Sermon Tone Analysis

Jude 14 Now, in fact, Enoch, who is the seventh in descent from Adam, prophesied against individuals like these, namely, by asserting, “Look!

The Lord is returning with a countless number of His holy ones.

15 in order to execute judgment against each and every person.

Specifically, for the purpose of convicting each and every person because of each and every one of their ungodly actions, which they committed in an ungodly manner.

Correspondingly, because of each and every one of their harsh words, which they have spoken against Him.” (Lecturer’s translation)

Jude 14-15 contain a quotation from 1 Enoch 1:9 and a prophecy concerning the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and they also compose a single sentence and thought.

These verses are composed of declarative statement followed by a purpose clause.

The former asserts that Enoch, who is the seventh in genealogical descent from Adam, prophesied against individuals like these unregenerate Jewish Zealots living in the first century A.D.

The latter presents the purpose of the former and asserts that the Lord will judge every unrepentant, unregenerate human being living on the earth at the time of His Second Advent.

Consequently, these verses serve to emphasize with the Christian community in Judaea that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots will be judged if they do not repent by trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Therefore, Jude 14 is marking a transition from a description of these individuals in Jude 8-13 to a prophecy of the judgment of every unrepentant, unregenerate human being living on the earth at the time of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which is described in Jude 14-16, which compares to the judgment of these Zealots.

As we noted, Jude is quoting from 1 Enoch 1:9, which we noted is a non-canonical work.

1 Enoch 1:9 Behold, he will arrive with ten million of the holy ones in order to execute judgment upon all.

He will destroy the wicked ones and censure all flesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners and the wicked ones committed against him.

The fact that Jude 14-15 quotes from 1 Enoch 1:9 simply verifies that the event recorded by the latter is prophetic and by no means indicates that the church was verifying the inspiration of this pseudepigraphic work.

Jude wrote this epistle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and thus, the Holy Spirit moved him to quote from 1 Enoch 1:9, which speaks of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

This verifies that 1 Enoch 1:9 and this event is prophetic and not that 1 Enoch as a whole is prophetic and inspired by God.

The story of Enoch is recorded in Genesis chapter five, which reveals that Enoch’s father was Jared (Gen.

5:18) and he was the father of Methuselah (Gen.

5:21).

Genesis 5:22 asserts that he walked with God for three hundred years after becoming the father of Methuselah, whose name means “when he dies, then it shall be sent,” which is a reference to the flood in the days of Noah.

Thus, by giving this name to his son, Enoch was prophesying about the flood which took place during the days of Noah.

Jude 14-16 makes clear that Enoch was a prophet as well.

Thus, like Noah, he proclaimed the gospel during the antediluvian period when the fallen angels of Satan possessed the bodies of unregenerate men in order to have sex with unregenerate women in order to prevent the incarnation of the Son of God who would destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

It is significant that Enoch prophesied about midway between Adam and Abraham according to Jude 14, and Elijah about midway between Abraham and Christ, and that both Enoch and Elijah ministered in times of deep apostasy.

Genesis 5:24 asserts that he disappeared because God took him away from the earth.

Enoch was also in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Lk.

3:37) and he was also commended by God for his faith in Hebrews 11:5.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up.

For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God.

(NET)

Jude 14 describes Enoch as being “the seventh from Adam.”

Specifically, it describes him as being seventh in genealogical descent from Adam, who of course, is a reference to the progenitor of the human race.

His wife was Eve and like Enoch, he was also in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Lk.

3:38).

Adam died at 930 years of age (Gen.

5:5).

This description of Enoch, that he was the seventh in descent from Adam, is inclusive which means that it is counting Adam as the first because in actuality, Enoch was the eighth son of Adam after the birth of Cain and Abel, who were actually the first two sons of Adam and Eve.

After Cain murdered Abel, Adam fathered Seth (Gen.

5:3), who fathered Enosh (Gen.

5:6), who in turn fathered Kenan (Gen.

5:9) and he fathered Mahalalel (Gen.

5:12) who fathered Jared (Gen.

5:15) and then lastly, he fathered Enoch (Gen.

5:18).

Thus, this expression hebdomos apo Adam Henōch (ἕβδομος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ Ἑνὼχ), “that is, the seventh from Adam” indicates that Enoch was seventh in genealogical descent from Adam with Adam being counted as the first.

Why didn’t Jude count Cain and Abel and assert that Enoch was the eighth son of Adam and Eve?

The answer is that in the Word of God the number seven symbolized perfection or completion.

Thus, by having Adam as the first, and Enoch, the seventh in genealogical descent from the former, Jude could employ the number seven in order to emphasize Enoch’s prophetic gift, which distinguishes him from Adam’s other sons.

In Jude 14, the accusative masculine plural singular form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “them” refers to the nearest antecedent in the context.

The referent of this word would be the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age whose ungodly character is described in Jude 8-13 and who were rebelling against the Roman Empire which occupied Judaea in the first century A.D.

This word functions as a dative of disadvantage or opposition which is expressing the idea that Enoch prophesied “against” that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots.

In other words, the dative case indicates that Enoch’s prophesy was “opposed” to these individuals.

Jude 14 also asserts that accompanying the Lord to the earth at His Second Advent will be a countless number of His holy ones.

The dative feminine plural form of the adjective hagios (ἅγιος) is the elect angels of Jesus Christ who will return with Him at His Second Advent.

It does not refer to church age believers since the church age was a mystery, which means that it was not known to Old Testament saints like Enoch whose prophecy Jude quotes here in Jude 14-15 (cf.

Rom.

16:25; Eph.

5:32).

The teaching of the New Testament makes clear that elect angels will accompany the Lord Jesus Christ to planet earth at His Second Advent (cf.

Matt.

13:41; 25:31; Mk. 8:38; 13:27).

It is interesting that the writer in Jude 14-15 quotes this prophecy which appears in 1 Enoch 1:9 regarding the Second Advent of Jesus Christ in order to support his contention that the Lord will judge these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in his day and age in the first century A.D.

This would appear to indicate that Jude believed that the Second Advent was in fact imminent.

Of course, he would also have to have believed that the rapture was imminent as well as since the New Testament writers and in particular Paul, make clear that the rapture.

which is the resurrection of the church, precedes the seventieth week of Daniel, which ends with the Second Advent.

However, it is more likely that Jude 14 is continuing to use similes, which was the case in Jude 12 and 13 where they are clearly implied.

Jude 12 These are like 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 like waterless clouds, which are carried away by winds.

These are like autumnal trees, which are without fruit, which have died twice, which have been uprooted.

13 These are like violent waves, which are produced by the sea, which are foaming out their own selfish shameful actions.

These are like wandering stars.

The gloom produced by the darkness, which is unique to that which is experienced throughout eternity, is kept for the judgment of these individuals.

(Lecturer’s translation)

Human beings are not dangerous reefs, waterless clouds, autumnal trees, violent waves or wandering stars.

Thus, Jude is making a comparison between these various phenomena of nature and these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in the first century A.D.

Further supporting this interpretation is that the Holy Spirit who inspired Jude to quote 1 Enoch 1:9 would know from His omniscience that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots living in the first century A.D. would not be living when the Second Advent of Jesus Christ took place.

Therefore, Jude 14-15 are asserting that “In fact, Enoch, who is the seventh from Adam in descent, prophesied against individuals like these, namely, by asserting, “Look!

The Lord is coming with a countless number of His holy ones in order to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”