Jeremy Brown's Commentary - Jude
Jude wrote this book in 67AD. Jude and James were Jesus Christ's half brothers.
Jude lets people know he is Jesus’ servant and not his equal. He does not tell people that Jesus is his brother here. He probably doesn’t want people to be distracted with the idea that Jesus has brothers and sisters. He does make mention that James is his brother. Jude makes mention that he is writing to Christians who have allowed God to set them apart from the world to live right and according to the Bible. The people he writes to are protected from harm and drawn to Jesus the Messiah by the Holy Spirit. These same people have a special work to do for the Lord. 1
Jude prays that God will flood their lives with compassion, peace, and love. 2
Christians, it was God’s will for me to write about God’s salvation through Jesus Christ which is meant for all people and not just a few. All we Christians have this walk with Christ in common. I wrote about this so that you would be motivated to try to win every person on the planet to Jesus Christ. It is an added motivation to preach the Gospel with the knowledge that anyone can be born again. Remember that all Christians are ordered to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. 3
There are people who have entered the gatherings of Christians secretly. These people are evil doers. They try to say that God’s grace allows people to sin or do whatever they want to do. Their acts are acts against God the Father and Jesus Christ. Their acts reject God the Father and Jesus Christ. The holy scriptures tell us that people who do these things and teach these things are on their way to Hell. 4
Remember how that God rescued people out of the land of Egypt and destroyed people who didn’t trust in Him. 5
Remember the angels who left their homes that were given to them by God. See 2 Peter 2:4 and Revelation 9:13-15. Not all rebel angels were chained in Hell or under the Euphrates River. Many were chained though. Those rebel angels that God chained in Hell won’t escape and will remain there until the end of time at the Great White Throne Judgment. 6
Sodom, Gomorrha, and cities near to them approved of sex outside the marriage of 1 man and 1 woman. These sexual sins involved sex before marriage, adultery, sodomy, sex with animals, rape, polygamy, orgies, bisexuality, and incest. The evil of these cities are written about so that people will know how they should not live. Those that committed these sexual sins and never repented are being eternally punished as we speak. Also remember that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha with fire from the sky. See Genesis 19. 7
The ones who have snuck into Christian gatherings mentioned in verse 4 are the same type of people from the cities mentioned in verse 7. These sly people with big imaginations corrupt the body just like the cities mentioned in verse 7, they hate proper authority and rules, and slander God and men of God with words, deeds, and misusing the things of God. Some examples are Simon Magus, Gnostics, and Nicolaitans. 8
Jeremy Brown 2007