Jude Series: Jude 11a-Disaster Will Strike The Unregenerate Jewish Zealots of Judaea

Jude 11 Disaster will strike them because they have allowed themselves to follow Cain’s course of conduct. Also, they abandoned themselves to Balaam’s perversion, namely financial reward. Consequently, they will certainly cause themselves to be destroyed in association with Korah’s rebellion. (Lecturer’s translation)

Like Jude 4, 8, and 10, Jude 11 is describing the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. who were rebelling against Rome in order to bring in the kingdom of God on earth.

In Jude 11, the dative third person masculine plural form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “them” refers to these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age who were rebelling against the Roman Empire which occupied Judaea in the first century A.D.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that this word agrees in gender (masculine) and number (plural) with the nominative masculine plural form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “these” which appears in Jude 10.

We noted in our study of Jude 10 that it refers to the nearest antecedent in the author’s mind rather than the nearest antecedent in the context since the referent of this word are the unregenerate Jewish Zealots who were last mentioned and described in Jude 4 and 8.

As we noted in our studies of Jude 4, 8 and 10 and in our introduction to this study of the epistle of Jude, most scholars believe that Jude was very concerned about false teachers and their heterodox teaching.

However, as we noted, nowhere does Jude tell the recipients of this letter to reject false teachers and their heterodox teaching.

In fact, nowhere in the letter does he describe the nature of this false teaching.

If you recall, in Romans and Galatians, Paul describes in great detail the nature of the false teaching of the Judaizers.

He also describes in great detail the nature of the false teaching which the Colossian Christian community was being exposed to at the time this epistle was written.

In our study of Colossians, we noted they were dealing with the Essene branch of Judaism with a tinge of an incipient form of Gnosticism that was found in Essene Judaism (cf. Col. 2).

Lastly, the apostle John describes in 1, 2 and 3 John in great detail the nature of the false teaching that the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia was being exposed to at the end of the first century A.D., which was docetic Gnosticism.

In stark contrast to these letters, Jude does not describe the nature of any false teaching that the Christian community in Judaea was being exposed to.

The individuals whom Jude condemns in this epistle are the Zealots or Sicarii who revolted against the Roman Empire and were attempting to persuade the Christian community to join in this revolt.

Thus, in this letter, Jude wants the Jewish Christian community in Judaea to obey the governmental authorities and reject this rebellion against Rome led by these Zealots since it would not be justified civil disobedience.

In other words, to rebel against Rome would be to reject God’s will for their lives.

As we established, Jude was written soon after the death of James and just prior to the Jews war with Rome in 66-70 A.D. and thus Jude was written somewhere between 62-66 A.D.

During the mid-60s the relationship between Rome and Judaea was deteriorating rapidly.

The Zealots or Sicarii they were called, were leading the revolt against Rome and were attempting to seduce Judaeans to rebel against Rome including attempting to persuade the Christian community to join the movement.

When Jude was written, this Judaean revolt led by the Zealots was moving into the cities of Caesarea as well as Jerusalem and stretched out into the desert regions of Judaea including the hill country as well as Samaria and Galilee.

Therefore, the epistle of Jude was attempting to prevent the Jewish Christian community in Judaean from being seduced into taking part in this Zealot led revolt against Rome.

Now, Jude 11 is composed of four declarative statements.

The first solemnly asserts that disaster will strike these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

The second presents the reason for the first and asserts that these individuals have allowed themselves to follow Cain’s course of conduct.

The third declarative statement presents the second reason for the first and asserts that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots have abandoned themselves to Balaam’s perversion, namely, financial reward.

The fourth declarative statement presents the result of the first three declarative statements and asserts that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots will certainly cause themselves to be destroyed in association with Korah’s rebellion.

Jude 11 presents three examples from the Old Testament of individuals who were judged by the Lord for rebelling against His authority.

The first is Cain’s rebellion against the Lord, which is recorded in Genesis chapter four.

The second is Balaam’s rebellion against the Lord which is recorded in Numbers 22-24, Numbers 31:16 and Deuteronomy 23:4-5.

The third and final example is Korah’s rebellion against the authority of Moses, which was delegated to him by the Lord Himself, which is recorded in Numbers chapter sixteen.

Therefore, Jude 11 is teaching that just like Cain, Balaam and Korah were judged by the Lord for rebelling against Him so these Zealots who were attempting to lead the citizens of Judaea into a rebellion against Rome in order to usher in the kingdom of God on earth, would be judged by the Lord as well.

These three examples which appear in Jude 11 are in addition to the three presented in Jude 5-7.

Jude 11 also presents the sixth triad, which we have come across in our study of the epistle of Jude.

The first two appear in Jude 1-2.

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

The fifth triad appears in Jude 10, which presents another three-fold description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

Now, Jude 11 appears in the form of a “woe” oracle, which appears often in the Old Testament.

This form of speech was also used by the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospels.

The interjection ouai (οὐαί), “woe,” which appears in the first declarative statement expresses extreme displeasure with someone which calls for retribution against this person.

Thus, the word is expressing the idea of the Holy Spirit promising through Jude that disaster would strike these unregenerate Jewish Zealots who were rebelling against the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. in Jude’s day and age.

It is thus expressing the Holy Spirit’s extreme displeasure with these individuals and that a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss and destruction will be experienced by these individuals.