Jude 12a-The First Metaphors to Describe the Jewish Zealots
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday August 13, 2022
Jude Series: Jude 12a-The First Metaphors to Describe Jewish Zealots
Lesson # 47
Jude 12 These are dangerous reefs at your love feasts. Those who for their own selfish interests regularly feast together with all of you without reverence. Those who care only for themselves. These are waterless clouds, which are carried away by winds. These are autumnal trees, which are without fruit, which have died twice, which have been uprooted. (Lecturer’s translation)
Like Jude 4, 8, 10 and 11, Jude 12 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.
This seventh triad is composed of three metaphors, which describe these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.
The first describes these individuals as “dangerous reefs” and the second describes these Jewish Zealots as “waterless clouds,” and the third and final metaphor describes these individuals as “autumnal trees.”
Each of these three metaphors and nine descriptions of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots 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 avoid these individuals who were attempting 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 teaches that the nation of Israel is to be subjugated to Gentile nations until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
As we noted, the first description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude 12 presents the first of three metaphors which describe them in greater detail.
It asserts that these individuals are like dangerous reefs who attend the love feasts of the Christian community in Judaea.
The noun agapē (ἀγάπη), “love feasts” pertains to a communal meal in which the members of the Christian community expressed the love of God when interacting with each other.
In other words, it was a time in which the members of the Christian community experienced fellowship with one another through the study of the Word of God and observing the Lord’s Supper.
During this meal, they also received instruction with regards to the love of God.
This meal culminated in the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
The love of God is produced in the life of the child of God by the Holy Spirit when they exercise faith in the Spirit inspired teaching of the Word of God, which results in obedience to the various Spirit inspired requests, commands and prohibitions contained in the Word of God.
Specifically, this word refers to love for God which results in the practice of this love when interacting with one’s fellow Christian and those outside the Christian community.
In Jude 12, the noun spilas (σπιλάς), “dangerous reefs” is equating these unregenerate Jewish Zealots to a submerged ridge of a rock or coral near the surface of the water.
Thus, it is a figurative extension of a submerged ridge of a rock or coral near the surface of the water, which is thus an unrecognized source of danger for those in a vessel traveling on the surface of the water.
Therefore, this first metaphor is used to describe these individuals as those who will wreck or destroy the spiritual lives of individuals in the Christian community in Judaea because they will cause them to rebel against the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we also noted, the second description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude 12 develops the first metaphor and describes these individuals as those who for their own selfish interests were feasting together with members of the Christian community in Judaea without reverence for the sanctity of their love feasts.
This description reveals that these individuals were not only eating with members of the Christian community in Judaea during their love feasts but also that they did so without reverence for the sanctity of their love feasts since they did not honor and respect the Lord Jesus Christ who the Christian community in Judaea worshipped during these love feasts.
The implication is that these individuals did not regard the sanctity of the Lord’s Supper or the instruction in the gospel which the Christian community was receiving during these love feasts.
This description also makes clear that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots were selfish individuals who did not desire to worship Jesus Christ but rather desired to persuade members of the Christian community to join them in their revolt against the Roman Empire.
The implication is that they were only attending the love of feasts of the Christian community in Judaea as a pretext to persuade them to join them in their rebellion against Rome.
As we noted, the third description of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude 12 also further develops the first metaphor.
It describes them as caring only for themselves, which makes explicit the previous description in that it asserts emphatically that they cared only for themselves and did not care to worship Jesus Christ or serve the Christian community in Judaea.
They wanted only to serve themselves by persuading this community to join them in their revolt against Rome.
The implication is that the Christian community was unaware or ignorant of the fact that these Zealots were attending their love feasts but only caring for themselves and not them or the Lord Jesus Christ.