Christian
Churches of God
No. F065
Commentary on Jude
(Edition 2.0 20200803-20230813)
Jude verses 1-25
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright © 2020, 2023 Wade Cox)
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Commentary on Jude
Introduction
The letter of Jude
was written as a warning to the saints of the corruption of the faith by
Gnostic and Antinomian influences that Paul had warned against in Galatians and
Colossians (cf. Heresy in the Apostolic
Church No. 089)). Also
it began to move in Rome and in the Antinomian systems there especially from
the Binitarian worship of Attis that had penetrated the church and was to
undermine it from the Second and Third centuries. By the Fourth century continuing into the
Fifth, the priests of the god Attis were
complaining that the Christians in Rome has stolen all their doctrines, which
they indeed had done (cf. Origin of Christmas and
Easter (No. 235); Binitarian and
Trinitarian Misrepresentation of the Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127B)).
The people were to
be immoral (vv. 4,7,16), covetous men (vv. 11, 16) who reject authority (vv. 8,
11). They were to be grumblers, malcontents and loud mouthed boasters (v.
16). He describes the period of the Last
Days described by the apostles as worldly people devoid of the spirit (v. 19).
The text concerns these divisions of the Church in the Last Days and concerns
the final conflicts in the church that was to see the work of the Last Days
destroyed and specifically concerns the Missions of The Law from the patriarchs
to Moses and the prophets. We will review this aspect further. He says the doom of the apostate heretics is
certain and they are compared with the disobedient Israelites and the immoral apostates
of Sodom and Gomorrah and the fallen angels we see in vv. 5-7, where they scorn
the angelic authorities also. It is certain that they will experience God’s
judgment and in fact it is His wrath that they will feel first hand (cf.
Jas.3:1).
The text urges the
Church to “contend for the faith once delivered to the saints” (v. 3). It
establishes that there is a “faith once delivered to the saints” that contains
a body law that is undermined by these later heretics misusing the Grace of God
against the Law introducing immorality.
From the distance of almost 2000 years we can see that it is indeed Antinomianism
and the Sun and Mystery Cults and heresy that has destroyed the faith and is at
its worst in these Last Days.
Author
The text was
written by Jude ben Josef brother of the Christ. He says in v. 1 he was the
servant of the Christ, which he was also.
He says he is the brother of James, also brother of the Christ. He is
not the apostle Judas mentioned in Lk. 6:16; Jn. 14:22; Acts 1:13, who is said
to be the son of James.
Christ actually
had four brothers named in the Bible text and a number of sisters, seemingly
perhaps at least four. The four brothers
were listed as James (Yakobos) Joseph (Yoseph), Simon and Judas (Yude or Jude).
His sisters are not named but are referred to as “All being with them” (in
Nazareth) (Mat. 13:55; Mk. 6:3 and 1Cor. 9:5). The Judas named last is the Jude
or Judah referred to here. Jude is referred to by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist.III. 20) where he refers to
the account by Hegesippus who stated that Judas’ grandsons, as the Family of the Lord (Desposyni) were
placed before Domitian (r. 81-96 CE,). Domitian dismissed the matter due to the
simplicity of their lifestyles. The Family of Christ were virtually
exterminated on the orders of Sylvester, the bishop of Rome, following the
conference at Rome in 318 CE ordered by Constantine. They demanded that the
Laws of God be restored and the bishoprics originally held by the Desposyni
(the Family of Christ) be restored to them (cf. The Virgin
Mariam and the Family of Jesus Christ (No. 232); and Unitarian/Trinitarian
Wars (No. 268)).
The attacks on
Jude and the other NT texts are prompted to hide these despicable acts and the
later Mariolatry which will be wiped out in the final conflicts referred to by
Jude.
**********
Jude 1-25 (RSV)
1Jude, a servant of
Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the
Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2May mercy, peace, and love be
multiplied to you. 3Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our
common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for
the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4For
admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for
this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into
licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5Now
I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully informed, that he [Jesus]
who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did
not believe. 6And the angels that did not keep their own position
but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the
nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; 7just as Sodom and
Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and
indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of
eternal fire.8Yet in like manner these men in their dreamings defile
the flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones. 9But when
the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of
Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said,
"The Lord rebuke you." 10But these men revile whatever
they do not understand, and by those things that they know by instinct as
irrational animals do, they are destroyed. 11Woe to them! For they
walk in the way of Cain, and abandon themselves for the sake of gain to
Balaam's error, and perish in Korah's rebellion. 12These are
blemishes on your love feasts, as they boldly carouse together, looking after
themselves; waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late
autumn, twice dead, uprooted;13wild waves of the sea, casting up the
foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of darkness
has been reserved for ever. 14It was of these also that Enoch in the
seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came
with his holy myriads, 15to execute judgment on all, and to convict
all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness which they have committed in
such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have
spoken against him." 16These are grumblers, malcontents,
following their own passions, loud-mouthed boasters, flattering people to gain
advantage. 17But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18they said to you, "In the
last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." 19It
is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20But
you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy
Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22And convince some, who doubt; 23save some, by
snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the
garment spotted by the flesh.24Now to him who is able to keep you
from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his
glory with rejoicing, 25to the only God, our Savior through Jesus
Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time
and now and for ever. Amen.
Intent of the Chapter
Verses 1-3 Opens with an identification of the writer and an
appeal to the Called of God. The reference is without doubt a reference to Paul’s
text in Romans 8:29-30 showing the chosen or elect of the call of God being
given to Christ and kept for his return for the First Resurrection
(No. 143A) and Predestination (No. 296).
Verse 2: the blessing is not so much that Mercy, Peace and Love be applied to
them but that they use it at the Resurrection when they will be given
participation in the Millennium and Judgment (1Cor. 6:3) (cf. The Second Resurrection
of the Dead and the Great White Throne Judgment (No. 143B) and Judgment of the Demons
(No. 080)).
Verse 3 outlines the purpose of the letter urging the brethren to contend for
the faith once delivered to the saints which is to come under increasing attack
over the period as we see up to the Last Days. Verse 4 identifies the enemy which are those in our very midst.
Verse 5 takes us back to the
beginning of Israel which was the inheritance of Messiah (Deut. 32:8). It was
Jesus Christ as the Angel of Yahovah who saved Israel out of Egypt. Also Christ
was the being who gave the Law of God and the Plan of Salvation (No.
001A) to Israel under Moses (Acts 7:30-53; 1Cor. 10:1-4). Thus the Law
of God given to Moses and Israel is the subject of the attack. Those who did
not believe in what they were told were destroyed as will be those in the Last
Days of the eras of the Church and those who undermine the Church through
Antinomianism.
Verse 6: So also the text extends to include the demons that are to be placed
in Tartaros until they are released at the end of the Millennium and then
placed under Judgment with their spirits forming the Lake of Fire.
Verses 7-8: So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the
plain were destroyed by fire from heaven, so will they be destroyed.
v. 9
He refers to the disputation between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses
where Michael dare not pronounce a reviling judgment on Satan but appealed to
the Lord to rebuke him.
v. 10 He then goes on in to compare these corrupt people who abandon the
laws of God and are immoral men who revile what they do not understand and do
what they do as animals and are destroyed by their conduct.
From verse 11ff. we see that the
antinomianism of Cain from the beginning saw the beginning of death and was
carried along to the error of Balaam which was to encourage Israel to sin by
breach of the law and to thus divorce Israel from God as also did Korah’s
rebellion, which saw them killed for their rebellion under the Law of God (L1).
Their sins blemish also the Feast of the Passover from the Lord’s Supper
onwards where they blemish and fail to keep the Passover as it is required to
be kept out of their gates for the entire eight days. Those who teach thus will
be destroyed (cf. also Deut. 16:5-8).
Verse 14ff he then goes back to Enoch
who witnessed against the Demons and that is not by accident as he then takes
the structure on to the Last Days and the confinement of the Fallen Host by the
Heavenly Host with the Messiah at the First Resurrection.
This is the aim of
the message which takes The Transfiguration (No.
096E) of Mark ch. 9 on and explains the position and relevance of Enoch
who will take his place with Elijah in the Last Days as the Witnesses of Rev.
11:3ff. Note the story explains the end and the punishment of the antinomian
heretics for their immorality. This text is a very important and relevant
warning to the generations of the churches ahead. At the First Resurrection
Moses and the patriarchs, prophets and saints will be resurrected and will
restore the entire system for the Millennium. No Antinomian will be allowed to
live into the Millennium.
From
verses 20-25 he turns to the elect to build
up the church and themselves through the Holy Spirit saving those who are weak
in the faith preparing them for the Resurrection, saving them from the Second
Death in the Lake of Fire. This last sequence and the Doxology point to God who
is our saviour and to Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a completely Unitarian
message to guide the church against the idolatrous error of Baal worship under
Attis, Adonis and Osirus and Ashtoreth or Easter of the Mother Goddess cult.
The text is often falsely misconstrued by some Trinitarians to support their
heresy when its real purpose is to expose and reject it.
Bullinger’s Notes on Jude (for KJV)
Verse 1
Jude. See Introductory Notes.
the = a.
Jesus Christ. App-98.
James. See James 1:1.
sanctified. All the texts and the Syriac read "beloved" (App-135.)
God. App-98.
Father. App-98.
preserved = kept. Greek. tereo. Occ five times in
the epistle, verses: Jude 1:1, Jude 1:6, Jude 1:6, Jude 1:13, Jude 1:21. The word phulasso is used in Jude 1:24.
unto = to.
love. App-135. The only salutation where "love" is mentioned.
multiplied. Compare 1 Peter 1:2. 2 Peter 1:2.
Beloved. App-135.
when I gave = making.
the. The texts read "our".
common. Compare Titus 1:4.
it was needful for me = I had need.
and exhort = exhorting. App-134.
that ye should = to.
earnestly contend. Greek. epagonizomai. Only here.
Compare agonizomai. Luke 13:24.
faith. App-150.
once = once for all.
delivered. Greek. paradidomi. See John 19:30.
saints. See Acts 9:13.
there are. Omit.
crept in unawares. Greek. pareisduo. Only here.
Compare Galatians 1:2, Galatians 1:4. 2 Peter 2:1.
before . . . ordained = before written. Greek. prographo. See Romans 15:4.
condemnation. App-177.
ungodly men = impious. Greek. asebes. See Romans 4:5, and compare App-128.
turning = changing. Greek. metatithemi. See Acts 7:16.
grace. App-184.
lasciviousness. Greek. aselgeia. See Romans 13:13.
denying. See 2 Peter 2:1.
Lord. App-98.
God. The texts omit.
Lord. App-98.
put . . . in remembrance. Greek. hupomimnesko. See John 14:26. knew. App-132.
LORD. App-98. Some texts (not the Syriac) read "Jesus". Compare 1 Corinthians 10:4.
People. Greek. laos. See Acts 2:47.
land. App-129.
afterward. Literally the second time, or in the second place.
destroyed. Greek. apollumi. See John 17:12.
kept. Same as "preserved", Jude 1:1.
their first estate = their own principality (App-172.) Compare Ephesians 1:21; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12. Colossians 1:16; Colossians 2:10, Colossians 2:15.
habitation. Greek. oikiterion. Only here and 2 Corinthians 5:2.
reserved. Same as "kept", above.
everlasting. App-151.
chains. Greek. desmos. Not same word as Revelation 20:1.
darkness. See 2 Peter 2:4.
judgment. App-177.
day. See Matthew 25:41. Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:11.
manner. Add "to these", i.e. the angels of Jude 1:6. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrha, like that of the
angels of Gen 6 (App-23,), was an unnatural one, breaking through the bounds
which God had set.
giving, &c. Greek. ekporneuo. Only here.
Anintensive form of porneuo, which occurs: 1 Corinthians 6:18. &c.
are set forth. Greek. prokeimai. See 2 Corinthians 8:12.
example. Greek. deigma. Only here.
suffering = undergoing. Greek. hupecho. Only
here.
eternal. App-151.
dreamers = in their dreamings. Greek. enupniazomai. See Acts 2:17.
defile. See John 18:28.
despise. Greek. atheteo. See John 12:48 (rejecteth).
dominion = lordship. See Ephesians 1:21. 2 Peter 2:10 (government).
speak evil of = blaspheme.
dignities. Literally glories. Compare 2 Peter 2:10.
Michael. See Daniel 10:13.
archangel. See 1 Thessalonians 4:16. No other angel bears this title.
disputed. Greek. dialegomai. See Acts 17:2.
Moses. The seventy-ninth occurance of the name. See Matthew 8:4. This disputemust have taken place after the death
of Moses and his burial by Jehovah, for "death reigned from
Adam to (until) Moses" (Romans 5:14). The devilclaimed Moses for the death-state, but
God raised him as representative ofthose hereafter to be raised, as Elijah of
those to be caught up withoutdying.
bring against. Greek. epiphero. See Acts 19:12.
railing accusation. Literally judgment (App-177.) of railing (Greek. blasphemia).
LORD. App-98.
know. App-132.
naturally. Greek. phusikos. Only here.
Compare 2 Peter 2:12.
brute. See 2 Peter 2:12.
corrupt themselves = are destroyed. Greek. phtheiro. See 1 Corinthians 3:17.
have gone = went.
Cain. His way was that of natural religion, not the way God
hadappointed.
ran greedily = rushed. Literally were poured out. Greek. ekchuno. Often
translated "shed".
reward. Same word as in 2 Peter 2:13, 2 Peter 2:15.
perished. Greek. apollumi. See John 17:12.
gainsaying. Greek. antilogia. See Hebrews 6:16; Hebrews 12:3. In five places wherethe Hebrew has "Meribah", the Septuagint translates it by antilogia. Numbers 20:13; Numbers 27:14. Deuteronomy 32:51; Deuteronomy 33:8. Psalms 81:7.
Core. Korah, as the two others, resisted the declared will of
God.
spots = hidden rocks, as the texts. Greek. spilas. Only
here. The word in Ephesians 5:27 and 2 Peter 2:13 is spilos.
feasts of charity. Literally loves, i.e. love-feasts. App-135.
when they feast = feasting. See 2 Peter 2:13.
feeding. Literally pasturing, as a shepherd does his flock.
themselves. Making the love-feast an occasion of gratifying the
appetite, instead of promoting spiritual edification. Compare Ezekiel 34:2.
whose fruit withereth = in autumnal decay. Greek. phthinoporinos. Onlyhere.
without fruit. Greek. akarpos. Elsewhere
translated "unfruitful".
Raging = Wild. Greek. agrios. Occurs: Matthew 3:4. Mark 1:6.
foaming out. Greek. epaphrizo. Only here.
wandering. Greek. planetes. Only here.
is =
hath been.
blackness. Same as "darkness", Jude 1:6.
for ever. App-151. a.
And, &c. Read, "And to these also Enoch".
cometh. Literally came.
with = among. App-104.
saints = holy ones, i.e. angels. Compare Deuteronomy 33:2, Revised Version Matthew 25:31. Mark 8:38.
upon = against. App-104.
convince = convict. Greek. exelencho. Only
here, but the texts read elencho, as John 8:9.
that are = the.
among = of. The texts omit.
their = the.
ungodly deeds = works of impiety (App-128. IV).
have. Omit.
ungodly committed. See 2 Peter 2:6.
murmurers. Greek. gongustes. Only here.
Compare John 6:41. Acts 6:1.
complainers. Greek. mempsimoiros. Only here.
after. App-104.
great swelling. See 2 Peter 2:18.
having, &c. = admiring persons.
because of. Greek. charin. See 1 John 3:12.
advantage = profit. See Romans 3:1.
words. Greek. rhema, See Mark 9:32.
Lord. App-98.
mockers = scoffers. See 2 Peter 3:3.
in.
The texts read App-104.
who, &c. walking.
ungodly lusts = lusts of impieties (App-128. IV).
separate themselves = are separating. Greek. apodiorizo. Only
here.
sensual. Greek. psuchikos. See 1 Corinthians 2:14. James 3:15.
Spirit. Here "spirit". App-101.
building up. See Acts 20:32.
faith App-150.; i.e. the object of faith Compare 1 Corinthians 3:11.
Holy Ghost = holy spirit. App-101.
the love of God = God"s love to you, i.e. the assurance of it,
basedon His Word.
looking for. Greek. prosdechomai. See Acts 23:21.
have compassion. Some texts read elencho, "convict".
making, &c. App-122., but several texts read "when
they contend".
with. The texts read en. App-104.
spotted. Greek. spiloo, See James 3:6, and compare Revelation 3:4.
keep = guard. Greek. phulassso. Compare John 17:12.
from falling = without falling. Greek. aptaistos. Only
here. Compare Romans 11:11(stumble).
present = set, or make stand. See Acts 22:30.
faultless = blameless. Greek. amomos. See Ephesians 1:4. Colossians 1:22.
before the presence of. Greek. katenopion. See 2 Corinthians 2:17.
glory. See p. 1511exceeding joy = exultation. Greek. agalliasis. See Acts 2:46.
wise. All the texts omit. Compare 1 Timothy 1:17.
majesty. Greek. megalosune. See Hebrews 1:3.
dominion. App-172.
now, &c. The texts read "before every age and now
and unto all the ages".
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