Jude 17-23

“But you, dear friends – recall the predictions foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. For they said to you, “In the end time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” These people are divisive, worldly, devoid of the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life. And have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy on others, coupled with a fear of God, hating even the clothes stained by the flesh.”

— ‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬-‭23‬‬

This is a fascinating little letter, primarily a warning about false teachers. It’s written at a time when false teachers began to spread through the church. Heresies began popping up, and leaders of the church had to rebuke them.

Jude and 2 Peter are remarkably similar in outline and even illustrations. One of my seminary study buddies did his dissertation on this, since many think that these two authors used each other as source material. (Like the Synoptic Gospels).

It’s amazing how much OT material is in Jude. Nearly every verse has an illustration of a villain from the OT: Cain, Balaam, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. He uses them as warnings and comparisons of both the teaching and behavior of the false teachers. Like 1 John, it’s not always easy to describe what the teachers taught. It’s more helpful to describe their behavior and say, “That’s not of Jesus.” 

By the time you get to this section, Jude (who is Jesus’ half brother by the way), says “Here’s how we respond.” But you all should remember this was prophesied, even by Jesus. Scoffers or people who mock the faith would come in. (Another side note that it was happening in the 1st century. No need to exaggerate how terrible things are now.)

False teachers were divisive, had no Spirit, and worldly. Again, focusing on behavior and not really their teaching. The contrast would be the church would hopefully be unified, filled by the Spirit, and pure. Jude says this in the next verse, adding the qualifier, maintaining the love of God. That has always been a unique marker of the church.

V 23 is odd for a couple reasons. Some debate as to the structure, whether two or three clauses. It’s weird that “mercy” is in the first and third clauses. There are different responses to the target audience (mercy, snatching, mercy). This would require mass amounts of discernment. And without much explanation, it’s difficult to really know what Jude is talking about. These are kernel statements that could really use another sentence. If he’s still talking about the false teachers, his tone has changed dramatically.

I haven’t read sufficient amount of scholars or commentaries on Jude to have a settled understanding. I’m assuming he’s talking about those who seem to be following the teachers.

Show mercy to those who waver: Not showing harsh judgment, knowing that we all can be deceived at any moment.

Snatch some from fire: Predominant view is this is referencing eternal damnation. There are verses in Zechariah and Amos that use Israel as a branch being rescued from fire, so this could be Jude’s reference. Snatching is an abrupt action of seizing/somewhat forceful, but it’s not really clear how we do this (or who exactly we are seizing). I’m sure there are other views for “fire,” whether temptations, sin,—if quoting OT, could be destruction of Jerusalem as metaphor??. The point is to rescue a certain group of people before destruction overcomes them. The who and the how remain unclear.

Show mercy to others with fear of God: Again, unclear if this is a distinct group. Main point here is to incorporate fear of God with response. NET makes good point that both mercy and fear of God are necessary for a balanced approach. 

Hating their clothes? Apparently, even the items closely associated with these teachers/sinners were stained with sin. “Flesh” is a debated term, but NET takes it as sin nature. Since these teachers ran towards immorality, it could be referencing physical body. Even if Jude was talking about the place where immorality occurs (body), it is still condemning the sin nature in the body, not the body itself. It will be redeemed.

We are not trying to please people (especially false teachers). We are to be discerning, though. We can be kind and loving while encouraging disciples in the one faith. 

Revelation 20:1-10

“Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. He seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.) Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.”

— ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭10‬‬

This passage seems to be the key lens by which someone understands Revelation, though starting at the beginning and taking the book as a whole may be the better starting point. Nevertheless here are bullet point arguments for each of the main views:

Premillennialism:

No indication in 20:1-10 that “1000” should be taken any way but literally. In fact, author says “little while,” so he knows how to speak of indefinite time periods

19:11-21:18 gives no indication of a break in sequence. Recapitulation is unlikely in this case, since it doesn’t appear we have traveled back in time

Some strands of 2nd Temple Judaism expected an intermediate Messianic kingdom. Other early Christian interpreters understood this passage as teaching premillennialism (Justin Martyr, Papias, Tertullian)

Binding of Satan seems like stronger language than what we see today

Resurrection in 20:4 seems to be literal, not spiritual

An earthly kingdom for the millennium allows for several OT prophecies to be fulfilled in a more “literal” way

Postmillennialism:

Many arguments for this overlap with amillennialism, so look there for more support. This view is the least supported by scholars today. They focus on the millennium only being mentioned in one book, and it happens to be the book filled with the most symbols and imagery. The main difference between post and a-mils is the progressive nature of the kingdom’s building. 

Amillennialism: 

Symbolic nature of Revelation. Yes, John saw visions, but we have to understand what the vision represented. The specific things that John saw had referents, and then those referents are symbolic of a person, time, or entity in reality.

We have more clear passages that discuss the return of Christ. Those take precedence.

Recapitulation is appropriate since the general flow of thought between Rev 19 and 20 are similar. (All nations gathering before Christ for battle)

1:18; 3:7-8 support other NT passages (cf Matt 12:29; Mark 3:27; John 12:31-33; Col 2:11-15; Heb 2:14) where Satan is limited and cannot hinder the mission of Jesus

20:1-10 parallels 12:7-11 and mutually interpret one another

Scripture only references one resurrection, so we need to reinterpret first and second so there aren’t two bodily resurrections. Resurrection and “living” and physical/spiritual life are used interchangeably in other passages (Rom 6; John 5:24-29)

As mentioned elsewhere, “Then I saw” is repeated throughout this section (19:11-21:18), but it’s also in other places earlier in the book where events are not necessarily in sequence. This doesn’t prove any eschatological position, but it’s important to remember John is putting visions in order, not always events. (Events could be in order, but the visions could be repeating the same event).

This may be a bit silly, but to prove the point, “Then I saw” is used twice in this passage, v. 1 and 4. Anybody can clearly see that John is talking about the same 1000 years. There are not two separate 1000 years, one with Satan bound and one with saints’ ruling. So we have to interpret this phrase as giving two visions talking about same time period (this is obviously small scale, but it works on much larger, too)

One simply must ask how are the following things true now, and how are they not yet fulfilled: Satan bound (see previous verses listed), Satan unable to deceive nations (Eph 2:1-4; Col 1:13), Witnesses reigning with Jesus (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 5:10; 6:9-11).

I love the description of Satan in the passage, it combines all his titles throughout Scripture. Our greatest enemy—finally cast down. 

Currently, I have no problem with seeing a spiritual resurrection and a final physical resurrection. I agree that seeing Satan as bound is difficult, but it depends on what John was envisioning. The death and resurrection of Jesus bound the strong man, even if we don’t see the full effects of that, yet.

For premillennials, once Satan is released, he deceives enough people to have one final battle. Where did these people come from, since everyone was destroyed in the last battle? It’s been 1000 years, which is enough time for rebellious offspring to arise from faithful followers of Jesus. My question to this is how are these people so vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, and what happened to Jesus’ rod of iron? We go from saints’ ruling with Jesus, to multitudes willing to overthrow the entire kingdom. I know humans, so sounds definitely possible, but if Jesus is ruling, I hope that’s not likely.

Everyone gets a throne who did not worship the beast or receive his mark. So many conspiracy theories on the mark of the beast. One thing I’m pretty sure—it won’t be taken by accident. Don’t be afraid of the mark. Revelation makes it simple that the world is divided between God’s kingdom and Satan’s counterfeit kingdom. God seals His people and Satan uses the mark of the beast. Any marking in the ancient world showed ownership. We can debate what/who the beast is, but as long as we are worshipping Jesus, probably don’t need to worry about microchips.

The prophecies against Gog and Magog come in Ezekiel 38-39. They were planning on attacking Israel, and God promised to defend His people. John equates “saints” with “beloved city,” so Jerusalem is a final fulfillment of the prophecy. 

Amillennialism simply says Satan will be allowed at the end to begin his deception of people in full force. It’s his favorite activity and has been since the beginning. Whatever is referenced in v. 3 is referenced here. 

God’s people will be surrounded by their enemies, and He will deliver them. It doesn’t really matter whether everyone is scorched or not. 

Devil and false prophets and beast (we can argue over who those are later) thrown into lake of fire. Lots of views on this place or state of being, too. For now, I do think it’s a real place. Where—I don’t know. The physical characteristics of the place don’t really matter. Lake and fire are obviously oxymoronic, just like darkness and fire, but we hear and read (even in biblical passages) all sorts of descriptions. Some of that is informed from pagan imagery throughout history. Some of it is fear based. Some of it is well intentioned and solid biblical teaching, but we need to still be careful of initial contexts. All of my conclusions land heaviest on the emotional/psychological/spiritual separation from God more than physical. Not being able to fulfill the one purpose for which we were made will be absolute torment.

Thousands of books on this topic/book, but I like to read it as a whole. Not focus on topics or particular visions/symbols. It’s a fascinating apocalyptic letter, and it is remarkably encouraging.