Jude 1:5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe: hupomnesai (AAN) de humas boulomai (1SPMI) eidotas (RAPMPA) humas panta hoti o kurios apax laon ek ges Aiguptou sosas (AAPMSN) to deuteron toua me pisteusantas (AAPMPA) apolesen.
put = Ro 15:15; 2Pe 1:12,13; 3:1
having = 1Co 10:1-12
afterward = Nu 14:22-37; 26:64,65; Dt 2:15,16; Ps 106:26; Heb 3:16, 17, 18, 19; 4:1,2
APOSTATE
ISRAEL
NET Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts once for all) that Jesus, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe.
NET Note: The reading Iēsous, “Jesus” is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses, but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange kurios, “Lord” or theos, “God” for Iēsous (though P72 has the intriguing reading theos Christos, “God Christ“ for Iēsous)....As difficult as the reading Iēsous is, in light of Jude 1:4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate. (See Jude 1:5 NET Note)
Barclay - It is my purpose to remind you--although you already possess full and final knowledge of all that matters--that, after the Lord had brought the people out of Egypt in safety, he subsequently destroyed those who were unbelieving;
Wuest - Moreover, after mature consideration, I desire to remind you, (who) know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved the people out of Egypt, then destroyed those who did not believe.
Hiebert - Having remarked that such men will surely be judged (v. 4), Jude now illustrates the truth that divine judgment upon such flagrant evildoers is no novelty. He cites three historic instances that establish the certainty of the fate that awaits such rebels against God’s established order. God’s revelation of His love and mercy in Christ Jesus will not hinder Him from judging such wicked individuals now. The message which these examples declare is intended to assure and embolden Jude’s harried readers. Kelly suggests that he also intends “to steady the resolution of wobblers” by setting forth the terrible punishment that awaits such individuals. (Second Peter-Jude: An Expositional Commentary by D. Edmond Hiebert)
Now I desire to remind you - Thomas Schreiner refers to this as "The new section begins with a disclosure formula, “I want to remind you,” signifying the beginning of a new section. Disclosure formulas are common in other letters as well (Ro 1:13; 11:25; 1Cor 8:1; 10:1; 12:1; 2Cor 1:8; Gal 1:11; Phil 1:12; 1Th 4:13), and here it functions as the transition to the next section of the letter." (The New American Commentary- 1, 2 Peter, Jude)
Wuest - After referring to the occasion of his letter, namely, the presence of apostate teachers in the visible organized church on earth (Jude 1:3, 4), Jude speaks of apostasy in Israel and among the angels, and the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 1:5–7). (Ed: This section closely parallels Peter's descriptions of fallen angels and Sodom and Gomorrah, except that Peter replaces Israel's apostasy with the story of unbelievers in the day of Noah.)
Desire (1014)(boulomai) refers to a settled desire, one born of or springing from reason and not from emotion. To will, to wish, to will deliberately, to intend, to have a purpose, to be minded. Boulomai expresses the idea of the deliberate and specific exercise of volition (an act of making a choice or decision). Stated another way boulomai conveys the sense of more than simply wanting a desire or wish to be fulfilled. It conveys the stronger sense of choosing one thing over another or of preference of one thing before another.
Remind (5279)(hupomimnesko from hupó = under + mimnesko = to remind) means to put another in mind of something, to cause one to remember, bring to one's mind, remind (remind suggests a jogging of one’s memory by an association or similarity). Note that hupomimnesko is first in order in the Greek sentence for emphasis, which means to put one in mind of. In Jn 14:26 Jesus says ultimately the Holy Spirit carries out this function ("He will...bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."). Root word mimnesko gives us our English word memorial. In a sense Jude is exhorting them to recall those memorials of what God had done in their life (the Gospel) and in Biblical history (which he will now review)! It is a good practice for all of us to make memorials, because the memorials serve as markers of past faithfulness, goodness and grace of God in our life. Remembering these memorials serves to renew and/or revive the way we think and subsequently the way we behave.
Barclay - In a sense it is true to say that all preaching within the Christian church is not so much bringing to men new truth as confronting them with truth they already know, but have forgotten or are disregarding...Jude chooses his examples to make clear that, even if a man has received the greatest privileges, he may still fall away into disaster, and even those who have received the greatest privileges from God cannot consider themselves safe (Ed: Although if one is genuinely saved, he cannot lose his salvation! See Can a Christian lose salvation?) but must be on constant watch against the mistaken things. (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Know (1492)(eido is used only in the perfect tense = oida) means in general to know by perception. Eido/oida is distinguished from ginosko (epiginosko, epignosis- the other major NT word group for knowing) because ginosko generally refers to knowledge obtained by experience or "experiential knowledge". On the other hand, eido/oida often refers more to an intuitive knowledge, although this distinction is not always clear cut. Eido/oida is a perception, a being aware of, an understanding, an intuitive knowledge which in the case of believers can only be given by the Holy Spirit.
Jude is saying that at one time ''all things'' were revealed to their hearts and they still know these things (perfect tense speaks of permanence of their knowing). But we are a forgetful lot and all of us need reminders, of the radical change wrought in our depraved hearts by the glorious Gospel and of God's hatred and condemnation of sin. And so Jude presents several OT reminders of divine judgment, beginning with God's Chosen People, Israel!
All things - Jude is emphasizing how well acquainted his readers were with the Gospel in contrast to the perversion of the Gospel by their opponents, as well as how well they knew the OT examples he is now going to review.
NET Note - Jude is stressing that the readers have been informed once for all of the OT illustrations he is about to mention. Where would they get this information? Most likely from having read 2 Peter. Earlier Jude used the same adverb to indicate that these believers had a written record of the faith. This seems to be his implication here, too. Thus, for the second time Jude is appealing to the written documents of the early church as authoritative as opposed to the messages of the false teachers. As the 1st century began to draw to a close, the early church found itself increasingly dependent on the letters and gospels of the apostles and their associates. Once those apostles died, false apostles and false teachers sprang up, like wolves in sheep's clothing (cf. Acts 20:29–30-note). To combat this, some of the latest books of the NT stressed the authority of what had been written (so Hebrews, Jude, Ephesians, 1 John). Although these writers anticipated the return of the Lord, they also braced their audiences for a delay of the parousia (the Second Coming of Christ) by suggesting that when they were gone the NT documents should guide them. (See Jude 1:5 NET Note)
Lord (2962)(kurios from kuros = might or power) describes the supreme one, one who is sovereign and possesses absolute authority, absolute ownership and uncontested power.
Some versions have "Jesus" instead of Lord, regarding which the ESV Study Bible says "Jesus … saved a people out of the land of Egypt (cf. Ex 1–15). This may seem puzzling, because the name “Jesus” is not applied to the Son of God in the OT. It is a prime example of the apostolic understanding of the OT, according to which the Son of God, in His eternal divine nature, was active in the world from the beginning of creation, long before His incarnation (cf. Lk 24:27; Jn 1:3; 8:56–58; 12:41; 1Cor. 10:4, 9; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:8–12; 11:26). Jesus, then, judged and destroyed those in Israel who escaped from Egypt but failed to keep trusting in God, and therefore they did not reach the Promised Land (cf. 1Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:16-19).
After saving (delivering) a people out of the land of Egypt - God saved Israel out of Egypt physically (A summation of Exodus 6-14, the Exodus), and gave them many signs and opportunities to believe in Him, which, if they had believed, would have resulted in their spiritual salvation. Yet they rejected His revealed presence and consequently He judged and destroyed them (meditate on 1Cor 10:1-12). This aptly illustrates the heretic’s history, for he, like Israel, has experienced and knew God’s word, and thus had ample opportunity to accept Jesus as his Savior (cp 2Pe 2:20-21-note). Yet he, like Israel, preferred to pursue his own interests and therefore refused to subject himself in faith to God. And so he, like Israel, will suffer God’s judgment.
Out of Egypt - (1Co 10:1-12, Ex 12:37-41, 51" class="scriptRef">51" class="scriptRef">51, Acts 7:36,43" class="scriptRef">43, 51, Nu 13:1-3, 21-33, 14:1-35) - Although many of these Scriptures illustrate how they had been rescued out of Egypt, Egypt was (their love of the world instead of love of God - cp 1Jn 2:15-17-note) was not out of them. As Stephen summarized, they were stiff-necked, rebellious and uncircumcised in heart (See Excursus on Circumcision) (Acts 7:39, 43, 51).
Saving (4982)(sozo) basically means to rescue from peril, to protect, keep alive. It involves preservation of life, physical or spiritual. Whenever sozo is used, the context must be considered to determine whether preservation of physical life or spiritual life is in view. While all of Israel was physically rescued, not all of Israel was spiritually rescued (saved), as Jude's following description explains...
The Lord...
subsequently destroyed
those who did not believe.
Destroyed (622) (apollumi from apo = away from or wholly + olethros = state of utter ruin <> ollumi = to destroy <> root of apollyon [Rev 9:11-note] = destroyer) means to destroy utterly but not to caused to cease to exist. Apollumi as it relates to men, is not the loss of being per se, but is more the loss of well-being. It means to ruin so that the person (or thing) ruined can no longer serve the use for which he (it) was designed. To render useless. The gospel promises everlasting life for the one who believes. The failure to possess this life will result in utter ruin and eternal uselessness (but not a cessation of existence). Apollumi then has the basic meaning of describing that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose.
Subsequently (1208) (deuteros) is literally second or second time. After the "first time" having delivered the people out of Egypt.
Believe (4100) (pisteuo from pistis; pistos; related studies the faith, the obedience of faith) means to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To accept the word or evidence of. To consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust. To accept as true, genuine, or real. To have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To consider to be true. To accept the word or evidence of.
The Septuagint (Lxx) translation uses pisteuo in Nu 14:11-12 which is apparently the event Jude appeals to in order to illustrate Israel's unbelief...
The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe (Lxx = pisteuo) in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?: I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them (cp "subsequently destroyed those who did not believe") , and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.” (Nu 14:11-12)
The respected Greek lexicon author W E Vine defines genuine (spiritually saving) belief as consisting of
(1) A firm conviction which produces full acknowledgment of God's revelation of Truth - (2Th 2:11 -"in order that they all may be judged who did not believe [pisteuo] the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.")
(2) A personal surrender to the Truth (Jn 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe [pisteuo] in His name" - See Spurgeon's Sermon on John 1:12) and
(3) A conduct inspired by and consistent with that surrender. (See relationship between conduct and belief = Obedience of faith and the Relationship of faith and obedience in covenant; See also James explanation of faith and works = James 2:14-26-note)
Jude's point is that intellectual belief in truth does not save anyone. If those...did not believe then they were non-believers, emphasizing that while they had been physically delivered (saved as it were), they had never experienced circumcision of their hearts (cp Ezekiel 36:27-note, Dt 10:16, Ro 2:25, 26-note, Col 2:11-note), their unregenerate state being dramatically illustrated by their unremitting rebellion against God in the wilderness. A parallel teaching in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb 3:10-note, Heb 3:18,19-note, Heb 4:1,2-note) also strongly supports that most of those "saved" out of Egypt were not truly regenerate, because what they had heard from God was not united ("mixed with") genuine saving faith. And thus most of Israel died in their trespasses and sins in the wilderness. (Nu 14:22-37).
Spurgeon - If we have no real faith, we may appear to go a long way towards heaven, but we shall not enter the heavenly Canaan.
Wuest - The instance to which Jude has reference is that of the Jews, after having been convinced by the spies of the truth of God’s assertion that the land of Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey, most productive as proved by the grapes they brought out, yet refused to enter it, not trusting God to give them the land as He said He would do. This was apostasy, sinning with the eyes wide open, and could only be dealt with by the infliction of the death penalty. That generation died a physical death in the wilderness.
Thomas Schreiner - Israel’s apostasy stands as a warning to all those who think that an initial commitment secures their future destiny without ongoing obedience. Those who are God’s people demonstrate the genuineness of their salvation by responding to the warning given. The warnings are one of the means by which God preserves his people until the end. Those who ignore such warnings neglect the very means God has appointed for obtaining eschatological salvation. Nor should such a perspective be considered a form of works righteousness. Jude pinpointed the fundamental reason Israel was judged. They failed to “believe” in God. The call to perseverance is not a summons to something above and beyond faith. God summons his people to believe in his promises to the very end of their lives. Christians never get beyond the need to believe and trust, and all apostasy stems from a failure to trust in God’s saving promises in Christ, just as the wilderness generation disbelieved that God would truly bring them into the land of Canaan, thinking instead that he had maliciously doomed them to die in the wilderness....The Israelites destroyed in the wilderness probably believed they were truly part of God’s people. Their disobedience demonstrated otherwise. Similarly, some in Jude’s community may have thought they were genuinely part of God’s people, but Jude insisted that continued faithfulness is the only way to demonstrate this. Those who “Apostasize” reveal that they were not truly members of God’s people (cf. 1John 2:19). Responses to warnings reveal, retrospectively, who really belongs to the people of God. (The New American Commentary- 1, 2 Peter, Jude)
Barclay - The first example is from the history of Israel. He goes for his story to Numbers 13:1-33; Numbers 14:1-45. The mighty hand of God had delivered the people from slavery in Egypt. What greater act of deliverance could there be than that? The guidance of God had brought the people safely across the desert to the borders of the Promised Land. What greater demonstration of His Providence could there be than that? So, at the very borders of the Promised Land, at Kadesh Barnea, spies were sent out to spy out the land before the final invasion took place. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, the spies came back with the opinion that the dangers ahead were so terrible and the people so strong, that they could never win their way into the Promised Land. The people rejected the report of Caleb and Joshua, who were for going on, and accepted the report of those who insisted that the case was hopeless. This was a clear act of disobedience to God and of complete lack of faith in him. The consequence was that God gave sentence that of these people, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, all over twenty would never enter the Promised Land but would wander in the wilderness until they were dead (Numbers 14:32-33; Numbers 32:10-13)...Johnstone Jeffrey tells of a great man who absolutely refused to have his life-story written before his death. "I have seen," he said, "too many men fall out on the last lap." John Wesley warned, "Let, therefore, none presume on past mercies, as if they were out of danger." (Jude - Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Wiersbe - The main point of the account is that privileges bring responsibilities, and God cannot lightly pass over the sins of His people. If any of Jude’s readers dared to follow the false teachers, they too would face the discipline of God. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1Cor. 10:12). (Be Alert 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude- Beware of the Religious Impostors)
Be the first to react on this!
Precept Austin Commentary ( - )
Read freely the Precept Austin text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse on the Precept Austin website.We have been "bought with a price" to be "ambassadors for Christ" and our "salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" so let us "cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" "so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)