Jude 1:8 by Precept Austin Commentary

Jude 1:8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties: homoios mentoi kai houtoi enupniazomenoi (PPPMPN) sarka men miainousin (3PPAI) kurioteta de athetousin (3PPAI) doxas de blasphemousin (3PPAI) these = Jer 38:25, 26, 27, 28 defile = 1Co 3:17; 1Ti 1:10; 2Pe 2:10, 11, 12 despise = Ge 3:5; Nu 16:3,12,13, Ps 2:1-6; 12:3, 4; Lk 19:14; Acts 7:27,39; 1Th 4:8; Heb 13:17 speak = Jude 1:9,10; Ex 22:28; Pr 30:11,17; Ec 10:20; Acts 23:5; 1Pe 2:17 NET Yet these men, as a result of their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and insult the glorious ones. NIV In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. Barclay - In the same way these, too, with their dreams, defile the flesh, and set at naught the celestial powers, and speak evil of the angelic glories. Wuest - In the same manner nevertheless, also these who are beguiled with sensual images and carried away to an impious course of conduct, defile indeed the flesh, and set at naught authority, and speak evil of preeminence. DESCRIPTION OF THE SINS OF THE INSIDIOUS INFILTRATORS Jude 1:8-16 Yet (mentoi) = The idea of this word is "Nevertheless" or "However." This word emphasizes that though the these men ("certain persons" Jude 1:4) have these "fearful examples before them, yet they persist in their sin." (Vincent) Jude now turns from the OT examples to a description of the characteristics of the insidious infiltrators (Jude 1:8-16). Yet "marks the fact that though these modern apostates have these clear warnings before them, they brazenly continue on in like offenses. Their arrogance blinds them to the warnings of history." (Hiebert) Yet in the same way these men - Like these godless cities once found at the tip of the Dead Sea. The preceding three examples of willful apostasy (Heb 10:26) all intentionally left their "saved status" to pursue an ungodly way of life. They did not lose their salvation, for they had never been genuinely saved (and of course angels cannot be saved at all). These men were not pagans, but those who had seen miracles and even God Himself, and yet they choose to reject Him and His authority. Spurgeon - Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. They cast off all restraint; they claim to have liberty to do whatever they like; and when reproved, they utter railing words against those who honestly rebuke them. Dreaming (1797)(enupniazo from enupnion from en = in + hupnos = sleep) means to have the impression of seeing something while one is sleeping. Dreaming and the 3 following verbs are all in the present tense indicating that this is not a passing practice but their lifestyle, their continual practice. It is notable that the participle (enupniazomenoi) modifies "all three verbs, and the dreams are understood as the basis for the moral baseness of the opponents. They appealed to their dreams as a source of revelation, as a justification for their lifestyle. Others (Ed: see Hiebert, Wiersbe below) understand Jude as criticizing the interlopers as ignorant, hypnotized, or dreamers, but it is more likely that the opponents justified their moral laxity by appealing to dreams which they believed functioned as divine approval for their behavior....First, apparently the intruders appealed to dreams to justify their sexual licentiousness." (Thomas Schreiner). And so we see the ESV translation emphasizes this association... Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. ESV Study Note: They are led astray by relying on their dreams, thus mistakenly following subjective experiences that they claim are from God but that lead them to disobey God’s written Word. Following their “dreams,” they are sexually immoral (defile the flesh), reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. (Ed: Similar to the ESV, the NIV rendering conveys a similar idea - "on the strength of their dreams") MacArthur comments that Jude uses "dreaming" as descriptive of "the apostates as phony visionaries" basing his interpretation on the fact that enupniazo is used only one other time in the NT, in Acts 2:17, which "may refer to revelatory dreams." Their dreams would then be like prophecies which provide support or justification, if you will, for their ungodly doctrines (Biggs) (cf Dt 13:1-5, cf also "false prophets" in 2Pe 2:1). This description reminds us of those so-called modern day "prophets" who get a "word from God," and yet prove over time to be morally corrupt. Hiebert favors dreaming does not speak of literal (revelatory) dreams, but describes the fact that these men "live in a subjective dream world of unreality." Thayer similarly favors enupniazo in Jude 1:8 as conveying the meaning of “to be beguiled with sensual images and carried away to an impious course of conduct.” Wiersbe favors that "These people live in a dream world of unreality and delusion. They believe Satan’s lie, “Ye shall be as gods” (Gen. 3:5). Having turned away from God’s truth, they feed their minds on false doctrine that inflates their egos and encourages their rebellion." (Be Alert 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude- Beware of the Religious Impostors) The point is that they have been deluded by their rejection of divine truth and by introduction of Satan's lies, and consider their sinful practices as "normal," and not deserving of divine judgment. Frankly, this is a description of all of us when we are caught in the clutches of deceptive sin's deception (cf Heb 3:13b)! Defile the flesh - Speaking of the polluting or sullying the literal flesh, which bespeaks of immorality. Butler quips these "apostates propagate bad doctrine and this leads to bad deportment. Apostates do not lift the moral standard, but lower it. Bad doctrine breeds bad deportment!" (Analytical Bible Expositor). In light of the fact that these men are "devoid of the Spirit" (Jude 1:19), it is not surprising that they defile the flesh, because they have no inherent ability to control or restrain the lusts of their flesh (cp Gal 5:18-21, Ro 8:13, 1Pe 2:11). Lawlor remarks, “Bodies that should be temples of the Holy Spirit are soiled and polluted with immoral excesses.” Compare Peter's description of... those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, (2Pet 2:10) Defile (3392)(miaino cf miasmos = the state of being tainted, polluted, corrupted, defiled or stained by) means literally to dye with another color. Figuratively miaino describes a mind and conscience that is morally contaminated, corrupted, tainted, tinged and polluted. In a ceremonial or cultic sense it means to defile or make unclean or to be unacceptable. In John 18:28 miaino denotes ceremonial impurity, but in Titus 1:15, Heb 12:15, and here in Jude 1:8 it denotes moral defilement and correlates well with their "preaching" of licentiousness (Jude 1:4). They reject authority, ultimately divine authority, and in so doing set themselves up as their own authority. Guzik applies this truth to our modern society - "Today, our culture encourages us to reject authority and to recognize self as the only real authority in our lives. We can do this with the Bible, by choosing to only believe certain passages. We can do it with our beliefs, by choosing at the “salad bar” of religion. Or we can do it with our lifestyle, by making our own rules and not recognizing the proper authorities God has established. In the darkest days of Israel, society was characterized by a term: every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Jdg 21:25) Today, this is the pattern of all the world and especially Western civilization." (Jude Commentary) Reject (set aside)(114)(atheteo from áthetos = not placed from a = without + thetós = placed) means to set aside something that is established (like authority). To do away with what has been laid down. In Classic Greek atheteo is used to describe setting aside of a treaty or promise. In short these evil men set aside God's law and Christ's Lordship, so they can be their own law and "lord." Thayer writes that atheteo means "to act toward anything as though it were annulled; hence, to deprive a law of force by opinions or acts opposed to it, to transgress... to thwart the efficacy of anything, nullify, make void, frustrate...to render prudent plans of no effect (1Cor 1:19)...to reject, refuse, slight (eg, "the grace of God" Gal 2:21)." Atheteo is used by Jesus addressing the Pharisees and the Scribes who rejected authority declaring "You nicely set aside (reject = atheteo) the commandment of God (the Fifth Commandment - Honor your father and your mother) in order to keep your tradition." (Mark 7:9) Authority ("Lordship")(2963)(kuriotes from kurios = Lord, owner, master) means lordship, ruling power, one who possesses dominion, authority or magistracy. It refers here to supernatural beings that possess dominion and authority and is used to describe angels in Eph 1:21-note, Col 1:16-note, 2Pe 2:10-note. Wiersbe comments on the effects of rejection of divine authority - "As a result of their rebellion and pride, they “defile the flesh,” living to satisfy their animal lusts. When a person despises God’s authority, he feels free to disobey God’s Laws and live as he pleases. What he forgets is that those laws have penalties attached to them so that he cannot disobey and escape the consequences." (Be Alert 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude- Beware of the Religious Impostors) Revile angelic majesties: Peter describes the evil men in his letter as those who "do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties." (2Pe 2:10) Hiebert writes "The fact that these apostates “revile” such glorious beings is the ultimate expression of their daring." Schreiner - Some commentators see a reference here to good angels, arguing that Jude would not be worried about scorn heaped on evil angels. But the parallel with Jude 1:9, where Michael refused to pronounce his own judgment on the devil, suggests that Jude referred to evil angels in Jude 1:8. Jude’s argument runs as follows: The intruders insult demons, but the archangel, Michael, did not even presume to blaspheme the devil himself but left his judgment to God. If Michael as an angel with high authority did not even presume to judge Satan, how can the opponents be so filled with pride that they insult demons, who have a certain glory, even though they have subsequently sinned? (The New American Commentary- 1, 2 Peter, Jude) Why did these apostates blaspheme angels? This is a more difficult question to answer and there is no consensus. Hiebert (Second Peter-Jude) writes... The fact that these apostates “rail at” (blasphēmousin) such glorious beings is the ultimate expression of their daring. This verb, from which we derive our word “blaspheme,” has the general sense of speaking reproachfully or injuriously of someone, “to revile, calumniate.” When used of God or that which is holy, our word “blaspheme” conveys the sense. Jude does not explain why these arrogant men thus continue “to insult celestial beings” (NEB). Green summarizes the more probable conjectures that have been advanced: Perhaps the undue deference paid to angels in some sections of Judaism (see Col. 2:18) produced this revulsion among the headstrong errorists, who became disenchanted with the whole notion of angels, and regarded such enlightened Christians as themselves as emancipated from such primitive ideas. Perhaps they scoffed at the very existence of transcendent powers of evil.… Perhaps the orthodox reproached them with having fallen, in their immorality, under diabolical powers, to which they returned a mocking answer, regarding such powers, if they existed, as utterly impotent over themselves. (Green, Michael. The Second Epistle General of Peter and the General Epistle of Jude. In The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. London: The Tyndale Press, 1968) Revile (987) (blasphemeo) means to speak to harm, to slander, to speak evil of and especially to speak in a profane manner regarding holy matters (cf 2Ki 19:22). Majesties (1391) (doxa from dokeo = to think) in simple terms means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something and thus the glory of God expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts.

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Jude 1:8

Precept Austin Commentary

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