Jude waxes poetic in the verses we will study tonight. We get to see another side of his writing style from the hard-hitting declarative statements and references to historical events, now to six vivid word pictures describing these false teachers who have invaded the local church.
12These people are blemishes at your love feasts,
Filthy spots – the false teachers try to appear to be one of us when we observe the Lord’s Supper, but in reality, they are blemishes or filthy spots. They defile the sanctity of the observance.
What Jude calls a “love feast” or the KJV “feasts of charity”, refers to the Lord’s Supper. Historians believe the early church would have an actual supper, what we would call a potluck before the observance. The word charity is the KJV way of saying love. You may remember in I Corinthians 13 the love chapter “now abideth these three, faith, hope and charity, but the greatest of these is charity”.
In I Corinthians 11 Paul fusses at them for turning the “love feast” into a drunken party and excluding some people.
KJV and NIV go with the Greek word meaning of spots or blemishes
ESV and NASB took the definition of the word to its alternate meaning of hidden rocks.
NASB - These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear,
ESV - These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear,
NLT - When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord's love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you.
Spiritual leaders, like a ship’s Captain, must be on guard and on lookout for dangers that can wreck the church ship.
eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.
Selfish shepherds – the second way Jude describes these false teachers who had gotten into the church was as “selfish shepherds”. True shepherds put the needs of the flock ahead of their own. These false teachers were selfish and didn’t really care about the people.
KJV - when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear:
NIV - eating with you without the slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves.
NLT - They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves.
I see in this phrase a play on words – these false shepherds were feeding their bodies when they ought to be feeding the sheep the word of God.
These false teachers are without fear of getting caught; they are shameless and selfish. Jesus is our example of a true shepherd or as John 10 calls Him “the Good Shepherd”.
They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind;
Empty clouds – the third way Jude describes these false teachers was as clouds without rain or empty clouds.
Imagine the dry, arid climate of Israel. Most days there is 100% sunshine day after day. Then you see a cloud forming and the skies cloud up, your crops desperately need rain, your family needs water to drink and cook with. After a long time, no rain comes – it is disappointing even discouraging. This is how the false teachers were in the church. They came to the church bragging about their knowledge of Jesus and desire to teach God’s word and when the time comes for them to teach, there are lots of words, but no truth. Jude calls them waterless clouds. They do not give the “water of life” to the people.
autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
Dead trees – the fourth way Jude describes the false teachers are as dead trees.
KJV - trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
NLT - They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.
A fruit tree in autumn is supposed to produce fruit. A Bible teacher is supposed to give the people the truth of God’s word, as a choice piece of fruit. They failed in that task and mission.
Jude brings harsh conclusions on these false teachers – they are twice dead – sterile of fruit and spiritually dead. They are good now only to be pulled out of the ground, roots and all and destroyed.
Dwight Moody said, “when a man is born once he will die twice – physical and spiritual death. When a man is born twice – physical and spiritual, he will only die once, physical.”
13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame;
Raging waves – the fifth way Jude describes the false teachers is they are like raging waves of the sea. The different translations didn’t have much difference with this phrase other than either “wild or raging waves.”
Like the waves of the ocean during a storm, lots of noise and movement, but no results. These false teachers made lots of noise, but didn’t produce any quality disciples. They didn’t build up and edify the church.
wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Wandering stars – the sixth word picture Jude gives of these false teachers is that they are like wandering stars. Scholars believe Jude is not referring to fixed planets or fixed stars who have definite positions, but to meteors, falling stars that suddenly appear and then vanish. Fixed stars can be depended on for navigation, but wandering stars would lead people astray.
KJV – wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
NLT – They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.
Jude pronounces judgment on these false teachers. They will receive the worse kind of punishment from God. So often we think about Hell as fire and brimstone, but another dimension will be darkness. That seems counter intuitive to fire, I don’t understand it either, but know scripture teaches Hell is also darkness. One time I was on a mission trip in Wyoming. One afternoon we had some free time and they took us to a trona mine. We went one mile down into the earth and it was so dark I could not see my hand touch my nose. Darkness is a terrible judgment.
Spiritual application:
1. Be sure to know God’s word so a false teacher cannot trick you.
2. Be on the out look for false teachers in our churches, books or online.
Prayer
