Title: Fruits of False Teachers
(Jude 1:8-13)
Jude in the text rebukes the warning of false teachers, especially heretics, by linking them with the crimes in verses 6 and 7. Verse 10 says that these people blaspheme whatever they do not know. And they said that what they know by instinct, like irrational beasts, leads to destruction.
1. The Dreamer's Crime
Verse 8 says, 'But these dreamers likewise defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander their glory'. These dreamers mean false teachers. To dream can also mean to have false ideas, but it is believed that they probably taught a false lesson in a dream revelation. It is said that the sins they commit defile the flesh in the same way. The word defilement of the flesh means the adultery that Sodom, Gomorrah, and neighboring cities followed, and they have defiled the church with their lewd conduct in secret with false teachings.
They also despised God's authority, like the divination angels who did not keep their positions and left. To oppose the truth in dream revelations or in vain words is to despise authority. Their characteristic is pride. The proud have traits. It's blaming what you don't know. They blasphemed not only the authority of God, but also the glory of the angels. Judas tells the story of the archangel Michael how great and dreadful such a sin is. The quarrel between the archangel and Satan over the body of Moses is quoted from the apocryphal 'The Ascension of Moses'.
When Moses died, Satan claimed his right to his body as Moses was a sinner. In response to this, the archangel Michael should have been able to condemn and rebuke Satan with the authority of God, but to show that God has the authority to rebuke and condemn him, he rejected it with the words, 'The Lord rebukes you.' That's it. Nevertheless, these false teachers are committing terrible crimes that despise authority and slander their glory.
However, verse 11 tells about these results in three ways. They are said to have walked in the way of Cain. The way of Cain means that the wicked persecute the righteous. Just as Cain killed righteous Abel, they plunder and persecute the lives of righteous saints. Then they said that they flocked to Balaam's crooked way. Balaam prayed to God in the name of the prophet and received the word, and when he prayed a blessing, he was descended from the hall. But Balaam had gone astray because of covetousness.
False teachers, like Balaam, end up working for wages, and then they are driven into Balaam's twisted path. Next, they said they would follow Korah's rebellion. They say that they will follow the rebellious path of Korah with pride that despises authority and will eventually be destroyed. What does Korah's rebellion mean? Korah, one of Israel's famous patriarchs, was the one who resisted God's servant Moses and was destroyed along with his family.
2. Their Fruit
Verse 12 reveals their fruits. He said, 'We eat with you without fear.' They join the church and participate in eating among the congregation with the saints. But these are the reefs of the saints' love feast. It means that they eat together, or fellowship between saints or the sacrament of the church. They not only adversely affect the community, but their ungodliness was rather condemned as a rock to the love feast. They were called 'shepherds who take care of their own bodies'. They claim to be shepherds because they teach others, but they are not shepherds, but detestable and hypocritical false shepherds who only serve themselves.
Next, he said, 'It is a cloud without water that is blown by the wind'. These clouds do not give life with the word of grace, just as the wind does not bring rain on the earth but is carried away like a floating cloud with hypocrisy and lies. They were referred to as 'fruitless autumn trees that died and died and were uprooted'. If an autumn tree does not bear fruit, it is a dead tree and a tree without roots. These false teachers are fruitless.
Because they have no life. And he said, 'The rough waves of the sea foaming up their shame'. Just as the raging waves of the sea bubble out their shame, so they expose only the wickedness and covetousness of their hearts. Next, he said of them, 'They are wandering stars that will return to the darkness prepared for eternity.' These are the ones who will eventually return to darkness. It was said that God had prepared a dark hell for them.
Conclusion: Becoming a teacher is good, but it is important to keep in mind that a teacher has great responsibilities. James 3:1 tells us not to become many teachers, knowing that those who are teachers will receive a greater judgment. You shouldn't be a false teacher, but you shouldn't entrust your life to such people.