Jude’s Use of Pseudepigraphic Works and Its Theology

The epistle of Jude quotes from “pseudepigraphic” works since it quotes 1 Enoch and the Assumption or Testament of Moses.

The term “pseudepigrapha” refers to a large number of false and spurious writings.

The New Testament writers make use of a number of these books.

For example, Jude 14–15 quote from the Book of 1 Enoch (1:9) and the Assumption of Moses (1:9); and an allusion from the Penitence of Jannes and Jambres is found in 2 Timothy 3:8.

Of course, it should be remembered that the New Testament also quotes from the heathen poets Aratus (Acts 17:28); Menander (1 Cor. 15:33); and Epimenides (Titus 1:12).

Truth is truth no matter where it is found, whether uttered by a heathen poet, a pagan prophet (Num. 24:17), or even a dumb animal (22:28).

Nevertheless, it should be noted that no such formula as “it is written” or “the Scriptures say” is connected with these citations.

It should also be noted that neither the New Testament writers nor the Fathers have considered these writings canonical.

The “pseudepigrapha” books are those that are distinctly spurious and unauthentic in their overall content.

Even though they claim to have been written by biblical authors, they actually don’t express sound doctrine but rather religious fancy and magic from the period between about 200 B.C. and 200 A.D.

The Roman Catholic Church considers these books as the Apocrypha, which is a term not to be confused with an entirely different set of books known in Protestant circles by the same name which we noted earlier.

The actual number of these books is not known with certainty, and various writers have given different numbers of important ones.

There are at least eighteen worth mentioning.

They are the book of Jubilee, the letter of Aristeas, the book of Adam and Eve, the martyrdom of Isaiah, 1 Enoch, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Sibylline Oracle, the Assumption of Moses, 2 Enoch, 2 and 3 Baruch, 3 and 4 Maccabees, Pirke Aboth, the story of Ahikar, the Psalms of Solomon, Psalm 151, and the Fragment of a Zadokite Work.

The theology of the epistle of Jude is rich.

In the first two verses of the letter, effectual call of God is mentioned with the phrase “to those who have been called” (verse 1).

We also have a reference to the love of God in verse 1.

Then, in verse 2, we not only have a reference to the love of God again but also the mercy of God, which flows from the love of God as well as the peace of God.

The body of the letter begins with a reference to the doctrine of salvation (verse 3) as well as the Christian faith, which is a reference to the gospel or that body of doctrine which the Lord and His apostles which is now recorded in the Greek New Testament.

In verse 4, we have a reference to the judgment of God and eternal condemnation of unrepentant, unregenerate humanity as well as the grace of God, which the Zealots, who are condemned in this epistle, perverted.

In verse 6, we have a reference to the doctrine of angels and in particular doctrine of the fallen angels who during the antediluvian period had sex with the unregenerate women and were destroyed in the flood during the days of Noah and are now imprisoned in Tartarus.

The doctrine of eternal condemnation comes back into view in Jude 7 with reference to the unrepentant, unregenerate citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jude 8-9 allude to the doctrine of angels and the doctrine of authority with reference to the arch angel of God, Michael disputing with Satan over the body of Moses after his death.

In this passage, Jude asserts that Michael the arch angel did not disrespect the authority of Satan when arguing with the devil over the body of Moses unlike the Zealots who rejected angelic authority as manifested by their rebellion against Rome.

The doctrine of slander is alluded to in Jude with reference to Michael not slandering Satan when disputing over the body of Moses in Jude 10.

The doctrine of unregenerate humanity comes back into view in Jude 12-13 with the description of the unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

Jude 14-15 contains a reference to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ which ends the seventieth week of Daniel.

Jude 18-19 refer to the doctrine of the last days, which began with the First Advent of Jesus Christ and will end with His Second Advent.

Jude 20 refers to the spiritual growth of the recipients of the epistle of Jude with reference to their being build up on their most holy faith, which refers again to the doctrine of the gospel, i.e., sound doctrine or in other words that body of doctrine which the Lord Jesus and His apostles taught and the Christian church considers orthodoxy.

The love of God is mentioned once again in Jude 21 along with mercy of God.

We have also a reference to eternal life in this verse.

The doctrine of salvation is also mentioned once again in Jude 23.

Jude 24 mentions the doctrine of eternal security as well as the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church which takes place immediately after the rapture and involves the Lord Jesus Christ evaluated the service of each member of His bride, the church in order to determine if they merit rewards for faithful service or not.

Lastly, the epistle of Jude teaches that rebelling against the civil authorities is sin and ultimately rebellion against God.

This was the head of the list of sins that the Zealots who are condemned by Jude in this letter were committing.

The Zealots were attempting to establish the kingdom of God on earth without Jesus Christ.

The apostles and Jesus taught that He would personally establish the kingdom of God on earth by force (cf. Matt. 24-25; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 19:11-20:3).

Therefore, Jude discusses the results of rejecting the governmental, angelic authority, apostolic authority and ultimately the sovereign rulership of Jesus Christ.