Jude 8-The Relationship Between Jude 8 and Jude 5-7
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 7, 2022
Jude Series: Jude 8-The Relationship Between Jude 8 and Jude 5-7
Lesson # 33
Jude 1 From Jude, a slave owned by Jesus Christ as well as James’s brother to those who exist in state of being loved by God, who is your Father. Therefore, to those who are the effectually called ones who are existing in the state of being kept in the state of being protected by and for the benefit of Jesus Christ. 2 May divine-compassion be increasingly experienced by each one of you so as to increasingly experience divine-peace as well as to increasingly experience divine-love. 3 Beloved, although I have prepared myself with utter diligence to communicate in writing for the benefit of each one of you regarding our common salvation, I have entered into the state of experiencing compulsion to communicate in writing for the purpose of exhorting and encouraging each and every one of you at this particular time to make it your habit of exerting intense effort for your own benefit on behalf of the faith, which has been delivered once and never again for the benefit of the saints. 4 For certain people have joined all of you surreptitiously with evil intent. Specifically, those who long ago are written about beforehand with regards to the same type of judgment I am about to describe, who are ungodly who are exchanging experiencing the grace of our God for practicing criminal behavior. Consequently, they are refusing to follow the one and only Master, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 Now, I am prompted to desire to cause each and every one of you to be reminded (even though each of you are possessing a thorough knowledge about each of these examples) that Jesus, sometime after having delivered the people out from the land that is Egypt, destroyed those who would not believe. 6 Correspondingly, He is keeping by means of eternal chains under the control of total supernatural darkness for the purpose of executing the judgment during the great day of those who entered into the state of not keeping their own sphere of activity but rather in fact abandoned their own place of habitation. 7 Similarly, in a manner like these angels, the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the citizens of the cities around them caused themselves to be publicly set forth as an example. Namely, because they are experiencing a righteous punishment, which is experiencing eternal fire because they committed immorality, specifically, because they pursued after homosexual activity. 8 Nevertheless, despite this, in a similar manner, these also on the one hand, are defiling their bodies, while on other hand, they are rejecting human governmental authority, and on the other hand, they are disrespecting angelic beings because they are delusional to their own detriment. (Lecturer’s translation)
Now, Jude 8 contains four declarative statements.
The first asserts that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. and were rebelling against Rome were defiling their bodies.
The second asserts that they were also rejecting human governmental authority.
The third asserts that they were disrespecting angelic beings.
These three declarative statements form a correlative clause.
The fourth declarative statement presents the reason for this correlative clause and asserts that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots were delusional.
The contents of Jude 8 are presenting the similarity between the rebellion of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. and the rebellions of the Exodus generation, the fallen angels of the antediluvian period and the citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim.
So therefore, by way of view, we noted that Jude 5-7 presents three examples from the Old Testament in which the Lord judged a group of individuals for rebelling against Him.
The first of these examples was presented in verse 5 and was the Exodus generation who were regenerate individuals in a covenant relationship with the Lord but suffered the final stage of divine discipline, namely, physical death as a result of their unrepentant unbelief after their justification, which manifested their rebellion against Him.
Jude 6 presents the second example, which were the fallen angels during the antediluvian period who possessed the bodies of unregenerate men in order to have sex and procreate with unregenerate women in order to prevent the incarnation of the Son of God.
The actions of these angels manifested their rebellion against the Lord.
Jude 7 presents the third and final example, which were the unregenerate citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim who were all killed because of their unrepentant homosexual behavior.
This behavior manifested their rebellion against the Lord.
Jude 8 serves to affirm these three Old Testament examples of those who were judged by the Lord for their rebellion against Him.
It also serves to mark a contrast between these three examples and the unregenerate Jewish Zealots who are described in Jude 8.
Like the citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and the fallen angels of antediluvian period, these Jewish Zealots defiled their flesh.
However, the citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim defiled the flesh through the practice of homosexuality.
The fallen angels of the antediluvian period defiled the flesh by possessing the bodies of unregenerate men in order to have sex with unregenerate women in order to procreate with them.
The unregenerate Jewish Zealots of Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. defiled the flesh by means of their criminal behavior.
Like the Exodus generation, the citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and the fallen angels of antediluvian period, these Zealots rejected governmental authority.
The Exodus generation rejected the authority of Moses whose authority over Israel was delegated to him by God.
The fallen angels of the antediluvian period rejected the authority of the Lord.
These unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age rejected the governmental authority of the Roman Empire over Judaea and which authority was delegated to Rome by God (cf. Rom. 13:1-7).
Like the Exodus generation, the citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and the fallen angels of antediluvian period, these unregenerate Jewish Zealots disrespected angelic beings.
The Exodus generation disrespected angelic beings by rejecting the Law given to Moses, which was given through angels, which manifested their rebellion against the Lord.
The citizens of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim disrespected angelic beings by attempting to have sex with them when they were in Lot’s home (cf. Gen. 19).
The fallen angels of antediluvian period disrespected the elect angels by leaving the angelic realm by possessing the bodies of unregenerate men in order to have sex with unregenerate women in order to procreate with them.
These four declarative statements, which compose Jude 8 are also affirming by way of contrast the content of Jude 5-7.
It is thus expressing the idea that despite the examples from Old Testament history, the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. nevertheless in a similar manner also on the one hand, are defiling their bodies, while on other hand, they are rejecting human governmental authority, and on the other hand, they are disrespecting angelic beings because they were delusional.
Therefore, the idea expressed in Jude 8 is that despite these three examples from history that the Lord judges those who rebel against Him, these Jewish Zealots nevertheless were rebelling against the Lord by defiling the flesh, rejecting authority and insulting angelic authorities because they were delusional.