Inductive Study: Jude 7

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.

Jude 7

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for all the brave men and women who gave the greatest sacrifice that the United States could be free.  Please help me to cast aside all my anxieties and know that I'm blessed without the suffering of previous generations or the rest of the world.  Thank you that I can freely worship you and keep me humble by reminding me that many in the world cannot.  Please help me to focus on the passage tonight to understand You more.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Jude is continuing to provide actual examples of failures.  Specifically, Jude is talking about abandonment and renunciation of God.  This verse is a continuation of the verse 5 and 6.  In verse 5, Jude is "reminding" his audience.  Jude is telling them something that they already know but had forgotten or ignored.  Jude is warning of something not to repeat.   As previous stated, Jude is providing another example that resembles and has the same weight of consequence as Israel rejecting God after being rescued from Egypt and the fallen angels who had children with women.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses. 

"Sodom" in the Hebrew is sedom which means burning, scorched, burnt, volcanic or bituminous (from black viscous hydrocarbons).  "Gomorrah" in the Hebrew is amorah which means submersion (buried), heap, iniquity.  The very names of the cities announce their judgement, buried in fire.  Genesis 19:24 states "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens." 

"Similar" in the Greek is homoios which means likewise, same way, resembling, equal rank, compare to.  Although Sodom and Gomorrah were judged, they weren't the only cities in the Dead Sea valley overcome with this sin.   Deuteronomy 29:23 states "‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’"  Hosea 11:8 further states "'How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.'"  Along with Sodom and Gomorrah were the cities, Admah and Zeboiim.

"Having given themselves over to sexual immorality " in the Greek is ekporneeuo which means I am guilty of fornication (sexual intercourse between people not married to each other), gives oneself up to fornication, gross immorality, a lust that gluts itself, satisfies itself completely, to go a whoring, to be utterly unchaste.  The Greek word is made of ek which is out from within (out of depths of the source) and porneuo which is to practice idolatry, immorality.   Out of the depths of their very being, these people practice with no humility gross idolatry that is focused on sexual sin.  

"Gone" in the Greek is aperchomai which means depart, go away, return, arrive, follow him as a leader, seek anyone for vile purposes.  "Strange Flesh" in the Greek is made up of two words: heterous and sarx.  When put together, the words mean not of the same nature of human body, different than human nature.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah sought for vile purposes sexual perversion that is against human nature which is how God ordered the world.

"Suffering" in the Greek is hupoecho which means submit, suffer, undergo, hold or put under.  It is composed of two words: Hupo which means under, about, subordinate, subject to power and Echo which means acknowledge, experience, possess.  This people were subject to God's power to suffer for their sin which they freely embraced and acknowledged.

"Vengeance" in the Greek is dike which means punishment, judgement, justice, just finding, penalty, judicial decision.  "Eternal" in the Greek is aionious which means unending, age-long, outside-inside-beyond time, time independent, without beginning and without end, never ceasing.  "Fire" in the Greek is pur which means the heat of the sun (9940 degree F), lightning, strife, trials, eternal fire, extreme penal torments, apocalypse.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had been judged for their sin.  Their penalty were torments of heat greater than 9940 degrees F that would never cease.

If something consumes your every waking and sleeping hour and is not done for God or is not about God, you are immersed in perverse idolatry.  Focus on Christ.

just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the adjacent cities, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in gross immoral freedom and unnatural vice and sensual perversity. They are exhibited [in plain sight] as an example in undergoing the punishment of everlasting fire.

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Inductive Study: Jude 6

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;

Jude 6

Dear Heavenly Father, it has been a busy week and I'm late in completing my Bible Study.  I can tell when I'm not in your Word.  Please help me to focus on the verse tonight.  Help me understand what it means and find application for my life.  Thank you Lord for everything.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Jude is continuing to provide actual examples of failures.  Specifically, Jude is talking about apostasy which is abandonment and renunciation of a religious of political belief.  This verse is a continuation of the previous verse since it starts with "and."  In verse 5, Jude is "reminding" his audience.  Jude is telling them something that they already know but had forgotten or ignored.  Jude is warning of something not to repeat.   To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses. 

"Angels" in the Greek is aggelos which means messenger, conveying news from God to men, delegate, either human or heavenly, envoy, given into sin and serve Satan/devil.  This word has as it's root either ago which is lead, guide, bring or agele which is flock or herd.  Jude is describing heavenly delegates that have flocked to sin and are following Satan. 

2 Peter 2:4 states "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment."  Matthew 25:4 clarifies these angels more, "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."  These verses mirror Jude 6 stating that the devil and his angels are doomed.  Revelation 20:2,3, and 10 describe this judgement further, "He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. . . . The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

Since Jude is reminding of historical examples, these angels are already in the bottomless pit.  We have to read in Genesis to see how they got there.  Genesis 6:1-4 states " Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.' There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."  "Sons of God" in this text are taken to be fallen angels and the "daughters of men" are descendants of Adam.  Job 1:6 clarifies the meaning of "sons of God" by stating "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them."  With the wickedness of men and the strange offspring of women and angels, God judged the world with a flood sending the fallen angels into darkness.  On a side note, this Genesis excerpt seems to indicate how long man can live - 120 years.  The oldest verified person, Jeanne Calment, lived 122 years.  She is the only person known out of billions who lived to exceed 120 years.

"Keep" in the Greek is tereo which means stay, guard, observe, watch over, take care of, attend to carefully, not to throw away, not to leave.  "Domain" in the Greek is arche which means positions, authority, designated place of power, ruler, beginning, initial starting point, priority because ahead of the rest, principalities, first place.  These angels didn't attend to carefully or guard their designated place of power.  They threw it all away for fleeting sin.

"Abode" in the Greek is oiketerion which means habitation, body as a dwelling, place for spirit, residence.  These angels left the spirit to dwell with the devil.

"Reserved" in the Greek is tereo which means slightly different than when it was used for "keep."  In this instance, it means kept intact, preserve, spiritually guard, hold firmly, to undergo something, he keeps.  "Chains" in the Greek is desmos which means imprisonment, bonds, impediment, infirmity.  God holds these angels firmly in preparation to undergo something in eternal imprisonment.

"Darkness" in the Greek is zophos which means murky, appalling gloom, foreboding, apocalyptic, indescribable despair, nether world, blackness, shrouding like a cloud.  This prison which these angels have chosen to dwell is a bottomless indescribable absence of hope enveloped in appalling gloom.

"Judgement" in the Greek is krisis which means decision, sentence, accusation, positive (righteousness), negative (condemns sin), verdict (usually negative).  "Great" in the Greek is megas which means large, in the widest sense, abundant, notable, important, sacred, prepared on a grand scale.  "Day" in the Greek is hemera which means the period from sunrise to sunset, without intermission.  God will pronounce the angels' negative verdict on the sacred day of final decision, the day appointed from the beginning where everyone will be judged. 

The angels didn't stay where they were designated to be.  They left their responsibilities and fled to sin drawn there by Satan himself.  This act of disobedience condemned them to an everlasting prison shackled to indescribable despair.  In that place, they wait for the great day where they will be cast into the lake of fire and be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Stay where you belong, not to the left and not to the right, but in the center of God's will.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  Hebrews 12:1-2 states "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

And angels who did not keep their own designated place of power, but abandoned their proper dwelling place, [these] He has kept in eternal chains under [the thick gloom of utter] darkness for the judgment of the great day,

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Inductive Study: Jude 5

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude 5

Dear Heavenly Father, help me in my struggle against the world.  So many people are hurting and have denied themselves the light.  My heart breaks for them - how they've been blinded and don't even know.  Open my heart Lord to your Word so I can be obedient to you.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

We're still at the beginning of Jude's letter today.   Jude has just started to warn against false teachers.  In the next few verses, Jude is going to provide examples from the past of how people have failed and were judged.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Remind" in the Greek is hupomimnesko which means to call to mind, to cause one to remember, bring remembrance, admonish.  It is made of the word, hypo, which means "under" and mimnesko which means "remember."  "Remind" in the Greek gives a sense of remembering because of prompting.  2 Peter 1:12 states "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth."  2 Peter  3:17 states "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked."  Jude is telling them something that they already know but had forgotten or ignored.  Jude is warning of something not to repeat.

"Knew" in the Greek is eido which means remember, appreciate, see with physical eyes, (in the metaphorical sense means mental seeing such as "I see what you mean"), grasp spiritual truth, seeing that becomes knowing, perceive, discern.  Jude is about to describe an example that is well known to them that they have actual seen it to believe it.

"Lord" in the Greek is kurios which means master, person exercising absolute ownership rights, owner, the title given to God.  1 Corinthians 10:4,5,9 states "and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. . . . nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents."  These verses in 1st Corinthians is identifying the "Lord" referenced in Jude as Jesus.   Furthermore, the verse hints at what Jude is about to discuss.  The perpetual falling from grace, asking for forgiveness, being forgiven, blessed, falling for grace, and so on. 

This particular event is in Numbers 21:4-9 which states "Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.  And the people spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.' So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived."

"Saved" in the Greek is sozo which means heal, preserve, rescue, deliver out of danger to safety, restore to health.  Sozo is the root word for savior and salvation.  God had delivered the people out of the danger of Egypt to the safety of His presence, but how quickly the people forgot.

"Afterward" in the Greek is dueteros which means for the second time, in the second place, second, subsequently, twice, again.   There are several companion verses at this point of the Scripture.  Numbers 14:29,37 states "The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. . . .  those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord."  Moses sent spies into the promised land to scout.  Fearful men gave a bad report and said that Israel could not take the land.  Therefore, God punished that generation for their lack of trust and obedience.  That generation could not enter the promised land and the scouts who gave the bad report perished. 

Numbers 26: 64,65 states "But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sinai.   For the Lord had said of them, 'They shall surely die in the wilderness.' So there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun."  Just before they were to enter the promised land, God repeated the judgement.  Only two spies didn't give a bad report and were spared, Caleb and Joshua.

Hebrews 3:17-19 summarizes the Scripture in Numbers " Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."  Jude is using the very central story to the Jewish belief to demonstrate what will happen who don't choose Christ - the way, the truth, the light.  Once you know, you have no excuse.

"Destroyed" in the Greek is apollumi which means destroy, use, perish (death is certain), cutting off entirely, to die (ruin and destruction), cause to be lost (utterly perish), miserable end, blotted out, abolish, become death, loss of eternal life.  Not only was this Jewish generation not going into the promised land but also they would be lost to God.  That generation met a miserable end.

"Believed" in the Greek is pisteuo which means have faith in, entrusted, trust, confidence.  The word is made up of pistis which is faith and peitho which is persuaded.  Depending on the context of the passage, pisteuo gives a sense of either human or faith believing whether we are self-serving or of God.    The reason that generation met a miserable end is that didn't believe or trust God.  The people were focused on themselves alone.

Jude is prompting the Hebrews to remember that they once grasped this truth, God delivered the people from danger in  Egypt to safety and security with God, but for the second time (fear with spies caused them to lose the promised land, impatience got them death by serpents) God utterly destroyed them and they lost eternal life because they refused to trust, obey, and rely on God.  These failures are central to the Jewish story, so they know them well.  Even so, they let "little" things dissuade them from Christ.  Don't forget all that God has done for you.  Stay faithful and obedient.  

Now I want to remind you, although you are fully informed once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe [who refused to trust and obey and rely on Him].

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Inductive Study: Jude 4

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude 4

Dear Heavenly Father.  I praise and glorify Your name.  I'm nothing without You.  You carry me through every day.  Thank you for a wonderful wife and family.  Please hear my prayer.  Please calm my heart and help me to focus on this text.  Have it breathe new fervor in me.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

As we discussed last week, Jude is urging us to not only fight for the Christian faith but also fight for our Christian life.  Jude encourages us that we believe rightly in the salvation provided by Jesus.  In this verse, Jude describes what could dissuade us from the Christian life.    To bring deeper understanding to the text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Certain men" in the Greek is tis which means anyone or someone.  2 Peter 2:1 states "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction."  Galatians 2:4 further states "And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage)."  These men are more than just "anyone."  If you don't serve the Lord who do you serve?  These certain men want to destroy the Christian life and bring the Christian into bondage with them.  Somehow by convincing others and adding to their numbers, they can justify what they believe and feel secure in their heresies.

"Crept in unnoticed" in the Greek is pareisduo which means enter secretly, come in by stealth, enter alongside, under pretense, appear to be true Christians but in reality opposing Christians, posing to give help, slide in the side door.  The NLT version uses the word "wormed."  These men got into the church by posing as believers.  They will become like worms who with difficulty crawled and wiggled their way into the church to become an infestation of the world and parasite sucking joy out of the church.

1 Peter 2:7-8 describes these men in more detail  - "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief  cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."  These men are disobedient and reject Jesus, the stone the builders rejected.

"Marked" in the Greek is prographo which means write previously, I write already, designate beforehand, predicted, recorded.  It is composed of two words.  Pro which means before, in front of, earlier than and grapho which means pass, it is written (in the Scriptures).  These men would never believe.  Their hearts are hardened against God.  Therefore, these men were designated for the purpose before they even attempted it.  These men are marked for condemnation.

"Condemnation" in the Greek is krima which means judgement, (adverse) verdict, lawsuit, torment for the unredeemed, every decision (action) we make carries inevitable, eternal results.   John 5:26-29 states "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."  However, Matthew 22:14 states "For many are called, but few are chosen."  God wants everyone to have salvation through Christ and reconciliation with God.   For those who don't believe in Jesus, there will be a court case against them.  No one will be there to defend them.  Therefore, a "man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client."  For believers, Jesus will defend them and they will be saved.

"Ungodly" in the Greek is asebes which means impious (not showing respect or reverence for God), wicked, negated respect, failing to honor what is sacred.  These men who have wormed their way into the church don't respect or honor God.  Again, who do these men serve?

"Grace" in the Greek is charis which means a gift or blessing to man by Jesus Christ, gratitude, favor, kindness, freely willing to give of oneself over.  Charis contains the idea of kindness which bestows upon one what he has not deserved.  Many have used G.R.A.C.E. as an acrostic to define the word, God's riches at Christ's expense.  Acts 11:23 states "When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord."  We do not merit or deserve what God has done for us.  Jesus took our penalty for our sin, even though we have done Him wrong.

"Lewdness" in the Greek is aselgeia which means wantonness, licentiousness (promiscuous, unprincipled in sexual matters), outrageous conduct, decadence, shocking to public decency, violent spite, rejects restraint, indulges in lawlessness, carnal, lasciviousness (overt and often offensive sexual desire).  These men have turned God's grace into lawlessness, unprincipled offensive sexual desire.  The NLT version states the certain men are "saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives."  These men are trying to use God to justify their sin.  God and sin can't co-habitate.  They've rejected this free gift.

"Deny" in the Greek is arneomai which means repudiate, refuse to affirm or confess, disown, say no, forsake, abnegate, disavow.  Titus 1:16 states "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."  1 John 2:22 states "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son."  These men are liars and antichrists.  They refuse, disown, and forsake Christ.  Clearly, these men serve someone other than God. They serve Satan.

Don't fall into Hollywood's trap.  Satan is not all glitz and glamor, proudly in the open spinning his lies and his web.  Satan works in the shadows and slips in unnoticed.  He changes and contrives the Word to fit his bidding leading billions and billions of people astray.  At the heart of his work, is sexual sin.  His goal is to make wantonness, promiscuousness,  lawlessness, and overt and often offensive sexual desires "normal."  He has many, many workers.  The tactics are same in the past, the present, and the future.  Be careful what you watch, listen, and use in conversation.  Don't let the world worm its way into your heart.  It's a "slow fade."

Be careful little eyes what you see

It's the second glance that ties your hands

As darkness pulls the strings

Be careful little feet where you go

For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray

And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear

When flattering leads to compromises, the end is always near

Be careful little lips what you say

For empty words and promises leave broken hearts astray

. . . .

The journey from your mind to your hands

Is shorter than you're thinking

Be careful if you think you stand

You just might be sinking

. . . .

People never crumble in a day

Daddies never crumble in a day

Families never crumble in a day

"SlowFade" Casting Crowns

For certain people have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door]. They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

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