Jude 1

The Epistle of Jude is a short, single-chapter letter that stands immediately before Revelation in the New Testament. Because the book has no other chapters, this chapter constitutes the entire book. The whole chapter warns against people who have slipped in among the saints and exhorts readers to keep the faith.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Jude, the brother of James, greets those who are called.
• Verses 3–4 Jude explains that he had originally intended to write about the common salvation. However, because certain men had crept in unawares, turning grace into lasciviousness and denying the Lord, he felt compelled to exhort his readers to "earnestly contend for the faith."
• Verses 5–7 He gives three examples of judgment: the people who were saved out of Egypt yet did not believe, the angels who left their own habitation, and Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Verses 8–13 He rebukes the false teachers.
• He contrasts them with Michael, who, when disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a railing accusation.
• He likens them to those who have gone in the way of Cain, Balaam, and Korah.
• He describes them as spots in the feasts of charity, clouds without water, autumn trees without fruit, and wandering stars.
• Verses 14–16 He quotes the prophecy of judgment given by Enoch, the seventh from Adam.
• Verses 17–19 He urges readers to remember the words of the apostles, who foretold that mockers would appear in the last time.
• Verses 20–23 He exhorts believers to build themselves up on their faith and to pray in the Holy Ghost. They are to have compassion on those who doubt and to save others by pulling them out of the fire.
• Verses 24–25 The letter closes with a doxology (a brief declaration of praise to God) ascribing glory to God.

Key Verses

• Jude 1:3 "Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" — states the purpose of the letter.
• Jude 1:20–21 "Praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God" — following the warnings, sets out what believers are to do.
• Jude 1:24 "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling" — opens one of the best-known doxologies in the New Testament.

People and Places

• Jude: The author of the letter. He introduces himself as the brother of James and is traditionally identified as Jude the brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3).
• Michael: The archangel.
• Moses, Cain, Balaam, Korah: Old Testament figures cited as examples.
• Enoch: Quoted as a prophet. The text calls him the seventh from Adam.
• Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah: Mentioned as places of deliverance and judgment.

Points for Reflection

• The dispute between Michael and the devil in verse 9 does not appear in the Old Testament. Early church fathers reportedly attributed the account to a Jewish writing, the Assumption of Moses.
• The prophecy in verses 14–15 is nearly identical to 1 Enoch 1:9, a book outside the canon (the books the church recognizes as Scripture). The prevailing interpretation is that this quotation does not endorse the whole of that book as Scripture. The quotation is also reported to have prompted debate in the early church over the canonicity of Jude.
• Some interpreters connect the angels of verse 6 with the "sons of God" in Genesis 6, while others do not.
• Verses 4–18 closely resemble 2 Peter 2 in wording and order. Scholars differ over which was written first.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 3 is frequently used as a sermon text for warnings against heresy or for teaching on sound faith.
• Verses 24–25 are sometimes quoted as a doxology or prayer at the close of worship.