What Jesus' Brother Jude Wanted Us to Know | Verse 8, Part 2 | Don't Blaspheme the Angels or
In our last post, we saw Jude unveil the real source of the false teachers’ twisted theology—their dreams. It is precisely for this reason that Jude made the unquestionable statement at the beginning of his letter that the faith has been delivered once and for all to the saints and we need only contend for it. Jude is affirming that the canon of Scripture is closed. Divine revelation has sufficiently provided everything we need to know, so this precludes the possibility of any man or woman hearing actual divine revelation from God, especially something otherwise; something that has not already been written down in Scripture.
Indeed, God the Holy Spirit can certainly “bring to remembrance” the things we have been taught from the Word of God already much like he did for the disciples in remembering what they were taught by the Son of God (Jn 14:26). After all, it is His Word that is a lamp to our feet, light for our path, and, when stored up in our hearts, will keep us from sinning against Him (Ps 119:11, 105). It goes without saying, then, that the Holy Spirit will actively use His own Word to influence us, convict us, rebuke us, exhort us, and comfort us. It pierces the soul and divides the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It is a living and active Word (Heb 4:12).
If Jude did not believe this doctrine of what later came to be known as sola Scriptura—that is, Scripture alone—then he would not have had the conviction and gumption to write in the first place. We, Jude says, rely on the Word of God alone—objective truth—and not on the subjective dreams of men who contradict the truth.
“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” | Jude 8
It is from these dreams, Jude says, that the false teachers draw their own authority to justify their own whimsies. Relying on their dreams they defile the flesh. Relying on their dreams they reject authority. Relying on their dreams they blaspheme the glorious ones.
The first two characteristics are immediately understood by the context. Jude just finished outlining the unbelief of the Israelites, the rebellion of the fallen angels against God’s authority, and the sensuality and sexual immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. For these things they were destroyed, judged, and damned to eternal hell, and yet . . .
And yet . . . the false teachers of the modern day, relying on their own subjective, theological spin, do the exact. same. things. They defile the flesh—indeed “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” (v. 4)—and reject authority as is clear in their reliance on their own dreams, rather than the Word of God.
The third flaw of the false teachers is seen in how they “blaspheme the glorious ones.” This last part of verse eight is unfamiliar territory for the average reader and deserves some explanation.
The word ‘blasphemy’ is not a religious word only, however it is usually only used in a religious context. The Greek word in use here is transliterated as blasphemeo and means to speak reproachfully, rail at, or revile. A helpful breakdown of the Greek looks like this:
Blapto (verb)—to hurt, harm, injure
Pheme (noun)—fame or report
Makes sense.
To blaspheme, then, is to slander and revile someone, doing injury to their reputation in the process. It is no light matter.
Jude says that the false teachers “blaspheme the glorious ones”. What is in view here?
The Greek word for ‘glorious ones’ is doxa, which is actually an opinion, judgement, or view—whether good or bad—but in the New Testament is always used in a good sense, resulting in praise, honor, and glory. It is a high opinion, or a high view, that results in glorification. The word can also be translated simply as splendor, brightness, or as a most glorious condition, or most exalted state. The NASB translates it to “majesties” in Jude’s case.
In truth, doxa appears about 168 times in the New Testament and roughly 150 of them are translated to “glory”.
It is the angels—be they elect or fallen—that Jude has in view here, which is further established by his using both the archangel Michael and the devil as examples in the next verse. Essentially, a usurpation is taking place by the false teachers of all that is divine and glorious. These do the works of their father the devil (Jn 8:44). They are some of the many antichrists that have come into the world (1 Jn 2:18), emulating their true master, the Antichrist himself, “who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship” (2 Thess 2:4). False teachers know of no other authority but their own.
The general principle, then, is that there is an inappropriateness and sinful arrogance involved when one haughtily slanders, or pronounces railing judgements against, spiritual beings. Being that they exist in a higher realm of glory, so to speak, we are immediately rendered inadequate to presumptuously contend with them on our own authority. It is God’s prerogative alone to wield judgmental authority over any of them.
Thus, in the next verse, we read: “when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous [or railing] judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’” (v. 9). We will consider this particular verse in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
David, in Psalm 8:5, says that we were made “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” If the archangel—that is, chief angel—Michael, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemy against the devil himself, then who are we, being lower than the regular angels, to presume an authority and importance that moves us to do what Michael would not?
One can’t help but think of the wildly popular Christian film War Room. In a climactic scene, the main character is walking through her house confronting the devil:
“I don’t know where you are, devil, but I know you can hear me. You have played with my mind. And had your way long enough. No more. You are done . . . Go back to Hell where you belong.”
The scene is emotional and captivating and, granted, the character does name the Name of Jesus in her rebuke, but this notion of direct devil-denunciation is not something we are commanded or encouraged to do. In fact it is clearly repudiated by Jude.
Does the Bible say, “Rebuke the devil and he will flee from you”? No, it says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” | James 4:7
The Greek word for ‘resist’ is anthistemi, which means to set one’s self against something, or to withstand and resist—to stand fixed.
I can’t help but recall Isaiah’s words, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (7:9), and then remember that our faith is the shield of the armor of God with which we can “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Eph 6:16). This is our God-given tactic—not demon chasing.
We really have to be careful that we don’t assume some type of power over spiritual beings that is at our disposal. Indeed, while “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,” this does not then imply that we have power over spiritual forces in a directly assertive way. We must overcome by withstanding and resisting. There is a difference.
Jude makes it clear that to presume the right to issue personal and direct rebukes to spiritual beings is delusional. The precious gift of the Holy Spirit—the Helper—only gives us the ability to resist the devil as well as enjoy God’s divine protection from the spiritual forces of darkness as He sees fit, e.g. Job is a case in point. We ought not speak against any “glorious ones”, that is, elect or fallen angels, and so assume we are more important, powerful, and mighty than we actually are.
We do not contend directly with devils and we certainly do not speak against the holy messengers of God, nor, as is obvious, God Himself.
Such, Jude says, is the arrogant and wholly blasphemous nature of the false teachers and thus they “blaspheme all that they do not understand” as we will see later in verse 10.
We will cover more of this topic in the next couple of posts as we consider Jude's example of Michael and the devil as well as things like the disciples' authority over casting out demons and how this is to be considered in light of what Jude is saying.
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In Christ Alone,
Ben
