Tara-Leigh Cobble

Unbelief, a desire for power and authority that doesn't belong to them, and sexual immorality.

The false teachers think they won't see God's judgment, but like all the others, Jude says God will punish them with eternal fire.

They rely on their own dreams as guidance instead of God's word, and they reject God's authority and blaspheme against him and his holy ones.

Then Jude tells a story that most of us aren't familiar with.

It's from another ancient Jewish book called the Book of Enoch.

The book hasn't stood up to scriptural scrutiny for a lot of reasons, but that doesn't mean everything in it is wrong.

We've linked to an article with more info on the Book of Enoch in the show notes.

Regardless, Jude quotes it here in part because his audience is familiar with it.

And since he's the brother of Jesus, there's good reason to believe that at least this section he's referencing is accurate.

He mentions that when Moses died, there was a fight over his corpse.

The fight was between Satan and the archangel Michael.

Why?

Some say Satan planned to inhabit Moses' body, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, and take that opportunity to damage the message of the gospel to the people Moses had been leading.

But what happened there isn't the vital information Jude wants us to know.

That's a side story.

Jude wants us to know that an archangel didn't pronounce judgment on the enemy.

He invoked the Lord's authority to rebuke him.

These false teachers were pronouncing judgment on their own and denying Christ's authority, which is the exact opposite of what the archangel Michael did.

They had no humility, no respect for God's word and authority.

He wraps up by telling them not to be afraid and tells them to keep themselves in the love of God because God is keeping them in his love.