In yesterday's study, we learned from Jude that false itinerant prophets and teachers were spots in his audience's feasts of love. These teachers would join in with their “pot-lucks” or “dinner on the grounds” and act as though everything was okay, however they were really hidden danger like an unseen coral reef or rocky underwater ledge that is ready to sink a ship. Today Jude expands his metaphorical description of them in verse twelve by saying:
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;
Jude says they are “clouds without water”. In other words, these false teachers are like dark looking rain clouds that appear as though they will surely produce rain, however rain doesn't come. It looks like rain should come, but there is an empty promise there. There are lots of words, lots of promises, grand promotions and excellent speech, but when the time comes for production, nothing appears.
Jude says they are “carried about of winds”. They are like a feather blowing in the wind. If the wind blows this way, they go this way. If the wind blows that way, they go that way. In other words they go wherever the latest trend, latest fad, or latest way leads them. This is popular one day, and that is outdated on another day. In other words they are windbags. The entire basis for their teachings are whatever is trendy today.
Jude adds that they are “trees whose fruit withers”. Once again Jude employs a phrase that shows they are filled with empty promises. They have fruit that grows on their trees, but it withers before it can be eaten. The fruit is pointless, without worth, and though a person might desire to gain nourishment from it, there is no nutrition there. They are like sour grapes or apples filled with worms.
Finally Jude writes that they are “twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” These teachers were spiritually dead at one point and quite possibly came to know the truth of Jesus Christ, however, now they are apostate, deserters and renegades who turn from the teachings of the Bible to their own concocted beliefs. They are “twice dead”, and whenever a tree lacks fruitful production or continues in a non-fruit bearing state, as Jesus said in his parable, “why cumbers it the ground?” They are plucked up by the roots like a bothersome weed or an invading tracheophyte.
Without a lot of thought we have discovered that Jude doesn't care for these itinerant false teachers. He has a purpose to expose them for who they are, and their treachery is dangerous for people to follow. If we have received anything from Jude so far in his book, we should by now be aware that false teachers and teachings are among us. We must look to the Holy Scriptures for our guide. We must turn to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles to distinguish between that which is truth and that which is a lie. The truth is that there are liars and deceivers planted by satan himself to persuade both believers and non-believers in Jesus Christ of some pernicious doctrine that will lead them away from a relationship with Jesus. Jude's emphatic warnings and descriptive phrases should have us all examining any teaching that comes our way especially if the teachings are trendy ones.
Next time we will continue to look at more of the descriptions of these false teachers given by Jude and also look at the penalty for them being this way, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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