The letter of Jude, or more accurately, Judah, according to the pronunciation of his name, both in Greek and in Hebrew. Judah concludes his warning by quoting from two other warnings, one ancient and one recent. The first comes, again, from the popular book of 1 Enoch, which claimed to contain the visions of the ancient figure Enoch from the book of Genesis. Now, what's fascinating is Judah quotes from the opening chapter of Enoch, which is itself quoting about half a dozen Old Testament texts about the final day of the Lord's justice on human evil.
Judah then matches Enoch's ancient warning with a more recent one from the apostles. Peter, John, Paul, they all predicted that corrupt teachers would arise and distort the good news about Jesus. And they themselves were echoing Jesus' early warning about the same thing. And so this church should need no more convincing. These teachers have to be dealt with. Pretending is often a predatory skill. Consider the created world. Tigers instinctively use their stripes to blend seamlessly with tall grass, becoming nearly invisible as they stalk their prey. Even more impressive is the alligator snapping turtle.
It has been designed with a fleshly appendage on top of its tongue that looks like a worm, luring unsuspecting fish into its grasp. Human beings are at the top of the food chain, the apex predators. We have honed the art of pretending for millennia and essential skill for hunting. Consider hunters during moose season. They don camouflage to blend into their surroundings, then use a female cow call to entice bull moose close enough for a successful harvest.
In all these situations, the predator is pretending to hunt and obtain meat for food, but our understanding of predatory pretending doesn't stop there. Unfortunately, there is a realm of human predatory behavior that is far more dangerous than anything in creation. It's a deception, where pretense is used to obtain power and control in order to fulfill sinful opinions and ideologies. Living in a culture that chases desire, it's easy to see how they can infiltrate our workplace, our schools, our clubs, and sports. However, these types of deceptive thoughts and behaviors can also infiltrate the church.
And if the church isn't clinging to the truth of the gospel, the deception can go unnoticed for some time. How does this start? Initially, motives may be appearing honest and sincere. They might be really friendly people. However, as their desires unfold, the destructive nature of their belief system is revealed.
They're pretending to hold to the truth, but they've bought into a manipulation of the truth authored by the enemy. And to be clear, there are some in all areas of culture and in the church who truly believe they're doing what's right, that they're saying what's right. And yet they're blind to the fact that they've been corrupted in the past by false teachers, counselors, mentors, and guides. They might be great people who have become pretenders and deceivers by following the wrong people. Now they're passing down and perpetuating the deception which enables a predatory system.
Throughout the month of September, we've been studying the letter of Jude and his call to reclaim truth. Jude's opening warning was against false teachers and corrupt guides who would pervert the grace of God by promoting sensuality and denying Christ's deity. You have likely come across a few people in your life who promote sensuality and deny that Christ is the Son of God. This is the way of fallen humanity. But when it enters the church, we're called to defend the truth.
Today, Jude provides further evidence of his main argument by pointing back to ancient prophecies and the apostles' predictions, all of whom warned long ago that there would be predatory influences entering the church who are merely pretending to be godly. As a caveat, today is going to be a challenging message for two reasons. First, the scriptural content is sobering and shocking for those who aren't familiar with Jude's letter. If you haven't done so already, I would suggest watching the previous two messages in this series. We're going to be working through some difficult topics today, and you'll need a foundation to fully grasp the intent behind Jude's instruction. Second, today's study is going to branch out into seven different biblical texts. So it's going to feel a bit academic, like you're in a Bible college class.
So if you have a notebook or a notes app on your phone, you're going to want to open that up now. Alternatively, if you're watching in-house, you'll find a pen and a place to put sermon notes on the back of the mission vision card. With that caveat out of the way, let's turn to the letter of Jude, verses 14 through 19. This week's scripture reading is from the book of Jude, chapter 1, verses 14 to 19. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly other deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires. They are loudmouth boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They say to you,
In the last time, there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the spirit. Even if you didn't grow up in the church, you might still have some understanding that God has an enemy whose name is Satan or the devil. Most people in our post-Christian Western culture have picked up that information. What you may not know is how Satan works against God.
The Bible reveals Satan as the great deceiver. Jesus called him a liar and the father of lies. Satan isn't so much concerned about you following him as he is concerned about you not following God. You see, Satan is constantly using confusion and deception to convince human beings that they don't need a relationship with God. He wants human beings to chase their own desires and adhere to false teachers that focus on self-centered ideologies. He will use any means necessary to prevent humans from trusting in Jesus, obtaining redemption, and restoring their relationship with God.
Where does the church fit into this picture? Well, the church gets in the way of Satan's work, as you can imagine. So his desire is to deceive us, to harm us, and ultimately destroy as many church communities as possible. Put simply, Jesus loves his church. So Satan hates the church.
Now, I understand that we are launching into some heavy concepts, and you might not think about this stuff very often, or maybe you don't even want to think about it. I get it. This is tough stuff. But it lays the foundation for us to understand why Jude's warning is so intense and urgent. Jude understood what was happening in the spiritual realm of the church he was writing to. And this kind of spiritual deception can happen in any local church. As we unpack this text, we'll see that Jude is calling the church to remember the ancient prophecies and the apostles' predictions before the pretenders, under Satan's influence, become predators.
Simply put, remember the prophecies and predictions before the pretenders become predators. This isn't something we like to think about, but we have to, to be prepared for the reality that predatory influences being used by Satan will infiltrate the local church. These types of people pretend to be godly, but in reality, they're being consumed by worldly desires. Let's start unpacking these verses in more detail. In verse 14, Jude references Enoch, who is listed in the genealogies of Adam found in Genesis 5, verses 18 and 19. Maybe you're wondering, who's Enoch, and what does he have to do with Jude's letter? Well, remember that this church, which was originally receiving this letter, is made up of Messianic Jews. That's Jewish people who have accepted Jesus as Messiah. The people in this church would have grown up with the Old Testament scriptures, but they're also very well versed in the ancient extra-biblical or apocryphal writings, including Enoch.
Enoch might not have been an authority figure to a Gentile or non-Jewish audience, but for this church, the prophecy of Enoch is valuable, giving further leverage to Jude's argument. So in verses 14 and 15, Jude quotes from 1 Enoch 1.9. Let's read it. Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way. and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Now, I understand that if you were raised in an evangelical church, the realization that Jude was quoting for what is now known as the Apocrypha might be a shocker. Nevertheless, to many Christian audiences, including most Messianic Jewish communities, the Apocryphal writings are considered valuable, even though they've been excluded from our biblical canon. Moreover, the Book of Enoch was clearly validated enough for Jesus' little brother to use as a defending text. But the question still remains, why that text? Out of all the scriptures Jude could have used and quoted, why did he choose that one?
Here lies in the brilliance of Jude's letter. By choosing 1 Enoch 1-9, he points to a few important biblical prophecies that would have been very well known to Jude's original audience. Enoch, in his writings, pointed to God's final judgment against false teachers and those who would pervert and corrupt the church. The original Jewish audience would have understood the greater purpose of Jude's quotation. They would have had reference points to the following text.
In Deuteronomy 33.2, Moses wrote, the Lord came. He came from the 10,000s of holy ones with flaming fire at his right hand. In Zechariah 14.5, we read, and you shall flee to the valley of my mountains. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. In Isaiah 66.15 and the first part of 16, he writes, for behold, the Lord will come in fire and his chariots like the whirlwind to render his anger in fury. For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment.
If you're not familiar with these biblical texts, these prophecies can be shocking, maybe even internally disturbing. But that's kind of the point. Jude references Enoch to remind the church of these prophetic works. These warnings are connected to Jude's initial rebuke that God's wrath and judgment will be poured out on those who pervert God's grace, those who promote sensuality, and those who deny the deity of Christ. Now, these sobering prophecies should have been enough to wake this church up out of their deception, out of the deception that infected their community. They should have been enough to cause them to remove the bad influences and return to the truth of the gospel.
But Jude's not quite done yet. Suddenly, he shifts from the ancient prophecies urging the church to remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's amazing about Jude's writing is that he uses phrases written by the apostles Peter, John, and Paul that had been widely circulated within the early church at that time. If you're using a Bible app or you have a study Bible, you'll see footnotes in Jude's text that point other places in scripture. Jude has given this church a condensed rebuke, reminding them of the expanded authoritative warnings of the apostles against pretenders that would become predators if the church did not cling to the truth of the gospel.
So in the first verses from 2 Peter 2, 2 and 10, we read, there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master, which is Jesus. It goes on to say, many will follow their sensuality. The way of truth will be blasphemed. Next, it says, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Next, Jude points to Paul's letter to Timothy. In 2 Timothy 3, 1-9, he writes, But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money. They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. Further down, he writes, Those who creep into households, led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth.
And he writes, these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Jude points us to John's teaching found in 1 John 4, 1-3. He writes, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. Further down, he writes, every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist.
This final verse might have given you the chills as it reveals the spiritual nature of predatory pretenders who infiltrate the church. They're motivated by the spirit of the Antichrist. That's heavy, isn't it? They're motivated by the opposing spiritual force of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. That's a big deal.
If you've been tracking with this series, in the first message, I highlighted that although Jude's letter is short, it packs a punch. This is why. He's not writing to just anyone. Jude knew his audience and he knew the scriptures. He knows that this church should know better. They were descended from God's chosen people, Israel, having been raised with the prophetic writings and having received the apostles' teaching. They should have known God's anger and disdain for those who pervert the church and corrupt the truth of the gospel.
And so for us, we need to ask ourselves these questions. What about us in this time, in this culture? You see, the warnings and wisdom contained in Jude's letter and the subsequent text we've read, they should serve as a lighthouse for us in a world shrouded by darkness. We would be wise to submit to Jude's teaching and cling to his call to reclaim truth. Now, I would like to leave you with one final text from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew quotes Jesus who warned his followers about those who would come after him, infiltrating the church and leading them astray.
From Matthew 7, verse 15, Jesus said, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. This is perhaps the clearest description of pretenders who become predators. We should be vigilant in recognizing those who pretend to have the truth, but are in reality wolves in sheep's clothing. All of this considered, I realize that some of you might be struggling. I get it. The enemy is deceptive. Maybe you're wondering, how can I spot someone who's pretending to have the truth? How can I spot a wolf in sheep's clothing? How can I know for sure what's true and what's false? Your ability to determine the truth depends on three key principles for your life and faith. And I want to list those now. First, your doctrine. This is your theology, your core beliefs. To reclaim truth, you must commit to reading and studying the scriptures diligently, daily seeking God's word to discern his truth from the enemy's deception.
Second, you need discernment. To reclaim truth, you should earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance in every aspect of your life, that he'll reveal lies in culture and church context. Third, you need discipleship. To reclaim truth, you need to learn from Christ-centered teachers, mentors, and counselors, people who live out the gospel, but who also point you to Jesus in every circumstance. These three principles can provide you with the wisdom needed to navigate the challenges of deception that we face every single day.
And as a special word, a specific word to parents and grandparents, your motivation to heed these principles should be extremely significant. And for teachers, mentors, and counselors who invest in the lives of young people, Jude's letter should be sobering. If we don't take these warnings and principles seriously, our children and teens are at the greatest risk. I think we know this. They're growing up in an extremely challenging environment full of destructive ideologies pitched as beneficial for relationships, community, and society. We can't safeguard culture, and it's not our place to, but we can safeguard our families and our churches. We must protect the next generation, and we must point the next generation to Jesus. Let's remember that ancient prophecies and the apostles' predictions are guiding lights for us. We need to cling to them. May we all read the scriptures and know them well.
They will illuminate the path for us to truth. They'll help us recognize the predatory pretenders that are out there. Seek the Lord's provision that he might give you a discerning spirit and a courageous faith that he might help you cling to Jesus and proclaim the truth of the gospel each and every day. Let's pray. Dear Father, I thank you again for Jude and his letter. It's hard. It's sobering. It packs a punch. He talks about things that...
aren't maybe fun to listen to or not pleasurable to listen to, but they're harsh realities in the spiritual realm that's all around us. Father, we understand that you have an enemy and that enemy is trying to break us down and remove the potential for restored relationship with you. So Father, I pray that all these biblical texts that we've looked at today, that at least one of them would sink into whoever's watching this now and that they would cling to it and hold onto it, that they would read it over and memorize it, that they might be stronger in defending themselves from deception. and that they would be true contenders for the faith of the gospel. For those that might not know you and might still be wondering about all this and having questions, I pray that they would connect with us and that you would give myself and our staff and those who interact with them in our church, give them the words to say that they might be able to answer their questions. Most of all, may they search out in your scriptures for truth. And we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.
Thank you for joining us at Mountain View Church. If you gave your life to Jesus today, or if you would like to submit a prayer request, please click the connect link or text connect to the number on the screen or fill out a connect card. Before we go, we have a few updates followed by this week's discussion questions and prayer focused. Hey, senior youth. Hope you are all doing well. This week, we will have youth on Sunday, the 24th from six to eight at the church. Remember, it's Sunday, not Saturday from now on. We have some exciting new games that we are going to play. First, we will be playing Throw Throw Burrito.
If you've never played, you're going to love it. Think of it as a dodgeball card game. And after that, we will play Poetry for Neanderthals, which is another great game where you'll be in teams and see if you can read each other's minds. It'll be crazy. Afterwards, we will sit down and have a quick chat about decision making. Any of you made a bad decision before? I know I have made a ton. Sometimes we can do small ones, like not doing your homework, or big ones, like ditching work for your friends. Either way, we all make bad decisions. We will look into a story in the Old Testament about a man named Ahab who made some pretty bad decisions. Yet, we will find out that he is only one choice away from stepping back into God's plan for his life. Can't wait to see you all there. You might be a convinced atheist, a committed Christian, or somewhere in between.
Perhaps you've lots of questions to ask, or perhaps you're happy just sitting and listening. Maybe you get a church, or maybe you've never been. Whoever you are, Christianity Explored is a place for you to explore what life is all about. The Christianity Explored course is free, it's relaxed and informal, and it's run by ordinary people local to you. Some courses are held in churches with lots of people. Some are held in people's houses with just a few friends getting together. Wherever you meet, in each session, there's a chance to look at the life of Jesus for yourself and ask any questions you have. There's a short video to watch, and then a chance to chat about what you've just heard.
You'll meet great people. You'll be asked to sing or pray or read out loud and you don't need to know anything about the Bible to enjoy it. So whoever you are, come and explore. There's almost certainly a Christianity Explored call starting near you soon. So ask a Christian friend or check out the website to find out more. You might just discover that the Christian message really is the best news you've ever heard. I would love to personally invite you to a new community group starting in a few weeks where we will be working through a study called Christianity Explored.
We want to extend a special thank you to those who have continued to support our church. To continue that support or to make a one-time tax-deductible donation, simply click the Give link or text Give to the number on the screen. If you're in-house, please feel free to use one of our giving envelopes found under the seats in front of you and then drop it into the donation box at the back of the auditorium. Now let's bring Pastor Jeremy back for this week's discussion questions and prayer focus. Before you go, I have a discussion question or reflection if you're by yourself or you can discuss in the feed below in the comments if you're online. But if you're in-house...
Talk to your neighbor, the person beside you, your spouse, family member, friend, or get into a little group, have some coffee and tea and chat about this. And then we have a little bit of a prayer focus at the end to close it off. Okay? So the first thing I want you to do is to ask someone beside you, what steps will you take this week to protect your faith from the enemy's deception? What steps will you take this week to protect your faith from the enemy's deception? What are you going to do about it?
After you've talked about that a little bit and shared with each other, take some time to pray. Pray for discernment and courage that we, Mountain View Church or your local church, that we would cling to Jesus and continue proclaiming the truth of the gospel. Pray for discernment and courage that we would cling to Jesus and continue proclaiming the truth of the gospel to this culture and beyond. Thank you so much for being here today. Next week is our final week in the book of Jude, the letter of Jude. So we hope you join us and you're not going to miss it. Thanks.
If you prayed to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church. Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City of Whitehorse Seacon.