The General Epistle of Jude
Chapter 1

^Salutation

¹ Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

Jude identified himself as the brother of James, but in other scripture, as well as history, shows that he was the half-brother to Jesus.   Jude, however, after Christ's resurrection, no longer referred himself as the half-brother to Jesus, but honored Him as the Christ and called himself His bondservant.  Sadly, Jude could never claim himself to be an apostle of Jesus because he did not follow him during His ministry.  He did, however, grow up with Jesus, knew Him all of his life, was one of His followers after His resurrection before His ascention, was one of the 120 disciples in the upper room at Pentecost, and became a strong advocate for Christ for the balance of his life. 

...To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

Jude is writing to a general audience of believers, meaning Messianic or Gentile Christians, stressing that they are "called" and "sanctified" by God, being "preserved" in Jesus Christ. 

• The word "called" means God had all those who would come into belief in Christ on His mind even before the foundation of the earth (Eph 1:4).  If you are a believer in Christ, then long before you were born, God had a plan and purpose for your life.  He knew that one day you would come to believe in Jesus; therefore, He created and called you to be here on this earth at this time in history for His plan and purpose.  You are that important to God. 
• When you were born, you were sanctifed unto God meaning God set apart from the world for Him to do a work of santification (holiness) within you.  If you look back at your life, you will be able to see how God had His hand on you all of your life.  You were set apart for God.  

The Body of Christ/Kingdom of God      The World

• As a believer in Christ, you belong to the Body of Christ.  You are preserved, and belong solely to Jesus, and because you do, God wants you and me (His body) to live holy lives - for God said, be holy as I am holy (1 Pet 1:16).

Rom 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  NKJV

² Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that Jude had written other letters to believers regarding their common faith; however, this time he felt compelled to write about the importance of contending for their faith they received when they accepted Christ - the basic Christian doctrine and truths that was passed on down from Christ to His apostles.  At all cost, their faith must be defended because certain ungodly men had crept into the Church unnoticed with false doctrine and twisted lies about grace and truth.  He was speaking of the Nicolatians that had worked their way into the church leadership to seduce the congregates to believe their heresies.  

Heretics

Nicolas was a native of Antioch and a proselyte to the Jewish faith (Acts 6:5).   In other words, he was a Gentile who, at one time had converted to the Jewish faith.  He left the Gentile pagan lifestyle to become a Jew in every respect, including being circumcized, following all of the traditional laws of Judaism.  After Christ's death, he became a convert to Christ, and appeared to be an honest man, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.  As such, he was chosen by the disciples in the early church to be one of the first seven deacons in the Church, and was ordained by the apostles.  His position brought him to minister to many people in the ways of the Lord.  Somewhere along the way, however, Nicolas changed, and began preaching and exploiting the freedom that believers have in Christ to be no different than the ways of paganism regarding eating meats dedicated to idols and being able to indulge in sexual activity in any form outside of marriage.  His influence brought many within the church to indulge in their lower nature, yet still claiming to be a follower of Christ.   

Nicolas was accused of having a spirit of Balaam who was an Old Testament prophet of God who fell to his lower nature of sexual immorality and eating foods sacrificed to idols. Balaam then preached that his behavior was acceptable and many Israelites believed and followed after him.  God had to send a donkey to "speak to him" confronting him of his sin (Numbers 22).

This heresy (teachings of Balaam) had become prevelant in the churches at Ephesus and Pergamos and was spreading.  Those who followed after Nicolas (Nicolaitans) believed that because they had a "so called" faith in Christ, they were free from following after every aspect of the Law, including the Ten Commandments, thus the spirit of Balaam entered in. 

The Nicolaitan heresy also claimed that marriage was a human invention under the Law and not binding for believers in Christ.  In his "so called" efforts to bring unity between Christianity and Gentile paganism, Nicolas was simply looking for excuses to sin by bringing the sins of the world right into the church.  Nicolas used the seducing spirit of Balaam that was operating within him to seduce congregations to believe they were free to practice illicit sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, and other perverted sex which was so prominent within paganism.  Nicolas' claim was that Jesus died for all past, present, and future sins; thus they did not fear any eternal punishment.  They were free to do as they pleased as long as they believed in Jesus.  This belief was not only a nose dive digression into carnality, but an apostasy that bordered on committing the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit.  The results = ETERNAL DEATH!

Nicolas and his followers had been earlier condemned for their heresies in Jerusalem and were forced out of the church.  Nicolas, however, left with his followers and continued on in other churches over in Asia Minor.  Ephesus and Pergumos was now infiltrated with these seducing heretical beliefs (Rev 2:6 and Rev 2:14).

Personal application: 

While eating meat offered to idols is generally not an issue today, but simply one of conscience, sexual promiscuity then and now is most definitely a sin - a sin that God hates (Rev 2:6).  We live in a world where many people look at sex outside of marriage, whether it is between heterosexual or homosexuals as permissible.  These same sins have entered into the church today.  There is not only fornication and adultery going on between believers with unbelievers or believers with other believers, but many are living together as married couples and still claim faith in Jesus Christ.  In addition, the church has digressed to where homosexual relationships are going on within Christians.  Most of those who are guilty of these sins, who claim faith in Jesus, are doing it thinking there will be no eternal punishment.  Are they any different than the Nicolaitans that God hates? 

 Old and New Apostates

Apostate:
A Christian (many times a leader within the church) who has lost his faith in God, backslides into unbelief, and thus takes other believers downward with him, and will eventually commit the unpardonable sin (blaspheme of the Holy Spirit) - doomed to hell

⁵ But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

What happened to the Israelites

Jude now gives Old Testament examples of the fate of what happened to false teachers and those who follow them in their sin.  First, Jude reminds his readers about what happened after the Lord rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  Leaving as a nation of more than six million people, they eagerly left to go to their Promised Land.  According to Numbers 11:4, there were some called "rabbles" who caused many Israelites to complain about the Lord's provision while on route.  Their complaining showed how they were seduced to a point to where they no longer believed in the Lord or in His ability to provide for their needs.  They even went so far as to complain that they regretted leaving Egypt and wanted to return.  Those who complained died in the desert (Num 14 and Heb 3:16-19).  Eventually, because they disobeyed God, their plans of entering into their Promised Land were thwarted and they turned to unbelief.  All but two (Joshua and Caleb) died in the wilderness, doomed to hell - never to have their dream fulfilled. It took another generation of offspring who walked in obedience to God to see their Promised Land.

⁶ And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷ as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The flood of Noah

In his second illustration of apostasy, Jude reminded his readers of the fall of Satan's angels during the time of Noah. These angels left their natural habitat in obeying God to serve Satan, creating mutany against God's order.  They chose to serve Satan by luring and having sex with women, which created giants upon the earth.  This act broke the structure of humanity as God designed (Gen 6).  For these earthly women who chose to engage in having sex with these angels had were already living within promiscuity with other men and chose to forsake their domain of God's order for humanity as well.   The whole earth was covered in this unrighteous debauchery, and none was without sin.  As such, God gave them all over to a debased mind (Rom 1:28).  The earth was filled with unrighteousess in this kind of perverted evil, which is why God destroyed the earth with a flood.  Approximately a million people lived upon the earth at this time and died in the flood.  Other than Noah and his family, who were the only righteous people upon the earth - everyone upon the earth died and went to hell.  Because Noah and his family were righteous, God not only spared them, but preserved them.

Their punishment

While this scripture passage parallels 2 Peter 2:4, both Peter and Jude have shown us the punishment of sexual promiscuity and co-mingling outside of God's plan of creation.  God bound these Satanic angels to everlasting chains in the lower pit of hell until they will face God in judgment and be cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire.  All the others were cast down to another part of hell to await their judgment at the Great White Throne judgment before being cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire for all eternity.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding cities also faced the same judgment under God.  Sexual immorality had digressed to where homosexuality was very common, and had even digressed to pedophelia and even beastiality.  God made it clear that these people will suffer His vengeance in the Eternal Lake of Fire for all eternity.

Immoral sex - One sin - Same Judgment

Sex is a natural instinct that God created within mankind, but it becomes corrupting when practiced wrongly.  God appointed marriage between one man and one woman to fill that natural desire and instinct.  It was given so that a man and his wife can affectionate nurture each other in a way that is not only permitted, but encouraged by God.  It was meant to build a loving, caring relationship between a man and woman, and out of that love, children became the expression of that love.  The marriage bed is a very private matter between two people who protect, love and nurture each other.  God designed for man to have one wife, and the wife to have one husband, thus protecting mankind against unwanted pregnancies and various venereal diseases that have come upon mankind.

People in the world have varying degrees of acceptance of judgments for or against sexual immorality.  Sadly, the acceptability has crept into the Church.  God, however saw ans sees ALL sex outside of marriage as immoral and worthy of the same judgment.  Let's look at what man may see as digressions of sexual sin - from fornication all the way digressing to beastiality.  Again, God sees it all as the same sin - sexual immorality.

1.  Fornication:  Both participators who are not married engage in sex.  This kind of behavior is very accepted in today's society as normal behavior.  In fact, it is assumed by the world that when two people get involved in a relationship, sex will be a normal part of their relationship.  God, however, calls any sex outside of marriage a sin and worthy of judgment (Eph 5:5).

     Repercussions of fornication

• Unwanted pregnancies
• Veneral diseases
• Soul ties with those you had sex with
• Trust issues in future relationships
• This sin will always put a hindrance in one's relationship with the Lord until repentance and change takes place

2.  Adultery:  One or both participators engaged in the sexual act are married.  This kind of behavior is happening all around us.  While basically still frowned upon, most people still see it as part of life.  God, however, calls it a sin - a defilement of the marriage bed, and worthy of judgment (Heb 13:14).

3.  Homosexuality:  This kind of perverted sex involves same sex participators - man with a man or woman with a woman.  This kind of perversion goes outside of God's creation of man and woman and the marriage bed.  Today, we even have laws that not only protect the rights of homosexuals, but they are now allowed to get married, adopt children, and flaunt their sexual preference.  Many are revered by those in the world for their stand (Rom 1:26-28). 

We are now also in a day when gender identity is challenged where even children have right legal right to choose which gender they would like to assume.  Sadly, there are surgeons who  perform those sex changes on these diluted or perverted minds.  Legislation is trying to make it legal for children to have the ability to choose their own identity without their parents consent. 

     Repercussions of homosexuality

• Loss of gender identity
• Sexual deviation
• Sexual perversion
• HIV and other veneral diseases
• Unable to have a healthy relationship with the opposite sex
• Lack of true knowledge of marriage as God designed for man and woman
• Because God considers it a sin, the person does not have the ability to have a proper love relationship with the Lord or grow deeper in his/her relationship with the Lord unless repentance and change takes place.

4.  Incest:  Sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other.  In the beginning of creation, however, sexual intercourse had to happen between people closely related together.  As the population, as well as sin increased, however, the genes of mankind became more and more polluted to where chosely related people ran the risk or procreating abnormal humans.  God then set down laws, as given to Moses to protect the gene pool of mankind.

Incest also includes having sexual intercourse of a parent toward his child, sibling, or grandchild or close close relatives toward a child relative.  Any sex with a child is also considered pedophelia, and worthy of God's harsh judgment (Lev 18).

     Repercussions of incest

• Permamently scars a child phycologically and spiritual - until God intervenes with healing

5.  Pedophelia:  This perverted and deranged sex involves adults with children - even babies.  Sadly, this kind of forced sex has always been around in one form or another over the centuries, but has gotten more and more prevelent throughout time.  As of late, we have seen the enormencity of this behavior in human trafficking - not only in other countries, but here in the United States.  These women and children are held captives by greedy evil people who use their bodies for financial gain and perverted sexual pleasures (Matt 18:6).  

6.  Beastiality:  This sick, perverted and deviant kind of sex with animals is displayed when someone's mind has becomes so deranged to where they are willing to have sex with animals.  This kind of sex is not only dangerous at the time, not knowing what the animal is capable of doing, but disease is almost guaranteed and physical death will probably be the end result of this kind of sexual activity (Ex 22:19).   

God hates sexual promiscuity and sexual perversion of any kind.  That means that ANY sex outside of marriage (man and woman as God's design) demands God's judgment - the same judgment.

Fleeing Sexual Immortality

God's grace is so loving and kind and He does not want anyone to stay within their sin.  Whether that sin is a sexual sin, lying, gossip, hatred, unforgiveness, or whatever God calls a sin, repentance should always be a believer's lifestyle. 

While the world looks at varying degrees and
digressions of sin, God looks at all sin as sin.

When we truly repent before God as I John 1:9 tells us, whatever that sin may be, we can stand clean and be forgiven before God.  It's when we allow that sin, or any other sin, to return or overcome us, we need to understand that all sin has its consequences, and it always puts a wedge in our relationship with God, and without realizing it, we are on the road of carnality, which is a slippery slope that leads only to one place - hell.

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father.  I repent of my sin of __________________________.  I humbly come before you asking that you forgive me of that sin.  I purpose in my heart to flee from that sin and lean on your Holy Spirit to help me overcome.  In Jesus' name I thank you, Amen.

Angelic fight over the body of Moses

It appears that Jude is shifting gears in these next three verses; however, he is making a comparison on how apostasy can get so deadly that one who comes to that point has such a hardened heart to where no one, not even angels, and not even God Himself can bring them back to God.  They have gone too far.

⁸ Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil dignitaries. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Instead of remaining faithful to God and His Word, these apostates relied upon other sources, whether it was dreams or even the wild imagination of their minds as their authority.  Likewise, in their wild lust, these dreamers defiling the flesh, rejected authority, and even went so far as to mock angels.  Jude pointed out their arrogance stating that even the archangel Michael, as powerful as he was, and wanted to judge Satan, knew his place in God and refused to step outside his given authority to rebuke or judge the devil, but left that judgment in the hands of God.  For mere men, including apostates to usurp the authority of God,  their fate is already set. 

That being said, as an example to us, we can trust God to rebuke and judge the apostates as He sees deemable. Their fate will be the same as Cain’s, Balaam’s, and Korah’s, which is the Eternal Lake of Fire.

Apostates, being prideful and arrogant in their sinful position, often justify their actions.  Some apostates remain in the church to pull others down in their faith, while others will be so brasen to where they publicly mock God and those who stand for righteousness. 

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

¹² These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ¹³ raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Apostasy is a very real and dangerous threat.  Jude now presents five analogies of apostates.  While they may be metaphors to describe the errors of the apostates, Jude is describing those who threaten the peace and purity of the Church.  

1. Spots in your love feasts....   
   
   The 1st century church met regularly for their "Agape," often called love feasts by the unbelieving Gentiles.  It was a meal of fellowship held on the Lord's Day, similar to church's potluck dinners. They went from house to house every Resurrection Day (Sunday) and shared their food with each other.  It was meant to be a place of sanction where they could pray and encourage one another in the faith.  Over time, however, some gatherings became drunken parties (1 Cor 11:20-22), thus causing division within the church.  The Apostle Paul had to come down on the churches in Corinth for their actions.  By the end of the 4th century, Agape feasts were abolished within the church.
   
   Jude was using love feasts as an example of certain men brasenly coming into the church to divide.  They may have once been a sheep, but turned to be disguised as sheep, but in reality were wolves in sheep's clothing.  They had their own agenda, and it was never to unite the church, but to divide it.
   
   
2. Clouds without water....
   
   These apostates come in with false promises that they never intend on keeping.  They are like clouds that have no water carried about by the wind.  Their promises sounded so good, but like a roaring wind to a cloud, those promises disappeared.
   
   
3. Autumn trees without fruit....
   
   Not only do these apostates have no intention of keeping their promises - their promises are barren like a tree in autumn that once had fruit, and became barren.  Lies, lies, lies!  These are signs of leaders who were once faithful to the Lord, but have gone astray into apostasy.
   
   
4. Wild waves of the sea.....
   
   These apostates are like wild waves of the sea - out of control and instable, certainly not worthy of any trust. 
   
   
5. Wandering stars.....
   
   Stars have many meanings in scripture.  Wandering stars, however, are uncontrollable and usually end in destruction.  The ending of these apostates in the church will always end in destruction.

Woe!

Jude declares a strong judgment of what will happen to these apostates:  "Woe to them!"

There are seven woes in scripture - from the Book of Job to the Book of Revelation.

These woes apply to unbelievers and apostates alike because the same final judgment will come upon both of them

• Woe is given to those who taught about God but did not love God – they did not enter the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor did they let others enter in.
• They preached God but converted people to a dead religion, thus making those converts twice as much sons of hell as they themselves were.

 When the word "woe" is used, it signifies impending doom, condemnation and/or the wrath of God. 

The Church Today

There are many dead dry religious churches in the world today led by pastors who may act religious, but certainly do not have a personal faith in Jesus Christ.   America is not exempt from these kind of churches.  Jesus' name may be mentioned, but growing in faith in Him is avoided.  I attended a church for 15 years like that, never giving any thought as to anything being wrong in the church.  In my carnal state, I really thought that because I went to church, I was okay spiritually.  Was I ever wrong!

• How many pastors in the Church today preach about Jesus, but never about developing a personal relationship with Him.  Some preach on the church's doctrine, rules and punishment for not obeying, yet others will talk of God's love, but water down the grace of God to be something that it is not.  Some of these "so called" Christians mock those who take their faith in Christ seriously.
• How many pastors have become apostates, having become burnt out in ministry and given up.  Churches close their days every day.
• How many Sunday school teachers have taught our children the stories of the Bible, but never taught on how to love and develop a personal relationship with Jesus.  Then parents wondered why their children left the church as they got older.
• The question is:  Are these leaders unbelievers, carnal believers, or apostates?

Second Coming of Christ

¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 

These two verses are packed full of information that will help us understand the mind of Jude when he wrote these scripture passages. 

Let's begin with:  Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam.  As shown by the chart below, Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam and the great grandfather of Noah.  Enoch lived on the earth around a thousand years before the flood, but his son Methusalah, being the grandfather to Noah died right before the flood.  Enoch was able to teach faith to his son Methusalah, and Methusalah was able to teach faith to his grandson Noah.  Enoch was a godly man who walked with God and preached God's Word to those around him (Gen 5:24). 

While Enoch did not write any Scripture for his and future generations, he did give forth messages of truth to people before God took him away from the earth and raptured him into heaven.  Before Enoch departed, he, guided by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, preached a prophecy that will be fulfilled in our day - in our generation.  His prophecy given was 3500 years ago.

There is an actual Book of Enoch which is part of Jewish literature, written many hundreds of years after the life of Enoch by an unknown author or authors.   This book, however, was never part of the New Testament Canon of the New Testament writings.  In other words, it was never approved as being an authorized inspired book.  Not only was it not written by Enoch, its unknown author(s) wrote it several hundreds of years after his life on earth.  Heb 1:1-2 gives us the criteria on how a scripture book became canonized into the Old and New Testament.  

Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.

The uncanonized Book of Enoch contained a similar statement to what Jude wrote pertaining Enoch; however Jude's statement varied somewhat in speech, suggesting Jude either quoted from oral tradition or most likely was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down what God told him or both.

Continuing on:   Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying,

Enoch walked with God in a declining spiritual culture of people  He was faced with apostates all around him - men/women who had once walked with God, but left their faith (2 Pet 1:21).  He prophesied to the people by giving out warnings to come back to God - judgment was coming.  While this was a prophecy to the people of his day, it also has become a prophecy in our day - 3500 years later - the final of the final days.  As a sign of what happens to godly people and to those who left God or never received Him, we see here that God first raptured Enoch away from the evils of the world.  His son Methuslah died right before the flood, and then God sent a flood to wipe out the whole earth, except Noah (and his family), who was the only righteous man alive on the face of the earth. 

The rapture of Enoch is a precursor to the rapture of the Church

Continuing on:   Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Jude, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit recorded that Enoch prophesied that the Lord will come with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment the ungodly upon the earth.  That is yet to come!  We can be sure that the Holy Spirit guided Jude to quote from Enoch to encourage us today of our part in the execution of judgment upon the earth at the 2nd coming of Christ (Matt 25:31; Col 3:4).

Jesus will come back in two stages: (1) the Rapture of the Church and (2) His Second Coming.

• At the Rapture of the Church, Jesus will come FOR the saints in the clouds to receive the Church unto Himself.  He will not come to earth but only in the clouds.  All believers from the present to times past will rise from the dead and those alive will rise from earth to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thess 4:16-17).
• Att His Second Coming, Jesus will come WITH the saints to the earth to execute judgment for those left upon the earth and then establish His kingdom on the earth.  Jesus will fulfill the unconditional promises of the Old Testament, such as the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. These covenants (contracts) were given to Israel so that He will establish Israel’s kingdom for her.
  
  The purpose of the Tribulation Period is to bring Israel back to God to receive her kingdom.  All those left upon the earth who refused Christ will receive executed judgment.

Apostates Predicted

¹⁶ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. ¹⁷ But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸ how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. 

Throughout Scripture there have been grumblers and complainers - those who live out their lusts, and proud of it. The closer we draw to the end, the more immoral and diabolical human nature will become - just as in the days of Enoch to the Noahic flood, we can be certain the end is about to happen.  The Noahic flood proved God would only allow the evils of human to last for so long before He would have to destroy them.  God's warnings will not go unpunished.  Throughout the Old Testament - as early as Enoch, and into the New Testament until today, unbelievers and apostates have lived according to their own ungodly lusts.  God will allow it to only go so far.

• We are in a day when fornication and adultery is commonplace in the mainstream of society.
• We live in a day when homosexuality is not only legal, but they can now marry and work with the law to have their children through in vitro fertilization, surrogacy or adoption, and these poor children are raised in this environment.
• We live in a world where the heinous acts of incest and beastiality is hidden, but practiced by the immoral of the immoral.
• We live in a day when human identity is being challenged where not only adults, but children can decide to change their gender and legally go through medical injections to change the natural hormones of their body.  Many even opt to have additional surgerical removal or alteration mutiliation of their organs in the body. 
• We live in a world where human trafficking is at its worst in all of history.  Women and children (boys and girls)  are exploided for self gratifying sex, even killed for their blood or organ harvesting to heighten lusts or eugenic research.
• The horrors of eugenic research is going beyond that of medicine to "improve" the health of mankind.  It is literally altering the genetics of the human race.

We are living in the darkest days of humanity, and it is getting darker.  We are seeing things that go beyond the darkest of evil minds.  The sad part is most people, including Christians who are not strong in their faith, follow evil leaders who lead people astray, and without even realizing it, they too are sinking down the dark path that only leads to destruction.  

Are we at the end of the end times?  I most certain believe we are!  We are in like the days of Noah where the Bible says the end will come when it gets that bad.  If we go on much longer, all of humanity will be altered to fit the evil minds of those who want to run the world.  That is the open door for the antichrist to take over and rule the world.   I don't think God will allow mankind to go on much longer.

Maintain Your Life with God

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Jude now turns his thought and gives exhortation to his audience whom he calls "beloved," meaning that he really cares for those whom he has been corresponding to so they won't get caught in the same trap that so many believers were falling prey to.  Jude had already developed a relationship with these believers, and where they were at spiritually was important to him.

To counteract apostasy or carnality that leads to apostasy, Jude is encouraging them, and us to stay strong in our struggles to advance in in faith.  As he stated in verse 17, keep within the teachings of the apostles of Christ that was delivered to them.  The Apostles Peter, Paul, John, and all of the other apostles of Jesus repeat this same Gospel.

It is no different today.  Defense against false teaching starts with growing in the knowledge and application of the Word of God.   The Scriptures are given to us to make us wise until salvation and spiritually mature (2 Tim 3:15-17).  But it doesn't end there.  Prayer plays a key role in our spiritual development.  As we pray, empowered by the Holy Spirit, helps us to be faithful to the Word of God.  While all prayer should be empowered by the Holy Spirit, we need to pray in the Holy Spirit just as the apostles and disciples of Jesus prayed (Eph 6:17-18).

Prayer, however, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, should also accompany our reading and meditating on God's Word.  While the subject of prayer covers a very broad area, in its simplest form, here's how God want us to pray? 

• God loves to be worshipped and praised for Who He is (Psm 29:2).
• God loves for you to thank Him for what He has done for you (Psm 118:24).
• God loves when you petition your needs to Him in prayer (I John 5:14-15).
• God loves when you pray for others.
• God loves to communicate with you - just sharing your life.  That develops your personal relationship with Him.
• God loves when you listen to Him in prayer
• God loves when you allow the Holy Spirit to pray through your spirit to God (Acts 2:8; Acts 2:4; Eph 6:17-18).

As you get to know God on a deeper level, He wants to share His heart with you.  The "deep in you is getting to know the deep in God" 42:7).  God has a way of speaking to you on a deeper level by you praying in the Holy Spirit - meaning praying in unknnown tongues, as God in you is praying through you to God in heaven.  When I am praying in tongues, my heart is centered on the Lord as I speak forth in a language known only to God.  This I know:  As I pray in my special prayer language that God has given me, God generally speaks to me through words, visions, or specific thoughts that I know comes from Him.  They are usually words of encouragement, strength or instruction.

Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues

If you sincerely have a desire to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, all you have to do is ask the Lord.  Receiving this gift is very much like receiving Christ at salvation when you ask Jesus to come into your life.  If you are sincere, simply ask, believing you will receive.  Center your thoughts on Christ, lift your heart up to Him, open your mouth and utter sounds of worship to Him (Rom 8:26).  That's it!

Jude is telling us to keep strong and build ourselves up in our most holy faith by praying in tongues (praying in the Spirit). You will discover that when you do, you are developing an intimate fellowship with the Lord as He gives you wisdom and strength to overcome the temptations of the world.  Keep yourself in the love of God toward others, anticipating that God's mercy will one day bring you into eternal life with Him forever.

Witnessing

²² And on some have compassion, making a distinction; ²³ but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

The focus in this section is not necessarily on evangelism - winning souls to the Lord, but dealing with carnal backsliders or apostates.  Spiritual discernment is necessary for dealing with both.  We must, first of all, understand that we cannot make a judgment on whether a person who once was a believer - maybe even on fire for the Lord - has backslid so far as to become an apostate.  We cannot judge their heart - that is not our place.  God is the only one Who truly knows the heart of a person.  While the Bible tells us that we can know a person by the fruit in their life, we can only make a judgment on the fruit exposed in their life, but never the person.  It is never our right to make a decision on whether that person is an apostate or a backslidden carnal Christian.  The is reserved for the Lord. 

Personal application:

The behavior and speech of a carnal backslidder and apostate are often displayed in the same way to where it is hard to tell the difference.  Are they doubting their faith or have they come to disbelief.  There is a difference, and only God knows.  Because He does, He gives us direction when we seek Him in prayer on who to speak to and what to say.  God shows us how use mercy and compassion to those who are weak and blind to their backsliding and what to say to them about their faith.  Remember, the whole purpose of you speaking to them about their faith is to restore them back into fellowship with the Lord.  If that backslidder responds to your words of correction - not condemnation - you have won a brother or sister back to the Lord. 

Apostates, or those on the brink of apostasy, however, need to be treated or spoken to in an entirely different manner.  If the Lord asks you to speak to such a person, it is generally done with caution because they are generally proud and arrogant of heart and unwilling to obey the truth when they hear it.  They are the ones who needs to be spoken with strong resolute warnings.  You may, however, be speaking to one who is on the brink of apostasy, and your strong words of correction is what may make the difference.  If they are a false teachers who is pulling weaker Christians down in their faith, they must be warned with extreme caution to as to avoid you getting contaminated with their lies. 

 Glory to God