Reference: Jude, Epistle Of
Easton
The author was "Judas, the brother of James" the Less (Jude 1:1), called also Lebbaeus (Mt 10:3) and Thaddaeus (Mr 3:18). The genuineness of this epistle was early questioned, and doubts regarding it were revived at the time of the Reformation; but the evidences in support of its claims are complete. It has all the marks of having proceeded from the writer whose name it bears.
There is nothing very definite to determine the time and place at which it was written. It was apparently written in the later period of the apostolic age, for when it was written there were persons still alive who had heard the apostles preach (ver. 17). It may thus have been written about A.D. 66 or 70, and apparently in Palestine.
The epistle is addressed to Christians in general (ver. 1), and its design is to put them on their guard against the misleading efforts of a certain class of errorists to which they were exposed. The style of the epistle is that of an "impassioned invective, in the impetuous whirlwind of which the writer is hurried along, collecting example after example of divine vengeance on the ungodly; heaping epithet upon epithet, and piling image upon image, and, as it were, labouring for words and images strong enough to depict the polluted character of the licentious apostates against whom he is warning the Church; returning again and again to the subject, as though all language was insufficient to give an adequate idea of their profligacy, and to express his burning hatred of their perversion of the doctrines of the gospel."
The striking resemblance this epistle bears to 2PE suggests the idea that the author of the one had seen the epistle of the other.
The doxology with which the epistle concludes is regarded as the finest in the New Testament.
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Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-collector; James the son of Alpaeus, and Thaddeus;
and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
Hastings
This short epistle is an earnest warning and appeal, couched in vivid and picturesque language, addressed to a church or a circle of churches which have become suddenly exposed to a mischievous attack of false teaching.
1. Contents
(1) Text.
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Is not This the carpenter's Son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?
And, while He was sitting on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us when shall these things be, and what is the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age." And Jesus, answering, said to them, "Take heed that no one lead you astray; read more. for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray.
for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray. And ye will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for these things must come to pass; but the end is not yet. read more. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these are a beginning of travail. Then will they deliver you up to tribulation, and will slay you; and ye will be hated by all the nations for My name's sake. And then will many be caused to stumble, and will deliver up one another, and hate one another; and many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray;
and many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray; and, because lawlessness abounds, the love of many will grow cold.
and, because lawlessness abounds, the love of many will grow cold. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. read more. And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then shall the end come. "When, therefore, ye see the abomination of the desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, (let him that reads understand), then let those in Judaea flee into the mountains; let him who is on the house-top not go down to take away the things out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his garment. But woe to the women with child, and to those giving suck, in those days! And pray, that your flight be not in winter, nor on a sabbath; for then will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now; no, nor ever shall be. And, unless those days should be shortened, no flesh could be saved: but, for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. Then, if any one shall say to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ!' or 'Here,' believe it not; for there will arise false Christs and false prophets; and they will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have foretold you.
"Is not This the Carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us?" And they were finding occasion of stumbling in Him.
The first narrative I made, O Theophilus, concerning all things that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
And, when they entered, they went up into the upper-room, where they were abiding; both Peter and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
But a certain man, Simon by name, was in the city before, using sorcery, and astonishing the nation of Samaria, affirming himself to be some great one; to whom all were giving heed, from small to great, saying, "This man is the power of God, which is called Great." read more. And they were giving heed to him, because of his having for a long time amazed them with his sorceries. But, when they believed Philip proclaiming the glad tidings concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being immersed, both men and women. And Simon also himself believed; and, having been immersed, he was adhering closely to Philip; and, beholding the signs and great miracles being done, he was amazed. Now the apostles in Jerusalem, hearing that Samaria had received the word of God, sent to them Peter and John; who, indeed, having come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for as yet He had fallen upon no one of them, but they had only been immersed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now Simon, seeing that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, offered them money, saying, "Give me also this authority, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought to acquire the gift of God with money! You have no part nor lot in this matter; for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness, and entreat the Lord, if, perhaps, the thought of your heart may be forgiven you; for I see that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." And Simon answered and said, "Pray ye to the Lord in my behalf, that none of the things which ye have spoken may come upon me."
And, having gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; the same having called for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God; read more. but Elymas, the sorcerer (for so his name is interpreted) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith. But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looking intently upon him, said, "O full of all guile, and all villainy, son of the Devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you; and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season." And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and, going about, he was seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, seeing what had taken place, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
And, having heard this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus; and, Paul having laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they were speaking with tongues, and prophesying. read more. And all the men were about twelve.
Many also of those who had believed were coming, confessing, and declaring their practices. A considerable number, moreover, of those who had practiced the curious arts, having brought together the books, were burning them in the presence of all; and they counted the prices of them, and found them fifty thousand pieces of silver.
and hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the holy Spirit, Who was given to us.
And, in like manner, the Spirit also helpeth our weakness; for we know not what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Now to Him Who is able to establish you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept in silence during eternal ages, but now made manifest, and through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known to all nations for obedience to the faith: read more. to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
But a natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.
not at all meaning, with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or idolaters; since ye ought, in that event, to go out of the world;
But, in giving this charge, I praise you not; because, not for the better, but for the worse, do ye come together.
Then, fourteen years later, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking with me Titus also.
And, perceiving the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas right-hands of fellowship, that we should go to the gentiles, and they to the circumcision;
for, before certain ones came from James, he was eating with the gentiles; but, when they came, he was withdrawing and separating himself, fearing those of the circumcision.
yet now did He reconcile in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and without blemish, and irreproachable, before Him;
having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith as ye were taught, abounding with thanksgiving.
knowing, brethren beloved by God, your election;
Let no one deceive you in any manner; because that day will not come, unless the falling away come first, and the man of lawlessness be revealed??he son of perdition;
As I exhorted you to continue in Ephesus, when I was journeying into Macedonia, that you might charge certain ones not to teach a different doctrine,
Now to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Some men's sins are openly manifest, going before to judgment; and some men also they follow after.
wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth, supposing godliness to be a source of gain.
For there will be a time when they will not endure the healthful teaching; but, having itching ears, they will for themselves heap up teachers according to their own desires;
Give diligence to come to me speedily;
Remind them to submit to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work;
Whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
Faithful is the saying, and concerning these things I will that you affirm confidently, that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Diligently send forward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, that nothing may be lacking to them.
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: mercy, and peace, and love, be multiplied to you. read more. Beloved, while giving all diligence to write to you of the common salvation, I was constrained to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. For there crept in stealthily certain men, who of old were set forth for this condemnation, ungodly men, changing the grace of our God into lasciviousness; and denying the only Master and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I wish to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who believed not.
Now I wish to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who believed not.
But these rail at such things as they know not; and what they understand naturally, as the irrational animals, in these things they are corrupted.
These are those who make separations; sensual, having not the Spirit. But do ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, read more. keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, while contending with you,
And on some have compassion, while contending with you, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now to Him Who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you without blemish, in gladness, before the presence of His glory, read more. to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time, and now, and forever and ever. Amen.
"I know your works and your toil, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil men; and you tried those who call themselves apostles, and are not, and found them false;
But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there those holding the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit fornication. So you have also those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans, in like manner.
Morish
Written by Jude the brother of James, and apparently the same person as the apostle JUDAS, q.v. The Epistle is addressed to "the called ones, beloved in God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ." Apostasy had set in, and the saints are exhorted to contend for the faith divinely delivered. Ungodly ones had crept in, who abused the grace of God, and denied their only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.
Three instances are produced to show how apostasy had been punished:
1. Some of those saved out of Egypt were yet destroyed.
2. Fallen angels are kept in eternal chains for judgement.
3. Sodom and Gomorrha, which lie under the abiding effect of the judgement on them. Then the railers are put to shame by the conduct of Michael the archangel, who when rightly contending with Satan about the body of Moses did not rail against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke thee."
Three stages of departure from the way of truth are mentioned, with a woe upon those who are found in them:
1. The way of Cain
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not as Cain who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore did he slay him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
Smith
Jude, Epistle of.
Its author was probably Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus, the subject of the preceding article. There are no data from which to determine its date or place of writing, but it is placed about A.D.
65. The object of the epistle is plainly enough announced ver. 3; the reason for this exhortation is given ver.
4. The remainder of the epistle is almost entirely occupied by a minute depiction of the adversaries of the faith. The epistle closes by briefly reminding the readers of the oft-repeated prediction of the apostles --among whom the writer seems not to rank himself --that the faith would be assailed by such enemies as he has depicted, vs.
exhorting them to maintain their own steadfastness in the faith, vs.
while they earnestly sought to rescue others from the corrupt example of those licentious livers, vs.
and commending them to the power of God in language which forcibly recalls the closing benediction of the epistle to the Romans. vs.
cf. Roma 16:25-27 This epistle presents one peculiarity, which, as we learn from St. Jerome, caused its authority to be impugned in very early times --the supposed citation of apocryphal writings. vs.
The larger portion of this epistle, vs.
is almost identical in language and subject with a part of the Second Epistle of Peter.
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But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who, indeed, will stealthily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master Who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction: and many will follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of the truth will be defamed; read more. and, in covetousness, will they, with feigned words, make merchandise of you; for whom the judgment from of old lingers not, and their destruction slumbers not. For, if God spared not angels that sinned, but, hurling them down to Hell, delivered them up to pits of darkness, kept for judgment; and spared not the old world; but preserved Noah, an eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing a flood upon a world of ungodly people; and, turning to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned them by an overthrow, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, distressed by the conduct of those who were impious in lasciviousness, (for this righteous man, dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, was torturing his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds): the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous enduring punishment unto the day of judgment; but especially those who walk after the flesh in a desire for pollution, and despise dominion; daring, self-willed, they tremble not, when railing at dignities; whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. But these, as irrational creatures, born naturally for capture and destruction, railing in matters of which they are ignorant, shall in their destruction be also destroyed, suffering evil as wages of unrighteousness; accounting revelry in the daytime a pleasure; spots and blemishes; reveling in their deceivings, while feasting with you; having eyes full of lustfulness, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstable souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of a curse; leaving the right way, they were led astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but had a rebuke for his own transgression; a dumb beast-of-burden, speaking in man's voice, forbade the prophet's madness. These are fountains without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved. For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice, in desires of the flesh, by their lasciviousness, those just escaping from those who live in error; promising them liberty, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what one is overcome by this he has become enslaved.
Beloved, while giving all diligence to write to you of the common salvation, I was constrained to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. For there crept in stealthily certain men, who of old were set forth for this condemnation, ungodly men, changing the grace of our God into lasciviousness; and denying the only Master and our Lord Jesus Christ. read more. Now I wish to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who believed not. And angels who kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, He hath kept in everlasting bonds, under darkness, for the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication, and going away after other flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. Yet, in like manner, these also, indulging in dreams, defile, indeed, the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities. But Michael, the arch-angel, when contending with the Devil he was disputing about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
But Michael, the arch-angel, when contending with the Devil he was disputing about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." But these rail at such things as they know not; and what they understand naturally, as the irrational animals, in these things they are corrupted. read more. Woe to them, because they went in the way of Cain, and rushed on in the error of Balsam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah! These are the hidden rocks in your love-feasts, feasting sumptuously together, feeding themselves without fear; clouds without water, borne along by winds; autumnal trees, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own ignominies; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of the darkness has been reserved forever. And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with His holy myriads,
And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with His holy myriads, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness, which in ungodliness they committed, and of all the hard things which, as ungodly sinners, they spake against Him."
to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness, which in ungodliness they committed, and of all the hard things which, as ungodly sinners, they spake against Him." These are murmurers, complainers, walking according to their own desires; and their mouth speaks great swelling words; admiring men's persons, for the sake of profit. read more. But do ye, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they were wont to say to you: "In the last time there will be mockers, walking according to their own ungodly desires." These are those who make separations; sensual, having not the Spirit. But do ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, while contending with you, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now to Him Who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you without blemish, in gladness, before the presence of His glory, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time, and now, and forever and ever. Amen.