A Danger Unseen
Notes
Transcript
Illustration: stumps in the water at Stonewall
Warning the Saints
Warning the Saints
Jude provides three additional warnings about the imposters.
Rocks in the Water
If you have spent time on a boat one thing you will quickly learn to watch out for are rocks that just below the surface of the water. It is not the rocks you can see that are the most dangerous. It is the ones you cant see that can cause significant damage to any boat or ship.
Jude likens these individuals to rocks that are just below the surface of the water. If you are not watching out for them then it may be too late when you find them
Feast without Fear
They are willing to:
Stand in your midst lying to your face about who they are
Eat your food
And all the while they feel no remorse for their hypocrisy.
The ones Jude is speaking of here are clearly unbelievers.
But lets look in the mirror for just a moment. Perhaps one of the most dangerous places a believer can be is when they no longer feel remorse or conviction for their sin.
It means that they have quenched the Holy Spirits work in their lives.
Serve only Self
They are just there for the free food.
The words here reflect Ezek 34:2: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” The reference to shepherds indicates that the opponents were leaders, claiming that they had the ability to guide and lead God’s people. But they had no concern for anyone but themselves. They did not exert effort and care for the flock but instead used their positions of leadership to establish a comfortable life for themselves.
Churches have a difficult balance to keep.
On one hand we want the opportunity to share the gospel with unbelievers.
On the other hand church leaders have a serious responsibility to protect the flock.
Illustrating the Wicked
Illustrating the Wicked
Clouds without water (carried about by the winds).
Imagine you are a farmer living hundreds of years ago before modern irrigation, and it has been weeks since it last rained. When rain is desperately needed and thick clouds appear, the anticipation of and hope for rain climaxes. If no rain falls, bitter disappointment ensues. The opponents were like such clouds.
They promised much but delivered little.
Proverbs 25:14 “Whoever falsely boasts of giving Is like clouds and wind without rain.”
There are church all over the world that promise spiritual health and blessing but in reality provide nothing because the truth is they do not preach and teach the word of God.
Trees without Fruit
Jude next compares them to late autumn trees that still have not borne fruit.
If your apple tree hasn’t produce any apples by October or November are you going to get any apples this year?
Jude also calls these trees “twice dead” which some interpreters think may be a reference to uprooted trees. No one would expect an uprooted tree to bear fruit.
Jude is using these illustrations to communicate the spiritual bankruptcy of the impostors.
Waves of the Sea
An illustration also used by James here Jude compares these people to the violence of the sea.
Raging waves that produce foam.
But what he really points to is their lack of shame of their behavior.
Isaiah 57:20 “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.”
Stars of the Sky
In Jude’s day what did they use to navigate? - the stars
What would happen if those stars began to wander? They would be useless for navigation.
Some interpreters think that wandering stars may refer to a meteor or a shooting star that flashes in brilliance but soon burns out.
Apostates often appear for a short time on the stage of Christianity. They promise enduring spiritual light and direction but deliver nothing but an erratic, aimless, worthless flash. The utter blackness and darkness of hell has been reserved forever for them (cf. 2 Peter 2:4, 9, 17).
Judgement of the Ungodly
Judgement of the Ungodly
What will happen to these imposters in the long run?
Source of the prophecy
Jude states that Enoch prophesied judgement on these types of people.
While Enoch is a familiar Old Testament figure no where in Scripture is this particular prophecy found. Jude is actually quoting from the book of 1 Enoch .
1 Enoch is a pseudepigraphal book, meaning not part of the Bible, but probably has a good amount of historical accuracy.
Regardless of the rest of that book when Jude quoted it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we know with certainty he accuracy of this one phrase. That Enoch made this particular prophecy.
Three Certainties of God’s Judgement
The Lord is coming!
One thing that these apostates may have been attacking was the certainty of the Lord’s return.
You do not want to be one of these imposters when Christ returns.
2 Peter 3:1-10 “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
The Lord is not coming alone
The NKJV uses the word “saints” here but it would probably be better to translate this as “holy ones”
While He alone is the final judge, He will be accompanied by many thousands of His holy ones. Holy ones (“saints”) could refer to believers (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thess. 3:13), who will return with Christ when He comes in judgment (Rev. 19:14; cf. Zech. 14:5). However, the emphasis on judgment here seems to favor viewing the holy ones as angels, since angels appear in other judgment contexts in the New Testament (Matt. 24:31; 25:31; Mark 8:38; 2 Thess. 1:7). The saints will have a judgment role during the millennial kingdom (Rev. 2:26–27; 3:21; cf. Dan. 7:22; 1 Cor. 6:2), but angels will serve as God’s executioners when Christ returns (Matt. 13:39–41, 49–50; 24:29–31; 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7–10).
The Lord will convict
The verb translated to convict (elegchō) means “to expose,” “rebuke,” or “prove guilty,” which includes showing someone his error and culpability. When the Lord returns, the sins of the ungodly will be exposed and the verdict rendered accordingly. The final sentence, as noted earlier, will be eternal punishment in hell (Rev. 20:11–15; cf. Matt. 5:22; 7:19; 8:12; 10:28; 13:40–42; 25:41, 46).
They are convicted on the basis of their deeds and words.
One doctrine that all Christians should hold dear is the doctrine of justification.
It means that we who know Christ have been declared righteous before God the Judge.
What we are seeing here in Jude is the opposite of that, they are being declared guilty by God.
Application:
If you are the impostor, its not too late.
Believers:
Protect yourself from the impostor
It doesn’t do them any good for you to pretend they are something they are not.\
Contend for the faith.