"14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to
execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their
ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the
harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage."
Those "ungodly men who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness,""will face judgment on that day! They will find that this Jesus that they used for financial gain and personal profit was indeed who He said He was. They will bow before the Christ that they denied and they will humbly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! And sadly, they will face eternal destruction as a result of their rebellion here on earth. Jesus will bring judgment when He comes.
Not only will He bring judgment when He comes, He will bring justice! On that day He will pour out His undiluted wrath on those who have not obeyed the Gospel. Sadly, most preaching today emphasizes only the love and blessings of Christ, minimizing the severity of sin and reality of hell. We must contemplate the reality that one day, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. At the heart of the gospel lie both heaven and hell.
Therefore, I never preach without believing that something will happen within the life of the hearer, that will last for all eternity. Not all teaching is pleasant teaching, but it is all necessary.Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word. Because You are gracious, because You are loving, You have given us all these warnings. For those of us who are saved, may we heed these warnings. And for those who have not embraced Christ as their Savior, may they be so frightened, that they rush to
the foot of the cross, asking be forgiven for sin, placing their trust in Christ, Who alone can deliver
them from the coming judgment. Lord, we pray that You would unmask the apostates, false teachers and counterfeit Christians, to protect the vulnerable from error. Grant us boldness and courage to speak the truth, contending for the faith, as the saints who have gone before us, to have an eternal impact for Your kingdom. We pray this for Christ's sake and for Your glory.
In Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: You Smell Like Hell
In 1795, in a letter to William Smith, the famous British statesman Edmund Burke once wrote, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
As pastors today, it is easy for us today to say, "We must not rock the boat," however, I submit that it is the job of the pastor, but responsibility of the church to teach Christians to know the truth and understand the Gospel. Jesus had more to say about hell than any other person in the Bible. The Sermon on the Mount has many references to hell.
This clearly goes against the teaching today, that is so prevalent, that Jesus loves everyone, and would never harm anyone, and wants to gather everyone into His heaven. Jesus spoke of the danger of the hell of fire. He taught about the
whole body going into hell, a hell that is so severe that the loss of a limb or
the loss of an eye, was worth the cost, in exchange for life.
Jesus used the word "Gehenna." A word that was used to identify the dump, in the Valley of Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem, a continuously burning fire, burning up the refuse of the city. In Matthew 10:28, He said "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
And in Matthew 25:41, in speaking those who believed they were righteous, He said "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not
clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me."
It is then, the job of the pastor to exhort you over and over again, to remember what it is that Jesus Himself taught, to fight for it, and encourage you not budge from it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, isn’t the man made, humanistic teachings that have made their way into the Church, and have wrongly influenced people, ultimately condemning them to hell. Scripture teaches us that there is nothing new under the sun. That any other gospel, is in fact, no gospel at all. Yet, many today are being lured away from the truth of God by deception. However, though their lies are dressed up in many new ways, they are the same old lies, that have been around for over two thousand years.
Since our Lord Jesus did not at all hesitate to refer to hell, as an endless fire that produces relentless pain and torment, resulting in grinding and gnashing of teeth, neither should we who follow authentically Him.
In Exodus, an entire generation never got to where God was leading them because of unbelief. Rebellion against God’s ways, against God’s ordained pattern, it has to do with sin. False teachers are are perverse, full of sin, they despise authority and reject God’s dominion over them. I have heard many people who believe that the ungodly, when they die, don’t enter into hell or don’t enter into punishment.
I know that the idea of it bothers a lot of people, including many pastors. So they take the easy way out and don’t preach what the Bible teaches. However, that thinking is not biblical. All those who die in their sins enter into a place of darkness, a
place of suffering, a place of pain, a place of torment, a place of
horror, as Jesus illustrated in the account in Luke 16. Although the final sentencing doesn’t take place until the day of judgment.
"It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to
execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their
ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage."
This is warning after warning about hell. Judgment will fall immediately and permanently on the ungodly. Clearly, the ungodly are on Jude's mind as he writes this. Though they are awaiting the final sentencing in the judgment of that great day, they are already undergoing the punishment of eternal fire, which, by the way, they will never escape, because that place of fire, and the black darkness, lasts forever. God has reserved of them the severest eternal punishment. While eternal torment is the sentence for all unbelieving sinners, the hottest hell and the severest torment awaits apostate false
teachers. And they will be sent there in their glorified bodies. Glorified in the sense they are supernatural and indestructible, made to last for an eternity, in hell.
In contrast, when the saints are
taken out of this world they will appear before the Lord in what is known as
the Bema seat or judgment seat. We are not judged as to whether or not we will get into heaven. That must be settled long before this rapture
takes place. Because only saved through faith in Jesus Christ can
go to heaven. We will be judged for our service to Christ since the time of our salvation. While this Judgment for
the saved is going on. There will
be a Great Tribulation, one like has never been before seen on this earth. It will begin with three and one half
years of peace. It will end in
three and one half years of war and destruction.
As verse 14 begins, "And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation
from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with many
thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment.’"
The "about these" here refers back to the "hidden reefs, the
clouds without water; the autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead,
uprooted; the wild waves of the sea; the wandering stars," the false
teachers, the apostates mentioned in verses 12 and 13. About these Enoch prophesied the Lord would come to execute judgment. Not only did Jesus come the
first time, as prophesied in the Old Testament, but He is going to come again for the Church and to execute judgement on the unrighteous.
As Christians, we refer to this great coming that is called the
rapture. While the word rapture is not found
anywhere in Scripture, it simply
means a snatching away, it is a descriptive term given to that which is
described in I Thessalonians and I Corinthians.
Jude is quoting a prophesy form Enoch, he is almost cryptic. As always, he doesn’t have to say very much, because everyone is already familiar, perhaps you've noticed, that is the case with everything that Jude writes. His entire letter has a certain cryptic tone to it. By that I mean he doesn't give any big explanations, just one brief statement, assuming that they had knowledge of it. And, so he only briefly mentions these persons and events, because they already know these stories.
"About these Enoch, the seventh from Adam" – it literally says in the Greek – "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their
ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the
harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
If Jude, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said Enoch said that, then Enoch said that. Just in case you’re wondering where that prophesy is in the Old Testament, it’s
not there; it’s not in the Old Testament. So we have to conclude that they knew the prophesy of Enoch. Enoch was rather a fascinating character to the Jewish people, because only he and Elijah went to heaven without dying.
I'm sure you remember, that in II Kings 2, God took Elijah to heaven in a chariot. Though Enoch’s prophesy is not recorded in the Old Testament, we have the affirmation here, that he made it. As a footnote, Enoch’s is the first prophecy recorded anywhere in Scripture given by a man. It is interesting to note, that the first prophecy given by a man in the Bible is to the coming of
Christ in judgment, and the last prophesy given through a man is Christ
coming in judgment.
I believe that the fear of eternal judgment and eternal hell is an essential part in preparing one's heart for salvation. In the modern church today, salvation is a matter of "Jesus died for your sins. Believe that, pray this prayer and you’re in." Where's the element of humility? Where is the repentance? Where is the understanding your utterly unworthy of such a gracious gift? Where is the fear of hell and judgement that brings you to the point you cry out "I want to be rescued from this!" That's all missing!
At the time Jude wrote, there existed a book that was known to the Jews, and it was known to the Christians, as 1 Enoch. And, there was even a 2 Enoch. They were pseudepigrapha, meaning they are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author. Enoch, as an apocalyptical figure , fascinated the Jews. Because, as I said earlier, like Elijah, he didn’t die.
And so, the time between the Old and the New Testaments, which was a 400 year period, there were these collections of literary units that came together, under the title of 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch. It is in 1 Enoch, that this prophecy is found. In fact, one-third of 1 Enoch still exists today in the Greek language. It also exists in an Aramaic form, a Latin form and a Ethiopic form.
It is amazing that the prophesy of Enoch, made before the flood, survived and wound up in this book of 1 Enoch. Because there was so much evidence, it became such a strong part of the written and oral tradition, they actually named the book after him in honor of Enoch. As I said, it wasn’t written by Enoch. It is what is called apocryphal, it was a collection of literary units brought together. In fact, by the time Jude wrote his letter, the canon of the Old Testament had long been closed.
It’s not an inspired book,but the book of Enoch was well known in that day, preserved through oral tradition. By the way, Jude does not call it Scripture. He is simply referring to a source that everybody knew as important. It's interesting to mention, that back in verse 9, the story about Michael the archangel disputing with the Devil, arguing about the body of Moses, is another such apocryphal book called The Assumption of Moses. It was accurate, and that’s why Jude quotes it as being accurate. So, the quote from Enoch is used because it completes his portrait of apostate false teachers who face divine judgment at the coming of the Lord.
In verse 15, "To execute judgment
upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds
which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things
which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
And there is the reason for the Judgement, because God is righteous, and He’s going to put an end sin. He’s going to bring in a kingdom of righteousness and, ultimately, eternal righteousness They’re all going to be punished for all their ungodly deeds and all the
harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against the Lord.
Then, in verse 16, "These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage."
He begins with the word "These," again, he is referring back to this group of apostate false teachers. Now, he particularly looks at the sins of their mouths: grumblers, fault finders, speaking arrogantly, flattering people. By attacking His truth, they are attacking the Lord. They complain about it, they resist it. They hate it and so they rebel against it. They refuse to submit to God’s will.This is characteristic of false teachers by the way, they never submit to God’s will or to God’s Word. They speak harsh words against God, against Christ and against the truth.
They are "following after their own lusts;" here he is remarking on their behavior. "They speak arrogantly," meaning the puff themselves up. flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage," that’s how they get money and power, by speaking flattering words. They take your money, always for their personal profit. If you are going to portray yourself as a religious person, and parade yourself as a
preacher, but your heart has never
been changed, then all there is in you is despicable and wicked passion
and ungodly desire.That's the bottom line here.
They don't like the thought of having to give an account for their sins to a Holy God. Just look at their lives, there's no holiness, only passion, lust, and evil desire. In fact, they are far more likely to preach health, wealth and prosperity than holiness, sin and repentance. That's a dead giveaway of a false teacher. We are surrounded by false teachers today. They mock the truth and live by lust.
If you listen long enough to a preacher, you’ll come to know what’s in his heart.
In Closing..
Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said "The new views are not old truths in a better dress, but are deadly
errors with which we can have no fellowship. I cannot endure false
doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat
poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest wear?"
Scripture warns all people, both the saved and the lost, of what is to come. And I want you to know, that day is getting closer, the evidence all around us.
Once Christ returns in power and glory it will be too late.. I strong urge you to surrender now, while there's still time.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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