Christendom’s End Under the Judgment of God
(Vss. 14-16)
Jude then brings in Enoch’s prophecy to show that the Lord will not allow this corruption associated with His name (testimonially) to go on indefinitely. Christ will intervene in judgment in the most decided way. Thus, the Christian testimony will not see restoration, but rather, its end will be judgment. He says: “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince [convict] 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. 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.” Had we the Old Testament only, we would never have known of this earliest of all prophecies, for there is no mention of it there (Gen. 5:21-23). All we would have known of Enoch is that he was a man who walked with God and that this pleased God, and he was thereupon taken to heaven without seeing death (Heb. 11:5). But from this epistle, we learn that he was also a prophet. Jude identifies him as “the seventh (generation) from Adam” to distinguish him from the ungodly Enoch in Cain’s family (Gen. 4:17-18).
Enoch uttered this prophecy some 4500 years ago! The central point of it is the coming of the Lord—His Appearing. Many other prophets have spoken of this event as well (Isa. 30:27-28; Zech. 14:5; Matt. 16:27; 24:27-30; 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14; 5:2; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2:8; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-21). What is so solemn in connection with Christ’s coming to judge the mass of apostates in Christendom is that since the Christian profession has been privileged by having the highest truth committed to it (the truth of the Mystery), those who will apostatize from it will have the greatest judgment! (Luke 12:46-48)
The Lord taught that those false professors who are alive on earth when He appears will be taken by the angels and cast alive into the lake of fire! (Matt. 13:37-42; 22:13; 24:37-41) They will not be killed, and therefore, will not come before the great white throne, which is a judgment of the wicked dead (Rev. 20:11-15). These will come face to face with the Judge Himself when He appears and will not need further examination or proof of their wickedness. His all-seeing eye has seen all their ungodly “deeds” and His ears have heard their evil “speeches.” Hence, not only will the true Church on earth be snatched away from the earth at the Rapture without seeing death, but the false Church (those alive at His Appearing) will also be taken away from the earth without seeing physical death. But how great will be the difference—that of Heaven and Hell!
Jude uses the word “convince [convict]” here in connection with the judgment of these ungodly people. J. N. Darby said that it is a difficult word (elenko) to translate (John 3:20 – footnote). It has the thought of reproof by showing or exposing a person’s fault. W. E. Vine suggests that it has to do with putting the convicted person to shame. Such will be the case in this judgment. These apostates (the religious leaders particularly) have spoken hard and injurious things about Christ as to His Person and work in their theological teachings, but in that day, they will be publicly shamed and judged in the most humiliating way—they will be taken by the angels as scoundrels and cast alive into Hell.
(Vs. 16)
These men (particularly the leaders) are exposed as being driven by fleshly motivations and self-seeking. They speak “great swelling words” of flattery to stroke the ego of persons of wealth and of high status in society with a view to gaining from them some personal “advantage” for themselves. Such is the way of the man of the world, but it will all come to a sudden halt when the Lord intervenes in judgment.
Christendom Judged in Three Stages
In fact, the judgment of Christendom will be executed in three stages:
Firstly, at the Rapture
Firstly, at the Rapture, the Lord will “spue” the merely professing mass of so-called Christians out of His mouth by leaving them behind on earth, and thus, He will formally disassociate Himself from them (Rev. 3:16).
Secondly, in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel
Secondly, in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, which will be some 3½ years later, at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Dan. 9:27; 12:11; Matt. 24:15-22), the Beast, the leader of the western confederation of nations will destroy the great Harlot (Christendom under the control of Catholicism), and thus, will bring its idolatrous practices to an end. This will be done to make way for the worship of the Beast and his image by all in the West (Rev. 17:16-17). The merely professing mass will abandon their empty Christian profession and will worship the Beast, which the man of sin (the Antichrist) will promote (2 Thess. 2:3-4).
Thirdly, after the Great Tribulation
Thirdly, after the Great Tribulation, the Lord will appear out of heaven to judge the apostates who will have abandoned the profession of Christianity, by taking them and casting them into the lake of fire (Rev. 3:3). This last phase is what Enoch prophesied about.
Counsel for the Remnant of True Believers
(Vss. 17-25)
Being apprised of all this evil in the Christian testimony, we might wonder what we should do. Jude anticipates that this question would be on our minds, and thus in this last series of verses, he gives us his godly counsel. He shows that the answer is not to give up in despair, nor is it to go off into seclusion to try to protect ourselves from the evil influences of apostasy. Note also, Jude does not tell us that we should attempt to set disordered Christendom right. The Lord has not laid that “burden” upon His people (Matt. 13:27-30; Rev. 2:24). Rather, he shows that we are to go on in the grace that God supplies, with the resources that He has given, and to wait for the Lord to come and take us home to the Father’s house above.
In this last section of the epistle, Jude addresses the true believers amidst the lifeless, professing mass, saying, “But beloved ... .” He identifies them with the first and second person pronouns: “ye,” “your,” and “our.” His words of grace and comfort are a real encouragement to us. They are:
Remember the Words of the Apostles
(Vss. 17-19)
Firstly, Jude would have us to remember what the apostles have said concerning the ruin of the Christian testimony. He says: “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” God has foreseen the ruin and has had the apostles forewarn the saints of its coming (Acts 20:29-31; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-2; 1 John 2:18-19, etc.). It should, therefore, be no surprise to us. We have been apprised of it all beforehand, so that, while being grieved about it, we wouldn’t be overcome with despair. The Lord knows that we wouldn’t be able to carry out the following exhortations that Jude gives with any kind of conviction if we were in a distraught state of mind. The soul must first be at rest, and undisturbed—and this is what the Lord has done by telling us of it beforehand. There is something reassuring in knowing that He knows all about it.
Hence, he tells us that there will be “mockers” who will scoff at the truth, and thus we should ready ourselves (2 Peter 3:3-4). J. N. Darby remarked on this kind of bold opposition to the truth, stating: “Ignorance is generally confident because it is ignorant” (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, Loizeaux edition, vol. 1, p. 11). Thus, we can expect opposition, but we’re not to be dismayed by it. They can mock the truth, and attack it, and seek to undermine it, but it doesn’t change the truth.
(Vs 19)
Jude says that these mockers are the perpetrators of many of the sects and divisions that have developed in Christendom. He says: “These are they that make separations, natural [soulish] men, not having the Spirit” (W. Kelly Trans.). W. Kelly remarked, “They break loose from fellowship and form some new thing which has not the sanction of the Word of God. That is what, in Scripture, is called a heresy” (Lectures on the Epistle of Jude, p. 142). Compare 2 Peter 2:1. “Not having the Spirit” makes it clear that they have never been saved (Gal. 3:2; Eph. 1:13).
Building up Ourselves on the Most Holy Faith
(Vs. 20a)
Next, Jude speaks of the need of being built up on the solid foundation of the truth. He says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith.” The “most holy faith” is the Christian revelation of truth. It has been delivered to the saints by the apostles (vs. 3) and can be found in the 21 epistles of the New Testament. However, having the truth delivered into our hands is one thing and being built up on it is another. We might ask, “How exactly do we build ourselves up on the most holy faith?” The Apostle Paul answers this, stating: “The Word of His grace (the Scriptures), which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.” Thus, it is through having a thorough acquaintance with the Word of God (particularly the epistles). Let us, therefore, give due diligence to this (1 Tim. 4:6, 16; 2 Tim. 2:15); it will keep us from being “carried about with every wind of doctrine” that comes along (Eph. 4:14). What a contrast this is to what we have seen in the earlier part of the epistle. While false teachers are seen tearing down the foundations of the faith in the hearts of those who listen to them, true believers are to be building themselves up in the most holy faith.
Note: Jude does not say, “Build up the faith.” That would imply that the deposit of truth is not a completed thing, and thus, there are supplements to be added—but that is a false notion. The Apostle Paul said that with the giving of the revelation of the Mystery, the deposit of truth was “complete” (Col. 1:25-27). There were epistles written by others after Paul said that, but they do not add to the truth of the Mystery.
Praying in the Holy Spirit
(Vs. 20b)
Coupled with the study of God’s Word, there should be intelligent prayer. Hence, Jude adds, “Praying in the Holy Spirit.” These two things go together “like a hand in a glove” (Luke 10:39–11:13, etc.). We need a balance of both. This is important because studying the Word of God without prayer can lead to legalism, and prayer without the study of the Word can lead to fanaticism. Praying “in” the Spirit is praying according to the mind of the Spirit. This comes from having a knowledge of the truth and having personal communion with the Lord.
Note: Jude says, praying in the Spirit, not praying for the Spirit to come. There will not be another Pentecost and another baptism of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we are not to look for a recovery of the public testimony of the Church. The Spirit of God has come, and since He is now resident in the Church on earth, we are to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and pray in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18).
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
(Vs. 21a)
Jude passes on to another thing that we should be doing in view of the apostasy—we should be found living in the enjoyment of God’s love. He doesn’t say, “Keep on loving God.” Nor does he say, “Keep God loving you.” But rather, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” He is not speaking of our love for God, but of His love for us! It is like the sunshine shining in the street; one side of the road may be in the shade and the other side in the sunshine. On which side do we walk? God loves all of His children equally, but they don’t all enjoy His love to the same degree. We keep ourselves in the enjoyment of the sunshine of His love by judging ourselves and maintaining our communion with Him.
Looking for the Mercy of Our Lord Jesus
(Vs. 21b)
Next, Jude addresses our outlook, which should be upward to the Lord’s coming (the Rapture). He says, “Looking for [awaiting] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” The tendency in these last days is to become occupied with the corruptions in Christendom and in the world, but that is not to be our focus. Let us remember that those who are occupied with failure become a failure! Noah’s ark had a window “above,” out of which he and his family could look. This speaks of having a heavenward outlook. The window was not in the side of the ark. Had it been there, they may have become occupied with the scene of death around them, and that would have been disheartening.
This is the only place in Scripture where the Lord’s coming is spoken of as being a “mercy.” Wanting to be taken out of this corrupt world is not the highest reason for wanting the Lord to come, but what a mercy it will be! “Eternal life” is viewed here as being at the end of our path when we are glorified and in our proper sphere where fellowship with the Father and the Son will be our undistracted delight.
Be Engaged in Service
(Vss. 22-23)
Lastly, we are to be engaged in active service for the Lord, reaching out to those confused and entangled in the errors of Christendom. Jude says, “And some convict when contending. Others save, pulling them out of the fire. And others pity with fear, hating even the garment spotted with the flesh” (W. Kelly Trans.). Mr. Kelly remarked: “Our version—the Authorized [KJV] so-called—looks at two cases only. ‘And of some have compassion, making a difference’—that is one class; ‘and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted with the flesh’—this is the second class. Now I believe there are three classes, and not two only” (Lectures on the Epistle of Jude, p. 152).
Jude’s words here show that reaching out to help people requires discernment, for not all cases are the same. In times of departure, we must distinguish between the leaders and the led. Some are willful and headstrong teachers; others are mere followers who have been stumbled by the erroneous teachers (Rom. 16:17-18). Note also, there is a moral order in this passage. It is only after Jude has spoken of being built up on the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, enjoying the love of God through communion, and having the imminence of the Lord’s coming before our souls, that he encourages us to reach out to help others. Our effectiveness in serving the Lord will be greatly hindered if these other things are not in place in our lives.
Three Classes of Persons—Discernment Required
The First Class
The first class of people are the leaders entrenched in their evil doctrines. We are not to try to save these, for they are apostates who cannot be brought to repentance and recovered (Heb. 6:4-6). Rather, we are to “convict” them with the truth. (This is the same word used in verse 15, having to do with a convicted person being put to shame so that their guilt is evident to all.) Mr. Kelly pointed out that the phrase “making a difference” (KJV) in verse 22, should be translated, “when they dispute.” It is clear that these men do not want the truth; they want to dispute it. The word used in verse 9, in connection with the devil disputing with Michael the archangel, is also the same word used here. Hence, these disputers of the truth are doing their master’s work!
The Second Class
The second class of persons can be saved by “pulling them out of the fire.” These are not deceivers, but those deceived by the deceivers. They have been ensnared unawares in the evil doctrines and need deliverance from those false notions. Being built up on the most holy faith and instructed in the truth, as Jude enjoins, we should be well able to guide these people out of those erroneous doctrines, if their wills are not at work. Note: it is “pulling,” not “pushing” them out of the spiritual confusion and mess that they are in. Pushing implies getting into the ditch with them, but in doing that we could get entangled in the evil ourselves. No, we are to stay separate from the corruption, remaining on solid ground, and pull them out. The saving that Jude speaks of here is not the eternal salvation of the soul; that is something that only the Lord can do through faith in His work on the cross. This is a practical salvation from the doctrinal errors in Christendom (1 Tim. 4:16).
The Third Class
The third class are those of whom Jude says, “And others pity” (have “compassion”). These are people who have become so morally and spiritually corrupted, that, in reaching out to them, we have to be extra careful not to get defiled by the circumstances in which we find them. Hence, Jude adds, “Hating even the garment spotted with the flesh.” A “garment” is something that surrounds a person when it is worn and is often used figuratively in Scripture to indicate the circumstances in which one lives (Lev. 13:47-59; Mark 10:50, etc.). We must hate their garment because their circumstances are defiling. Thus, we are to love the person, but hate his sins—and this hatred must be kept up at all times. Being conscious of the defiling situations these people are in, we are to labour with a “fear” of becoming defiled by such contact, and therefore, we should proceed with caution. It is not a question of being tolerant of the evil that they are in, but of being cognizant of it and remaining morally separate from it while we seek to deliver them.