Beginning in verse four the Apostle Jude has been warning the church about false prophets who present themselves as men of God while secretly serving Satan. Jude spares no venom in characterizing these church leaders who, by speaking and writing “smooth things, lies and deceits” (Isa. 30:10), lure those with itching ears (2 Tim. 4:3) into the devil’s Counterfeit Church known today as Catholicism/Protestantism. The modern day descendants of those false prophets can be seen and heard today by turning on the television on Sunday morning or listen to religious radio most any time. Lauded as great men of God, these “ministers of righteousness” serve the “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:15) by turning God seekers away from His Word and toward whichever set of church doctrines appeals to them. As a recently deceased “giant of the church” would tell those who supposedly “got saved” at his meetings, “Go now and join the church of your choice.” A more devastating, soul-destroying statement cannot be found within the annals of Counterfeit Christianity.

Picking up with verse 12, Jude pours out his frustration for the next seven long verses as he describes the men mentioned in verse 4–Satan’s false prophets who had infiltrated God’s church and were creating havoc among the people. One can tell by Jude’s words that his anger is directed toward two groups. He is warning both the false prophets and their followers for being so foolish as to embrace the devil’s perverted gospel. The Apostle Paul sends the same message in his epistle to the church at Galatia (1:6-9), as does the Apostle Peter in his first letter to the churches (4:18). These great men of God were using the sword of the Spirit–God’s Word (Eph. 6:17)–to warn those who were following Satan’s lead that they were sealing their own fate. Today, over 99% of professing Christendom is treading that same path.

In verses 14 and 15 Jude tells the true saints in God’s true church that they will have a part in the future judgment of those who follow the devil and His servants. In verse 14 Enoch gives us a hint as to the small number of people that will make up God’s Very Elect–10,000–which He calls His “little flock,” His “remnant,” His “few.” Jesus spoke about this small group in Matthew 7:13,14. In verse 15 Jude describes Satan’s false ministers as “ungodly” people who commit “ungodly deeds” who are “ungodly sinners.” One of the laws found in God’s Rulebook is that those who follow a man are disciples of that man and share the same spiritual traits as that man. Therefore, those who follow ungodly leaders are themselves equally as ungodly.  This includes all (ungodly) “sinners saved by grace.”

In verses 18 and 19 Jude warns that these ungodly people–the vast majority in the end time church–will mock those who believe and obey God’s Truth. These mockers will separate themselves from God’s saints because they do not have His Holy Spirit and reject those who do.

In verses 21 through 23 Jude compels the Very Elect–God’s obedient saints–to continue to pray fervently so as to not fall into the devil’s velvet trap. He warns believers to keep themselves in God’s love (by obeying His Law–Jn. 14:15) in order to inherit eternal life. Some will resist the Truth until the last minute. God’s people are not to give up on them, but rather to continue to tell them God’s Truth until the end. Some–a few we are told–will see the light and make the right decision. Those of God’s inner circle must not forget that the billions of parishioners in Satan’s church system have never heard God’s Truth. Let us always have compassion on them by never turning them away. Some of those whom God has called have a hard time answering His call due to the price of doing so. Let us always be available to those who cry out for a helping hand. L.J.