Jude Series: Jude 19-The Jewish Zealots Are Divisive, Worldly and Do Not Possess the Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit (2)

Jude 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. (NIV)

Jude 19 is marking a transition in the body of the letter and specifically, it is marking a transition from the contents of Jude 17-18 to the final section of the body of the letter in Jude 19-23.

Jude 19 also presents a three-fold description of the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age who were attempting to persuade the citizens of Judaea as well as the Jewish Christian community in Judaea to join them in their rebellion against Rome.

The purpose of this rebellion was to prompt the Messiah to return to establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

This three-fold description of these Jewish Zealots in this verse is a solemn one because the writer is using the figure of asyndeton.

It is solemn because it serves as an implicit warning for the Jewish Christian community in Judaea to reject the attempts of these Zealots to persuade them in joining them in their rebellion against Rome.

The first description of these Zealots in Jude 19 asserts that they possess the characteristic of being “divisive” because they cause people split into opposing factions or in other words, they are divisive because they cause or instigate divisions between people.

In context, this description speaks of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots as causing or instigating divisions between the citizens of Judaea because of their attempts to persuade them to join them in their rebellion against the Roman civil authorities in Judaea as well as the Jewish civil authorities.

The second description of these Zealots in Jude 19 asserts that they are “worldly by nature” because they are people who are characterized by the created, finite and fallen world.

Their viewpoint and behavior is typical of fallen human nature.

Specifically, this description indicates that they are not only characterized as being enslaved to the indwelling old Adamic sin nature but are also characterized as being enslaved to the cosmic system of Satan and thus, they are totally conformed to the standards of the devil’s world system.

Therefore, this description speaks of a person whose entire life is governed by the indwelling old Adamic sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan.

The third and final description of these Jewish Zealots asserts that they do not possess within themselves the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and presents the reason for the first two descriptions of these Zealots.

Thus, it gives the reason why they are divisive as well as worldly individuals who are enslaved to sin and Satan, namely because they do not possess the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

The clear implication with this third and final description of these Zealots is that they are unregenerate people who do not possess eternal life because they have not been declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude 19 contains another triad in the epistle of Jude, which constitutes the eighth one that has appeared up to this point in the letter.

The first two appear in Jude 1-2.

The third appears in Jude 5-7 and the fourth triad appears in Jude 8 and is a three-fold description of the Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age.

The fifth triad appears in Jude 10 and is also another three-fold description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

The sixth appears in Jude 11 is also a three-fold description of these Zealots.

The seventh triad appears in Jude 12 and is composed of three metaphors, which also serve to describe these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

Also, Jude 19 presents the final three descriptions of these Jewish Zealots, which are contained in this epistle.

The first five descriptions of these Zealots appeared in Jude 4.

Jude 8 presents a four-fold description of these Jewish Zealots in the first century A.D.

Jude 10 presents three more descriptions of these Zealots.

Jude 11 presents a four-fold description of these Jewish Zealots.

Jude 12 presents nine more descriptions of these Zealots.

In Jude 13, the writer presents four descriptions of the Jewish Zealots who were infiltrating the Jewish Christian community in Judaea.

Jude 16 contains five more descriptions of the Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D.

So therefore, Jude 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 19 in total contain thirty-seven descriptions of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots and each of these descriptions serve as a solemn warning to the Christian community in Judaea regarding these people.

Specifically, each is a solemn warning to the Christian community in Judaea to reject their attempts to persuade them into joining their revolt, which is against the will of God.

Their rebellion against Rome was against the will of the Father because by rebelling against Satan’s authority over human governmental authority, they were rebelling against the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord temporarily delegated authority to the devil and his angels to rule over unregenerate humanity with the exception of Israel until He establishes His sovereign authority over all the nations of the earth at His Second Advent.

Furthermore, their rebellion was against the will of the Father because they were attempting to establish the kingdom of God on earth apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Also, they were bringing judgment upon themselves because both the Old and New Testament teach that the nation of Israel is to be subjugated to Gentile nations until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (cf. Dan. 9:24-27; 11:36-40; Lk. 20:20-24; Rev. 13;).