This message is long overdue in my view and it is a message that must be preached and understood by all Christians. I urge you to pay attention so that you do not fall prey to these spiritual vultures!
Jude 1:3 (AMP)
Beloved, my whole concern was to write to you in regard to our common salvation. [But] I found it necessary and was impelled to write you and urgently appeal to and exhort [you] to contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints [the faith which is that sum of Christian belief which was delivered verbally to the holy people of God].
For some of us that may not know, Jude is the last book before revelations. It has only 1 chapter. Jude introduces himself as the brother of James. Jude indicates in verse 3 above that he wanted to write about our common salvation but, he found it necessary and forced or compelled to urgently appeal to and strongly encourage us to fight for our faith. Something made Jude to change his mind and decide to write instead about the defense of our faith. Jude uses words like forced or compelled, urgently and strongly encourage. These words indicate something very serious and very concerning and very urgent. Now what is this thing that is concerning Jude so much? Well, let’s find out.
Jude 1:4 (AMP)
For certain men have crept in stealthily [ gaining entrance secretly by a side door]. Their doom was predicted long ago, ungodly (impious, profane) persons who pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality, and disown and deny our sole Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Jude says in verse 4 above that there are certain men that have crept or gained entrance quietly and unnoticed. Who are these men? We don’t know yet but Jude says their doom was predicted long ago. They are doomed already. So, what wrong with these men, well, Jude says these men
1) Are ungodly persons
2) They pervert the grace of our God into sin and unrestrained lust
3) They disown and deny our sole master and Lord, Jesus Christ
Ok, we still don’t know who these men are but we know that they are doomed and we know why they were doomed because of what they do. Simply put, these men are anti Christs and anti anything to do with Christ. Is that it? Is that what makes Jude so worried? Let’s find out.
Jude 1:5-7 (ESVST)
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day — 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
In the three verses above Jude is reminding us of three things,
1) The Israelites who were destroyed after being saved from Egypt for non belief.
2) Angels mentioned in Genesis who were sent to hell for coming to earth and sleeping with women and having children with them
3) The destruction by fire of Sodom and Gomorrah for sexual immorality and unnatural desires or unnatural lust (meaning homosexuality)
Why is Jude reminding us of this? What is the significance? Let’s find out.
Jude 1:8-10 (ESVST)
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
Jude is saying in verse 8 above, the reason he is reminding us of these things is that, in the same way as the Israelites, the angels and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah disobeyed God, these people, these men, whom we still don’t know yet, also disobey God. They do four things
1) They rely on their dreams ( dreams also include visions, revelations, etc)
2) They defile the flesh ( this refers to sexual immorality and unnatural lust)
3) They reject authority
4) They blaspheme the glorious ones (now it is not clear what glorious ones refer to but, it is save to say that it refers to angels because of verse 9-10.
Let’s look at these four things in more detail.
1) They rely on their dreams
g1797. ενυπνιαζομαι enypniazomai; middle voice from 1798; to dream: — dream (- er).
AV ( 2)- dream 1, filthy dreamer 1;
to dream ( divinely suggested) dreams metaph., to be beguiled with sensual images and carried away to an impious course of conduct
As you can see above the word dream is a Greek word enypniazomai. This word is only used twice in the New Testament, the other times it is used is in Acts.
Acts 2:17 (ESVST)
“‘ And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
This word is associated with prophecies and visions that will come by the Holy Spirit. It is a very broad word that can be used to cover all these. So, back to our message, these men rely on their dreams. What does this mean? This simply means that these men claim to have had divine dreams,divine visions and/ or divine prophesies and revelations from God or form Jesus or from the Holy Spirit. These are the people that claim to have spoken to God or have received a message from God. Once they have managed to convince everyone that indeed what they say is true,then they use the opportunity to commit sins beyond measure. These are the same people mentioned in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
Ezekiel 13:6-8 (ESVST)
They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘ Declares the Lord, ’ when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘ Declares the Lord, ’ although I have not spoken?”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God:“Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God.
Jeremiah 23:25-27 (ESVST)
I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed! ’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal?
As you can see these men have a very bad motive and that motive is, using their false dreams and visions, to defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. Nothing else.they just want to destroy the children of God.