Jude 5 - 7

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 1:5-7)

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Introduction
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We continue with our study on the letter of Jude. (Link: Introduction, Part 1, and Part 2). Let me provide for us some reminders about this letter. We want to be reminded that the theme of Jude is that "the church must contend for the one true faith once for all delivered to the saints and people of faith must persevere to the end by resisting the false teachers and following the truth." (ESV Study Bible, Introduction to Jude) The purpose for which Jude wrote this letter is found in verse 3, where believers are to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." With thoughtful and careful biblical exegesis, and biblical hermeneutics, we will today examine the three stories that Jude uses in the OT as an example of judgments for apostasy and false teachers for his contemporaries.
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Jude 5 - 7
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Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

After presenting the purpose of his letter, which comes because of false teacher and apostasy, Jude builds his case by reminding his audience about something that they already knew. His audience would most likely be Jewish because he uses OT stories as an example for his contemporaries. 

The first story that he uses is the Exodus. After the Israelites have been rescued from slavery, and after they have crossed through the Red Sea, they are on their way to the Promised Land. The wilderness would be the most dramatic part of the story. The Jews, or the Israelites, disobeyed God and did not believe in Him (for many reasons). Because of their rebellion against God, God said that the same generation (twenty years old and upward) who was led out of Egypt would not see the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb (see Numbers 14:20-38). After having been rescued from Egypt, having followed God's way, and then turning to rebellion against Him and turning away from Him is a form of apostasy. As a result, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. This part of the OT history and narrative Jude uses is an example of an apostasy.

When reading Numbers, it is very obvious that it was God, YHWH who destroyed those who did not believe. His act of judgement is well-defined and reasonable as I have explained briefly. However, Jude says it was "Iesous" (in Greek) that did it. Other translations say it was "the Lord" (kyrios). But, a number of Greek manuscripts have the Greek word for Jesus. It was Jesus who destroyed those who did not believe. Similarly, Paul speaks about a similar point in 1 Corinthians 10:4-10. 

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day

The second example that Jude uses is not clear and is a bit confusing. The first and third example (Sodom and Gomorrah) are more apparent. It is apparent that the angels had been entrusted with a certain authority by God, but they have abandoned their proper dwelling place by rebelling against God. God has kept these beings in eternal chains ever since. Scholars suggest that this event relates to Genesis 6:1-4. Whatever the case is, angels can't be redeemed. Christ did not come to earth to help the angels, but to help the elect (Hebrews 2:16), who are human beings. Therefore, whenever the judgement of the great day is, the are angels destined for destruction. We will elaborate more on this subject in Jude 14-15.

just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.


Jude transitions from the rebellious angels to the event in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18 - 19), where the inhabitants practiced fornication and homosexual acts - "pursued unnatural desire". The people in those cities wanted to have sex with the angels, not with the daughters that Lot wanted to give them to (which was also a horrendous thing). But it does not imply that the men knew that it was angels they were seeking to have sex with. After Abraham rescued Lot, God punished those cities by destroying them with sulfur and fire that came out from the sky. Therefore, Jude associates God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah with the homosexual practices of their inhabitants. They served as an example of those who suffer the punishment from God.
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Application
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This topic is hard to swallow because it speaks about homosexuality, which is a sensitive issue. In the modern "sexual revolution", homosexuality has been accepted and tolerated in our society within a short period of time. Because most people tolerate and accept it, homosexuality is considered to be a "normal" thing. 

Christians struggle with these changes and we are not immune. We are affected by changes in culture in many different ways. Churches are attempting or tempted to re-evaluate their views on homosexuality. Secular society brands the church as homophobic and in err for calling it a sin. Some Christian scholars and Christian activists see the consideration of homosexuality as a sin to be a misunderstanding of what the New Testament teaches on the matter. Because society and culture are changing, they would rationalize the texts in the Bible to make homosexuality an acceptable act and not a sin.

On a wider scope of the teachings of the Bible, Paul teaches that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10). In the example of Jude 7, those who practice homosexuality will also suffer the punishment of eternal fire if they do not repent. 

People who are homosexuals will find this entry offensive and will think I am being intolerant. You may have been hurt by Christians and the churches, such as Westboro Baptist Church. Because of them, you do not want to have anything to do with Christians and the churches, nor with God. 

Let me clarify myself by saying this: I do love you even though we differ. I am called to love my enemies, which I genuinely do. I am not simply talking about homosexuals alone. The Scriptures that I presented above do not only speak about the practice of homosexuality, but also about other sins such as adultery, fornication, idolatry, greed and etc. Those who rebel against God will not inherit eternal life, like the example of the Israelites in the wilderness illustrates. 

People go to hell not simply because they do not believe in Jesus Christ, although that's implied (John 3:36), but because they chose to be there (if you read C.S Lewis' writings) and because they are sinners, since sin separates us from God (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). That's the bottom line. Whether if you are a homosexual, a porn addict, murderer, greedy, selfish, prideful, adulterer, fornicator, and etc (Galatians 5:19-21), you are a sinner who is in dire need of receiving God's love and grace through Jesus Christ. 

The same goes for me. Because of sin, we are all sexually broken one way or the other. However, I found someone who healed and transformed me from being sexually broken to being sexually pure although it may be not be an immediate process.

God can heal and God can transform a person who had been hooked onto pornography into a person who is no longer an addict, which is a very difficult change. God can heal and transform a person who was an alcoholic or a drug-addict into a person who is no longer an addict, which is a very challenging change. God can transform a person who is greedy into person who is giving, which involves a lot of struggle in the change. Surely, God can heal and transform a homosexual into a heterosexual, which may be a struggle and which may take a lot of time. Scripture teaches that in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. An encounter with Christ produces radical transformation to those who did practice those sins. 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.