Chapter Seven - Verses 12-13
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;
We communicate with words, if the words are something we understand and can relate to, then we can successfully connect and convey our ideas. It is essential for every good story teller to use words and references that their audience can relate to. If the audience cannot connect to the story or is in some way confused, the primary message may end up getting lost. Unfortunately, some Bible stories fall into that category since life is very different today than it was some 2,000 years earlier. Technology is different and cultures are different thereby making many of the idioms found in the Bible, difficult to understand (an idiom is an expression whose intended meaning is different than what the phrase or words usually represent, most often the intended meaning has a cultural, location or time period connection).
We need to remember that Jude’s epistle has a two-fold purpose; the first is to raise the flag regarding a major concern he has observed (verse four) and secondly, to encourage us to do something about that concern. Jude has been calling our attention to people that have entered (crept) in our lives unnoticed. He continues to describe these people and the risks they present if they are not dealt with by us. Perhaps frustrated that his fellow Christians are not taking this issue seriously or that he just desires to convey an urgency to his message, Jude chooses some interesting idioms that would have certainly caught the attention of his readers.
Jude begins with the statement that these people (referring to those in verse four) are hidden reefs! Anyone who has traveled in a boat knows that anything hitting the hull of the boat could be disastrous. Reefs can be particularly dangerous due to their size, hardness and strength (not to mention that they can often be found just inches below the water line). We know that the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked once due to his ship inadvertently hitting a reef (see Acts 27:39-44). Having hidden reefs, a major threat that could not be seen, would strike fear in the hearts of Jude’s early readers. Today, due to well-travelled water routes that have identified and made known potential hazards and technology that can report water depth, one can travel safely without having to be concerned about hidden reefs. Jude continues to say that these people are like hidden reefs at our love feasts. These people have infiltrated our lives, families and churches so effectively they are participating at our fellowship events, potlucks, church gatherings, etc. They are very comfortable as they are convinced that no one has noticed who they really are (see 2 Peter 2:12-13).
Jude says they are like ‘shepherds’ that are only concerned about feeding themselves. The Greek word that Jude chose here is derived from the Greek word, ‘poimēn’ that is usually translated ‘shepherd’ or ‘pastor’ depending on the Bible version. The role of the pastor or shepherd is not to feed themselves as they are to guide and care for others. Jude is pointing out that these people can even be in high positions within the church. This is similar to a problem Israel encountered during Ezekiel’s time when their leaders stopped listening to God.
We read in Ezekiel: "The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them." (Ezekiel 34:1-10, ESV)
As discussed in Chapter Two, God uses people to serve other people and places each one where He wants them to be. However, when we begin to lose sight of who we are or begin to follow the wisdom of the world, we can not only compromise God’s plans for us, we can also negatively influence others, especially if God had placed us in a position of influence or authority. In the following six verses, God tells Ezekiel how He is going to respond to this situation regarding the wayward leadership of His shepherds.
Continuing in Ezekiel, "11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice." (Ezekiel 34:11-16, ESV)
Did you see some familiar words? Did you notice who was going to respond? Phrases like “I myself will search for my sheep” and “I myself will be the shepherd,” should give us some hints. God sent His Son, Jesus, the only true answer to man’s insolence and disobedience as He is the One and only Good Shepherd, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14, ESV). God sent His Son not only to make it possible for mankind to be saved and live with Him for eternity, Jesus was to be our model of behavior as well as give us an example of a godly worldview. If our minds are on Him throughout our day, we can be used by Him, if we want to follow the ways of the world, as Jude was observing happening around him, we simply cannot be used. If church leaders begin to focus inwardly (as the world teaches everyone should do), the result will be an unusable church. Remember Jesus said that we are to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15, ESV), He did not say that the whole world should go to church, He said the church should go into the whole world.
Using another idiom, Jude now says these people are like waterless clouds. That may not make a lot of sense to us since, if we want water we often just turn a valve to irrigate where we need water. But waterless clouds, especially those swept away by the wind, are absolutely worthless to a farmer. One can’t help but connect the issue of a wind blowing a cloud away to what the Apostle Paul said in what might be best described as the purpose statement for every church recorded in Ephesians 4:12-16, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14, ESV) Christians need to know the Word of God so that they are not deceived by worldly influences and deceptions, so that when a wind blows in a worthless doctrine into our lives, we can move on without being influenced.
Jude then describes them as “fruitless trees” in the autumn when the harvest is expected. These people make promises but have no interest or ability in fulfilling those promises. They are twice dead, they are fruitless and have been uprooted, no longer connected to the source of life. The Book of Revelation makes it clear that all non-believers will die twice (read Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14-15; 21:8). The first death separates us from our bodies while the second death will separate them from God. The author of the Book of Hebrews states it this way, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV) While we know that there were a couple people in the Old Testament that never experienced death (Enoch and Elijah), we see that this statement refers to the normal process of death (the Greek word for ‘appointed’ is ‘apokeimai’ which points to something that is laid away, reserved for someone, something that awaits them).
13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude tells us that these people are like wild waves on the ocean, constantly churning up foam of their own shame. The Greek word translated here as ‘foam’ refers to the froth one can make when you madly stir up water. Paul, in his letter to the church at Philippi also wrote about those who bring shame to themselves, “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19, ESV) Paul quickly turns that around and offers hope for all believers, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” (Philippians 3:20-4:1, ESV)/p>
Next Jude explains that they are wandering stars, not following the proper order or direction (same Greek word we get the word ‘planets’ since the planets appeared to be wandering when compared to the other stars). A false teacher may regularly change their ‘theology’ to make it more attractive to their followers. This Greek term is similar to a word John used in 2 John 7, in that verse the word is translated as ‘deceivers’.
For these false teachers and leaders, judgment has been reserved from the beginning of time. Jude uses the same phrase Peter used to describe their fate (see 2 Peter 2:17), the gloom of the utter darkness. Both Greek words convey the concept of darkness, used twice carries an absolute dark or total darkness meaning (complete separation from God). The word here translated as ‘reserved’ is the same word (Greek word ‘tēreō) that is translated ‘kept’ in verses 1 and 6 and ‘keep’ in verse 21. In this case they will be judged and kept for eternity in total darkness.
In these two verses, Jude adds that these people (from verse four) are hypocritical, deceptive and immoral false teachers that believe that the Word of God should be either ignored or taught their way. In a sense they are nothing more than spiritual terrorists, trying to force their worldview onto others, especially Christians so that they may either doubt the Word of God or persuaded to be comfortable in doing nothing for God.