Images of shameful leaders: (1:12- 16)
Apostasy (1:12,13,16)
Jude calls the believers to be aware of such apostasy. He gives 6-images or pictures of the condition of the apostasy.
1. Spots in love feasts: They come to love feast without any concern and selfishly. They serve only themselves.
2. Empty Clouds carried by winds: They are good for nothing and bring no life giving rain. They only block out the sun. They exist just for themselves. They are empty clouds.
Empty clouds
3. Dry and dead trees: They do not bear any fruit in autumn or late autumn. They are the trees that only take minerals of soil and manure, but do not give any fruits. They are good for nothing except for burning.
4. Raging waves foaming up their shame: Sea gives a picture of beauty and serene. But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. The fruit of these men was like the foam or scum at the seashore.
5. Wandering stars: An unpredictable star was no good for guidance and navigation. Believers are often mentioned as stars showing the light and guidance. A wandering star has no aim and so the false teachers who have no aim of building the body of Christ but only serve for themselves.
Wandering stars
6. Blackness of darkness forever: This describes their destiny. Unless they repent, they would all end up in hell forever.
The prophesy of Enoch (1:14-16):
The ancient book of Enoch was not a part of Cannon of the Bible,, but it was highly respected among both the Jews and early Christians. “Tertullian tells us that the book of Enoch’s prophecies were preserved by Noah in the ark, and that they continued and were read until the times of the apostles. But because they contained many famous testimonies concerning Jesus Christ, the Jews out of malice suppressed and abolished the whole book.”
Enoch was the first prophet of the Bible. He gave a 2-fold prophesy of ‘Imminent day of the Lord and the Ultimate day of the Lord.’
Enoch was the son of Jared who lived for 962 years. Enoch lived for 365 years and was taken up into heaven. His son Methuselah lived the longest of 969 years. His son Lamech lived for 777 years. He gave birth to Noah who lived for 950 years. The meaning of Methuselah is ‘when he dies it will happen’ but we know him as Methuselah. He lived longer than anybody else; because God is so patient that He waited almost a millennium before the judgement (the flood) came. On the day that Methuselah died, it began to rain. But until his Methuselah’s grandson Noah built the ark, God waited for 969 years because his name says ‘when he dies it will happen’.
Enoch also prophesied the ultimate day of the Lord when the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all the ungodly, their ungodly deeds, their ungodly ways and the spoken words of ungodly sinners. God would also judge the grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts and the flattering people.