Session 3
Notes
Transcript
Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;
A reminder about Exodus. This is pointing back to Moses, the one whom the Pharisees and Sadducees really liked to go back to, as Moses was considered the greatest.
Notice how Jude makes a direct claim regarding God. Who brought the Israelites out of Egypt? God. God brought the plagues.
God parted the Red Sea.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,
God went before the people in smoke and fire.
The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.
Jude makes the connection clear: God did those things, and Jesus is God because HE saved a people out of Egypt.
Those same people had people among them whom did not believe, and God destroyed them.
Now I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them, since they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did. Don’t become idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party. Let us not commit sexual immorality as some of them did, and in a single day twenty-three thousand people died. Let us not test Christ as some of them did and were destroyed by snakes. And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
Numbers 25:1-18 gives the account of the 24000 people.
They angered the Lord with their deeds,
and a plague broke out against them.
Going back to Jude, verse 5. The Word of God is giving a very stern warning about not going the path of the Israelites of old. Jude says: Contend for the faith that was delivered once and for all! In other words: HOLD FAST!
Sometimes a good look back is all the reminder that we need. Jude is reminding the Jewish Christians that this same Jesus that we worship now is the same Jesus that did all that then.
The Word of God is telling all the Gentile Christians: you read the Scripture of Old and this is the same Jesus, same God, and there are consequences to going astray!
and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.
When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.
For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones;
Again we are reminded of a Biblical history that is HISTORY! Look back at the things that we have found.
Biblical Archeology: the burning sulphur balls found in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(Video Joel Kramer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQl4KaRtef8&t=699s
In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.
Wait go back a second: 2 Peter 2:10
especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones;
Tie in!
In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.
In the same way that all those who we just mentioned, kept going astray, kept leading people astray. Telling people of visions, dreams - LIES and deceptions - defile their flesh (destroying the image of God) , reject God’s authority, and Slander glorious ones.
Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
You can read more about Michael in Daniel 10; 12; Rev 12
You can also read about Gabriel in Luke 1; 1 thess 4
There is no Biblical account found anywhere regarding this. But we do have accounts of Angels interactions with people, and accounts of the supernatural warfare that is occuring. Daniel 8, 9, 10, all have accounts of angels.
So do we go to extrabiblical sources? NO! You can read them for entertainment, for perhaps it was like this, but not for truth or accuracy.
We must trust that this occured because God’s Word contains it. We must trust that we do not need to know all the details.
And we can LEARN from what we do have.
First, Scripture is inerrant. The inerrancy of Scripture is one of the pillars of the Christian faith. As Christians, our goal is to approach Scripture reverently and prayerfully, and when we find something we do not understand, we pray harder, study more, and—if the answer still eludes us—humbly acknowledge our own limitations in the face of the perfect Word of God.
Second, Jude 9 is the supreme illustration of how Christians are to deal with Satan and demons. The example of Michael refusing to pronounce a curse upon Satan should be a lesson to Christians in how to relate to demonic forces. Believers are not to address them, but rather to seek the Lord’s intervening power against them. If as powerful a being as Michael deferred to the Lord in dealing with Satan, who are we to attempt to reproach, cast out, or command demons in our own strength?
But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed.
They speak against what they do not understand, and they cannot understand Godly things, Spiritual things, because they have no Spirit of Truth in them.
So they give in to the things they do understand, and those things are things that lead to destruction.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
How do you find the narrow gate? YOU HOLD FAST!
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
What is the way of Cain? Gen 4 account.
unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
Cain’s way is the way against God. The way of unrighteousness.
Balaam sought wages.
They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness
They seek earthly pleasures and financial gains.
Korah’s Rebellion found in Numbers 16.
Korah was a Levite, and therefore a member of the tribe of those who were closest to the Tabernacle, who worked the Lord’s Tabernacle, and could become Priests. They ministered to the rest of Israel.
Korah accused Moses of lifting himself about the Levite community of Israel. He claimed that all of Israel Levitical Community was holy, and that Moses was seeking something special for himself.
Moses falls on his face before Korah, a sign of humility. And then told Korah that the Lord would let everyone know who could stand in His holy presence.
Korah was a Levite, but not a priest. Moses rebukes and says basically: isn’t it enough that God blessed you with being a Levite, but now you are seeking to steal into Priesthood, something God has not called you into.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
