Jude 14-15 Enoch and the Judgment of False Teachers
14” It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
I believe this is the only instance in Scripture of the words of a pre-Flood prophet are revealed. In the early chapter of Genesis, we learn that there was a thriving, busy culture on the earth before the great Flood of Genesis that was in some ways similar, and some way very different than our own. This culture had cities, cattle raising, fine arts, education, and manufacturing. Despite its advances and incredibly long lifespans, this antediluvian (pre-Flood) world was destroyed by God for its persistent apostasy from the Lord (see Gen. 6:1-7).
It was during this age that the man Enoch prophesied concerning the future judgment of the Lord that would befall the ungodly. We don’t know where Jude obtained this information about the ministry of Enoch, just as we don’t know from what source the apostle Paul learned the names of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses (2 Tim. 3:8). However, trusting in the divine origin and the trustworthiness of Scripture, we can gain a very clear picture of the reason that the false teacher will receive such an overwhelming, devastating response of judgment for the Lord on the day of judgment: Their ungodliness will incite the Lord to personally intervene with “myriads” of angels, all for one purpose, the judgment of the false teacher.
Enoch used the word ungodly no less than 5 times in this verse. The word describes behavior and speech that issues from a core denial of the authority, demands, and worthiness of God. God will judge these men for their “harsh” words. The Greek word the Jude used to translate this idea is the word from which we derive the medical term sclerosis from. It means a process of hardening, with the resultant inflexibility and brittleness in nature. We’ll look more specifically at the speech of the false teacher when we explore verse 16, but for now we can conclude that when false teacher’s conversation and admonition seems coarse, inflexible and harsh, it is probably indicative of a deeper resolve to fight against God Himself.
Application: Just as God cares very deeply about the behavior of the abusive leader in the church, He also notes the speech, both in content and style. It was another writer in the Bible who wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” (James 3:1-2)
