Jude 1:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

NIV: In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

NASB: Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties.

CSB: In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.

NLT: In the same way, these people — who claim authority from their dreams — live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.

KJV: Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

NKJV: Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

Jude calls the apostates "dreamers," perhaps because they dreamed about ways to indulge their sinful appetites. They may also have claimed spiritual visions as an excuse for their action. Like the wicked inhabitants of Sodom, Gomorrah, and surrounding towns, the apostates disregard the harm their wicked habits cause their bodies. They reject authority, just as the rebellious Israelites rejected Moses' authority. They especially reject the authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the church (Colossians 1:18). It follows that they also reject the authority of those whom God has placed in the churches to teach His Word and to guide His people. The apostates even speak evil of angelic beings, a point continued into the next verse.

Instead of bowing to the authority of God's Word, these apostates teach falsehood. In 2 Timothy 2:16–18 the apostle Paul describes some apostates as indulging in godless chatter. They have wandered so far from the truth that they claim the resurrection has already taken place.

First Timothy 4:1–2 describes the source of the apostates' evil teachings and the wicked character of the apostates. Paul writes: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared."

Jude 1:5–16 describes the nature, errors, and fate of false teachers plaguing the Christian church. Jude's readers seem to have been acquainted with Israel's history. This passage references Old Testament events to help explain the apostates' sins, the danger they pose, and how the Lord will punish them. Jude references the unbelief of Israel after the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt, rebellious angels, the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the dangers of allowing such people to mingle with other believers.

Jude's brief letter describes men at their worst and God at His best. Believers are already on the victorious side! Those who mock God's truth and who follow their own desires all while claiming to be Christians, are the most dangerous kind of unbelievers. These persons pose a danger to themselves and to any Christians they might influence. In response, Christians need to focus on understanding the truth of God's written Word and submitting to His will.

Jude is a single-chapter letter which reflects earlier warnings about apostates and their false teachings. Other passages of Scripture describe evil men who taught that Jesus was not fully human or fully God (1 John 2:22; 4:1–3), that God's grace allowed them to live immorally (2 Peter 2; Romans 6:1, 15), that Jesus blood was not an adequate sacrifice (Galatians 1:6–9; Hebrews 3:12–19; 10:19), and sinners gain a right standing in God's sight by keeping the law of Moses (Galatians 5:4, 7–9). Jude's letter combats false teaching and exhorts readers to remain faithful to the Lord.

The book of Jude is a letter written by a half-brother of Jesus, likely later than AD 66–67, which was after 2 Peter was written. Its placement immediately before the book of Revelation is appropriate. This letter warns about false religion and evil men, whom Revelation describes as maliciously affecting political and religious conditions.