Jude 14-19

Americans Who Identify as Christian

• 2007: 78%

• 2014: 71%

• 2023: 62%

• 2025: 64%

• Only 75% of Christians in America believe the Bible is the Word of God.

• 40% believe it should be interpreted literally.

• 36% believe it should never be interpreted literally.

• 18% believe it is an entirely man-made work.

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Jude 14–15

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’”

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Who is Enoch?

• The son of Jared (Genesis 5:18)

Significant for Two Reasons:

1. He is the father of Methuselah

2. He was taken up by God (Genesis 5:22–24; Hebrews 11:5)

• Only mentioned one other time in the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 1:3)

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What is the Book of 1 Enoch?

• Written between early 3rd century BC and late 2nd century BC

1 Enoch 1:9 –

“He comes with his myriads and with his holy ones, to make judgment against all, and he will destroy all the ungodly, and convict all flesh about all works of their ungodliness which they in an ungodly way committed and the harsh words which they have spoken, and about all which the ungodly sinners have spoken evil against him.”

The Book of the Watchers

1 Enoch 7:1 –

“And they taught them sorceries and enchantments and root-cutting and explained the plants to them.”

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Three Possible Conclusions

1. 1 Enoch should be included in the canon of Scripture.

2. 1 Enoch should not be included in the canon of Scripture, and because Jude quotes it and qualifies it as prophecy, neither should Jude be included in the canon of Scripture either.

3. The verses of 1 Enoch that Jude quotes are true and therefore fit within the narrative of the canon. 1 Enoch as a whole should not be included in the canon of Scripture, but it should be viewed with greater importance than other historical works.

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Biblical Examples of Using Extra-Biblical Sources

Acts 17:26–27 – God’s sovereignty over nations and their boundaries.
Acts 17:28 – Paul quotes Aratus (3rd cent. BC), Phaenomena 5

Titus 1:12 – Paul quotes Epimenides (6th cent. BC)

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Prophecy

“Prophesied,” Gk. προφητεύω (propheteuō) – “to carry out the actions of a prophet, to foretell.”

• 1 Peter 1:10

• Matthew 15:7–8

John 11:49–51 – Caiaphas unknowingly prophesies the death of Jesus.

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Augustine of Hippo

“Let us omit, then, the fables of those scriptures which are called apocryphal… For though there is some truth in these apocryphal writings, yet they contain so many false statements that they have no canonical authority. We cannot deny that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, left some divine writings, for this is asserted by the Apostle Jude in his canonical epistle.”
(City of God, Book XV, ch.23)

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Jude 16–19

Jude 16 – “These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.”

Jude 17–18 – “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’”

Jude 19 – “It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

Marks of False Teachers:

1. They are divisive

2. They are worldly – Gk. ψυχικός (psychikos), “pertaining to physical or animal instincts”

3. They are devoid of the Spirit

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TAKEAWAYS

1. All truth is God’s truth.

2. You can trust the contents of your Bible.