Public figures talking against God
Dreaming in a sinful way will eventually reach the physical realm and defile the flesh. This does other things but I will save that after I quote Jude 1:8-15.
Jude digresses and explains that Michael the archangel had a dispute with the devil about the body of Moses but refused to bring an accusation against Satan but said ... "The Lord rebuke thee." This is kind of interesting to me because I hear so many Christians rebuking the devil.
Defiling the flesh and a person having the ability to corrupt themselves is a very big theme with Jude. He uses the example of Cain and Balaam just like the examples of Egypt, angels in eternity past along with Sodom and Gomorra. In my previous article I went over Egypt, angels in eternity past along with Sodom and Gomorra. I will touch on some other truths in this writing.
Some verses that Jude writes are very hard to interpret but in the most broad sense of the word sin will lead into dead fruit but he gets much more specific. Fruit alive is through the Person of Jesus Christ in all His pureness.
Jude talks about the shame of sin not dealt with and describes them as wondering stars reserved in the blackness of darkness for eternity.
He also goes back into history and talks about Enoch who spoke about the second coming of Jesus Christ. There is a difference between the rapture and the second coming/second advent. The rapture could happen today as opposed to the second coming which happens at the end of the seven year tribulation period. The rapture happens before this seven year time frame so as you can see there is a vast difference between these two events not to even mention they happen at different time periods with a completely different purpose attached to each occurrence.
In verse fifteen Jude writes very struck about Jesus Christ executing judgment because of their ungodly deeds they committed. He also more specifically talks about hard speeches that sinners speak about Him. It just goes to show that if a person feels that way about God it would be a good idea to keep it to yourself because these people are influencing other individuals/groups away from God. Let me quote the original text in the book of Jude so you can read it for yourself.
(8) "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. (9) Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, dare not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (10) But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. (11) Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Co' re. (12) These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; (13) Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (14) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints. (15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:8-15.
It is very interesting to me that Jude starts out this passage with people that dream and fall into the flesh/sin. Be very careful of your imagination because it could lead into transgressions. If we keep doing this we will sin as a lifestyle and the surprising answer to the question is it all starts with our thoughts. If we entertain bad thoughts it is pretty much guaranteed that we will go to the second step into sin. The reason for this is because our will is stronger than our thoughts. Remember we are at the next step if we are thinking about sin and that second process is our will. This is going to sound like a silly analogy but if our will arm wrestled our thoughts the imagination in our mind would lose to our will. This is why we hear so many Godly people saying, "Do the will of God." These deceivers were seducing the disciples of Christ and that is what Jude was talking about in this writing.
The deceivers were defiling the flesh. It starts with the mind and the sin goes against the body but these transgressions will also hurt the soul. They were despising dominions and speaking evil of dignities because these people desired to attack the conscience. They probably wanted to banish this from the entire world because that was the level they were on but most people just engage in this on a private and personal way. Jude was writing about public figures that were converting many people to darkness.
I have seen certain select individuals try and get rid of a "Good" conscience out of life so people will defy God and just do what they want to do in their circumstances.
In verse nine nobody really knows what the dispute about the body of Moses was but it does not really matter because the main theme is very evident in this verse. God did not want Michael making an accusation against the devil but just say ... "The Lord rebuke thee." Truth does not need any kind of support from something or someone that is false. With friends like that we don't need enemies. Do not argue with the devil because he is very good in this circuit.
Jude uses the example of Cain to explain how greedy and covetous they were to gain worldly advantages because no thought or respect was given to their afterlife. Jude talks about spots in your feasts of charity. The love we show on earth means very much to God but the awards we get to please man will not mean anything to Jesus Christ. Christians struggle with this issue so how much more the brute beast ?
Jude says ... "When they feast with you, they feed themselves without fear." They wanted to gratify their appetites but we Christians need to drink a holy fear because consuming food is just what we have to do to get through life. In like matter what we eat spiritually will determine who we are for good or bad.
The ... " Clouds they are without water" is Jude's way of explaining that they make promises that it will rain in a time of drought. Be careful of high profile people making promises because they may do just the opposite.
When he spoke of carried about of winds these people are easily moved by circumstances. They are empty and ungrounded which is just the opposite of what a true Christian is supposed to be in the Person of Jesus Christ.
If they were trees whose fruit withereth they were fruitless. We were once dead but Jesus Christ raised us to life through Him when we accepted Him into our hearts. Being fruitful sounds better than being fruitless. This is what Jude was talking about when he said they were plucked up by the roots.
Raging waves of the sea but that is just a person full of talk.
When Jude says they were foaming out of their own shame this made the person living right before God very uneasy. If they do this as a lifestyle they will have greater shame than their original state. If you are this person and care start with an apology. Your victims are passengers on a boat with raging waves but that ship will come to port. It will be forgotten but not by the person causing the turbulence.
Wandering stars is a term for false teachers. They go back between truth and error and blind their listeners with back and forth theology.
Jude talks about the doom of these types of sinful people. False teachers will get a bad punishment in the afterlife. I have to watch myself very carefully because I am an expositor of the word of God. God expects the highest standards from me so I better be obedient to Jesus Christ. If you are a teacher being cautious is a good thing because we all will have to give an account to Jesus Christ on the day of judgment.
In verse 14 and 15 Jude makes mention of Enoch. He said that Jesus Christ will come in the second coming with His saints to execute judgment on an unbelieving world but the Apostle John says the same truth in Revelation chapter nineteen.
The word ungodly is mentioned four times in verse fifteen which means something to me especially in a world that has virtually no regard for righteous living. I hear people mocking or I might see a lot of apathy for Jesus Christ. There are also many hard speeches against the Bible, Jesus Christ and Christians.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your very own personal Savior and Lord now may be a good time to repent of all your sins and invite Jesus Christ into your life. With everything that I am seeing in this world the rapture of the church may not be to far off but much of what I am seeing on this planet is found in Jude 1:8-15. I tried to break down this passage and it is pretty obvious that Jude had some pretty heavy duty truths to say about his time and evil world. It is even worse now so take heed because God will only put up with so much that is present in this world. One day probably soon He will return and rapture His true children before His wrath comes down on this earth. Then at the end of the seven year tribulation the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will return back to earth with His children. When a person makes this decision and lives a holy life of obedience to Jesus Christ this Blessed Hope promise is for him or her to be snatched up to heaven at the time of His coming. Think about what Jude says about these evil people and run in the opposite direction to God.
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