Our teacher Jude has been strongly emphasizing the poor characteristics of false teachers who traveled from town to town and village to village during his time. These clandestine unbelieving, rebellious and sinful prophets desired positions among people. They were greedy-power mongers who were arrogant, and presumptive enough to speak evil against God ordained people who were put in positions of authority. Although this description of them is bleak, Jude continues to speak out against them with colloquial phrases in today's study found in verse twelve of his intriguing book. He wrote:
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
First Jude speaks of “spots in your feasts of charity”. Most of us are unfamiliar with the term “feasts of charity” today, but it was basically like our “Pot-lucks” or “Dinner on the Grounds” that are held at churches everywhere. Everyone would bring a dish of food, and all would join in the eating of whatever was brought. However, notice Jude's description of them “spots” “when the feast with you.” The word “spots” is “spilas” in the original language and it means “a rock in the sea, a ledge, a reef” or rather a “metaphor of men who by their conduct damage others morally, wreck them as it were”. In other words these false teachers are dangerous to have within your group. Their teachings wreck people's lives, and the audience of Jude is allowing them to participate in their “agape” feasts.
Jesus warned of false prophets when he said:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15
Wolves, and underwater rocks and ledges that are unseen are not easily noticeable, but they rather try to blend in. Whenever false doctrine and teaching comes into a group, it is usually filled with much truth, but then has a twist of some sort that doesn't align with the Holy scriptures. Remember that we have before been encouraged to be like the Bereans in the book of Acts in chapter seventeen who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” These false teachers in Jude's day were much like those who travel around today. They will join in with us, be among us, and talk like us, but then they pontificate some non-biblical theory or practice that will lead the unsuspecting away from the truth. We must be on guard, alert, and aware of these who would lead us into teachings that are not only pernicious but are also meant by Satan to destroy our lives.
We must remember that Jude warns that false teachers would join in with the church and feed themselves among them without fear. There was no regard for God, authorities, being fake or whom they may damage, but their idea was to make themselves well known and esteemed among people. Basically these false teachers were about advancing themselves rather than advancing others and the principles of God. These “spots” are dangerous, and those who are alert are not only looking for their appearance, but also their damaging teachings and ways. May the Lord Jesus keep us in a steady mind lest we too be persuaded by some ungodly false teacher or teaching that is ready to feast among us.
Next time we will look at the many metaphors that Jude uses to give a further description of these false teachers, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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