Precept Ministries
Lesson 5
Jude
Judgment is coming. Do you know how certain it is and are you prepared? Are you ready to defend the faith and rescue the perishing? In the book of Jude we’ve been looking at the ungodly. Jude’s emphasis has been on the ungodly so that we can understand first of all that their judgment is absolutely certain. The ungodly have gone the way of Cain.
Jude 11 Woe to them (the ungodly)! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
- The way of Cain:Cain brought an offering to God that was not acceptable to God. Cain thought he could come up with his own style of religion—one of works and not of faith.
- For pay they rushed headlong into the error of Balaam: In 2 Peter 2:14-16 Peter talks about false prophets who have gone the way of Balaam because they loved the wages of unrighteousness. There’s another dimension in “rushing headlong into the error of Balaam for pay,” which is that the ungodly do what they know is not pleasing to the Lord but think they can escape. This is the dimension Kay sees here. The answer is absolutely “no”.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality.This is a different dimension. Balaam found out that he could not curse the children of Israel because every time he opened his mouth tremendous blessings came out. Instead, he showed Balak how to seduce the children of Israel by sending the daughters of the Moabites into the Israelite camps to call them, to party with them, to worship their idols and even to sleep with them. See Numbers 25:6-15 where a Moabite woman comes into camp and an Israelite takes her into his tent to know her sexually but a Levite takes a sword [spear] into the tent and stabs the woman and the man. God applauds the Levite for what he did because he was zealous for the holiness of God.
The way of Balaam, the error of Balaam, and the teaching of Balaam are all terms used in these three passages. They’ve gone the way of Cain, they’ve rushed headlong into the error of Balaam…
- They have perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Numbers 16:1-3 Korah is part of the Levite tribe. They work in the temple but are not part of the priestly tribe that goes in and offers the sacrifices. Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. And they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” He’s saying that everybody in the congregation is holy. Is that true? No. This is the congregation God is going to kill in the wilderness. Korah says, “Everyone is holy. You aren’t the only one, Aaron, who can walk into that tabernacle. You aren’t the only onewho can offer those sacrifices. We can do that too, so get out of our way.” They’re going distinctly against the word of God.
So many times people say, “There’s a call of God in my life,” because they want their own ministry. They begin setting themselves up instead of putting themselves under authority. Sometimes in the process, they break what the Scriptures have to say. Kay believes that before a woman moves in to take the role of an elder or a pastor, she’d better examine the Scriptures because it is not Biblical. So many times we put ourselves in positions that are against the word of God and that’s what Korah is doing. You’ve got to watch these ungodly men because they have crept in unnoticed and are going the way of Cain, and are rushing headlong into the error of Balaam, and they are going to perish in the rebellion of Korah. They are going be involved in rebellion.
What does Moses do? He calls on God who opens up the earth to swallow them up and devour them. People are told to get back, then these men and their families fall down into fire when the earth splits open as in an earthquake.
Numbers 16:9-10, 30 Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? But if the Lord brings about an entirely new things and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”
That’s what the ungodly are doing: spurning the Lord. When this happens the congregation turns around and comes against Moses and Aaron. Understand that when we take our stand and do what God has called us to do, you must expect that people will turn on you. That’s part of leadership.
This is not to say that we should be on a theological witch hunt making sure that people dot every i and cross every t, because people are in the process of growing spiritually. But these are ungodly people. If you start talking to them and go below the surface you can understand their theology and you can look at their behavior and know that these are the ungodly.
According to Jude the ungodly will perish and suffer eternal judgment. Hegives you a description:
Jude 12-13 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,A cloud is there to hold water but here’s a cloud without water.. carried along by winds; just here, there, here, there… If:
- you’re always looking for some new doctrine or some new vision or revelation,
- you get more excited when someone stands up and says,
- “I have a new prophecy,”
- “I have a revelation,”
- “I have a dream,”
- “I have this new insight into the Word of God”
than you get excited about studying the book of Romans or Hebrews,
then there’s something terribly wrong somewhere… autumn trees without fruit, during fruit-bearing season, doubly dead—twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, They don’t sit down or anchor or stay. They’re here—they’re there… for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. The black darkness is judgment—eternal fire, eternal judgment. There is a black darkness. Living where you don’t see the sun is depressing because the sun lifts your spirits.
Jude gives you this insight about the ungodly through this description then lets you know that these men who have crept unnoticed into your church and are sitting there, have been prophesied about long ago.
Go way back to the very beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. Follow along to the seventh generation from Adam to a man named Enoch. In Genesis, Enoch walked with God and was not. There was a time when Enoch probably was not a believer. He had a son Methuselah, whose name means “When he’s dead, it’s going to come.” We know how long Methuselah lived. After Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God and then one day “he was not”. In other words, he didn’t die. He walked so intimately with God that one night God just said, “Enoch, it’s closer to My house than yours so come on.” There are two men in the Scriptures who never died, Enoch and Elijah. It’s appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. That’s why Kay believes that the two witnesses in the book of Revelation (chapter 11) are Enoch and Elijah.
Jude 14 And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, “Behold the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, The Lord came on that white horse. He did not come alone but with thousands of His saints. They are called, beloved, kept, have a common salvation, and are saints or “the holy ones”.
Jude 15 To execute judgment upon all(none is going to escape), and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. All these people using the Lord’s name in vain, blaspheming God, taking His name and using it in another way (other than worship to honor God as He is), are going to be judged. Those who take His name in vain God will not hold guiltless. Kay has told this to people who talk that way. More and more we should stop people, graciously and prayerfully, from saying such terrible things.
God says through Enoch that this is what’s going to happen. But you say, “That’s not in the Bible.” Well, you’re right—these two verses are not in the Bible in the Old Testament—but they are in the New Testament. Thus, they are in the Bible. Are they recorded anywhere else in the Bible? No, but they don’t need to be because the Bible is a God-inspired book. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. If He created the Old Testament that way, then he did it with the New. There is the book of Enoch in the Apocrypha which you can learn about in the International Inductive Study Bible. It explains how the canon of Scripture was put together. Jude may have been quoting from the book of Enoch, which wouldn’t make the whole book of Enoch true, but that quote would be true since Jude wrote under the inspiration of God.
Jude says that the Lord is coming with all His holy ones to execute judgment on the earth.
Draw a timeline with the Garden of Eden (creation) at the beginning, then Jesus’s birth in the middle of the timeline, born of a Virgin and without sin, then draw the cross with the death of Jesus who knew no sin but was made to be sin for you and me. Moses with the Ten Commandments would be placed closer to the Garden end of the timeline than to Jesus’s birth.
Jesus says in Hebrews 10:4, 5b, 7b:For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.Therefore…a body Thou hast prepared for me. Behold, I have cometo do Thy will O God.” He takes away the first, an old covenant of the law, and establishes the second, a new covenant of grace. Draw a vertical line just after His death to separate the two covenants. (Old = Law, New = Grace.) When Jesus took away the old, He didn’t mean the old was bad. In Jesus’s life, from His birth through His death up to His resurrection, He was fulfilling the Law. In Matthew 5, He says, “Don’t think I came to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill. Not one thing will pass away until this shall be fulfilled.” Jesus came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. God took all our sins and those of the whole world and put them on Jesus Christ. He was buried in a tomb, raised from the dead, ascended to the Father where now He lives to make intercession for us. But Revelation talks about a time when Jesus is coming back to earth.
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True and in righteousness He judges and wages war. So when Jesus comes to judge, He does it in righteousness.
Revelation 19:12-15 And His eyes are a flame of fire, (this is described in Revelation 1) and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Revelation 17:14 This verse takes on new significance—watch how they are described: These will wage war against the Lamb, “these” refers to the kings of the earth, the beast and the followers, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, andthose who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.The CBK! Remember continuance in the faith is the evidence of your salvation.
Revelation 19:19-21 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. When Jesus comes to earth, he’s with all His saints—the called, the beloved, and the kept.The beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:1-7 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for athousand years. And threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceived the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time and I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. “Thousand years” is a repeated key word.The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for athousand years. And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, What do you see? A time frame of a thousand years. When Christ comes, He sets up His kingdom and it will last for a thousand years. It’s a kingdom here on earth. A lot of people like to allegorize this, assuming that it doesn’t mean “a thousand” but how do you get around it because the phrase “a thousand years” is used six times in seven verses. What happens after the thousand years are completed?
Revelation 20:11-12aAnd I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead…“The dead” here means the twice dead, the doubly dead. This does not mean everybody who dies because we have died, we have gone to heaven, but we are now coming back to earth with Jesus Christ. Kay believes that the rapture has already happened before this event (see 1 Thessalonians 4), thus we have already been caught up and are in heaven with Him and that we are coming with him to earth. Therefore we have had to have gotten up to heaven before thisand are not the dead spoken of in these verses. We’re never called or referred to as “the dead”. The Bible says that when we die we are absent from the body and present with the Lord. The Bible calls us “just having gone to sleep” and waking up in the presence of Christ. But here with the great white throne, you have God upon the throne and the dead—small and great—standing before Him. Where did these small and great come from?