Jude 8-13
Sin, Soothsaying, and Sedition
“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” - Jude 8-13
Introduction
I know of a wonderful Sunday School teacher who needed a short study to do for his class before embarking on a larger series. He looked through the New Testament, found Jude to be a fairly short book, and figured he could knock it out in a few lessons. Upon starting his series on Jude, he realized he was in way over his head and would need many weeks to cover everything! If you thought verses 5-7 were strange, they were only the build up to the passage before us now. This is a masterclass in stringing together references of the Old Testament as well as stories familiar to First Century Jews, in order to purify the New Testament Church. We’ll survey these references briefly, but remember that Jude has a main point he means to get across. If we go too deep into some of the references Jude presupposes a knowledge of, we run the risk of losing his central exhortation: Contend for the faith because apostates are in our midst. I’ll do my best to give the meat without getting too lost in the details.
Jude is my kind of preacher, because he loves three point sermons! In v. 5-7, we received three examples of judgment that falls on defectors: Israel, angels, and gentiles. In v. 8, we receive three descriptors of the apostates: They defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. From there, in v. 11, three Old Testament archetypes are provided for modern apostates (Cain, Balaam, and Korah). Lastly, Jude breaks from his series of threes, and gives five nature illustrations to describe these men. I will take v. 11 as my primary outline, and show how the way of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the rebellion of Korah are still threats to the Church. Let us fear God and remain faithful as we consider these realities.
The Way of Cain
The way of Cain can be understood as the lives of all religious leaders and professors of the faith who have not had their hearts purified by faith (Acts 15:9). Because they haven’t been justified by faith alone, the process of sanctification hasn’t been initiated in their lives, and the result is powerlessness against the lust of the flesh. The story of Cain is found in Genesis 4:1-8,
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Along these lines, the author of Hebrews tells us the difference between Cain and Abel’s offerings, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Hebrews 11:4). For all intents and purposes, we can think of Cain as a professing believer coming to corporate worship. On the one hand, Abel approached God in worship by faith, with a blood sacrifice. On the other, Cain sought to worship God on the merit of his own works, offering something he produced from the field. This is the difference between works-based religion, and that which is by grace through faith in Christ alone. When Cain realized Abel was accepted by faith, whereas he was rejected despite his best efforts, he was thrown into a murderous rage. Sin crouched at his door, and Cain could not resist. Cain became the first apostate, and an archetype for all who follow.
Jude draws on this line of thinking throughout our text. In v. 8, we find false teachers also defile their flesh. Like animals, they do whatever feels best to them in the moment (v. 10), and like trees in late autumn with no roots, they cannot produce lasting fruit (v. 12). It would be one thing for a preacher to proclaim false doctrine, but equally important is their way of life. Holiness matters. What you believe about God in worship will always be reflected in the way you live, and visa-versa. If you intend to have power over the lust of the flesh, you must come to God through Christ by faith. Anything else will result in the worship of Cain.
The Error of Balaam
In Numbers 22-24, we find the peculiar story of Balaam, who many preachers have rightly called a “prophet” for profit. He relied on mysticism to get money. In the Old Testament text, we read of how a man named Balaak wanted to curse Israel, because he knew he would never be able to destroy them through the brute force of military strength; so, he sought out a prophet for hire who could curse them. Every time Balaam sought to pronounce a curse on Israel, God put a blessing in his mouth instead. When Balaam realized his curses wouldn’t go forth, and his paycheck was in jeopardy, he devised a more crafty means to destroy Israel which we read about in Revelation 2:14. Balaam told Balaak to get the women of Moab to seduce the men of Israel to commit immorality, eat food in excess, and sacrifice to idols. The result of this was disastrous. Balaak couldn’t destroy them with military strength, Balaam couldn't destroy them with mystic power, so they seduced Israel to destroy themselves through the slow erosion of faith and holiness.
Balaam teaches the people who live in strong religious societies to give up God’s blessings without even knowing they did so. Balaam says, “Skip church today and just watch TV! It’s okay! Just this once…” or, “Christianity is strict and judgmental. This worldly philosophy is a good substitute for Scripture.” One Compromise soon turns to addictions, and one wasted week soon turns to years of prolonged apathy toward the things of God. Before you know it, you look back and say, “Wow, remember when I used to be a Christian?” Sampson heard the words, “The enemy is upon you!” but we must remember that the enemy is within us. Sometimes the devil knows he can’t destroy you from without, so he tempts you to indulge your inward lusts, and that way you destroy yourself.
The mysticism of men like Balaam is first described in Jude’s opening statement from verse 8; the KJV calls them “dreamers,” a modern translation reads that they “claim authority from their dreams.” Further description is added in verse 12, he calls them “clouds without water.” What does he mean? God has granted to His Church shepherds who are supposed to keep the sheep alive by feeding them His Word, that which we know He has said, the Holy Scriptures. Rather than saying, “Open your Bibles to…” They will say, “I had a vision, a dream” or “God told me to say….” Mystic preachers like this are a dime a dozen, and the long term effects of their ministries are deadly. This is because God’s people will go to them thirsty for truth, standing beneath a cloud expecting rain; however, instead of getting the living water of Biblical gospel-truth, they get the imaginations of misguided mystics. People will sit under these “sermons” for years, thinking they’re getting fed, when in reality they are slowly starving to death.
In 1 Timothy 6:10, we read that the “love of money is the root of all evil.” If you want to find a mystic pastor following in the error of Balaam, just follow the money. In John 10, Jesus describes them as “hirelings.” They only look after the sheep as long as there's some kind of personal prestige, position of honor, or paycheck to be gained. Now, I do believe it's good for churches to pay their ministers and have staff. However, if you’re listening to the sermons of a man who wouldn’t preach without a paycheck, you know you’re listening to a modern day Balaam, a hireling from the devil.
The Rebellion of Korah
As we’ve moved through each of these examples, you should start to see a progression in the heinousness and scale of the evil in its implementation. Cain’s faithlessness led him to sin, and he destroyed himself. Balaam’s mysticism and love of money led him to deceive thousands. Now we are given the example of Korah’s rebellion which almost damned an entire nation. The story of Korah has been abused by many preachers, so I tread upon these grounds lightly with humility.
In Numbers 16:1-3, we read the root cause of this infamous rebellion:
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?
Korah despised God’s established authority. His resentment quickly turned to bitterness, bitterness turned to dissension, and dissension turned to damnation. The banner of his rebellion was that phrase “All the congregation is holy!” In a sense, he was right. All of God’s people are holy, but God still has a means of delegating authority and various forms of leadership. What followed from this was a confrontation between Moses and Korah. God honored His established leader Moses, and God opened the earth and swallowed Korah and his followers into hell (v. 31-34). After this, a plague broke out, and 14,700 people died in this rebellion before it was over.
On a large scale, you could say this is how ever cult starts and ends. A charismatic figure decides he doesn’t like the established church. They devise their own destructive doctrines, spread rumors, gather followers, and worship as they see fit until the day they ultimately die and go to hell. On a smaller scale, every form of dissension in any church is a microcosm of Korah’s rebellion. When you bitterly say, “I don’t get why I need to listen to a preacher!” Or, “Why do those deacons, or elders get to make those decisions?” Or, “Why are those people in charge of that particular ministry? I should be on that stage! I should be in charge! Me!” If this is how you think, the rebellion of Korah has taken root, even if it’s just in seed form. Now, let me qualify this, no pastor today has the same authority as Moses, and no local church operates on the same level as ancient Israel. However, the principle still stands that God governs His people through delegated authority and established leadership. Don’t be rebellious for the sake of selfish gain.
The strangest example of rebellion against authority in this passage comes in verse 9. Here, we have a reference to Michael the archangel disputing with Satan for the body of Moses. This story is odd to us, but to the Jewish audience Jude wrote to, it was common knowledge. There’s an apocryphal book called The Assumption of Moses which was a creative retelling of Moses’ life. Regardless of the circumstances which brought about this dispute, the main point is that even the greatest of the angels didn’t take it on himself to rail against even the greatest of God’s enemies. He simply appealed to God’s justice, and said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” Even when the cause of true righteousness is on your side and you are disputing with the greatest evil, you ought not to think you can handle the situation yourself. Appeal to heaven. God will do what’s right.
Lastly, in verse 13, we are given two more nature illustrations of these kinds of rebellions. First, they are “raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame.” Meaning, they make a big splash for a short moment, but all that washes up on shore is the muck of their own guilt. They look good, and sound good for a moment, but God isn’t on their side. Second, They are “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Remember that the ancient world didn’t have astronomy as we know it today. The ancients would have looked into the sky and beheld stars following fixed rotations; however, they would have seen certain stars which didn’t follow the fixed courses of the others, today we call them planets, the ancients called them “wandering stars.” The Christian life is one of structure and stability; it's a life set on the narrow road that is headed for a particular end. When you reject God’s established authority, you are like a star which appears to come from nowhere and is also headed nowhere. The only thing for you is the blackness of the night sky, and this is also a direct reference to God’s eternal hell.
Conclusion
Where is Christ in all this? First, recognize that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). When you reject the way of Christ, you are left with the way of Cain. When you reject the truth of Christ’s Word, you are left with the dreams, empty clouds, and errors of Balaam. When you reject the life of Christ, you are left with the death and destruction that inevitably falls on rebels like Korah. How are we to keep churches and individual hearts safe from these kinds of influences? Look to Christ in faith. The truth is that He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers a way of life in Scripture which is sure to lead to eternal communion with God in heaven.
Second, this word “darkness” in v. 13 is also found in the parable of the wedding banquet of Matthew 22:11-14. In this parable Christ gave, He invites many people to a wedding feast, which is symbolic of heaven. One man came to the feast without a wedding garment, was cast into outer darkness, eternal hell. Our protection from eternal hell is to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ Himself. We cannot earn eternal life as a reward for the work we do. We must receive eternal life as a gift of God’s grace by faith. Christ is the only one who obeyed the law, and He offers you that perfect righteousness now. Only believe.
If our faith is in Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, then our lives will bear the fruit of true discipleship. We will walk in progressive holiness and repentance. We will rely on the written Word of God alone. We will remain humble, and not balk against God’s established authorities. And we will not be led astray by the deceit of the enemies within the church.
