Jude 1:6 is a reference to Genesis 6:2–4. Second, it is far from clear that “the sons of God” in Genesis 6:2–4 refers to angels or that human-angel sexual activity is what is in view. Third, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah warranted judgment before the angels ever showed up (Genesis 19:20). In fact, pending judgment was the reason the angels went to Sodom in the first place. It is not as though angels were being assaulted on a regular basis in Sodom. And, finally, the men of Sodom had no idea that the “men” visiting Lot’s house were angels, so the issue could not be an unnatural attraction to angels. The next issue that needs to be addressed is the term translated “strange “ in the phrase “strange flesh.” The word translated “strange” is hetero, which means “different.” The issue is complicated by the fact that we use the term heterosexual to refer to attraction to the opposite gender and homosexual to refer to same-sex attraction. Jude 1:7 says that Sodom and Gomorrah were judged because of hetero attractions. However, the context is clear that hetero in this case does not mean “different gender” but “different from the norm,” as in “strange.” Romans 1:26–27 calls these urges and actions “unnatural”—that is, they are different (hetero) from the God-ordained design. Finally, some have charged that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality per se, but violence and attempted homosexual rape. They claim that Genesis 19 has nothing to do with loving, mutual homosexual desire. Certainly, the violence of the men of Sodom adds an additional layer to the problem. It may account for why Jude describes the incident in Sodom as one of “gross immorality,” but it does not explain why Jude says they desired “strange flesh.” Furthermore, it was not for the single incident with Lot that Sodom was judged; rather, that incident simply demonstrated and confirmed the kind of immorality that was rampant in Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding areas. When all the evidence is considered, the traditional understanding is still the most consistent with the biblical data. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding areas gave themselves over to all sorts of sexual perversion (rape would be included in this), but homosexual attraction and activity, described as a desire for “strange flesh,” is also included. Jude describes homosexual desire as a desire for hetero flesh because it is “different” from the God-ordained plan for sexuality. Jude says that the men of Sodom were judged for this and stand as an example of God’s willingness and ability to judge such actions in the future.GotQuestions.org Jude 1:8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties: homoios mentoi kai houtoi enupniazomenoi (PPPMPN) sarka men miainousin (3PPAI) kurioteta de athetousin (3PPAI) doxas de blasphemousin (3PPAI) these men, also by dreaming = Jer 38:25-28 defile the flesh = 1Co 3:17; 1Ti 1:10; 2Pe 2:10-12 reject authority, = Ge 3:5; Nu 16:3,12,13, Ps 2:1-6; 12:3, 4; Lk 19:14; Acts 7:27,39; 1Th 4:8; Heb 13:17 and revile angelic majesties = Jude 1:9,10; Ex 22:28; Pr 30:11,17; Ec 10:20; Acts 23:5; 1Pe 2:17 Click for over 60 versions of this verse. NET Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones. NIV In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. Barclay - In the same way these, too, with their dreams, defile the flesh, and set at naught the celestial powers, and speak evil of the angelic glories. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - When the archangel Michael himself was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, he did not venture to launch against him an evil-speaking accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - But these people speak evil of everything which they do not understand, whereas they allow themselves to be corrupted by the knowledge which their instincts give them, living at the mercy of their instincts, like beasts without reason. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - "They allow themselves to be corrupted by the things they do understand. What they do understand are the fleshly instincts which they share with the brute beasts. Their way of life is to allow these instincts to have their way; their values are fleshly values. Jude describes men who have lost all awareness of spiritual things and for whom the things demanded by the animal instincts are the only standards. The terrible thing is that the first condition is the direct result of the second. The tragedy is that no man is born without a sense of the spiritual things but can lose that sense until for him the spiritual things cease to exist. A man may lose any faculty, if he refuses to use it. We discover that with such simple things as games and skills. If we give up playing a game, we lose the ability to play it. If we give up practicing a skill--such as playing the piano--we lose it. We discover that in such things as abilities. We may know something of a foreign language, but if we never speak or read it, we lose it. Every man can hear the voice of God; and every man has the animal instincts on which, indeed, the future existence of the race depends. But, if he consistently refuses to listen to God and makes his instincts the sole dynamic of his conduct, in the end he will be unable to hear the voice of God and will have nothing left to be his master but his brute desires. It is a terrible thing for a man to reach a stage where he is deaf to God and blind to goodness; and that is the stage which the men whom Jude attacks had reached."(Jude - Daily Study Bible) By instinct (5446) (phusikos) means instinctively or naturally. Phusikos is used only one other time in 2Peter 2:12+ and means natural or that which is produced by and belongs to nature or is governed by the natural instincts. Here in Jude 1:10 phusikos refers to those who are like animals and thus are governed by natural instincts. They followed their natural desires. Like animals in a jungle, their only value is in being caught and destroyed. This harsh language but is an indication of how dangerous their heresies are to the body of Christ. Webster says instinct is a "largely inheritable (cp Ro 5:12+) and unalterable tendency of an organism to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason. It describes behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level." NET NOTE - Like irrational animals, these false teachers do grasp one thing - the instinctive behavior of animals in heat. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 63) notes that “Though they claim to be guided by special spiritual insight gained in heavenly revelations, they are in fact following the sexual instincts which they share with the animals.” Jude’s focus is somewhat different from Peter’s: Peter argued that, like irrational animals who are born to be caught and killed, these men will be destroyed when destroying others (2Pet 2:12). Jude, however, does not mention the destruction of animals, just that these false teachers will be destroyed for mimicking them. Like unreasoning animals - Notice that "like" is a term of comparison, specifically a simile. Always pause and ponder what (why, etc) the writer is comparing and how this insight illuminates the text you are studying. The phrase unreasoning animals in Peter's description of the false teachers and helps us understand these men But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, (2 Pe 2:12+) Philosophers (e.g., Epictetus and 2nd-century Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius) characterized animals as creatures ruled by instinct as opposed to humans, who were ruled by reason, and considered unreasoning humans “wild beasts.” These false teachers act like instinct driven animals, guided not by true intelligence (they cannot think rightly - they are deceived and don't even know it - cp 2Ti 3:13+), but only by their animalistic cravings and base passions. Rather than following reason and revelation, they are guided by ignorance and instinct (sinful at that), a manner of thinking that derives from their unredeemed totally depraved flesh. They are ultimate religious hypocrites who profess to have deep religious insights when in reality they are led about by the natural sense and cravings rather than by Biblical truths (cp "form of godliness" 2Ti 3:5+; Titus 1:16+) . Like wild (and even domesticated) animals, these spiritual masqueraders react only to present circumstances, without giving thought to the consequences of their actions (cp the principle of sowing and reaping -- Gal 6:7, 8+, Job 4:8, Pr 22:8, Jer 12:13, Ho 8:7, 10:13, 2Pe 2:12,19, Rev 22:11, cp Jn 8:34, Pr 5:22+, Jer 2:19). They act like wild beasts and so reap the same destiny. Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. —Samuel Smiles Unreasoning (249) (alogos from a = without + logos = word, reason) means literally without speech or reason and so irrational, brute (not working by reason, characteristic of an animal in quality, action, or instinct), destitute or unendowed with reason. In short they are not governed or acting according to reason because they lack reasoning capacity! Animals (2226) (zoon from zao = to live, breathe - zoe = life) is a living creature, the exact phrase that reverberates through the unfolding of the book of the Revelation (Rev 4:6-9; 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5-7; Rev 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4). Jude describes these men, like "surreptitious snakes" who have crept in unnoticed and turned the grace of God into licentiousness (Jude 1:4) (See Animal) The English definition of animal presents a good picture of these false teachers = "a human being considered chiefly as physical or non-rational; a brutish person; of or relating to the physical needs or desires; carnal; sensual; a very cruel, violent, or uncivilized person." Matthew
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Korah stands for the man who refuses to accept authority and reaches out for things which he has no right to have. So Jude is charging his opponents with defying the legitimate authority of the church, and of, thereto re, preferring their own way to the way of God. We should remember that if we take certain things which pride incites us to take, the consequences can be disastrous. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Mayor - Balaam not only went wrong himself, but he abused his great influence and his reputation as a prophet, to lead astray the Israelites by drawing them away from the holy worship of Jehovah to the impure worship of Baal Peor. So these false teachers use their prophetical gifts for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, and endeavor to make their services attractive by excluding from religion all that is strenuous and difficult, and opening the door to every kind of indulgence.” (Jude - The Expositor's Greek Testament) Henry
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - These people are hidden rocks which threaten to wreck your Love Feasts. These are the people who at your feasts revel with their own cliques without a qualm. They have no feeling of responsibility to anyone except themselves. They are clouds which drop no water but are blown past by the wind. They are fruitless trees in autumn's harvest time, twice dead and torn up by the roots. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) NET - These men are dangerous reefs at your love feasts, feasting without reverence, feeding only themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit- twice dead, uprooted; NLT - When these people join you in fellowship meals celebrating the love of the Lord, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are shameless in the way they care only about themselves. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much but producing nothing. They are like trees without fruit at harvest time. They are not only dead but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out by the roots. Young's Literal - These are in your love-feasts craggy rocks; feasting together with you, without fear shepherding themselves; clouds without water, by winds carried about; trees autumnal, without fruit, twice dead, rooted up COMPARED TO HIDDEN REEFS, RAINLESS CLOUDS, AUTUMN LEAVES Jude 1:12-13 employs the rich literary device known as term of comparison (specifically using five metaphors, although Wiersbe refers to "Selfish Shepherds" as a sixth metaphor) which presents a picture of something with which most readers would be familiar in order to give us a sense of who these men really on in their heart and actions. Moffatt says "Sky, land and sea are ransacked for illustrations of the character of these men." "A picture is worth a thousand words!" Whenever you encounter these figures of speech, remember as Robertson McQuilkin cautions "Picture talk is one of the greatest problems of interpretation. To treat figurative language as if it were literal and to treat literal language as if it were figurative, constitute two of the greatest hindrances to understanding the meaning of the Bible." See Roy Zuck's excellent discussion of the usefulness of figures of speech, followed by some general "Guidelines for Figuring our Figurative Language." The 1828 Webster's defines metaphor - "A similitude reduced to a single word or phrase or a word expressing similitude without the signs of comparison (without "like" or "as"). Thus "that man is a fox," is a metaphor; but "that man is like a fox," is a simile. So when I say, "the soldiers fought like lions," I use a simile. In metaphor, the similitude is contained in the name; a man is a fox, means, a man is as crafty as a fox. So we say, a man bridles his anger, that is, restrains it as a bridle restrains a horse." DANGEROUS REEFS IN THEIR LOVE FEASTS These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts - These men are like reefs or rocks in the sea (submerged and invisible beneath the surface of the water), but deadly dangerous for ships that might venture near their jagged edges cp [1Ti 1:19]. Jude's picture recalls the disciple's last supper (Passover) with Jesus, where none of the genuine disciples had a clue that there was a Judas betrayer in their midst! "The tragedy is that members of the assembly (which Jude is addressing) did not realize the true character of these men! They thought these men were spiritual!… The mariner who is unaware of the hidden rocks can quickly wreck his ship. The pilot must always be alert, for waters that look calm and sage can contain treacherous reefs. Spiritual leaders must constantly be on guard." "An apostate may be compared to the tip of an iceberg. Very little of it is visible, but it a ship runs into it, the ship will go to the bottom of the sea. Oh, how many people there are, especially young people, whose faith has not only been shaken but wrecked by a person who is an apostate!" (McGee) THOUGHT - Beloved, sadly my experience has been that many elders have been little more than token shepherds too often (in some churches, not all) selected because of their popularity or business acumen and often functioning virtually as "yes men" for the senior pastor. And because of their failure to discern good from evil, I am personally aware of at least three "shipwrecked" churches! I even warned one elder of the deadly deception inherent in an ostensibly attractive teaching, but it was a warning he neglected, but which eventually resulted in a mass exodus of mature, Bible believing Christians! Any video series, any new program, any new teacher, any new para-church ministry, etc, that comes into your church, needs to be personally and soberly examined by one or more (I favor two) "Bibliocentric" elders. Dear elders, guard the flock! (cp Heb 13:17+) When they feast with you without fear - These hypocrites have crept in to the fellowship that consisted of mutual sharing of food and love (and probably also the celebration of the Lord's Supper though not everyone agrees this was an integral part) as if they are part of the true flock of God and without any holy, reverential fear of God (cf holy fear believers should have regarding communion - 1Cor 11:27, 28, 29, 30 - "a number sleep" = die!) If indeed communion was part of their Love Feasts, we do well to remember that this calls for believers to approach the table with a holy fear, not a casual nonchalance (an air of easy unconcern or indifference) like these apostates. Hidden reefs ("dangerous reefs") (spilas) is used only here in NT and is erroneously translated "spots" in the KJV because of the similarity to the word spilos (spots) which is used in the parallel description by Peter - "They are stains (spilos) and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you." (2Pe 2:13+). Homer, in the Odyssey (iii., 298) uses spilas writing "the waves dashed the ship against the rocks (spilas)." This metaphor suggests at least two characteristics of these men - they are concealed (cp wolves in sheep's clothing - Mt 7:15+) and they present a spiritual danger to the unwary and immature sheep in the flock. "The reference is not merely to the defiled nature of these men but to their pernicious impact, threatening the moral shipwreck of others." (Hiebert) Paul warned the elders about these deceivers writing… I know (Inspired by the Spirit) that after my departure savage wolves (metaphor) will come in among you (a prophecy), not sparing the flock (metaphor); and from among your own selves (an "inside job") men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples (mathetes) after them. Therefore (term of conclusion - Why here? What leads to this conclusion?) be on the alert, (present imperative = command for continual alertness for savage wolves) remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:29-31+) NET NOTE - The word spilas was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” - as pillars in the community (cf. Mt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some (Editorial Comment: I would say "Most" not some - NAS, ESV, CSB, etc) suggest that spilades here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden (Editorial Comment: I would also argue this point -- Jude 1:4 says they have "crept in unnoticed" -- they did not wear a red suit with horns and a pitchfork -- what is hidden and subtle is their devilish agenda -- however it would obviously not be "hidden" forever and would be discernible by those who had an "Hebrews 5:14 appetite" [+] - "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained [gumnazo] to discern good and evil.") Love feasts - "Common fellowship meal of the church preceding the Lord's Supper. The Love Feast or Agape (meal) was a significant dimension of the fellowship and worship of the early church. As a concrete manifestation of obedience to the Lord's command to love one another (Jn 13:34, 15:12), it served as a practical expression of the koinonia or communion that characterized the church's life. While the only explicit New Testament reference to the agape meal is found (agapai in Greek) in Jude 1:12 , allusions to the practice may be seen in other New Testament texts. “The breaking of bread” in Acts 2:42 is most likely a reference to a special remembrance of Jesus' last supper with His disciples, but the allusion (Acts 2:46) to their taking of food “with gladness and singleness of heart” implies that a social meal was connected in some way with this celebration. Paul's discussion of the Lord's Supper (1Co 11:17-34) also suggests a combining of the ceremonial act with a common meal. Such a practice is also suggested in Acts 20:7-11 . By the second century the word agapai had become a technical term for such a common meal which seems to have been separated from the ceremonial observance of the Lord's Supper sometime after the NT period." (Holman Bible Dictionary note on Love Feasts) See also Agape feast - Wikipedia. MacArthur on love feasts - Originally, the love feast was intended to be a regular church gathering for the purpose of mutual instruction (cf. Acts 17:11), encouragement (Heb 10:24-25), confrontation (cf. Heb 3:13), and care (Ro 12:10; 13:8; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 4:2, 25; 5:21; Col. 3:9; 1Th 4:9; 1Peter 4:9-10). The feast was similar to a contemporary potluck dinner held on the Lord’s Day. Believers would gather to worship, hear the teaching of Scripture, celebrate Communion, and then share their common love in a meal (cf. Acts 2:42). (2Peter and Jude MacArthur New Testament Commentary) Hiebert on love feasts - The reference is not to ordinary social meals or banquets but to a communal meal eaten by the early Christians in connection with their church services to express and deepen brotherly love… Although intended to foster mutual love and sharing among believers, the situation at Corinth makes clear that the love offered ready opportunity for conduct that destroyed rather than fostered the sense of Christian brotherhood. Because of the abuses that arose, these fellowship meals were later separated from the observance of the Lord’s Supper. (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary) When they feast with you = Feast is suneuocheo (sun/syn = together with + euochéo = be well fed, to feast <> eu = well + écho = have) and means basically to have sustenance. "The present tense participle, “when they feast with you”, portrays these men’s practice of turning the “love-feasts” into occasions for personal sumptuous feasting." (Hiebert) See on 2Peter 2:13+. {+ = The word originally conveys the idea of sumptuous feasting, and is appropriate in view of the fact to which Peter alludes, that these sensualists converted the love-feast into a revel. Compare Paul's words, 1Cor 11:21, "one is hungry and another drunken." This seems to favor the reading agapais. The word occurs only here and Jude 1:12.) Caring for themselves (poimaino) - Literally they were shepherding themselves, with each man doing what is right in his own eyes for his own purposes. Jude's use of this verb poimaino may suggest that indeed these snakes were masquerading as shepherds or leaders. But these men were false shepherds that fed only themselves (Contrast 1Pe 5:2+). They are like those Paul described in the Church at Corinth "for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk." (1Cor 11:21) "Te apostates shepherded no one but themselves. Their only interest was self-interest and self-gratification—at the expense of anyone else." (MacArthur) Their own schemes and lusts took precedence over the tending of the flock of God. Such "Piranhas" have always been around in religious circles… His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are dumb dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one. "Come," they say, "let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so." (Isa 56:10-12) Hiebert - These men insisted on participating in these love-feasts, not to express mutual love and concern, but to gratify their own appetites. Jude is condemning their brazen self-indulgence, revealing their true character. Williams remarks, “Satan had been found among the sons of God before this, and such intrusions have not yet ceased.” (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary) Without fear (aphobos from a = without + phobos = fear) describes these men as conducting themselves shamelessly, ultimately without regard for God, instead expressing arrogant disregard. These men failed to heed Paul's warning "But let a man examine (dokimazo) himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly." (1Cor 11:28-29) These apostates also remind us of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10), who pretended to be generous givers but were really secretly selfish, so God exposed their hypocrisy and "took them out." Observe the impact on the Church "great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things." These apostates either had never heard this story or simply chose to ignore it. "Lacking a functioning conscience or sense of conviction, and being adept hypocrites, the apostates were able to feast with believers without fear." (MacArthur) Wiersbe on without fear - They are an arrogant lot! This is the difference between a true shepherd and a hireling: the true shepherd cares for the sheep, while the hireling cares only for himself. “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” (Ezek 34:2) But these apostates ought to be afraid, for their judgment is coming. (Be Alert 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude- Beware of the Religious Impostors) Hiebert on the possible meanings of without fear - "They were devoid of reverence before the spiritual realities intended to be fostered by the love-feasts. If (aphobos is) taken with what follows, “without fear shepherding themselves” (R. Young), the meaning is that their self-serving activities are carried on without any qualms of conscience. They feel no sense of shame because of what they are doing. Under either connection the picture is much the same." (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - This is one of the great passages of invective of the New Testament. It is blazing moral indignation at its hottest… Here is a series of vivid pictures, every one with significance. Let us take them one by one. They are like hidden rocks which threaten to wreck the Love Feasts of the Church. This is the one case in which there is doubt about what Jude is actually saying but of one thing there is no doubt--the evil men were a peril to the Love Feasts. The Love Feast, the Agape, was one of the earliest features of the Church. It was a meal of fellowship held on the Lord's Day. To it everyone brought what he could, and all shared alike. It was a lovely idea that the Christians in each little house church should sit down on the Lord's Day to eat in fellowship together. No doubt there were some who could bring much and others who could bring only little. For many of the slaves it was perhaps the only decent meal they ever ate. But very soon the Agape began to go wrong. We can see it going wrong in the church at Corinth, when Paul declares that at the Corinthian Love Feasts there is nothing but division. They are divided into cliques and sections; some have too much, and others starve; and the meal for some has become a drunken revel (1Cor 11:17-22). Unless the Agape was a true fellowship, it was a travesty, and very soon it had begun to belie its name… In the Love Feast people were very close together in heart and there was the kiss of peace. These wicked men were using the Love Feasts as a cloak under which to gratify their lusts. It is a dreadful thing, if men enter into the church and use the opportunities which its fellowship gives for their own perverted ends. These men were like sunken rocks on which the fellowship of the Love Feasts was in danger of being wrecked. These wicked men revel in their own cliques and have no feeling of responsibility for anyone except themselves. These two things go together for they both stress their essential selfishness. (a) They revel in their own cliques without a qualm. This is exactly the situation which Paul condemns in First Corinthians. The Love Feast was supposed to be an act of fellowship; and the fellowship was demonstrated by the sharing of all things. Instead of sharing, the wicked men kept to their own clique and kept to themselves all they had. In First Corinthians Paul actually goes the length of saying that the Love Feast could become a drunken revel in which every man grabbed at all that he could get (1 Corinthians 11:21). No man can ever claim to know what church membership means, if in the church he is out for what he can get and remains within his own little group. (b) We have translated the next phrase: "They have no feeling of responsibility for anyone except themselves." The Greek literally means "shepherding themselves." The duty of a leader of the Church is to be a shepherd of the flock of God (Acts 20:28). The false shepherd cared far more for himself than for the sheep which were supposed to be within his care. Ezekiel describes the false shepherds from whom their privileges were to be taken away: "As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep… Behold I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep" (Ezekiel 34:8-10). The man who feels no responsibility for the welfare of anyone except himself stands condemned. So, then, Jude condemns the selfishness which destroys fellowship and the lack of the sense of responsibility for others. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) WATERLESS CLOUDS Clouds without water - The interpretation of this metaphor is relatively straightforward. We've all seen the sky darken up with billowy, dark, water laden thunderclouds and prepared for the sure shower of refreshing rain, only to have it pass by, yielding no rain, and for desperate farmers, no crop! These apostates have an air of authenticity about themselves, offering hope to the church that they can bring needed spiritual "rain," but in fact they cannot. They are like the false teachers Peter describes, "promising freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption." (2Peter 2:19) Their promise of liberty only yields bondage! Peter characterized these false teachers as "springs without water" instead of "clouds without water." (2Pe 2:17).
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - The wicked men are like clouds blown past by the wind, which drop no rain and like trees in harvest time which have no fruit. These two phrases go together, for they describe people who make great claims but are essentially useless. There were times in Palestine when people would pray for rain. At such a time a cloud might pass across the sky, bringing with it the promise of rain. But there were times when the promise was only an illusion, the cloud was blown on and the rain never came. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - In any harvest time there were trees which looked as if they were heavy with fruit but which, when men came to gather from them, gave no fruit at all. At the heart of this lies a great truth. Promise without performance is useless and in the New Testament nothing is so unsparingly condemned as uselessness. No amount of outward show or fine words will take the place of usefulness to others. As it has been put: "If a man is not good for something, he is good for nothing." (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Uprooted ("plucked up by the root") (1610) (ekrizoo from ek = out + rhizoo = to root) means literally to pull out by the roots, and used here in Jude metaphorically of course, " leaving no question concerning their hopeless state… The epithets lead to a natural climax: fruitless, lifeless, rootless." (Hiebert)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - They are wild sea waves, frothing out their own shameless deeds. They are wandering stars and the abyss of darkness has been prepared for them for ever. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) NET wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved. WILD WAVES Wild waves of the sea - "Unsettled, turbulent, and arrogant spirits; boldly belching out their abominable opinions and detestable doctrines." (John Trapp) "unquiet, turbulent, restless, that cannot cease from sin." (Matthew Poole) See also Wind wave - Wikipedia, Kistemaker - Jude portrays both the fierce brute force of the waves and their instability and unpredictability as they roll toward shore (cp James 1:6+). Wild (066)(agria from agros = field - only 3x in NT = Mt 3:4 Mk 1:6 Jude 1:13 ) means wild in the sense of untamed or not subject to restraint (of waves as in Jude 1:13) or wild in the sense of growing in nature (growing in the fields and woods - agros). Friberg on agria - literally, of plants and animals found in the open field or forest, wild (Mt 3.4); figuratively, of strong natural occurrences stormy, fierce; of sea waves raging, violent (Jude 1:13) Casting up their own shame like foam - "flinging up the foam of their own shame and disgrace" (Amplified) "waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam." (NET Note) They were "casting up their own shame, exposing it, as the sea casts up refuse on the beach." (Cambridge Greek Testament) See also Sea foam - Wikipedia Here is an OT description of wicked men like the sea… (Isa 57:20) But the wicked are like (simile) the tossing sea, for (term of explanation) it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. The IVP Bible Background Commentary has an interesting note - In Greek tradition, Aphrodite, goddess of desire, was produced from the sea foam at the castration of the Titan Uranos (alluding to the teacher's immorality); waves appear in the Dead Sea Scrolls as an image of casting up the filth of sin. Shame (aischune) in the plural is shames or disgraces. Aischune describes shame resulting from exposure of one’s weaknesses or sins. It is not a feeling one has but an experience which comes to someone. NET NOTE - It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea. Schreiner - What they did is likened to the grimy foam that coats a beach, leaving a sticky residue of shame behind. Barclay - "They are like wild sea waves frothing out their own shameless deeds." The picture is this. After a storm, when the waves have been lashing the shore with their frothing spray and their spume, there is always left on the shore a fringe of seaweed and driftwood and all kinds of unsightly litter from the sea. That is always an unlovely scene… The deeds of the wicked men are like the useless and unsightly litter which the waves leave scattered on the beach after a storm… The picture vividly portrays the ugliness of the deeds of Jude's opponents. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - The wicked men are like the wandering stars that are kept in the abyss of darkness for their disobedience. This is a picture directly taken from the Book of Enoch. In that book the stars and the angels are sometimes identified; and there is a picture of the fate of the stars who, disobedient to God, left their appointed orbit and were destroyed. In his journey through the, earth Enoch came to a place where he saw, "neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible." He goes on: "And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. Then I said, 'For what sin are they bound, and on account of what have they been cast in hither?' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me and who was chief over them, 'Enoch, why dost thou ask and why art thou eager for the truth? These are the numbers of the stars of heaven which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated'" (Enoch 21:1-6). The fate of the wandering stars is typical of the fate of the man who disobeys God's commandments and, as it were, takes his own way. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay comments on Jude referring to himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ - Few things tell more about a man than the way in which he speaks of himself; few things are more revealing than the titles by which he wishes to be known. Jude calls himself the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. At once this tells us two things about him. (i) Jude was a man well content with the second place. He was not nearly so well known as James; and he is content to be known as the brother of James. In this he was the same as Andrew. Andrew is Simon Peter's brother (John 6:8). He, too, was described by his relationship to a more famous brother. Jude and Andrew might well have been resentful of the brothers in whose shadow they had to live; but both had the great gift of gladly taking the second place. (ii) The only title of honor which Jude would allow himself was the servant of Jesus Christ. The Greek is doulos and it means more than servant, it means slave. That is to say, Jude regarded himself as having only one object and one distinction in life--to be for ever at the disposal of Jesus for service in his cause. The greatest glory which any Christian can attain is to be of use to Jesus Christ. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Bondservant(1401)(doulos from deo = to bind) (Click additional notes on doulos) was an individual bound to another in servitude and conveys the idea of the slave's close, binding ties with his master, belonging to him, obligated to and desiring to do his will and in a permanent relation of servitude. In sum, the will of the doulos is consumed in the will of the master. A bondservant is one who surrendered wholly to another’s will and thus devoted to another to the disregard of his own interest. Paul and Timothy were not their own but had been bought with the price of the blood of Christ. They were now the property of our Lord Jesus Christ and were His slaves exclusively. No man can serve two masters (Mt 6:24+). Paul and Timothy had been slaves of Sin (see note on "the Sin") by their birth into Adam's likeness, but now they are slaves of Christ by their new, second birth. They had no will of their own, no business of their own, no time of their own and were acting for their Master, Christ; dependent upon Him and obedient to Him. Bondservant is used in the introductions of the epistles by Paul, James, Peter, Jude and John - Ro 1:1, Php 1:1, Titus 1:1, James 1:1, 2Pe 1:1, Jude 1:1, Rev 1:1 The doulos… Was owned by and totally possessed by his master. Existed for his master and no other reason. Had no personal rights. Was at the master’s disposal "24/7". Had no will of his own but his will was completely subservient to the master. Or to say it another way his will was subsumed in His will! Paradoxically a bondservant of the Most High God is one of the most privileged, noblest professions in the world. Little wonder that notable men of God in the have always been called the servants of God. The illustrious list of names includes… Moses (Dt 34:5+ Ps 105:26 Mal 4:4) Joshua (Josh 24:29+) David (2Sa 3:18 Ps 78:70) Paul (Ro 1:1+; Phil 1:1+; Titus 1:1+) Peter (2Pe 1:1+) James (James 1:1+) Jude (Jude 1:1) Prophets (Amos 3:7; Jer 7:25). Ideally believers (Acts 2:18+; 1Co 7:22+; Eph 6:6+; Col 4:12+; 2Ti 2:24+). ILLUSTRATION OF BONDSERVANT - A businessman once asked his Bible study group, “How can you tell if you have a servant attitude?” The reply came back… “By the way you react when you are treated like one.” It’s not easy to find an attitude like that. But for a disciple, servant-hood is one of the keys to growing in Christ-likeness. (From Howard Hendricks) Vincent on Brother of James -That Jude does not allude to his relationship to the Lord may be explained by the fact that the natural relationship in his mind would be subordinate to the spiritual (see Luke 11:27, Luke 11:28), and that such a designation would, as Dean Alford remarks, “have been in harmony with those later and superstitious feelings with which the next and following ages regarded the Lord's earthly relatives.” He would shrink from emphasizing a distinction to which none of the other disciples or apostles could have a claim, the more so because of his former unbelief in Christ's authority and mission. It is noticeable that James likewise avoids such a designation. The called (2822) (kletos from kaleo = basic meaning is to call - see amplification below. See study of related word klesis) is a "verbal adjective" which is sometimes used as a verb and sometimes used as a noun referring to believers. Literally kletos means invited or welcomed and was originally used to designate those invited to a banquet. In the NT kletos is generally used of one who has accepted a calling or an invitation to become a guest or member of a select group. Believers have been invited by God in the proclamation of the Gospel to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom through Christ. The idea is they have been invited by God through the proclamation of the Gospel to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom. As used in the epistles "called" is synonymous with "chosen" -- specifically called is used by Paul and Peter and John (Rev 17:14) to identify those who have received and have accepted the divine call of God to salvation.
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Woe to them because they walk in the way of Cain; they fling themselves into the error of Balaam; they perish in Korah's opposition to God. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) NET - Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain's path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam's error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah's rebellion. Rotherham - because—In the way of Cain have they gone, And in the error of Balaam’s wage have they run riot, And in the gainsaying of Korah have they perished. KEEPING BAD COMPANY CAIN, BALAAM, KORAH! Woe to them - Paul's words of warning in Romans 2 would be apropos… Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God 6 who WILL RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation (cf Jude 1:10 "destroyed," Jude 1:11 "perish"). (Ro 2:5-8+) Woe (How dreadful!) (3759 - click and select "Phonetics" to hear "ouai" pronounced) (ouai pronounced "oo-ah'ee," an eerie, ominous foreboding sound some say is like the cry of an eagle) is an onomatopoeic word (an imitation of the sound) which serves as an interjection or lamentation (e.g., at funerals 1Ki 13:30) expressing an outburst of emotion, a cry of intense distress, displeasure, pain, sorrow or horror. An exclamation denoting pain or displeasure. Sometime woe was used to attract attention (Isa. 55:1). Less frequently, it occurs as a noun denoting a disaster or calamity. The OT prophets would often open their prophetic utterances of coming divine judgment with the word "Woe!" (Isa. 5:8-10; Mic 2:1-5) An interjection expressing great distress or sorrow; or a noun signifying a condition of deep suffering due to a calamity that has befallen or will befall a person or community. It may convey a warning of impending disaster to the hearers. BDAG - ① interjection denoting pain or displeasure, woe, alas ② a state of intense hardship or distress, woe Jesus used "Woe" in the Gospels (see below) often in an eschatological context (Mt 24:19; Mk 13:17). Most NT uses of ouai are in the context of warning about inevitable, impending judgment, often intermingled with a feeling of pity (Mt 11:21-22, Lk 22:22 = Judas' betrayal). Rev 8:13+ has woe in triplicate which seems to provide the greatest possible emphasis on God's coming judgment on the world, much as the cry of "holy" in triplicate emphasizes His holiness. Indeed, His perfect holiness demands His perfect judgment! In the Lxx a double woe is addressed to unfaithful Jerusalem because of her idolatry and immorality (Ezek 16:23). Ouai does not depict sorrow on the part of those who have sinned (as some have mistakenly taught). Ouai in used in the Septuagint (Lxx) to translate two Hebrew interjections, Oy (0188) and Hoy (01945 Hoy = [1] 8x = funeral lament [2] 4x = cry to get attention [3] 41x =announcement of doom). Hoy and oy are usually a cry of despair and/or a call for one's attention because of impending divine judgment (cf Isa 5:8, Amos 6:1, Hab 2:9). Ouai is a NT "Semitism" (hoy, oy) and also a Latinism (Latin - vae). Ouai is an interjection of grief, pain, lament, threat, doom or indignation. Ouai is an an expression of pain and pity for the misfortune that awaits someone in a certain condition. Ouai is often an announcement of disaster to come. Woe warns of danger and the nearness of judgment. In a sense "to bless" or "blessing" stands in opposition to woe. "Ouai is an interjection or emotional cry that is essentially like exclaiming, "Alas, how horrible it will be!"" (MacArthur's comment on Jude 1:11) In 1Cor 9:16 Paul use ouai to express his personal pain and sorrow were he not to fulfill his ministry (his stewardship) and preach the Gospel. THOUGHT - Do we feel that deeply about the stewardship God has granted us? Woe is an interjection denoting pain, discomfort, and unhappiness. It is a distinctive form of prophetic speech, and is found both in the OT and in the NT. Vine - an interjection, is used (a) in denunciation, Mt 11:21; 18:7 (twice); eight times in ch. 23; 24:19; 26:24; Mark 13:17; 14:21; Luke 6:24,25 (twice),26; 10:13; six times in ch. 11; Lk 17:1; 21:23; 22:22; 1 Cor 9:16; Jude 1:11; Rev 8:13 (thrice); 12:12; as a noun, Rev 9:12 (twice); 11:14 (twice); 1. The act or an instance of denouncing, especially a public condemnation or censure. 2. The reporting of a person to the authorities for possible criminal prosecution. (b) in grief, "alas," Rev 18:10,16,19 (twice in each). The word is also used an imprecation (curse) of doom MANSER'S DICTIONARY OF BIBLE THEMES - woe - An exclamation of judgment upon God’s enemies, or of misfortune on oneself, or, in the ministry of Jesus Christ, of sadness over those who fail to recognise the true misery of their condition. Woe as an exclamation of judgment on others Woe to God’s enemies Isa 33:1 Probably referring to Assyria. See also Jer 48:1-2; Na 3:1-7; Hab 2:6-20; Zep 2:5 Woe to God’s faithless people Hos 7:13-16 See also Isa 30:1-2; 45:9-10; Jer 4:13-18; Eze 16:23-27 Woe to careless leaders of God’s people Jer 23:1-2 See also Eze 13:1-9; 34:1-10; Zep 3:1-4; Zec 11:15-17 Woe to those who are complacent in their prosperity or religion Am 6:1-7 See also Am 5:18-24 Woe to those who neglect social justice Isa 10:1-4 See also Isa 5:8-23; Jer 22:13-19; Mic 2:1-3 Woe to a godless world Rev 8:13 See also Rev 12:12; 18:10,16-17,19 Woe as an exclamation of misfortune on oneself Woe as a consequence of circumstances or events Jer 10:19 Jeremiah is describing the pain he feels at the impending destruction of his nation. See also 1Sa 4:6-8; Ps 120:5-7; Jer 4:13 Woe as a consequence of one’s own sin La 5:16 See also Isa 3:8-9; 6:5 Woe as a consequence of God’s call on one’s life 1Co 9:16 See also Jer 45:1-5; Eze 2:9-3:11 Woe as an exclamation of sadness over others Woe to those who do not recognise their own needs Lk 6:24-26 Woe to those whose religion blinds themselves and misleads others Lk 11:52 See also Mt 23:13-33; Lk 11:42-51 Woe to those who cause others to sin Mt 18:7 See also Lk 17:1-3 Woe to those on whom judgment is coming Lk 10:13-14 pp Mt 11:20-22 Woe to the one who betrays the Son of Man Mt 26:24 pp Mk 14:21 pp Lk 22:22 Woe to those who experience the signs of the end of the age Mt 24:19-21 pp Mk 13:17-19 pp Lk 21:23 The word translated “how dreadful” is the same word that elsewhere is translated “woe”. Woe may give way to forgiveness, comfort and deliverance Isa 6:5-7 See also Isa 29:1-8; 40:1-2 After the woes of earlier chapters, Isaiah now prophesies the comfort that will come to God’s people; Jer 45:2-5; La 3:16-26 Barclay comments twice on Jesus' use of ouai in Matthew: (First in Mt 11:21) - We must be careful to catch the accent in Jesus' voice as he said this… "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!" The Greek word for woe which we have translated "alas" is ouai; and ouai expresses sorrowful pity at least as much as it does anger. This is not the accent of one who is in a temper because his self-esteem has been touched; it is not the accent of one who is blazingly angry because he has been insulted. It is the accent of sorrow, the accent of one who offered men the most precious thing in the world and saw it disregarded. Jesus' condemnation of sin is holy anger, but the anger comes, not from outraged pride, but from a broken heart. (Ref) (Second in Mt 23:13) - "Woe to you!" The Greek word for woe is ouai - it is hard to translate for it includes not only wrath, but also sorrow. There is righteous anger here, but it is the anger of the heart of love, broken by the stubborn blindness of men. There is not only an air of savage denunciation; there is also an atmosphere of poignant tragedy. (Ref) (Bolding added) The New Bible Dictionary - WOE. The rendering of the Gk. interjection ouai, meaning ‘Alas for’. When Jesus says ‘Woe unto you’, he is not so much pronouncing a final judgment as deploring the miserable condition in God’s sight of those he is addressing. Their wretchedness lies not least in the fact that they are living in a fool’s paradise, unaware of the misery that awaits them. The state of the materially-minded blinded by wealth to their spiritual needs, of the self-satisfied, of the impenitent and unsympathetic, and of those who are universally popular is declared by Jesus to be wretched (Lk. 6:24–26). Similarly, the woeful condition of the Pharisees and scribes (Lk. ‘lawyers’) lies, Jesus tells them, in the hypocritical zeal, the lack of proportion, the love of display and the self-complacency which disfigure their religion (Mt. 23:13–33; Lk. 11:42–52). When Jesus addresses the words ‘Woe to you’ to the unrepentant cities Chorazin and Bethsaida, he follows them with a prophecy of the doom that awaits them (Mt. 11:21) as they are in a woeful state for having refused the gospel. Paul says he would be in a woeful state if he failed to preach it (1 Cor. 9:16). The seer in the Revelation uses the word ouai as an interjection in his dirge over fallen Babylon (Rev. 18:10–16), and as a noun to describe three ‘woes’, a comprehensive term covering various plagues and disasters which will herald the final judgment (Rev. 9:12; 11:14). The Tyndale Bible Dictionary - WOE An exclamation denoting pain or displeasure. Less frequently, it occurs as a noun denoting a disaster or calamity. For example, in Revelation 9:12+, following the release of the demonic locusts from the abyss and their scourge upon those who follow the Beast, John announces, “The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come” (NIV). Again, in Revelation 11:14+, immediately before the seventh trumpet is sounded John writes, “The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon” (NIV). The woes that Revelation describes are equivalent to the plagues of the OT, although somewhat more intense in that they are demonic in origin. The Greek word is onomatapoeic: ouai (cf. the Hebrew oi and hoi). It is not necessarily a pronouncement of judgment in every case. At times it is an expression of regret or sorrow about the miserable situation that prompted the exclamation. In each case the context needs to be taken into consideration. In Matthew 11:21 (Lk 10:13) when Jesus says, “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” he was reproaching the people of those cities for their unbelief. The same is true in Luke 17:2 where Jesus pronounces woe upon the one who causes another to sin: “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck” (NIV). In the Lucan Sermon on the Plain, the Beatitudes are followed by four woe statements. These statements are not so much threats as they are expressions of regret or compassion. Mounce - WOE Old Testament Interjection: הוֹי (hôy), GK 2098 (S 1945), 51×. hôy is an onomatopoeic particle that is often translated “woe, alas.” It expresses personal pain and anguish because of some present or impending situation. After the death of the man of God from Judah, another prophet places the man in his own tomb and cries, “Oh, my brother” (1 Ki. 13:30). Perhaps it could better be translated, “Ooooooo, my brother.” One can hear the cries of anguish in this word. Isaiah too cries out in personal anguish, “Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with grief” (Isa. 1:4). A similar-sounding word with the same meaning is ʾôy (GK 208). Most of the uses of hôy are for impending disaster, not present anguish (note that all such uses are in the prophetic books). In such cases it is often translated “alas” (e.g., Jer. 22:18) or “woe to” (e.g., Isa. 5:8, 11, 18; 18:1; 28:1; Ezek. 13:3, 18). But it is not improper to say that this word here depicts the future sounds of agony that will be made by those on whom the predicted “woe” will soon occur. See NIDOTTE, 4:1032. New Testament Interjection: οὐαί (ouai), GK 4026 (S 3759), 47×. ouai is an onomatopoeic word; the sound of the word suggests its meaning such as “bang” or “ouch.” paristēmi can be an expression of intense sorrow or pain. “Alas” for the women who are pregnant or have newborns in the last days (Mt. 24:19). “Woe” to Judas for betraying Jesus (26:24). ouai is also used as a statement of condemnation of a person or group. “Woe to Bethsaida,” for if the miracles that were done there had been done in Sidon and Tyre, those pagans would have repented (Mt. 11:21). The “woes” are opposites of blessings and express the judgment of God (Lk. 6:20–23, compared with 6:24–26; cf. also Mt. 23; Rev. 8:13; 9:12; 18:10, 16, 19). ouai is also used figuratively in a special sense of burden felt by Paul for his obligation to preach the gospel: “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16, NIV). All uses of ouai express an intensity of emotion. In Scripture, Christians express both strict condemnation (Jude 11) and intense sorrow for the unbeliever (Rom. 9:2–3). See NIDNTT-A, 421. (See Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New ) Friberg - 1) expressing extreme displeasure and calling for retributive pain on someone or something woe! alas! (Mt 11.21); doubled or tripled for emphasis (Rev 8.13; 18.10); (2) woe, disaster, calamity (Rev 9.12) BDAG (summarized) - 1. interjection denoting pain or displeasure, woe, alas 2. a state of intense hardship or distress, woe Meaning of Woe depends on the context: Warning of Judgment: Jesus used "woe" to caution individuals or groups about the consequences of their actions, particularly when those actions were hypocritical, oppressive, or unrepentant. It reflects a divine pronouncement of accountability. Expression of Grief: "Woe" often carried a tone of sorrow or lament over people’s spiritual blindness or refusal to turn to God. It was not only a warning but also an expression of Jesus’ compassion for those who were lost. Call to Repentance: By pronouncing “woe,” Jesus sought to awaken His audience to their spiritual condition and encourage them to change their ways before it was too late. Examples of “Woe” in Jesus’ Teachings To the Religious Leaders: Matthew 23 contains multiple "woes" directed at the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and legalism: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25+) Jesus denounced their focus on outward appearances while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. To Unrepentant Cities: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21+) Jesus lamented their failure to respond to His miracles and message. To the Rich and Complacent: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.” (Luke 6:24-25+) These woes highlight the dangers of placing trust in material wealth or earthly satisfaction rather than God. Warnings About Temptation: “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matthew 18:7ESV+) Jesus warned against leading others into sin, emphasizing the seriousness of causing spiritual harm. Purpose of Jesus' Declaration of "Woe" Not Just Condemnation: Jesus’ use of "woe" was not merely about condemnation but also a call to self-examination and repentance. It conveyed His sorrow over people’s resistance to the Good News of rescue from sin's penalty and power. Compassionate Warning: Even in His harshest words, Jesus’ purpose was redemptive—to lead people away from sin and toward life in Himself. How Does "Woe" Apply to Believers? Self-Examination: Reflect on whether we are living authentically in faith and obedience or backsliding into hypocrisy, indifference or complacency. Awareness of God’s Justice: Recognize that God’s standards are Holy and immutable and that He desires us to exhibit justice, mercy, and faithfulness in our lives. Hope in Repentance: Jesus’ warnings always come with the opportunity for repentance and restoration. In summary, when Jesus said "woe," He expressed both sorrow and warning, seeking to correct wrong attitudes, call people to repentance, and guide them back to God’s ways. Let me know if you’d like to explore specific passages or their meanings further! 😊 QUESTION - What is the meaning of woe in the Bible? ANSWER - Woe means “grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, calamity, or trouble.” The Dictionary of Bible Themes categorizes the uses of the word woe in the Bible: “Woe as an exclamation of judgment on others,” “Woe as an exclamation of misfortune on oneself,” “Woe as an exclamation of sadness over others,” and “Woe may give way to forgiveness, comfort, and deliverance” (Manser, M., ed., Zondervan, 1999). Sometimes in the Bible, the suffering person has brought about his or her own woeful condition as a natural result of foolish choices (see Proverbs 23:29–30). More often, woe is tied to sin and rebellion against God, and the resulting judgments are referred to as “woes.” In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces seven “woes” on the hypocrites of His day; in Revelation, a group of God’s final judgments on mankind are called the three “woes.” Dr. John MacArthur examines Jesus’ use of woe in the Bible: “In His castigation of the false Jewish leaders, Jesus repeatedly used two words, woe, and hypocrites” (emphasis is the author’s). MacArthur goes on to say, “But Jesus used Woe against the scribes and Pharisees not as an exclamation but as a declaration, a divine pronouncement of judgment from God. . . . As was already noted, it was not His desire that they be condemned but rather that they repent and come to salvation. But He knew that if they did not repent and believe they were doomed to hell under God’s righteous and just wrath. When God utters Woe against evil men He sets divine judgment in motion” (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 16—23, ch. 35, Moody Publishers, 1988, p. 375). The fiery language of the Old Testament uses the word woe in several passages of judgment. For example, in Ezekiel 16:23–27, we read of God’s anger toward Jerusalem over their idolatry: “Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD” (verse 26). In 1 Samuel 4:6–8, we see that even pagans feared the presence of God and the woes that He could bring upon them: “And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, ‘What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ‘God has come into the camp!’ And they said, ‘Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness’” (NASB). Hosea, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and many other prophets pronounced woe against sinful people (Hosea 7:13; Zephaniah 2:5; Habakkuk 2:15). Job understood that sin leads to woe: “If I am guilty—woe to me!” (Job 10:15). And in this we see the way to avoid woe: be forgiven. The Bible says that forgiveness of sin comes through Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ death and resurrection God cleanses guilty sinners and declares them to be righteous in His sight. The command is to repent and believe in Christ (Matthew 4:17; Acts 16:31). “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Hard times may come in this life, but the one who has faith in Christ will never know the eternal woe of God’s judgment. GotQuestions.org Ouai - 46x in 35v Most often used by Jesus the prophet Moses had predicted Dt 18:15 - Matt 11:21; 18:7; 23:13, 15-16, 23, 25, 27, 29; 24:19; 26:24; Mark 13:17; 14:21; Luke 6:24, 25, 26 (Woe to… rich… well-fed… laugh… speak well of you); Lk 10:13; 11:42-44, Lk 11:46, 47, 52; 17:1; 21:23; 22:22; 1 Cor 9:16; Jude 1:11; Rev 8:13+; Rev 9:12+; Rev 11:14+; Rev 12:12+; Rev 18:10, 16, 19+ Ouai - 45v in non-apocryphal Septuagint (Lxx) Most often used by OT prophets and usually for the Hebrew interjections Oy (0188) and Hoy (01945 ). Note that Hoy "is used to express grief (Pr. 23:29), despair (1Sa 4:7), lamentation (1Ki 13:30), dissatisfaction (Isa 1:4), pain (Jer 10:19)." (NIDNTT)- Nu 21:29; 1Sa 4:7-8, 21; 1Kgs 12:24; 1Ki 13:30; Pr 23:29; Eccl 4:10; 10:16; Isa 1:4, 24; 3:9, 11; 5:8, 11, 18, Isa 5:20-22; Isa 10:1, 5; 17:12; 18:1; 24:16; 28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; Jer 4:13; 6:4; 10:19; 13:27; 22:18; 46:19; 48:1; 50:27; 51:2; Lam 5:16; Ezek 2:10; 7:26; 13:3, 18; Hos 7:13; 9:12; Amos 5:16, 18; 6:1; Mic 7:4; Nah 3:17; Hab 2:6, 12, 19; Zeph 2:5; 3:18. For - Always be alert for "for" (especially at the beginning of a verse or clause), because it is a very often a strategically placed term of explanation, which warrants at least a momentary pause to ponder "What is the writer explaining?" (See interrogation with the 5W/H questions) Some uses are easy to discern and will yield great insights into the meaning of the respective passage or paragraph. Other cases (especially some of Paul's uses, which are frequent) are more difficult to "decipher" but are still always worth pausing to prayerfully seek the Spirit's illumination (cf 1Cor 2:10-16, 1Jn 2:20, 27 - "anointing" ~ indwelling Spirit) -- God promises to richly bless all who take time to meditate on His Word (Ps 1:1-3, note v1; note v2; note v3) Cain (Ge 4:5-8)… Balaam (Nu 22:5-7; 2Pe 2:15)… Korah (Nu 16:1-3, 31-35) - Each of these names begs the question - "What is Jude teaching his readers through these OT characters?" As an aside, Jude's use of these examples suggests that they were well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures, because Jude does not elaborate on the sins of these three men. Soapbox time - One of my "pet peeves" is that many in the modern church are "functionally illiterate" regarding the Old Testament, largely because few pastors preaching expositional sermons from the OT. In 30 years as a believer, I have never heard a sermon series on Ezekiel, and yet C H Spurgeon preached 57 sermons from this great book (Ref) and Charles Simeon preached 25 (Ref)! Paul wrote "Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For (term of explanation!) I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole (Gk = pas = all without exception) purpose of God." (Acts 20:26-27) One wonders how many modern believers could even name the OT books where these stories are mentioned? Okay, I will cease and desist, but you get my point! All three of these OT men had Scriptural light. All three refused to obey the light of God's revealed truth. All three perished. Similarly these apostates in Jude rebelled against light and would receive the severe judgment described in Hebrews… For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth (Cain, Balaam, Korah, the apostates in Jude, cf 2Pe 2:20-22+), there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. (Heb 10:26-27+) THE WAY OF CAIN They have gone the way of Cain (21x in Scripture = Ge 4:1-6, Ge 4:8-9, 13, 15-17, 24-25; Lk 3:36-37; Heb 11:4see commentary; 1Jn 3:12; Jude 1:11) - Greed, covetousness, envy, failure to believe God as shown by withholding his best. Cain refused to submit to the authority of God and His word. Abel was a prophet according to Jesus (Lk 11:49-51), so Cain must have surely heard the truth, but he refused to submit to the truth. Ultimately it was an issue of faith, remembering that our faith is shown to be genuine by obedience. While faith is the "root," obedience (or works - Jas 2:14-22) is always the "fruit." (See study of meaning of the phrase - Obedience of faith) In a sense, Cain was a professor of "religion" (brought his offering) but his deeds were evil (1Jn 3:12) proving he did not possess saving faith and ultimately demonstrating in whose family he belonged (1Jn 3:12). Ryrie on the way of Cain - Cain's rejection of God's provision for acceptance with Himself (Ge 4:1-12). Today, it is the rejection of God's offer of forgiveness through Christ. W A Criswell - Cain represents the heart of a murderer (cf. Ge 4:1-15). Hiebert - In the light of Hebrews 11:4 and 1 John 3:11-12 Cain may well be viewed as the type of the faithless man consumed by jealous hate and self-centered desires. (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary) Henry
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Kaleo has three great areas of use. (a) It is the word for summoning a man to office, to duty, and to responsibility. The Christian is summoned to a task, to duty, to responsibility in the service of Christ. (b) It is the word for summoning a man to a feast or a festival. It is the word for an invitation to a happy occasion. The Christian is the man who is summoned to the joy of being the guest of God. (c) It is the word for summoning a man to judgment. It is the word for calling a man to court that he may give account of himself.The Christian is in the end summoned to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) The called are those who have been summoned by God, called… according to His purpose (Kletos - Ro 8:28+) to salvation (Kaleo - Ro 8:30+) saints by calling (Kletos - 1Co 1:2+) both Jews and Greeks (Kletos - 1Co 1:24+) having been called (kaleo) "with a holy" calling (klesis) (2Ti 1:9+) heavenly calling (klesis) (Heb 3:1+) out of darkness into His marvelous light (Kaleo - 1Pe 2:9+) to walk worthy (Kaleo - Eph 4:1- +) by grace (Kaleo - Gal 1:6+) not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles (Kaleo - Ro 9:24+) through the "gospel" that we "may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Kaleo - 2Th 2:14+) and be brought "into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Kaleo - 1Co 1:9+) and return in triumph "with Him" at the end of this age (Kletos - Re 17:14+). These magnificent truths on "called" should cause all the "called of Jesus Christ" to cry out "Glory!" Beloved in God the Father - In the sphere of God's love (permanently as explained below). So here in Jude 1:1 we see God's sovereign dispensation of His love, whereas in Jude 1:21+ we see man's responsibility to keep himself in the love of God. Beloved (25)(agapao) is from the verb agapao which speaks especially of love as based on evaluation and choice, a matter of will and action. God chose to love us! Amazing love how can it be that Thou my God should lovest me? The perfect tense speaks of this as an abiding (eternal) love of God for all who are in (in covenant, in union with) His Beloved Son Christ Jesus.
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - "The Christian is never left alone; Christ is always the Sentinel of his life and the Companion of his way." (Jude - Daily Study Bible) Adrian Rogers - Now if you are a baby, and your mother is taking care of you, where is the source of your security? In you, or in the one who is taking care of you? You see—listen and pay attention—your security is no better than the one who is making you secure. Isn’t that true? Now if you’re kept by Jesus Christ, do you think you’re secure? You see, do you think He’s going to lose you? (Read Jn 10:28-30) . You’re in better hands than Allstate, friend. You’re in His hands. It is not that you keep your salvation; it is that He keeps you. You are preserved by Jesus Christ, and to feel insecure is really to doubt Him. (See 92 pages of sermon material on Jude by Adrian Rogers - super practical and pithy as always!) NET NOTE - Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It used national Israel times (Isa 43:10) but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2Sa 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.” Jamieson - Jude, beforehand, mentions the source and guarantee for the final accomplishment of believers‘ salvation; lest they should be disheartened by the dreadful evils which he proceeds to announce [Bengel]. Matthew
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Beloved, when I was in the midst of devoting all my energy to writing to you about the faith which we all share, I felt that I was compelled to write a letter to you to urge you to engage upon the struggle to defend the faith which was once and for all delivered to God's consecrated people. (Jude - Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:1-13
Barclay - Beloved, when I was in the midst of devoting all my energy to writing to you about the faith which we all share, I felt that I was compelled to write a letter to you to urge you to engage upon the struggle to defend the faith which was once and for all delivered to God's consecrated people. (Jude - Daily Study Bible) TLB - I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God's punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay - to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the impious for all the deeds of their impiousness, which they have impiously committed, and for the harsh things which impious sinners have said against him. NET to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Young's Literal - to do judgment against all, and to convict all their impious ones, concerning all their works of impiety that they did impiously, and concerning all the stiff things that speak against Him did impious sinners.' THEIR UNGODLY WORDS AND WORKS NET Note explains that Jude 1:15 is "An apparent quotation from 1 En. 1:9. There is some doubt as to whether Jude is actually quoting from the text of 1 Enoch; the text here in Jude differs in some respects from the extant text of this pseudepigraphic book. It is sometimes suggested that Jude may instead have been quoting from oral tradition which had roots older than the written text." Cory Anderson - Jude's Use of the Pseudepigraphal Book of 1 Enoch Did Jude Treat Non-canonical Writings as if They Were Inspired? The Use of Tradition-Material in the Epistle of Jude The Lord Will Come with His Holy Myriads - An Investigation of the Linguistic Source of the Citation of 1 Enoch 1:9 in Jude 14b-15 Jude continues, explaining the purpose of the Lord Jesus' Second Coming... To execute judgment upon all (to do justice) - Not only will this future judgment be personal (the Lord), but it will be universal (upon all)—all who are not safe in Christ, "just as the Flood destroyed all who were outside the ark (Ed: The "Ark" is a picture of Christ. Are you safe in the "Ark" of Christ and His perfect righteousness?), and the fire and brimstone destroyed all in Sodom and Gomorrah except Lot and his wife and two daughters." (Wiersbe). Upon all makes it clear that none outside the "Ark" will escape judgment! No escape! No second chances! No exceptions! At one time, we were all ungodly and in danger of facing this judgment, but praise God "while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Ro 5:6-note) Indeed, as Jesus declared "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24) THOUGHT - Dear reader, have you passed out of death (the second death) and into life (eternal life in the presence of God)? Peter links ungodliness with judgment giving two historical examples and one that is yet future... HISTORY: and (God) did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He (God) condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter; (2Pe 2:5-6-note) PROPHECY: But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2Pet 3:7-note) To convict (1651) (elegcho = primary verb but related to elegchos = bring to light to reveal hidden things) means to expose, to convict, to reprove, to shame or disgrace. Jesus would rebuke these apostates in such a way that they would be compelled to see and to admit the error of their ways. He would clearly demonstrate to them their wrong thinking and doing, and furnish indisputable proof of their flagrant ungodliness. Hiebert adds "To convict involves more than just bringing in the evidence; it involves refuting the arguments of the guilty (Ed: I frankly doubt that anyone will have a rebuttal to the evidence presented by the Righteous Judge!) and establishing their guilt beyond all doubt, to their own shame." A JUST JUDGMENT The apostates (and all the ungodly) will have one Righteous Judge (Ps 7:11-note, 2Ti 4:8-note), Jesus Christ (Jn 5:22, 27, 2Ti 4:1-note, Acts 17:31; Ro 2:16-note), but no jury. There will be a perfect prosecution, but no defendant defense, for every mouth will be closed and all will be accountable to God (Ro 3:19-note). There will be a sentence passed, but no appeal process, for there can be no higher court than God’s. Finally, there will be a final and forever punishment (cf Rev 20:11-15-note). The entire procedure will be just, for the Righteous One (Isa 53:11, Acts 3:14, Acts 7:52, Acts 22:14), the Son of God will be in charge. Of all their ungodly (asebeia) deeds (more literally = works of ungodliness) which they have done in an ungodly way - "Ungodly way" is asebeo (Strong's 764 - used only here) and speaks of these apostates' utter disregard for God and His holy law, their gross irreverence and inveterate impiety being manifest by their sacrilegious words and works. Their impious deeds are the product of their distorted view of God. "They are devoid of any restraining reverence toward God." (Hiebert) Richard Wolf adds that "ungodly deeds may be performed by persons who have a form of godliness (Ed: cf 2Ti 3:5). Every action that proceeds from an unholy, unrepentant heart is an ungodly deed." Williams writes "Satan in Eden and Judas in Gethsemane clothed ungodly deeds in soft words." (Quoted by Constable) And of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him - Malachi give us an OT example of harsh things spoken against God, for God Himself says that "Your words have been arrogant against Me...You have said it is vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before the LORD of hosts?" (Mal 3:13-14-note, cp Ex 16:8, Ps 73:9-note; Job 42:7) Jude makes clear in Jude 1:16 what some of those "harsh things" are. Harsh (4642)(skleros from skéllo = to harden, dry up; English = sclerosis) literally means hard, stiff, dried up, dry, severe. When referring to voices or sounds it means hoarse or harsh (Jn 6:60). When referring to things it means hard or tough. When referring to people, it conveys an inhuman character. "The word always conveys a grave reproach; it indicates a character harshly inhumane and uncivil" (Trench).For more background on the word group see Skleros - Hard as Rock Skleros refers to winds as fierce, violent, rough (Jas 3:4; Pr 27:16). In Acts 26:14, skleros refers to Saul of Tarsus; "hard to kick against the goads." Figuratively a "hard man" is a master who is difficult to please (Mt 25:24) Webster on Harsh - Rough to the ear; grating; discordant; jarring; as a harsh sound; harsh notes; a harsh voice. Austere; crabbed; morose; peevish. Rough; rude; abusive; as harsh words; a harsh reflection. Rigorous; severe. Though harsh the precept, yet the preacher charm´d. Dryden. Skleros - 5x in 5v - difficult(1), hard(2), harsh things(1), strong(1). Matthew 25:24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard (strict, severe, harsh, demanding) man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult (offensive - see Jn 6:61) statement; who can listen to it?" Barclay - The Greek word is skleros, which means not hard to understand but hard to accept. The disciples knew quite well that Jesus had been claiming to be the very life of God come down from heaven, and that no one could live this life or face eternity without submitting to him. Here we come upon a truth that re-emerges in every age. Time and again it is not the intellectual difficulty which keeps men from becoming Christians; it is the height of Christ's moral demand. At the heart of an religion there must be mystery, for the simple reason that at that heart there is God. In the nature of things man cannot ever fully understand God. Any honest thinker will accept that there must be mystery. The real difficulty of Christianity is two-fold. It demands an act of surrender to Christ, an acceptance of him as the final authority; and it demands a moral standard of the highest level. The disciples were well aware that Jesus had claimed to be the very life and mind of God come down to earth; their difficulty was to accept that as true, with all its implications. To this day many a man refuses Christ, not because he puzzles intellect, but because he challenges his life. (John-1 - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Acts 26:14 "And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard (difficult) for you to kick against the goads.' James 3:4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. Jude 1:15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Skleros - 55v in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Gen 21:11-12; 42:7, 30; 45:5; 49:3; Ex 1:14; 6:9; Num 16:26; Deut 1:17; 15:18; 26:6; 31:27; Jdg 2:19; 1Sa 1:15; 5:7; 25:3; 2Sa 2:17; 3:39; 1Kgs 12:4, 13, 24; 2Chr 10:4, 13; Job 9:4; 22:21; Ps 17:4; 60:3; Pr 17:27; 27:16; 28:14; 29:19; Eccl 7:17; Song 8:6; Isa 5:30; 8:12, 21; 14:3; 19:4; 21:2; 27:8; 28:2; 48:4; Dan 11:32; Zeph 1:14. Here is an excellent representative use... Proverbs 28:14 How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens (Lxx = hard of heart) his heart will fall into calamity. ("Fear keeps the heart tender and the soul safe. Security and presumption harden the sinner and he falls into mischief....a deep sensibility of sin is a special mercy. A deep sensibility of sin is a special mercy. To think what it is what it may be; that, indulged only in thought, if the Lord restrain not, it will end in apostasy--Oh! dare we trifle with it? The man, who presumes upon it, as too harmless for eternal punishment, and promises himself peace in the way of his own heart--a voice from heaven could scarcely describe the tremendous horrors of his case. Every word of God is a thunderbolt leveled at him. Scarcely less pitiable is the man, who makes light of his eternal state: living without prayer; so much better in his own eyes than his more ungodly neighbours; and fully satisfied with a mere external preparation for eternity. Forget not--Christian Professor--we may be strong in confidence, only because we are sleeping in delusion, or hardened in insensibility. From all the mischief of self-ignorance and' hardness of heart, Good Lord, deliver us! [Amen or Oh my!] from Charles Bridges' - click for full comment)
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay - For these people are grumblers. They querulously complain against the part in life which God has allotted to them. Their conduct is governed by their desires. Their mouths speak swelling words. They toady to men for what they can get out of it. The Living Bible - These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are loudmouthed "show-offs," and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return. GRUMBLERS FLATTERERS These are grumblers - In the preceding verse Jude referred to harsh words, and now he elaborates on some of those harsh words. They are described as "fate-blaming grumblers" (BDAG), those who discontentedly complain (eg, against God), those who are dissatisfied with their fate. The idea is not necessarily loud, outspoken dissatisfaction, but more of an undertone muttering. They are "inveterate murmurers" (Amp), "constant gripers, never satisfied." (TLB) Hiebert - "These (houtoi), like an accusing finger, once more points out these ungodly men (cf. Jude 1:8, 10, 12)." (Second Peter-Jude: An Expositional Commentary)
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay - It was of these, too, that Enoch, who was the seventh from Adam, prophesied when he said: Behold the Lord has come with ten thousands of his holy ones, NET Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones,
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay summarizes this picture - We can now see how cleverly Jude deals with these people who say that the rest of the world are the psuchikoi, while they are the pneumatikoi. Jude takes their words and reverses them. "It is you," he thunders at them, "who are the psuchikoi, the flesh-dominated; it is you who possess no pneuma, no real knowledge and no experience of God." Jude is saying to these people that, although they think themselves the only truly religious people, they have no real religion at all. Those whom they despise are, in fact, much better than they are themselves. The truth about these so-called intellectual and spiritual people was that they desired to sin and twisted religion into a justification for sin. (Jude - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay - They mock at goodness and their conduct is governed by their own evil desires. The two things go together. These opponents of Jude had two characteristics, as we have already seen. They believed the body, being matter, was evil; and that, therefore, it made no difference if a man sated its desires. Further, they argued that, since grace could forgive any sin, sin did not matter. These heretics had a third characteristic. They believed that they were the advanced thinkers; and they regarded those who observed the old moral standards as old-fashioned and out of date. That point of view is by no means dead. There are still those who believe that the once--accepted standards of morality and fidelity, especially in matters of sex, are quite out of date. There is a terrible text in the Old Testament: "The fool says in his heart, There is no God" (Ps 53:1). In that text fool does not mean the brainless man; it means the man who is playing the fool. And the fact that he says there is no God is entirely due to wishful thinking. He knows that, if there is a God, he is wrong and can look for judgment; therefore, he eliminates him. In the last analysis those who eliminate the moral law and give free rein to their passions and desires, do so because they want to do as they like. They listen to themselves instead of listening to God--and they forget that there will come a day when they will be compelled to listen to him. (Daily Study Bible)
Judas 1:14-19
Barclay - They are grumblers, for ever discontented with the life which God has allotted to them. In this picture he uses two words, one which was very familiar to his Jewish readers and one which was very familiar to his Greek readers. (a) The first is goggustes. (gg in Greek is pronounced ng). The word describes the discontented voices of the murmurers and is the same as is so often used in the Greek Old Testament for the murmurings of the children of Israel against Moses as he led them through the wilderness (Ex 15:24; Ex 17:3; Nu 14:29). Its very sound describes the low mutter of resentful discontent which rose from the rebellious people. These wicked men in the time of Jude are the modern counterparts of the murmuring children of Israel in the desert, people full of sullen complaints against the guiding hand of God. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Finding fault (complainers=KJV, "Fault finders"=NET; "malcontents"=ESV) (1113) (mempsimoiros from memphomai = to find fault, blame + moira = a part or lot) literally describes those who are "blamers of (dissatisfied with) their lot" and so the are discontented complainers, constantly finding fault and blaming! VDP would describe them well - "Very Draining Person!" "They querulously (with whining, habitually complaining) complain against the part in life which God has allotted to them." (Barclay) Rogers - The word mempsimoiros was used to describe a standard Greek character: “You’re satisfied by nothing that befalls you; you complain at everything. You don’t want what you have got; you long for what you haven’t got. In winter you wish it were summer, and in summer that it were winter. You are like the sick folk, hard to please, and one who complains about his lot in life” (s. Green’s quotation from Lucian, Cynic, XVII). The word indicates one who complained against the God who has appointed each man his fate (TDNT; MM). (New Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament) Plummer says that mempsimoiros indicates their discontent “with the condition of life which God had assigned to them, and not only blaming Him for this, but for the moral restrictions which He had imposed upon them and upon all mankind.” (Expositor's Bible Commentary) Barclay - A mempsimoiros was a man who was forever grumbling about life in general. Theophrastus was the great master of the Greek character sketch, and he has a mocking study of the mempsimoiros, which is worth quoting in full: "Querulousness is an undue complaining about one's lot; the querulous man will say to him that brings him a portion from his friend's table: "You begrudged me your soup or your collops (slices of meat), or you would have asked me to dine with you in person." When his mistress is kissing him he says, "I wonder whether you kiss me so warmly from your heart." He is displeased with Zeus, not because he sends no rain, but because he has been so tong about sending it. When he finds a purse in the street, it is: "Ah! but I never found a treasure." When he has bought a slave cheap with much importuning the seller, he cries: "I wonder if my bargain's too cheap to be good." When they bring him the good news that he has a son born to him, then it is: "If you add that I have lost half my fortune, you'll speak the truth." Should this man win a suit-at-law by a unanimous verdict, he is sure to find fault with his speech-writer for omitting so many of the pleas. And if a subscription has been got up for him among his friends, and one of them says to him: "You can cheer up now," he will say: "What? when I must repay each man his share, and be beholden to him into the bargain?" Here, vividly drawn by Theophrastus' subtle pen, is the picture of a man who can find something to grumble about in any situation. He can find some fault with the best of bargains, the kindest of deeds, the most complete of successes, the richest of good fortune. "There is great gain in godliness with contentment" (1 Timothy 6:6); but the evil men are chronically discontented with life and with the place in life that God has given to them. There are few people more unpopular than chronic grumblers and all such might do well to remember that such grumbling is in its own way an insult to God. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Following after their own lusts - The idea is that the planned course of their conduct (poreuomai) is governed by their strong sensual desires.
Judas 1:20
Barclay - But you, beloved, must build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith; you must pray in the Holy Spirit; NET - But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, TLB - But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
Judas 1:21
Barclay - you must keep yourselves in the love of God; while you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which will bring you to life eternal. NET - maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. NIV - Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. TLB - Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you.
Judas 1:22
Barclay summarizes the three groups of "troublers" addressed by Jude... Even to the worst heretics, even to those most far gone in error and to those whose beliefs are most dangerous, the Christian has a binding duty not to destroy but to save. His aim must be, not to banish them from the Christian church, but to win them back into the Christian fellowship. James Denney said that, to put the matter at its simplest, Jesus came to make bad men good. Sir John Seeley said: "When the power of reclaiming the lost dies out of the church, it ceases to be the church." As we have taken this passage, Jude divides the troublers of the church into three classes, to each of whom a different approach is necessary. (i) There are those who are flirting with falsehood. They are obviously attracted by the wrong way and are on the brink of committing themselves to error, but are still hesitating before taking the final step. They must be argued out of their error while there is time. From this two things emerge as a duty. (a) We must study to be able to defend the faith and to give a reason for the hope that is in us (1Pe 3:15-note). We must know what we believe so that we can meet error with truth (2Ti 1:12-note); and we must make ourselves able to defend the faith in such a way that our graciousness and sincerity may win others to it. To do this we must banish all uncertainty from our minds and all arrogance and intolerance from our approach to others. (b) We must be ready to speak in time (Ed: cf Col 4:5-6-note). Many a person would have been saved from error of thought and of action, if someone else had only spoken in time. Sometimes we hesitate to speak, but there are many times when silence is cowardly and can cause more harm than speech could ever cause. One of the greatest tragedies in life is when someone comes to us and says, "I would never have been in the mess I am now in, if someone--you, perhaps--had only spoken to me." (Ed comment: The best way to be prepared to boldly speak the Gospel is to be filled with the Spirit - cf Acts 4:31, see Paul Acts 9:17 and Acts 9:27-28, Acts 13:46, Acts 14:3) (ii) There are those who have to be snatched from the fire. They have actually started out on the wrong way and have to be stopped, as it were, forcibly, and even against their will. It is all very well to say that we must leave a man his freedom and that he has a right to do what he likes. All these things are in one sense true, but there are times when a man must be even forcibly saved from himself. (iii) There are those whom we must pity and fear at one and the same time. Here Jude is thinking of something which is always true. There is danger to the sinner; but there is also danger to the rescuer. He who would cure an infectious disease runs the risk of infection. (Ed: This warning reminds me of the recent African outbreak of Ebola Virus in 2014 in which several healthcare workers contracted the virus and died.) Jude says that we must hate the garment stained by the flesh. Almost certainly he is thinking here of the regulations in Lev 13:47-52-note, where it is laid down that the garment worn by a person discovered to be suffering from leprosy must be burned. The old saying remains true-- we must love the sinner but hate the sin. Before a man can rescue others, he must himself be strong in the faith. His own feet must be firm on the dry land before he can throw a lifebelt to the man who is likely to be swept away. The simple fact is that the rescue of those in error is not for everyone to attempt. Those who would win others for Christ must themselves be very sure of Him; and those who would fight the disease of sin must themselves have the strong antiseptic of a healthy faith. Ignorance can never be met with ignorance, nor even with partial knowledge; it can be met only by the affirmation, "I know whom I have believed." (2Ti 1:12-note) (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Play the great hymn by Fanny Crosby and sung by Cindy Foote = Rescue The Perishing Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. Refrain Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting, Waiting the penitent child to receive; Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently; He will forgive if they only believe. Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, Feelings lie buried that grace can restore; Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, Chords that were broken will vibrate once more. Rescue the perishing, duty demands it; Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide; Back to the narrow way patiently win them; Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died. See the illustrations related to this great hymn at the bottom of this note. Notice that Have mercy is not a suggestion to the church (verb is in the plural!) but is a present imperative, which is a command calling for the church to continually dispense mercy -- habitually, daily, as their lifestyle. They (we) are to manifest this Spirit enabled compassionate lifestyle whenever the need arises. We are God's vessels, God's instruments, God's ambassadors of the soul saving Gospel and are like God not to condemn, criticize or judge them for their wavering faith but are to give them what they need (mercy is not giving us what we deserve but what we need). They need our help, our reassurance, our reminder that they are "the called, beloved by God the Father, kept for Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:1) We need to emphasize that the Father loves them and the Son keeps them and guards them with His watchful eye. As the words of the Civilla Martin's great old hymn say "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." ( Instrumental Version or Vocal Version) Easy English Commentary suggests "The false teachers have already damaged the faith of some weaker Christians. Now those weaker Christians are not sure about what to believe or how to live. Jude urges his readers to be especially kind to those who have doubts. They need help to understand clearly how God wants them to live. They are to be holy, as God is holy. They are to care for other people, and not be selfish. At all times they are to trust God completely, and not their own thoughts." (Easy English Commentary) Hiebert rightly says "Mercy prefers to deal with the needy in terms of what is needed rather than what is deserved." Albert Barnes said "Nowhere do we imitate God more than in showing mercy." Thomas Manton - Mercy in us is a sign of our interest in God’s mercy. Thomas Watson - Show your piety by your pity. Vance Havner once said "When people do not mean business with Christ in their hearts they will not do business for Christ with their hands. There is no place in Scripture for the type of church member who sings, "O How I Love Jesus," but feeds no sheep; who sings, "Rescue the Perishing," but does no rescue work himself." (Vance Havner Quotebook) In his book Consider Jesus Havner adds "We shrink from personally touching the world's need, we abhor the ceremonial defilement of going down into the mire and muck of the world ourselves. It is one thing to sing, "Rescue the perishing." It is another thing to rescue some of them, snatching them from the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Father, by Your omnipotent Spirit grant grace to Your church to awaken us from soul numbing slumber that we might be empowered to go and share the good news of Your Son's great work on the Cross with those still dead in their trespasses and sins. Amen Why would Jude command his readers to have mercy? One reason is that it might be tempting to some of the saints to harshly judge those who are doubting (You don't have enough faith!, etc) or to be critical of them rather than compassionate. Jude calls us to be compassionate, not critical or judgmental. Schreiner - It is tempting to dismiss those struggling with doubts, to lose patience with them and move on to something else. Jude encouraged those who were strong to show mercy and kindness to those wavering with doubts, to reclaim them with gentleness (cf. 2Ti 2:25). (Ibid) Have mercy (1653)(eleeo from eleos) means “to feel sympathy with the misery of another, especially such sympathy which manifests itself in action, less frequently in word. Eleeo describes the general sense of one who has compassion on one in need. It indicates being moved to pity and compassion by tragedy and includes the fear that this could happen to me. Eleeo means to see someone in dire need (including one who may not deserve the misfortune), to have compassion on them, and to give help to remove the need. Kistemaker - Jude is alerting the readers to the danger some weak Christians face when they are confronted by the apostates (compare 2Peter 2:18-note). Whenever these people begin to doubt Christian teachings, reassure them by giving them help and understanding. Avoid any form of criticism, but show mercy and love to those who waver. (Exposition of the Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude) Stephen Grellet says "I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to my fellow-creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."
Judas 1:22
Barclay - Some of them you must argue out of their error, while they are still wavering. New English Bible - There are some doubting souls who need your pity. NET - And have mercy on those who waver; TLB - Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt.
Judas 1:23
Barclay - Others you must rescue by snatching them out of the fire. Others you must pity and fear at the same time, hating the garment stained by the flesh. CEV Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it. But hate even the clothes of those who have been made dirty by their filthy deeds. Complete Jewish Bible - save others, snatching them out of the fire; and to yet others, show mercy, but with fear, hating even the clothes stained by their vices. Common English Bible - Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges. Douay-Rheims But others save, pulling them out of the fire. And on others have mercy, in fear, hating also the spotted garment which is carnal. Easy to Read Version - Rescue those who are living in danger of hell's fire. There are others you should treat with mercy, but be very careful that their filthy lives don't rub off on you. ESV save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. GWT Save others by snatching them from the fire {of hell}. Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives. HCSB save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. ISV Save others by snatching them from the fire. To others, show mercy, but with fear, hating even the clothes stained by their sinful lives. Mace of others be compassionately tender, snatching them, as it were, out of the fire: and avoid even the garment of the infected. NET - save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes stained by the flesh. NKJ but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. (Notice this translation follows the Byzantine text which places en phobo after sozete. Almost every translation other than Darby's, KJV, NKJV, YLT however modifies mercy with with fear.) TLB - Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.
Judas 1:23
Barclay writes of this third group - There are those whom we must pity and fear at one and the same time. Here Jude is thinking of something which is always true. There is danger to the sinner; but there is also danger to the rescuer. He who would cure an infectious disease runs the risk of infection. Jude says that we must hate the garment stained by the flesh. Almost certainly he is thinking here of the regulations in Lev 13:47-52-note, where it is laid down that the garment worn by a person discovered to be suffering from leprosy must be burned. The old saying remains true--we must love the sinner but hate the sin. Before a man can rescue others, he must himself be strong in the faith. His own feet must be firm on the dry land before he can throw a lifebelt to the man who is likely to be swept away. The simple fact is that the rescue of those in error is not for everyone to attempt. Those who would win others for Christ must themselves be very sure of Him; and those who would fight the disease of sin must themselves have the strong antiseptic of a healthy faith. Ignorance can never be met with ignorance, nor even with partial knowledge; it can be met only by the affirmation, "I know whom I have believed." (2Ti 1:12-note) (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Flesh (4561)(sarx) in this context refers to the natural or unregenerate man > centered upon self, prone to sin, and opposed to God (Ro 7:18-note). The regenerate man is "controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit" (Ro 8:9-note); but the sinful nature is still in him and he may, according to his choice, "follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature" or "the Spirit" (1Co 3:1,4; Gal 5:16-note). Progressively greater victory (victory = a relative term as true, complete victory will be found only when we are glorified) over the sinful nature will be the habitual experience of the Christian who walks in the Spirit (Ro 8:2,4-note; Gal 5:16-note,Gal 5:17-note). The NIV is somewhat interpretative translating sarx with the phrase "corrupted flesh." Green on flesh - Jude uses sarx, the flesh, in precisely the same way as Paul: it means human nature made by God and for God, but which has fallen grievously out of harmony with God, and become an active agency of evil. This principle of evil must be resolutely opposed and rejected, just as, in baptism, the candidate disrobed entirely in order to receive a new garment when he emerged from the water to the new life. Compromise with evil will inevitably lead to defeat. (Jude Commentary - Tyndale). Jamieson - Three kinds of patients require three kinds of medical treatment. Ministers and Christians are said to “save” those whom they are made the instruments of saving; the Greek for “save” is present, therefore meaning “try to save.” Jude already (Jude 1:9-note) had reference to the same passage (Zech 3:1-3). The three classes are: (1) those who contend with you (accusative case in oldest manuscripts), whom you should convict; (2) those who are as brands already in the fire, of which hell-fire is the consummation: these you should try to save by snatching them out; (3) those who are objects of compassion, whom accordingly you should compassionate (and help if occasion should offer), but at the same time not let pity degenerate into connivance (1828 Webster = "properly, the act of winking. Hence figuratively, voluntary blindness to an act, generally imply consent to it") at their error. Your compassion is to be accompanied “with fear” of being at all defiled by them. (Jude - Commentary Critical and Explanatory) Bengel - Wretched men must be rescued in one way from the fire, and in another way from the mud. It is sufficient for these last to be treated with mildness, fear only being applied: these, being almost untouched by you, may perceive from this very circumstance your hatred and loathing even of the mere surface of impurity. (even) not only the flesh itself, which they pollute, Jude 1:8, but even the garment.— the spotted tunic) The tunic is the whole outward habit of life, in which we are affected by others. The phrase resembles a proverbial one (Ed: That is a very interesting interpretation!). (Jude-Bengel's Gnomon) Hiebert on dealing with the group whose garment (was) polluted by the flesh - Christians cannot be merely indifferent to such men, nor avoid them with a “holier-than-thou” attitude. With a deep feeling of compassion for them, they are to act helpfully toward them as opportunity affords, but they must ever be careful not to be brought under the power of the deadly contamination that clings to the practices and surroundings of such individuals. The zeal to win souls must be combined with holy wisdom and prudence. (Second Peter-Jude: An Expositional Commentary) Adrian Rogers - What do these schools have in common? Harvard, Yale, Columbia, William and Mary, Dartmouth, Princeton. "Well," you say, "They're all colleges." You're right—all universities. Right, but what do they have in common? You say, "Well, they're Ivy League schools." Most of them, but what do they have in common? They were all founded and built for the propagation of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Every one of them had a Bible foundation; every one of them was founded for the preaching of the gospel, the training of ministers, and godly Christian laymen, to spread the gospel across America. What a tragedy! The same thing that has happened to these schools has happened to many once-great denominations. And, the same thing that has happened to many once-great denominations has happened—God help us—to many churches. There has been an apostasy. The word apostasy means "a falling away from the faith," or, "a turning from the faith." ILLUSTRATION - Dwight L. Moody once saw a man freezing to death on the street in Chicago. Moody could not just talk this man into warmth. He pounded him with his fist and got him really angry. The man began to pound back and then got up and ran after Moody. That got his blood circulating and saved his life. Our loud and outspoken witnessing may make people angry, but at least it may awaken them from their spiritual stupor. Who needs your boldness, your compassion today? ILLUSTRATION - Those we save, says Jude, are as if snatched from the fire. They must be treated as we would treat a hamburger patty that falls into the hot coals. We must reach in quickly to prevent its further contamination, but we must also guard against personal injury. ILLUSTRATION - Evangelism is like strong horseradish: people praise it with tears in their eyes. There are other word associations we could make with the concept of evangelism. For some people, evangelism is an evangelical mugging mission, where we go into a phone booth, come out with a big red S on our chests and charge out into a neighborhood, seldom our own, to win it for Christ. For others, it's some kind of evangelical ambush where we lure the honest, unsuspecting victim to some type of an event, lock the doors, and sing twenty-two verses of "Just as I Am." Some people think of evangelism as a bombing mission where, from protective cloud cover at 30,000 feet, we fill backyards with gospel bombs. For others, evangelism is herding fish into the stained glass aquarium where the big fisherman throws the lure from the pulpit. —Joseph Aldrich ILLUSTRATION - When my wife and I went to Dallas Seminary, we decided we wouldn't live in the "cemetery" housing. Instead, we lived in the high-class, red-light district. If you want to get an introduction to life itself, that's the place to be. We made a commitment to take one non-Christian person, couple or individual, out to dinner once a week. Did we ever get a liberal education. But what fun; we had people coming to know the Lord right and left in that place, because we simply loved them. We opened our home to them. —Joseph Aldrich ILLUSTRATION - Arithmetic from Hell - A kind of arithmetic has been spawned in the counting rooms of hell. This kind of arithmetic is always interested in reaching the masses but somehow never gets down to a man or a woman. This kind of arithmetic always talks about winning the world for God but doesn't think much about winning a neighborhood for God. That arithmetic makes it valiant to cross oceans and never really crosses streets. - Haddon Robinson Lottie Moon - Surely there can be no deeper joy than that of saving souls. Illustration of saving others snatching them from the fire from Jim Cymbala - Jesus didn't just speak the healing word to lepers from a distance of thirty yards. He touched them. I shall never forget Easter Sunday 1992—the day that Roberta Langella gave her dramatic testimony....A homeless man was standing in the back of the church, listening intently. At the end of the evening meeting I sat down on the edge of the platform, exhausted, as others continued to pray with those who had responded to Christ. The organist was playing quietly. I wanted to relax. I was just starting to unwind when I looked up to see this man, with shabby clothing and matted hair, standing in the center aisle about four rows back and waiting for permission to approach me. I nodded and gave him a weak little wave of my hand. Look at how this Easter Sunday is going to end, I thought to myself. He's going to hit me up for money. That happens often in this church. I'm so tired. . . .When he came close, I saw that his two front teeth were missing. But more striking was his odor—the mixture of alcohol, sweat, urine, and garbage took my breath away. I have been around many street people, but this was the strongest stench I have ever encountered. I instinctively had to turn my head sideways to inhale, then look back in his direction while breathing out. asked his name. "David," he said softly. "How long have you been homeless, David?" "Six years." "Where did you sleep last night?" "In an abandoned truck." I had heard enough and wanted to get this over quickly. I reached for the money clip in my back pocket. At that moment David put his finger in front of my face and said, "No, you don't understand—I don't want your money. I'm going to die out there. I want the Jesus that red-haired girl talked about." I hesitated, then closed my eyes. God, forgive me, I begged. I felt soiled and cheap. Me, a minister of the Gospel ... I had wanted simply to get rid of him, when he was crying out for the help of Christ I had just preached about. I swallowed hard as God's love flooded my soul (Ed: The filling of the Spirit returned to Pastor Cymbala the moment he confessed his sin of indifference to this man's true need! And the same dynamic can happen in our life beloved. Confess and repent. Do it quickly. Don't continue to grieve or quench the Spirit!). David sensed the change in me (Ed: Spirit controlled!). He moved toward me and fell on my chest, burying his grimy head against my white shirt and tie. Holding him close, I talked to him about Jesus' love. These weren't just words; I felt them. I felt love for this pitiful young man. And that smell....I don't know how to explain it. It had almost made me sick, but now it became the most beautiful fragrance to me. I reveled in what had been repulsive just a' moment ago. The Lord seemed to say to me in that instant, Jim, if you and your wife have any value to me, if you have any purpose in my work—it has to do with this odor This is the smell of the world I died for. David surrendered to the Christ he heard about that night. We got him into a hospital detoxification unit for a week. We got his teeth fixed. He joined the Prayer Band right away. He spent the next Thanksgiving Day in our home. We invited him back for Christmas as well. I will never forget his present to me. Inside a little box was one handkerchief. It was all he could afford. Today David heads up the maintenance department at the church, overseeing ten other employees. He is now married and a father. God is opening more and more doors for him to go out and give his testimony. When he speaks, his words have a weight and an impact that many ordained ministers would covet. As Christians reach out to touch everyone, including the unlovely who are now everywhere in our society, God touches them, too—and revolutionizes their lives. Otherwise we would just be circling the wagons, busying ourselves with Bible studies among our own kind. There is no demonstration of God's power because we have closed ourselves off from the need for such demonstration. (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People) Rick Renner's devotional on Jude 1:23 - It's Time for You To Act Fast! - Have you ever known fellow believers who got caught up in sinful lifestyles that had the power to destroy their lives? How did it affect you when you saw them making those harmful decisions? I don't know about you, but I find it heartbreaking when I see someone I love doing things that are self-destructive and harmful to his or her walk with God. Doesn't it affect you this same way? Jude tells us what our attitude should be toward fellow believers who get caught up in the world again. We must realize that these fellow believers are in grave danger of reaping the consequences of sin and that those consequences are very serious. Therefore, we must act decisively when we see this happen to someone we love. In Jude 1:23, Jude tells us, "And others save with fear...." That word "save" is taken from the Greek word sozo. In this particular verse, it is used in the present imperative tense, which means the Greek calls for immediate, fast, and continuous action. This is not a mild suggestion that Jude is making to his readers. This is a strong command to take action and to do it as fast as possible. The word "fear" is from the Greek word phobos. In this particular case, it evokes a fear or a strong dose of respect for something that is life-threatening, dangerous, or alarming. Jude uses this word "fear" to let us know that believers who continue in sin place themselves in a very precarious, dangerous, and alarming situation. This is no game. Sin in the life of a believer is extremely serious. Therefore, Jude commands us to act immediately when we see a fellow brother or sister compromising his or her walk with the Lord. With the full meaning of these Greek words, Jude 1:23 could be translated: "Because of the alarmingly dangerous state that some believers are in, I urge you to take immediate and fast-acting measures to see them delivered and rescued. And if they don't quickly respond, don't stop! You need to keep up your sense of urgency until you are convinced that they are rescued from this precarious situation...." There is no doubt about it! This verse places a heavy responsibility on us to do whatever we can to bring this deceived person back to a place of safety. Jude speaks in a commanding tone of voice to let us know that we don't have a choice in this matter. We must act fast, act deliberately, and be continuous and unending in our efforts until we are certain that these straying brothers and sisters are back in safe territory again. So if you know a friend or loved one who is allowing serious sin to continue in his life, pray for him. Then go to him and express your concerns in love. Love that person enough to speak the truth to him. Act fast on his behalf, and do what you can to save him. Otherwise, he may eventually make mistakes that will bring disaster and destruction upon his life. That's why Jude commands us to take action right now. The possible consequences are too serious to ignore. We must do everything within our power to save and rescue believers caught in the snare of sin as quickly as possible. (Sparkling Gems From The Greek- 365 Greek Word Studies For Every Day Of The Year To Sharpen Your Understanding Of God's Word) EXPOSING BY CONTRAST - A professing Christian was entangled in an addiction to pornography. He came to me for help, but when he learned that I had never struggled with his particular problem he didn’t think I was qualified. I assured him I didn’t need firsthand knowledge or experience in a sin to know how to overcome it. I had him read Ephesians 5:8-21-note. Then we discussed the “goodness, righteousness, and truth” of Eph 5:9 and the marks of a Spirit-filled life as described in Eph 5:18-21-note. Before long, my visitor was on his knees confessing his sin and asking God to make him pure. In Eph 5:11-note, the apostle Paul said that we are not to have “fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” But then he went on to say that these sins are “shameful even to speak of” (Eph 5:12-note). Jude even warned that in helping others escape sin we can become trapped (Jude 1:22-24). So how do we expose sin? We must focus on Jesus, “the light of the world” (Jn. 8:12), and ask Him to enable us to “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15-note). It is in Christ’s pure light that the blackness of sin will be exposed and the stage will be set for the repentance that brings deliverance. - Herbert Vander Lugt Lord, keep us from entanglements That choke Your Spirit's work within, So we can then reflect Your light Into a world that's dark with sin. —Sper To drive out the darkness, bring in the light Jude 1:22 Commentary <> Jude 1:24 Commentary
Judas 1:24
Barclay - The word for blameless amomos is characteristically a sacrificial word; and it is commonly and technically used of an animal which is without spot or blemish and is therefore fit to be offered to God. The amazing thing is that when we submit ourselves to God (Ed: I would say specifically that when we believe in Jesus, at that very moment, we are amomos [see Eph 1:4 and Col 1:22 below] because we are in the spotless Lamb of God - 1Pe 1:19-note), His grace can make our lives nothing less than a sacrifice fit to offer to Him. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Great joy (20)(agalliasis See related verb - agalliao) means gladness or extreme joy, often accompanied by words and/or bodily movements, such as jumping, smiling, etc. See discussion of the verb agalliao in 1Pe 1:6-note. "Literally, “with exultation” as of those who leap for joy." (Jamieson) Agalliasis (noun) - 5x in 5v - NAS Usage: gladness(3), great joy(1), joy(1). Luke 1:14 "You will have joy (chara) and gladness, and many will rejoice (chairo) at his (John the Baptist's) birth. Luke 1:44 "For behold, when the sound of your (Mary's) greeting reached my ears, the baby (John the Baptist) leaped in my (Elizabeth's) womb for joy. (When Jesus arrived in Mary's womb! see Lk 1:41-43) Acts 2:46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, Hebrews 1:9-note "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS." Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, Agalliasis - 18v in non-apocryphal Septuagint (Mostly in Psalms which is not surprising where we often see the expression of joy - This would make a good study if your "joy quotient" is low! Be sure to Keep Context King and to query the text - interrogate with the 5W/H questions) and remember to apply the truth to your own situation, for example keeping in mind that some are prayers which you might consider praying) Ps 30:5; 42:4; 45:7, 15; 47:1; 51:8, 12; 63:5; 65:12; 100:2; 105:43; 107:22; 118:15; 126:2, 5-6; 132:16; Isa 51:11 Barclay - He can bring us into his presence exultant. Surely the natural way to think of entry into the presence of God is in fear and in shame. But by the work of Jesus Christ and in the grace of God, we know that we can go to God with joy and with all fear banished. Through Jesus Christ, God the stern Judge has become known to us as God the loving Father. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Mayor - I have bidden you to keep yourselves in the love of God; I have warned you against all impiety and impurity. But do not think that you can attain to the one, or guard yourselves from the other, in your own strength. You must receive power from above, and that it may be so, I offer up my prayer to Him, Who alone is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before the throne of His glory, pure and spotless in exceeding joy. To Him, the only God and Saviour belong glory, greatness, might, and authority throughout all ages. (The Expositor's Greek Testament) Spurgeon Devotional - "Able to keep you from falling." - Jude 1:24 - In some sense the path to heaven is very safe, but in other respects there is no road so dangerous. It is beset with difficulties. One false step (and how easy it is to take that if grace be absent), and down we go. What a slippery path is that which some of us have to tread! How many times have we to exclaim with the Psalmist, "My feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped." If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but in ourselves, how weak we are! In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. These feeble knees of ours can scarcely support our tottering weight. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith, our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we should soon be down. Oh, if we are kept from falling, how must we bless the patient power which watches over us day by day! Think, how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how strong our tendency to cast ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, "Glory be to him, who is able to keep us from falling." We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and labour to trip us up, or hurl us down the nearest precipice. Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defense. He is faithful that hath promised, and he is able to keep us from falling, so that with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence, Against me earth and hell combine, But on my side is power divine; Jesus is all, and he is mine! Spurgeon Devotional - "Faultless before the presence of his glory." - Jude 1:24 - Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, "faultless!" We are far off from it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in his work of love, we shall reach it one day. The Saviour who will keep his people to the end, will also present them at last to himself, as "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." All the jewels in the Saviour's crown are of the first water and without a single flaw. All the maids of honour who attend the Lamb's wife are pure virgins without spot or stain. But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will wash us from our sins in his own blood until we are white and fair as God's purest angel; and we shall be clothed in his righteousness, that righteousness which makes the saint who wears it positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God. We shall be unblameable and unreproveable even in his eyes. His law will not only have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us. Moreover, the work of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will make us so perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin. Judgment, memory, will-every power and passion shall be emancipated from the thralldom (state of being a slave) of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in his presence we shall dwell for ever. Saints will not be out of place in heaven, their beauty will be as great as that of the place prepared for them. Oh the rapture of that hour when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we, being made meet for the inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin gone, Satan shut out, temptation past for ever, and ourselves "faultless" before God, this will be heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise so soon to roll forth in full chorus from all the blood-washed host; let us copy David's exultings before the ark as a prelude to our ecstasies before the throne. QUESTION - What does it mean that God is able to keep us from falling (Jude 24)? ANSWER - The doxology of Jude 1:24–25 says, “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” What does it mean that God is able to keep us from falling (as the KJV terms it)? In understanding the meaning of any verse, context is key. Jude is a letter written by Jude, a half-brother of Jesus. The letter is written to fellow believers, whom Jude addresses as “friends” (Jude 1:3, 17, 20). According to Jude 1:3, Jude had wanted to write about salvation, but he instead felt compelled to write about the need to contend for the faith. It seems there were false converts within the church who were “ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4). Jude goes on to explain some of what these false believers are doing and compares their actions to other historical rebellions. Jude warns that these people will not escape judgment. Jude then goes on to exhort the believers to continue in the faith. He says not to be surprised that there are “scoffers who will follow their ungodly desires” (Jude 1:18) as it had been prophesied. Rather than be taken in by the deceptiveness of the false teachers among them, they should continue to grow in the faith: “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 1:20–21). After lambasting the ungodly who had “secretly slipped in” (Jude 1:4), explaining the serious nature of God’s judgment, and imploring his readers to live godly lives, Jude ends his epistle with a doxology. Here is where he writes that God is able to keep us from falling. Though Jude tells his readers to “keep yourselves in God’s love” (Jude 1:21), he also points out that it is God who keeps us. Our righteousness does not come from ourselves, but from God. We are to contend for the faith and persevere. But, ultimately, our security does not rest on us. We need not fear that we will fall away from God, for it is He who keeps us upright. We rely on His power, not our own. In Jude’s song of praise, “the only wise God our Saviour” (Jude 1:25, KJV) is credited with doing two things for us: He is able to keep us from falling (literally, He keeps us unfallen), and He is able to present us faultless “before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (verse 24, KJV). Amid all the pitfalls of this world, including the false teaching so rampant everywhere, our Savior is able to keep us from sin and error. The false teachers Jude condemns have stumbled into sinful lifestyles, but God is able to preserve His own. One day we will stand in His very presence fully sanctified and blameless (see Colossians 1:22). Jude writes this as an encouragement. He warns believers to be steadfast and to live a holy life. And he reassures them that God is both willing and able to purify His children. True Christians will struggle with sin (1 John 1:8–9). We will fail. But we can trust that our God is faithful and able to keep us in His grip and to present us blameless before Himself (John 10:28–30; Romans 7–8; Philippians 1:6). Not only can He do this, but He does it with great joy. This is why we praise Him so greatly. GotQuestions.org ALL SPRUCED UP - Getting our children to look good for church was always a challenge. Ten minutes after arriving at church all spruced up, our little Matthew would look like he didn’t have parents. I’d see him running down the hall with his shirt half untucked, glasses cockeyed, shoes scuffed up, and cookie crumbs decorating his clothes. Left to himself, he was a mess. I wonder if that is how we look sometimes. After Christ has clothed us in His righteousness, we tend to wander off and live in ways that make us look like we don’t belong to God. That’s why Jude’s promise that Jesus is “able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless” gives me hope (Jude 1:24). How can we keep from looking like we don’t have a heavenly Father? As we become more yielded to His Spirit and His ways, He will keep us from stumbling. Think of how increasingly righteous our lives would become if we would take time in His Word to be cleansed with “the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26). What a blessing that Jesus promises to take our stumbling, disheveled lives and present us faultless to the Father! May we increasingly look like children of the King as we reflect His loving care and attention. - Joe Stowell Lord, thank You for the blessing of being clothed in Your beautiful righteousness and the promise that You will keep me from stumbling and present me faultless before Your Father and my God! To reflect the presence of the Father, we must rely on the Son. A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS - Edwin van der Sar, goalkeeper for the Manchester United soccer team, had a “safe” pair of hands. He kept the ball from entering his team’s goal for 1,302 minutes, a world record in one season! That means that for almost 15 games of 90 minutes each, no one was able to score even one goal against his team while he was guarding the goalposts. But one goal by an opposing team in March 2009 ended his record. The psalmist David found comfort in the safest pair of hands—God’s hands. He wrote of God’s protection in Psalm 138, “You will stretch out Your hand . . . and Your right hand will save me” (Ps 138:7). Like David, we can look to God’s safe hands to keep us from spiritual danger and defeat. Another assurance from God’s Word for followers of Christ is Jude 1:24-25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” That doesn’t mean we’ll never stumble. But it does mean we won’t stumble so badly that God cannot pick us up. God’s safe pair of hands can never fail—ever! From Him, who loves me now so well, What power my soul can sever? Shall life or death, or earth or hell? No—I am His forever. —Small No place is more secure than to be in God’s hands. Jude 1:23 Commentary <> Jude 1:25 Commentary
Judas 1:24
Barclay - To walk with God is to walk in safety even on the most dangerous and the most slippery path. In mountaineering, climbers are roped together so that, even if the inexperienced climber should slip, the skilled mountaineer can take the weight and save the other person. In the same way when we bind ourselves to God (Ed: When we believe in Jesus, He binds us to Himself in an immutable, unbreakable Covenant - see Solemn and Binding, The Oneness of Covenant and Oneness Notes), He keeps us safe. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) In Peter's Second Epistle, he used phulasso to describe God's keeping power as He "preserved (phulasso) Noah, a preacher of righteousness," through the global flood that destroyed everyone who was not in the Ark! (2Pe 2:5-note). God is Able - See meditation of this great Biblical truth "GOD IS ABLE" [or similar post here] if you need to be reminded and encouraged of our Great God's ability to daily and forever guard our souls from destruction! John uses phulasso in his closing words of his first letter, commanding the children of God "Little children, guard (aorist imperative = conveys a sense of urgency! Do this now!) yourselves from idols (Ed: Do you have any "idols?" Anything that is between you and God? Some secret sin? Some love or affection for some earthly "treasure," which surpasses your love for Jesus? Then this verse is for you! And frankly, it's undoubtedly for ALL of us, for we are all prone to wander into idolatry, regardless of our degree of spiritual maturity! If any man thinks he stands, then he had better take heed lest he fall. 1Cor 10:12)." (1Jn 5:21) But before you put yourself under the law (thinking "I in my power must obey this command" -- this is the deadly deception of legalism, which in effect "snuffs out" the effective working of God's grace!), just remember that "you can't" (obey God's holy commands relying on an unholy "power source") but "He can" (as you daily, moment by moment, rely on His Holy Power Source, the provision of His Spirit!) As discussed below, guarding is both God's provision (cf 2Ti 1:12-note) and our responsibility (enabled by His provision!) (1Ti 6:20) In his parting letter (his last recorded words -- always worthy of our most careful attention) Paul commanded Timothy to "Guard (aorist imperative = conveys a sense of urgency! Do this now!), through (Notice Paul's command is immediately coupled with God's provision to carry out the command!) the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, the treasure (in context = The Gospel) which has been entrusted (picture of depositing for safe keeping as one would into a bank) to you." (2Ti 1:14-note) As Jameison says "The indwelling Spirit enables us to keep from the robbers of the soul the deposit of His word committed to us by God." In Peter's Second Epistle he issued a command You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand (Knowing what? = 2Pe 3:16-note), be on your guard (phulasso = present imperative = calls for continual vigilance. Oh, how my soul needs to heed this warning!) lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men (Note what "carries" us away! This is why Jesus' words are so critical for ALL of us to hear and heed - Mt 4:4, Lk 4:4, Dt 8:3-5, cf Jn 17:17), you fall from your own steadfastness, (2Pe 3:17-note) Note the striking contrast of apostates kept by God for judgment (Jude 1:6-note, cf 2Pe 2:9-note, 2Pe 2:4-note, 2Pe 3:7-note) and saints kept from stumbling! In Jude 1:1-note we are "Kept for Christ Jesus" so it is clearly God's power which is able to keep us safe from the beginning and here in Jude 1:24 it is again God's power which is able to keep us safe and to keep us from stumbling into apostasy. Sandwiched between these two promises of God's keeping power, Jude says that we are responsible to keep ourselves in the love of God. As alluded to in the exposition of Jude 1:21, we see the juxtaposition in Jude of God's part and our part in the Christian life. The phrase "Let go and let God" is not theologically accurate, for it leaves out the important truth that we are responsible to "work out our salvation in fear and trembling," but we do can do so only as we surrender our will and rely on the Spirit Who indwells us to give us the desire and the power to live in a manner which is pleasing to God. (See Php 2:12-note and Php 2:13-note, noting the little preposition "for" linking these two passages. For is a strategic term of explanation, which teaches us how it is possible to fulfill God's command to work out our salvation on a daily basis. Is this "spiritual dynamic" a bit mysterious? Is it difficult to fully understand? Yes and Yes, but it is God's provision which enables us to live a quality of life (supernatural) which is simply not possible if we choose to rely on our own natural "power" to live a supernatural life. Does this make sense? We see this same dynamic clearly stated in Ezekiel, in the context of God's promise of a New Covenant (see New Covenant in the Old Testament and Why the New is Better)... “(God's provision) I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes (Php 2:13-note says He does it by impacting our "will" and providing the supernatural enablement), and (Our Responsibility) you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezek 36:27-note) Alfred Plummer - "To guard you from stumbling"; which in two respects is more than "to keep you from falling" Firstly, a guard preserves the idea of protection against perils, both manifest, and secret, more decidedly than "keep"; and secondly, one may have many stumbles without any falls, and therefore to be preserved from even stumbling implies a larger measure of care on the part of the protector. But even "to guard you from stumbling" does not quite do justice to the Greek, nor is it easy to do so. "Guard you so that you are exempt from stumbling and never trip or make false step" is the full meaning of the expression. The verb which is here negatived (Ed: by putting an "a" in front of ptaio [to make the adjective aptaistos], it negates the action of the verb) is used by St. James: [James 2:10] "Whosoever" shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble (ptaio) in one point, he is become guilty of all. The Vulgate lets go the metaphor of stumbling, and translates simply "to preserve you without sin" (conservare sine peccato). That which is impossible with men is possible with God (Mk 10:27, Lk 18:27), and the Divine grace can protect Christians against their own frailty. Christ says of His sheep that they shall assuredly never perish, and that no one, whether powers of evil (Eph 6:12-note - Read 2Th 3:3 which uses phulasso to describe God's power to protect us from the evil one!) or human seducers, can snatch them out of His hand. [John 10:28]. (Jude - Expositor's Bible Commentary)
Judas 1:24
Barclay adds - Three times in the New Testament praise is given to the God who is able. In Romans 16:25 Paul gives praise to the God who is able to strengthen us. God is the one person who can give us a foundation for life which nothing and no one can ever shake. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul gives praise to the God who is able to do far more than we can ever ask or even dream of. He is the God whose grace no man has every exhausted and on whom no claim can ever be too much. Here Jude offers his praise to the God who is able. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) To keep you from stumbling = Literally "to keep you without stumbling." (Cf stumble, James 2:10; 3:2). For the Lord's "keeping power" see also - Jn 10:29,30; Ro 8:31, Ro 16:25-27; Eph 3:20; 2Ti 1:12, 2Ti 4:18. Don't miss the obvious dear saint -- we all need keeping! Were it not for His continual keeping, we would surely be continually stumbling!
Judas 1:24
Barclay - Unto him who is able to keep you from slipping and to make you stand blameless and exultant in the presence of his glory, NET - Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence,
Judas 1:25
Barclay - We note one last thing. Usually we associate the word Saviour with Jesus Christ, but here Jude attaches it to God (The Father). He is not alone in this, for God is often called Saviour in the New Testament (Lk 1:47; 1Ti 1:1; 1Ti 2:3; 1Ti 4:10; Titus 1:3-note; Titus 2:10-note; Titus 3:4-note). So we end with the great and comforting certainty that at the back of everything there is a God whose name is Saviour. The Christian has the joyous certainty that in this world he lives in the love of God and that in the next world he goes to that love. The love of God is at once the atmosphere and the goal of all his living. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible) Through Jesus Christ our Lord - This is the fourth time in his epistle that Jude names Jesus Christ “our Lord” (Jude 1:4, 17, 21, 25). Through (dia) identifies the "conduit" so to speak through which salvation flows from the Father. Jesus is the intermediary, the Mediator, the Great High Priest. We can give glory, majesty, power, and authority to God only through our Lord Jesus Christ. See related resource: Study of through Him = through Christ. Savior (4990)(soter) refers to the agent of salvation or deliverance, the one who rescues, delivers, saves and preserves. Anyone who saves or delivers can be called a deliverer or rescuer (a soter). Here obviously soter is used of God as the source of salvation - the Deliverer, the Preserver, the Protector, the Healer, the One Who rescues us from danger and to a state of spiritual prosperity now and throughout eternity. Glory (1391)(doxa) expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts. He is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is. To be where God is will be glory. To be what God intended will be glory. To do what God purposed will be glory. Kistemaker - Glory is commonly ascribed to him in doxologies (except for 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 Peter 5:11). Ascribing glory to God, however, is merely acknowledging an essential aspect of his being, for in essence God is glory. On earth Christ’s followers reflect the glory of God in word and deed. But when they enter heaven, believers are glorified and share in God’s glory (see, e.g., Rom. 8:30). Majesty (3172)(megalosune from megas = great, strong) signifies prominence, importance, preeminence, stateliness, dignity, impressive greatness as a king can be in his bearing. Megalosune signifies that God is greater than all and is used only of God the Father. Majesty is the incomparable, ineffable, regal presence of God as the Ruler of the universe. Hebrews (see below) uses this noun as a "Name" of God the Father. TDNT on the root word megas - The basic sense of megas is “great” or “big” (either people or inanimate objects). We then find such nuances as “high,” “wide,” or, figuratively, “powerful” (gods, rulers, natural forces, dangers, emotional states, impressions, etc.). The word is used in epiphanies and also in courtly style. It may at times have a censorious ring, i.e., “arrogant.” Webster's 1828 on majesty - 1. Greatness of appearance; dignity; grandeur; dignity of aspect or manner; the quality or state of a person or thing which inspires awe or reverence in the beholder; applied with peculiar propriety to God and his works. It is applied to the dignity, pomp and splendor of earthly princes. 2. Dignity; elevation of manner. 3. A title of emperors, kings and queens; as most royal majesty; may it please your majesty. Megalosune - 3x in NT all rendered as "Majesty"... Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 8:1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, Megalosune - 19 verses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (usually conveys the sense of greatness) - Dt 32:3; 2Sa 7:21, 23; 1Chr 17:19; 22:5; 29:11; Ps 79:11; 145:3, 6; 150:2; Pr 18:10; Da 2:20; 4:1, 22, 36; 5:18-19; 7:27; Zech 11:3; Ps 145:3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. Ps 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Dominion (2904)(kratos) denotes the presence and significance of force or strength rather than its exercise. It is the ability to exhibit or express resident strength. "His sovereign reign has no boundaries." (ESV Study Bible) Kratos - 12x in 12v - Luke 1:51; Acts 19:20; Eph 1:19; 6:10; Col 1:11; 1 Tim 6:16; Heb 2:14; 1 Pet 4:11; 5:11; Jude 1:25; Rev 1:6; 5:13. NAS Usage: dominion(6), might(1), mightily(1), mighty deeds(1), power(1), strength(2). Authority (1849) (exousia) refers to authority and combines the idea of the "right and the might". Exousía is the power to do something and was a technical term used in court where it described a legal right. The idea is that God rules over all creation (with no "exception clauses!") Exousia - 102x in 93v - Matt 7:29; 8:9; 9:6, 8; 10:1; Mt 21:23-23, 27; 28:18; Mark 1:22, 27; 2:10; 3:15; Mk 6:7; 11:28-29, 33; 13:34; Luke 4:6, 32, 36; 5:24; 7:8; 9:1; 10:19; 12:5, 11; 19:17; 20:2, 8, 20; 22:53; 23:7; John 1:12; 5:27; 10:18; 17:2; Jn 19:10-11; Acts 1:7; 5:4; 8:19; 9:14; 26:10, 12, 18; Rom 9:21; 13:1-3; 1Cor 7:37; 8:9; 9:4-6, 12, 18; 11:10; 15:24; 2 Cor 10:8; 13:10; Eph 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:13, 16; 2:10, 15; 2Thess 3:9; Titus 3:1; Heb 13:10; 1 Pet 3:22; Jude 1:25; Rev 2:26; 6:8; 9:3, 10, 19; 11:6; 12:10; 13:2, 4-5, 7, 12; 14:18; 16:9; 17:12-13; 18:1; 20:6; 22:14. NAS Usage: authorities(7), authority(65), charge(1), control(1),domain(2), dominion(1), jurisdiction(1), liberty(1), power(11), powers(1), right(11). Before all time and now and forever = "All time" describes the beginning of time as we know it (Ge 1:1). Before all time speaks of eternity before the Creation, now speaks of the present and forever speaks of eternity future ("the infinite future.") From eternity past to eternity future! Kistemaker - In a few words Jude describes the totality of time pertaining to the past, the present, and the future. With our finite minds we are unable to comprehend eternity and accordingly must express ourselves in generalities. The writer of Hebrews uses common terms when he describes time in relation to Jesus. He says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). AMEN LET IT BE SO! Amen (4243)(amen [OT = Amen (0543) amen]) is a transliteration of the Hebrew noun amen and then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word (See study of Aman and Amen). Amen has been called the best-known word in human speech. To say “Amen” confirms a statement by someone else. Amen is a response to something that has just been said. The idea of amen is "Let it be so!" One wonders if that is the thought the Beatles had in mind with their famous song "Let it be?" Probably not! Kistemaker - Jude ends this outstanding doxology with a resounding “amen.” May everyone concur and say, “So be it.” Following Jewish custom, Christians normally end their doxologies with the concluding amen. Adam
Judas 1:25
Barclay - to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, at this present time, and for all time. Amen. NET - to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.