Jude 6

Jude’s Warning Against False Teachers and the Need for Unity

Well hello good evening. We're a little spread out in here tonight but I figure if we're gonna have the youth in here we better have enough seats so I think I think we're I think we'll have plenty of room.

We got plenty of seats in here. Tonight's gonna be a little bit different as you can tell I have a microphone because I really want you to hear me now. Pastor Jeremiah is actually gonna be up here with me.

I've got another microphone so we're going to approach tonight's text a little bit different. A little more dialogue because this is a difficult topic a difficult text that needs to be talked through.

And and it's one of those texts that brothers and sisters can come to the table and talk about and have unity and have differing opinions. It's all good. And so we thought this would be a great opportunity to do this.

That microphone behind you. You'll have to speak into that we're recording because as you could tell on band we had a number of people saying I can't be there but I want to be there so we're recording it.

That's why we have the microphones. So.

That they can hear us we also can you hear us better. We also plan to wear the.

Same shirts I called Ali and we scheduled that out. Just right. Who does it better. Of course it's me. Okay. So before we get started before we pray miss Christy contacted me today. I'm gonna I'm gonna put you on blast here.

And had a dollar. Yes had an idea that I wanted to present to everybody. I'm not I'm not gonna tell them all the things that you're saying about everybody. So she had an idea and I thought we would present it and see what everybody else thought that.

It was a very good thought. You know how some churches do food on Wednesday nights because people have a tough time getting off work and getting here. We can't really provide that and we don't want another corn in the a feast.

But what if like once a month we order pizza in like maybe the first Wednesday of every month or the last Wednesday of every month whatever that may be to do. Like pizza night to where we just order pizza in that way y 'all don't have to like rush around trying to get to fast food and get here and and then and then maybe go out afterwards or whatnot.

Is that something that everyone would like. Or it's like I'm indifferent. Don is going to be paying for and bringing sushi once a month. Is that something everyone would be interested in. Like.

Just that way it's just easy. Yes for me that's a yes.

All righty. Well that's something we'll work on and we'll try and schedule that and figure out what Wednesday so we'll let you know about that. It's gonna be quite a dialogue and we're starting a little bit late so instead of breaking down and doing the prayer like we usually do absolutely let's pray.

Heavenly Father thank you so much for just allowing all of us to be able to gather together this evening God around the the truth of your word Lori pray for illumination God that you would help guide us in the word God please help us to be equipped to be able to combat against false teachers that creep into the church that we read and God please by the Spirit just help us to be equipped with that gospel contend for the faith that's been once delivered.

So Lord just please bless our endeavors this evening your name Jesus we pray. Amen amen. Well.

Jude 5–13 and the Structure of the Warning

We're in Jude those of you that been with us you know that we have been covering one verse a night and we have now made it to verse 6. But what I want us to do because of this continuous thought starting in verse 5 I want us to read of this big chunk as a whole so open up your Bibles to Jude and we're gonna start in verse 5 and read up through verse 13.

Jude says. Now I want to remind you although you once fully knew it that Jesus who saved a people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed those who did not believe and the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.

Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities which likewise indulge in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these people also relying on their dreams defile the flesh reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones.

But when the archangel Michael contended with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment but said the Lord rebuke you. But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand and they are destroyed by all that they like unreasoning animals understand instinctively woe to them.

For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's heir and perished in Cora's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feast as they feast with you without fear shepherds feeding themselves waterless clouds swept along by winds fruitless trees and late autumn twice dead uprooted wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

As we've seen over the past few weeks Jude is addressing this group of believers and he's he's warning them of false teachers that he's warning them of people that have crept in. And now here he gives us these examples.

And and I broke down this portion last week when we first started but I want to do it again like every week so we can kind of see this structure of these triads that Jude is using. And verses five and seven that we are portion we're looking at tonight we see these Old Testament examples of rebellion and then God's judgment divine judgment upon that rebellion we see first the one we looked at last week Israel's rebellion in the wilderness that we looked at in numbers 14 he references that God he did not allow them to go into the promised land.

The one we're gonna look at tonight these rebellious angels that we're gonna be referencing then he then he brings in Sodom and Gomorrah and their rebellion in Genesis 19. And then in verses 8 through 10 we have this account of Michael and the archangel with Satan.

And then in verses 11 through 13 we have more Old Testament examples. And these examples are a little different than the other three. These are of rebels corrupting others. And so we saw the story of Cain in this he uses that example in Genesis 4 we see the story of Balaam in numbers and and then we see Korah in numbers 16 and then he compares them to selfish shepherds clouds without rain chaotic waves.

So we see this this process that Jude is bringing us through as we've been walking through. Hey these are false teachers. Here's some comparisons of rebellion dishonor of God and then God's judgment and how God responded to rebellion.

And they given us these examples. And so last week we saw five. So tonight we are looking specifically at verse 6 and again like I said earlier this is a this is a difficult text. This is a text that that scholars have disputed over the years and many scholars today still have differing opinions on.

And and this one in verse 6 is the second of these first three Old Testament examples of rebellion. Because remember last week verse 5 the old the nation of Israel in the wilderness. And then in the next verse he's gonna be talking about Sodom and Gomorrah.

So what Old Testament account is he referring to here in verse 6 can anyone tell me Genesis 6. Right. So we're gonna be looking at that tonight as a matter of fact. Let's read that section if you want to turn your Bibles.

Back to Genesis chapter 6 can I make one comment. Yes. And Jude. Because one view is could Jude be referring to just the angelic fall from you know around the foundation of the world. And I think that's within the realm of possibility.

But one clue that I think we can tie it to Genesis 6 is when he says just like or just as Sodom and Gomorrah and when you look at that context sure there was idolatry in those things but there was explicit sexual immorality so that's.

Kind of the tie. Yes that's a very good example. I if you if you see it back in Jude though like what he was just saying and when he get when you get to verse 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities which likewise indulge in sexual immorality so the language there seems to imply that what he said previously in verse 6 like he just said is referring to sexual immorality with the angels.

So Genesis 6. Let's look at that real quick. The first four verses in that in Genesis 6. Verse 1 says. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them. Now mind you.

You'll see if you look in your Bibles throughout the the next part of this chapter this is right before the flood. So the story of Noah is getting ready to come into account. And so so it says hey the man has multiplied on the face of the land and the daughters were born to them.

In the verse 2 it says. The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive and they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said my spirit shall not abide in man forever for he is flesh his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days. And also afterward when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old the men of renown.

Now if you're reading this and you're not familiar with this account in this story how is this account about rebellious angels. Anyone see the word angels in those four verses. How would we know. This is about angels.

What do you.

Think so he said been a Elohim so explain more about them. What are some. Do you remember some examples when been a Elohim was used. Yeah. And it's referred to I think three times. And Job. So there is dispute.

We could. There's actually a few different views of what sons of God could be referring to. And one of you says you got godly men a godly lineage and some. Can you explain the terminology of what that's referred to.

Yes you come out like the godly genealogy I was gonna say so earlier in Genesis 5 you have the descendants of Adam to Noah and you kind of have two genealogies. You had the line of Seth which was kind of considered this a godly line.

And then you have the ungodly line of Cain. And so the view goes on to say then you had the the Sethites the offspring of Seth intermarrying with the daughters of Cain and then you get these Nephilim.

Does anybody else have a different translation for Nephilim. By chance. I think some translations say Giants. So that's kind of the idea that's in mind here and later in the Old Testament you had the conquest of Canaan.

There's were these tribes of Giants. Right. So it kind of stems back to the Nephilim here. And so they're saying that this was a byproduct of these people. So that's one.

Solid view the Sethite view and it's a legitimate view like RC Sproul holds.

That view that the these again that's it now here holds the right. That's pretty.

That's pretty hard man. Yes but the point is that there are people that have some arguments that this could be a legitimate interpretation of Genesis 6. Is everyone trekking with us the Sethite view that the sons of God are the essentially the the line of Seth and so these are guys.

Right. That's true very true. Well I think there's a lot of problems with it. We can talk about that as we as we get through it but but that's one of the views. But the other view is that the sons of God is referring to just as Don mentioned angels.

Which by the way the only time in all of Scripture that that phrase the sons of God what what is it. In the Hebrew. Everybody hear that been a Elohim but nay Elohim. That phrase the only other time in the Old Testament that it's seen is like they said three times in the book of Job and then one time in Daniel.

And every single one of those accounts is without question speaking of angels. And so we also know though that that there is some legitimacy in the argument that well we know that we as children we're sons of God.

We're all we're sons of God. If we're if we're believers but see nowhere in the Old Testament does. Is this phrase even in the New Testament there's nowhere else in Scripture where this phrase is used specifically for us.

It's a completely different phrase and so that's why most scholars believe that. Well if it's in four other places this way directly then it must be meaning angels. And so in the.

New Testament we do see sons of God. It does carry this Hebrew idea like you're talking about. It's mentioned to refer to it as Adam in the genealogy. I believe in Luke's account. And you ask what meaningful way was Adam a son of God.

Well he was a direct creation of God. That's why it makes sense with angels. They're sons of God their direct creation. And so when we read one of the Beatitudes that says blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God we realize that we're a new creation.

We are directly created by virtue of the Holy Spirit. And so that just kind of echoes the the Hebrew.

Terminology of what sons of God means well can anyone else think of another account in the New Testament that ties Jude verse 6 and Genesis 6 together. You.

Want to read that. So there we see. I would say a different account of what is going on but we see the same action being taken. Yes it would not because in.

The New Testament we have we have them writing not in Hebrew and so the phrasing.

Is usually different so there's in the Old Testament there's still a Hebrew term for angel and we look in the Septuagint it's translated Angelus so the argument could be made. Well why didn't Moses use the Hebrew term for angels here and so I think a really good explanation is sons of God is more of a genealogical term which flows out of Genesis chapter 5.

So he's trying to get at the those that were created by the hand of God are starting to step into the picture.

That's that's exactly what I was looking for. That's perfect. That's that is a correlating passage. So when we look at that section of 2nd Peter and then we look at the section in Jude that we're looking at it's almost like Jude was cheating on Peters homework and looking over and like okay I'm that's good.

Because they correlate so well together because they're essentially saying a lot of the same thing. Because that passage you just brought up Peter is actually addressing false teachers and he uses the same example.

And so yes he's it you. You're reading the 2nd Peter 2 4. Right. That was the one. And so that is a correlating verse where we can actually go and extrapolate from that what you're saying. Okay. Well Peter makes it clear.

This is angels. So what's he talking.

About so that same verse says that they are bound in hell. Right. It's interesting because when you look in the Greek here it's not the word Gehenna or Hades it's Tartarus. So Peter is making a more precise term that there's something special marked out for angels that sinned in the context of Noah.

And I want to say in 1st Peter chapter 3 there's kind of a similar context with the spirits the spirits imprisoned. Right. We to read that passage. I've got it here.

For Christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God but put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit. So Jesus the sacrifice Jesus made in verse 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formally did not obey.

When God's patience waited in the days of Noah. Yeah. And when he's talking about.

The time that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison he's not giving them a second chance. I believe caught. Colossians 2 talks about how he disarmed the principalities and powers. It's almost like Jesus during this time of his death and resurrection is preaching a message of triumph.

Not a second chance. But you start to tie it together 1st Peter 2nd Peter Jude. And even depending on your eschatology Adam you could look at Revelation 9 and you see these demonic figures bit coming out of the pit which kind of raises a question how did they get there.

To begin with right. What how did they sin in such a way to deserve to already be locked up in Tartarus only to in some way be released. And so it kind of all points back to Genesis 6. So it's translated in English as hell but I'm saying there's a different Greek word for Gehenna which is the lake of fire essentially and there's another word for Hades.

What we read in Greek and so I'm saying in English we always read as hell but I think Peters getting at something deeper. So when you look up Tartarus this is a subterranean within the abode of the unrighteous and we say the context is.

More for angels here. That's one view. Yeah and I'm saying that's a good Orthodox view to have a lot of people do make that connection. Yeah that's that's.

What I tried to mention a moment ago I don't think those two are the same account. I think these are two very different. They're very different. Yeah but they do correlate in the sense that they can apply.

It shows that God has the right over his creation to do with it as he pleases and he oversees it. He can send it to eternal judgment he can release it he can do whatever he sees.

Fit and whatever he says he's gonna do. I think that's a valid view to have. I know.

John MacArthur takes that view. We see possession happening all throughout the Bible. So maybe that's what happened here. I don't just say that's outside the realm of possibilities. Reason why I don't take that view is because we do see angelic beings take taking on physical form right now.

We see it with holy angels but nothing says they ever stopped with fallen angels. In fact we do see Satan taking on the form of a serpent right. So we still see that and me. It's within the realm of possibility.

If they can manifest themselves into the physical realm well then why can the next step of procreation not happen. And and the byproduct of that would be something way different than what we're used to which would justify the Giants or the Nephilim kind of.

Well that's what.

I was about to say it really greatly depends on what what you do with verse 4 in Genesis 6 and so when he says the Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterwards when the sons of God came to the daughters of man and bore children so one view is that the Nephilim that's being mentioned of here or some of your translations like you said Giants which is kind of the consensus across the board like this is what the Nephilim are.

Some believe that that the writer here is not saying that the Nephilim were the result of this physical relationship between the men and the women. Bear with me here what they say is that he wrote verse 4 the Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterward in the Hebrew that and isn't there that's been added in the English that and isn't there.

But in the Hebrew if the and isn't there it it's it's an addendum to the thought not an extra thought. And so there's argument to be made that what he's saying in verse 4 is oh by the way you've been taught because of the book of Enoch right.

Because of that we know we can look historically and look at books like the book of Enoch and say okay this was their view of this account. They believe that Giants are a result of angels demons having relationships with earthly women and creating these Nephilim that obviously existed.

So the argument there is is that what he's saying is not that they're the result what he's actually throwing in there is that oh by the way what you thought was the result of these angels having relationships with women that's disconnected.

What what he's saying is hey they were there before and they're there afterwards the Nephilim or something totally detached from the angels and the the women that that's one view. And if you hold that view then that view that John MacArthur holds of the possession it it holds some water.

Because if that's the case then yeah possession and then they just had children and the result wasn't Giants the result was just children that were ungodly. That makes sense because if a demon possesses if a demon possesses a man and a man has relations with a woman genetics are still involved they're producing a child and it's not a demon child because it's that man and that woman's child it's not the the intent of the action that's happening with the demon.

And so if that's the interpretation that the Nephilim have nothing to do with this if these actually contradicting the Nephilim in this passage from being that essentially the readers changing their viewpoint from what they had always thought then that makes sense.

My problem with it is if these Nephilim are a result of these angels and women it that doesn't make any sense I don't know that I can I can go along what do you.

Think of that. Yeah. So the first view you said with that also kind of line up with the set that view as well because you're just having you're having natural offspring and then this is something just kind of disconnected I think that's.

The only way the set that view makes sense. Yeah. So so. One of the views is.

That it was angels but it was angels possessing physical men and then those physical men being possessed by the demons had relations with women and one.

Of my follow-up points was that's within the realm of possibility but maybe not the one. I mean that's not the one that I hold to because like you were saying it seems like that would just result in natural children and then we're saying the fact that the Nephilim are being brought up here seems to be as a result of the context earlier and so some if we agree that the Nephilim are being a byproduct here then the set that view doesn't really work for me because when when humans are procreating you occasionally get a gal mean here and there a giant right.

But you don't get tribes of giant something. You know big has to be an external factor has to abruptly come in to be able to produce.

These giant tribes of or of Giants. Yes now you're getting the Watchers from the.

Point to a reference for that. I think what you're saying let me clarify with everybody and tell me if I'm wrong. What you're saying is that the account of demons it's kind of the third a third of the angels being cast out with Satan are different than these angels that came down.

And with the women these are a totally different set of angels that that have fallen. And I think that's a legitimate argument. And and the reason I would say that is because of the passage. Let's look here in Genesis 6.

Let's see here. In verse 2 the sons of God saw the daughters of man were were attractive and they took their wives. So they're looking on they're seeing that they're attractive. But also in our passage in Jude 6 and the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority might give us some hint that these were actually angels that had not.

Previously fallen yet and and you're pulling that from a passage in Daniel.

Not just the book of Enoch. Well there are there are some good reason I mean the book of Enoch is a really good resource historically to help us get into the mindset of how the original readers are seeing things.

Because even all the way up until Jude's time like these Jewish people they're reading the book of Enoch like they see it as they say it is something real like something historical and so it's very helpful for us to utilize it.

But right. Yeah we yeah we have to be care. I mean I think I think the book of Enoch already kind of shoots itself in the foot in a lot of ways. I mean the fact that it claims that these Nephilim are what 500 foot tall and we have no reference of any of that.

Like I mean there's a lot of there's a lot of things that get lost and it's.

Kind of playing off the idea. I think it's in Numbers where the two spies went out and said we were like grasshoppers to these men. Yeah but that's.

Poetic you know that brings up a whole nother thing so we can have a conversation about and see what y 'all think. And I haven't worked this out in my mind so maybe you can rebuke me through the process.

Welcome to how me and him interact. I say things and he rebukes me. No. No. Okay. So we look at the story of Israel coming through the wilderness and defeating Giants. We look at King David killing Goliath.

There are some scholars that claim and tie the people of Israel into being used by God to finally get rid of this Nephilim genetics on the earth. I like it. Come on. So there is there are scholars that believe that the Nephilim because remember it says that they were they they were there then and even after this account the Nephilim was still a part of and we're not sure how this all worked out how these angels engage with these women and what they produced.

But we know they were Giants in some way. And if that's the case if you notice there is a real emphasis on Israel killing off all the Giants. So you have this account and some of them actually are able to tie like Goliath being from a community that was known as Giants but became a and David killing off that last giant you have the account of the people of Israel going into the promised land and they were like grasshoppers.

They're talking about Giants and he's told to go in and slaughter these people like take them out like and God gives them the land by defeating them. And it's like God using his people to wipe out this abomination on the earth.

I like it. I had.

A follow-up thought with and also afterward because you know the last phrase there are these were the mighty men who were of old these men of renown so we see that phrase come up later. In reference to Nimrod I think towards the end of Genesis 10.

Someone can look that up but it's right it's setting the stage for the Tower of Babel and so it's neat. I read a really good book called Tower of Babel that answers in Genesis highly endorsed. But one thought was you have all of these.

You have all of these. I just went blank on the term but you have all these deities the demigods you know that are in Greek mythology. You have Viking terminal or Viking deities. And all these stories perhaps have some validity.

Going up back to the Tower of Babel where you would have these kind of demigods. We're saying really these would have been Nephilim right. Where there's demonic presence involved and then you kind of see that conquest happening later out or later on.

So I'm just saying you do see a jump from Genesis 6 to kind of the end of Genesis 10 but really setting up the the story for Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel. Good. That's a good tie-in. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. And Vikings is it Norik. That's the term I was trying to think of say like there's all these ancient stories of like demigods and then there's a point of validity is saying hey this stems all the way back to Babel.

Right. Well I mean we talked.

About the men of renown like what is that. And that could possibly make sense. And when we're tying that in together we look at. I mean you were talking the.

Other day and you were talking about references to Thor so you have. So we.

Have accounts of these mythological gods in all these other cultures that could be an account of angelic beings essentially demons that are desiring to be worshipped and and having the Nephilim being those mighty men of renown that were able to come in and conquer cities and be amazing and do these miraculous things.

Because the argument is brought up you know we look back and we say okay well we have these these these entire people groups that build a statue and then spend their entire lives worshipping this statue.

These weren't stupid people these weren't just ignorant people who didn't know better. These these these people are not just building a statue and saying well that's my god. Now and because these are the types of people that are building pyramids like these are the types of people that are doing amazing things that we look back in history these are intelligent individuals.

The point is is that there is demonic interaction going on with these gods and there has to be some level. We look back and we look at the Orient right. And we see their history and we see some of their back their past gods and all that comes into play like this could very well be the mighty men of renown that is being spoken of because of these angelic creatures being engaged and involved in the world and gaining a following gaining worshippers through that I was.

Gonna say a place to point out I think Deuteronomy 32. I think Adam could check me on this to see if I think demons are actually explicitly mentioned in Deuteronomy 32 but it's in the context of building idols and then demonic.

Interaction happen. What's the term for that. There's a word for building idols as a home. For there's an actual you said it the other day and I couldn't remember it and I was like that's the word. Zurich.

Zurich that's it. Yes. So that's what I was getting at. You know they're building these idols and the purpose of these idols is it's they're they're building a home for their God so they already have some idea that this God is doing something great like let's build a home for them so they're happy with us a Zurich.

I can never say I can never remember that word. Zurich. I can't.

Remember I think so you got it it kind of googling it kind of mimics not a pyramid but it takes similar shape. Yeah. But it's like you're talking about a place of worship. Yeah. So there's an argument brought up against kind of the fallen angel view.

I thought we could maybe touch on this briefly. So back in verse 2 it says. Sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive and took as their wives any that they chose. So the idea is okay. Matthew 22 Jesus explicitly telling the Sadducees that and after the resurrection there's not gonna be marriage like the angels.

And so the equivocation is saying. See it says wives here in the English. Therefore that's Nolan boy that's not what's talking about. And so the Hebrew term could be referring to women. And that is to procreate.

You don't have to be married right. It could be a totally sinful act. That's going on. So when we see wives there that's not a hard and fast stance man that there was this this marriage ceremony not to mention they've.

Left their place of dwelling their rightful place. Right. So we think of mark 1225 when it speaks of us in the future where it says. For when they raise from the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.

So there's coming a time with you and I that we're not married anymore. Right. And that'll be that position force but it doesn't mean that we don't have the capability of being married at this moment.

I think that that argument it really doesn't hold much water because we know that at some point we'll be made like angels or we don't marry but we'll be in an eternal state because we're glorified. Right.

We know the angels that have fallen. They're not in a glorified state. Right. There. They're whatever God prescribes for them in that moment. It's like okay you're for judgment you're for salvation. But I don't think that the argument holds water.

That the angels aren't capable of Mary. Yeah. And. And you.

Don't even need. You don't even need that to be in place. So that's what you're getting at is. You don't even need it to be accurate because wives here could be referred to as women in general. Not not your spouse.

That's good it's good. I. So I really think that was the intent because I think from the very beginning Satan's plan was to pollute the bloodline to prevent the offspring from the woman to crush his head.