For 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. Now 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. And 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, just 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. (4–7)

Sound doctrine is under siege. In fact, it always has been.

The attack on truth is as old as human history. It began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan twisted God’s Word and convinced Eve to disobey her Creator (Gen. 3:1–6). Ever since, the father of lies (John 8:44) has tirelessly continued his bitter offensive against divine truth (cf. Acts 20:29–30; Eph. 6:10–18). His goal is simple, to resist the advancement of God’s kingdom at any cost. His tactics are stealthy, as he baits his victims through deception and distortion. And his strategy is successful among unbelievers (within God’s sovereign limits), as the muddled quagmire of modern religion makes abundantly clear.

Yet, despite his apparent victories, Satan’s days are numbered. God Himself promises that the truth will ultimately prevail (cf. 2 Thess. 2:5–17); Christ’s eternal kingdom—in which error has no part—will one day be established (2 Peter 3:13). As for the Evil One and his guerrilla tactics, they will be vanquished forever (Rev. 20:10).

In the meantime, recognizing that Satan is still on the prowl (1 Peter 5:8), Christians must be earnest and steadfast in contending for the faith (see v. 3). They must be proactive in pursuing the truth, and also in confronting and resisting everything false. Such requires much wisdom, discernment, fortitude, and endurance. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you” (2 Tim. 1:13–14; cf. 1 Tim. 6:20–21). Like Timothy, present-day believers have a mandate to take the truth of the gospel seriously, doing all they can to protect and preserve its purity. This is especially crucial for pastors and elders. As those who are responsible for “the flock of God”(1 Peter 5:2) they must be faithful to hold “fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that [they] will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). They are responsible to interpret Scripture accurately or be brought to shame (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).

Jude certainly understood what was at stake; he knew that the church was being infiltrated by its enemies. He recognized that a battle was brewing—a conflict that marked Satan’s newest campaign in his long war against the truth. And that is why Jude wrote this letter: to alert his readers to the doctrinal dangers they faced from Satan’s covert agents. Like a general briefing his troops about the enemy, Jude profiles these apostate foes for his audience. Thus, in this section, he dealt with their presence, prediction, portrayal, and perishing so that his readers might be well-equipped to expose and disarm any such spiritual terrorists.

THE PRESENCE OF THE APOSTATES

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, (4a)

Jude’s warning was not merely hypothetical; the false teachers were already present. The word translated crept in unnoticed (pareisduō) appears only here in the New Testament. It has the connotation of slipping in secretly with an evil intention. In extrabiblical Greek it described the cunning craftiness of a lawyer who, through clever argumentation, infiltrated the minds of courtroom officials and corrupted their thinking. Having already permeated the church, the apostates were in position to “secretly introduce destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1).

To be sure, there are many false teachers outside the church who propagate lies and deceptions and openly proclaim their opposition to Christianity. Jesus warned the apostles, “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them” (Mark 13:9; cf. Acts 4:1–3, 13–18; 5:17–18, 26–40; 6:12–14; 7:54, 57–59; 8:1–3; 12:1–4; 14:19; 16:19–24; 17:5–9; 21:26–36; 23:12–24:9). However, the counterfeit pastors, elders, deacons, and teachers within the church are usually far more dangerous. Attacks from outside the church often unite God’s people, but attacks from inside—coming from false teachers—usually divide and confuse the flock.

Such false teachers creep in unnoticed, infiltrating the fabric of the church, and orchestrating as much harm as possible. As a result, genuine fellowship, worship, ministry, and evangelism fade away as the church succumbs to devastating errors in both doctrine and practice. The New Testament repeatedly warns of the danger posed by apostasy within the church (cf. Acts 20:28–31; 2 Cor. 11:12–15; Gal. 1:6–9; 3:1–3; Col. 2:8, 18–19; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 2:9–11, 18–22; 4:1–6; 2 John 7–11). In today’s church, such apostasy takes many forms. False teachers write books and edit publications, speak on radio and television, teach in colleges and seminaries, preach from pulpits, and have Web sites on the Internet. Satan always sows his tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:24–30), raising up false brethren whom he disguises as messengers of truth (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14).

Although Jude’s description of the apostates as certain persons is vague, their specific historical identity is not essential to his main point—namely, that any and all spiritual pretenders pose a clear and present danger to the church, whatever their error. Nor did Jude consider it necessary to detail the nuances of their particular false theology. It might have been an incipient form of Gnosticism or an early version of Nicolaitanism (a heresy that perverted grace and promoted wicked and immoral behavior; see Rev. 2:6, 15). Whatever the case, Jude’s readers knew who the apostates were and what they taught. Thus, he warned them to be on their guard. In the same way, contemporary Christians must also be aware that similar heretics still threaten the church today (Matt. 7:15; 24:11; Acts 20:29).

THE PREDICTION CONCERNING THE APOSTATES

those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, (4b)

From the earliest times of redemptive history, God has promised to judge apostates with the utmost severity. The perfect tense of the participle progegrammenoi (beforehand marked out) suggests that long ago God pronounced damnation against all apostates. They are sons of wrath whom He has ordained for this prophesied condemnation. Jude would also refer to their condemnation in verses 14–15 of this letter,

The Old Testament prophets also made many predictions concerning the judgment of apostates (Isa. 8:20–22; Jer. 5:13–14; 8:12–13; Hos. 9:7–9; Zeph. 3:1–8), as did the apostle Peter:

(See also the discussion of those verses in chapter 6 of this volume.) The verdict against these apostates was pronounced long ago, meaning that their inevitable, final judgment is unalterable.

THE PORTRAYAL OF THE APOSTATES

ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (4c)

Without question, the apostates of Jude’s day (as with false teachers of any time period) were primarily characterized by ungodliness (cf. v. 15). They claimed to belong to God and speak for Him; however, their hearts were far from Him (cf. Matt. 7:15–23). In light of this, Jude portrayed their character, their conduct, and their creed as corrupt.

THEIR CHARACTER

ungodly persons (4c)

As ungodly persons (asebēs), the false teachers could not worship God properly. In fact, they were and are devoid of any and all reverence for Him. The early church fathers used the term asebēs in reference to atheists and heretics. Such people only play at religion, while possessing no genuine fear of God or love for Him (cf. Matt. 23:25; 1 Tim. 6:5; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:16). Although they purport to be spiritual leaders, in reality they egregiously betray their constituents’ trust in shockingly immoral and unethical ways. They all claim to know and speak truthfully of God, Jesus, and Scripture, but their sinful character undermines that claim.

THEIR CONDUCT

who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness (4c)

The false spirituality of the apostates could not restrain their fleshly lusts. They perverted God’s grace and changed it to licentiousness (aselgeia, “sensuality, indecency, unrestrained vice”) or “sensuality” (which is the New American Standard translation of aselgeia in Gal. 5:19). Under the tyranny of their unredeemed passions (cf. Rom. 8:3–6; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 5:16–17, 24; 6:8; Phil. 3:3), the false teachers secretly indulged their fleshly desires. Then, to make matters worse, they excused their behavior by perverting the biblical concept of grace. In so doing, they demonstrated that they had never actually embraced Christ’s salvation at all; if they had truly tasted divine forgiveness, they would not have used grace as a license for sin (cf. Rom. 6:1–2; Gal. 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16; 2 Peter 2:19).

THEIR CREED

and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (4c)

Apostate false teachers view themselves as their own masters. Therefore, they refuse to honestly acknowledge the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ (Ps. 89:27; Acts 7:55–56; 10:36; Rom. 5:1; 6:23; 10:9, 12; Eph. 1:21–22; 4:15; Phil. 2:11; Col. 1:18; 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 5:12; 19:16). They will not submit to Jesus as divine Master (despotēs, “sovereign ruler”) and Lord (kurios, “sir,” “owner,” used as titles of deference and honor); nor will they give Him the honor He singularly requires as God the Son and the Savior of sinners. Thus they deny Christ His rightful position as God (John 5:23), as King (Matt. 25:34; John 1:49–51; 12:13; 18:37), and as Messiah (Matt. 2:4–6; Mark 8:27–29; Luke 2:25–35; John 4:25–26). In so doing, they confirm that they are counterfeit; “they profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:16).

THE PERISHING OF THE APOSTATES

Now 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. And 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, just 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. (5–7)

In this passage, Jude provided further insight into the deceivers’ condemnation (v. 4b) by citing three of God’s past judgments against other apostates—namely, apostate Israelites, apostate angels, and apostate Gentiles. This section closely parallels 2 Peter 2:3–10. There Peter wrote about God’s judgment on fallen angels, on unbelievers through the Flood, and on the grossly wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah. (See the discussion of 2 Peter 2:3b-10a in chapter 6 of this volume.) Jude likewise focused on fallen angels and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but he referenced the unbelieving Israelites instead of the people of Noah’s time. In both Peter’s and Jude’s letters, the references are brief and general because they were already familiar to their readers.

THE APOSTATE ISRAELITES

Now 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. (5)

Jude’s use of familiar Old Testament examples stemmed from a desire to remind his readers (cf. 2 Peter 1:12) that defectors from the truth will always meet divine judgment.

His first such example centered on God’s saving a people (Israel) out of the land of Egypt and then leading them through the wilderness. As a vivid picture of redemption, the story of the Exodus was a powerful illustration of God’s love for His people, symbolized and memorialized in the Passover (Ex. 12; cf. Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 5:7). But it was also a stern reminder of divine judgment—not only on the Egyptians, but also on those Israelites who faithlessly turned away from God (1 Cor. 10:1–18). Although Jude knew that his readers were fully aware of the story—that they knew all things once for all—he used it to reveal God’s unchanging attitude toward anyone in any time or place who corrupts His Word. In fact, God’s judgment against apostates is detailed throughout the entire Old Testament (Judg. 11:14–21; Neh. 9:21; Pss. 78; 95; 105; 106; cf. Deut. 4:27; 28:64; Hos. 9:17; Zech. 7:14).

Once God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, He subsequently destroyed those who did not believe (Ex. 7:14–17:7; Num. 11:1–14:38). Numbers 14:26–38 summarizes Israel’s rebellion and God’s response:

For Jude’s readers, Israel’s judgment was a vivid reminder of what happens to those who (whether or not they become teachers of His), having heard what God expects and witnessed what He can do, still fail to believe (cf. Matt. 13:54–58; Mark 3:1–6, 20–30; 6:1–6; John 6:60–71; 8:31–59). The Lord will condemn and destroy all such renegades (cf. Matt. 11:20–24; Heb. 3:7–12; 10:26–31).

THE APOSTATE ANGELS

And 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, (6)

The second example that Jude gave was that of apostate angels. The fact that these angels are not specifically identified indicates that Jude assumed his audience was already familiar with the details of their extraordinary defection.

Commentators have offered three main views as to the identity of these angels. Some argue that Jude’s reference is to an episode his readers knew nothing about. But that does not fit the larger context in which, as noted above, Jude reminded his readers of things they already knew (cf. v. 5). Thus one has to assume that Jude wrote of an Old Testament account that was generally familiar to his audience.

Others assert that Jude referred to the original fall of Satan (Isa. 14:12–15; Ezek. 28:12–17; cf. Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:7–10). That is a possible interpretation, but it fails to explain Jude’s mention of eternal bonds, which does not apply to the current status of Satan and demons. The apostle Peter correctly wrote that the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8; cf. Job 1:6–7). Therefore it is unlikely that Jude is referring to Satan’s fall.

A third and most plausible viewpoint is that Jude referred to an extraordinarily heinous infraction by some of the fallen angels. That sin, recorded in the Old Testament (Gen. 6:1–4), was so severe that God placed the offending demons in chains to prevent them from committing such perversity ever again. (For more discussion of the sin committed by those angels, see the comments on 2 Peter 2:4 in chapter 6 of this volume and the lengthier section in John MacArthur, 1 Peter, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2004], 209–16.)

Peter said they sinned, whereas Jude described two closely related aspects of the fallen angels’ sin. First, they did not keep their own domain. Instead of staying in their own realm of authority given by God, they went outside it. Second, they abandoned their proper abode. With Lucifer they rebelled against their created role and place in heaven (cf. Isa. 14:12, NKJV). When God expelled them from heaven for that rebellion (cf. Rev. 12:4, 9), some continued their downward fall to the point of taking masculine human form and cohabitating with human women to produce a generation of demon-influenced, thoroughly corrupt children (cf. Gen. 6:11–13). God sent those particular apostate angels (demons) to a place under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Peter wrote that God “committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

THE APOSTATE GENTILES

just 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. (7)

For his third illustration of past divine judgment on apostates, Jude reminded his readers about Sodom and Gomorrah. The wicked people who lived in those cities, and the cities around them, engaged in sins equally as shocking and horrific as those of the angels. Genesis 18:16–19:29 recounts the sordid details, with 19:1–11 giving particular focus to the debauched actions of their unrepentant residents:

Somewhat like the perverted angels before them, the Sodomites in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh. They too perverted God’s intended design for them by soliciting sexual favors from His holy messengers. Gross immorality translates a compound word (ekporneuō), which suggests that their homosexual behavior and attempted fornication was especially deviant from the God-ordained design for human sexuality (cf. Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:9–10). That they went after strange flesh indicates that, like the apostate angels, the men of Sodom pursued creatures (angels) outside of what was proper for them. (For additional discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah, see the exposition of 2 Peter 2:6–8 in chapter 6 of this volume.)

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah are exhibited as an example that God will certainly and severely punish apostates (Matt. 11:23; Rom. 9:29; 2 Peter 2:6; cf. Isa. 1:9–10; Amos 4:11). They will finally be sentenced to the punishment of eternal fire, the burning hell of horrific torment, where punishment lasts forever (Matt. 3:12; 13:42, 50; 25:41; cf. Ps. 9:17; Prov. 5:5; 9:17–18; 15:24; Isa. 33:14; Matt. 5:29; 8:12; 10:28; 25:46). It is God’s final, permanent judgment on the unregenerate, especially on those who scorn His truth or defect from it (cf. Rev. 19:20). The apostle John described hell this way: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10; cf. Isa. 30:33).

This powerful passage, with its three dramatic illustrations of apostasy, is a sobering reminder of the ultimate fate that awaits those who defect from the faith. As such, it provides a fitting motivation for believers as they continue to contend for the truth. And it also serves as a solemn warning to anyone who knows the truth but, for whatever reason, is inclined to walk away from the gospel (Heb. 6:4–8). After all, if Jude’s admonition is ignored, the consequences are terrifying:

Thus the severest eternal suffering will belong to those who know and reject the truth. Even more terrible will judgment be to those who, having done that, go on to teach demonic lies as if they are true (cf. James 3:1).