An inductive study of the book of Jude

By S.Premkumar

About the Author

Jude (Judas) was born to Joseph and Mary after the Virgin Birth of
Jesus Christ and his brothers include James Joseph and Simon (Mathew
13:55).He was one among the few who saw Jesus ascension and to whom
the angel of the Lord comforted by the promise of the return of Jesus
(Acts 1: 10 and 11) .Jude was also among the chosen few in the upper
room when they chose Mathias as a replacement for Judas Iscariot (Acts
1:12). He received the promised Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost along
with the other believers in the upper room and was therefore a prominent
and active member of the early church. However He humbly introduces
himself as a Servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James (Ver 1).The
General Epistle of Jude was written during AD 66

Purpose

Jude initially wanted to write about salvation and exhort the early
church believers to contend for the faith of the disciples of Jesus Christ
(verse 3) but then thought he has a more important issue at hand and
that was to caution the church against the destructive heresy1 of
Gnosticism2 which seemed to have gained considerable momentum
towards the end of first century. He wants to caution against those
wolves in sheep’s clothes who have craftily gained access and turning the
grace of our lord into lasciviousness (ver 4) Jude calls these people
mockers of the last days who walk after their own lusts, sensual and do
not have God’s Spirit. (ver 17-19) and to whom is reserved the blackness
of darkness forever (ver 13).

The Message:-
Jude is worried about the false teachers who have crept into the
church unnoticed and deceitfully the same concern apostle Paul had in
his mind when he wrote to the Galatians ( Galatians 2:4) and so he
wants the church to remember the things of the past in which their
forefathers knew about the attributes of Elohim.

He cautions about the wrath of God by reminding how the LORD

saved their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and then destroyed those
who did not believe in HIM and how the LORD did not spare even the
angels who did not keep their first estate. Jude recollects how the people
of Sodom and Gomorrha who gave themselves to fornication and desires
of flesh were burnt to death by the LORD (Ver 5-7).

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 Jude also cautions the believers against those who speak evil of
things they know not. He cites an example from an apocrypha 3 (verse 9)
in which Michael the archangel had contended with devil about the body
of Moses and wherein Michael did not accuse the devil but simply said
“The Lord rebuke thee” though Jude quotes from a non biblical book the
fact of the matter is there is always an spiritual warfare going on and
God has empowered his angels to handle this as we find more clearly in
the book of Daniel (Dan 10:13). It is also of importance to note that
Moses was alone with GOD in the mountain of Nebo when he died and
no one know who buried hi or where his grave is (Deuteronomy 34)

Jude (ver 11) also cautions against the jealousy of Cain the wicked
one who slew his brother because his own works were evil and his
brother’s righteous (1 john 4:12) the greed of Balaam who loved the
wages of unrighteousness(2 peter 2:15) and the rebellion of Korah
against the Lord and his anointed one Moses (num 16). He also describes
these men as clouds without water trees without fruit an allegory that
tells us that we can identify these people by their works compare
proverbs 25:14 “one who boasts of gifts that he fails to give is like clouds
and winds without rain”.

Jude when he cautions about the judgement of the Lord quotes

from another non canonical book about how Enoch the seventh from
Adam prophesied about the coming of the Lord with ten thousands of
saints and his imminent Judgement (verse 14) wherein the ungodly are
judged for their speeches against the God and their ungodly deeds (ver
15).

Jude urges his readers to be especially kind and gentle to those

fellow believers who are still wavering in their faith and those who have
already been led into error must be snatched from the fire before they are
badly burned and those who are thoroughly contaminated should be
approached with great caution so that the believers themselves don’t get
contaminated (ver 22-23)

Applications :-

Today’s Church also faces the problems faced by the early church.
False Teachers and false prophets with their false doctrines are found
even inside many churches and are deceiving many with their false signs
and wonders as foretold by Jesus our Lord.

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 This General Epistle of Jude serves as a caution against those who
pervert God’s grace into a license for debauchery and deny the only Lord
God and his Son Jesus Christ. The new age movement and pluralism are
still very much crowd pullers.

It also serves as a warning against those who speak evil of dignities

and those who speak evil of those things which they know not. The
issues addressed by Jude are of vital importance as we find that The
Apostle peter in his second epistle (2:10-18) addresses the very same
issues.
Jude makes it very clear that GOD doesn’t overlook sin but he
deals with it thus he puts into rest two modern postulates proposed by
the heretics and the Gnostics one that GOD doesn’t punish and two that
Jesus is not the only way.

Jude when he quotes about the punishment meted out to their

forefathers who were rescued from their slavery but did not reach the
promised land but perished because of their disobedience cautions us
that it is not how we Start our Christian faith that matter but how a we
finish is what matters .this same note of caution can be found in the
Epistles of Apostle Paul and in the Epistle addressed to the Hebrews The
importance of perseverance is stressed.

Conclusion:-

Finally Jude exhorts his readers by stating that we have to build

ourselves on our most holy faith we have to pray in the Holy Ghost and
keep ourselves in the love of God seeking the mercy of the Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life (Ver 20-21).

Jude concludes his epistle with the wonderful truth that only
Jesus is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.(ver 24) a fact endorsed by
apostle Paul in his epistle to Colossians (Col 1:22)

“To the only wise GOD our Saviour, be Glory and Majesty dominion and
power, both now and forever. Amen”

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 Foot notes

1. Heresy:-An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs of a

religious body or church

2. Gnosticism: - Gnosticism consisted of many syncretistic belief systems which

combined elements taken from Asian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Syrian pagan
religions, from astrology, and from Judaism and Christianity. The name is derived from
the Greek word "gnosis" which literally means "knowledge." Gnostics divided humanity
into three groups 1.The spiritual, who would be saved irrespective of their behavior
while on earth.2.The Soulish, who could be saved if they followed the Gnostic path and
3.The carnal that are hopelessly lost.

3. Apocrypha: - the Apocrypha is the name given to the Jewish books written in the
400 years between the end of Malachi and the beginning of Mathew- books included in
the Catholic version of the Bible but not in the protestant Bible. These writings never
claim to be the word of God, for they do not include the phrase ‘Thus says the Lord ‘,
which occurs 3,808 times in the Old Testament and hence their omission from the
Protestant Bible (Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson – 2003)

Reference:
1. Holy Bible: - Authorized King James Version – Zondervan Publishers
1994
2. Holy Bible: - Authorized King James Version – The world Publishing
Company
3. Unlocking the Bible: - J. David Pawson – Harper Collins Publication
2007
4. Jewish New Testament Commentary: - David H.Stern – JNT
publications 1992

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