Jude 7-9
To: Jude Main
Menu
To: Grace Notes Home
Page
Jude 7
"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns
gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an
example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."
In verse 7 Jude exposes apostasy among unbelievers. His example is that
of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities. This would be the pentapolis
of the Jordan Valley. The other 3 cities of the area were: Admah, Zeboim
and Zoar. These five cities were located in the Vale of the Siddim, Gen.
14:3. And archaeologists acknowledge that this area was at the southern
end of the Dead Sea and is now underwater. According to the geophysicists,
the entire region is situated on a fault line which traversed the Jordan
Valley, the Dead Sea and the Arabah. The date assigned to these cities is
2065 BC; and this date complies with the archaeological facts.
Prophetical books of the Old Testament refer to these cities. And all the
prophets used them as examples of apostasy. Hosea refers to Admah and Zeboim
in Hosea 11:8; Lamentations 4:6 makes mention of Admah; Jeremiah 49:18 cites
Zeboim; and Amos 4:11 refers to Zoar. All five cities are listed in Genesis
14:2.
The pentapolis probably had a population of between 3 and 4 million people;
out of which, only three were believers: Lot and his two daughters. Romans
9:29, Revelation 11:8, Matthew 10:15, II Peter 2:6, and Genesis 19 utilize
Sodom and Gomorrah as illustrations of judgment on unbelieving apostates.
The idea behind the illustrations may be summarized as follows:
Sodom and Gomorrah illustrate the snare of seeking happiness through the
senses, through physical beauty, erotic excitement, through sensuality and
success in any of its forms (Genesis 13:10,11). Thus, Sodom and Gomorrah
depict the degeneracy that may result from unbelieving apostasy and sin
(Genesis 13:13, 19:4,5; I Kings 14:24, and Jude 7). And this degeneracy
is the result of a soul vacuity, which leads to the insensate passion for
new sensations and experiences. This soul emptiness is described in Isaiah
3:9, which says, "The look on their faces testifies against them; they
parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have
brought disaster upon themselves."
Scripture teaches that when any nation becomes soggy with empty souls and
accompanying degeneracy, that nation is destroyed (Lamentations 4:6; Jer.
49:18; II Pet. 2:6; Jude 7; Amos 4:11). And Hosea 11:8 states that the self-destruction
of the soul comes before the judgment of the nation. However, our Lord,
in Luke 17:29, assures us that believers are delivered from such judgment:
"But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven
and destroyed them."
The phrase "in a similar way" likens the degenerate population
of Sodom and Gomorrah with the degenerate fallen angels of verse 6. In other
words, when humans and fallen angels become degenerate, they do not desire
normal sexual relations.
Four Gr. words tell the tale: ekporneuo, which means to fornicate outside
normal patterns, and may refer to either homosexuality or bestiality; aperchomai,
which means to strenuously seek; heteros, which means different, or of another
kind, and in conjunction with ekporneuo, is a specific reference to bestiality,
or sex with a different species; and the word for flesh or species is sarxs.
So we see right away that the inhabitants of the pentapolis were guilty
of both homosexuality and bestiality. However, here, Jude stresses the bestiality.
Why? Because of the correlation to verse 6, i.e., the idea of engaging in
sexual relations with another species, as the fallen angels did in verse
6, and as did the homosexual males who sought to engage in sex with the
angels who visited Lot in Genesis 19:5: "They called to Lot, 'Where
are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can
have sex with them.'" Moreover, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were
also guilty of engaging in sex with animals, i.e., bestiality.
Degenerates, then, whether angelic or human, eventually sink into a state
of brutishness and bestiality is the sexual mating of two animals. Their
souls are empty, and this mindlessness causes them to seek other animals.
And sexual gratification appeals to the frustration of degeneracy because
it offers a fraudulent type of ecstasy. Thus, angels having sex with human
females is akin to human males having sex with animals, or seeking to have
sex with angels.
The next phrase, "they serve as an example," is quite interesting.
The Gr. word for "serve" is prokeimai, which means to be placed
before the eyes, or to lie in sight; and it referred to a body on a bier.
And the term for "example" is deigma, an hapaxlegomena, which
means that this is the only place in Scripture that this particular word
is used. Deigma means an example. But an example of what? An example of
"those who suffer the justice of eternal fire." Revelation 20:15
says it best: "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." In other words, the inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah are presently in Torments; the fallen angels of verse
6 are presently in Tartarus, but both groups will end up in the Lake of
Fire.
It is important to note that the Gr. word for "punishment" is
dike, which refers to justice. This is the justice of God. And this emphasizes
to us the reason that the names of the fallen angels and the populace of
Sodom and Gomorrah will not be found written in the book of life, and the
reason that they ultimately reside for all eternity in the Lake of Fire:
they have not been justified because they lack the perfect righteousness
of God, which righteousness is achieved only by belief in our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Jude 8
"In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies,
reject authority and slander celestial beings."
In verse 8, Jude provides a summary of the characteristics of apostates,
whether believing or unbelieving, angelic or human. And the implication
is that the Gnostics of Jude's day possessed the same attributes as the
apostates just described in verses 5,6 and 7.
The Gr. homoios introduces the verse; homoios, here, is functioning as a
particle of transition, even though properly an adverb. So, "in a similar
manner." "These dreamers" refers to the Gr. enupniazo, which
means 'the deluded ones,' or 'the self-beguiled ones.'
In other words, individuals who, believing the lies of their own arrogance,
think false doctrines. They are said to "pollute their own bodies,"
which is the Gr. miaino and refers to defiling the body in a physical sense,
i.e., homosexuality, bestiality, promiscuity.
Further characteristics are given: namely, the rejection of authority and
the "slandering of celestial beings." The Gr. for the "celestial
beings" is doxsas, and is in the plural; thus, it does not refer to
angels, but to the "glories," which would be the glory and preeminence
of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Blasphemeo is the
term used for "slander." These apostates, these Gnostics, blaspheme
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit by denying the Person and work of
Christ on the Cross.
And the term for authority is kupiotes, and refers to the one who possesses
ultimate authority, God, and his edicts for both angels and mankind, as
well as ordinances regarding separation of species in sexual union. Apostates
"set aside" or "reject" the authority of God; the term
in the Gr. is atheteo.
The Concept of Authority
Authority must pre-exist freedom. Without a system of authority there is
no freedom, personal or corporate. And arrogance and apostasy assail authority
in every form. Deuteronomy 11:27, Jer. 11:4,7 and Zechariah 6:15 all state
that God has a system of authority. God's authority extends over, and includes
dominion over, nature, according to Matthew 8:27, Mark 4:41, and Luke 8:25.
God's system of authority also encompasses what have been designated as
'laws of divine establishment.' These laws of divine establishment involve
a diverse realm: parental authority over children, Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20;
business laws and practices, Col. 3:22 and Eph. 6:5; and the authority of
pastors in the church, Hebrews 13:7,17, I Thess. 5:12, and I Cor. 16:15,16.
And Mark 1:27, and I Peter 3:22 assert that God has authority over angelic
beings.
Verse 9
"But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the
devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation
against him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'"
This remarkable verse indirectly declares that even in death Moses was significant.
Tradition states that the passage refers to the Assumption of Moses, an
apocryphal book, cited by Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Didymus; a portion
of the book has not been preserved. The great theologian, Mayor, maintained
that the writer of the Assumption borrowed the story from Zechariah, rather
than the opposite. Conclusions vary, and there is no method to confirm the
traditional story. God has not seen fit to reveal more than what is now
to be discussed. Such a narration is defined by the term hysteresis, often
called historical hysteresis, which is when the Holy Spirit reveals further
details previously not recorded. Both Jude 9 and Jude 14 contain this figure
of speech; unfortunately, however, by exploitatively blending these two
passages, the Book of Enoch has been invented.
The parallel verse is found in Deut. 34:6, which speaks of the death and
burial of Moses: "He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth
Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is." Going on the
assumption that the Archangel Michael buried the body, we may note a few
items about Michael, whose name means 'who is like God.' Michael is, according
to Daniel 10:13, and Revelation 12:7, the chief prince or ruler of the Elect
Angels. He is also called the Prince of Israel in Daniel 10:21; and this
title indicates that he is the guardian angel of the nation of Israel. Further,
Revelation 12:1 verifies that he is the designated guardian of Israel during
the Tribulation.
He is said to have "disputed with the devil about the body of Moses."
The word for "dispute" is diakrino, and it refers to 'mental combat'
or a 'disputation based on words.' So this was not a physical contest between
angelic beings. And the Gr. term dialego confirms that this was a verbal
dispute that went on at some length. Satan, evidently, desired the body
of Moses for two possible reasons: 1) to prevent Moses from being resuscitated
as one of the two witnesses during the Tribulation, Rev. 11:3; and/or 2)
to revive the body through demonic power and utilize it as a witness against
the grace and Plan of God.
The Archangel Michael was tested verbally by Satan: would he utilize grace
and the power of God to gain possession of the body, or his own angelic
powers (which are assumed to be potent from their deployment in Rev. 12:7).
If he used his angelic strength, he would be guilty of the original besetting
sin of Satan, arrogance. However, the verb tomao, "did not dare"
affirms that he did not. Instead, he quoted Zechariah 3:2, "The Lord
said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem,
rebuke you!'"
Judgment belongs to God. As does the body of Moses -- it is preserved for
its future resuscitation and ministry during the Tribulation. We also note
that Satan is an excellent Biblical scholar, and gives credence to Scripture
and prophecy; it is just that he, in his consummate arrogance, wants to
be God. He does not doubt God's power, plan or Christ as demonstrated by
his wanting the body of Moses.
There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further
this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution to:
Grace Notes
1705 Aggie Lane
Austin, Texas 78757