JUDE
CHAPTER 1
Contend for the faith—some angels kept not their first estate—Michael disputed about the body of Moses—Enoch prophesied of Second Coming—Mockers shall come in the last days.
[ Although the question of authorship has been much debated, no solid evidence has been produced to show that anyone other than Jude, brother of Jesus and James, wrote the letter. Peter was president of the church of Jesus Christ in his day. We have no indication that Jude held any office of importance in the early church, but the epistle seems to suggest that he eventually attained to a position wherein a letter from him would carry some weight. Jude is attributed to one of Jesus's brothers. It seems like James, the brother of Jesus was the bishop of Jerusalem and after he died, it may be that Jude kind of stepped into that role, but we don't know a lot about him, but we know that this is a pastoral letter, him writing to people he cares about. ]
1 aJUDE, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept
in unawares, [ The Greek here is very vivid, being
derived from a compound word which means “to slip in through a side door.”
Rarely do apostate members openly challenge the principles of the gospel.
Rather, they employ subtle, deceitful, and secret methods to lure the
unwary away from the truth. Jude uses the image of someone slipping surreptitiously
through the side door to mingle quietly with the congregation until there
is an opportunity to cloak false teachings beneath his membership in
the church. What do you think of this statement
by President David O McKay? “The Church is little,
if at all, injured by persecution and calumnies from ignorant, misinformed,
or malicious enemies. A greater hindrance to its progress comes from
faultfinders, shirkers, commandment-breakers, and apostate cliques within its
own ecclesiastical and quorum groups.” (David O. McKay in CR, Oct. 1967, p.
9.)] who
were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men,
turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
[It does not imply simply a condition of mental or spiritual
immorality but highly visible and improper sexual behavior— unbridled
lust and passion, as it were. Jude is probably referring to a group of
members who are attempting to clothe their adultery with religious sanction.] and denying the
only Lord God, [ µyhla hwhy Yehovah Elohim, which we translate the LORD GOD. Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] , and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, [ Who are the angels spoken of here? One suggestion is that they are the watchers/false prophets spoken of in the Book of Enoch. Verse 7 tends to supports that thought I just have a hard time getting my head around it. The Prophet Joseph Smith explains their condition: “The spirits in the eternal world are like the spirits in this world. When those have come into this world and received tabernacles, then died and again have risen and received glorified bodies, they will have an ascendancy over the spirits who have received no bodies, or kept not their first estate, like the devil. The punishment of the devil was that he should not have a habitation like men.” (Smith, Teachings, pp. 305–6.) ] but left their own habitation, [ Where is that habitation? One theory is that these are the watchers who left the place where they once resided and traveled from their world to ours. ] he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness [ Outer darkness is the habitation of those “angels which kept not their first estate” but rebelled against God and joined forces with Lucifer. Here they will be joined by sons of perdition: those who, in this life, having known the ways of righteousness unto perfection, consciously chose a course that leads to hell (D&C 76:32, 33, 44). Since there is no progression, no spiritual growth, no advancement in light and truth in this state, those who inherit this condition are grasped with “everlasting chains” of darkness from which there is no return. Hell will end for all others. ] unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as sodom and Gomorrha, [ Or like sodom and Gomorrah were twin cities that existed somewhere near the Dead Sea, probably at its southern end. They were destroyed because of their great wickedness, principally homosexuality, from which we derive the term sodomy. Both cities and their inhabitants were destroyed by fire from heaven (Genesis 19:24, 25). Their fate, as well as the practices known to have existed there, suggest that perhaps Jude’s reference to “lasciviousness” by “certain men crept in unawares” is intended to connote the practice of homosexuality. This evil practice has been condemned by the prophets of God in all ages. (See Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, chapter 6.) ] and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, [ If these are the watchers then the strange flesh is since they are from another world it would be strange, not like theirs, according to the Book of Enoch this is why they were attracted to them in the first place. ] are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel,
[ The great patriarch Adam see (D&C 107:54). ] when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses,
[ “Commentators assume, and it surely must have been so, that Jude had before him and was quoting from a then current apocryphal book, ‘The Assumption of Moses,’ which has been preserved to us in fragmentary form only. This non-canonical work presents the doctrine that Moses was translated and taken up into heaven without tasting death. It appears to deal ‘with certain revelations made by Moses,’ and ‘with his disappearance in a cloud, so that his death was hid from human sight . . . Michael was commissioned to bury Moses. Satan opposed the burial on the ground (a) that he was the lord of matter and that accordingly the body should be rightfully handed over to him; (b) that Moses was a murderer, having slain the Egyptian. Michael having rebutted Satan’s accusations proceeded to charge Satan with having instigated the serpent to tempt Eve. Finally, all opposition having been overcome, the assumption took place in the presence of Joshua and Caleb.’” (McConkie, DNTC, 3:421.) It should be noted that, as Elder McConkie points out, “The Assumption of Moses” is an apocryphal book. Apocryphal means of dubious authenticity or validity. In other words, such books were not included in the Bible because they were not felt to be correct in every particular, even though they may have contained some things of value. (See, for example, what the Lord said about other apocryphal works in D&C 91.) ] durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain , [ Cain murdered his brother Abel in order to gain his brother’s flocks (Moses 5:32, 33); Cain was made a “fugitive and a vagabond . . . in the earth” (Moses 5:37); ] and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, [ Balaam used his God-given gift of prophecy to enhance himself with riches and the honors of men (Numbers 22:5; 25); Balaam was slain by the sword (Numbers 31:8); ] and perished in the gainsaying of Core. [ Each of these men made a grievous mistake in the eyes of the Lord. and Core (or Korah, as it is spelled in the Old Testament) rebelled against Moses, the Lord’s prophet, because of his exclusion from priesthood office (Numbers 16:1–3, 31–35). In each instance these men were cursed of the Lord for their evil: and Korah and those who sided with him were swallowed up alive in the earth (Numbers 16:31–35). Jude wishes it understood that the evil men of his day, having “gone in the way” of Cain, Balaam, and Core, shall also meet a similar fate. ]
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, [ Future Watchers/false prophets coming forth about the time of the new Jerusalem. See Moses 7:62–66. ] saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, [ See Moses 7:21 to see where these saints will come from and who they are. They are those tens of thousands inhibitants living in the city of Enoch when it was taken into heaven. ]
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
20 But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Ghost, [ What Does It Mean
to Pray “in the Holy Ghost”? “Praying by the power of
the Holy Ghost, so that all requested petitions are granted, because ‘it shall
be given you what you shall ask.’ (D. & C. 50:29–30;
101:27.)” (McConkie, DNTC, 3:427.)]
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out
of the fire; [“In
the day of judgment, every corruptible thing will be consumed (D. & C.
101:24), and the wicked shall be burned with unquenchable fire. (Mal.
4:1.) If the erring saints are to be saved, they must be pulled, as it
were, from the coming fire, even as God said of Israel: ‘Ye were as a
firebrand plucked out of the burning.’ (Amos 4:11.)” (McConkie, DNTC,
3:427–28.)] hating
even the garment spotted
by the flesh. [clothing spotted by contagious
diseases was destroyed by burning. (Lev. 13:47–49; 15:4–17.) And so with sin
in the Church, the saints are to avoid the remotest contact with it; the very
garments, as it were, of the sinners are to be burned with fire, meaning that
anything which has had contact with the pollutions of the wicked must be shunned.
And so also with those yet in the world who are invited to join the kingdom.
To them the call is: Repent, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation,
and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh.’
(D. & C.
36:6.)” (McConkie, DNTC, 3:428.)]