This blog typically shares the insights (usually more documentation-based insights rather than just opinions) of others. These past few years the sharing is the result of imposed Woke-Dem-Marxist tyranny hindering American Liberty, warping American culture and staining Biblical Christianity.
Today’s
share is from a Prophecy
Update Newsletter
delivered to my inbox on 7/8/22. The Newsletter points to a lot of websites. The
post that gained my interest is by Jack Wellman at the website What Christians Want To
Know. Mr. Wellman looks at the Last Days through the lens of
the Epistle of Jude.
The title: “How
the Book of Jude Addresses the Last Days.” There is an
interesting correlation between the days Jude inspired by the Holy Spirit to
pen the Epistle and today’s tyranny. Christians should love the read, the Woke
Sheeple – not so much.
JRH
7/8/22
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How
the Book of Jude Addresses the Last Days
By JACK WELLMAN
[I
could not locate a posting date but Prophecy Update delivered 7/8/22]
The Book of Jude seems as if it’s
almost written for today and it really is, because these are the last days
leading up to the return of Jesus Christ.
The
Last Days
The
Book of Jude seems as if it’s almost written for today, and it really is,
because these are the last days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. To
begin with, the “last days” have been the “last days” for the
last 2,000 years. Since Jesus’ ascension, we have always been living in the
last days. The phrase “last days” or “end times” is very prominent in the New
Testament (Acts 2:17; 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 1:2; James 5:3; 2 Pet 3:3), even though
two centuries later, Jesus has still not came back. Why? We are now and have
been living in the last days since Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, meaning
Jesus could come back at any moment. That is what all ages of the church have
believed and had expectations of. The true church has always had an eager
expectation of the soon return of Christ. The trouble they saw around them
prompted them to believe it was the last days. And that’s as it should be. We
should all be living as if Jesus were coming back this very minute, because, He
could! The Book of Jude is not very long (only one chapter), but its
twenty-five verses have much to say about the last days, and our day today. This
book is strikingly similar to the way it was in Jude’s day too.
Jude
Jude is
the half-brother of Jesus Christ, having the same mother but not the same
father, and the range of the date of this book is incredibly wide, with conservative
scholars placing it between the years 70 to 90 AD. The reason I think the date
is much later is because Jude refers to the Apostle’s predictions for the last
days (Jude 1:18) as having come true (Jude 1:17), but clearly, Jude’s epistle
is just as relevant today as in the day it was written. Jude begins by telling
us who he is, that being “a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of
James” (Jude 1:1), so Jude is a servant of Christ more than His
half-brother. Jesus is not Jude’s brother anymore. He is his Lord and Savior.
The Greek word for servant is actually slave (“doulos”), and there is a huge
difference between being a slave and being a servant of Christ. A servant can
quit their job, get fired, do a poor job, and go home after work, but a slave,
particularly one of Christ’s, is owned by the Master, but the Master is good
and He is merciful, and like a good master, He provides for all of our needs.
Incidentally, in Jude’s day, slaves were more like family members than what we
think of as slaves. They were sometimes adopted into the family. That was never
so with a servant.
The
Original Gospel
Jude
originally wanted to write this letter (book) about one thing and that was
their salvation, but something came up and he had to change the content. This
book is very different from the rest of the New Testament books because it
refers to a later time period than most of the other books do. And you can read
a sense of urgency in Jude’s words, as he says he “was very eager to
write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write
appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to
the saints” (Jude 1:3). Contending for something means fighting for
something, and in this case, it was fighting for the original message (the
gospel) that originally came from Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15). What we are
fighting for is the preservation of the original faith that was once “delivered
to the saints.” This means, it was “once and for all,” and
that’s it.
The
Canon is Closed
No more
revelation is necessary today for God has already (past tense) spoken (Heb
1:1-2), no matter what people say. What God has said in His Word stands and it
is settled in heaven. Please notice that this statement is in the past tense: “once
for all delivered.” It’s enough for “all” and it’s sufficient for all.
Nothing more is needed for us. I’ve heard it said, “If it’s new, it’s not from
God; and if it’s from God, it’s not new,” so “new revelations” trouble me
because we cannot ever be certain of the source. Of Scripture, we can always be
sure! Just like what is happening today in the modern church, “certain
people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this
condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).
Satan’s
Churches
You
shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination“ (Lev
18:22).
2
Affectionate Gals
There
have been and still are satanic churches who have satanic ministers preaching
another gospel (2 Cor 11:14-15), and today, they are even allowing homosexual
marriage and even condoning it. They argue, “Since they love one
another, what is wrong with that,” but remember, Eve loved the
forbidden fruit. Bank robbers love money, so love cannot justify the means.
Many swallow these lies because of those who brought them in came in under the
cover of darkness and have “crept in unnoticed.” They are
subtle and small changes to doctrines at first, but then they can grow, but if
they are wrong on one point, why believe them on the other doctrines. If they
had been noticed, someone would have said something, but that’s why Jude
believes we must contend for the faith originally delivered by Christ and
expounded by the Apostles.
The
enemy is very clever, yearly adding elements to the gospel of Jesus Christ that
were not in the original. They add baptism, works, the sacraments, tithing,
Sabbath observance, or something else they must “do.” It is often, “Jesus +
something.” That means it is not actually the gospel originally delivered (Gal
1:7-9). It can’t be added too because God has already spoken through His
Apostles and Prophets, but most clearly through the Son of God, Jesus Christ
(Heb 1:1-2), and His own hear Him speak clearly and plainly in the Gospels
(John 10:27-28).
Satan’s
Ministers
Since
the date of this book’s writing may have come after most of the Apostles had
died, it makes sense that the prophecies the Apostles gave had been fulfilled.
Jude writes about “the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (Jude 1:17), and what “They said to you, “In the last
time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions” (Jude
1:18). We know it’s not those within the Body of Christ that Jude writes about,
but “these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude
1:20). It is those outside the church of Jesus who infiltrate and try to weaken
the gospel of repentance and faith (Mark 1:15). Looking religious means nothing
to God because it’s not about religion; it’s about a saving relationship with
Jesus Christ. We are reminded that Satan’s own ministers can look like angels
of light (2 Cor 11:4-5), but they only appear that way, because they bring a
message of darkness.
Satan’s
Gospel
…
even the Devil can appear to be a preacher of righteousness … - Apostasy
Presented as Light
A
gospel look-alike that neglects matters of sin, repentance, confession,
sanctification, living in holiness, coming out of this world, being Jesus’
disciple, and doing what Jesus’ disciples would naturally do (Matt 25:35-36).
If the Apostles were here on earth today, they would be appalled at some of the
“buffet-style” religions that claim to be Christian. There is only one way
(John 6:44; Acts 4:12) and not a little of this and a little of that. Without
the whole gospel of repentance and faith (Mark 1:14-15), you have half the
truth, and a half-truth is a whole lie…straight from hell.
Conclusion
We can
be students of prophecy but overlook Jesus. I believe it is still best to focus
on Christ and to be ready for His appearing at any moment and to live that way.
Is Jesus’ return soon? Are we living in the last days? I don’t know to the
first one, but yes to the “last day.” I know a better question: “Have
you put your trust in Christ? Are you ready for His appearing because He could
come at any moment?” If not, there are other prophecies that will come
true someday for you (Dan 12:2-3; Rev 1:7, 20:12-25), so it’s not too late to
repent of your sins and place your trust in the Savior. Do that today, while
it’s still called “today” (2 Cor 6:2). Eternity is a very long time
to be wrong.
Here
is some related reading for you: Book of Jude Commentary: Study and Summary
Resource
– Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®),
Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton,
Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack
Wellman is
a father and grandfather and a Christian author and pastor of Heritage
Evangelical Free Church in Udall, KS & also a Prison Minister. He did his
graduate work at Moody Theological Seminary. His books are include: “Teaching
Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why
Does God Allow Suffering?,“ "The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for
Christ," and “Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies
& the Bible."
JACK
HAS WRITTEN 1229 ARTICLES ON WHAT CHRISTIANS WANT TO KNOW!
READ THEM IN THE ARCHIVE BELOW.
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