General Information | |
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| Name | This letter is named for its author, Jude. |
| Author and Date | The author of this short letter is named in the first verse: "Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." (vs. 1). Although Jude could have named himself the brother of Jesus, he humbly called himself the slave of Jesus instead. It is impossible to exactly date the letter. There are no clear events or issues in the letter that point to an exact date. Therefore it is possible the letter was written anywhere between A.D. 65 and 80. It may have been written before 70, since Jude doesn't mention the destruction of Jerusalem. |
| Audience | Jude wrote to "those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Christ" (vs. 1). Although these could be Christians anywhere at any time, Jude called his audience "beloved" three times, evidencing a close relationship with them. He also used Hebrew history and Jewish pseudepigrapha (the Book of Enoch), pointing to a Jewish-Christian audience. Beyond this designation, it is impossible to more precisely identify Jude's audience. |
| Message and Occasion | Jude's message is standing against false teachers. He identified them, their errors, warns of their impending doom, and encourages his audience to holiness. Jude says he had planned to write on salvation, but apparently got a report of false teachers infiltrating the congregation and threatening to lead them astray. He wanted to blunt these false teachers and encourage his readers not to fall into their ways. |
Key Information | |
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| Key Verses | Vss. 20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Vss. 24-25 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, |
Important Theology in Jude | |
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| Certain Destruction of Heretics | Jude teaches that the Lord will "execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." |
| Holy Living | Jude admonished his readers to "keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" by building themselves up in holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. |
General Outline | |
Greeting (Vss. 1-2)Warning Of False Teachers (Vss. 3-4)Examples of False Teachers in the Past (Vss. 5-11)
Present False Teachers (Vss. 12-19)
Admonition for True Believers (Vss. 20-23)
Benediction (Vss. 24-25) |
Used by permission. ©2017 H. Wayne House, Charting the New Testament. All Rights Reserved.