ENOCH’S PROPHESY - VERSES 14-16 Verse 14: “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones” Verse 15: “to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’.” Jude reminds his readers in verses 14 & 15 that Enoch had prophesied judgment would come. It’s interesting to note here that it is believed that the “holy ones” (or saints) could be the angels (Zech. 14:5); the raptured church; or all the inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem - angels, the Church, and spirits of Old Testament & Tribulation saints. These are referred to as armies in Rev. 19:14 (read). Now, this quote was taken directly from the Book of Enoch in chapter 1, verse 9; which is believed to have been written around the second and/or first centuries before Christ. Most theologians believe that Enoch could not possibly have written the Book of Enoch, because it contains information that was only known, or in existence, AFTER the flood; and Enoch was raptured 700 years before the flood. EVEN SO, Enoch was a prophet; so God could have shown him all these things.- And Enoch’s prophecy could have been preserved by tradition (passed down through the generations). But there are so many false statements in the Book of Enoch itself which a true prophet of God would not have written, that this leads me to believe the book was not written by Enoch, and that’s why it was not included in the canon of Scripture. Whoever did write the Book of Enoch could have included the phrase written in Jude verses 14 & 15 through knowing about it from preservation by preceding generations. In summation of verses 14 & 15, we find the oldest prophecy uttered by a prophet of Christ’s “coming to judge” (second coming) - prophesied by Enoch before the Great Flood of Noah’s day. Notice the word “ungodly” is repeated four times. It attests to the fact that the will and desires of these evil men and seducers were their only rule and law. They were angry at everything that happened; and never really pleased with their own state and condition. And, worst of all, they murmured against God. Let’s look at a little background here on Enoch: His father was Jared. He was a member of “the generations of Adam” (Gen. 5:1), the incredibly long-lived group that extended from Adam to Noah. Jude verse 14 specifically mentions that Enoch was the seventh from Adam. - This was a significant number to the Jews, as there was sacredness in the number seven. At the age of 65 Enoch became the father of Methuselah (who was the grandfather of Noah), whom we know to be the oldest man mentioned in the Bible at 969 years (Gen. 5:27). Now, we know that Enoch was a very Godly man who “walked with God” (read Gen. 5:21-24); and he was taken directly to Heaven at 365 years of age (a relatively short life-span for those days), because his faith was pleasing to God (read Heb. 11:5). Jude Verse 16: “These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” Jude then goes on to describe the false teachers once again: - They are grumblers and faultfinders; - They follow their own evil desires; - They boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. So these men were like many of the typical politicians of today, weren’t they? Jude completes his denunciation of the false teachers as “grumblers” (gongystai). In I Corinthians 10:10, the related verb gongyzo is used by Paul of the rebels in the wilderness (speaking of the Israelites when they were wandering around in the desert for 40 years). Jude also calls the false teachers “faultfinders” (mempsimoiroi), a term that underlines their critical attitude and habitual complaining. (It’s interesting to note that these specific words gongystai and mempsimoiroi occur only in this Book of Jude in the New Testament.) “They follow their own evil desires”, might also be translated “they live by their passions”. “They boast about themselves” or, literally, “their mouth speaks haughty words”. “They flatter others for their own advantage” (or for their own self-interest), reinforces Jude’s stress on the corruptness of the false teachers. Here the literal interpretation of the Greek text - “honoring faces for the sake of advantage” - gives us an expressive picture of what Jude was saying.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 05:47:49 +0000
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