Rebellion and God's Judgment in the Book of Jude
________________________________________________________________________________ BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 170 (October–December 2013): 454–77 REBELLION AND GOD’S JUDGMENT IN THE BOOK OF JUDE Herbert W. Bateman IV UDE’S SHORT LETTER, tucked away at the end of the New Tes- tament, offers a straightforward theological point frequently J overlooked, yet pertinent to both his and the present time.1 Writing with a sense of urgency (v. 3),2 Jude tackled directly the issue of rebellion and the subsequent outcome for anyone who re- bels against God. Jude’s theological concern about rebellion and its Herbert W. Bateman is an author and teacher who resides in Leesburg, Indiana. 1 Several reasons suggest why Jude’s epistle tends to be overlooked. First, Jude’s insulting tone (vv. 8–16) and his evident displeasure over the godless when he de- clared, “Damnation to them” (oujai; aujtoi'", v. 11) can be unsettling. Second, words interwoven in the letter like “I keep” (thvrew, vv. 1, 6, 13, 21) and “immorality” (ajsevlgeia, v. 4; ejkporneuvsw, v. 7) are finely nuanced and important for understand- ing Jude’s argument. His ambiguous use of “ungodly” (ajsebei'") and “these people” (ou|toi, vv. 8, 10, 12, 16, 19) is difficult to apply to twenty-first-century believers. Third, Jude’s references to Old Testament situations (e.g., Exodus generation, an- gels, and Gentile urbanites, vv. 5–7) as well as Old Testament people (e.g., Cain, Korah, Balaam, v. 11) and his application of them to his generation may seem for- eign. Fourth, including nonbiblical material like 1 Enoch (vv. 14–15) and The As- sumption (Testament) of Moses (v.
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