Jude 1:8-11 - "They Do Not Know"

Today, Friday November 5 “They Do Not Know” Jude 1:8-11 “Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” I know that I have already said it numerous times that the Book of Jude is a book about the judgment of God, especially upon the apostates. This morning for some reason I couldn’t help but think about the New Testament in its entirety. How it begins with the four Gospels, the story of Jesus coming to earth to reveal to us the love of God and to give grace and mercy. The Old Testament ended with the nation of Israel in rebellion against God and the prophets bringing messages of coming judgement of punishment. Over and over in the Old Testament we have example after example of what happens when people forget God, despise Him and His Word, and rebel against His authority! John begins his Gospel by telling us how the law was given by Moses but Jesus came with grace and truth! So the New Testament starts out with the “Good News” about God’s love, mercy and grace! And the apostates of Jude’s day emphasized that grace to the extent that they were teaching you could live like you want, you can be your own god, because God is love and He would not hurt anyone! Sounds a whole lot like today! We have taught several generations of young people this very thing and it’s no wonder that there is no fear of any consequences for their decisions to please themselves. “They do not know” the truth is there is a God in heaven who has given us laws to follow, not to restrain us and make us miserable, but to protect us and bring us divine blessings. I remind you, just like the New Testament begins with the Good News, the Gospels, it closes its pages with the last two books, Jude and Revelation, with the warning of judgment to come upon anyone who rejects God and His Word! We do not and cannot break God’s laws. We really can’t even bend them! We violate them, we trespass against them and then we get broken! Our world is full of broken people today because of this! The Spirit of God led Jude to describe the characteristics of the apostates. All that Jude wrote about the apostates in rest of this letter may be summarized in three statements. They Reject Divine Authority (Jude 1:8-11). They Resort to Deliberate Hypocrisy (Jude 1:12-13, 16) They Receive Their Due Penalty (Jude 1:14-15) Wow! What a description of what is taking place right now in our country! “They do not know….” My friend, don’t forget the Gospels but at the same time make sure you read the end of the Book! Judgement is coming! Today, remember Jesus took our judgement for us on the cross of Calvary so that we can escape the coming wrath of God if we by faith receive and trust Him! (2 Corinthians 5:21) God bless!