Jude is greatly incensed because certain wicked men have infiltrated into the Christian congregation, “ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct and [so] proving false to . . . Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4) He then cites warning examples: the Israelites who perished in the wilderness because of their lack of faith; the angels who took on human form to cohabit with women, for which ‘God has reserved them with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the day of judgment’; and inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah who likewise practiced gross immorality and were destroyed.

These men who have sneaked into the Christian congregations are, not only very immoral, but also proud and rebellious. They disregard lordship and speak abusively of glorious ones in the Christian congregation. Even Michael the archangel did not dare to use abusive terms when disputing with the Devil over the body of Moses, but said, “May Jehovah rebuke you.”​—Jude 9.

Continuing, Jude likens these to Cain, who murdered his righteous brother, to Balaam who greedily went after selfish gain, and to Korah who rebelled against Moses in the wilderness, only to be consumed by fire.

Waxing indignant, Jude describes these as treacherous rocks, hidden under the surface of the water; as clouds promising rain but being without water and as trees that were uprooted because of not bearing fruit. They are like wild waves of the sea, foaming up filth and are also like wandering stars, by which no sailor would dare set his course. He further brands or stigmatizes these malcontents as murmurers, complainers, as being motivated by selfish desires, speaking great swelling words, admiring personalities for self-gain, animalistic, having no spirituality. No question about Jude’s hating what is bad, and in doing good service to all Christians by alerting them against such wicked men.​—Jude 11-13, 16.

Having thoroughly exposed these wicked ones and giving warning against them, Jude counsels faithful Christians to keep themselves in God’s love. How? By building themselves up in faith, by prayer and with the help of God’s holy spirit. He further counsels Christians to help those who may have doubts, so as to snatch them out of the fire, as it were, and also to help those whose conduct has been unclean, doing so, however, with fear, lest they be influenced in the wrong way.​—Jude 17-23.

Jude mentions several incidents not recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as Michael’s contending with the Devil over the body of Moses and Enoch’s prophecy. These facts he could have obtained by direct inspiration or it could well be that he had access to reliable sources apart from the Holy Scriptures, which contained Enoch’s prophecy. A parallel may be found in Paul’s reference to certain ones who withstood Moses, which persons are not mentioned in Exodus, and to certain words of Jesus not found in any of the Gospels.​—Acts 20:35; 2 Tim. 3:8.

It might be said that never have Jude’s severe censures been more apropos than now when wickedness abounds and the love of many has grown cold. Because of not appreciating these facts, more than a few have turned the undeserved kindness of God into an excuse for unbridled conduct, or have succumbed to a spirit of rebellion. Truly these facts should impress all dedicated Christians to do their utmost to remain in God’s love and to be on guard against wicked men who may infiltrate the Christian congregation.

Questions From Readers

● Some modern Bibles at Luke 10:1 say that Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples, but my Bible says seventy. Why is there a difference?

The difference results from the fact that ancient manuscript evidence is divided as to the number of disciples Jesus sent out.

Some ancient Greek manuscripts and versions in other languages read “seventy-two” at Luke 10:1, 17, which mentions the sending out and returning of disciples. This evidence includes the codex Vaticanus (1209) of the fourth century, the codex Bezae (Cantabrigensis) of the fifth or the sixth century, the Latin Vulgate and some Syriac versions. On this basis certain