Jude
04 – A description of these ungodly men
1:8-16

 

8 Despite that, in the same way also these men, because of their dreams, defile the flesh and reject authority and blaspheme majestic beings. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he argued with the devil, disputing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these persons blaspheme all that they do not understand, and all that they understand by instinct like the irrational animals, by these things they are being destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, and have given themselves up to the error of Balaam for gain, and have perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the ones feasting together without reverence, hidden reefs at your love feasts, caring for themselves, waterless clouds carried away by winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted, 13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars, for whom the deep gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

14 And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about these people, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they have committed in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These people are grumblers, discontented, proceeding according to their desires, and their mouths speaking pompous words, showing partiality to gain an advantage.

(LEB)

 

In this section Jude describes these ungodly people. It is necessary for the follower of Christ to be alert and to be able to identify these false prophets for they are like wolves who desire to destroy the Lord’s sheep.

 

Matthew 7

15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

(NKJV)

 

This is exactly what Jude is doing. He is teaching the believers what fruit to look for in a person to be able to identify him as an ‘ungodly man’.

 

In our first section we will see that these ‘ungodly men’ live a life of blaspheme.

 

8 Despite that, in the same way also these men, because of their dreams, defile the flesh and reject authority and blaspheme majestic beings. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he argued with the devil, disputing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these persons blaspheme all that they do not understand, and all that they understand by instinct like the irrational animals, by these things they are being destroyed. 

 

The first thing we must notice is that these men act this way ‘because of their dreams’. They follow their ‘dreams’ (ENUPNIAZOMAI) which simply means: to dream. Here we see that the foundation of their actions and teachings are NOT from the Holy Scriptures but from dreams they have. They are controlled by an outside force that is not of the Lord. We know that God sometimes speaks through dreams (Mat. 1:20; 2:12,13,19,22). What we also know is that these dreams bear holy fruits. The problem with the dreams of these ungodly men is that the fruits that they bore were fruits of the flesh. By this we instantly know that they were not of the Lord. There are three things that these dreamers did which definitely manifest they were not of God.

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The first is that they ‘defile the flesh’. The word ‘defile’ (MIAINO) means: to taint or contaminate. This speaks about their desires of the flesh and how they deterred from the moral teachings of the Lord. They perverted the true meaning of sexuality and its place within marriage. They lived as whoremongers and abandoned themselves to all sorts of perversions. Still today this is one of the common points that leaders of sects have.

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The second point is that they ‘reject authority’. The word ‘reject’ (ATHETEO) means: to set aside, to disesteem or to despise. This can either mean human authority or spiritual authority. In most cases it means both types of authority. These ungodly men only have one authority – themselves. Their dreams carry them away from reality and they begin to establish their own! They often form their own little society and set themselves apart from others. They cut all family and social relationships. They live by their own rules and naturally, the cult leader has all authority over their lives. This reminds me of what John wrote in his third epistle concerning Diotrephes.

 

3 John 1

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.

10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

(NKJV)

 

The third point is that these dreamers ‘blaspheme majestic beings’. The word ‘blaspheme’ (PLASPHEMEO) means: to vilify, defame, rail and revile. They used their speech to insult, slander, degrade and belittle ‘majestic beings’. Here Jude is speaking of angels these wonderful creatures that serve the living God and even come and help his adopted children (Heb. 2:16).

 

9 But Michael the archangel, when he argued with the devil, disputing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 

 

In verse nine Jude gives us an example of NOT blaspheming majestic beings. The information that Jude brings forth is not of the Bible but from an outside source called ‘The assumption of Moses’ which is an apocryphal book. The Holy Spirit guided Jude to this specific fact. We must conclude that what Jude is writing is true.

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He speaks of ‘Michael the archangel’. Michael is one of the only three angels that are named, along with Gabriel and Lucifer in the Bible. Michael can be called a ‘warrior angel’ for he battles for the Lord. We see in the Book of Daniel that Michael fights against the prince of the kingdom of Persia (10:13). We see him watching over God’s people (12:1). We also see him battling in the heavens (Rev. 12:7) against the dragon and he wins. Here we see Michael disputing over the body of Moses. Actually the Bible does not say where he was buried but only that he died. Jude writes that Michael ‘did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment’ against the devil. This is in opposition with these ‘ungodly men’ who do blaspheme against the ‘majestic beings’. If Michael, who seems to be the most powerful angel, does not blaspheme the devil and rather said: ‘The Lord rebuke you’ how much more should these ‘ungodly men’ do the same! This should be a warning to all of God’s children concerning what we say regarding others. Denigrating others is not to be done. We should let the Lord be the judge of all things and keep judgments for ourselves. Peter says the following concerning Christ Jesus:

 

1 Peter 2

22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

(NKJV)

 

Coming back to these ‘ungodly men’ Jude continues and writes the following:

 

10 But these persons blaspheme all that they do not understand, and all that they understand by instinct like the irrational animals, by these things they are being destroyed. 

 

We are told one of the foundations of their blasphemies. It is that ‘they do not understand’. They place themselves as judges and they come to false conclusions because they do not have all the facts. They think that they are superior and that their knowledge and wisdom oversee that of the others. Yet their pride and vain dreams manifest the contrary! They know very little because they are filled with darkness. They think they understand but it is not spiritual understanding but rather ‘by instinct like the irrational animals’. Their thoughts, views, beliefs and judgments are of the flesh and not of the Holy Spirit. No wonder Jude writes ‘by these things they are being destroyed’. This is their downfall, demise and defeat. They are people of the flesh and not of the Spirit. They are controlled by their natural instincts and are blind to spiritual truths. May believers be warned concerning being led by their own thoughts! The apostle Paul also warned us:

 

Colossians 2

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

(NKJV)

 

The second description of these ‘ungodly men’ is the following:

 

11 Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, and have given themselves up to the error of Balaam for gain, and have perished in the rebellion of Korah. 

 

Here Jude speaks of the path that they are on. We know the teachings of Jesus concerning the narrow and wide gate and the wide and narrow path:

 

Matthew 7

13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

(NKJV)

 

Again Jude gives three examples, this time of people who have walked on the wrong path. Please notice that his examples are of people who have willingly walked away from the Lord.

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His first example is Cain. We know that he is the first human murderer for he killed his brother Abel (Gen. 4:1-8). Cain had walked away from the Lord by offering the sacrifice he desired (fruits of his labor). God refused his offering but accepted Abel’s (a lamb). As a result of his jealousy, Cain killed Abel. In our first example, we see that these ‘ungodly men’ do things their own way and expect the Lord God to accept them.

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The second example is that of ‘Balaam for gain’. In this story (Num. 22) Balaam is called by Balak to curse the Jewish people for a sum of money. Balaam tries but he can not because God stops him from doing so. The lesson given by Jude is that these ‘ungodly men’ desire to ‘curse God’s people’ by infecting them with false teachings and all of this for some profit that they will gain.

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The third example, is that of the ‘rebellion of Korah’ (Num. 16).Korah and his followers rebelled against the authority that God had given Moses. He was displeased that Moses was their leader and he threatened Moses. God saw it differently and manifested it by opening the ground beneath the feet of Korah and all of his followers! The way of Korah is one of open rebellion against God and his representatives. The ‘ungodly men’ Jude is speaking about were also walking in open rebellion and will reap what they have sown (Gal. 6:7).

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The third description of these ‘ungodly men’ is found in verses 12 and 13.

 

12 These are the ones feasting together without reverence, hidden reefs at your love feasts, caring for themselves, waterless clouds carried away by winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted, 13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars, for whom the deep gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

 

In these two verses, Jude gives a third description of these ‘ungodly men’. This section is divided into seven segments. Jude is very detailed and also very descriptive.

 

12 These are the ones feasting together without reverence

 

First, they are described as people who love to be ‘feasting together’. The word ‘feasting’ (SUNENOCHEO) means: to entertain sumptuously with and feasting with. The Christian feast Jude is speaking of is probably their weekly gatherings where they celebrated the Lord’s Table, sang, prayed and were edified by the teaching of the Word. These ‘ungodly men’ had absolutely no shame and were openly hypocrites! They joined with the real brethren and posed as one of them! Yet they were ‘without reverence’ (APHOBOS) meaning: without fear, fearlessly. They neither feared God nor his judgment upon them. They disdained the Lord’s Table and were under severe sentence as the apostle Paul writes:

 

1 Corinthians 11

27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

(NKJV)

 

Secondly, Jude describes how dangerous they are.

 

(v.12) … hidden reefs at your love feasts

 

We all know how dangerous reefs are to approaching boats! When a boat hits a reef it is shattered and water pours inside causing the boat to sink. Not only is there a loss for the boat but also for the merchandise placed in it! There is also the possibility of losing one’s own life if the boat you are in sinks to the bottom of the water. They are like these reefs, giving the idea that all who come in contact with them will suffer great loss. By giving this second description Jude is telling the believers to ‘stay away’ from such men. Paul speaks of the ‘shipwreck’ of one’s conscience and the consequences of this:

 

1 Timothy 1

19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,

20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

(NKJV)

 

The third example speaks of their true concern:

 

(v.12) …caring for themselves

 

There is a valley that separates Jude and these ‘ungodly men’ concerning their outlook on God’s people. We have seen the true care, love and compassion Jude had for the Brethren. What a contrast when we read that these ‘ungodly men’ were ‘caring for themselves’. The word ‘caring’(POIMAINO) means: to tend as a shepherd. What a vivid description! They were shepherding themselves! They had no care for the sheep but rather used them for their own benefit. This makes me think of all the ‘ungodly’ pastors, teachers and prophets of today who live in sumptuous homes, have many cars and airplanes and live as kings while the people they ‘serve’ have very little compared to them! Be on the lookout for such men and women, for they are not of God but are filled with greed.

 

The fourth example, speaks of how powerless they really are.

 

(v.12) …waterless clouds carried away by winds

 

Have you ever seen massive clouds coming in your direction? The winds pick up because of the mass of air and humidity they produce. You instinctively believe that there is a great storm coming so you protect yourself by going inside your home. The winds rise and after a little while the clouds are gone and not a single drop of water has fallen! This is the fourth picture Jude gives concerning these ‘ungodly men’ – they are full of ‘hot air’! There is no true spiritual substance to them. This reminds me of what the Lord God told Moses concerning false prophets:

 

Deuteronomy 18

20 'But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'

21 "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' -

22 "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

(NKJV)

 

Do not be afraid of all of those who say they are from the Lord and prophecy in His name and this does not happen. It only takes ONE prophecy that does not happen to manifest that this person is a fraud.

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If this simple test would be applied today, the vast majority of tele-evangelists, preachers and teachers would be out of business! These ‘ungodly men’ have no spiritual power over you – do not be afraid of them.

 

The fifth example Jude brings, speaks of the fruit they bear.

 

(v.12) …late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted, 

 

Late autumn should be the time of harvest where fruit of all sorts abound. Yet these ‘ungodly men’ are ‘without fruit’. Jesus warns his listeners to beware of false prophets who dress in sheep’s clothing (Mat. 7:15-20). Again I wish to remind you that you must test those who speak for the Lord. The evidence lies before your eyes. Just analyze the fruits that they bear.

 

Luke 6

43 "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44 "For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

(NKJV)

 

Why are they fruitless? It is simply because they are ‘twice dead, uprooted’. When a tree is uprooted (when its roots are above ground) it dies because it is cut off from the nourishing soil! These men are also cut off from God and they are spiritually fruitless.

 

The sixth example is that of the waves of the sea:

 

13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds,

 

This speaks of their way of life, the hunger that inhabits them. They are ‘wild’ (AGRIOS) meaning: wild, fierce or raging. There is a fire burning inside of them and it is out of control. They are ‘foaming up’ (EPAPHRIZO) figuratively meaning: to exhibit vile passions. These ‘ungodly men’ openly manifest the vileness and ungodliness that inhabits their hearts. They are not ashamed of what they do and say. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16) but these men are not ashamed of their ‘shameful deeds’ (AISCHUNE) meaning: shame, disgrace and dishonesty. They are un-shamefully proud of who they are and are spiritually blind.

 

The seventh and last example Jude, gives to describe these ‘ungodly men’, has to do with the heavenly bodies.

 

(v.13) …wandering stars, for whom the deep gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

 

Shooting stars appear once in a while and what they are is simply broken pieces of asteroids that pass through the earth’s atmosphere. Most of the time, when this happens, the pieces of asteroids burn up and simply disintegrate before touching ground. They light up the sky but for a brief moment and fade away. This is a perfect picture of what the life of these ‘ungodly men’ looks like. On the canvas of eternity they appear but for a few seconds and die away. While the child of God is the light of the world (Mat. 5:14) these men will be ‘in deep gloom of darkness’. This speaks of their eternal abode, once the final judgment has come upon them. They will forever be in ‘darkness reserved for eternity’ far away from God, locked up in eternal darkness for ‘eternity’. Once a person dies there is no second chance (Heb. 9:27)!

 

The fourth description of these ‘ungodly men’ is found in verses 14 and 15. This section describes the judgment that awaits all ‘ungodly men’.

 

14 And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about these people, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they have committed in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 

 

In the Bible Enoch is described this way:

 

Genesis 5

23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

(NKJV)

 

We may wonder why the Lord God took Enoch with him. There are no clues in this text (that help us to understand this very rare feat)other than ‘he walked with God’. Actually only Enoch and Elijah were taken by God. Fortunately there is another text that offers us more information:

 

Hebrews 11

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

(NKJV)

 

Here we see that Enoch was a man of faith because ‘he pleased God’. So Enoch ‘walked with God’ (Gen 5:24) and ‘he pleased God’ (Heb. 11:5). This is in direct contrast with these ‘ungodly men’ that Jude is writing about. Jude loosely quotes from another apocryphal book called ‘The Book of Enoch’. Once again, Jude is not approving that it is God’s word but simply stating a phrase found in it. This is not an exception found in the Book of Jude. Other writers have also given references to books that are not found in the Bible:

 

1 Chronicles 29

29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

(NKJV)

 

2 Chronicles 9

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

(NKJV)

 

2 Chronicles 12

15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

(NKJV)

 

2 Chronicles 20

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

(NKJV)

 

The fifth and last description is found in verse 16 and speaks of their attitude.

 

16 These people are grumblers, discontented, proceeding according to their desires, and their mouths speaking pompous words, showing partiality to gain an advantage.

 

First, we see that they are ‘grumblers’ (GOGGUSTES) meaning: to grumble, a murmurer. Here we see their inability to be satisfied or to settle things with others. It seems that they have a difficult time with accepting things that are not in their favor.

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Second, they are 'discontent’ (MEMPSIMOROS) meaning: blaming. They do not only grumble inside but they are very vocal about their discontentment. They ‘point fingers’ at others, blaming them for all their tribulations.

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Third, they are ‘proceeding according to their desires’. The word ‘proceeding’ (PORENOMAI) means: to travel, remove or depart. They move towards what they desire and believe that what they desire is what counts and they make a ‘big thing’ out of it! As a child pulls a tantrum when he absolutely wants to get a toy and there is an objection from his parents, so these ‘ungodly men’ also pull tantrums to get what they want. Again we see that their eyes are fixed upon themselves.

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Fourth, Jude speaks of their speech being ‘pompous words’. The word ‘pompous’ (HUPEROGKOS) means: building over, great swelling and it seems that they use their language to persuade or to fascinate their listeners. In other words they are ‘sweet talkers’. They must have been great orators like Apollos was:

 

Acts 18

24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.

(NKJV)

 

A final and fifth description of their attitude was that they were ‘showing partiality to gain an advantage.’ The word ‘partiality’(THAUMAZO) means: to admire, marvel or wonder at. What they really wanted and desired the most was ‘to gain an advantage’. Real shepherds are ready to give their lives for their sheep (John 10:11-13).These ‘ungodly men’ only wanted to profit from them.

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May these warnings about ungodly men and women who may be in our churches make us concerned and watchful for they are only with you to take advantage of you.

 

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