Jude Survey

Clouds without water

02-09-2018

The Book of Jude Survey will find us journeying through history of Gods dealings with unbelief and those who teach heresy and error. That such heretics are referred to as clouds without water by Jude tells you of the negative value of such men, these show the promise of life but waiting for water to fall from them, will see us perish.

Pr Edi Giudetti

INTRODUCTION

¹ Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: ² Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

It is a wonder to see that Jude introduces himself, not as the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, but as his servant. Jude being the Brother of James was most certainly also the Brother of the Lord Jesus before his ascension.

None of the four brothers of our Lord believed on him (See John 7:5)

We have the names of his bothers as James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas, but we do not have the names of any of his sisters (Mt 13:55 & Mrk 6:3). Clearly Jesus was the oldest, the first born in the family, clearly also Mary did not remain a virgin.

Jude refers to himself as the servant of Jesus Christ and we could only ponder all the circumstances that must have been laid before him and James to have come from unbelief to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

^1cand preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

More of the wonderful doctrines presented and confirmed with so few words. Here is that latter half of only the first verse we have both the wonderful doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints (preserved in Jesus Christ) and the sovereignty of God in their election (and called)

The second verse shows to us the heart that underlies that which will be expressed in the balance of the epistle, that is, his blessing and care for them;

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

Jude is going to be warning of false teachers and their evil nature, and all that will come upon them. In these last days such people would be considered as “Heresy Hunters” and mean-spirited, and Pharisaical, and even lacking love and tolerance. Clearly this is contrary to Jude, the introduction demonstrating his love and desire for the saints.

But he goes on;

³ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Jude’s initial motivation seems to contrast what it was he found himself writing. We share a salvation that is common to all through Jesus Christ and there would be no end in writing of the infinite wisdom contained within it. But Jude found it needful rather to motivate the beloved in that salvation to earnestly contend for that faith that saved them. Why?

⁴ For there are certain men crept in unawares,

Where have they crept in? Not only have these crept into the Church, but they have crept into positions of influence within the Church, as Pastors and Teachers.

In the last book we surveyed we witnessed the apostle John speak of a Pastor named Deotrephes whom he said “loves to have the preeminence among them” and who would not receive the true brethren of the Lord, this was a pastor in the Church during the days of the apostle John.

So, we see that even from the first century false teachers where already taking positions of leadership in the Churches, already there was a lack of discernment by the congregation, and we could hear Paul say,

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again whichbethe first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. (Heb 5:12)

For had they known the word of God they might have discerned the nature of those crept in

So, already in the first century, error was working to distort the truth.  But, how did they come in?

They crept in unawares

What a choice of words is used, these “crept in unawares”, they did not declare their long-term intentions, they did not say they would effectively deny the faith. These ungodly men entered the church in disguise as born again saints saved by the grace of God. These are “Wolves in Sheeps clothing”, who may have declared a slight deviation from the faith once delivered to the saints, but not necessarily one many think of as Heresy.

• Perhaps they believe God has translated the promise to the Jews, and conferred them onto the Church for their rejection of Christ.
• Perhaps it’s their Eschatology, their doctrine of last things is wrong and they don’t believe in a millennium, the one thousand years of Christ rule and reign.
• Perhaps they baptize Babies
• Perhaps they believe Jesus was created, had a beginning, he was like God but not God manifest in the flesh.
• Perhaps they think the supernatural gifts God had provided before the Bible was completed, is still in operation today.
• Perhaps they believe the true words of God are lost and it is up to modern scholars to put Humpty Dumpty together again.
• Perhaps Salvation needs to be kept by our own effort, else we could lose it.
• Perhaps they believe they can’t lose their salvation and they are now free to sin.

Not as if these errors are not bad enough, but there are usually deep underlying problems, one of which is that they themselves are not saved.

⁴ For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as Judas was before ordained to betray the Lord, so too these godless men were of old ordained to this condemnation.

MEMORIAL WITNESS OF GODLESSNESS

Jude now reminds the people of the Lord how seriously God takes the denial of his word, he reminds them through history.

⁵ I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not (Ex 32:26-28,Nu 14:27-35).

How did the Lord destroy them and for what?

Exodus 32:26-28 we witness Moses upon the mount forty days and nights and the people did eat and they drank and “rose up to play”.

Men of unbelief began to rile up the people, to tell them things the Lord had not said and to turn their hearts away from following the Lord, and the anger of the Lord stood against the people and Moses stood before them on Gods behalf;

²⁶ Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoison the LORD’S side?let him comeunto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. ²⁷ And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side,andgo in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. ²⁸ And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

But the unbelief continued even after this.

Numbers 14:27-35 gives another of the most serious accounts of denial of their Saviour.

The beginning of the chapter sees them murmur against Moses and Arron and they gave their famous last words saying in verse 3

 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

What is of great concern in this chapter is that the chapter before, the famous 13^th Chapter of the book of Numbers, they sent leaders of their tribes to survey the land. Ten returned and gave an evil report but Joshua and Caleb gave a good report to encourage the people to possess the land.

Verses 27-35 shows the anger of the Lord and his condemnation of the nation.

Remember, his first desire was to destroy them all and begin again with Moses, but his wrath was pacified by Moses and he settled on another form of destruction;

²⁷ How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. ²⁸ Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: ²⁹ Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, ³⁰ Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. ³² But  as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. ³³ And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. ³⁴ After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. ³⁵ I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

Did you note verse 31? The very children the people claimed would die in the wilderness would be the ones God brings into the promise land. Jude reminds the beloved of God of his wrath, though they once knew it, Jude told them again that God is not slack concerning his dealings with evil.

Nor does God limit himself to mankind in his wrath, consider verse six in our passage;

⁶ And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

These angles that left their first estate refers to the mischief of Genesis 6, turn with me there. Verses 1-4

¹ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ² That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that theywerefair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

³ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he alsoisflesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

The strangest thing happened, and has come down through the legends of the pagans to this day, where they believe it was gods fornicating with women to make “demigods”; the Bible teaches with greater clarity the evil of Satan’s horde who came down, saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

What was the result of this? The women bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Famous men). These men became the men of the legends of the pagans to this day.

The evil that then came upon the earth as a result ended with two things;

1. In this same chapter God pronounced “the end of all flesh”, the Flood was promised to come upon all the world because of the evil that ensued.
2. Of these evil angels, known to us as “Devils”, Jude tells us that God hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

2 Peter 2:5-6 gives the clarity we need of what is referred to here that you might be confirmed in the passage. Turn there with me.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; ⁵ And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;⁶ And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

It relates closely to Jude’s words and adds for clarity and context the fifth verse, And spared not the old world...

Let’s continue back in Jude 7, which parallels 2 Pet 2:6.

⁷ Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh (Gen 19:4-7), are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Matt 25:41, 2 Pet 2:6-9).

Just as the daughters of men were “strange flesh” to the angels whom he cast into hell, so too is the mischief of the Sodomites of Sodom and Gomorrah recorded for us in Genesis 19.

Jude is giving us a Memorial Witness of Godlessness and most importantly, how God deals with them.

They are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

This will be the end of the filthy dreamers which occupy even the pulpits of today.

GODLESS WITNESSES

⁸ Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

‘Filthy dreamers’ is a great description of modern Pentecostals who think that which comes into their minds is the words of God. But this too was of old, there is nothing new under the sun, Jeremiah records Gods words Jer 23:28

²⁸ The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

But verse 8 says,

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, durst 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.

Jude refers to events not known elsewhere in scripture. Who knew that there was a heavenly dispute of the Body of Moses? We don’t even know the purpose for it, but the Bible tells there was a dispute and that between two Cherubim’s, Michael the archangel and The Devil, Satan. Jude refers to them as dominions and dignities.

Within the Charismatic and Pentecostal circles of today you will hear teachings telling that we are to “bind Satan”, to “rebuke him in Jesus name” to “accuse him of his evil” and to “Cast him away”, but Jude says that the archangel Michael durst 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.

These false teachers to whom I was witness, who know nothing of what they speak evil of.

Many years ago when I was with such people, we had what was called a “Spiritual Retreat” with the leaders of the Church, I was one of those leaders. We drove to a place not far from Bulla, a house perched upon a hill and we began to pray. Not only to pray, but to bind and to cast our Satan etc.

Essentially we began to speak evil of those things which we knew not.

A thunderstorm began to brew around us when we set ourselves to pray. The weather did not look good when we drove toward the property, but I had no idea a full on thunderstorm was brewing.

It was in the midst of the most intense time of prayer casting out here and binding there that a thunder-clap literally shook the house and frightened us. I stopped praying and would not continue again.

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 Core. 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 of 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.

“They…ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward” Most of these Pentecostal parasites care nothing of the truth, all they care about is fame and wealth, like Cain they desire RECOGNITION, not of the Lord, but of men.

These “spots”, measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves (2 Cor 10:12), FOOLS they are who think little of God, there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Jude calls them spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. They have little to no concern if what they teach is true or not. They boast themselves of miraculous gifts but Jude says they are nothing but clouds without water, They look as if they have substance but they are vanity, like a vessel that has the promise of refreshment until, under closer inspection, is EMPTY! You hold out hope of nourishment, but die waiting.

These same “Clouds” are without fear, who consider no truth, and go about from place to place looking for some new thing they can bring back to their fool laden congregations. Yes, their members are fools and I can say that having been one of them. Pastors who have little regard for the truth of scripture, as they came to report their new doctrines which came like a change of wind;

These same leaders confirm Jude’s words even today as they are carried about of 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.

After I left the Charismatic / Pentecostal Church, where I remained ignorantly for nine years, and then stayed knowingly for another two years, I read the book of Jude and immediately realized this passage fit perfectly that Church that I was a part of, which is still going as “Encounter Church” today and is a part of the Churches of Christ denomination.

I read the passage again and felt as if I just narrowly escaped with my life. I came to realize how close I was to being trapped in a cult of evil error of Pastors who knew nothing nor cared anything for the Bible. The pastor fit the bill of this passage perfectly, he was and may still be a “wandering star to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever”.

How I do pray he might repent and turn from the shame of Pentecostalism and return to the Word, but I fear this to be unlikely, because Enoch also prophesied of these, reproving them even in his day;

REPROVING WITNESS OF THE GODLESS

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.

The incredible nature of the word of God is that the men who wrote the inspired text of God where themselves inspired of God to write. The account given us here by Jude of Enoch is one not found in the Old Testament, as with the Angelic account concerning the body of Moses above, no matter how diligently we might search the scripture for this quotation of Enoch, we will not find it.

But lest we think this strange, let’s not forget that all the accounts given to us of the Book of Genesis was given by the man Moses who himself was not alive during the living out of the lives of Adam through to Joshua. From where then did the information come? Sure some through Oral tradition may have been passed down, Peter tells it came from the Lord.

 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Pet 1:21)

According to Enoch and Jude, it will be the Lord that executes Judgment upon them, he will convince all that are ungodly and rebuke all their deeds which they have done. These turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, they turn away eternal life from all who might otherwise have had it.

They don’t care at all for the salvation of others, they care NOTHING for the eternal state of their souls, all they care about is the admiration of other men.

¹⁶ These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

Oratory skills they may possess in abundance, unlike the apostle Paul; they may indeed be eloquent in their words and unlike Moses they might not be slow of speech, but their words are “Clouds without water” and their motivations are to have men’s persons in admiration.

If you charge them with error, they would rather see the back of you than search the front of the Book. They would rather see you out of the Church than be themselves humbled and restored in the Church. They have no interest in truth, only in opinion.

AND THEY WILL GIVE AN ACCOUNT. BUT SADLY, it will be too late.

Those they have deceived will suffer like them, they are blind leaders of the blind and both shall fall in the ditch.

The congregations that follow heretics like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Creflow Dollar, Reinhart Bonke, Bill Johnson, Rick Warren, Tony Campolo, Bill Hybels, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagent and the list is just so long and getting so much longer; the congregations that follow them remind me of the passage of Psalm 115

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. ⁵ They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: ⁶ They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: ⁷ They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. ⁸ They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

The truth is, that these Godless men and women would not be their if there was not a desire for them. Like the idols of silver and gold above, they are the work of men’s hands, follow Godless Men or Woman and you will become like unto them, because you created them and now trust them.

The Clouds without water, the trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Those who are nothing but the ¹³ Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; The wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, these are the worthless IDOLS of Psalm 115:4-7, they were created by those who sought them.

They came into existence because those who desired them would not endure sound doctrine, but in their place they heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears and they turned their ears from the truth. (2 Tim 4:3-4).

They are like those of Jeremiah 5:31

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

These congregations gather to themselves the leaders they deserve, in fact the heretics that bear rule by their means, are the just wages of their own unbelief.

Isaiah tells us plainly of such congregations, turn to Isiah 30:8-10

⁸ Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: ⁹ That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: ¹⁰ Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

If you are listening to this message and you can identify you are a member of such a congregation, GET OUT!

I have seen far too many bear with what they know to be an error filled Church, only to become one of them.

If you are saved, YOU WILL NOT GROW, YOU WILL NOT SHARE YOUR FAITH, YOUR WILL NOT SAVE THE LOST AND IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, THEY TOO MAY BE LOST!

If you are not yet saved and you remain a part of such a Church, it is very likely you will remain lost in your sin, for one thing I have recognized is that few if any of these Churches ever preach the Biblical Gospel, if they did, they would not be scratching ears but convicting souls.

When Moses dealt with the ‘Gainsaying of core’ in Numbers 16, he told the congregation in the 26^thverse;

 … saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.

GET OUT OF SUCH A CHURCH and find one that both believes and teaches the Gospel, that believes and teaches the Bible.

DO NOT STAY and certainly, DO NOT LOOK BACK!

CONTRASTED WITNESS OF GODLINESS

¹⁷ But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁸ How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

²⁰ But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, ²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. ²² And of some have compassion, making a difference: ²³ And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

²⁴ Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.