WORTHLESS CLOUDS WITHOUT WATER CARRIED BY THE CHANGING WINDS –Jude 1 verse 12
In our last message we were looking at these false teachers Jude was battling when he urged his readers to contend for the faith. They had to be positive, and a lazy and don’t care less approach would achieve nothing. He lived in serious times, and for us today it is very critical as we are on the last page of the Church age, and attack is coming from every quarter.
We looked at the descriptions Jude gave of these teachers of error and considered just one of the descriptions, that of hidden reefs (or sunken rocks). Today we will consider the empty clods with no water.
Jude 1 v 12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit doubly dead, uprooted;
(A). CARING FOR THEMSELVES
This is a terrible indictment on these false teachers from verse 12, but it is not surprising. Those who are false are not the Lord’s, and therefore do not have the spiritual change in their lives that causes the godly caring for one another. These evil, false teachers care only for themselves, usually, for their own wealth and prestige and position. I think all of us can call to mind examples of caring in this world that come from non-Christians. Some people have a sacrificial, caring behaviour that is so commendable, even though they have not given their lives to the Lord. They can de devoted all their lives to a beautiful care for others. What a shame these wonderful people can’t take that extra step and be converted.
However our attention is on the false teachers. They have less care for God’s people than the world has for its own. They are condemned even by the world. Jude makes special mention of them in this verse 12 by using 5 illustrations, 3 of which are metaphors. The accusation is simply “caring for themselves”. They prey on God’s people or they prey of the religious minds of those who are not God’s, BUT they do it in the name of God. Some stand before TV cameras and parade around the world’s stages like showmen, but they don’t deal with individuals who need help. The worldings may connive and deceive each other, and that is one thing; BUT to do it in the name of God as pretenders, that is altogether another thing. It is devilish and reprehensible.
God hates those with secret agendas and falsehood, especially those who make a prey of others for personal and financial gain such as Benny Hinn does. These care for themselves, not for God’s people. There are hundreds of these, with about a dozen of them having worldwide recognition.
PREYING ON GOD’S PEOPLE
The preying on God’s people for your own benefit is nothing new. It is part of the evil Satan brings against what is good. An examination of the scriptures shows that fact very clearly, and Ezekiel was one of the loudest voices raised up against these treacherous men. He wrote in these terms – {{Ezekiel 34 v 1-3 “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.”}} God pronounces a woe on these evil shepherds who cared only for themselves, not for the flock; who ravaged others in their own greediness. This was a terrible time in Judah and God brought those evil shepherds to justice when the overthrow came.
Ezekiel continued – {{Ezekiel 34 v 8 “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock.”}} - and again, there is more condemnation for the despicable behaviour the false shepherds that was shown to those who should have been cared for. Caring only for themselves.
The great prophet Zechariah also spoke against the hypocrisy – {{Zechariah 11 v 15-17 “And the LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd, for behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, (or) seek the scattered, (or) heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock. A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye. His arm will be totally withered, and his right eye will be blind.”}} We can be absolutely sure that the judgement of God will fall heavily on those who use the name of God to promote themselves, care only for themselves, and feed themselves off the sheep, and mislead the people of God.
We are concerned about the welfare of the church and it upsets us that false teachers seem to be everywhere today, but realistically, it need not come as a surprise to us, that this happens. Listen to the language Paul uses even in his own day by way of warning to the Ephesian church. Here he is speaking to the Ephesian elders of the church – {{Acts 20 v 28-30 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”}} That is so sad, but where a work of God is done, then the work of the devil will follow. He is the enemy who sows the weeds and tares to try to destroy God’s people.
In our Acts passage, Paul warns the elders to be on guard, firstly for themselves, then for the flock over which they have the pastoral care. Those elders who care for the flock must be on guard for it, and for themselves. Paul describes the false teachers as “savage wolves”, not just sly wolves, but savage wolves. These are aggressive, heartless, self-serving, and domineering men who do the devil’s work. They have no care for the flock, but use it to satisfy their own greedy lusts.
The Lord is the One who cares for His own people. These two passages from the Old and New Testaments show that – {{Deuteronomy 32 v 9-10 “The LORD’s portion is His people. Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness. He encircled him; He cared for him; He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. 1Peter 5 v 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.}}
The false teachers who pattern themselves on Cain and Korah and Balaam, don’t care for others, only for themselves, but the saints of God must care for fellow sheep. Here is the command – {{1Corinthians 12 v 25 “that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”}}
(B). CLOUDS WITHOUT WATER
A long time ago we stayed in Mackay for a few days with a friend and I still remember something happening there which also happens often in Cairns, but I was not used to it having lived in the arid interior. There was a shower of rain coming from thin clouds above, clouds that you’d think would be holding no water, but the rain was heavy. You wondered where the heavy rain was coming from. At that time we were living in Mt Isa which gets very hot in summer. During the day clouds form, clouds that are flattened and grey and white, looking more like painted blotches on a canvas. There was not really any body to them. Day after day you would get these. In vain you would look up in the hope that rain would fall from those clouds to relieve the 40 plus degree heat, even 45C (113F) or more. No rain fell. These were clouds without water, passing overhead slowly as the winds carried them along.
Sometimes the clouds held promise as you’d see a darker curtain underneath them that was light misty rain falling from them, but the rain disappeared long before anything ever reached the ground. When you lived in an arid area like central Australia those clouds held only disappointment. No good came of them, and all they represented was failure. Clouds are for rain, and rainless clouds are false. They are spurious.
Jude uses this very suitable description of the false teachers, derived from his observations of the surroundings. In thinking about Jude, his father was the carpenter, Joseph, a hard working man. Jesus worked hard. Jude seems to have had a knowledge of Nature, an outdoors man to some degree, though we do not know his occupation. In these illustrations he uses to describe false teachers, he draws on illustrations from Nature. He must have been an observant man. We do know from church history records that Jude’s grandsons were up on a charge for their lives and they were spared because they had calloused hands from hard work as a farmers.
We have a tiny story here. Domitian, a gloomy and suspicious tyrant, when he was Emperor of Rome, AD 81-96, had little or no understanding of Christianity. He was one of the worst persecutors of Christians, and on one occasion, the grandchildren of Jude were brought before him on the grounds that they claimed to be the descendants of David, and that they might therefore presume to demand the throne of Israel. (was explained) But when they explained they had no desire to any kingdom of this world, being only small yeoman farmers, and showed him their horny hands as proof, he treated them as simpletons with contempt, and commanded them to be dismissed.
False teachers look like the real thing, act like the real thing, move along like the real thing, but they produce nothing at all for God; and nothing refreshing can ever come from them. People are tricked into believing these clouds are producing goodness, and give hope in a hopeless world, but they are deluded. It is surprising how people can believe a lie, and get caught up in the lie. Just look at politics! It all seems like the real thing. The test of time and the results of those clouds will confirm they are false. In fact, the rain gauges prove they are false. We have considered enough so far to know that the quality of those teachers fails against the rain gauge of God’s word, as the gauge verifies what type of clouds those men are.
FALSE TEACHERS VARY AS WITH THE WIND. UNRELIABLE
You sometimes see those clouds moved along by the winds in one direction and shortly after, they are driven in another direction as a weather change catches them. False teachers are like that. With them there is no stability. {{Ephesians 4 v 14 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there (to and fro) by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.”}} They are established on shifting sands, with no true foundation in the scriptures. Clouds, especially in the arid climate of the Middle East would be a welcome sight. They would give a hope of rain. They would give hope of a much needed shower on a parched land, but when the wind blows them by, as they pass over, these clouds of encouragement become clouds of disappointment and despair. Initially they promise, much but are empty. They have promise of hope, but leave only emptiness and disappointment behind them. As for rain they are worthless, and for the kingdom of God, they are worthless. In fact, they are more than worthless, for they are enemies, contrary to God, sweeping people into hell. These men will be held accountable, the self-willed Cains, the rebellious Korahs, the greedy Balaams, & the Hinns, Ellen Whites, Russells, and all that deceptive bunch.
WHY IS THE SEA SALT?
Have you ever wondered why the sea is salt? Yes, they tell us the sea is salt because it gathered the salt from the earth when the rains come and dissolve salts that pass into the ocean. There is a whole lot of ocean, and there is a whole lot of salt in the oceans, in my opinion, more than could be dissolved from the earth. Have you wondered why God made the oceans salty? I thought about that and I think God did that to prevent widespread disease and infections wiping out life on earth. Salt is an antiseptic, and without it, the amount of foul waste and toxins and contaminates going into the oceans, would spread water-borne disease all over the world very rapidly through the stagnation, if the water was fresh. I think God was preparing the seas for the failure of man.
We don’t drink salt water, but fresh, pure water is vital for the sustaining of life. Without rain, the only water on earth would be from springs, and humidity, and in time all that would cease as springs dry up and trees die and humidity ceases. We understand the vital function of rain to provide water. Emptiness that provides no water is reprehensible to God, and is a fitting type of these false teachers. 2 Peter 2 v 17. We have seen the strong parallel between Jude and Peter in their writing as both men tackle the false teachers who have arisen in the churches of their time, and remain in Christendom today. Whereas Jude describes them as clouds without water, Peter says they are springs without water. They are dry, barren and empty.
Can you imagine a man or an exploration team, on its last legs, struggling to a desert spring as their last hope, only to arrive and find that spring to be without water. There, they perish. That is how heart-breaking the false gospel of these false teachers is. They leave a dejected, and fleeced, and bitter crowd behind them, just as lost as these teachers themselves. People die at the waterless springs, people who have become ensnared by liberal theology, the gospel of positive thinking, the prosperity gospel of health and wealth, the God is dead gospel, and many others. Peter then goes on to say these false teachers are like mists driven by a storm. It is almost like the water is tangible, but it is mere vapour and illusionary. It is deceptive, contains a hint of great promise, but is empty and barren. Peter also spells out the finality of these evil men – it is black darkness that has been reserved for them.
[C]. THE LIVING WATER OF LIFE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
We are now going to look at the importance of this fresh water from the New Testament, that which in the main, should fall from the clouds. All this is in contrast to waterless, false teachers.
1. John 4 v 13-15. In speaking with the Samaritan woman, Jesus pointed out to her the importance of His water that satisfies the thirst of the human soul, and which becomes a spring of water leading to eternal life. This is the life-giving water that only He can provide, and which the gospel message emphasises. Men, true to the gospel, present this water of life to the saved and unsaved alike, but the false teachers are withered and destitute. Clouds without water.
2. John 7 v 37-38. The last day, the great day of the feast, saw Jesus invite the thirsty souls to come to Him and drink. The one who is saved, would know rivers of living water as he and she lives in the Spirit. The counterfeits promise living water, but it is no more than an arid stream. Clouds without water.
3. Hebrews 10 v 22. Paul explains to the Hebrews that our assurance comes from having our bodies washed by pure water, all the contamination gone; and with sincere hearts, we can approach God. Empty clouds can not provide the water of life, for they are impure, and blow in and out, as the winds of their evil desires carry them along.
4. James 3 v 11-12. James makes a comparison between what is good and what is evil (specifically in reference to the tongue), and one of the items he uses is fresh water and bitter water. The true gospel provides fresh water, but the false gospel of the false teachers gives only bitterness to the soul. He also uses the illustration of salt and fresh water.
5. {{Revelation 7 v 17. “for the Lamb in the centre of the throne shall be their shepherd and shall guide them to springs of the water of life, and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes.”}} John prophetically speaks of the centrality of the Lamb who will guide His flock to the springs of the water of life. These are pure springs that never dry up. They are in stark contrast with the false teachers who guide people to empty springs of destruction. The gospel, the message of hope, the provision of God, are all associated with the pure water of life that empty clouds driven by the wind, can’t provide.
There may be a contrast in this verse with the expression, “and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes”. We know it is in reference with no more pain or sorrow, no more reason for tears, but tears are salty, and the fresh pure water of eternity will never be connected with the salty water of this life. In heaven are the springs of the water of life, and this too, is in contrast to the false teachers who are springs without water, fed by waterless clouds described by Jude; and carried along by every wind of new and erroneous doctrine.
6. {{Revelation 22 v 1. “He showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”}} This is the third time mention is made of the water of life in Revelation. Christ is the water of life. The false teachers are the water of death. They will have the judgement of God upon their heads. In Revelation chapter 8 v 10-11 the star Wormwood falls from the sky and many men die because the water has become bitter. The bitter waters are all around us as Satan gains in power helped by the clouds without water, who feed the people, not living water, but the bitter springs of water. We drink from the water of eternal live. Amen.
Next time we will look at Autumn trees without fruit.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
