Jude 8-26

Angels, biblically speaking, are mediators of God's law.

! Acts 7 verse 53 refers to the received law,

Acts 7:53

! That was given through angels.

So anybody can tell you that there cannot be two captains of the same ship.

There cannot be two supreme commanders of the same army.

Jesus himself says in Matthew 6, 24,

No one can serve two masters,

for either he will hate the one and love the other,

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God in money.

So these false teachers are teaching against the law given by the angels from God

because they want their authority to reign,

their dreams to dictate the will of their followers.

Essentially, they want to dethrone God and rule in his stead.

And their followers are people from within the church

who have been duped by these dreamers.

And that should serve as a warning to all of us.

When you have anyone approach you saying,

I have had a prophetic dream or God told me something,

you should immediately be cautious and on guard,

regardless of whether they're a cessationist or a continuationist, right?

And the way to test them is to see what they are saying is in accordance with Scripture.

We know that from texts like Deuteronomy 18, 20 through 22,

or Acts 17, 11.

So, for example, if they dream a dream and they say to you that in that dream,

someone told me, God is love.

And then you search the Scriptures and you find 1 John 4, 8,

which says, God is love.

Well, you can be okay with that dream.

But for me, you know, as a cautious cessationist,

I would tell that person, you know, congrats.

You just had an unnecessary dream.

And if you spent less time sleeping and got up in the morning to read your Bible,

you could have figured that out a long time ago.

But that's just my opinion.

But all joking aside, whether you are a cessationist or a continuationist,

you should always go to Scripture as the sole authority,

regardless of what some dreamer says.

Authority is never innate to any individual,

but is exclusively the claim of God and His Word.

And that serves any Christian's authority.

That is the guidestone.

That is the plumb line.

That and that alone.

And to illustrate this understanding of God being the sole authority,

Jude gives us another interesting reference in verse 9.

This reference does not come from the Old Testament or the New Testament.

Rather, it comes from a document known as the Testament of Moses

or the Assumption of Moses.

Although they may have been the same document,

scholars aren't sure, and for a load of reasons,

we won't get into this today.

But essentially, this is a story

in which the devil comes to claim the body of Moses

on account of the fact that Moses murdered an Egyptian,

which we know Moses actually did murder.

We know that from the book of Exodus.

But in this extra-biblical story,

Moses is about to be honorably buried by the archangel Michael.

But the devil comes along accusing him,

saying, no, he doesn't deserve an honorable burial.

He's a murderer.

And so that's the background to this story.

They're arguing over where he deserves to be buried.

But here, the point Jude wants to make

isn't about this debate necessarily,

but we see in the second half of verse 9

that the archangel Michael says,

or he says of Michael,

that he did not presume to pronounce

a blasphemous judgment in response to the devil.

But what did he say?

He said, quote,

the Lord rebuke you.

So contrary to the rebellious angels from last week

who left their proper dwelling in verse 6

and made judgments for themselves,

the archangel Michael knows his place

and he knows it is under the authority of God.

Michael knows that God is,

as James 4.12 says,

the one lawgiver and one judge of the universe.

Who is Michael that he could condemn the devil or any sinner?

That is God's role alone

and God will execute his judgment in the end of days.

So Michael says,

the Lord rebuke you.

It's the Lord who has this authority,

who has this position,

and he will do it.

So we should be like Michael.

We should know our place and stay there

when it comes to the kingdom of God.

We have no other authority

and we have no power of our own.

So the authority of these false teachers

is inherently self-serving.

It is an attempt to justify their lifestyles

and to teach it to others,

to have influential control over others.

In short, their authority is one of their own making

and it's not real.

And in verse 10,

we see their understanding

and Jude is contrasting it with Michael.

So this is the second part of our outline.

Number two,

the false teacher's understanding.

He goes on to say in comparison to Michael,

but these people,

these people blaspheme all that they do not understand

and they are destroyed by all that they,

like unreasoning animals,

understand instinctively.

So Michael does not blaspheme the devil

because he knows his place,

but these people blaspheme.

Blaspheme meaning to speak evil against

or to accuse.

And what do these false teachers blaspheme?

Well, Jude says everything they do not understand.

So we can guess with good authority

that they don't understand God.

They don't understand God's word.

Romans 3, 10 through 11,

Paul says,

no one is righteous,

no not one,

no one understands,

no one seeks for God.

He puts it more pointedly in 1 Corinthians 2, 14.

He says,

but a natural man does not accept

the things of the spirit of God,

for they are foolishness to him

and he cannot understand them

because they are spiritually appraised.

And we see this kind of language

all throughout the Bible.

These teachers,

these false teachers,

they blaspheme everything

that is good,

honorable,

and praiseworthy,

chiefly God himself.

But Jude goes on to say

what they do understand,

what they do understand,

and he says it will destroy them.

What is it that they understand?

Everything that unreasoning animals

would understand instinctively.

Recognize that Jude is employing

typical Greco-Roman trash talk.

He is mocking them.

Every animal does three things essentially,

sleeps, eats, and reproduces.

They do not think,

nor do they weigh issues.

They just do,

and do for themselves.

What a fitting comparison

to the false teacher.

All they know is what their flesh desires,

and they chase it.

They are,

as Paul says in Romans 6,

slaves to sin.

And I want to make a quick aside here

that I think is pertinent

to Jude's comments here.

I think it's okay,

or even biblical,

to mock false teachers

if done rightly.

Okay, last week we talked about

how we ought not to be like the Pharisee

who mocks the tax collector

praying aloud,

God, I thank you

that I'm not like this tax collector

in Luke 18.11.

The Pharisee in that story

is in the wrong on multiple fronts.

He is depending on his own

self-righteousness for salvation.

That's problem number one.

Problem number two,

he's denying the grace of God

and the life of that tax collector

who is literally in the midst

in verse 13

of praying for mercy.

And most importantly

for what we're discussing,

or I don't want to qualify that,

for what we're discussing,

this Pharisee did not mock

the tax collector

out of a pleading

for this tax collector to repent.

I want to repeat that.

This Pharisee didn't mock

the tax collector

out of a pleading

for this tax collector

to repent.

His motive and his mindset

were wrong.

So in other words,

when and if we mock

false teachers,

it should be motivated

by a desire

to have them see

the crazy and utter foolishness

of their way.

This mocking should be

a zealous pleading

for them to repent

and believe.

Not a put-down,

but a pleading,

like listen to reason.

And it can also come

from a motive

to protect the flock,

right?

You might say to yourself,

I'm going to mock

this absurd teaching

and this teacher

so as to sober up

the sheep

whom God has entrusted

to me

to keep them

from the error

of that way.

And frankly,

you see this type of mocking

all throughout

the Bible.

Jude does it here,

calling his false teachers

unreasoning animals

to make a point

that sticks.

Likewise,

Paul,

in his letter

to the Galatians,

he addresses heretics

who taught

that we are saved

by Christ

and circumcision,

right?

Works.

And he mocks them

over and over again

in his letter

and he says,

rather wittingly,

he says in Galatians 5.12,

I wish they would go

the whole way

and emasculate themselves.

That's a clever way

of saying circumcision

is worthless

for salvation

and I hope that

in your teaching

you never reproduce

disciples

who follow your heresy.

And if this idea

of mocking

is new to you

or concerning,

I would encourage you

to spend time

in the prophets

who do this a lot.

I would especially

point you to

Matthew 23

where Jesus gives

his seven woes

discourse to the Pharisees

and in there

Jesus says some

really hard things

in witty

and mocking ways.

But when you read

the whole discourse

it ends with Jesus

saying these words.

He says in Matthew 23

37,

O Jerusalem,

Jerusalem,

the city that

kills the prophets

and stones

those who sent it.

How often would I

have gathered

your children together

as a hen

gathers her brood

under her wings

and you were not willing.

So Jesus desired

to save Israel,

to gather them all

under his wings

and protect them

but they were not

willing.

So even in the mockery,

even in calling out

foolishness

what it is,

foolishness,

Jesus is working

to protect the flock,

the elect,

to secure them

in the way

that they should go

and to call sinners

to repentance

in faith.

So feel the freedom

to employ

this kind of rhetoric

but do so

carefully.

If you are unsure

where the lines

are with this

then you're better off

avoiding it altogether.

It takes a great deal

of sobriety,

wisdom,

and love

to use this rhetoric

in a way

that is God honoring.

But Jude goes on

in verse 11.

He wants to show us

three more

Old Testament types

that characterize

false teachers.

So this is part three

of our outline.

Three Old Testament types

that characterize

false teachers.

He says,

Woe to them

for they walked

in the way of Cain

and abandoned themselves

for the sake of gain

to Balaam's error

and perished

in Korah's rebellion.

So Jude expresses

divine judgment

on these false teachers.

He says,

Woe to them.

A phrase which literally

carries the idea

of damn them

to hell

but it also carries

a connotation

of grief

or sorrow

for the guilty.

Jude is saying

they will go to hell

and I tremble

for them.

He's concerned

for them.

And then he charges

them with having

quote,

walked in the way

of Cain

and let me remind you

from last week

you need to know

your Old Testaments

well.

In Genesis 4,

Adam and Eve

have two sons

after the fall,

Cain and Abel.

After they both

make offerings

to God,

God lets it be known

that he accepts

Abel's offering

and rejects

Cain's offering.

Genesis never

explains why

but the main

thrust of the story

is about Cain's

response

to the situation.

After being angry

and being confronted

by God,

Cain murders

Abel

in a rage

of some kind.

Now think about that.

Two brothers

who are supposedly

worshipping God

together,

making sacrifices

and all of a sudden

Cain is murdering

Abel.

And so this is

a story about

persecution

within the faith

from professing

believers.

And in Jewish

literature

that writes

about Cain

which we know

Jude is very

familiar with,

Cain becomes

an archetype,

a character

of sin.

He's the great

teacher,

the great sinner

in Jewish

thought.

No one is worse

than Cain

to the Jew.

And so Jude's

accusation

is that these

false teachers

are hurting

the true believers

with their

disobedience

and teaching.

His accusation

is that

they are not only

guilty of this

once but are

walking

in this way.

A well-known

expression in the

Bible.

It carries the

idea of one

who is constantly

doing something

and seeking to

practice it

or improve it.

They want to get

better at it.

So like Cain

they are harmful

to the true church

and they share

the motivation

of Balaam.

They are who

they are

and do what

they do

verse 11

for the sake

of gain.

So in Numbers

Numbers 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22

through 24

we read about

the pagan

king Balak

who wanted

his pagan

prophet Balaam

to curse

Israel.

So Balaam

promised Balaam

by saying

quote

I will reward

you richly

in Numbers

24

11.

So Jude's

accusation

of the false

teachers

in the church

is that they

are seeking

financial gain.

They are taking

advantage

of the church

and so

they will

perish

like Korah

and those

who followed

him

in his

rebellion.

Now again

in Jewish

thought

Korah

was the

classic

example

of

antinomian

heresy

the idea

that God's

law

has no

bearing

on us

and we

can do

what we

want

live

how we

want.

In Numbers

16

is where

we read

about

Korah's

rebellion.

Korah

was known

for contending

with Moses

and Aaron.

We know

that from

the narrative

we know

that from

a description

given

in Numbers

26

9.

He embodies

a disgruntled

person.

It says

in Numbers

16

11

that he

was a

grumbler.

And upon

leading

250 other

men

and their

families

against

Moses

and Aaron

God

opens up

the ground

to send

them all

to Sheol

as a

punishment

for their

rebellion

divine

judgment

on the

apostate

once

again.

So you

might have

noticed

these three

names are

out of

chronological

order.

Chronologically

it should

have been

Cain,

Korah,

and Balaam.

But I

think Jude

rearranges

the order

to highlight

judgment

again as

an ending

for all

such

people.

These

people are

characterized

by anger,

murder,

greed,

grumbling

in a spirit

of rebellion.

and that

is who

they are

and they

walk in

that way.

They

practice

such

things.

And so

they pose

a great

threat to

the true

church.

This leads

us to the

next part

of our

outline,

part four,

the threat

of false

teachers.

Jude goes

on and he

says,

these are

hidden

reefs

at your

love feasts

as they

feast with

you without

fear.

So perhaps

you've noticed

by now in

Jude's

epistle,

that he

constantly

refers to

false

teachers

as

these.

He's

creating

distance

between

their

way

of

life

as

opposed

to

the

way

of

life

for

the

true

believer.

And here

we see

that their

way of

life

poses a

great

danger

to

the

church.

So the

love feast

that he

speaks of

is the

Lord's

supper.

That's

what early

Christians

called it,

the taking

of the

cup

and the

bread.

Now

theologically

this is

significant

because

this

ordinance

of the

church

calls

to

mind

Christ's

sacrificial

death

to

pardon

the

sins

of

the

elect.

The

cup

is

the

wrath

of

God,

the

wine

or

the

juice

is

the

blood

of

Christ

and

the

bread

is

Christ's

body.

So these

false

teachers

are partaking

of the

Lord's

supper

which is

blasphemy

because

they are

by

definition

not

in

Christ.

By

partaking

in the

cup

and the

bread

are

signaling

to the

world

and to

the

church

that they

believe

their sins

are forgiven

in Christ

but that is

only true

for those

who have

repented

and

believes

which these

false

teachers

have not

done

and so

they lie

when they

partake

in the

Lord's

supper.

And

significantly

too

in the

Greco-Roman

world

banqueting

with people

was a

social

institution

and it

was one

that

signaled

to the

world

at large

that you

identify

with these

people.

A way

of saying

we

are

one.

In

other

words

when these

false

teachers

banquet

with the

church

they are

falsely

signaling

that they

are one

in the

same

when nothing

could be

further

from the

truth.

And this

is why

Jude in

verse 12

calls them

hidden

reefs.

The

metaphor

is that

the

church

is the

ship

in the

sea

and if

that

ship

comes

into

contact

with

a

hidden

reef

then it

will be

stuck

or worse

it

will

sink

there

will

be

a

hole

punctured

and

people

will

die.

So

Jude's

point

is that

they

will

destroy

the

church

not

eternally

but

in

this

life

if

they

are

allowed

to

continue

participating

in

the

Lord's

Supper

and the

activities

of the

church.

They

will

distort

the

witness

of

the

church

the

purity

of

the

church

and

the

identity

of

the

church.

So

what

do

they

do

then?

What

do

they

produce?

And

the

short

answer

is

nothing

short

of

wickedness

and

worthlessness.

So

this

leads us

to

number

five

the

produce

of

false

teachers.

Looking at

the second

half

of

verse

12

Jude

tells us

the

produce

of

false

teachers.

He says

that

these

false

teachers

are

shepherds

feeding

themselves.

Waterless

clouds

swept

along

by

winds.

Fruitless

trees

in late

autumn

twice

dead

uprooted

wild

waves

of

the

sea

casting

up

the

foam

of

their

own

shame

wandering

stars

for whom

the gloom

of utter

darkness

has been

reserved

forever.

So they

take care

of no

one

but

themselves.

They

feed

themselves.

They

cannot

give

water

to

anything

to

make

it

grow.

They

are

waterless

clouds.

They

themselves

are on

unstable

ground

being

swept

away

by

wind,

a

common

imagery

expressing

their

instability

and

lack

of

security.

They

are

good

for

nothing

just

as a

tree

that

bears

no

fruit

is

good

for

nothing.

That

sounds

like

Jesus

in the

Sermon

on

the

Mount.

And

these

trees

are

twice

dead

because

they

died

in

sin

like

all

of

us

but

also

because

upon

hearing

the

gospel

they

rejected

it

for

a

gospel

of

their

own

making.

Jesus

might

have

said

it

this

way

as

he

did

to

the

Pharisees

in

Matthew

23

he

might

have

said

twice

a

child

of

hell.

And

in

their

lawlessness

the

only

thing

that

shows

up

is

their

own

shame

because

they

are

shameless

in

pursuing

their

ungodly

lifestyle.

It

foams

up like

the

ocean.

You

will

notice

it.

And

they

are

wandering

stars.

Again

a common

expression

that

indicates

they

deviate

greatly

from

the

truth.

And

for

all

this

because

they

seek

sin

in

their

own

flesh

and

justify

it

they

will

perish

for

eternity

in

the

gloom

of

utter

darkness

better

known

as

hell.

So

they

are

good

for

nothing

when

it

comes

to

the

church.

They

can

and

only

will

harm

the

church.

And

I

have

to

tell

you

I

get

so

tired

when

I

hear

Christians

say

oh

I

know

this

preacher

or

this

song

is

heretical

but

I

just

love

the

way

it

makes

me

feel

or

I

have

my

own

understanding

of

what

they

mean

and

it

makes

me

love

God

more.

The

Bible

just

speaks

so

differently

from

this.

Jude

would

rebuke

that

person

and tell

them

have

nothing

to

do

with

some

worthless

fruitless

dangerous

teaching

and

teacher.

That

heretical

song

or

preacher

does

make

them

love

God

more

but

not

the

God

of

the

Bible

rather

a

God

of

their

own

making.

These

are

idolaters

who

tolerate

such

teachings

and

teachers.

Now

in the

Sermon on

the

Mount

Jesus

says

what

happens

to

bad

trees

that

bear

bad

fruit.

He

says

in

Matthew

7

19

every

tree

that

does

not

bear

good

fruit

is

cut

down

and

thrown

into

the

fire.

So

Jude

following

his

master's

teachings

echoes

this.

This

leads

us

to

the

sixth

point

of

our

outline

!

The

judgment

on

false

teachers.

So

looking

at

verse

14

Jude

writes

it

was

also

about

these

that

Enoch

the

seventh

from

Adam

prophesied

saying

behold

the

Lord

comes

with

ten

thousand

of

his

holy

ones

to

execute

judgment

on

all

and

to

convict

all

the

ungodly

of

all

their

deeds

of

ungodliness

that

they

have

committed

in

such

an

ungodly

way

and

of

all

the

harsh

things

that

ungodly

sinners

have

spoken

against

him.

So

here

Jude

explicitly

quotes

1

Enoch

1

9

if

you

missed

the

sermon

last

week

go and

listen

to

a

recording

for an

explanation

of how

that is

so

but

just

to

reiterate

1

Enoch

is not

canonical

scripture

but

notice

everything

in this

quotation

can be

traced

to

biblical

texts

we

know

that

Jesus

will

return

with

his

angels

to

judge

the

wicked

and

to

destroy

them

revelations

19

15

talking

about

Jesus

return

says

this

from

Jesus

mouth

comes

a

sharp

sword

with

which

to

strike

down

the

nations

and

he

will

rule

them

with

a

rod

of

iron

he

will

tread

the

wine

press

of

the

fury

of

the

wrath

of

God

the

almighty

so

that

phrase

about

the

wine

press

being

another

greco-roman

expression

that

pictures

Christ

crushing

the

skulls

of

his

enemies

and

so

I

think

Jude

is

quoting

first

Enoch

because

this

quote

captures

true

doctrine

in

the

Bible

but

also

because

this

quote

emphasizes

the

ungodliness

of

false

teachers

that

term

is

used

four

times

in

this

quote

ungodly

ungodly

ungodly

ungodly

just

lost

everything

here we

go

sorry

so

ungodly

ungodly

ungodly

and ungodly

and

Christ

is not

coming

to

convict

them

in the

sense

of

making

them

sorrowful

over

their

sin

or

to

lead

them

to

repentance

no

when

Christ

returns

the

time

is

up

the

word

convict

in this

context

is

referring

to

finding

them

guilty

in a

court

of

law

so

this

whole

quote

is

judgment

language

Jude

is

not

afraid

to

repeat

this

over

and

over

and

over

again

throughout

his

letter

these

apostate

heretics

will

go to

hell

for

all

eternity

apart

from

repentance

and

faith

in

Christ

and

that

is

a

sober

truth

a

sober

reality

that

we

need

to

be

thinking

about

and

finally

part

seven

of our

outline

the

speech

of

false

teachers

verse

sixteen

he

says

these

are

grumblers

malcontents

following

their own

sinful

desires

they

are

loud

mouth

boasters

showing

favoritism

to

gain

advantage

so

these

are

grumblers

doesn't

that

sound

like

Balaam

or

Korah

or

the

rest

of

the

exodus

generation

that

perished

in

the

wilderness

always

griping

always

having

a

bone

to

pick

busy

bodies

quarreling

types

and

I pray

we

never

behave

in

such

a

way

they

grumble

because

they

are

male

content

nothing

will

ever

please

them

in

all

this

they

are

merely

pursuing

the

desires

of

the

flesh

again

they

are

slaves

to

sin

as

Paul

says

in

Romans

6

and

you

can

always

hear

a

false

teacher

because

they

are

loud

mouth

boasters

because

they

are

so

bent

on

making

a

god

of

their

own

making

what

always

happens

inevitably

is

that

their

god

ends

up

being

made

in

their

image

their

god

looks