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Verse 8, “Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.”
Verse 8 NLT, “In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.”
“These people live in a dream world of unreality and delusion. They believe Satan’s lie, “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Having turned away from God’s truth, they feed their minds on false doctrine that inflates their egos and encourages their rebellion.”–Wiersbe
J. Vernon McGee says, “They (dreamers) live in an unreal world, a world that does not exist. My feeling is that the theological liberal has never dealt with reality. Liberalism is rather romantic. It sounds good on paper…They are dreamers in the sense that they will not face up to reality.”
Deuteronomy 13:1-3, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
A believer can be seriously misled by dreams. Many people make life- altering decisions based on their dreams. These “dreamers” live in the imagination of their own subconscious. Jude warns God’s people about these false teachers, ungodly men who had slivered in like snakes even denying the Lord Jesus Christ. These “dreamers” have no intention of telling the truth. They are moral reprobates who, “defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.”
Jeremiah 23:25-27, “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal?”
Jeremiah 29:8,9 TLB, “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Don’t let the false prophets and mediums who are there among you fool you. Don’t listen to the dreams that they invent, for they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them, says the Lord.”
Zechariah 10:2 NLT, “Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.”
Does God still speak through dreams? The Bible indicates that God revealed His will to selected people through dreams or visions in the Scriptures, but does He still do that? Most of today’s cults were formed when their false prophets received supposed special visions, visitations or revelations from God, and they supposedly were told to form special churches or movements. Among those groups are the Mormons, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, and others. Each claims God spoke or appeared to them directly and now they represent God and men should follow them. The modern day revelations of this group are clearly not from God because God would never contradict Himself.
For example, “Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism: According to Smith, he experienced a series of visions, including one in which he saw ‘two personages’ (presumably God the Father and Jesus Christ) and others in which an angel named Moroni directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization.” –Wikipedia
Since the closing of the canon of Scripture, God speaks to us through His Word! John 17:17, “Your Word is truth…”If you think that God has spoken to you in a dream, check it out with Scripture! If is does not agree with God’s Word then it is not a word from God! Now I know that God directs His children through circumstances, other Christians and by His Spirit that lives in us. But if you want to hear from God His very words are written for us in the Bible. If you think you have had a “word of knowledge” or a “word of wisdom” check it with the written word of God. If it does not agree with God’s word then it is not a word from God!
Hebrews 4:12 NLT, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Proverbs 30:5,6, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”
The Bible is God’s final word to the world. If you want to know what God says, just read the Bible! In Matthew 4:1-11, when Jesus is on the Mount of temptation…every enticement Satan threw the Him His answer was, “It is written.”
Other books that claim to be a word from God: “The Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ,” or the Jehovah Witness book, “New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.” Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” Dianetics: “The Modern Science of Mental Health.” The “Quran,” Islam’s holy book. Or any other addition to the Word of God is condemned.
Deuteronomy 4:2 NASB, “"You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Revelation 22:18,19 NLT, “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.”
Why do we accept that the Bible and the Bible alone is the very word of God” Thirty-eight hundred times the Bible declares, “God said,” or “Thus says the Lord”
We believe in the “verbal, plenary inspiration” of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, as contained in their original autographs. “Verbal plenary inspiration” means that every word in the Bible is given to us by God (verbal) and that everything in the Bible is authoritative (plenary) and that every word is also divinely inspired. “God-breathed” (Inspiration).
Listen to the Psalms:
•Psalm 19:7-9, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
•Psalm 18:30, ”As for God, His waåy is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”
•Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
•Psalm 119:130,“The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives under-standing to the simple.”
•Psalm 119:160, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”
Verse 9: “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” Verse 9 MSG, “The Archangel Michael, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn’t have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, ‘No you don’t. God will take care of you!’”
Michael the Archangel is a very important angel. Archangel means “chief of the angels.” Michael is actually the commander of the Lord's army of angels in heaven. “And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon” (Revelation 12:7). One of, the chief, or the first archangel who is described as the one who stands in times of conflict for the children of Israel.
Angels are heavenly beings who serve as God as messengers. Both the Hebrew malak and the Greek angelos indicate that these beings also act decisively in fulfilling God's will in the world. Angels are ministers of God, and ministering spirits.
Jude goes back to the Old Testament again to illustrate the principle of respect for authority. Although apostates disrespect all forms of authority. Verse 8 tells us they, “reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” Yet Jude shows that Michael respected the authority even of Satan.
Moses death is recorded in Deuteronomy 34:1-6
First, let it be understood that this is a very difficult verse, mainly because this incident is not recorded in the Old testament. But we can be assured that whatever the source, the ultimate Source was the Holy Spirit Who inspired Jude to write this epistle. It follows then that this incident between Michael and Satan arguing over Moses’ body is true! God said it. That settles it, regardless of whether we understand it or not!
“To what does this refer? I am sure I do not know. I cannot think it refers to anything recorded in the Old Testament, but to some fact, known to Jude, who here speaks by revelation, and records it. We believe it, and learn from it that, when an archangel disputes with the devil, he does not use hard words even against him, for hard words are an evidence of the weakness of the cause which they are used to support. Hard arguments softly put, are the really effective weapons, but it takes some of us a long time to learn this; and generally, in our younger days, we wear away our own strength by the violence with which we use it.” –C.H. Spurgeon
It is interesting to note that Michael is the angel that God will use to overthrow Satan. (Revelation 12). Which shows us that no matter what the future holds for that person whom you do not like, that’s God’s business, we should treat everyone as a potential child of God, even if we consider them evil.
Jude’s point is, if the greatest of the good angels, Michael refused to speak evil against the greatest of evil angels, Satan, then surely we mere humans should never speak evil of others. When you become a believer you give up that part of you that hates, resents, disrespects or dishonors even your worst enemy. There is no “meeting evil with evil,” no cursing because you have been cursed. We will never win someone to Christ whom we have insulted, accused, berated, openly disliked, fought with or cursed. Never forget, if people do not like you, they won’t like Jesus either!
1 Corinthians 6:3, “Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?”
Verse 10; “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.” Verse 10 NLT, “But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.
These people (apostates) revile, slander and rail against that which they have no knowledge. They have no more knowledge than the brute beasts and make a lot of noise about things they know nothing about!
“Speak evil” in Greek is blasphemos, speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive, to blaspheme.
Fools rush in where the archangel did not dare to go, human stupidity in such conduct, reaching some kind of a summit.
“Apostate teachers, in their brash, bold, egotistical infatuation with imagined power and authority, rail on that which they don't even understand. Apostates are intellectually arrogant and spiritually ignorant in that they don't now because they have been blinded by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded…”) and spiritual matters are beyond their unregenerate capacity to understand.” –John MacArthur
“They allow themselves to be corrupted by the things they do understand. What they do understand are the fleshly instincts which they share with the brute beasts. Their way of life is to allow these instincts to have their way; their values are fleshly values. Jude describes men who have lost all awareness of spiritual things and for whom the things demanded by the animal instincts are the only standards.” –Barclay
Apostates are intellectually arrogant and spiritually ignorant because they are blinded by Satan.
2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not.” Spiritual matters are beyond their unregenerate capacity to understand.
1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” In divine matters, they are no brighter that the dumbest beasts.
2 Peter 2:12, “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption.”
Philippians 3:19,20, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.”
Apostasy is rising in the body of Christ. Indeed, the wheat and the tares are growing up together and it's becoming more apparent as to which is which. The great apostasy is underway. The Bible warned us that in the last days, the church would be infiltrated by the enemies of God:
Listen to what Jude says in Verses 17-19 MSG, “But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: ‘In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.’ These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!”
Matthew 24:10-12, “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
Acts 20:29,30, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
1 Timothy 4:1,2, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”
2 Timothy 3:1-8, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith.”
2 Peter 2:1-3, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
“John Spong, Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey, has written books in which he denies the virgin birth, denies the miracles of Jesus, denies the resurrection, denies the Second Coming, and argues that Paul and Timothy were homosexual lovers. Bishop Spong has become so enamored with other religions that he has announced he will no longer witness to those caught up in the spiritual darkness of pagan faiths!”
–christinprophecy.org
William Booth (1829-1912), who founded the Salvation Army, was a man with a great zeal for the Lord and a passion for lost souls. He was also a man of vision. On the eve of the 20th Century when Christendom was caught up in euphoria about how the Church would soon take the world for Christ, Booth predicted that the Gospel would not fare well in the new century. Specifically, he prophesied that by the end of the 20th Century, much of the Church would be preaching:
•Christianity without Christ.
•Forgiveness without repentance.
•Salvation without regeneration.
•Heaven without Hell.
“That’s exactly where we are today. Because of it, as we begin the 21st Century, Christians are faced with unparalleled challenges from the decay of society and the apostatizing of the Church. Increasingly, many are going to give up hope. Some will express this hopelessness by withdrawing from society and assuming a siege mentality. Others will throw in the towel and adopt the attitude, ‘If you can’t lick them, join them.’” –christinprophecy.org
While a true Christian cannot fall away, a false Christian can. Fall away from what? From the faith in Christ which he or she has outwardly professed without inward reality. Those few apostates who announce themselves as atheists or convert to Buddhism or Hinduism are not the concern of Christ and Paul. They are warning of a turning from the truth within the professing church.
Unless otherwise noted, the New King James Version of the Bible was used. Also The New Living Translation (NLT); The New American Standard Bible (NASB); The Message (MSG); The Amplified Bible (AMP); The King James Version (KJV), The New Life Version (NLV); English Standard Version (ESV); J.B. Phillips New Testament; Easy to Read Version (ERV) and The Living Bible (TLB).
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