Jude 14-16
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
We don’t like to talk about judgment. In fact, we live in a time where if you talk about judgment, you may be given the ultimate bad label of being called “judgmental.” However, in our cultures attempts to silence talk about things like judgment and hell, it cannot change what is actually true. The Bible tells us, “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The plain truth of the matter is that all people will one day stand before God and give an account of our lives. The Bible tells us that there will be two judgments (John 5:25-29). One will be for believers where our works that we do in Jesus’s name will be tested for what quality they are (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The other will be for the lost world where they will be judged “according to their works” at “a Great White Throne” (Revelation 20:11-15). The first is for believers to determine rewards for faithful service to Christ (1 Corinthians 4:1-5). The other is for the everlasting punishment in a Lake of Fire for the lost world (Revelation 20:14-15). When Christ returns, there will be a sorting that takes place between the two groups. In Jude 14-16, Jude warned about the terrible fate that awaits those individuals that he described in his letter as “certain men” who “have crept in unawares.” We have spent the last several weeks describing the dangerous (and often hidden) characteristics of the individuals. This week, Jude circles back to what he introduced in verses 4-7 and that is that these individuals have not fooled the Lord and He will return One day to judge them. This week, Jude 14-16 will serve to teach us three truths about God’s judgment.
First, we learn from verse 14 that God’s judgment is certain. Jude referenced another Old Testament figure to teach this next important point, “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam.” Enoch is a prophet in the Old Testament mentioned in Genesis 5:18-24 in the line of Seth, Adam and Eve’s son after Cain killed Abel. He is one of two individuals in the Bible that we know of that never faced death. Instead, he “was translated” (Hebrews 11:5). Genesis 5:24 tells us simply that “he was not; for God took him.” We find that while, apparently God walked with Adam and Eve in the “cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8), Enoch is the first one since that is said to have “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22). He did so after he had a son named “Methuselah.” Interestingly, that name means “his death shall bring” and most believe it to be a reference to the coming judgment of God upon the earth in the flood (Genesis 6-8). It is from that point that Enoch began walking with God (Genesis 5:22). Enoch serves as a picture of God’s judgment for sin and of the grace in the response of faith that leads to deliverance from judgment. Just as Enoch “walked with God” and did not die, all who place their faith in Christ receive eternal life and will not be subject to the Second Death (the Lake of Fire) (Revelation 20:14-15). Jude’s reference of Enoch’s prophecy is not recorded anywhere in the Bible. Instead, it comes from the pseudepigraphal (a writing under a false name) book of 1 Enoch. It was actually written during the intertestamental period (between 400 BC and the birth of Christ) and so it could not have actually been written by Enoch. However, while the book is false and contains a lot of nonbiblical error, it had at least one truth that Jude pulls out under inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that is that “the Lord” would come with the armies of heaven to judge those who are opposed to Him. This terrifying vision that is echoed by different authors of Scripture, reminds us that there is coming a day when God will come in judgment. Revelation 19:11-21 gives us the details of Christ’s Second Coming when this will take place where the armies of the world that are gathered against Him are destroyed and judgment is set. God’s judgment is certain.
Next, we learn from verse 15 that God’s judgment is absolute. Jude wrote that this judgment will be brought “upon all.” Here, it speaks to the lost world in its entirety. Revelation 20:12-13 gives us this picture that all of the “dead” will be raised including those in “the sea” and in “death and hell.” When we say that God’s judgment is absolute, we mean two things. First, we mean that His judgment will leave nothing and no one out. The word “all” appears four times in this verse. Second, we mean that His judgment is final. When God bangs the gavel (figuratively speaking), that’s it. This judgment addresses four things about the individuals that will be judged. First, it will come upon the “ungodly.” This describes the character and fallen nature of all who are outside of Christ. Second, it will come upon “their ungodly deeds.” These are the evil actions of the lost. Thirdly, it will address the things “which they have ungodly committed.” What this describes is the ungodly motivations with which their deeds are carried out. Even the outwardly good things that the lost world does, are done from wrong motives and tainted by sin. Lastly, it will address their “hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoke against Him.” This last category addresses their use of the tongue. Ultimately, all evil speech is against God and will be judged. His judgment will leave nothing out. His judgment will be final. It is absolute.
Lastly, we learn from verse 16 that God’s judgment is just. Just in case one fails to see the character of the “certain men” that Jude wrote about, he provided another reminder in verse 16 that is attached to this promise of coming judgment upon them. We are reminded one more time of the reality that God’s judgment upon such individuals will prove to be absolutely righteous. He reminds us that they “are murmurers” who grumble and rebel against authority. They are “complainers” (those that are never satisfied) and are described as “walking after their own lusts” (their own selfish desires). The final clause of the verse gets to the heart of how these “certain men” operate. They “speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” What is described here is flattering speech that gains a following. It can be the charisma of a public speaker, such as a false teacher in the church, or someone who quietly wins people to their side with flattery and “niceness.” Both are in view here. These attitudes and patterns of the apostates that Jude wrote about may be overlooked by people, but they are not overlooked or missed by God. These things among the people of God are perhaps the most destructive things a church can face. They undermine the work, mission, ministry, unity, and testimony of the church from the inside. However, God will expose these things one day and judge those who are unrepentant in them. On that day, everyone will recognize His judgment as just for all will see these sins for what they are.
There’s a day coming when God will bring the lost world to stand before His throne and He will sit in judgment. The only way to prepare for that day of judgment is to humbly trust in Christ. He has paid the price for sin on the cross so that we might be forgiven, cleansed, and made new creatures. There’s a day coming when the Lord Jesus Christ will return and He will sort out of His kingdom “all things that offend, and them which do iniquity” (Matthew 13:41). One day, the tares will be separated from the wheat. God’s judgment is certain, absolute, and just. There’s a day coming. Are you ready for that? What will that day reveal about your heart and life?