(Jude 1:17–25, NASB)

The MacArthur Study Bible

(Jude 1:17–25, NASB)

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20 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. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

24 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.

* The following notes are based on the English Standard Version text of Scripture.

John's Notes:

Jude 17–18 See notes on 2 Pet. 3:1–7.

2 Pet. 3:1 beloved. This attitude toward the readers of his letter reflects Peter’s pastoral concern (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1–4). the second letter. That is, second to 1 Peter (see Introduction). your sincere mind. A good commendation that demonstrates that Peter believed his readers were genuine Christians. “Sincere” means uncontaminated, unmixed by the seductive influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil. How different the true believers were from the corrupt apostate false teachers (2 Pet. 2:10–22). Peter sought to impress on his readers the truth they already knew so that their sanctified reason and spiritual discernment would be able to detect and refute the purveyors of false doctrine.

2 Pet. 3:2 holy prophets. The OT prophets are in view, who were holy in contrast to the unholy false teachers. God’s word was written by those prophets in the Scriptures (see notes on 1:19–21). In particular those prophets warned about coming judgment (e.g., Ps. 50:1–4; Isa. 13:10–13; 24:19–23; Mic. 1:4; Mal. 4:1–2), and even about the coming of the Lord (Zech. 14:1–9). the commandment of the Lord. Peter is referring to the warnings that he and the other apostles had written regarding judgment (Jude 17). your apostles. The apostles (see notes on Rom. 1:1; Eph. 4:11) of Christ filled the 260 chapters of the NT with about 300 references to the second coming. NT revelation about the Christ coming to gather his own, warnings about eschatological judgments, information about the establishment of his kingdom, and teaching concerning God’s bringing in eternal righteousness, are the irrefutable proof for the second coming of Christ and the judgment of the wicked.

2 Pet. 3:3 knowing this first. “First” here means the preeminent matter, not the first in a list. Peter’s priority in this section of his letter is to warn Christians about how the false teachers would try to deny this judgment and steal the hope of believers. in the last days. This phrase refers to that entire period of time from the arrival of the Messiah to his return (cf. Acts 2:17; Gal. 4:4; 2 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 1:2; James 5:3; 1 Pet. 1:20; 1 John 2:18–19; Jude 18). The entire age will be marked by saboteurs of the Christian truth and especially the hope of Christ’s return. scoffers will come. False teachers argue against the second coming of Christ or any teaching of Scripture through ridicule (cf. Isa. 5:19; Jude 18). following their own sinful desires. Peter again speaks of the lifestyle of the false teachers, which was characterized by sexual lusts (cf. 2 Pet. 2:2; 10; 13–14; 18), pounding home his warning. False teachers who know not the truth and know not God have nothing to restrain their lusts. They particularly mock the second coming of Jesus Christ because they want to pursue impure sexual pleasure without consequence, or without having to face divine retribution. They want an eschatology that fits their conduct (cf. 1 John 2:28–29; 3:2–3).

2 Pet. 3:4 Where is the promise of his coming? The early church believed that Jesus was coming back imminently (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:19; 4:15–18; 5:1–2). These scoffers employed an emotional argument against imminency rather than a biblical argument. Their argument played on ridicule and disappointment. the fathers. The OT patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:1). all things are contining as they were. This argument against the second coming of Christ is based on the theory of uniformitarianism, which says that all natural phenomena have operated uniformly since the beginning of the earth. The false teachers were also implying that God is absent from earth affairs. In effect, they were teaching that, “There will not be a great cataclysmic judgmental event at the end of history, because that is not how the universe works. There never has been such a judgment, so why should we expect one in the future? Instead, everything in the universe is stable, closed, fixed, and governed by never-varying patterns and principles of evolution. Nothing catastrophic has ever happened in the past, so nothing catastrophic ever will happen in the future. There will be no divine invasion, no supernatural judgment on mankind.”

2 Pet. 3:5 they deliberately overlook. The false teachers, in their quest to avoid the doctrine of judgment, deliberately ignore the two major previous divine cataclysmic events—creation and the flood. the heavens existed long ago . . . by the word of God. Creation was God’s stepping into the emptiness and bringing the universe into existence, not by uniformitarianism, but by an instantaneous, explosive, six-day creation. Everything has not gone along in some consistent, unvarying evolutionary process. In six, 24-hour days the whole universe was created mature and complete (see notes on Gen. 1–2). earth was formed out of water and through water. The earth was formed between two realms of watery mass. During the early part of the creation week, God collected the upper waters into a canopy around the whole earth, and the lower waters into underground reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and seas. See notes on Gen. 1:2–10.

2 Pet. 3:6 by means of. That is, by water. God, by creating water above and below, built into his creation the tool of its destruction. the world that then existed. A reference to the pre-flood world order. This world included the physical arrangement with the canopy above, the waters in the underground reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and seas below, and the heavens in the middle. The pre-flood world, sheltered from the sun’s destructive ultraviolet rays, and with a gentle climate without rain, storms, and winds, was characterized by long life of humans (Gen. 5) and the ability of the earth (like a greenhouse) to produce extensively. deluged with water and perished. The second great divine cataclysm that defeats the idea of uniformitarianism, was the universal flood that drowned the whole earth and altered that originally created world order. According to Gen. 7:11ff., the flood occurred from two directions: first, the bursting open of the sources of water below as the earth cracked open and gas, dust, water, and air burst up; then came the breakup of the canopy when hit by all that upward flow, which sent the water from above crashing down on the earth. The deluge was so cataclysmic that the inhabitants of the earth were all destroyed, except eight people and a representation of every kind of animal (see notes on Gen. 7:11–24). Clearly, by those two great events, it is certain that the world is not in a uniformitarian process.

2 Pet. 3:7 by the same word. The present world system is reserved for future judgment, which will come by the word of God just as creation and the flood came. God will speak it into existence as well, after the present order is again destroyed. now. Humanity, since the flood, lives in the second world order. One of the obvious differences between the two world orders is that people live 70 years in the present world, not 900 years, which was a common age of pre-flood human beings. And Peter was making the point that there is a third form of the heavens and earth yet to come following another cataclysm. stored up for fire. God put the rainbow in the sky to signify that he would never destroy the world again by water (Gen. 9:13). In the future, God will destroy the heavens and the earth by fire (cf. Isa. 66:15; Dan. 7:9–10; Mic. 1:4; Mal. 4:1; Matt. 3:11–12; 2 Thess. 1:7–8). In the present universe, the heavens are full of stars, comets, and asteroids. The core of the earth is also filled with a flaming, boiling, liquid lake of fire, the temperature of which is some 12,400 degrees Fahrenheit. The human race is separated from the fiery core of the earth by only a thin 10-mile crust. Far more than that, the whole of creation is a potential firebomb due to its atomic structure. As man from atoms creates destructive bombs that burn a path of death, so God can disintegrate the whole universe in an explosion of atomic energy (see notes on 2 Pet. 3:10–12). kept until the day of judgment . . . of the ungodly. The earth waits for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. The godly will not be present on earth when God speaks into existence the judgment by fire (cf. 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).

Jude 17 predictions of the apostles. The apostles had warned the coming generation about apostates, so that they would be prepared and not be taken by surprise (cf. Acts 20:28–31; 1 Tim. 4:1–2; 2 Tim. 3:1–2; 4:1–2; 2 Pet. 2:1–3:4; 1 John 2:18; 2 John 7–11). God’s word is designed to warn and protect (Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 4:14); as Jude 18 indicates, there had been continually repeated warnings.

Jude 18 last time. Lit., at the chronological end of the current epoch or season (cf. 2 Tim. 3:1). This term refers to the time of Messiah from his first coming until his second (see notes on 2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 2:18). These characteristics will prevail until Christ returns. scoffers. See note on 2 Pet. 3:3. These are the mockers at God’s future plans who pretend to know the truth but deny that judgment will ever come. following . . . ungodly passions. See note on Jude 16.

Jude 19 cause divisions. They fractured the church rather than united it (cf. Eph. 4:4–6; Phil. 2:2). worldly people. Apostate teachers advertise themselves as having the highest spiritual knowledge, but are actually attracted to the most debased levels of life. They are “soulish” not “spiritual.” Cf. James 3:15. devoid of the Spirit. To not have the Spirit is to not have spiritual life at all (see notes on Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19–20) or, in other words, to be an unbeliever.

Jude 20 building. True believers have a sure foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) and cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) in Jesus Christ. The truths of the Christian faith (cf. Jude 3) have been provided in the teaching of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20), so that Christians can build themselves up by the word of God (Acts 20:32). praying in the Holy Spirit. See note on Eph. 6:18. This is not a call to some ecstatic form of prayer, but simply a call to pray consistently in the will and power of the Spirit, as one would pray in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 8:26–27).

Jude 21 keep. Cf. Acts 13:43. This imperative establishes the believer’s responsibility to be obedient and faithful by living out his salvation (cf. Phil. 2:12), while God works out his will (cf. Phil. 2:13). It means to remain in the place of obedience where God’s love is poured out on his children, as opposed to being disobedient and incurring his chastening (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27–31; Heb. 12:5–11). This refers to the perseverance of the saints, the counterbalance to God’s sovereign preservation of believers in Christ (cf. Jude 1). This is accomplished by: 1) building one’s self up in the word of God (v. 20); 2) praying in the Holy Spirit (v. 20); and 3) looking for the finalization of eternal life (v. 21). For a related discussion of the perseverance of the saints, see note on Matt. 24:13. waiting. An eager anticipation of Christ’s second coming to provide eternal life in its ultimate, resurrection form (cf. Titus 2:13; 1 John 3:1–2), which is the supreme expression of God’s mercy on one to whom Christ’s righteousness has undeservedly been imputed (cf. Jude 2). Paul called this “lov[ing] his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8) and John wrote that such a steady anticipation was purifying (1 John 3:3).

Jude 22–23 others. There are several textual variants here that could result in either two or three groups being indicated. They are: 1) sincere doubters who deserve compassion (v. 22); 2) those who are deeper in unbelief and urgently need to be pulled from the fire (v. 23); and 3) those declared disciples of apostasy who still deserve mercy, but are to be handled with much fear (v. 23), lest the would-be rescuer also be spiritually sullied. Given the manuscripts evidence and Jude’s pattern of writing in triads, three groups is the more likely scenario.

Jude 22 mercy. These victims of the apostate teachers need mercy and patience because they have not yet reached a firm conclusion about Christ and eternal life, and so remain doubters who could possibly be swayed to the truth.

Jude 23 save others. Others, who are committed to the errors taught by the apostates, need immediate and forthright attention before they are further entrenched on the road to the fire of hell (cf. v. 7) as a result of embracing deceptive lies. with fear. This third group also needs mercy, even though they are thoroughly polluted by apostate teaching. These people are to be given the true gospel, but with great fear, lest the deliverer be contaminated also. The defiled garment pictures the apostate’s debauched life, which can spread its contagion to the well-meaning evangel.

Jude 24–25 Jude’s lovely benediction/doxology stands as one of the most splendid in the NT (cf. Rom. 11:33–36; 16:25–27; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 13:20–21). It returned to the theme of salvation that Jude had hoped to develop at the beginning (cf. Jude 3) and bolstered the courage of believers to know that Christ would protect them from the present apostasy.

Jude 24 him who is able. This speaks of omnipotent God. Cf. Gen. 18:14; Deut. 7:21; 1 Sam. 14:6; Matt. 19:26. keep you from stumbling. See notes on Jude 1; 1 Pet. 1:3–3. The power of Christ would sustain the sincere believer from falling to the temptation of apostasy (cf. Job 42:2; Ps. 37:23–24; 121:3; Jer. 32:17; Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37; John 6:39; 40; 44; 10:27–30; Eph. 3:20). present you blameless. Cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27. Christians possess Christ’s imputed righteousness through justification by faith and have been made worthy of eternal life in heaven (see notes on Rom. 8:31–39). with great joy. This refers primarily to the joy of the Savior (cf. Heb. 12:2) but also includes the joy of believers (cf. 1 Pet. 1:8). Joy is the dominant expression of heaven (see Matt. 25:23).

Jude 25 God, our Savior. God is by nature a saving God, unlike the reluctant and indifferent false deities of human and demon invention (see notes on 1 Tim. 2:2; 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; 2 Pet. 1:1). glory . . . authority. Both Jude on earth and the angels and saints in heaven (Rev. 4:10–11; 5:12–14) ascribed these kinds of qualities to our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.