Volume 20, Number 2 July Summer 2025
Bible Study in the Book Of Jude
Contending for the Faith
(Part II of IV)
Jude 5-7
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. 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. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Jude Gives Three Old Testament Examples of Apostasy
The FIRST EXAMPLE is Israel who became apostate (v.5). The reference made in this passage is referring to the report of the spies who returned from the land of Canaan during their wilderness wonderings. At this point, in order to grasp the meaning of this passage, it’s best to go back and read the recorded history of this episode (Num. 13:1-2, 17-20, 23-33, 14:1-45). While the Old Testament tells the story in more detail, reference is also made to it in the New Testament (Heb. 3:16-19). After God fulfilled His promise to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage and opened up the Red Sea, they responded to Him in unbelief and wanted to return to Egypt (Num. 14:2-4). The ten of the twelve spies can be seen as the leaders of this apostasy, with only Caleb and Joshua being the two exceptions. All Israelites “twenty years old and upward” who “murmured” in unbelief (Num. 14:29) were also guilty and “destroyed” in God’s judgment against them. Herein, we discover that the root of apostasy is found in unbelief, either hearing the truth of God or professing it, but yet turning from it in disbelief which is the same as rejecting it.
Canaan was the land God promised to the children of Israel, but it was a land that represents for us today, the Christian life and the victory that we know through spiritual warfare. There is an old Gospel Song that say’s “it’s not an easy road that we’re traveling to Heaven” which is clearly revealed in this passage. God had “saved the people (the nation of Israel) out of the land of Egypt,” but He “destroyed them that believed not” (Num. 14:34-35). In refusing to believe that God could conquer their enemy, Israel committed apostasy, sinning with their eyes wide open to divine truth. Therefore, God chose to deal with this sin by the infliction of the death penalty, having to wonder “40 years” in the wilderness. This meant that all those 20 years of age and older who murmured would have to die-off and a new generation raised up to enter their Promised Land. In this case, those who “believed not” were led astray by the ten spies who “believed not” and were “destroyed” by God.
We need to keep in mind that not all of “Israel” was “Israel” just like not all within the established church consist of the true church (Rom. 9:6-7). Just because one was born a Jew in the flesh does not make him/her saved and a child of God, no more than a child born into a Christian home makes one a Christian. The Israelites were “saved … out of the land of Egypt,” but not all that came out were a redeemed people spiritually. Scripture says that there was a “mixed multitude” (Ex. 12:38) who came out of “Egypt” with the Israelites and later led them into idolatry at Sinai (Ex. 32:1, 26-28). These apostates “crept in” (v.4) to lead the religious, but yet unbelieving, astray from God revealing their true colors.
Even though true Christians (those who have been “born again”) cannot become apostate, they can become guilty of unbelief by not trusting and obeying God’s Word as they ought. In other words, there are always consequences to pay, even for Christians, who do not obey God and practice unbelief in His Promises. Today, there are Christians who will lose the joy of their salvation because they take their eyes off Jesus, but not their eternal salvation (Jh. 10: 27-29, Heb. 3:12). Unbelief kept Israel from enjoying the life of Canaan, being an Old Testament picture of victorious Christian living.
Herein, we’re reminded how some Christian songs are not necessarily biblical, such as the song “Camping in Canaan Land.” We might consider Heaven to be the Eternal Promised Land for God’s people, but it’s never described that way in Scripture. The land of Canaan was supposed to be a place of victory, but it was not without cost and without battles to fight. At this point, we need to be reminded of the old hymn that is biblical, “Faith is the Victory that Overcomes the World” and we know that Faith must be anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ Who does the fighting for us, in us, and through us (I Jh. 5:4). With that being said, we see that many Christians are still wandering in the wilderness, spiritually defeated, and never enjoying the promises of God by Faith. Believers need “ears to hear what the spirit saith to the churches” (Rev. 2:7) and be aware of those who teach contrary to it.
This story cannot help but remind us of the possibility that even believers can be “destroyed” by God (I Jh. 5:16). God warns that it’s possible for Him to remove His people if they persist in certain sins. The Christian can avoid the “sin unto death” by judging himself in light of God’s Word as we are admonished to do at the observance of the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 11:31-32). The reason we have so many DEAD churches is because they have departed from believing and practicing God’s WORD. To read God’s Word and reject putting it into practice is rejecting it’s Truth and asking for divine judgment. When a believer refuses to yield to God’s Word, then he/she will realize the “chastening” Hand of the Lord (Heb. 12:5-10). The Laver in the Old Testament was made of brazen mirrors and held water for washing. The water was used by the priests for cleansing as it typified the Word of God in which we are to spiritually wash for our spiritual cleansing. A daily cleansing of Holy Scripture is a necessity if a believer is to stay on guard against spiritual deception and apostasy that tries to infiltrate into the ranks of the institutionalized church and the body of Christ. In other words, Christians ought to take a daily bath in the Word of God by reading and appling it.
The SECOND EXAMPLE of apostasy given by Jude, are the apostate fallen angels (v.6). Even before the Genesis account of creation, God judged the “angels” who committed apostasy. These “angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” are the ones who followed the chief angel, “Lucifer” as he sought the authority of Almighty God (Isa. 14:12-17, Ezek. 28:12-19). In Isaiah and Ezekiel, we find the first of three names and references given in Scripture to this ring-leader and instigator of sin being “Lucifer.” However, reference to “Lucifer” in both Isaiah and Ezekiel is simply reminding us of the wicked source behind two evil kings in biblical times as well as many others throughout history. In fact, he is the source of all evil wherever it is found. Isaiah actually mentions the name “Lucifer” and Ezekiel refers to his origin and his position before the creation of man.
In Isaiah, it referred to the “king of Babylon” (Isa. 14:4) and in Ezekiel, to “the king of Tyre” (Ezek. 28:12). In other words, we learn that the original source behind every sin and wicked ruler is “Lucifer.” Ezekiel’s passage even takes us back to the beginning “in Eden the garden of God” when this fallen angel appears as a “serpent” in the temptation of “Adam” and “Eve” (Gen. 3). In the Old Testament, he is predominately known as “Lucifer” (Isa. 14:12) and “Satan” (I Chron. 21:1, Job 1:6-12). In the New Testament, he is identified by two names, “Devil” and “Satan” (Matt. 4:10, 16:23, Lk. 10:18, Jh. 13:27, Acts 5:3, I Cor. 5:5, I Tim. 1:20, Rev. 12:9, 20:2).
All three names are descriptive of his spiritual supernatural power, but never more powerful than our Creator God. The name “Lucifer” means morning star, “Satan” means adversary or opponent, and “devil” means deceiver who appears as an “angel of light”, but all he does is lead to spiritual darkness. It’s generally believed that originally one-third of the angels followed “Lucifer" in his rebellion against God (Rev. 12:4) and are known as his demons (Mk. 5:9). Regardless of what you want to call him, the “devil” is our spiritual enemy who is constantly at war with God and God’s people.
The falling of the “angels” from the very presence of God is a good illustration of apostasy. This can either apply to their initial fall or to their sinful influence as described in leading people astray from God such as what is found in Genesis (Gen. 6:1-4). This demonic infiltration into the human race could have been one of Satan’s attempts to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of these fallen “angels” … “crept in” to Noah’s society and led the people into sexual perversion. It’s generally believed that the “angels” (demons) of Noah’s day are the ones that are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” where they await the eternal “Lake of Fire” (Rev. 19:20, 20:11-15) along with all other undegenerates (II Pet. 2:4-6).
Tartarus is the Greek word meaning dark underground caverns in the unseen world located in the center of the earth. We need to also keep in mind that in the New Testament the term “sons of God” refers to believers in Christ, but in the Old Testament is referred to “angels.” Very little is known about “angels” from the Scriptures, but it does appear that they have appeared in human form (Heb. 13:2) and sometimes able to speak and eat even in the form of demonic possession. The judgment against these fallen “angels” and their influence upon the human race is definitely demonic and emphasizes their contribution of leading in apostasy. One thing is for certain, if God will judge spiritual beings, then He will most certainly judge mankind.
The only future there is for apostasy is God’s judgment with no room for His mercy and forgiveness. “Judgment of the great day” refers to the coming White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). The doom of the ungodly is “everlasting” with no opportunity for another chance. Being “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), God will not excuse the “angels” of heaven and neither will He excuse mortal man. There is coming a day when God will judge all men and on that day it will be too late to repent of apostasy or any other sin. To substantiate the possibility that Jude 6 refers to Genesis 6, we need to pay close attention to “in like manner” found in verse 7.
This brings us to the Third Example that Jude gave of apostasy being the people of “Sodom and Gomorrah” (v.7). We can learn much from these wicked cities because they give us a vivid picture of modern-day apostasy (Lk. 17:28-30). Conditions of our day resemble those in the days of “Lot” as we witness a disgusting outbreak and acceptance of sexual perversion in this era of Christendom in which we live (Eph. 5:3). Allowing immorality to go unrebuked within the church will kill the testimony and effectiveness of Christ to the world (I Cor. 5:1-13). Just as “Sodom and Gomorrah” rejected the purity of God’s truth, so will immorality and an increase of homosexuality mark dark days of apostasy in the institutionalized church.
The people of “Sodom and Gomorrah” committed sexual sin, “fornication, and going after strange flesh (homosexuality)” as did the fallen “angels” (demons) in Noah’s day. Scripture says that these cities are “set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” It’s interesting to note that the present participle in the Greek text indicates that the inhabitants are still suffering in torment to this day. God’s judgment of “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them” is “an example” of actually hell itself where the unrighteous will suffer “the vengeance of eternal fire (eternal torment).” Every lost sinner outside of Christ will enter a place of eternal torment immediately at death (Lk. 16:19-31). Although the body returns to dust, the lost will continue forever in a conscious state of misery and suffering. The temporary state of suffering for the lost will only be exchanged for a permanent “lake of fire” (Rev. 19:20).
The inhabitants of “Sodom and Gomorrah” are another “example” of those who turn from God to lustful living without repentance and faith. The sin of “Sodom” was bad, but even worse is the rejection of God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Paul describes such behavior as those whom God has given over to a “reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:18-32) which is when the demons of hell have taken over a soul and God has given them no hope. Lot himself, if you will remember from the Old Testament story, is an illustration of worldly compromise like we find among so many professing Christians today. When “Abraham” and “Lot” (Gen. 13:5-13) divided up and parted company, “Lot” chose to dwell in “Sodom” which was on the Canaanite boarder. Instead of separating himself far away from the pagan Canaanites, he chose to live as close to them as possible and ended up adopting their ways.
That’s the way it is with many church people who live so much like the world that you can’t see any Christian fruit in their lives (II Cor. 6:17). Notice that I said, church people, because being “born again” (Jh. 3:3-8) of the Holy Spirit and placed in the body of Christ is one thing and simply joining a local church is another. That’s why multitudes of local churches are filled witih lost people. The story of Lot’s life teaches us that worldly living will not escape God’s judgment regardless of one’s profession. “Lot” lost his testimony in compromising with the heathen world. “Lot” lost his wife who became a pillar of salt when she looked back desiring to return to “Sodom.” Lot’s daughters adopted the moral values of “Sodom.” “Lot” spent his last days in misery and sin. The cost of rejecting God and even church people who commit apostasy is God’s judgment.
Jude 8-11
8 “Likewise also 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. 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.”
Jude Describes Apostates as Spiritually Corrupt
“Likewise also” are two words that link us together with what Jude has previously mentioned (v.8). Apostates are now described as “filthy dreamers,” people who claim to receive divine revelation, but are spiritually confused and ignorant. In reality, they are self-centered sensual thinkers who do not have their minds on God (Rom. 12:1-2, Phil. 2:5-11). They may even claim to have visions from God, but their origin is merely satanic (Deut. 13:1-5). Apostates are known to “defile the flesh” by rejecting the truth of God and walking after their “own lust” (II Pet. 3:3). Genuine “faith” (II Cor 5:7) in Christ means that we walk “after the Spirit” and not after the “flesh” (Rom. 8:4-9). A life lived merely in the “flesh” will produce carnal “fruit” of ungodly proportions (Gal. 5:19-21). They are like the people of “Sodom and Gomorrah” with immoral lifestyles and no moral restrains.
Apostates “despise dominion” which is to “despise” the authority of God and His Holy Word. We’re living in a day and age when the Bible is being picked to pieces and torn to shreds by those who claim to be professors of Christianity. It’s sad to see the Word of God given a back seat in many mainline denominations, homes, and individual lives. When it comes to such moral issues such as homosexuality, transgender, fornication, and abortion we find many local churches leading the pack in acceptance and legalization. In other words, in our modern day, it’s easier to get people to church to play and party rather than tp preach and pray. At this point, we need to be reminded from the examples given down through biblical history that God’s patience is limited and that the despising and denial of His Living and Written Word will only last for just so long before judgment (Phil. 2:10-11).
Apostates “speak evil of dignities” so we can expect from them widespread criticism of biblical pastors and individual Christians in whom God has empowered to stand without apology and speak His Truth. It’s nothing uncommon to see God’s work suffering and coming under satanic attack when people “speak evil” and gossip about Bible Believing churches and pastors. It can be very discouraging to pastors when a congregation finds fault with all that he either says or does. My advice to genuine believers who are trying to be faithful to the Word of God, is that if you don’t like something a pastor says or does then the best thing to do is pray for him instead of running him down, unless that pastor has himself denied the FAITH and departed from the WORD OF GOD. In that case, get out of that church and find one that still believes the Bible and seeks to practice it. Just remember that pastors are mere mortal men subject to mistake, but Jesus Christ is our Supreme Dignity in Whom we can find “no fault” (Jh. 18:38, 19: 4,6). There were occasions in the Old Testament when people were angry with God and took out their frustrations on God’s men (I Sam. 8:7-8). Since people are unable to get their hands on God, they often fuss at the servants of God (Ex. 16:2-3) who are proclaiming the truth of Scripture.
To show us how to respond to apostate leaders who try and usurp the authority of God, Jude illustrates by telling us about the dispute between “Michael” and the “devil” (v.9). “Michael” is believed to be God’s chief angel who is was considered in the Old Testament to be a special guardian of Israel (Dan. 10:13, 21, 21:12) and as the one who leads God’s angels in war against the devil and his demons (Rev. 12:7). At the time of Moses’ burial, “Michael the archangel … disputed” with the devil over his body (Deut. 34:5-6). Scripture tells us that God buried “Moses” and from this text, it sounds like God used “Michael” to do it. We’re not told why Satan wanted the “body of Moses” and all we can do is speculate, but it was certainly for no worthy purpose. “Railing accusation” means that “Michael” himself being God’s “archangel” (chief angel) did not attempt to get into an argument with “the devil.” “Michael” did not defeat Satan in his own strength, but he gave God the glory by saying to him, “the Lord rebuke thee” (Zech. 3:2). It’s like I’ve said for years, when the “devil” rings your doorbell, send Jesus to answer it because we’re no match for Satan. The only authority, power, and strength that we have in spiritual warfare is to be clothed in our spiritual suit of armor (Eph. 6). God has told us to “contend for the faith,” but not be contentious (Titus 3:9). Like “Michael,” Christians are not to make “a railing (slanderous) accusation” against another, much less “the devil,” but turn our spiritual battles over to God to do the fighting for us (I Sam. 17:47). Apostates are notorious to “speak evil (blaspheme) of those things which they know not,” referring to their spiritual arrogance and ignorance (v.10). They are people who have no deep knowledge of God and what little they do know is only a superficial understanding. They are people living in total spiritual darkness, but think and act like they are bright as a lite-up lightbulb (Matt. 15:14). They have enough knowledge of something to be dangerous, much like a child handling a firearm, or following a blind guide. They can also be likened to allowing a child to play with matches or giving a six-year-old the keys to your car.
Those who teach false doctrine are classified along with the unreasoning animals who respond to mere instinct (II Pet 2:12). Our text puts it this way, “what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” We’re living in an age where people have adopted the moral values of the animal kingdom. Public schools have taught our children that they came from animals and now many of them are acting like animals. Like animals, people are roaming from one sexual partner to another with no regard for God’s Moral Laws of conduct. This shows people who “corrupt themselves” by calling good evil and evil good. Sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, recreational drugs, and the misuse of beverage alcohol are all evidence of moral corruption in our society that has gone mad. Dead lifeless churches number the roadsides giving evidence of spiritual corruption.
Apostates “go in the way of Cain” which takes us back to the early pages in the Book of Genesis (v.11a). “Woe” is a word that ought to get our attention, telling us to stop and think hard about God’s judgement upon apostates. Perhaps we need to first of all ask, what is the “way of Cain” as mention in our text? (Gen. 4:2-7) “Cain” and “Abel” both appeared before the altar of “sacrifice,” but “Abel” brough a lamb from the flock while “Cain” brought the fruit of the ground. There are some who believe the reason why Cain’s offering was not accepted by God is that his heart was not right and true worship must be in “spirit and in truth” (Jh. 4:34). There are others who believe that his offering was rejected by God because it was not a blood sacrifice (Heb. 9:22). For whatever the reason, God did not approve of Cain’s and accepted Abel’s and most likely failing to have a blood sacrifice was a major factor. The “way of Cain” is the way of man-made religion as we see “Cain” ignoring God’s instructions and trying to please the Lord on self-imposed terms. For anyone to set aside Biblical doctrine for personal opinion, mere tradition, or custom is to say that we know better than God. To believe that a person can be saved apart from a personal cleansing in the blood of Christ is to walk “in the way of Cain.” If one rejects God’s “narrow … way” (Matt. 7:14) of salvation, then he goes in “the way of Cain” and establishes his own religion. I like to differentiate religion from salvation to say that religion is man’s attempt to reach God while salvation is God reaching down to man. When it comes to salvation, God is very narrow minded because there is only one way to heaven and it’s God’s way (Matt. 7:13-14).
These two brothers, “Abel” and “Cain” are like the two ways, gates, companies, and destinies that always have and always will divide humanity. “Abel” is a TYPE (picture) of the spiritual man, a genuine believer, a regenerated saved soul. “Cain” is a TYPE (picture) of the natural man, a false professor, an unregenerated lost soul. “Cain” was no atheist or infidel, but he refused to submit to the authority of God. Just because our views don’t agree with God doesn’t mean that we are right and He is wrong. Apostates for the most part will believe in the existence of God, but refuse to submit to His claims upon their lives. Apostates also follow “the error of Balaam for reward” revealing their self-serving nature (v.11b). “Balaam” was an Old Testament prophet who “greedily” sought to enrich himself (Num. 22:1-9). Immediately, we see where false prophets have always existed just like false preachers do today. “Israel” was nearing the end of her wilderness wanderings and just before entering the Promised Land, the pagan nations of Moab and Midian tried to hire “Balaam” to curse “Israel.” After seeking the counsel of God, nothing but blessing came out of his mouth every time he prophesied. However, with greed deep within his heart, he finally sold “Israel” out to the enemy by having the Jews participate in the wicked feast of Baal and causing the pagan women to sin with the men of “Israel” (Num. 25:2-3). The “error of Balaam” involved the leading of others into sin for personal gain (Rev. 2:14). This “doctrine of Balaam” is a doctrine of worldly compromise like we see taking place in churches worldwide. Therefore, we need to be on guard against these religious racketeers who attempt to exploit God’s people and who “hold the doctrine of Balaam.” God’s people should be students of the Word of God so that we’ll recognize the counterfeit and fakes when they try to infiltrate into the church. This “error of Balaam” is the error of apostasy that caused “Israel” to mingle with the heathen and eventually practice their ways. “The way of Balaam” is the same basic “way of Cain” with both loving “unrighteousness” more than God’s righteousness (II Pet. 2:15-22).
Apostates have the very nature of a rebel like “Korah” during the days of Moses and Aaron (v.11c). “Korah” was a Levite who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16:2-5). Once again, like the false prophet, “Balaam,” we find false priests among the nation of “Israel” which reminds us that Satan’s tactics are nothing new. In other words, “the devil” is the same old “devil” that he’s always been with the same intent to lead God’s people away from the Lord. “Korah” claimed that Moses was not needed because he saw all men as holy. However, the real reason for his rebellion was to selfishly lift himself up before the congregation of “Israel.” Like “Michael the archangel,” Moses simply let God take care of dealing with this demonic rebel rouser (Num. 16:31-35). “Gainsaying” as we find it in our text, is simply translated from the Greek to mean rebellion and in this case it’s rebellion against the Word of God. Herein is certainly discovered a mark of apostasy that is still prevalent in our day. The fact that “Korah … perished” reminds us that apostasy is a one-way road downhill with no turning back. Regardless of who an apostate may be, their end is one of God’s judgments. We go back to the beginning of verse 11 and see that the word, “Woe unto them” is referring to “Cain … Balaam” and “Korah,” and all that follow after them. As never before, believers need to pray for spiritual discernment so that we can recognize apostates and have God’s power to “contend for the faith” without compromise.