12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea,foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude begins by affirming the practice of ekklesia ('church') as eating a meal together. If the 'love feast' was not ekklesia but 'any old meal' then we could say, 'so what! False teachers eat things. What's the crime?' Jude is saying that the false teachers take part in the covenant meal, unashamedly. The covenant meal was the 'this do...' Jesus commanded and is for believers. It is eaten together as a remembrance of Jesus' completed work and his return. That they eat with believers is identifying with them... Jude has already pointed out the anathema (4-7) of them even being alongside the true children of God. Then the descriptions begin:
'Shepherds who only feed themselves'
God appoints shepherds to feed the 'flock.' These are the genuine God-equipped facilitators who have been sent to spiritually feed believers. The false teachers may have an element of data to share among the believers but the true motive is to relish in the position and the benefits of status. Jude confirms this later in verse 16. The ekklesia love feast was seen as a physical action of a spiritual principle. We partake of the shared food as we all partake of the shared bread of life... Jesus Christ (John 6:35). False teachers are all about their marketing of self.
'Clouds without rain, blown along by the wind'
Jude wants us to recall Proverbs 25:14 - 'Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.' The idea here is that a cloud can be seen yet not deliver what one would expect from a cloud. So is the false teacher: You can physically see the 'teacher' but what is delivered is not the expected sound Biblical teaching. To further explore the scriptural meanings some have used 'rain' to mean the outpouring of God's grace and 'wind's' to mean 'spirits.' It is also the case that clouds used in scripture are directed by God i.e. the cloud like a fist in Elijah's day. False teachers appear to be legitimate but fail to deliver God's agenda.
'Autumn trees, without fruit, uprooted and twice dead'
Trees in scripture often reference people, and people- trees. The Cedars of Lebanon is an example and the blind man healed saw people like 'trees.' But these trees are like the Autumn trees that have no fruit. Fruit is the marks of God's life issuing forth into the world. The false teachers have none, but not only that! We must turn to Psalm 1 to find a tree planted by streams of water. Its root would be in the stream and feeding from it. Jude tells us the false teachers are uprooted, not feeding from their source and twice dead. Twice dead refers to the first and second death unbelievers experience. believers may die once but escape the second death because of the completed work of Calvary. False teachers do not show Godly fruit, their only use, like a dead tree, is for firewood!
'Wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame'
When we come across wild waves we can go to several places. Immediately reference the storm that squalled while Jesus was asleep in the boat. I also think of Psalm 77 when Asaph likens his inner turbulence to the raging seas. I'm also thinking of the flood waters. All these involve raging waves and the false teachers are intent on capsizing the faith of others. Psalm 23 states that the Lord leads us beside still waters and a leader would be seeking the fellow brother or sister to be sourced in Jesus, the prince of peace. Peter reminds us that in the last days many will follow their sensual desires. Jude agrees and hints that their own shameful fleshly motives cause the turbulent waters. False teachers bring storms instead of calming them because the flesh loves drama.
'Wandering stars, for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever'
With this I am drawn to two places. Firstly the stars in Genesis mark the times and seasons. So they have order even though the detail of how this works is not clear. Secondly I go to Abraham and how each star represented a believer. Such is the promise to a believer their entire life is in Christ and led by Him. So the idea of wandering doesn't last long for a believer. We are brought into line quickly by our Lord who cares for us. The false teachers are not in Christ, are not represented by the celestial array but do their own thing masquerading as the genuine article. False teachers are self perpetuated wanderers who look like they are children of the promise yet are actually doomed.
The ways of a false teacher as told by Jude:
- They do not prioritise the Lord or His people over self
- They do not issue forth the Lord's agenda
- They do not demonstrate a fruitful journey
- They do not promote peace, unity and love
- They do not bear the marks of the believers journey.
Jude has us again search around the scriptures because he wants us to see that his observations are scripture, not just an opinion. We see the order of things when God has his way and then the disorder of the false teachers. In our modern Christian interpretation of the Bible we may feel Jude is being over dramatic. Jude valued and rejoiced in the beloved children of God. Somehow we are less celebratory about our brothers and sisters. A by-product of this is we are less concerned about false teachers. It is my observation (and I want to be wrong about this) that the element of false teaching is much more prevalent in today's church than we think. Like I don't see demons behind every lamp post, I don't see a false teacher in everyone who disagrees with me. What I do see is leaders chasing profile, importance, status, significance, prosperity, offerings, opulence and reputation. I hope there is a repentance because according to Jude, God is not taking prisoners.
Gary Ward
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