This is the only chapter of the Book of Jude, so tomorrow we’ll begin with the last book of the Bible, which is…
Jude
The Doom of False Teachers
God’s Word tells us there is only one way to heaven and only one name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved and that is Jesus Christ.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Catholicism is no where near true Christianity even though they say they are Christian.
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
“The common salvation” – Jude’s original intention was to write a general treatment of the doctrine of salvation, probably dealing with such subjects as man’s sin and guilt, God’s love and grace, the forgiveness of sins and the changed life-style that follows new birth.
“The faith” – here used of the body of truth held by believers everywhere – the gospel and all its implications. This truth was under attack and had to be defended.
“Once delivered” – the truth has finality and is not subject to change.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
“For” – introduces the reason Jude felt impelled to change the subject of his letter.
“Before of old ordained to this condemnation” – the reference may be to Old Testament denunciations of ungodly men or to Enoch’s prophecy (vv. 14-15). Or Jude may mean that judgment has long been about to fall on them because of their sin (see 2 Pet 2:3) which may be a clarification of this clause).
“Turning the grace of God into lasciviousness” – they assume that salvation by grace gives them the right to sin without restraint, either because God in His grace will freely forgive all their sins, or because sin, by contrast, magnifies the grace of God.
But they were wrong see Matt 7:21-23; Heb 6:4-6, 10:26-27.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
He told us we will know a tree by it’s fruit.
”For there are certain men who crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24).
“Destroyed them that believed not” – they did not believe that God would give them the land of Canaan (the “Promised Land”); consequently all unbelieving adults died in the desert without entering.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
“Estate” – God has assigned differing areas of responsibility and authority to each of the angels (see Dan 10:20-21, where the various princes may be angels assigned to various nations).
Some of these angles refused to maintain their assignments and thus became the devil and his angles (cf. Matt 25:41).
“Their own habitation” – angels apparently were assigned specific locations as well as responsibilities. Some assume that they left the heavenly realm and came to earth (see 2 Pet 2:4).
“The great day” – the final judgment/the end of the world.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
“Even as” – does not mean that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was the same as that of the angels or vice versa. This phrase is used to introduce the third illustration of the fact that God will see to it that the unrighteous will be consigned to eternal punishment on judgment day.
“Fornication and…strange flesh” – more specifically, homosexuality.
”Set forth for an example, suffering…eternal fire” – God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by pouring out “brimstone and fire” (Gen 19:24) – a foretaste of the eternal fire that is to come.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
According to several church fathers, this verse if based on a work called The Assumption of Moses. Other New Testament quotations from, or allusions to, non-Biblical works include Paul’s quotations of Aratus (Acts 17:28), Menander (1 Cor 15:33) and Epimenides (Tit 1:12).
Such usage in no way suggests that the quotations, or the books from which they were taken, are divinely inspired. It only means that the Biblical author found the quotations to be a helpful confirmation, clarification or illustration.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Three Old Testament examples of the kind of persons Jude warns his readers about.
“Woe unto them!” – a warning that judgment is coming (see Matt 23:13, 15-16, 23, 25, 27, 29).
“Way of Cain” – the way of selfishness and greed (Gen 4:3-4) and the way of hatred and murder (see 1 Jn 3:12).
“Error of Balaam” – the error of consuming greed (see 2 Pet 2:15).
“Gainsaying of Core” – Korah (“Core”) rose up against God’s appointed leadership (see Num 16). Jude may be suggesting that the false teachers of his day were rebelling against church leaders (cf. Jn 9-10).
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
12-13 – these verses contain six graphic metaphors:
1. “Spots in your feast of charity” – see 1 Cor 11;21; 2 Pet 2:13.
2. “Feeding themselves” – instead of feeding the sheep for whom they are responsible (see Eze 34:8-10).
3. “Clouds…without water” – like clouds promising moisture for the parched land, the false teachers promise soul-satisfying truth, but in reality they have nothing to offer.
4. “Trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots” – though the trees ought to be heavy with fruit.
5. “Raging waves of the sea” – as wind-tossed waves constantly churn up rubbish, so these apostates continually stir up moral filth (see Is 57:20).
6. “Wandering stars” – as shooting stars appear in the sky only to fly off into eternal oblivion, so these false teachers are destined for the darkness of eternal hell.
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
“Enoch also the seventh from Adam” – not the Enoch in the line of Cain (Gen 4:17) but the one in the line of Seth (Gen 5:18-24; 1 Chr 1:1-3).
He was seventh if Adam is counted as the first. The quotation is from the book of Enoch, which purports to have been written by the Enoch of Gen 5, but actually did not appear until the 1st century B.C.
The book of Enoch was a well-respected writing in New Testament times. That it was not canonical does not mean that it contained no truth, nor does Jude’s quotation of the book mean that he considered it inspired.
“Prophesied” – not in the sense of supernaturally revealing new truth, but merely in the sense of speaking things about the future that were already known (see Dan 7:9-14; Zech 14:1-5).
“The Lord cometh” – Jude uses the quotation to refer to Christ’s second coming and to His judgment of the wicked (see 2 Thess 1:6-10).
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
“They told you” – the Greek for this phrase indicates that the apostles continually or repeatedly warned of such godless apostates would come.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
“Having not the Spirit” – rather than being the spiritual ones – the privileged elite class the Gnostics claimed to be – Jude denies that they even possess the Spirit. The person who does not have the Spirit is clearly not saved (see Rom 8:9).
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
22-23 – “Have compassion…pulling them out of the fire” – seek to help all who have come under the influence of the apostates – whether they are wavering in the faith or on the verge of destruction.
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
False Christianity
There are a lot of Americans that would rather sit home, eat bonbons and get fat rather than do a filthy job because they are either to lazy or they feel that it would not be dignified for them to be seen doing such a job, such as digging ditches or feeding pigs or whatever.
This type of mindset is not only in the job force, but also in regard to faith in Jesus Christ. They would rather convince themselves that the lies they hear are true because it allows them to be filthy, disgusting people, rather than honoring “The” Almighty God.
God condemns these types of people:
“ Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah (Jer 2:27-28).
“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer 5:31).
Committing Sin in God’s Name?
The above words from the Prophet Jeremiah is amazing because the people actually wanted to hear lies, instead of the truth. They loved false prophecies, i.e., preaching.
Many people, who call themselves “Christians” today, are not!
You’d be surprised if you knew just how many professed “Christians” could care less about the truth – they have churchianity without Christianity, religion without Christ. The world is filled with such people.
Below is another tidbit from the Prophet:
Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit.
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? (Jer 7:8-10).
It’s bad enough that people will do anything for profit, but it gets worse. Some will are willing to murder, steal, lie, bow to graven images, and even commit adultery in God’s name, just in spite I guess?
These people not only foolishly convinced themselves that God condoned their sins; but that they were doing God’s will. There are many such false “Christians” today, such as churches that:
Promote murderous abortion, such as Planned Parenthood, or A Church that Called an Ordained Lesbian to be their Pastor, or Churches that lead people to bow down to graven images, and there are many more, such as a church ordaining homosexual ministers, or making Halloween holy, and the list goes on.
Can you imagine what God thinks about all this? Jeremiah gives a good idea…
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched (Jer 7:20).
God hates sin, but imagine how He feels when the sin is done in His name! Never before has the Word of God and Christianity been under so much attack.
Jim Bakker
Do you remember James Orsen “Jim” and Tammy Faye Bakker? Jim had been a televangelist, a former Assemblies of God minister and a former host with Tammy Faye Bakker of The PTL Club, (PTL – “Praise The Lord” or “People That Love”), a popular evangelical Christian television program that ran from 1974-1989.
I remember the names, but it didn’t really mean anything to me because it wasn’t until 1983 that I realized that Jesus was real, but I didn’t actually get smart until 2007. And it appears that the Bakkers, or at least Jim never got smart, or he was smart and then became dumb.
Jim probably praised the Lord, but he obviously loved people and money more and he had to resign due to a sex scandal. And aside from the sex scene an accounting fraud gave him 45 year prison sentence that was later reduced to 8 years and of that he only did almost 5 years.
What I have read about Jim as of today is that he may be right with God again. God will always forgive if we repent, but repentance must be sincere, the sinning must STOP!
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chr 7:14).
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Rev 2:5).
Tammy Bakker
Why Tammy wasn’t charged with the scandal and fraud is unknown to me, it’s either because she actually was not guilty or she had a real good lawyer. Nobody but God knows if she was guilty or not, and nobody but God knows if she sinned against Him.
Yet, she did divorce Jim and then remarried and Jesus sais:
The picture on the right was made from television and released by CNN shows Tammy Faye Messner as she speaks to host Larry King, by satellite link, during a taping of “Larry King Live,” Thursday, July 19, 2007.
Tammy said she lived in complete pain. The pictures being only three years apart makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
“And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery” (Mk 10:12).
In 1996, Tammy was diagnosed with colon cancer and she died in 2007, but she had said that from 2004 to her death she was in constant pain.
If you sin against God, but you do not accept Jesus as your Savior then He won’t punish you, not yet, your punishment will be burning in hell for eternity. But if you repent of your sins then God, in some fashion, will punish you now.
After He punishes you, your sins are forgiven, He forgets them and you are set up for eternal life with Him (see Ps103:3-19). Yet, if get caught up in the ways of the world again and sin again and repent once more, He will punish you again. And the cycle can go on and on. I say this out of experience.
NOTE: do not confuse what I say above with what is said in Matt 7:21-23; Heb 6:4-6, 10:26-27 because those pertain to people that God has greatly blessed and they later mock God, such as Rick Warren.
As the author of Hebrews says:
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby .
“Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Heb 12:6-12).
I don’t know, but I believe that Tammy is probably with God now, she messed up, but God is forgiving.
Satan is working relentlessly to corrupt every remaining bastion of true Christianity. We’re just seeing the beginning of bad times to come.
Now homosexual sodomites even have their own Bible. Cable programs like The History Channel are doing their best to distort, corrupt, and dismiss the Word of God as fairy tales. Here’s what one of their blasphemous shows had to say about Sodom and Gomorrah.
One of Satan’s subtle tricks is to label some unbelieving skeptic as a “theologian.” When the average person is told that some man or woman is a “theologian,” they automatically let their guard down and assume that the person knows what they’re talking about.
The impeachment arose from the Lewinsky scandal, when it was discovered that Clinton had engaged in oral sex with White House intern Monica Lewinksy, and from the Paula Jones lawsuit, when Clinton was accused of sexual harassment.
Clinton had claimed that “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinksy”, believing that what they had engaged in did not class as “sexual relations”.
Clinton was impeached for perjury. In my opinion, fraud is much worse, so why hasn’t Obama been impeached?
After all, theologians know God better than anyone, right? Some of the biggest lying heretics in the world are professed “theologians.” They may know religion; but, they don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior.
Satan uses these false theologians to confuse the masses of ignorant people. I’ve seen it again and again. They say stuff like,
“Leading theologians don’t agree on the Biblical interpretation of homosexuality, so how can everyday people know? Therefore, we shouldn’t be too quick to judge.
In effect, they’re telling Christians to stop preaching against the vile sin of homosexuality.
False Christianity is everywhere nowadays. These are the modernists and false prophets, who exploit Christianity to gain wealth, popularity, influence, control, and fortune. Hell will be the hottest for such lying ministers and priests of Satan.
The only sure way to escape their clutches of damnation is by studying and learning the Word of God. If you know the Truth of God’s Word then Satan is powerless
against you. Those who are ignorant of the Bible will be deceived by the devil.
While Bill Clinton was president, he had said,
Even leading theologians don’t agree on the abortion issue, so who am I to make such decisions?
Pope Francis, just like Clinton, ignored God when he said that he will not “judge” gays and lesbians, including gay priests, signaling a shift from his predecessor and offering another sign that the new Pope is committed to changing the church’s approach to historically marginalized groups.
God was very clear when He said:
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them(Lev 20:13).
This type of twisted reasoning is extremely popular nowadays. Do you realize that there are ordained Wiccan witches in the ministry? They perform weddings, funerals, and everything a pastor would.
So when you hear about “theologians,” be wary. The masses are deliberately being brainwashed by the devil. They are being conditioned to receive the antichrist.
Doctrines of Devils
We read another amazing Scripture in 2 Timothy…
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they help to themselves teachers, having itching ears (2 Tim 4:3).
As unbelievable as it is, most people today refuse to listen to the Truth. Instead, they seek out lemonheads like Rick Warren who couldn’t preach their way out of a paper bag. These imposters preach only a positive message; never addressing such issues as sin, judgment, and condemnation.
The majority of people today won’t go to a church where the pastor shells the corn and says it like it is. The preachers who are raking in hundreds-of-millions of dollars annually are the fluffs like Benny Hinn, who has been proven to be a
fake healer time and time again.
In fact, Hinn’s a Catholic, paralleling Billy Graham’s apostate work of ecumenicalism; but, in the Charismatic world.
Another subtle trick of the devil is for his sinister ministers to hide behind the Gospel. There are many heretics today, two-fold the children of Hell, who are leading the masses into Hell; yet, as unbelievable as it may seem, they present the
basic Gospel of Christ.
One such culprit is Seventh-Day Adventism. Another culprit is Benny Hinn.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (1 Tim 4:1).
Satan is a master deceiver, and he knows just how to dupe the sheepish masses. Most people are woefully ignorant of God’s Word; therefore, they are extremely susceptible to Satanic lies and deceptions.
So many people claim to want the truth; but when you try to share the Word of God with them, they retreat. What they really want is a better life; but they want it without God, morals, or the Bible.
When Jesus told Pilate the truth, Pilate said …”What is truth?… (Jn 18:38). If it were a snake, the truth would have bit Pilate. All the truth in the world won’t help someone who doesn’t sincerely want it.
Satan’s grand deception today is a false Gospel that embraces all religions and faiths under one umbrella of ecumenicalism. Ecumenicalism is a New Age vehicle, headed for a one-world homogenized religion.
The true Gospel of Jesus Christ rejects:
Catholicism,
Seventh-Day Adventism,
Baha’i,
Mormon,
Church of Christ,
Lutheran,
Episcopalian,
United Methodist,
Anglican,
Judaism,
Eastern Orthodox,
Scientology,
Christian Science,
Modernists,
Unitarian Universalism,
Buddhist,
Hindu,
Islam, and
many other false religions!
All of these religions teach and endorse doctrines of devils!
As I had pointed out in the Book of 2 John, Jesus spoke against religion in Matthew 23.
Jesus Christ is not a Christian or any religion, He is God. In the beginning, Christianity followed the works of Jesus, but for centuries it has been distorted here and there, so today there are tons of people that haven’t a clue of who Jesus Christ is.
To me, calling Jesus a Christian is demoting His authority because that would mean all Christians are equal to Jesus and that is not so.
For example, if we say that the Justices of the United States Supreme Court are the law then they would have the right to rewrite the United States Constitution which is the Law of the Land. The Justices are nothing but a representation of the law.
“True” Christians represent Jesus Christ.
When asked what religion I am, if I have to choose one, I say a Christian, but in all actuality, I’m a Rebel for Jesus. I’m an ambassador for Jesus:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:17-20).
…the Book of Revelation. If you have not read this book before, let me tell you that it is not like any other.
It reads like a science fiction and is confusing. I don’t think anyone truly understands it because there are different avenues one can take in different places within the 22 chapters.