388. The Epistle of Jude

Jude wanted to write to the elect, those who are beloved by God the Father and preserved for Jesus Christ, about our common salvation. The salvation the Israelites experienced when the blood was painted on the lintels and the two doorposts, and the angel of death passed over and spared their firstborn sons, was a type, or foreshadowing, of this. Another example was the salvation they experienced when they passed through the Red Sea, pursued by Pharaoh with all his army. The Israelites reached the other side, but all the enemies who had pursued them drowned before their very eyes. This miracle of God created such a spirit among the people that they sang songs of praise to Him for their salvation, first on the other side of the Red Sea and later when the people gathered to worship in their assemblies. God had sworn to lead them into the Promised Land and had chosen Moses and Aaron to minister during the time of sojourning. But God tests all His people, and He soon allowed them to come to Marah, where the water was bitter. Exod. 15:24. “And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” Just the fact that they complained showed that their hearts were not right before God. Moses cried out to the Lord for them, and with a tree he was able to make the bitter water sweet. Faith in God’s saving power had been delivered to the Israelites, but in order to hold on to this faith, they had to contend for it. They did not do that. Instead they complained. Jude desired to write an exhortation regarding this salvation—because there is a great salvation to be gained in the fight of faith. In the course of this salvation we realize that we need grace in time of need; we become humble, bowed, and meek. Complaining disappears, victory springs forth, and God’s good pleasure comes over us. However, things turned out differently for the people Jude was referring to here. They turned the grace of God into lewdness. So even though they knew all these things, Jude had to remind them that after the Lord had saved the people out of Egypt, He later destroyed those who did not believe. “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

All of Israel experienced salvation from Pharaoh and Egypt, but with most of them God was not well pleased. They took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of Remphan and worshiped idols in secret. As a result, parties developed among the people to such an extent that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses, along with two hundred and fifty leaders of the people. All these ungodly people—who definitely did not fight the good fight of faith—were also partakers of the common salvation. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and they all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God struck them down in the wilderness.

In our time we have often seen great revivals. People are saved from Satan and the world and rejoice in this common salvation. But they are like sheep without a shepherd, and gradually they return to their old sinful habits, and the spirit of the world gets power over them once more. And then ungodliness increases, and people fall away. They have no one to exhort them to fight the good fight of faith so that they forsake vanity, miserliness, covetousness, filthy language out of their mouths, etc. As a rule, the leaders have not exercised themselves in godliness and faith either, so of course they are incapable of leading others on this marvelous way of faith and victory. And if anyone were to preach this way of faith, this way of life, then Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and all their cronies, the leaders in the various assemblies, immediately rise up, ready to warn people against the way of God.

You will have noticed that at large conferences and festive occasions in the various religious camps, people willingly meet to eat and drink and enjoy the pleasure of good songs and music. This is where the “spots” willingly congregate. But when there are prayer meetings and testimony meetings, when the obedience of faith and the fight of faith are proclaimed, these “spots” are conspicuous by their absence. This is evidence that they have fallen away and lost the common salvation which they had once received with Moses and Aaron and all the saints.

“They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots.”

Even though these people were all partakers of this common salvation when they received the forgiveness of sins, because of their unfaithfulness they have been reduced to becoming clouds without water. The assembly sits and waits for rain—showers of blessing—but no rain comes. They are clouds without water.

They are twice dead. First, they were dead in trespasses and sins, and then they were saved. Afterwards they neglected to fight the good fight of faith and began to live according to the flesh once more and thereby died. Thus they are twice dead. We find the church in Laodicea in a similar condition. They said they were rich and had become wealthy and had need of nothing; but they did not know that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Rev. 3:17.

“Raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

We know that when the autumn storms rage, the waves beat against the shore, foaming and bringing up the remains of wrecks, seaweed, and other floating objects. These fallen religious masses do the same when God sends revivals through cities and towns. Satan and evil spirits enter these religious masses, and they think they are doing God and the people a service by putting a stop to all godly life. Herod and Pilate find agreement. The religious and worldly powers unite, and the mob joins in by showering ridicule and stones. It is not the dead, stagnant Christianity that these people hate, but rather they want to destroy all spirit and life. Here the theologians and clergymen work together as one to bring back death, and when this has been reintroduced, the wild waves of the sea cease foaming. It has gone this way throughout all the ages.

They are like wandering stars that shine with an apparent light, but because they are not governed by the laws of the Spirit, they eventually disappear into the blackness, leaving death and darkness behind them.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Heb. 11:3.

Not once have I seen or heard of any theological school having faith as a subject in their curriculum. You cannot read or study your way to faith. And yet those people who go through a university’s theological school call themselves learned, and those who have not gone to such a school they call laymen. But by faith we realize that this understanding is in direct opposition to the Word of God, which makes the poor believer wise and the wise men of this world fools.

“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”

By virtue of their so-called higher education, they start explaining things according to what they know naturally—without faith—and so they corrupt themselves. Verse 10.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

God be praised that in our days there are beloved people who are built up in their most holy faith according to the leading of God’s Spirit, which works the obedience of faith in our hearts. They do not forsake the path, nor do they let the grace of God be in vain for them. With such dear people we have fellowship in the Spirit, without having to have any membership list. And because of the mutual love among these beloved friends, there is an order in the assembly, which only the Holy Spirit can create.