Jude

Jude 1:1-2
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied."

Some Christians believe that both James and Jude were Jesus' brothers, referencing Matthew 13:55-56
"Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"
Whilst others believe that the term "brother" could mean "cousin" or even "friend"

Like so many of the Epistles, Jude is concerned with warning against those who are spreading false doctrine.

Jude 1:3-4
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ"

Core, or Korah as some other translations name him, rebelled against Moses and was destroyed, along with his co-conspirators, when God sent down fire from Heaven.

Jude 1:11
"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core"

Jude also recalls the rebellious angels who were cast into Hell, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which were destroyed by God.

Jude 1:5-7
"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire"

Even Michael, one of the most powerful angels, did not jeer or mock his enemy. But these false teachers mock and curse anything they do not understand.

Jude 1:9-10
"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves"

Like clouds which bring no rain, or trees without fruit, the false teachers promise much but deliver nothing.

Jude 1:12-13
"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever"

Jude 1:14-15
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

The quotation is thought to be taken from I Enoch 1:9 which exists in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but is not a part of the Old Testament

These evil men care only about earthly pleasures and are not interested in God.

Jude 1:17-19
"But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit"

We should live in faith and, whilst waiting for eternal life through Jesus, we should be kind to those who argue with us and help those who doubt God, hoping that we can help them to find Him.

Jude 1:20-23
"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh"

Only through God, who keeps us from slipping, can we come sinless into His presence.

Jude 1:24-25
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen"