The Epistle of Jude, only twenty-five verses long, delivers one of the most urgent and uncompromising warnings in the entire New Testament. Identifying its writer as a close relative of Jesus Christ, the letter is written by Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. Between AD 65 and 80, it was written, so it’s in the same era as 2 Peter.
According to most researchers, Jude wrote first and Peter later adapted parts of it. It starts out as a treatise on the common salvation, but suddenly turns into a battle cry: believers need to fight for the faith that’s once for all been delivered to us.
This shift happens in verse 4. There have been some people creeping into the church unnoticed, men long ago marked out for condemnation. These false teachers pervert the grace of God into a license for immorality and deny the only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. The infiltration deserves immediate attention.
Therefore, Jude exhorts the readers to fight vigorously for the apostolic deposit of truth, using the Greek verb epagonizomai, which is used in athletic battles.
To underscore the certainty of divine judgment on such apostates, Jude presents three historical examples from the Old Testament. First, he recalls the generation delivered from Egypt that died in the wilderness because they weren’t believing. Second, he references the angels who abandoned their proper dwelling, which is a reference to the rebellion described in Genesis 6 that’s elaborated in Jewish apocalyptic tradition.
In the third example, he points to Sodom and Gomorrah, which gave themselves over to immorality and pursued unnatural desires, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Each example illustrates the pattern of initial privilege followed by rebellion and irreversible punishment.
In verses 8 through 16, the portrait of the false teachers gets darker. They rely on dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme divine beings. In Jude’s writing, he compares them to three notorious Old Testament rebels: Cain, who killed out of envy, Balaam, who taught Israel to stumble for money, and Korah, who challenged divine authority. Love feasts marred by hidden reefs make their gatherings look like love fests.
While they promise refreshment, they are waterless clouds, swept along by winds. They promise fruit, but show twice dead, uprooted autumn trees. Their words foam like shameful waves, and their destiny resembles wandering stars reserved for the darkest night.
In a remarkable move, Jude quotes the extrabiblical book of 1 Enoch to announce the Lord’s coming with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment on the ungodly. Although 1 Enoch never entered the canon, Jude employs the prophecy because it accurately reflects divine truth. This citation shows how New Testament authors could use Jewish tradition when it aligned with inspired revelation.
Jude turns from warning to encouragement, reminding believers that scoffers will arise in the last days, following their own ungodly passions. These divisive people lack the Spirit and create factions. Conversely, the faithful must build themselves up on their most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, stay in God’s love, and wait eagerly for eternal life to come from the mercy of Christ.
Mercy is necessary for some, but snatching them from the fire is necessary for others. Even acts of mercy demand caution, hating the stained garment of sin.
A glorious doxology concludes the epistle, in which Jude ascribes glory, majesty, dominion, and authority to our only God through Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever. The power of God Himself to keep believers from stumbling and present them faultless before His glory with exceeding joy is most important. The letter ends on a triumphant note of sovereign preservation after pages of thundering against apostasy.
Jude emphasizes the inseparability of sound doctrine and holy living. The denial of Christ’s lordship leads to moral collapse. Grace never masks vice. The epistle also underscores the reality of angelic rebellion, the certainty of future judgment, and the value of extra-biblical sources when they bear witness to truth. Jude’s main goal is to glorify Jesus Christ, a title the false teachers reject outright.
For contemporary readers, the letter remains strikingly relevant. Church leaders continue to twist grace into permissiveness, rely on subjective experience instead of Scripture, reject ecclesiastical authority, and exploit believers. Judah does not offer polite dialogue as the solution. Instead, he calls for vigorous contention, disciplined spiritual growth, and trust in God’s protection.
In twenty-five short verses, Jude accomplishes several critical tasks: he exposes the character and destiny of false teachers, he equips believers to recognize danger, he motivates active defense of apostolic truth, and he entrusts the church to the God who judges rebellious people and guards the faithful. In an age where accommodation is more popular than confrontation, this epistle serves as a timeless manifesto for doctrinal discernment and moral courage. The final passage reminds us that the One who demands holiness also gives us strength.
