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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jud_1:3-4
3Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jud_1:3 "Beloved" Jude uses this phrase several times (cf. Jud_1:1; Jud_1:3; Jud_1:17; Jud_1:20). He emulated God's love and he truly cared for his readers. There are several possible origins of the term.
1. Old Testament
a. used of Israel (cf. Deu_33:12, who rebelled)
b. used of Solomon (cf. Neh_13:26, who rebelled)
c. used of believers (cf. Psa_60:5; Psa_108:6, who need to be delivered)
2. New Testament
a. common title in 2 Pet. (cf. 2Pe_3:1; 2Pe_3:8; 2Pe_3:14-15; 2Pe_3:17)
b. common title in 1 and 2 John (which also deals with heresy, cf. 1Jn_3:2; 1Jn_3:21; 1Jn_4:1-2; 1Jn_4:11; 2Jn_1:3; 2Jn_1:5; 2Jn_1:11)
c. sometimes used by James (Jude's brother, cf. Jas_1:16; Jas_1:19; Jas_2:5)
NASB "while I was making every effort to write you"
NKJV "while I was very diligent to write to you"
NRSV "while I was eagerly preparing to write to you"
TEV "while I was doing my best to write to you"
NJB "at a time when I was eagerly looking forward to writing to you"
The term spoudç means eagerness or zeal. It is used in 2 Peter twice: 2Pe_1:5 and 2Pe_3:12. Jude felt an urgency to write about one subject, but the Spirit and the circumstances mandated another topic.
▣ "our common salvation" One wonders what this phrase would have meant to Jude's readers. It is similar to "a faith of the same kind as yours" in 2Pe_1:2. 2 Peter 2 and Jude obviously have some literary connection.
Was the commonality in (1) the person of Christ, (2) the gospel about Christ, (3) the way of receiving Christ, or (4) living for Christ?
We may wish the NT writers had given us more information, but the truth is, we have all the information we need ("faith once and for all given to the saints" Jud_1:3; Jud_1:20). The issue is whether we will respond to what has been given (revelation).
▣ "I felt the necessity to write" This shows the Spirit's leadership in writing (cf. 2Pe_1:21). Notice that the infinitive "to write" appears twice in Jud_1:3. The first is present tense. Jude was in the process of writing about the common salvation, but something happened (an event, a message, an intensification of evil, etc.) and he had to write (aorist tense), which refers to the book of Jude.
▣ "contend earnestly" This is a present middle (deponent) infinitive. This is an athletic term (this intensified form is found only here) from which we get the English word "agony" (cf. 1Ti_6:12). Believers are to have the ability to articulate their faith before and for others (cf. 1Pe_3:15). In this context it means "to aggressively continue to defend the faith against false teachers."
▣ "the faith" This term is used here in the sense of the body of Christian truth (cf. Jud_1:20; Act_6:7; Act_13:8; Act_14:22; Gal_1:23; Gal_3:23; Gal_6:10; Php_1:27). It is surprising that Jude mentions this body of Christian truth but then discusses the lifestyle of the false teachers, not their doctrine. Obviously Christianity is both truths about Christ and emulation of the life of Christ. The false teachers of the NT period often tried to separate truth (orthodoxy) from life (orthopraxy). Christianity is not only what we affirm, but how we live out these affirmations.
The term faith (pistis) has several usages in the Bible.
1. in the OT it denotes "faithfulness"
2. in the NT (by context)
a. an initial believing/trusting response to the gospel (i.e., Act_14:27; Act_20:21)
b. godly, daily Christlike living (i.e., Eph_1:15)
c. the doctrines emerging from the preaching/teachings of Jesus and the Apostles (usually with the definite article, i.e., Act_6:7; Act_14:22; Act_16:5; 1Ti_4:6)
▣ "which was once for all handed down to the saints" This is an aorist passive participle. The Greek term "handed down" (paradidômi) meant a passed-on tradition (cf. 2Pe_2:21; 1Co_11:2; 2Th_2:15; 2Th_3:6). It is used in the sense of "entrusted." Believers are stewards of the gospel (cf. 1Ti_6:20; 2Ti_1:14; 1Pe_4:10) and will give an account (cf. 2Co_5:10) of how they passed on the faith.
"Saints" always appears in the plural in the NT except once in Php_4:21, but even there it is in a corporate context. To be saved is to be part of a family! We are holy because of our relationship with Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:32). This is our positional standing in justification (cf. Romans 4). Hopefully our position will progress into lifestyle Christlikeness (cf. Eph_4:1; Eph_5:2; and 1Jn_1:7).
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Jud_1:4 "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed" False teachers usually come from within the group (cf. 1Jn_2:18-19). This refers to the false teachers who used cunning schemes (cf. Jud_1:8; Jud_1:10-12; Jud_1:16; Jud_1:18-19) in order to manipulate the people of God. Other false teachers are mentioned in the NT in Mat_7:15-23; 2Co_11:13-15; Gal_2:4; Eph_4:14; Col_2:8-23; 2Ti_3:1 ff and of course, 2 Peter 2. See Special Topic at Jud_1:12.
▣ "those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation" This is a perfect passive participle. A similar concept is found in 2Pe_2:3. This may be (1) an allusion to the non-canonical book of I Enoch (cf. Jud_1:14) or (2) an example of Jude's following OT examples. False teachers have crept in unnoticed throughout history and the tragedy continues (cf. Eph_4:14).
See Special Topic at Jud_1:12.
▣ "ungodly persons" This is the term "godly" (eusebçs, cf. 2Pe_2:9 or eusebeia, cf. 2Pe_1:3; 2Pe_1:6-7; 2Pe_3:11) with an alpha privitive (asebçs, cf. 2Pe_2:5; 2Pe_3:7; Jud_1:4; Jud_1:15 or asebeô, cf. 2Pe_2:6; Jud_1:15). This is a key term in Jude (used six times) and 2 Peter 2. It is also a common designation of rebellion in I Enoch. These teachers are doctrinally false, which led to moral ungodliness. "By their fruit you shall know them" (cf. Matthew 7, 13).
NASB, NKJV "turn"
NRSV, NJB "pervert"
TEV "distort"
This term (metatithçmi), in this context, implies to change something (in the gospel) by substituting something else (here, from Greek philosophy). It denotes an intentional change or alteration.
Normally the word means to remove or to transfer (i.e., Heb_7:12; Heb_11:5).
▣ "the grace of our God into licentiousness" Antinomians/Libertines use God's grace as a license for the flesh (cf. Rom_6:1-23; Rom_14:16; 1Pe_2:16; 2Pe_2:19), particularly sexual exploitation.
The term "grace" can be understood in two ways. First, as the character of God who loves and receives fallen mankind solely on the basis of His provisions and promises. It has been defined as the undeserved and unmerited love, acceptance, and forgiveness of God. Its synonym would be mercy. Second, it may be another way of referring to the Christian faith, like "the faith once and for all given to the saints."
Whichever is true, these false teachers are exploiting the loving, forgiving character of God for their own selfish purposes, which is the essence of sin—independence from God. These are wolves in sheep's clothing (cf. Mat_7:15). The tragedy is that God's people often do not recognize them and even yield themselves to them.
▣ "deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" This is the present middle (deponent) participle meaning "they continue to deny." Literally, it means "renounce," which may refer to renouncing Christ by their lifestyle (cf. 1Ti_5:8; 2Ti_3:5; Tit_1:16).
This separation of profession from lifestyle was characteristic of the first-century false teachers. Later Gnosticism (see Special Topic below) asserted that one is saved by secret knowledge of the angelic spheres (aeons) between a high holy god and physical creation. Salvation was an intellectual concern and did not affect one's lifestyle. Jude and James respond harshly to this disjunction between faith and life (following Jesus' teachings in Matthew 5-7).
There is a Greek manuscript variant in Jud_1:4. The NKJV has "deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." The oldest and most reliable Greek texts (P72,78, à , A, B, and C) do not have "God." One article seems to identify one person who is (1) master, (2) Lord, and (3) Jesus Christ.
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▣ "Master" Literally this is "despot." This term is also used of Jesus in 2Pe_2:1. If Jesus is master of our lives, we cannot be (cf. Luk_6:46).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jud_1:5-7
5Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Jud_1:5 "Now I desire to remind you" We need to be reminded over and over again of the truths of God, even the basics (cf. Jud_1:17; 2Pe_1:12-13). Jud_1:5-7 form one sentence in Greek.
NASB "though you know all things once for all"
NKJV "though you once knew this"
NRSV "though you are fully informed"
TEV "for even though you know this"
NJB "though you have already learnt it once for all"
There is a question among English translations as to which word the adverb "once" (hapax) should relate
1. to "knowing" or
2. to "saving"?
Does the verse teach that the readers are fully informed or that the Israelites of the exodus were fully informed? The first option is explained in two ways: (1) Jude is using a Greek idiomatic phrase or (2) Jude is referring to the work of the Spirit in leading believers into truth (cf. Joh_14:26; Joh_16:13; 1Jn_2:20; 1Jn_2:27). The second option has in its favor (1) the use of "subsequently" (or "in the second place" ) and (2) the manuscript variations of later scribes who moved "once" in the hoti clause.
It seems to me that option two (cf. UBS4, NRSV, and TEV) fits the context best, but not the best and oldest manuscript tradition. This may be an allusion to the "New Covenant" of Jer_31:31-34.
▣ "Lord" Because of the fact that NT authors regularly relate Jesus with YHWH, the OT covenant title for Deity, there occasionally occurs an ambiguity as to which person of the Trinity is being addressed. This has caused Greek manuscript variations in both Jud_1:4-5. Some Greek texts add "God" after "master" in Jud_1:4 (cf. NKJV). This term (despotçn) normally refers to the Father in the NT, but in 2Pe_1:1 it refers to Christ.
This same ambiguity affects Jud_1:5. There is a wide variety of variations in the Greek manuscripts:
1. "God Christ" in P72
2. "Lord" in à
3. "Jesus" in A, C
4. "the Lord" in C*
5. "the God" in the Vulgate
The best solution is that "Lord" is referring to YHWH's activity in the Exodus, although some theologians believe that "the angel of the Lord," who led Israel, could have been the pre-incarnate Christ (cf. 1Co_10:4).
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▣ "saving a people" This use of the term "save" (sôzô) refers to physical deliverance (its OT sense, cf. Jud_1:5; Jas_5:15), not spiritual salvation (its NT sense, cf. Jud_1:23). The Israelites were "called" and "chosen" to be God's people.
▣ "subsequently destroyed those who did not believe" This obviously refers to some historical account from the OT books of Exodus and Numbers (the exodus and wilderness wandering period). Hebrews 3-4 uses this same period as an example of apostasy. The problem is to which event it refers.
1. the first rebellious attempt to enter the Promised Land
2. another period of rebellion
3. Korah's rebellion
4. Ba'al worship at Shittim
Does this term "destroyed" imply (1) physical death or (2) eternal death? If physical death, then it refers to those who refused to believe the two faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb, the generation of fighting men (20 to 50 years of age) who left Egypt but balked at entering the Promised Land and died in the wilderness (cf. Numbers 14). If eternal death, then it probably refers to those who died on the border of the Promised Land, on the plains of Moab at Shittim, where some of the Israeli people participated in fertility worship with the women of Moab. It seems that all three of Jude's OT examples involve sexual sins (cf. 2Pe_2:2; 2Pe_2:13-14; 2Pe_2:18). The context fits option #1 best.
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Jud_1:6 "angels" Jude adds "angels" to his lists of those who initially worshiped and later rebelled against YHWH and were thus destroyed or judged. But which "angels?" Some information is given to describe this particular group of angels.
1. they did not keep their own domain
2. they abandoned their proper abode
3. they will be kept in eternal bonds under darkness for judgment day
4. "sinned" (2Pe_2:4)
5. "committed them into Tartarus" (2Pe_2:4)
6. "committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment" (2Pe_2:4)
Which angels in the OT rebelled and sinned?
1. angels as powers behind pagan worship
2. the lesser angelic beings, called by specific demonic names in the OT. Examples: Lilith (cf. Isa_34:14), Azazel (cf. Lev_16:8), and goat demons (cf. Lev_17:7).
3. the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 (often discussed in intertestamental apocalyptic writings, I Enoch 86-88; 106; II Enoch 7,18; II Baruch 56; Jubilees 5)
4. angels mentioned in an example from a Jewish apocalyptic inter-testamental writing (because of Jude's use of other books of this kind in Jud_1:9; Jud_1:14)
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NASB "who did not keep their own domain"
NKJV "who did not keep their proper domain"
NRSV "who did not keep their own position"
TEV "who did not stay within the limits of their proper authority"
NJB "who did not keep to the authority they had"
There is a play on the tense of the verb "keep" in Jud_1:6. The angels did not keep their place (aorist active participle) so God has kept them in a place of imprisonment until judgment day (perfect active indicative). Those angels who violated God's will faced both temporal and eschatological judgment, just as the rebels of Israel during the wilderness wandering period and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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NASB "but abandoned their proper abode"
NKJV "but left their own habitation"
NRSV "but left their proper dwelling"
TEV "but abandoned their own dwelling place"
NJB "but left their appointed sphere"
These angels left (aorist active participle) their heavenly domain and went to another (earth). This fits the angelic interpretation of Gen_6:1-4 very well. This act was a willful rejection of God's will and authority.
▣ "in eternal bonds" This is literally "chains." Chains are used on angels in I Enoch and Satan is bound with a "great chain" in Rev_20:1-2. The term "eternal" may mean "powerful," "adequate," "sure," not literally eternal, because these angels are only held until judgment day, when other means of incarceration shall be used (cf. Rev_20:10; Rev_20:14-15). The point is, some are imprisoned now, so as to control their evil activities.
▣ "under darkness" The term Tartarus (not used in Jude, but present in the 2Pe_2:4 parallel) was used in Greek mythology for the holding place of the Titans, the half divine, half human giants. This fits the angelic interpretation of Genesis 6. I Enoch describes the new abode of these rebellious angels (cf. I Enoch 10:5,12) as eternal darkness. How different from heavenly brilliance (glory). The rabbis divided Sheol into "Paradise" (for the righteous) and Tartarus (for the wicked). The term "abyss" (cf. Luk_8:31, Rev_9:1; Rev_11:7; Rev_20:3) is synonymous with the metaphors of darkness used in Jud_1:13 b.
▣ "the great day" This is another way of referring to Judgment Day (cf. Mat_25:31-46; Rev_20:11-15), the day when God will hold all conscious creation responsible for the gift of life (cf. Php_2:10-11; Isa_45:23; Rom_14:10-12).
Jud_1:7 "Sodom and Gomorrah" This is the third OT example of rebellion that involved sexual activities outside of God's revealed plan of marriage
1. the Canaanite fertility worship at Shittim (cf. Numbers 25)
2. the attempt by angels to mix the orders of creation (cf. Gen_6:1-4; 2Pe_2:4)
3. the homosexual activity of Sodom and Gomorrah toward angels (cf. Genesis 19; 2Pe_2:6)
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▣ "and the cities around them" These cities are listed by name in Deu_29:23.
▣ "same way" This is an ACCUSATIVE which relates grammatically to the angels (cf. Jud_1:6), not "the neighboring towns." It has been speculated that Jude used these OT illustrations because as angels took women in Genesis 6, so here men tried to take angels (cf. Gen_18:22; Gen_19:1). If so, this would be another example of the attempt to mix the orders of creation. However, to me it seems that the inhabitants of Sodom did not know these were angels and thought them to be men (cf. Gen_18:22).
▣ "gross immorality and went after strange flesh" This is in reference to "different kind of (heteros) flesh." This may relate to (1) the angels and women according to Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews 1.3.1 or (2) the homosexuality (cf. Rom_1:26-27) so prevalent in the area of Sodom.
▣ "are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" Jude uses these OT examples as a clear warning to his readers. Beware of sexual exploitation by anyone.
The NT speaks clearly of eternal punishment (cf. Mat_18:8; Mat_25:41; Mat_25:46; 2Th_1:9; Heb_6:2; Rev_19:20; Rev_20:11; Rev_20:14-15; Rev 21:28; and also I Enoch 54:1). This subject is difficult to discuss because the Bible does not give much information about heaven or hell. It affirms their reality, but does not reveal specific information, usually describing them in metaphorical language. Jesus uses the "valley of the sons of Hinnom," which was just south of Jerusalem and was used by the Israelis under Manasseh for the worship of Molech, the Canaanite fire god who required child sacrifice. The Jews, out of shame and regret for their own participation in these fertility rites, turned this locality into the garbage dump for Jerusalem. Jesus' metaphors of fire, smoke, and worms came from this place, Gehenna.
This place of torment was not created for mankind, but rebellious angels (cf. Mat_25:41). Evil at all levels will be removed and segregated from God's creation. Hell is the Bible's way of describing this permanent divide.
Before I leave this topic let me express the pain with which I approach this subject. This is the only suffering in the Bible that is not redemptive. This is not the will of God for anyone. It is a result of willful, continuous rebellion, both angelic and human. It is an open, bleeding sore in the heart of God that will never heal! God's willingness to allow free will among His creatures results in some painful, eternal losses.
The Jerome Biblical Commentary, vol. II, p. 379 mentions that Jude's description of the punishment of these angels is very similar to I Enoch 10:4-6,11,13; 12:4; 15:3; 19:1. This seems to confirm Jude's familiarity with this inter-biblical Jewish apocalyptic work.