Jude 1:14-16

TEACHING ON APOSTASY FROM OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY

Jude 1:14-16

Text

14.

And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones.

15.

to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

16.

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth Speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.

Queries

75.

There were only five patriarchs between Adam and Enoch. How could Enoch be called the seventh from Adam?

76.

Who, probably, are the holy ones referred to in verse fourteen?

77.

Is there any other place in the scripture where it is said that the Lord will come to judge the ungodly? Can you find some of them?

78.

What in Jude 1:16 might tempt a person to show respect of persons?

79.

Why would a person who was living to please himself more likely be a murmurer and complainer than one who lived to please God and others?

80.

Does our murmuring and complaining reveal anything about whom we love first of all? What?

Paraphrases

A. 14.

Enoch, of the seventh generation counting from Adam, prophesied telling how the Lord would come with ten thousand times ten thousand holy ones to sit in judgment at his court.

15.

These will establish the guilt of the ungodly deeds performed by all the ungodly ones, and bring sentence because of all the evil things spoken against the Lord.

16.

This includes these libertines who are so wrapped up in their own fleshly desires they complain continually. In their murmurings they speak arrogantly, giving special favours to those who can and will feed their vain desires.

B.*14.

Enoch, who lived long ago soon after Adam, knew about these men and said this about them: See, the Lord is going to come with millions of His people;

15.

He will bring the people of the world before Him in judgment, to receive just punishment, and to prove the terrible things they have done in rebellion against God, revealing all they have said against Him.

16.

These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are, loud-mouthed show-offs, and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return.

Summary

The patriarch Enoch told how God would bring judgment upon all evil deeds, including these apostates within the church.

Comment

Jude 1:14-15 are considered to be difficult because there is no recorded prophecy of Enoch saying these things in the scripture. The apocryphal book of Enoch does ascribe similar passages as being prophesied by Enoch. Again, the comments on Jude 1:9 also applies here. There is no need to insist that Jude copied from Enoch, The fact that Jude does include the reference as fact, so establishes it. By the Holy Spirit Jude knew this to be fact, whether or not he was familiar with a similar statement in the book of Enoch.

The information that Jude here gives establishes one additional fact we would not otherwise have from the scriptures: That Enoch himself made these prophesies. The prophesies are contained elsewhere in the scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments. Daniel says a thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:10) Zechariah says Then the Lord your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:5) Such references also may be located in the book of Revelation.

The Jewish method of counting included the first and last figure. Thus Jesus was said to have been in the grave three days, counting the day He was buried and the day He arose. By the time a child reached the age of one year and one day (as we would say it), the Jews would call the child age two. Likewise, in counting generations the first and last generations were counted. So it was that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam, counting both Adam and Enoch.

The prophesy is given to verify the fact of the judgment to come. The language of prophecy is often from the viewpoint of God: as good as accomplished! Such is the case here. The Lord came with ten thousand of his holy ones. Holy ones is correct rather than the saints of the King James. Angels are included among God's holy ones, and the reference here could well be to angels. The figure ten thousand is a common figure to denote a very great number. Sometimes the expression a thousand thousands or ten thousand times ten thousand is used.

The purpose to do judgment is the same expression used in John 5:27.

The spiritual gift of discerning of spirits gave the Corinthian church the ability to make manifest the secrets of the heart of the unbelieving prophet. He stood reproved by all and judged by all. (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). In that last day when the Lord shall come the second time, the ungodly shall be manifest and his wicked deeds laid bare in their true colors. The ungodly life in which they wallowed is not a mistake, nor a stumbling sin. It is a chosen way of vileness and deceit. Their wickedness is well-pleasing to them; and if it were not for the wages there would be no regret.

Their hard speeches, like Lamech (Genesis 4:15), are uttered in defiance against God. This is comparable to the ungodly men of 1 Peter 4:4, who speak irreverently of God or against believers.

Verse sixteen does not let these present ungodly men escape the judgment predicted. These are the ones who murmur and complain because they think only of pleasing themselves. These are the ones who speak great swelling words against God and against God's people. These are the ones who show partiality because of personal profit expected. They refuse to submit where it is rightful they should, and they do submit where personal gain may be obtained. Their flattery (admiration of faces, literally) is soon found out, for when there is no personal profit to them the admiration is suddenly gone. Their lives are strewn with great havoc and hatred for they make merchandise of many. (Romans 16:18 and 2 Peter 2:3). They will even feign repentance for the sake of personal gain.

The sincere Christian who knows such a one hates himself for the knowing. He knows the smile for its insincerity, and when he sees the smile he can only expect to be immediately used. A hatred for the evil and a distrust of the person is the only end of knowing such a one. A sincere saint does not relish this ever-present evil and necessary distrust. So it is that misery dogs those who cross the path of these insincere flatterers who are partial for the sake of advantage.