by Martha Leonard

Created on: April 13, 2011   Last Updated: April 15, 2011

Biblical experts find the short letter of Jude a fascinating Bible study. The writer, probably one of Jesus' brothers (http://bibleq.org) writes a passionate plea to believers to stand firm in their faith in the face of heretical preachers.

Verses five and six form a transition from the salutation and greetings to the subject of the judgment against the ungodly. In this case, that would be the ones giving false messages.

In verse five, Jude reminds the believers of their knowledge of how God rescued “a people” from their slavery in Egypt. The way this sentence is written is interesting. He did not say God saved “you” out of Egypt, but “a people”. Historians think this wording might imply that the letter may be addressed to a church or group of churches whose members were Gentiles rather than converted Jews. If they had been of Jewish background, the second-person “you” would have been more appropriate.

Note further that the rest of the sentence tells that God “destroyed those who did not believe.” Jews would remember how many died in the wilderness after making false idols and complaining against God and his chosen leader, Moses. In addition, none of the original group actually made it into the “land of milk and honey” except Joshua and Caleb. All the rest continued to wander in the wilderness until they died. Only their children entered Canaan under Joshua's leadership. Thus, God “destroyed those who did not believe.”

The next verse contains a description of the punishment God meted out to the “fallen angels.” Verse six is one of several references in the letter of Jude that uses not only brief references from the Bible, but also from Jewish literature and legend. The book of Enoch was never canonized (accepted for inclusion in the Christian Bible) but was accepted by many Jewish scholars and used often in their teachings.

Other biblical writers have also quoted from Enoch. The verse six reference to eternal chains most likely comes from 1 Enoch, in which the author describes a visit to what in today's terms might be hell. There Enoch views 200 fallen angels who have been chained by Michael. (http://bibleq.org) Since much of Jude's letter relies heavily on 2 Peter, look for a similar reference in 2 Peter 2:4.

The ideas presented in these two verses are predictions of what will happen to those who are corrupting the church. If God did not spare the people he rescued from Egypt and even puts disobedient angels in chains, what will he do to those who preach falsely? Verse seven goes on to complete these comparisons by calling to mind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The use of these graphic illustrations demonstrates the level of passion Jude has about the subject. He wants the believers to avoid being snared by the false message for their own salvation. Later in the letter he will also plead for the cleansing of the church and faithfulness to the orthodox beliefs.

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