Title: Mirror of Punishment
(Jude 1:5-7)
In the text, Judas declares God's judgment against deceitful people, heretics, and those who mislead the saints, and warns that Israel's past experiences, the case of the fallen angels, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as examples, should be used as a mirror. are giving
1. In the case of Israel delivered from Egypt
In verse 5, referring to the case of Israel who had gone out of Egypt, Judas said, 'The Lord delivered the people out of Egypt and later destroyed the unbelievers.' Israel's deliverance in Egypt and destruction in the wilderness are important lessons for us. A detailed reference to this is given in Hebrews 3:12-19. The people of Israel came out of Egypt by the grace of God.
But they did not come by faith. They saw the power of God and personally experienced miracles and miracles. And the word of God was heard through Moses' mouth, and in some cases, he heard it directly. However, because they had no faith, they provoked God to anger and they had to perish in the wilderness without enjoying the promised blessing of rest.
Why? This is because their hearts sinned and their hearts were hardened. The result of their hardening of heart was that they eventually distrusted the Word of God. Verse 18 says, "And to whom did God swear that he would not enter into his rest? was it not to him who had disobeyed him?"
Therefore, in Hebrews 4:7 we are sternly warn against 'not to harden our hearts and fall into the pattern of disobedience'. In Matthew 22:10 and below, the Lord told the story of this case through the parable of the wedding place where a certain king asked for his hand. The king orders the person who enters without a robe to bind his limbs and throw him into the darkness outside. And finally, the Lord said:
Many are called, but few are chosen.” We know that there are many people who have been called to the church with the Gospel. But not all of them will be saved. Among them, only God's chosen people will wear robes and will be saved through faith. Clothing refers to faith. In this way, the work of confirming the wearing of robes is done in the last days, the period of God's judgment. The characteristic of tares is that tares are always tares, not the kind that will become wheat.
It is said that the enemy planted these weeds. The enemy refers to the devil. The tares are unfruitful through disobedience. It is impossible to have faith. They hate obedience, hate repentance, and enjoy sin. Disobedience and sin harden a person's heart. In addition, a person without repentance is harder than a stone, so no matter how good the seed is sown in such a field, there is no way it will bear fruit.
2. The sin of the angel and Sodom and Gomorrah who left their dwelling place
In verse 6 Judas speaks of the judgment of the angels who have left his place. 'And he imprisoned the angels who did not keep their position and left their place in darkness with eternal bonds until the judgment of the great day. This verse refers to the fall of angels and shows the other side of Satan's fall. When Satan rebelled against God, these angels did not keep their position entrusted to them in heaven, but sympathized with Satan, and were imprisoned in darkness until the judgment of the great day by God.
The judgment of the great day means the period of final judgment in the great white throne judgment. The darkness in which they are confined refers to the abyss. They are trapped and tormented here. However, in Revelation 9, it is said that during the 7 years of tribulation, Satan sends them into the world with the key of the abyss for a short time, and the locusts that bring the world's first woe will be active as swarms. The reason they were judged was that they had left their place. This is against the truth and comes from pride.
It was a warning to the saints that if they oppose the truth or be proud, they will be judged like these. Next, in verse 7, Judah explains why the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. ( ). Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighboring cities were destroyed by the judgment of fire from heaven. The crime they committed was that they committed adultery and followed a different color.
What does this fact warn? It is a warning to the fact that the crime that leads Christians into disobedience is adultery and same-sex adultery. Adultery and same-sex love are the same crime, but different from other sins. These sins harden our hearts so that there is no room for repentance. It is to make it irreversible from a life of disobedience.
Conclusion: We should use these things in the Bible as a mirror for our Christian life and use it as a boundary. Turn away from sin and lead a life of repentance
It is to avoid hardening of the heart. We must obey the Word, give thanks in all things, and live a life that always longs for God's grace, mercy, and peace.