READ: Jude 5-7: But I want to remind you, … that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels … as Sodom and Gomorrah… are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jude brings forward three examples on behalf of Christ to illustrate the seriousness and horror of false teaching, while also reminding us of God’s judgment over false teachers. These are examples from Biblical history that the readers know well—examples included in God’s Word as warnings for us.
All of history testifies to God’s faithfulness, His redeeming love, but also His righteous judgment. The false teachers in Jude’s time closely resembled those wicked creatures from these examples.
The first example concerns the people of Israel, who were so graciously delivered by God from Egypt but behaved so wickedly in the wilderness. This became evident when almost the entire nation responded with unbelief and rebellion to the report of the ten spies (Num. 14:29; 1 Cor. 10:5).
God destroyed them as a result. How differently things would have turned out had they listened in faith to Joshua and Caleb!
The second example is the fall in the angelic world, where the devil and his followers, once servants, rebelled against God and became demons (2 Pet. 2:4). As punishment, they are reserved for eternal fire (Rev. 20:10).
The third example is the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with two nearby cities. In Lot’s time, their wickedness and immorality had progressed so far that they were burned with fire from heaven and completely overturned.
Even today, only a barren, lifeless salt plain remains. This stands as a warning to us never to abandon God’s standards, never to act immorally with God’s created order, and never to blaspheme God’s name!
Do you trust in God when godlessness increases?
Sing: Ps. 18:1,2