The Four Enemies of the Christian in the Fight of Faith - Jude 1:4-16

Jude 1:4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Introduction:
The purpose of Jude’s short letter is to convey the urgency to “contend for the faith delivered once and for all to the saints”. Aiming to be as faithful to God as possible would not be seen as so urgent unless there was a villainous element already at work. We as Christians are commanded elsewhere in God’s word to “take up the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-18) and to “bring into captivity every thought that wages against the authority of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). The Apostle Paul even refers to the entire Christian life as “fighting the good fight of faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7). 

So, who or what are the enemies of the fight of faith? Jude devotes the bulk of his short letter to warning his readers about their opponents. In addition to what Jude spells out in Jude 1:4-16, we can note various enemies that wage a ceaseless war against the Christian in the fight of faith. We find four such enemies of the fight of faith recorded in God’s Word:

1. False Teachers. Jude 1:4-16This first major enemy of the Christian has to do not only with certain persons (mentioned in Jude 1:4 and illustrated by various historically Biblical examples) but also their teachings. Jude eloquently describes what to look out for in false teachers. 

a. To begin, false teachers are deficient in their spiritual commitment (Jude 1:5-7). 

Like Israel of old they operate in unbelief (1:5). Like the fallen angels they are rebels to the core (1:6). Like Sodom and Gomorrah, they prefer darkness instead of light (1:7). 

b. False teachers then are not only deficient in their character, but note also how they disregard God’s majesty. Already we Jude marking these false teachers in 1:4 as those who “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. To illustrate his point, Jude later on in 1:8-10 refers to a dispute between Michael the Archangel and Satan. The point of this reference (not found in our Bibles but nonetheless included due to its truth content) is to link the behavior of the false teachers to that of Satan himself. Jesus did a similar technique whenever he compared the Pharisees to “their father the Devil” with respect to their lying nature (see John 8:44).

c. So, not only do false teachers have deficient character and disregard for God but yet another trait – namely deceptive influence. 

In Jude 1:11-16 we find three men used by Jude who were among the worst false teachers in Old Testament history: Cain (Genesis 4); Balaam (Numbers 31) and Korah (Numbers 16). All three men were very religious (Cain brought gifts for God to the very first altar; Balaam was a pagan holy man who had visions of God and Korah was the High Priest Aaron’s grandson and a Levitical priest). All three men influenced many people (Cain, his mother Eve; Balaam, the nation of Israel and Korah, key leaders in Israel). 

The danger of these examples drives home Jude’s very point: they would had been men any church would had voted in as Deacons, committee leaders and even as Pastor. Such men had crept in among God’s people throughout redemptive history and all three men did catastrophic spiritual damage. So we see then that false teachers are the first enemy of the Christian. But notice a second enemy….

2. The flesh. Jude 1:4,5 As we consider the historic examples brought out by Jude, one enemy he notes has to do with what still remains inside every Christian – namely the flesh. The flesh in this instance is not referring to the physical flesh and body insomuch as the resident sinful desires that manifest because of it. In Romans 7-8 Paul speaks of the conflict between “the flesh” and “the spirit”.

All people are defined in scripture as being a living soul, containing a human spirit and living inside a human body (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12). The soul is the “true you” and the seat of self-awareness, expressing itself in thinking, feeling, choosing and moral responsibility. The “spirit” of a man was created to be the center of God-awareness wherein unbelievers is dark and dead but in Christians becomes inhabited by the Holy Spirit at saving faith (1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16). The body of a man is of course the physical aspect of human beings that is compose of the five senses and which decays and is momentarily shed at death in expectation of resurrection at Christ’s return (John 5:24-28; 1 Corinthians 15:23-28; 2 Corinthians 5:5-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16).

The left-over remnants of sin reside in the soul of the Christian, tugging at his “self-expression” to imbibe in whatever he receives through his five senses. Romans 7 describes this internal battle, with Romans 8 giving us the key to obtaining victory on a daily basis. The fleshly desires cannot be reformed, but must be crucified daily or denied in favor of fixing one’s eyes on Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfector of Faith (Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 12:1-2). So we have seen how false teachers and the flesh can war against our resolve to fight the good fight of faith, however there are two more enemies which we will combine together in our final thought…

3. The world and the Devil. Jude 1:8-9; 1:14-16
The Devil is described as the prince of the power of the air and the god of this age (Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:1-5). If we take false teachers to be his emissaries and the flesh to be his target, then we can say that the world is his realm and he is the arch-enemy. 1 John 2:14-17 explains in further detail the Devil and his realm (i.e the world) as composed of various enticements: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life (or “pride in what one owns”). One Bible scholar has referred to the Devil and his kingdom as the parasite kingdom – and rightly so.

It is interesting that Jude makes mention of the pre-flood patriarch Enoch in Jude 1:14-16 with regards to the prophecy he utters concerning God’s judgment on the enemies of the fight of faith. Again the episode featuring Enoch is not found in scripture but is cited by Jude for its truth content. Why a pre-flood prophet? Enoch in the Bible is found in Genesis 5:18-21 as having been the father of what would be the oldest recorded man in the Bible – Methusaleh (969 years old!). 

Enoch was also the first recorded man in redemptive history to have had “walked with God” in his generation. It is likely that Enoch’s naming of Methusaleh (who name means “in the year it was sent”) was due to his foreseeing God’s judgment on the world in the then future Noahic flood. We can surmise this point by noting that in the chronology of the pre-flood patriarchs, Methusaleh died in the very year the flood came on the earth. This may explain why Jude evoked Enoch as an example of a godly man who was himself “fighting the good fight of faith”. Enoch’s fight was worth the while, since he became one of the very few men in the Bible taking up by God into heaven without tasting death (the other of course being Elijah in 2 Kings 2).

Closing thoughts:
We have explored today four main enemies of the Christian’s fight of faith: namely false teachers, the flesh, the world and the Devil. Praise be to God we find in Jude the twin foundations for victory against these foes: God’s love (Jude 1:1-2) and the Bible, the word of God (Jude 1:3).

Wed 4/13How to Win the Fight of Faith: Jude 1:1-3

Jude 1:1-3 "Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. 3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."

Introduction:
Outlines of Bible books are meant to provide a map for navigating through a given Bible book. In yesterday's post we offered the following outline of the Epistle or Letter of Jude found near the end of the New Testament:

A. How to Win the Fight of Faith. Jude 1:1-3

B. Beware of Enemies in the Fight of Faith. Jude 1:4-13 (along with 2 Corinthians 10:3-4; Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 John 2:14-17)

C. The power of God’s Word in the fight of faith. Jude 1:14-19

D. Bullet-proofing your faith in the fight of faith. Jude 1:20-23

E. How God Preserves you in the fight of faith. Jude 1:24

In today's post we will consider the first of these points, namely, "How to win the fight of faith". Jude's urgent tone entails pressing his readers to "fight the good fight of faith" or in his words "contend earnestly for the Faith". The question is: is the fight of faith a winnable fight? As we we will see below, Jude's opening three verses lays out a simple two point strategy for winning the battle that wages in the Christian's soul and throughout the course of living life in this world. So how do we win the fight of faith? Notice....

Surrender to God's Love. Jude 1:1-2 
Jude was the half-brother of Jesus according to the flesh. His identification as the brother of James certifies this fact (also see Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). Jude, along with James and his other siblings, had been a skeptic of Jesus' earthly ministry (see John 7:5). Yet, Acts 1:14 reveals that at some point between Jesus' resurrection and ascension, Jude and his brothers were converted to faith in Christ, as evident by their presence with the 120 Christians awaiting the promised Holy Spirit in Acts 1:14. Jude's testimony must had been amazing. He had surrendered to God's love, and now was one of the leading spokesmen for Jesus Christ.

In Jude 1:1b we see the author uses two words that describe how the believer is kept in the faith for which they are to contend. We read - "To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ." Both the underlined terms above are passive perfect participles in the original Greek text. When we say "passive", we mean that the believer is a recipient of God's action of "love" and "keeping". When we refer to these terms as being in the "perfect tense", this indicates that Jude's readers have been kept and loved by God for quite some time, and that they are still experiencing such keeping and loving at the current time of the letter. When the term "participle" is used to describe these words, it indicates that the verbal form is talking about the state in which the Christian finds themselves. In other words, we as Christians receive God's love and keeping power, a reality that began at conversion and continues on throughout the believers walk and which ought to be a stated way of life.  

To surrender to God's love, though passive in nature, does not mean that the Christian does absolutely nothing. Surrendering to God's love is an active following of God's leading. Jude evidences this active surrendering in verse 3 of his letter. Jude had come with the intention of wanting to write his readers regarding "our common salvation." Undoubtedly such an intention was noble. Yet, the Holy Spirit was moving upon Jude to go in a different direction and write instead of the need to "contend once and for all the faith handed down to the saints." 

What does it look like when we surrender to God's love in the fight of faith? Jude depicts the activity of surrendering to God in Jude 1:20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." Certainly we can think of how Jesus surrendered His life to the Father from the moment he acquiesced to the Father's will in eternity by stepping into time via the incarnation (John 1:14) and virgin birth/conception (Luke 1:35) all the way to his journey to the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2). Henceforth to obtain victory in the fight of faith, we must needs surrender to God's love. But notice secondly....

Stand on the words of God. Jude 1:3
Jude writes in Jude 1:3 that we are to contend for the faith "once and for all delivered to the saints". Author John Piper, in his recent book: "A Peculiar Glory", writes on page 62 concerning this very phrase used by Jude as referring to: "(t)he apostolic witness to Christ in that first generation was meant by Jesus to be foundational for all history." 

The reader may had noticed that I underlined the word "delivered" in verse 3. That term, as it is used by Jude, is a technical term in the Greek language that refers to the "handing down" of God's objective revelatory words from one generation to the next. In 1 Corinthians 11:23, we see the Apostle Paul "handing down" to the Corinthians the instructions he received from Jesus concerning the Lord's Supper. Or again in 1 Corinthians 15:3, the Apostle Paul is "handing down" the essential message of Christ's death, burial and resurrection as he had received it from the Apostles Peter and others who were eye-witnesses of those events. Jude's textual similarity to another book of the Bible, 2 Peter, is no accident. If anything, Jude is affirming the authorship of the Apostle Peter's writing and clearly had first-hand correspondence with the apostle. What Jude was doing in effect was to telling his readers to stand upon the words of scripture and contend for the faith.

I thought it would be beneficial to remind the reader of particular verses in the Bible that describe its very nature as we close out this post today. Joshua 1:8 reminds us to meditate on God's Word as a means of victory. Psalm 119:11 and 105 urge us to memorize scripture, since it sheds light on our path. Jesus Himself states in Matthew 5:18 how not one word of God will ever be lost nor repealed. Romans 15:4 indicates that the scriptures were written not only for our instruction, but also to provide hope. 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 both testify to the Divine origin and inerrancy of the Word of God. All of these verses reveal why it is we can stand on the Word of God. May we then surrender to God's love and stand on His word, since we are called as Christians to win the fight of faith.   

P2 Outline and characteristics of the book of Jude: Contending for the faith

Jude 1:3 "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down tothe saints."

Introduction:
In yesterday's post we introduced the book of Jude, noting how Jude himself had been transformed from being a skeptic of Jesus (his half-brother according to the flesh) to that of a ardent contender for the faith. Jude undoubtedly was eager to write about the glorious salvation of which he shared with his readers, as seen in the above opening verse. Nevertheless, the Holy Ghost had other intentions and so guided Jude to compose this short letter to urge Christians of all ages to contend for the faith. Today's post carries on our introduction of this short letter by noting some characteristics of it, followed by a proposed outline of its contents.

Some textual characteristics of the Book of Jude
Although this short letter only has 462 words (per the underlying Greek text), the brevity of Jude’s writing cannot compare to the weight of its importance. The word translated “contend” in Jude 1:3 is described in the footnotes of the New English Translation as being an intensive form of the verb (which means in the original language, the verb had attached to it a preposition, which in this case is the preposition meaning “on”). 

Whenever Greek verbs had prepositions prefixed to their forms, the result was usually some sort of an intensification, much like when we place an exclamation point (!) at the end of English sentences. The result? The New English Translation (i.e.  The ‘NET Bible’) explains: “as such, the notion of fighting, contending, struggling, etc. is heightened.” Without expounding further on this point, it’s as if Jude is placing a big fat exclamation point on the end of the phrase “contend earnestly for the faith!” Jude likely composed his letter in and around 75 A.D, which would place it in the fourth quarter of the first century. 

As Christianity by this point would had spread throughout the Mediterranean world, new challenges were coming to the fore and Christians need encouraged and in some cases, admonished. The urgency of Jude’s letter must be heeded for today, since the Christian life is nothing less than “The Fight of Faith”. We won’t say more on the text of Jude itself. Instead we will switch gears to summarizing the contents of this short but powerful letter included at the end of our New Testaments. 

Some remarks on certain patterns in the book of Jude
So, with the main theme of Jude being “contend for your faith”, what can we say about the overall contents. Two brief characteristics can be noted. First, The Bible Knowledge Commentary has noted that throughout Jude’s book there exists clusters of “threes” or “triads”:

a). Jude….servant….brother. Jude 1:1

b). Mercy, Peace, love. Jude 1:2

c). Those love….called…kept. Jude 1:2

d). godless men….changed….denied. Jude 1:4

e). people out of Egypt….angels….Sodom. Jude 1:5-7

f). the dreamers pollute….reject….slander. Jude 1:8

g). Cain, Balaam, Korah. Jude 1:11

h). Grumblers, speak arrogantly, flattering. Jude 1:16

i). merciful….snatch others…..show mercy. Jude 1:22-23

Since the Book of Jude is all about contending earnestly for the faith, a second characteristic involves the contrasts between defection versus faithfulness. We also discover the premium Jude places upon learning valuable lessons from the Old Testament. For instance, the villainous actions of Satan, Cain, Balaam and Korah are contrasted with the faithfulness of Michael the Archangel, Enoch and the saints of God themselves. As Romans 15:4 reminds us: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” 

Features such as these enable us to appreciate how Jude organized his letter for the sake of reinforcing the need to fight the good fight of faith, since redemptive history abounds with examples of those who didn’t versus those who took up the cause of Christ and persevered by His grace. 

A proposed outline of the Book of Jude
To round out our overview of Jude’s short letter, we will offer a proposed outline. Outlines of Bible books are meant to provide a map for navigating through a given Bible book. Readers are invited to use either the outline below, or to perhaps review outlines that can be found in most Study Bibles.

A. How to Win the Fight of Faith. Jude 1:1-3

B. Beware of Enemies in the Fight of Faith. Jude 1:4-13 (along with 2 Corinthians 10:3-4; Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 John 2:14-17)

C. The power of God’s Word in the fight of faith. Jude 1:14-19

D. Bullet-proofing your faith in the fight of faith. Jude 1:20-23

E. How God Preserves you in the fight of faith. Jude 1:24-25

Closing thoughts
Today’s post aimed to overview the Book of Jude. We considered the author himself, and noted how his personal background and intentions contribute to our overall understanding of the theme: “contending for your faith.” We secondly noted both textual features and characteristics of Jude’s letter so as to grasp the overall thrust of his message. Then we offered a brief outline of the Book that anyone can use for their own personal study, teaching opportunities or sermon preparation. May God be glorified in the lives of those who make it their aim to “contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints.”

P1 - Introducing the Book of Jude: Contending for the Faith

Jude 1:3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once and for all handed down to the saints.”

Introduction:
Today’s post aims to provide a summary of Jude’s inspired letter to the Christians of his day and to Christians living today. The author of this short letter is identified as “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James.” This identification of the author can give insight into the personal motivation behind what Jude was thinking as he composed this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

Most commentators identify Jude as non-other than the half-brother of Jesus according to the flesh and thus the full brother of James, the author of the Epistle bearing his name. 

We know from texts such as Matthew 13:55 that Jesus had siblings who had been borne by Mary following his birth. Further testimony in John 7:4 describes how none of Jesus’ half-brothers (which of course would include James and Jude) had believed Jesus to be the Messiah and Savior during the course of His earthly ministry. We are told by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that James had been an eyewitness of Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances. 

Consequently, Jesus’ appearance to his half-brother James resulted in His conversion, as evidenced by James’ presence in the upper-room prior to the day of Pentecost in Acts 1:14. Although we are not told the exact details of Jude’s conversion, it is clear he too was present in the upper room in Acts 1:14 as seen by the statement: “and his brothers.” This brief sketch of Jude’s life serves to show how at one time, he had been an unbeliever and perhaps even skeptical concerning the claims of his half-brother according to the flesh.

Regardless of how Jude’s conversion began, we can be assured of how he conceived of himself at the time of his letter. Jude describes himself first as a “bond-servant”, that is, as one who voluntarily gave himself into servitude to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jude had been radically converted and associated Himself with Jesus as a “servant” to “Master”. It is in his identification of “brother of James” that Jude gives his identity away. 

Imagine what must had been going through his mind as he began to write. He had been at one time a skeptic of Jesus. He only saw Jesus as a flesh and blood man, blind to the fact that indeed, Jesus was a man, but not just a flesh and blood human being. The Spirit of God had gripped Jude’s heart. He had experienced a “new birth” which superseded his natural birth (see John 3:1-5). This entry-point into salvation was undoubtedly on Jude’s mind as he indicates in Jude 1:3 regarding how he had intended to write about “our common salvation”. 

More tomorrow......

Important purposes of the angelic realm in Jude

Jude 1:3 "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."

Introduction 

Today we want to consider the importance and purpose of the angelic realm in Jude. It was Jude's purpose to urge his readers (and us) to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." One of the ways Jude chose under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to urge his readers was by mentioning the angels, demons and Satan. The angelic realm (composed of demons, good angels and Satan) is portrayed in scripture as intelligent agents occupying the invisible realm of the created order. (compare Colossians 1:16-17) Good angels serve the purposes of serving God's people. (Hebrews 1:14) Demons are fallen angels led by Satan to opposed God's purposes and His people. (Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 Peter 5:8) With the span of Jude's short letter, we find reference to angels, demons and Satan no less than seven times. So the question is: why are angels so prominent within Jude's short letter? Moreover, what purposes can we gather as to why they are important for us today as we contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints? Notice three important purposes of the angelic realm in Jude...

1. Warn of the realities of Hell. Jude 1:1-16

The majority of material in Jude's short epistle is dedicated to warning his readers to be aware of false teachers and error. To drive home the point about the outcome of those who persist in the seduction of false teaching, Jude uses both historic examples of false prophets and teachers combined with the frightening reality of hell. Jude 1:5-11 lays out the examples of those who forsook Biblical faith, including those who came out of Egypt (Jude 1:5); Cain (Jude 11:11); Balaam the pagan prophet in the book of Numbers (Jude 1:11) and Korah who opposed Moses (Jude 1:11). False teaching and prophets lead to Hell. So what realities of hell do we discover in the Book of Jude? How do such realities allign with what Jesus taught on the subject?

Hell is described by Jude as a dark place (1:6, 1:13) Jesus called the darkness of Hell "outer darkness" in Matthew 25:46. Jude then explains hell as a destructive place through the imagery of fire, as seen in Jude 1:7,23. Jesus too refers to the details of unquenchable and everlasting fire burning in both the holding place of unbelievers called hades or Hell and the eternal place of punishment called "The Lake of Fire" or also by the same name "Hell" in  Mark 9:43 and Matthew 18:18.

To intensify his already strong warnings, Jude thirdly mentions that hell is demonically infested and reinforces this frightening imagery through the Devil's conflict with Michael the Archangel here on earth and some of the various fallen angels chained in reserved judgment. (1:6,8). 

The specific mention of fallen angels in Jude 1:6 matches with what we read of them in 2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment." Also too, Jesus refers to Hell as having been prepared for "The Devil and his angels" in Matthew 25:41. It is quite likely that Jude is quoting Peter's second letter, which may explain why we also see such similarities between Jesus and Jude (not forgetting that Jude wrote under Divine inspiration).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary remarks: "Most commentators, however, assign the date between A.D. 67 and 80. Jude was probably influenced by Peter, who wrote his second epistle about A.D. 67–68. (Peter predicted that false teachers would arise [2 Peter 2:1; 3:3], but Jude stated that they have “slipped in among you” [Jude 4].)"

So who are the fallen angels mentioned by Jude? These particular demons may the very ones that participated in the abominations committed prior to the flood in Genesis 6:1-4 which resulted in the mutation of giants roaming on the earth. To think of the dangers of false doctrine as resulting in Hell is frightening enough. However to be reminded of hell being infested by demons far worse than those roaming freely here on earth serves more than fair warning to anyone contemplating apostasy from the faith. So the angelic realm, particularly the demons, are mentioned to warn us of the realities of hell. But what about the good angels? Notice a second purpose of the angelic realm in Jude, namely....

2. Encouragement with the realities of Heaven. Jude 1:14, 24-25

Jude 1:14 states - "It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones." In context, Jude is referencing a prophecy spoken by the pre-flood patriarch Enoch that is not recorded in Genesis. I won't get into the specific details of the nature of Jude's citation of Enoch in this post, and choose to point interested readers to a post written on Jude's use of Enoch at https://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/understanding-judes-quote-of-enoch-in-jude-114-15/. 

Instead, I want to focus the reader's attention on the underlined phrase "holy ones". Biblical passages such as Deuteronomy 33:2; Daniel 7:10; Matthew 16:27 and Hebrews 12:22 use this term to refer to the angels that comprise the heavenly court of God's glory and majesty. 

Even though the main point of Jude's reference is to indicate the judgment of the false teachers by Jesus at His second coming, mention of the good angels serves to remind the saints of God that they are on the winning side of eternity. The truth of the believer's heavenly home is a great way of reinforcing the need to contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. As we saw a couple of days ago, Jesus and the Apostle Peter both taught quite a bit on Heaven. With Jude depending partly on Peter's writings, references to Heaven would only make sense. Heaven will definitely be a place populated by angels (Jude 1:14) and is the ultimate destination of the Christian. (Jude 1:24-25). Heaven is afterall the abode of God on His throne. More could be said but we must hasten. What important purposes do angels, demons and Satan serve in the book of Jude? We saw that God included them to warn about the realities of hell and to encourage believers with the realities of Heaven. Now notice the final purpose...

3. To focus attention on Jesus Christ. Jude 1:15-25

Jude 1:14b says again: “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones." What is the ultimate goal of the Christian fighting the good fight of faith? Now we already looked at our heavenly home as an ultimate goal. 

But what is "the" ultimate goal of the Christian? To see Jesus at His second coming. The devil who fought with Michael the archangel in Jude 1:8 will be destroyed and cast into the Lake of fire by Jesus at His return in Revelation 20. When Jesus comes, he will have an entourage of angelic hosts numbering in the trillions. All of heaven's angels will accompany Jesus and the saints who are behind Him in the train of His robe. (Matt 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 1 Thessalonians 3:13 & Revelation 15:8) Those saints who are with Jesus at His second advent will had been those who died in the Lord or who were raptured seven years prior. (Mt 13:39; 16:27; 24:31) Mentioning such heavenly realities serves to point the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why Jude closes out his book in Jude 1:24-25 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Closing thoughts
Today we considered three important reasons for the angelic realm being mentioned in the Book of Jude. These three reasons aid in fulfilling the main point of the letter: "To contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints".

1. Warn of the realities of Hell
2. Encourage with the realities of Heaven
3. Focus attention on Jesus Christ

The Greatness of Jesus Christ in the General Epistles

Hebrews 1:1-4 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."

Introduction: A quick word on the general Epistles

Michael Harbin in his survey of the Bible entitled: "The Promise and the Blessing", notes - "As we approach the end fo the apostolic age, we note a change in the letters (That is the New Testament Epistles). Outside of James, the letters we have seen thus far were written to individual churches, that is, to all the believers in a given city. By contrast, the letters written in the sixties or later (60 A.D or later) were written either to larger geographical regions or to specific individuals."  Harbin later notes: "Those letters written to larger geographical regions are often called Catholic or General Epistles because they were written to believers in general, not to a specific individual or city."  Harbin's comments relate to the 8 books in our New Testaments we classify as the general epistles, namely: Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter. 1,2,3 John and Jude. These books are many times not read as often as the thirteen letters of Paul (Galatians-2 Timothy), which is to the Christian's detriment. Why? Because in exploring the general epistles, one can better understand for example the relationship of suffering to the Christian life or how the Old Testament and New Testament fit together. Today's post is about briefly considering the most important person and topic that could be pondered - Jesus Christ. What I aim to do in this post is list one text from each of the general letters of the New Testament that shows to us the greatness of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that this post edifies and encourages every reader.

1. Jesus Christ is Supreme - Book of Hebrews

Hebrews 1:1-4 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." The theme of "better" occurs over a dozen references in Hebrews, all pointing to how Jesus Christ is supreme above all things. 

2. Jesus Christ's authority - Book of James

James 5:7-9  "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28:18 that all power and authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He is the judge, having authority and Divine power. 

3. Jesus Christ's comings - 1 & 2 Peter

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."

2 Peter 3:9-10  "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in whichthe heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up."

4. Jesus Christ as Savior - 1,2,3 John

1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." Jesus as Savior provides assurance of salvation for everyone who responds by grace alone through faith alone in Him alone.

2 John 1:9 "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." It is not enough to say one believes in a Jesus, but in the right Jesus. The Jesus that saves people from their sins is the One revealed in the Bible, the Word of God.

3 John 1:7 "For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles." The term "Name" is shorthand for everything that Jesus is and accomplished and is still doing today. Acts 4:12 reminds us that no other "name" is given under heaven to people whereby they can be saved. 

5. Jesus Christ is the God of mercy - Book of Jude

Jude 1:21 - "keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." Jesus Christ is "Lord", which is a title of Deity, and He is merciful, which reminds us of the fact He is the God of mercy. Jude closes out his book and our study of the greatness of Jesus Christ in the General Epistles with these words from Jude 1:24-25 - "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."