Inductive Study: Jude 9

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 9

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son.  You are such a loving Father.  You want no one to perish, but all to know You and life.  Lord, please keep me focused on You.  Help me understand the Scriptures. Help me to understand Your will.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Jude switches gears with this verse.  Up to this point, he was identifying past and current apostasy.  Now, he is talking about an angel and the devil. 

One of the angels named in the Bible, Michael was considered the protector or patron angel of Israel.  He appears four other times in the Bible.  Daniel 10:13 states "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."  Daniel 10:21 states "But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince."  Daniel 12:1 is a prophecy which will also be mentioned in Revelation.  It states "'At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.'"  Revelation 12:7 states " And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought."

The dragon mentioned in Revelation is the devil.  Isaiah 14:12 states "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!"  Lucifer was a Latin translation of the Hebrew word, Heyei, which means "shining one, light bearer."  The word in the Latin was not capitalized and referred to "the morning star, the planet Venus."  Lucifer has been used as the name of Satan before the angel's fall from heaven.  In Ezekiel, the devil is called the King of Tyre mentioning in Ezekiel 28:13 that he "was in Eden, the garden of God."  Ezekiel 28:16 further states "By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones."  Cherub is another word for angel.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses. 

"Yet" in the Greek is de which means on the other hand, and, but, moreover, indeed now, on top of this, next.  The word "yet" is connecting this sentence to the previous one.  Whereas in Jude 8 I used "God" for dignitaries, with these two sentences connected and comparing each other, dignitaries may be interpreted as angels of preeminent dignity.  In verse 8, Jude is stating that these false teachers blaspheme even angels.  In verse 9, Jude is stating that angels don't even blaspheme Satan.

"Michael" in the Greek is Michael which in the Hebrew is Mikael which means an archangel, "Who is like God?", "Who is like the great God?", patron angel of Israel.  "Archangel" in the Greek is archaggelos which means ruler of angels, superior angel, angel of the highest rank, chief of the angels, prince/leader of the angels.  It comes from the word arxon which means of the first order, chief and aggelos which means angel.  Michael is the leader of the angels.

"Contending" in the Greek is diakrino which means distinguish, discern, doubt, hesitate, waver, separate, decide, to separate oneself in a hostile spirit, thoroughly back and forth, investigate, judge, close reasoning or over judging, vacillate, dispute, contend, oppose.  The word literally means to separate throughout or wholly.  It's like weighing both sides of a matter to make a decision.  "Devil" in the Greek is diabolous which means slanderous, the slanderer, false accuser, criticizing to hurt and condemn to sever a relationship, backbiter, predictable windup toy playing out his evil nature, enemy of God, estrange mankind from God enticing them to sin.  Michael is opposing the devil over a matter.

"Disputed" in the Greek is dialegomai which means converse, preach, lecture, argue, reason.  Michael was fighting with the devil over Moses' body.  Now, we know in Deuteronomy 34:5-6 that God buried Moses where no one could find the body, "So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day."  Nowhere in the Bible can you find this dispute.  Some scholars point to a Hebrew apocrypha book called the "Assumption of Moses."  Hebrew tradition held that Michael did fight Satan over the body of Moses.  Since Moses was so well regarded and had done so much for Israel, some scholars speculate that Satan wanted the body so he could use his body as an idol against God.  Whether the event actually happened may not matter.  Jude is using the event to make another example, one the people would have remembered hearing.

"Dared" in the Greek is tolmao which means endure, I am bold, have courage, make up the mind, courage necessary for a valid risk, putting fear behind for risk, not to dread or shun through fear.  "Against" in the Greek is epiphero which means bring forward against, impose, inflict, to bring upon.  It is made of the words epi which means the basis of and phero which means carry, bear, make publicly known.  "Reviling" in the Greek is basphemia which means abusive or scurrilous language, switches right for wrong, exchanges the truth of God for a lie, detractive speech injurious to one's name.  It is composed of two words: blax which means sluggish or slow and pheme which means reputation or fame. "Accusation" in the Greek is krisis which means divine judgement, accusation, opinion or decision concerning anything (right or wrong), condemn, pronounce.  Fearing God, Michael would not risk making publicly known his opinion of the devil that would injury the devil's reputation.

"Rebuke" in the Greek is epitimao which means chide, admonish, warn, warning by instruction, warning to prevent something from going wrong, censure severely, to curb one's ferocity or violence. It is made up of the words epi which means suitably on and timao which means esteem or place value.  Michael won't share his opinion but asks God to prevent Satan from doing something wrong.  The phrase, “The Lord rebuke you!”, is also found in Zechariah 3:2 which states "And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?'"

I like how the footnote in the amplified Bible sums up this passage.

In Jewish tradition, Michael claimed to be Moses’ teacher and was present when God put Moses to death (Midrash on Deut 11:10). Jude’s point is that if the archangel Michael had such respect for Satan’s power, then mere humans are extremely foolish to insult or show disrespect to angelic beings. This does not mean that true Christians cannot or should not engage in spiritual warfare with satanic forces; quite the contrary (Eph 6:12; James 4:7). But they should follow Michael’s example and act only as legitimate representatives of Christ who are in good standing with Him.

Ephesians 6:12 states "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  James 4:7 states "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Even Michael respected the enemy.  As believers, we should resist the enemy but respect the enemy.  Let God serve the punishment.

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil (Satan), and arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but [simply] said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Amplified Bible

W.O.R.D. Worksheet

Inductive Study: Jude 8

Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

Jude 8

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to remove discouragement from my life and help me to focus on you.  Even though life doesn't seem to go as I thought or my work for You doesn't go as planned.  Please help me to know that I'm obedient.  Keep me from focusing on myself.  Let tonight's Word speak to me, so I can grow closer to you.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Jude has gone into great detail about historical apostasy, the abandonment and renunciation of God.  Jude is now going to compare the past with the present.   If you remember from the overview, the book was written to instruct believers against False Teachers and dangerous tenets such as live in sin and still have the hope of eternal life.  These false teachers were believed to be the Gnostics.  They were a Christian heresy that combined the world's religions and started in the first century.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses. 

"Likewise" in the Greek is homoios which means which means equally, same way, similarity, in a like manner.  As the Israelites, fallen angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah, these false teachers will act and sin in the very same way.

"Dreamers" in the Greek is epupniazomai which means I dream (see visions) in my sleep, wrong kind of day dream, hoping (desiring) against God's kingdom and then expects personal aspirations to be granted, completely out of touch with God's kingdom, to be beguiled with sensual images and carried away to an impious course of conduct.  These are people who claim authority by dreams that they've had.  They rely solely on the strength of their dreams.  Matthew 6:33 states where actual authority is sourced, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

"Defile" in the Greek is miaino which means stain, pollute, corrupt, moral spiritual stain, sin tainted by polluting effects, contaminate, smear.  The basis of the word is to dye, stain with cover.  "Flesh" in the Greek is sarx which means human nature, body, carnal, human origin or empowerment, man's animal nature consumed with sin cravings, bodily countenance.  These men possessed with dreams cover their human nature with the permanent stain of morally corrupt sin.

"Reject" in the Greek is atheteo which means annul, make of no effect, set aside, ignore, slight, break faith with, nullify, make void, refuse to respect, cast off, bring to nothing.  "Authority" in the Greek is kuriotes which means lordship, dominance, dignity, divine or angelic lordship, dominion, celestial hierarchy, power over a jurisdiction, used of angels.  These deceivers break faith with God refusing to respect His lordship over all creation.

"Speak Evil" in the Greek is blasphemeo which means use abusive or scurrilous (scandalous claims to damage someone's reputation) language about God, refusing to acknowledge good, revile, calumniate (make false and defamatory statements about), vilify, slanderous, contemptuous speech that intentionally comes short of reverence due God, mock, scoff, heap abuse.  It is composed of two words: blax which means sluggish or slow and pheme which means reputation or fame.  "Dignitaries" in the Greek is doxa which means honor, renown, glory, splendor, unspoken manifestation of God, what evokes good opinion, brightness, shechinah (glory of the Lord), preeminence, excellence, most exalted state, angels of preeminent dignity.  Doxa is from the root word dokeo which means personal perspective, judgment call, showing what they do or don't esteem, have an opinion.  These evil men use words to try to vilify the Lord.  They are intentional in what they say and how they say it.  Their purpose is to defame, mock, and damage God's reputation.

Using the past (Israelites, fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah) as their guide, these con artists bathe themselves in sexual immorality, ignore God, and speak falsely about God.  This is a reflection of the world without God.  However, how can the world believe God will let everyone into heaven (the good place) when they treat Him this way?  The world believes that just because they exist that they are "entitled" to anything and everything they want and want to do.  This "entitlement" causes people to impose unrealistic demands, to feel sorry for themselves when it doesn't work out, to believe they deserve happiness, to take more than they give, to look out only for themselves, to genuinely believe that they are better than everyone else, and to crave attention anyway that they can get it.  They focus on themselves instead of others.  We don't have the "right" to anything unless we have Christ.

Nevertheless in the same way, these dreamers [who are dreaming that God will not punish them] also defile the body, and reject [legitimate] authority, and revile and mock angelic majesties.

Amplified Bible

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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W.O.R.D. Worksheet