Jude Series: Jude 18-People Will Mock the Apostolic Teaching of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ During the Last Days (2)

Jude 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” (NIV)

As we noted in our study of Jude 17, this verse marks a transition in the epistle of Jude and specifically, it is marking a transition from Jude 14-16 to Jude 17-19.

The former we noted compares those people who will be judged by Jesus Christ at His Second Advent with the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. and it also contains a five-fold description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

Like Jude 16, Jude 19 also contains a description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots and in fact provides a three-fold description of these individuals.

Also, Jude 17 reminds the Jewish Christian community in Judaea of the prophetic statement, which was communicated beforehand to them by the personal agency of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The content of these prophetic words appears in Jude 18 and asserts that during the last period of history, mockers will as a certainty live for their own selfish interests because they will, as a certainty, for their own selfish interests conduct their lives according to their own desires, which are ungodly.

2 Peter 3:2-4 echoes Jude 17-18 and actually identifies for the reader of the latter exactly what unrepentant, unregenerate people will be mocking during the last days.

A comparison of these passages indicates that these individuals will mock the apostolic teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will personally establish the kingdom of God on the earth at His Second Advent.

2 Peter 3:2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (NIV)

The last days began with the Lord Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father and will end with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ or in other words, the last days began with the First Advent of Jesus Christ and will end with His Second Advent.

Both the apostle Paul and the apostle John asserted that they were living in the last days (cf. 2 Tim. 3:1–2; Heb. 1:2; 1 John. 2:18).

The “last hour” or the “last days” speaks of the present period of history immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ at His Second Advent to destroy Satan’s kingdom on the earth and to establish God’s kingdom on the earth for a thousand years.

Therefore, this period is called “the last days” because it is the last days of Satan’s kingdom ruling over the earth.

This interpretation is supported by the contents of Jude 14-15, which compares those who will be judged by Jesus Christ at His Second Advent with these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

Jude 14 is using the figure of simile, which was the case in Jude 12 and 13 where they are clearly implied.

Human beings are not dangerous reefs, waterless clouds, autumnal trees, violent waves or wandering stars.

Thus, Jude is making a comparison between these various phenomena of nature and these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in the first century A.D.

Further supporting this interpretation is that the Holy Spirit who inspired Jude to quote 1 Enoch 1:9 would know from His omniscience that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots living in the first century A.D. would not be living when the Second Advent of Jesus Christ took place.

Therefore, Jude 14-15 quotes 1 Enoch 1:9 and asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to planet earth at His Second Advent with myriads of His elect angels in order to execute judgment against each and every unrepentant, unregenerate human being living on the earth because of each and every one of their ungodly actions and words.

These verses are comparing the judgment of these individuals with the judgment of the unregenerate Jewish Zealots living during the first century A.D. who were attempting to persuade the Jewish Christian community in Judaea to join them in their revolt against Rome in order to usher in the kingdom of God on the earth.

They are asserting that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge every unrepentant, unregenerate human being on the earth at His Second Advent by convicting each and every one of them because of their ungodly actions and words.

Therefore, when Jude 17-18 assert that during the last period of human history, mockers will live for their own selfish interests because they will for their own selfish interests conduct their lives according to their own desires, which are ungodly, it is in relation to the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, this is indicated by the immediate preceding context and in particular Jude 14-15, which compares the unregenerate people who will be judged by Jesus Christ at His Second Advent with the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in the first century who were leading Judaea in revolting against Rome.

Unlike, 2 Peter 2:3, Jude 17-18 does not explicitly assert that the people will be mocking the apostolic teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ will personally establish the kingdom of God on the earth at His Second Advent because the Second Advent is already implied from Jude 14-15.

These individuals were attempting to persuade the citizens of Judaea to join them in their revolt against not only the Roman civil authorities with the pretext of ushering in the kingdom of God on the earth.

These Zealots believed that the Messiah of Israel would not come back and establish His millennial reign on the earth over the Gentile nations until the Jewish Christian community began their revolt against these Gentile nations ruling over them.

As we also noted, this was a rejection of the teaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles as well as the Old Testament prophets and which teaching asserted that Jesus Christ Himself, the Messiah, the King of Israel would personally and violently establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

Therefore, we can see why Jude in verses 17-18 sought fit to bring up the prophecy regarding those who will mock the apostolic teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will personally establish the kingdom of God on the earth at His Second Advent.

These unregenerate Jewish Zealots had rejected Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah and King and consequently, they had rejected the teaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will personally establish the kingdom of God on the earth at His Second Advent.

These Zealots erroneously believed that they could bring in the kingdom of God by their own efforts, which in their view required that they fight Rome and remove her from Judaea.

This contradicted the teaching of Jesus and His apostles since Jesus Christ Himself taught that He personally would bring in the kingdom at His Second Advent (Matt. 24-25; Rev. 19-20) and He would in fact destroy the final stage of the Roman Empire at that time (Dan. 2:33-35; 7:23-27; 9:27; 11:36-45).

If the Christian community in Judaea did not continue to adhere to the teaching of Jesus and His apostles, then they would not be contending for the Christian faith which they were commanded to do in Jude 3.

Therefore, contending for the faith would mean that the Christian community in Judaea would reject the attempts of these Zealots to persuade them to join their revolt against Rome to establish the kingdom on the earth because the Lord Himself will establish the kingdom on earth through His own efforts at His Second Advent.