Jude 8-13

⁸ Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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; ¹³ Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Ray Stedman once wrote, “We often think that evil is easy to recognize, that evil always wears the black hat and twists its mustache while leering and laughing wickedly. But the truth is that the worst and most anti-Christian evil is deceptive to the core, is hard to recognize, and comes disguised in the false trappings of devotion and good intentions. Their words and actions are subtle and soothing and beguiling.” After pointing out the marks of false discipleship by drawing on the pattern of behavior from Old Testament examples of apostates, Jude now moves to identify the things that these individuals are driven by. Jude addresses eight specific attitudes, behaviors, demeanors, and motivations that underly these “certain men” who “have crept in unawares” that believers in every age must beware of and “earnestly contend for the faith” against. This week, we will observe three of these patterns and next week, we will expound on the other five.

The first deadly pattern that Jude identifies for us here is that of irreverence. The word “Likewise” at the start of verse eight takes the four marks identified in verses 4-7 and applies them by way of example to the “certain men” that he wrote about. The first of those deadly patterns is irreverence. Jude describes them as “filthy dreamers” who “defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” The word “filthy” is not in the Greek text, but is assumed because of the way these “dreamers” are described in such a negative manner. The word “dreamers” appears only here and in Acts 2:17 where it describes the visions that God gave His people in “the last days.” It describes false teachers as those who claim to have been given “visions” from the Lord, but are actually just following their own desires and imaginations. It is someone claiming to speak from a right relationship with God who does not have one, not just someone falsely claiming a supernatural experience. It really addresses their crooked imagination and hypocritical thought life. So, the first way in which apostates are irreverent is in their thinking. The second type of irreverence they engage in is that they “defile the flesh.” It refers to sinning with and against their physical body like unto the sin already described in verse 7 with Sodom and Gomorrah. It would include sexual sin, but be broad enough to refer to all sins of the flesh. The next type of irreverence is that they “despise dominion.” The words simply mean that they reject authority. We live in a time that feels as though this sort of irreverence is at its peak. Whether it is governmental authority, church authority, parental authority, employer authority, etc., we live in an anti-authority age of the autonomous self. This is ultimately about a person ruling their own life and rejecting God’s authority because all authorities are ordained of God (Romans 13:1). The final display of irreverence is that these “speak evil of dignities.” They “slander” and “speak disrespectfully” about “glorious ones” or “sacred things.” It, perhaps, specifically describes these apostates teaching or saying things about angels that are untrue and irreverent (see Jude 9), but it likely has to do with their perverted thinking corrupting the most holy of things. This would mean that when they speak about God or His Word, they corrupt it in some way in their irreverence (see Jude 10). We must beware of irreverence in our lives in our thoughts, in our living, in our submission to authority, and in our handling of holy things.

The second pattern that Jude identifies in these “certain men” is that of pride. Perhaps building upon the final phrase in verse 8 (“speak evil of dignities”), Jude now pulls a specific example that we do not find in the Old Testament, but that surrounds Old Testament events. Deuteronomy 34:5-6 tells us about Moses’s death and how no one knew where the Lord buried him.  In an ancient Jewish writing that Jude refers to here (not in OT Scripture), Michael the archangel is said to have been given this responsibility and he was opposed by the devil. The devil wanted to claim Moses’s body for some reason, but God had other plans. In fact, Moses would appear bodily with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). The point is not the circumstances or the importance of God’s plans for Moses’s body, but how Michael the archangel, who is assumed to be one of the most powerful angels, did not take it upon himself to rebuke the devil, fight the devil, or speak evil of the devil, but instead he simply said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” His statement is found in Zechariah 3:1-5 where the “Angel of the Lord” does the same to Satan as Satan accuses Joshua the high priest before the Lord. Here is Christ standing on behalf of the believer. Our victory over Satan is not in our rebuking him or telling the devil to “be gone.” It is not even in speaking evil of him, but it is in Christ and what He has done on our behalf. It is His strength and power. We live in a time of such confusion religiously speaking. There are all kinds of “deliverance ministries” and people trying cast out demons. Jude actually has a word to us about those things, that we should exercise great discernment and caution. The only command we are given about such things is to “be strong in the Lord,” “take…the whole armour of God,” and “stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13). We don’t have authority over demons. To think so is the height of arrogance. If Michael, one of the most powerful of angels, couldn’t command or attack the devil without God’s intervention, what makes us think that we can? The way we wage war on Satan’s kingdom is with truth by “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). It is by proclaiming the truth and calling people to repentance and faith in Christ, not in fighting demons. That is why our weapon is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). We must beware of pride because pride will lead us into the wildest of beliefs and practices. If our theology leads us to think much of ourselves, it is not biblical theology. Biblical theology leads us to think much of Christ.

The third pattern that Jude identifies for us in this section is found in verse 10; it is ignorance. “But these speak evil of those things which they know not” goes back to “speak evil of dignities” in verse 8 and the example of Michael in verse 9. Irreverence and pride ultimately breed ignorance. Pride and ignorance are a deadly combo. It is one thing to be wrong and not know it, but it is another to be self-deceived and arrogantly consider ourselves to be right while being wrong. The type of ignorance Jude speaks of here is the latter. No matter how educated and no matter how much knowledge a false convert receives, they cannot arrive at the truth. They end up misspeaking about “things which they know not.” Paul wrote about the world in rejecting its knowledge of God in pride saying, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). Jude describes them as “brute beasts” (“wild [or unreasoning] animals”) that even “corrupt [or destroy] themselves” in “what they know naturally.” You can give a wild animal the finest things, but because of its nature, it will destroy something nice. What this means is that even the good truth they do have is twisted and misused for their own sinful purposes. Paul described this attitude in 2 Timothy 3:7 where he wrote, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” It is this type of ignorance that Jude points out here. It is this type of ignorance that the Pharisees were guilty of. While they had the truth, they were not able to use the truth rightly, but instead used it and twisted it to manipulate people for their own selfish gain (Matthew 23:15, 23-24). When our irreverence and pride lead us to claim the truth without submitting to the truth we end up with such ignorance, blinded by hypocrisy.

These patterns and the five more to come are deadly. Verses 14-16 of Jude warn us about the judgement of those whose hearts and lives are marked by such things. As the Holy Spirit brings these things to bear on hearts and consciences, we must allow Him to examine us, convict, and reveal to us our own hearts. We don’t know our hearts but God does (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Is your thinking, living, submission to authority, and approach to the truth reverent or irreverent? Does your pride lead to claim things for yourself that are not true or to take authority for yourself that you do not possess?