JUDE

The author identifies himself as “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James”. This is a humble self-introduction, since he is also the half-brother of Jesus himself, Joseph and Mary’s natural son (Mrk 6:3, Mth 13:55). He also doesn’t include himself in “the apostles” (Jud 17-18).
At first Jude is no follower of Jesus (Mrk 3:21-22, Jhn 7:5) but in time he comes to understand that his big half-brother is indeed the promised Savior. Church tradition, more specifically Clement of Alexandria, Polycarp, Tertullian, Origen and Hegisippus, testify that it is Jesus’ brother Jude who is the author of the letter we call Jude, written some thirty or forty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
He clearly writes to a specific church which is under the influence of false teachers, but it is not known which church this might have been. The church is not new (Jud 5) and has known some apostles personally (Jud 18). The church must have had a significant number of Jewish believers, because Jude’s writing style and quotations cater especially to Jewish believers. This description could match many places. Due to the similarities in language and themes to 2 Peter is is usually assumed that both letters were written to the area of Asia Minor.
Jude in his letter gives a very vivid and fearful description of the character, the behavior and the motivation of these false teachers. But he does not once mention what they are actually teaching. Jude therefore does not refute their doctrine, but describes their bad character and evil motivations. Jude asserts that the daily life and practical behavior of a person is the measure of godliness. It is by the fruit that the tree shall be known.
He describes the false teachers as stealthy persons, perverting grace into licentiousness, denying Jesus (Jud 4), rejecting authority (Jud 8), slanderous (Jud 8, 10), greedy and rebellious (Jud 11). They indulge their lusts, they grumble, boast, flatter (Jud 16), scoff (Jud 18) and cause divisions (Jud 19). Jude uses powerful metaphors to describe them, calling them “waterless clouds”, “fruitless trees”, “wild waves, casting up the foam of their own shame”, “wandering stars” (Jud 12-13).
Jude says “they have stolen in among you” (Jud 4), implying that these are not believers that have been deceived, but non-believers, people who are intentionally influencing and deceiving believers for their own purposes. Because of this he also gives sore predictions of their ultimate judgement (Jud 4,5,6,7,10,11,13,15).
How does Jude want the faithful to deal with this situation? He instructs the believers to have mercy on those who are wavering (Jud 22), to save others by snatching them out of the fire (Jud 23), to have mercy with fear on still others, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies and to stay away from all false teachers (Jud 4).
He further encourages the believers that the best prevention of false teaching is continual growth in Christ: He reminds the church that they are called, beloved and kept safe for Jesus (Jud 1) and sustained by his mercy, peace and love (Jud 2). He challenges them to contend for the faith that has once for all been entrusted to them (Jud 3). He reminds them that false teachers will be judged (Jud 5), as predicted (Jud 17). He encourages them to build themselves up on their most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit (Jud 20), keep themselves in the love of God and look forward to Jesus’ mercy and eternal life. He instructs them to receive the blessing and help of Jesus, who can keep them from falling (Jud 24). He ends his letter with a motivating vision of the believers standing without blemish in the presence of God’s glory with rejoicing.

The author

The author identifies himself as “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James”. There are five persons by the name Jude mentioned in the New Testament. The fact that Jude refers to himself by his more known brother James combined with the witness of church tradition (Origen, Hegesippus, Eusebius) points to this Jude being Jesus’ half-brother, one of the natural sons of Joseph and Mary (Mrk 6:3, Mth 13:55). Judas is mentioned as the third half-brother of Jesus, James as the first. Jude’s self-introduction is therefore very humble, he doesn’t claim brother-ship with Jesus, neither does he count himself among “the apostles” (Jud 17-18). Paul mentions the brothers of Jesus as gospel workers in 1 Cor 9:5.
Jude, like all of Jesus’ family, at first was no follower of Jesus (Mrk 3:21-22, Jhn 7:5) but in time comes to understand that his big half-brother is indeed the promised Savior. He becomes a believer and according to church tradition (Clement of Alexandria, Polycarp, Tertullian, Origen, Hegesippus) many years later writes this letter.

The audience

Jude clearly writes to a specific church which is under the influence of false teachers, but it is not know which church this might have been. The church is not new (Jud 5) and it has known some apostles personally (Jud 18). The church must have a significant number of Jewish believers, because Jude’s writing style and quotations cater especially to Jewish ears, like the use of triplets, quintets and septets and the referral to Jewish Apocryphal writings.
Yet this description of the addressed church could match many places. Due to the strong similarities of language and themes of Jude to 2 Peter is is usually assumed that both letters were written to the area of Asia Minor.
The letter was probably written after most apostles died martyr’s deaths. Jude says “remember… the apostles said to you” (Jude 17-18) referring to the apostles words in the past tense. This would put the date of writing into the sixties earliest (60 AD onward).
There are also significant similarities of wording and themes between 2 Peter and Jude. Both letters primarily deal with false teachers. This raises the question whether they quoted from each other, and if so, who wrote first. No details are known. A listing of some similarities is given below:
Jude 2     2 Peter 1:2       “May peace … be multiplied to you”
Jude 4     2 Peter 2:1       “False teachers deny the Master”
Jude 6     2 Peter 2:4       “Angels who sinned, pits of nether gloom until judgement”
Jude 7     2 Peter 2:6       “Sodom and Gomorrah… destroyed as example to the ungodly”
Jude 8     2 Peter 2:10    “Men defile flesh, reject authority”
Jude 9     2 Peter 2:11    “Angels not pronouncing reviling judgement”
Jude 10   2 Peter 2:12   “Men, revile things they do not understand – creatures of instinct like irrational animals, will be destroyed”
Jude 11   2 Peter 2:15   “Gone the way of Balaam, forsaking right way for sake of greed”
Jude 12   2 Peter 2:13   “Blots and blemishes”
                 2 Peter 2:17    “Waterless mists and clouds, blown by storm”
Jude 13   2 Peter 2:17   “Nether gloom of darkness reserved for them”
Jude 15   2 Peter 2:6-9  “Judgement on the ungodly”
Jude 16   2 Peter 2:18   “Loud boasts of folly”
Jude 17   2 Peter 3:2     “You must remember the predictions”
Jude 18   2 Peter 3:3     “Scoffers will come in the last days, following their own passions”
Jude 21   2 Peter 3:12  “Waiting for the day of the Lord and eternal life”

The problem: false teachers

Jude states the problem up front: “certain intruders have stolen in among you… who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny… Jesus Christ” (Jud 4).
Unlike in 2 Peter, where the appearance of false teachers is still a future prediction (2 Pet 2:1), in Jude they are already a reality, present in the churches.
What did they teach? Jude gives virtually no details. He doesn’t refute their teaching, but rather denounces their character, behavior and motivation.
By context and the strong parallels to 2 Peter we can assume that they were gnostic teachers.

False teaching: Gnosticism

Gnosticism is a false teaching that challenges the early church for decades, even centuries, and most of John’s writings as well as the writings of many later church fathers are addressing this heresy.
Gnosticism is a mixture of Greek philosophy, mystery religions, Jewish faith and Christianity. Form Greek philosophy it takes dualism of spirit and matter, from the Jewish religion faith in angelic beings, hierarchies and legalism, from Christianity the concept of a Redeemer coming down, from mystery religions the idea of secret knowledge and initiation.
Gnosticism’s full flower was around 140 AD with greatest influence in Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor, but already by around 60 AD its influence was written against by Paul (Ephesians, Colossians), Peter (2 Peter) and John (all his writings).
Gnosticism asserts that knowledge (meaning: secret, spiritual truth) is the condition to salvation or enlightenment. Gnosticism is strongly dualist; it claims that Spirit is good and matter is evil. It acknowledges a supreme God, who is good, but so transcendent, so separated from this material world that he has nothing to do with it and doesn’t even know about it.
How then was this evil material world ever created? Gnosticism gives a complicated explanation: God has emanations (something going forth from him), which all are good, but less so than him. So there is a hierarchy of spiritual beings, with lesser and lesser God-likeness. One of these emanations or spirit beings created the world by accident or out of foolishness or out of rebellion.
Some of the divinity of God broke to pieces, some of these pieces were incarcerated into evil human bodies. This led to the belief that some people have a divine spark in them, but most people didn’t, and therefore couldn’t be enlightened or saved.
Gnosticism didn’t think evil choices the main problem, rather matter is the main problem.
Salvation is not repentance from sin, but having a revelation of the divine spark within. Salvation is not for everybody, but only for special enlightened people.
Some gnostics taught asceticism (the denying of the evil body) but others taught that nothing we do with the body influences the diving spark within. They claimed that enlightened people are not capable of sinning. Jude describes the false teachers as clearly immoral and self-indulging (Jud 4, 7, 8, 12, 18).
Gnosticism doesn’t really believe in Jesus’ incarnation, for a spiritual Redeemer could not possibly pollute himself by becoming flesh. How then did they think of Jesus? Some said Jesus was a Spirit, that he never had a body but just appeared to people. Others said that Jesus was Mary and Joseph’s natural child, but at his baptism, the spirit ‘Christ’ descended on Jesus and possessed him. The spirit Christ departed from Jesus before the cross, because Spirit cannot be suffering or humiliated.
This is probably the reason Jude says “they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jud 4).

The character, behavior and motivation of the false teachers
Even though Jude doesn’t describe or refute in detail what doctrine the false teachers were teaching, he does not mince words when describing their character, behavior and motivation: He gives twenty-five descriptions of them in the only twenty-five verses of his letter. He describes them as being driven by sex or pleasure, money or greed, power or influence. The colors are given accordingly:

• Ju 4   certain intruders have stolen in among you
• Ju 4   long ago designated for their condemnation as ungodly
• Ju 4   pervert the grace of God into licentiousness
• Ju 4   they deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ
• Ju 7   like Sodom and Gomorrah, act immorally, indulge in unnatural lust
• Ju 8   these dreamers also defile the flesh
• Ju 8   reject authority
• Ju 8   slander the glorious ones (unlike Michael, who doesn’t even slander the devil)
• Ju 10 revile what they do not understand
• Ju 10 are destroyed by those things that they know by instinct, like irrational animals
• Ju 11 Woe … for they go in the way of Cain (jealousy, fratricide)
• Ju 11 abandon themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain (tempting others to sin for gain)
• Ju 11 and perish in Korah’s rebellion (spiritual pride)
• Ju 12 blemishes on your love feasts
• Ju 12 while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves / boldly carouse together
• Ju 12 waterless clouds
• Ju 12 fruitless trees
• Ju 13 wild waves, casting up foam of shame
• Ju 13 wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever
• Ju 16 grumblers, malcontents
• Ju 16 follow own passions / indulge own lusts
• Ju 16 loud-mouthed boasters / bombastic in speech
• Ju 16 flatter people to gain own advantage
• Ju 18 scoffers, following ungodly passions / indulging their own ungodly lusts
• Ju 19 worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, set up / cause divisions

Jude describes the false teachers as stealthy persons, perverting grace into licentiousness, denying Jesus (Jud 4), rejecting authority (Jud 8), slanderous (Ju 8, 10), greedy and rebellious (Jud 11). They indulge lusts, they grumble, boast, flatter (Jud 16), scoff (Jud 18) and cause divisions (Jud 19). Jude uses powerful word pictures to describe them: “waterless clouds”, “fruitless trees”, “wild waves, casting up the foam of their own shame”, “wandering stars” (Jud 12-13).
Jude wants the believers to look at the false teachers’ practical every day lives and conclude from the fruit about the quality of the tree. Truth is not just some insider knowledge or special spiritual experience (as the Gnostics sought after), truth is something proven in the reality of a godly life, love and service.
Jude gives the believers perspective by saying that the advent of false teachers has been predicted by Jesus and the apostles (Jud 17-18). So this is not outside of God’s control, nor is it their mistake, rather it is simply something they have to take a strong stand against.
Jude says “they have stolen in among you” (Jud 4), implying that the false teachers are not believers that have been deceived, but non-believers who are intentionally influencing and deceiving church people for their own purposes. They are outwardly members of the church, in fellowship with the church, but they never were true believers. Jesus is not their Lord (Jud 4).
Because of this Jude gives repeated and sore predictions of the ultimate judgement of these deceivers (Jud 4,5,6,7,10,11,13,15). These predictions are meant as a warning to them and to those influenced by them.

How to dear with those affected?
How does Jude want the faithful to deal with this situation? He instructs the believers

• to stay away from all false teachers (Jud 4)
• to have mercy on those who are wavering (Jud 22)
• to save others by snatching them out of the fire (Jud 23)
• to have mercy with fear on still others, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies (Jud 23)

The last three are likely a progression, describing believers who have been influenced in increasing degrees by false teaching and need to be addressed accordingly (see picture).

Keep growing in Christ
Jude further encourages the believers that the best prevention of false teaching is continual growth in Christ. He calls them to remember that they are called, beloved and kept safe for Jesus (Jud 1). He reminds them that they are sustained by God’s mercy, peace and love (Jud 2). He challenges them to contend for the faith that has been once for all entrusted to them (Jud 3). He reminds them that the false teachers will be judged (Jud 5) and that this was predicted (Jud 17). He challenges them to build themselves up on their most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit (Jud 20), keep themselves in the love of God and look forward to Jesus’ mercy and eternal life. He instructs them to receive the blessing and help of Jesus who can keep them from falling (Jud 24).
He ends his letter with a motivating vision of the believers standing without blemish in the presence of God’s glory with rejoicing.

Jude’s use of non-canonical works
When arguing the shameless character of these false teachers, Jude alludes to some writings that are outside of the Old Testament:
In verse 9 of his letter Jude quotes the Jewish apocrypha, a non-authoritative Jewish writing, written in the centuries between the Old and the New Testament. The apocrypha books are quite historical. The one Jude quotes is called ‘Assumption of Moses’. The original writing is lost, only some partial Greek translations still exist.
In verse 6, 14 and 15 of his letter Jude quotes from the pseudo-epigrapha, a non-authoritative collection of Jewish writings. These are based on Bible passages, but spin off into various directions. They are fictious writings in the name of a revered Bible character, to give authority to what is said. In these verses Jude quotes a pseudo-epigrapha book called ‘1 Enoch’ (1 Enoch 1:9, 6:1-8:4, 10:1-6), commenting on the fall of angels. The pseudo-epigrapha texts are written in Hebrew. Only fragments have been discovered.
First we will look what the text means, and what the writings it quotes from says:

Jude 9 Moses’ burial and Michael’s rebuke
The topic is the dispute over the body of Moses: Deu 34:5-6 describes Moses dying on Mount Nebo, then being buried by God in a valley, but no man knows the place of his burial. So far Deuteronomy.
Humans ask: Who buried him? God? Does God touch dead bodies and become unclean? Or if God does not bury him, then did he make an angel do it? – These are human thoughts filling in where the Bible is silent. This may be a natural human tendency, but it isn’t helpful to ask of the Bible what the Bible is not answering. The Jewish historian Josephus Flavius comments that God hid Moses’ body to prevent it becoming an idol.
The ‘Assumption of Moses’ is a lost apocrypha writing, church father Origen says. It claims the following events: Michael was sent to bury Moses, but the devil challenged his right to the body because Moses had murdered an Egyptian (Exo 2:12). The devil slandered Moses and opposed Michael. A dispute ensued. Even when provoked, Michael was not disrespectful to the devil, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you”, at which point the devil leaves.
It says Michael is contending with the devil. Who is Michael? There are five references in the Bible:

• Dan 10:13 One of the chief princes fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia
• Dan 10:21 Michael your prince
• Dan 12:1 Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people
• Rev 12:7 Michael leading his angels in the fight against the dragon.
• Jude 9 The only place Michael is called ‘the archangel’, contending with the devil about the body of Moses.

It appears that he is one of God’s created angels (spiritual beings), who oversees and protects God’s people. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, Michael is regarded as the patron of and intercessor for Israel (1 Enoch 20:5, 89:76).

Jude 6, 14-15 Enoch about angels that sinned
Paul warns against being busy with Jewish myths several times (1 Tim 1:4, 4:7, 2 Tim 4:4, Tit 1:14, 2 Pet 1:16). One of the frequent Jewish myths is the myth of fallen angels. The most complete version of the myth is found in the so called ‘Book of Enoch’, which is an imaginative expansion on the ‘sons of God and daughters of men’ in Genesis 6:2.
The key event, the fall of the rebel angels is described as follows in this writing (Enoch 6:16):
‘And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied, that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Shemihazah, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear you will not agree to do this deed and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then they all swore together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred who descended on the earth in the days of Jared.’

The book of Enoch was quite popular at the time of the New Testament and the majority of the Jewish Christians addressed by Peter and Jude would have known about it – even if they, like many educated Jews, did not accept it as fact. We know, for example, that it was rejected by:

• the 1st Century Pharisee known as Pseudo Philo (Book of Antiquities 3:1)
• Rabbi Simeon Ben Yohai (Genesis Rabbah 26:5)
• Trypho, the Jew who debated with Justin Martyr (Dialogue 1:79:1)
• not to mention by the Lord Jesus himself (Mark 12:25), saying that humans are like angels in the resurrection, by context implying: no sexual relations by angels

Nevertheless, despite Paul’s warning, some of the converts from Judaism to Christianity brought with them these Jewish myths – including the ‘Book of Enoch’ and the legend of the fallen angels – and the documents of the early church indicate that these myths were later taken up by the Gnostics.

Why does Jude use these writings?

Why does Jude quote these extra-Biblical writings? Does Jude quoting non-authoritative texts mean that he authorizes these texts? Or only the quoted ones? Is he authorizing all of it by quoting one part of it? Does this mean that Jude is therefore not authoritative himself?

In answer it has to be noted that the quoting of extra-Biblical writings is not uncommon throughout the New Testament:

• Mth 11:17 Jesus quotes from what seems to be a children’s rhyme “We played the flute and you did not dance, we wailed, and you did not mourn”
• Mth 23:35 Jesus uses Jewish tradition, God-knowledge, mentioning a true happening that is not recorded in OT: “the blood of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar”
• Acts 7:22 Stephen uses Oral Tradition “So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in words and deeds”
• Acts 17:28 Paul quotes from Aratus’ “Phaenomena 5”, an Athenian poet, from his speech to the Aeropagus: “for indeed we are his offspring”
• 1 Cor 10:4 Paul uses an Allusian tothe Rabbinic Midrash on the Rock: “they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.”
• 1 Cor 15:32-33 Paul uses the Heathen Poet Menander: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” “Bad company ruins good morals.”
• Gal 3:19, Acts 7:38 Paul, Stephen use Jewish Tradition “law was ordained by angels through a mediator” “He was … with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai”
• 2 Tim 3:8 Paul uses the Jewish “Haggadah”, found in various non-canonical writings: “As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses” (magicians)
• Tit 1:12 Paul quotes the Greek poet or prophet Epimenides “Cretans are liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons”
• Heb 11:35 the Author uses an Allusion to 2 Maccabees (Apocrypha): “refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection”
• Heb 11:37 the Author uses Jewish Tradition about Isaiah’s death “they were sawn in two”
• Jam 5:17 James uses Non-canonical writings, 1 Ki 17:1 has no mention of  Elijah’s prayer but James says: “Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for 3y and 6m it did not rain on the earth”
• 2 Pet 2:22b Peter maybe from the Syrian story of Ahikar, also found in the Apocalypse of Peter and Acts of Thomas: “The dog turns back to his own vomit” “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud”
• Jud 6 Jude uses Apocrypha, 1 Enoch 12:4: “angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling”
• Jud 9 Jude uses an allusion to Pseudo-Epigrapha: “Assumption of Moses”: “But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you”!”
• Jud 14-15 Jude uses an allusion to Apocrypha, 1 Enoch 1:9: “It was about these that Enoch, prophesied, saying, “See, the Lord is coming … to execute judgment on all, …”

What does quoting extra-Biblical writings imply and not imply?

It is clear that Jewish apocrypha and pseudo-epigrapha are not Holy Spirit inspired writings, they are not authoritative and they were not accepted as such by the Jews.
But that doesn’t mean that every sentence in them has to necessarily be false, it may well contain some truth. Enoch may have prophesied this, it is not necessarily false and it is in good accordance with other passages in Scripture.
Jesus and Stephen refer to historical episodes not recorded in the Old Testament, but the fact that they are not recorded in the Old Testament doesn’t make them untrue or unmentionable (Mth 23:35, Acts 7:22). To require everything said to have been written before in some other writing is a claim we have for no other writing. The real question is not whether is has been written somewhere, or written nowhere, but rather whether it is true.
Jude is using the apocrypha and pseudo-epigrapha to further illustrate his point, but they are not foundational to his teaching, the general New Testament is.
Jude might be ironically saying: ‘See, even those books that the false teachers love and use so much only support what I am already saying!’ This simply may be Jude beating them on their own home turf.

Color coding Suggestions

• Who, when, where, contrasts, comparisons, metaphors, quotes, commands

Repeated Themes

• knowledge
• godliness, godly character, good actions, holiness
• sin, evil, immorality, wrong behavior, wrong desires, lust, greed …
• pervert, deny, error, deception
• faith
• judgement, Jesus’ 2nd coming, end of the world

BASIC BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Who wrote?

• Jude 1 The author identifies himself as “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.”
• The name Jude is short for Judas. The Greek is Judas. A preacher in the early church may not want to be known as Judas, yet it is an honorable name, the 4th son of Jacob, through whom the Messianic line comes … and where the nation Judah has its name from, and why we get the title “Jews”.
• Jude 17-18 Author doesn’t include himself in “the apostles”.
• There are five Judas’s in the New Testament are:
  
  • Judas Iscariot – of the twelve the betrayer, died same time as Jesus, Ac 1:18, Mt 27:3-5
  • Judas – one of the twelve by comparison of apostle lists (Lk 6:16), Judas, not Iscariot (Jn 14:22), also known as Thaddeus (Mt 10:2-4) … No tradition for him writing the book. He was the son of an unknown James.
  • Judas, to whose house in Damascus Paul went to after his conversion (Acts 9:11) … no evidence or tradition on him.
  • Judas Barsabbas, who, with Silas, took the letter from the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile churches. They are identified as prophets. (Acts 15). Again, no evidence / tradition
  • Judas – brother of Jesus, brother of James (leader of the Jerusalem church). Mt 13:55 / Mk 6:3 … lists Jesus’ brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas
• Jude 1 describes himself as the brother of James – only James the brother of Jesus (leader of the church in Jerusalem) was well known enough to be referred to simply as James.
• Jude was content to be known as James’ brother, not Jesus’ brother … true humility.

Life of Jude

• Before the resurrection, Jesus’s family did not believe who he was or thought he was crazy
• Jn 7:5 Jesus’s brothers did not believe in him
• Mk 3:21-22 Jesus’s family tried to seize him because the people were saying, “He is beside himself”
• 1 Co 15:7 After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to James, brother of Jude, who became the leader of the Jerusalem church, presiding over the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).
• 1 Co 9:5 There is no mention of Jude (Judas) except here. Paul: “the brothers of Lord have the right to be accompanied by a wife on their gospel travels”. He was married (like most Jewish men).
  Church tradition on Jude
• Clement of Alexandria, Polycarp, Tertullian … wrote about this book, identifying Jude as the brother of Jesus.
• Origen wrote, “Jude wrote an epistle, tiny in the extreme, but yet full of powerful words and heavenly grace”.
• Eusebius, quoting writings of Hegesippus, says that Domitian (AD 81-96), while persecuting the Christians in AD 96, was looking for the people of the royal line of David, and ordered the arrest of the grandsons of Jude the brother of Jesus, but they were dismissed when he found them to be humble farm workers uninterested in politics. Jude was probably one of the youngest sons of Joseph and Mary, perhaps being born around AD 10. His sons could be born around AD 35 and grandsons around AD 60, who would then be around 25 years old by AD 96. According to Hegesippus, these men later became bishops in the church in the time of Trajan (AD 97-117).

Written to whom?

• The letter is addressed to “those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ”.
• But it is clear that Jude is addressing a specific situation in a church. But which church? No evidence really.
• The triplets, septets, references to OT and Jewish apocrypha and pseudo-epigrapha would suggest a Jewish audience. Wide use of these in Semitic writings of the Hellenistic age.
• The church knew some of the apostles (Jude 18) … so Judea? Now exiled? Antioch? … but Asia Minor could easily know Paul and Peter.
• It’s not a new church (Jude 5) “Now I desire to remind you, though you are fully informed”.

When written?

• We have no certain idea.
• Since Jude was a younger half-brother of Jesus, he would have lived possibly until AD 100 at the latest.
• He refers to what “remember … the apostles said to you” (Jude 17-18) in past tense, are the apostles moved out? (Jerusalem / Judea, past 70 AD), are they not alive any more (past 68 AD) > later date
• Similarities of 2 Peter and Jude … Who wrote first? who copied? Within short time of each other? … if Peter used Jude in writing 2 Peter, Jude must have been written before AD 64-65 … the other way round and a later date is very possible.
• If the false teaching was a form of gnosticism, that didn’t increase in influence till 2nd half 1st century > later date
• 68-100 AD as range … 68 AD as then the apostles are dead except John.

Parallels of 2 Peter and Jude

2 Peter and Jude have many parallels. The material in common is almost totally concerned with the false teachers. There are only 10 verses in Jude which do not have parallels in 2 Peter (Jude 1,3,5,14,19,20,22-25). Most parallels are in 2 Peter 2.

• Jude 2      2 Peter 1:2    “May peace … be multiplied to you.”
• Jude 4      2 Peter 2:1    “False teachers deny the Master”
• Jude 6      2 Peter 2:4   “Angels who sinned, pits of nether gloom until judgement”
• Jude 7      2 Peter 2:6    “Sodom and Gomorrah … destroyed as example to ungodly”
• Jude 8     2 Peter 2:10   “Men defile flesh, reject authority”
• Jude 9     2 Peter 2:11    “Angels not pronouncing reviling judgement”
• Jude 10   2 Peter 2:12   “Men, revile things they do not understand – creatures of instinct like irrational animals, will be destroyed”
• Jude 11    2 Peter 2:15   “Gone the way of Balaam, forsaking right way for sake of greed”
• Jude 12   2 Peter 2:13    “Blots and blemishes”
• Jude 12   2 Peter 2:17    “Waterless mists and clouds, blown by storm”
• Jude 13   2 Peter 2:17    “Nether gloom of darkness reserved for them”
• Jude 15   2 Peter 2:6-9  “Judgement on the ungodly”
• Jude 16   2 Peter 2:18   “Loud boasts of folly”
• Jude 17   2 Peter 3:2     “You must remember the predictions”
• Jude 18   2 Peter 3:3     “Scoffers will come in the last days, following their own passions”
• Jude 21   2 Peter 3:12   “Waiting for the day of the Lord and eternal life”

Where from written?

• no certain indication
• if Jude 17-18 means that apostles are gone, then not Jerusalem, could be anywhere

Historical Background?

• 47 AD ff        gospel exploding unto to world, spreading, many churches further and further out, lateral spread & growth
• 66-70 AD     Jewish Roman war, complete destruction of Jerusalem & temple, all Jews exiled
• 64-67 AD     Nero’s persecution in Rome
• 64 AD ff       increasing emperor worship, especially in Asia Minor
• 64 AD ff       increasing influence of gnosticism and false teaching, harassing churches
• 64 AD ff       churches going into 2nd, 3rd generation
• 68 AD ff      all original apostles dead except John in Ephesus

Founding of the church?

• not clear

Groups in the church?

• Jews, probably also Gentiles?

Strengths?

Jude 1 calls the readers “called, beloved, kept safe”. In Jude 3 they are called “saved”. in Jude 5 “fully informed”, in Jude 17 “heard the teaching of apostles”.

Weaknesses?

• Jude 3      need to contend for the faith
• Jude 4      have put up with false teachers
• Jude 5      need renewed awareness, 17 remember the apostles’ prediction
• Jude 20   build yourselves up on your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit
• Jude 21    keep yourselves in love of God, look forward to the mercy of Jesus
• Jude 22   have mercy on wavering; save others

Literary kind?

• prose > literal interpretation

Structure?

• letter, Greek style:
  
  • Jude 1-2         Salutation
  • Jude 3-4        Jude’s purpose in writing
  • Jude 5-16       False teachers denounced and their doom foretold
  • Jude 17-23    Exhortation to be faithful
  • Jude 24-25   Doxology

Composition?

• Principality false teachers, 18 of 25 verses, that is 72%!
• Parallelity to 2 Peter 19 of 25 verses are similar … was Jude Peter’s secretary? same source? borrowed from each other?
• Inclusio Jude 1 called (past) beloved (present) kept (future)
• Jude 25 before all time now forever
• Triplets, Quintets, Septets, … even 10’s
  
  • Jude 1              3 descriptions author Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, brother of James
  • Jude 1              3 descriptions readers called, beloved and kept
  • Jude 2             3 blessings mercy, peace and love
  • Jude 4             3 three truths of false teachers designated, pervert the grace, deny Jesus
  • Jude 5-7          3 examples of judgement saved from Egypt later destroyed, fallen angels, Sodom & Gomorrah
  • Jude 8             dreamers defile flesh, reject authority, revile glorious ones
  • Jude 8,9,10    3 revilings glorious ones, reviling judgement, revile what they don’t understand
  • Jude 11            3 OT examples of rebellion Cain, Balaam, Korah
  • Jude 12-16     10 denunciations
  • Jude 12-13      5 metaphors reefs, waterless clouds, fruitless trees, wild waves, wandering stars
  • Jude 16           5 labels grumblers, malcontents, following passions, boasters, flatterers
  • Jude 19           3 descriptions divisions, worldly, devoid
  • Jude 20-23    7 commands build, pray, keep, wait, convince, save, have mercy.
  • 3 historic good guys       Moses, Enoch, Adam
  • 3 historic bad guys          Cain, Balaam, Korah
  • 3 present good guys        Jude, James, apostles
  • 3 heavenly good guys     glorious ones, Michael, myriads
  • 3 heavenly bad guys       angles, devil
  • 3 bad places                      Egypt, Sodom, Gomorrah
• powerful metaphors piled up
• Jude 9 is quoting Apocrypha not authoritative Jewish writings between Old Testament and New Testament, quite historical. The work quoted is the “Assumption of Moses”, lost except parts of a Greek translations. The quoted text is missing, but it is attested by Clement of Alexandria, Origen.
• Jude 6, 14, 15 quoting Pseudo-epigrapha not authoritative Jewish writings, Bible text spin offs, fake writings in name of Bible character, here the righteous Enoch, commenting on fall of angels Ge 6
  “1 Enoch 1:9” fragments discovered in Hebrew.

Main themes

• severe warning about the character, behavior, motivation and future of false teachers, assurance of their judgment by God
• affirming, strengthening the church to know what they believe, to defend the faith, to keep growing themselves
• instruction to reach out in mercy to those deceived, but very carefully
• centrality of Jesus

Main reasons

• equip the believers with teaching to recognize and combat false teachers, giving authority to deal with them
  • encourage the godly by affirmation, reminding of eternal perspective
  • get people refocusing on Jesus

Repeated Theme – Nature of the false teachers

What false teaching did the false teachers teach?

• No details whatsoever, Jude doesn’t refute their teaching, but denounces their character

Character, behavior & motivation of the false teachers?

• Jude piles on the dreadful descriptions of these false teachers, using vivid metaphors and examples from the Old Testament, who have infiltrated the church. 25 descriptions in 25 verses!
  They are principally driven by SEX / PLEASURE, MONEY / GREED, POWER / INFLUENCE … color coded accordingly:
  • Ju 4        certain intruders have stolen in among you … from outside, not believers
  • Ju 4        long ago designated for their condemnation as ungodly
  • Ju 4        pervert the grace of God into licentiousness
  • Ju 4        they deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ … not their master, never were believers
  • Ju 7        like Sodom and Gomorrah, act immorally, indulge in unnatural lust
  • Ju 8        these dreamers also defile the flesh
  • Ju 8       reject authority
  • Ju 8       slander the glorious ones (unlike Michael, who doesn’t even slander the devil)
  • Ju 10     revile what they do not understand
  • Ju 10     are destroyed by those things that they know by instinct, like irrational animals
  • Ju 11      Woe … for they go in the way of Cain (jealousy, fratricide).
  • Ju 11       abandon themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain (tempting others to sin for gain).
  • Ju 11       and perish in Korah’s rebellion (spiritual pride).
  • Ju 12      blemishes on your love feasts.
  • Ju 12      while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves / boldly carouse together.
  • Ju 12      waterless clouds.
  • Ju 12      fruitless trees.
  • Ju 13      wild waves, casting up foam of shame.
  • Ju 13      wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.
  • Ju 16     grumblers, malcontents.
  • Ju 16     follow own passions / indulge own lusts
  • Ju 16     loud-mouthed boasters / bombastic in speech
  • Ju 16     flatter people to gain own advantage
  • Ju 18     scoffers, following ungodly passions / indulging their own ungodly lusts
  • Ju 19     worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, set up / cause divisions

Doctrine denying Christ (all cults) as not God, not human, spirit = good, physical = evil, do whatever with your body
Behaviour licence, libertinism, willful, self-centered, Antinominalism (no longer under law), …
Revelation from dreams rather than from God, not based on apostles’ authoritative word
Result deception, indulgence, sin, division, rejection of authority … free reign to pride / self-indulgence

• Jude saw the rise of false teachers as fulfillment of apostolic prophecy (Jude 17-18) – perhaps from 1 Tim 4:1 or 2 Pet 3:3.
• These teachers were outwardly members of the church, fellow shipping, but are not true believes, never were
• Jude is severe against them (more so than 2 Peter, maybe because the problem is here now), shocked by their immoral behaviour, understanding the devastation they bring
• The reference to Balaam as also in Rev 2:14 addressing Pergamum, encouraging idolatry-involvement & immorality.
• Most probably Jude is addressing an early form of gnosticism. There seemed to be two basic extremes of gnosticism, asceticism and license, these teachers were teaching license.
• Maybe they teach a gnosticism incorporating Jewish myths, apocrypha type stories, angel fascination (Jude 6, 8) … therefore Jude beating them on their own ground

How to deal with false teachers, those affected

• Jude 22      on those who are wavering … have mercy
• Jude 23      others … save them by snatching them out of fire
• Jude 23      still others … have mercy with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies
• Jude 4       intruders, long ago designated judgement … stay away, no involvement, no hope

In prevention: build yourselves up

• Jude 1       remembering they are called, beloved of God the Father, kept safe for Jesus Christ assurance in salvation, ongoing
• Jude 2      mercy, peace, love be theirs in abundance sustained by God
• Jude 3      you received the faith, once and for all entrusted to the saints … contend for that! assurance, stand! hold on! contend!
• Jude 5      remembering, though fully informed … false teachers will be judged comfort – evil will be judged
• Jude 17    remembering predictions of apostles & Jesus: scoffers / false teachers will come no surprise, recognize, resist
• Jude 20   but you build yourselves up on your most holy faith build yourselves up
• Jude 20   pray in the Holy Spirit stay connected with God
• Jude 21   keep yourselves in the love of God know, enjoy God’s love
• Jude 21   look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life hope, assurance, eternal perspective
• Jude 22   have mercy on some who are wavering do good to others
• Jude 23   save others by snatching the our of the fire
• Jude 23   and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.
• Jude 24   be blessed by him who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. God sustains, guarantees, keeps

Use of non-canonical works

• Jude quotes from writings that are not part of the Old or New Testament canon. This raises questions as to why these works? Does he thereby authorizes them? Does this make those writings canonical as well? Or does it make Jude non-canonical? First the necessary information:
• Jude 9 quoting Apocrypha not authoritative Jewish writings between Old Testament and New Testament, quite historical. The verse quoted is from the “Assumption of Moses” lost except parts of a Greek translations. The quoted text is missing, bus was attested by Clement of Alexandria, Origen.
• Jude 6, 14, 15 quoting Pseudo-epigrapha not authoritative Jewish writings, Bible text spin offs, fake writings in name of Bible character, here the righteous Enoch, commenting on fall of angels Ge 6. “1 Enoch 1:9, 6:1-8:4, 10:1-6” fragments discovered, in Hebrew.

First we will look what the text means, and what the writings it quotes from says:

Jude 9 Moses’ burial and Michael’s rebuke.

• The dispute over the body of Moses: Dt 34:5-6 Describes Moses dying on Mount Nebo, then buried in a valley, no man knows the place of his burial. So far Deuteronomy.
• Humans ask: Who buried him? God? Does God touch dead bodies and become unclean? Or if God doesn’t dig, then let an angel do it? … these are human thoughts filling in where the Bible is silent. It’s natural, maybe, but not helpful. Do not ask of the Bible what the Bible is not answering. Josephus says that God hid Moses’ body to prevent it becoming an idol.
• The assumption of Moses is a lost apocrypha (Origen says) and describes the events when Michael was sent to bury Moses, but the devil challenged his right to the body because Moses had murdered the Egyptian (Ex 2:12). The devil slandered Moses and opposed Michael. > Dispute. Even when provoked, Michael was not disrespectful to the devil, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you”, at which point the devil left.

Michael contending with the devil. Who is Michael? There are five references to him in the Bible:

• Dan 10:13    One of the chief princes fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia
• Dan 10:21    Michael your prince
• Dan 12:1      Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people
• Rev 12:7       Michael leading his angels in the fight against the dragon.
• Jude 9          The only place Michael is called “the archangel”, contending with the devil about the body of Moses.
• It appears that he is one of God’s supernatural beings, who oversees and protects God’s people. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, Michael was regarded as the patron of and intercessor for Israel (1 Enoch 20:5, 89:76).

Jude 6, 14-15 Enoch about angels that sinned

• Paul warns against being busy with Jewish myths several times (1 Ti 1:4, 4:7, 2 Ti 4:4, Titus 1:14, 2 Pe 1:16).
• One of the frequent Jewish myths is the myth of fallen angels. The most complete version of the myth is found in the so called “Book of Enoch”, which is an imaginative expansion on the Sons of God and Daughters of Men in Genesis 6.
• The key event, the fall of the rebel angels is described as follows (Enoch 6:16): “And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied, that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another:’Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Shemihazah, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘ I fear you will not agree to do this deed and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then they all swore together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred who descended on the earth in the days of Jared.”
• Enoch was so popular that it would have been known to all the Jewish Christians addressed by Peter and Jude – even if they, like many educated Jews, did not accept it as fact. We know, for example, that it was rejected by:
  • the 1st Century Pharisee known as Pseudo Philo (Book of Antiquities 3:1)
  • Rabbi Simeon Ben Yohai (Genesis Rabbah 26:5)
  • Trypho, the Jew who debated with Justin Martyr (Dialogue 1:79:1)
  • not to mention by the Lord Jesus himself (Mark 12:25) … saying that humans are like angels in the resurrection, by context implying: no sexual relations by angels
• Nevertheless, despite Paul’s warning some of the converts from Judaism to Christianity brought with them these Jewish myths – including the Book of Enoch and the legend of the fallen angels – and the documents of the early church indicate that these myths were later taken up by the Gnostics.”

Why does Jude use these writings? Does Jude quoting non-authoritative texts mean that he authorizes these texts? only the quoted? all of it? Does this mean that Jude is therefore not authoritative himself?

• In the western church, Jude’s use of the apocryphal writings tended to add stature to the apocryphal books
• while in the eastern (Syrian) church his use of these books tended to result in the book of Jude being rejected.
• Jerome Explained that because Jude appealed to the apocryphal book of Enoch as an authority, it is rejected by some.
• By AD 200, it was accepted in Alexandria (Clement and Origen), in Rome (Muratorian Canon) and North Africa (Tertullian).

Actually, the use of ‘other writings’ is not uncommon throughout the New Testament:

• Apocrypha, Pseudo-Epigrapha are not authoritative. But that doesn’t mean that every sentence has to be false, it may well contain truth
• Enoch may have prophesied this … it is not necessarily false.
• Jesus and Stephen refer to historical episodes not recorded in the Old Testament, but that doesn’t make them untrue or unmentionable
• To require everything said to have been written before somewhere is a claim we have for nothing we write, it doesn’t have to be written somewhere, or written nowhere, but it has to be true.
• Jude is using the Apocrypha and Pseudo-epigrapha to further illustrate his point, but they are not foundational to his teaching, the general New Testament is.
• Jude might be saying: “Even those books (used and loved by heretics!) confirm what I am saying!” … Jude beating them on their own grounds, so to speak.