“And Enoch, the seventh son from Adam, prophesied these things saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with his holy myriads with him to bring judgment against all, to convict all human life of all their works of impiety, which they did impiously, and concerning all the cruelty that impious sinners spoke against Him.  These are grumblers and complainers, walking according to their cravings and their mouths speaking boasts, flattering to gain advantage.”

(Jude 14-16)

This is the second time that Jude quotes from non-canonical literature.  Here he quotes from the Apocalypse of Enoch, pointing to the second coming of Christ with his angels to judge the wicked (if you want a picture of those myriads of angels take a peek at Revelation 5:11).  Do you notice a theme in this section?  Impious, impious, impious…   Sin is impious and sin brings death.  It is only by being born again in Jesus Christ that we can be saved from the wrath that is to come.  Woe, Woe, Woe.  Revelation also contains three woes (Revelation 8:13).  Three is a number of completion or fullness.  Here we find the fullness of the woes of sinful man.  These men have made full and complete their ungodliness and impiety and their judgment to come will be equally full and complete.

Make careful note of verse 15.  When Christ comes again, he will execute judgment against all mankind, not just the evil ones.  The Apostle John tells us in Revelation 20 that God will judge all mankind according to their works, and all whose names are not written on the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his minions.  No one can stand upon his own works, it simply cannot be done because of indwelling sin.  Only Jesus Christ has earned salvation by his works and he alone offers a way to paradise, being clothed in his righteousness.  That comes through faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  There is no other way to avoid the punishment that we deserve.

The elect, those whose names are written on the Lamb’s book of life and were written there from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), are the ones who will escape judgment, but all else will face eternal damnation.  These, Jude reminds us again, are grumblers and complainers who chase after their own cravings.  The word that we translate as “cravings” is the Greek word e˙piqumi÷a (epithumia), which refers to cravings or lusts, more times than not, for things that are forbidden.  Also Jude points to judgment for the flatterers.  This is the word qauma¿zw (thaumazo) in Greek, which literally means “to marvel” or “to be amazed.”  This is not subtle flattery, but loud, boisterous flattery designed to inflate the ego of the listeners.

This is not to categorically state that all that are guilty of grumbling or flatterers are going to Hell, what it reflects is the idea that these things should not reflect the heart of the believer.  God forgives us when we stumble and repent of our sins, yet if we remain hardened and unrepentant, we will face eternal punishment.

All of Jude’s warnings can begin to weigh on you.  He warns you from the past, the present, and the future.  But there is a reason that we are given warnings—they often keep us from harming ourselves.  When I was in the Boy Scouts, I took Life-Saving Merit Badge.  A great deal of the badge dealt with water rescues.  But one of the things that the instructor impressed upon us was the value of preventive measures.  Those measures begin with clearly posted warning signs.  The letter of Jude is one of those signs.

Before we shift gears into Jude’s exhortation to the faithful of the church, I want to drive home the need to beware.  There are spiritual predators who seek to fill your pulpits and they will seek to guide you down a false path.  Watch closely through the eyes of scripture and prayer, not being impressed by flash or new ideas but holding true to the faith that was taught by the Apostles and handed down through the ages.