 So in Jude verse 5, reading to verse 11, Jude writes, I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise, also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries, yet Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know. And whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves, voted them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Now, Jude had just said, contend for the faith that has been one time for all time delivered. Now the reason he had said to contend for the faith, as we've already seen, is because false teachers have already begun to secretly slip in to the church. Jude in verse 4 said they have crept in unnoticed. Now they were able to do this because, and this is the key and this is my introduction, because the church was not awake, the church was not on the alert. Now slipping in unnoticed is a common tactic of the enemy. If he cannot destroy by an open attack, he will attempt to destroy by joining. Now in Matthew 13 verses 24 through 30, Jesus told him another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered. Because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters, first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. Well, later on in chapter 13 verses 36 through 41, he left the crowd and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. He answered, the one who sowed the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. See, sometimes we say, you know, aren't we supposed to be more kind, et cetera, et cetera. Jesus was very severe about this. Jesus was very strong about this. He's speaking about a judgment that comes on false teachers. In the days of Jude, false teachers were infiltrating and what they were doing is they were bringing believers into bondage. As we've already seen, some were mixing Jewish law with God's grace that was revealed in the gospel. And that was opposed to the message of grace found in the gospel. And Paul had responded to this and he clearly identified what was happening. In the book of Galatians chapter two, verse four, he says, this matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. So Paul had told the Philippians, I have been set for the defense of the gospel. He was very quick to correct the error that was creeping in because he had been set for the defense. Well, Jude is writing about these who are entering into the church and he had pointed out in verse four that they were long ago marked out for this condemnation. When he said they were long ago marked out, the words marked out means they were designated beforehand. It was mentioned in the Old Testament. In second Peter two, verse three, it says their condemnation has long been hanging over them. Their destruction has not been sleeping. And so to illustrate the judgment of these false teachers, Jude provides three examples in history. He begins with the judgment of the unbelieving Jews in the desert. He continues with God's judgment on fallen angels and then he concludes with God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. And these are examples, if you take notes, these are examples that are demonstrating that rebellion and disobedience will always result in God's judgment. So he begins in verse five, I want to remind you, though you once knew this. The word remind, very basic word, I want to call to your call to your memory. You one time for all time had a precise knowledge of what I'm saying to you. He's saying you are thoroughly acquainted with all that I want to say. This is not something fresh or new. This is something you're aware of. And therefore I desire to stir up your memories and I want to remind you so that it may stir you up. Now that's by the way, that's what a genuine teacher does. They stir up memories. They remind people of what they already know. In second Peter one verse 13, Peter said it like this. He said, I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body. Because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. A genuine teacher is going to remind you, remind you and remind you. They lay a foundation, they continue to build on that foundation. You are reminded constantly of the basic things. That's what teaching is intended to do. And so what he's doing here is he's reminding them. He's reminding them of biblical history, but he's also reminding them of the apostles doctrine. And so to illustrate God's judgment, he begins by reminding them of how God had judged in the past. He's reminding them of things that they already knew. He's sharing with them the things that they have learned about. And so the ones that he's using here that are being judged are the ones who rebelled against God. So keep that in mind. That's what he's speaking about rebellion and judgment. That's what he's speaking of as we go through these portions of scripture. So first he speaks of those who are rescued from Egyptian bondage. Now I'll remind you of a few things you already know. God provided Moses to deliver the children of Israel when they were in Egyptian bondage. God had given to the nation of Israel a deliverer. He was to bring an entire nation out of Egypt. Now the Jews were in Egypt according to Exodus 12 verse 40 for 430 years. And over time, over time a Pharaoh had arisen. You see, Joseph had been used by the Lord, had come into Joseph one of the 12 sons, had come in and was used by the Lord to preserve the nation of Israel. And the nation of Israel began to reside in Egypt. We all know this. But what happened is a Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph. A Pharaoh arose who didn't regard what Joseph had done all those years before. And what happens as you read the book of Exodus is the nation is oppressed. And so what happens also is the people who are now in bondage and are going through such terrible times, they began to groan. And God raised up a leader by the name of Moses. And God said to Moses, I've heard the groaning of my people and I'm going to use you to deliver them. And so God brought 10 plagues upon the Egyptians. And it's interesting when you read the book of Exodus and all, it makes it very clear that he was actually bringing the plagues upon the Egyptians and their gods. He was making a judgment against the gods of Egypt. In Exodus 12 verse 12, it says on that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals. I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And so when the judgment came upon those false gods, the Jews were released. But as they were making their journey into freedom, they began to murmur. And their murmuring resulted in judgment upon those 20 years of age and above. In the book of Numbers 14 verse 29 it says in this wilderness your bodies will fall. Every one of you 20 years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Why were they dealt with in that way? Because they refused to believe. They saw what God did to deliver them, yet they refused to trust him. They were physically saved, but they were never spiritually saved. Why? Because they were filled with unbelief. How do we know that? Hebrews 3 verses 15 through 19 as has just been said today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt and with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest? If not those who disobeyed, so we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief. And so God brings judgment on them because they had rejected God as their savior. They rebelled against Moses and refused to believe what God had said he would do. And so he begins to illustrate how the people are worthy of judgment because of rebellion and unbelief. He's also pointing out that false teachers can enter into the church and actually foster that attitude amongst the people. He moves on into verse six. He says the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode. He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. So he continues with this theme of rebellion and judgment and he speaks now of angels. Now angels are powerful beings. They're created by God. They occupy positions of power. In Hebrews one verse seven in speaking of the angels, he says he makes his angels wind his servants flames of fire. Now when he's speaking in this way, I'm going to develop this for a moment here. It says the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode. Who would he be speaking of? He'd be speaking of the angels in the book of Genesis. These angels had left their assigned dwelling place. What they did is they abandoned their positions of power and dignity and they fell. When you read Genesis in chapter six verses one through four. It reads it came to pass when men began to multiply in the face of the earth and daughters were born to them. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful and they took wives for themselves. Of all whom they chose and the Lord said my spirit shall not strive with man forever for he is indeed flesh. Yet his day shall be 120 years. There were giants on the earth in those days and also afterward when the sons of God came into the daughters of men and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old men of renown. He's speaking about this particular sin where the angels forsook heaven. They actually came and produced a hybrid race if you will. In doing so God judged them rebellion. They left their first estate. They left the place they were supposed to be. They forsook heaven and the positions they were created to actually hold. And now seeing that they forsook heaven again he's using this as an illustration of rebellion and judgment. There now he says prisoners and chains they live in darkness these particular angels. Second Peter chapter two verse four God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell. Delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved into judgment. So he's speaking concerning rebellion and judgment. They didn't continue to be faithful even though they knew judgment would fall upon them. Now what is the judgment? The judgment he's speaking about is when both angels and men receive eternal doom. When you read the book of Revelation and you get to chapter 20 verse 10. It says the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and a brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. It speaks of eternal judgment. I remember a guy who was in our church many years ago as a matter of fact probably as good 40 years ago. And he was married to one of the women who was coming to our church at that time. And I was speaking to him after a church service. And I forget why he brought this up but he did and as we were speaking together he said he said this to me he said I know I'm going to go to hell. I know I'm going to. And he had this real kind of nonchalant way of about it. I know I'm going to hell. He said all my friends are too. And so we'll just party. And I still remember looking at him and just kind of I said you really don't know what you're saying. You haven't got a clue what you're saying. Eternal punishment. Eternal judgment. That's not something to take lightly. And yet many do to this day. Many will say that we're kind of what we are as Christians as we're backwards. We believe in myths and fables and things of that nature and they refuse to believe. They refuse to understand that the word of God is true. And very often the false teachers and those who have infiltrated churches will corrupt the teachings and cause people to have no awareness of a final judgment. Jehovah's Witnesses do that. Jehovah's Witnesses enter in and they will say that there's no such place as hell. And even the Seventh Day Adventists will do something like that. They'll speak about the soul being in soul sleep or whatever. They don't really see a final judgment. And yet what we have here is we have a very clear statement that God has God has a place of judgment and that he reserves these particular angels were reserved. But it's a place where the the beast is going to be where where the the devil is going to be and all those who have rejected the Lord. And so he uses that as an example again rebellion and judgment. And then in verse seven he gives the example of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities. He says that Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh are set forth as an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Sodom and Gomorrah. Notice with me he says that Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them. Sodom and Gomorrah were judged. We know those two cities. But there were surrounding cities that also were judged. Deuteronomy 29 23. The whole land is brimstone salt and burning. That is not sown nor does it bear nor does any grass grow there like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adam and Zebuim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and his wrath. So it was actually not just Sodom and Gomorrah, but there were two other cities mentioned. Adam and Zebuim. Now what is it that they did? We'll take a moment to look at this. He says they gave themselves over to sexual immorality. They went after strange flesh. There are churches quote unquote that have been established that will say that the judgment that God brought on Sodom and Gomorrah and these other cities was a judgment on their inhospitality. Before my sister Rebecca got saved, my sister Rebecca lived as a lesbian, an open lesbian in open relationships for quite a number of years. And she came and spoke to me before she was saved. And we were having a conversation. And she said, you know, Dave, she says, I'm trying to go to church. And to me, I thought, well, you know, I'm good. I want you to hear the gospel and she says, but I can't go to the church. I says, why not? She says, and she named the church. It was called the Metropolitan Community Church, I think metropolitan. She says, I go because I want to hear about God and things. She says, but the people who are surrounding me in the pews are busy being sexually active during the church services. She said, and she said, it's just not a place for me. Well, thank God, because ultimately she did come to faith in Christ, served the Lord. She's married now and God is using her in wonderful ways. But homosexuality in many places has been accepted and it's come in through false teaching. Years ago, I was invited to go to meet when a certain proposition was being debated here in California. And the congresswoman who represented our area had invited several of the area pastors to join together for, she wanted to have conversation with us. And so we went to this particular place. It wasn't a Christian church. It was a different kind of assembly. It wasn't a Christian church. It was actually a cult. And that's where we met. I still remember as we were seated in there in this place that there were quite a number of pastors and representatives of what is called the faith community in the area. And we were all seated in there and people were speaking and they were giving their, they were presenting their thoughts concerning whether homosexuality was something to be acceptable in the church and all. And I didn't say anything. I sat there quietly for a good hour or more. And finally, finally, somebody's, they opened it up. They gave me opportunity to speak and I shared and I said homosexuality is the sin. It is something that God forgives. I went into that, shared with them, but you can't accept it. You can't, you can't accept homosexuality as being a proper way of life because it's contrary to nature. And God has spoken of judgment against those who practice such a sin. But God is redeeming God. God gave his son Christ and he gave the gospel. I shared how Christ forgives you of your sin, every sin. And then I said, you know, my sister Rebecca lived as an open homosexual for a number of years. I said, but you know, God grabbed hold of my sister and forgave her. Well, the woman who was hosting, quote unquote, the pastor of that and her assistant, the assistant was a lesbian. And so the, the assistant got all freaked out. You know, she was upset about it. And so, you know, when someone gets upset, you know what, so she was, she was upset. And then this guy sitting behind me, I'll never forget this. He, he spoke after me and he said, homosexuality is no big deal. He said, it's only mentioned in the scriptures. I think he said it's only mentioned in scriptures like five times. And I turned to him and I looked at him and I said, how many times does God have to tell you until you listen? All he needs to do is say it once. But if he said it more than once, he obviously is emphasizing something. And so it became, you know, kind of a guy, it was kind of loud for a moment there. But the bottom line is, is these sins have entered into the church to the point where people are beginning to think that it's unkind to even address them. To even give you what the word of God says. And you have it very clearly here, Sodom and Gomorrah. Now they gave themselves notice over to sexual immorality and they went after strange flesh. Now homosexuality isn't the only reason that God judged the cities. Ezekiel 16, 49 and 50 gives more insight. It says this was the sin of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. They did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. So the sins of Sodom, pride, apathy, complacency, idleness, unconcerned for the needy as well as sexual immorality. So Jude is directly speaking of sexual immorality and notice strange flesh. Now when he speaks of strange flesh, that speaks of sexual perversion. That's what that phrase means. Remember in the book of Genesis in chapter 19 how the angels had arrived in Sodom and they remained overnight. Now at first they were going to stay in the town square, but remember Lot was there and Lot insisted that they not, that they come and stay with him. It says in Genesis 19 verses 4 and 5, before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. They called the lot. Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can know them. The word know there so we can have physical intimacy with them. The men of Sodom said bring out the men. That's why it's called Sodomy. That's why it's referred to that way because we want to have relations with men. In desiring to have relations with other men they rejected God's natural order and for that they were judged. So does God look kindly upon sexual sin? No. Does he look kindly upon sexual perversion? No. He doesn't. Can God forgive every manner of sin? Absolutely. Does God forgive sin once you confess and forsake it? Yes, of course. When you repent, of course he does. Now he goes on in verse 8 and goes on to say likewise. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, speak evil of dignities. So now Jude is applying these sins to the false teachers who are invading the church. Notice that he refers to them as dreamers. These dreamers. The dreamer is a mystic. It's a person who shares visions and dreams in order that they might establish some spiritual credibility. So in ignoring the clear teachings of Scripture what they do is they preach lies. He says they defile the flesh meaning they are sexually immoral like Sodom and Gomorrah. When Peter was referring to this he said in 2 Peter 2 14 with eyes full of adultery they never stop sinning. They seduce the unstable. They are experts in greed and accursed brood. He says they reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries. They speak evil of the glorious ones, the unfallen angels. They are like the angels who kept not their assigned places. They are like them and they rebelled. And yet he goes on in verse 9 to say this. Yet Michael the archangel in contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses dared not bring against him a reviling accusation but said the Lord rebuke you. When you read your Bible, I'm going to spend a few moments on this one. When you read the Bible there are three that are referred to angels who are referred to by name. You have Michael, you have Gabriel and you have Lucifer. Those are the three angels mentioned by name in Scripture. Only one of them is specifically referred to as an archangel and that would be Michael. Now Michael is seen in the book of Daniel. He is seen in Daniel chapter 10 when he is contending with one who is referred to as the Prince of Persia. He is also seen in Daniel chapter 12 and he is referred to as the Great Prince that protects Israel. In the New Testament he is seen in the book of Revelation in chapter 12. In Revelation 12 7 through 9 it says there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war and they were not strong enough. And there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down. The serpent of old who is called the devil. The word devil, diabolus, means slanderer. And Satan, Satanas, it means adversary who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. So Jude is referring to something and I'm going to develop this with you. Because when it says Michael the archangel in continuing with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses. You don't find any account of that in scripture. You don't see that in the Old Testament. You don't see it. You don't find it. And so what he is doing is referring to something that at that time was considered genuine. There are those and I don't want to go too deeply in this. But there are those who speak of certain books that were in circulation that contained spiritual lessons that had truth to them. And the commentators that I use said that he may be citing a particular book that we don't have in scripture. But that was recognized as having truth to it that they could cite. And the book that he's referring to would be called The Assumption of Moses. Now it is not recognized as biblically authoritative but the event was recognized as being true. And so in the book the devil claims the body because of Moses' sin of murder. Because remember how Moses had killed that Egyptian taskmaster and buried him. So in the book they say the devil claimed the body because of Moses' sin of murder. Satan considered himself as the Lord of the earth. And so they're contending over the body of Moses and that would be the story behind that. But Michael rebuked Satan and took Moses' body and buried it in a secret place. Again that may be referring to what was recorded in Deuteronomy. Remember that Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. Can you imagine that after all those years? When you look at the life of Moses and it's divided into three sets of 40. The first 40 years is in preparation in sense of him coming to realize that he's going to be used. The next 40 years comes because he tried to be used in his own flesh. And that's when he's in the wilderness. And then the last 40 years is after he's learned that he's nothing. God can use him to be something. And for the last 40 years of his life God used him. But there was a contention to the point where Moses who had gotten frustrated with the children of Israel misrepresented the Lord. Do you remember the story? They were thirsty. He said, must we bring water from this rock? And when he said that and smote the rock. Well, Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians 10 that the rock was Christ. And it was really a picture of the fact that Jesus was smitten for our sins one time. He wasn't smote twice. And so he misrepresented God as being angry at the children of Israel. So Moses never had the opportunity of entering into the promised land. A land he had waited so long to be in. God allowed him to look from Jordan into Israel just to see it. But he never entered in because of his disobedience. And so Moses never entered in. So Deuteronomy 34, 4 through 6, there he was on Mount Nebo. The Lord said to him, this is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and James. Jacob. When I said, I'll give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. And Moses, the servant of the Lord died there in Moab. As the Lord had said, he buried him. He buried him in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Payor. But to this day, no one knows where his grave is. And so what you have here is a story of a contention with the devil over the body of Moses. I want you to see something going verse nine. Michael dared not bring against him a reviling accusation. Rather said the Lord rebuke you. There's so much. I keep biting my tongue. There's so many things I want to tell you. Because of Satan's former dignity, Michael did not speak evil against him. Instead, he called on God to put the devil to silence. Michael didn't exercise such authority to do so. So what he did is he calls on God to intervene. Now, in our day, there are those who teach that Jesus Christ is Michael, the archangel. Once again, they have crept in almost unnoticed. Remember that in the parable Jesus gave, he said, well, men slept. The enemy slept crept in and planted the tears amongst. Well, men slept. The church was not awake. And so false doctrine has crept into the church. Jehovah's Witnesses. Every one of us is more than likely spoken to a Jehovah's Witness. I have a number of vocations in my earlier days walking with the Lord. I had numerous conversations with Jehovah's Witnesses. I actually, before I became a pastor, I wanted to be an apologist. And so I actually began to attend a class with a man by the name of Walter Martin. Some of you have heard of him. Walter Martin back in the day when I first got saved was the premier apologist. And he used to teach a class on apologetics, the defense of the faith class. And I went every Sunday. My wife, Marie, and I would go. We went to this particular class. And I spent about a year under his ministry. I bought the book Kingdom of the Cults. It's just still a very good book if you're ever interested in learning some of the basic doctrines of pseudo-Christian cults. And so I had the opportunity of learning certain things and all. So I had conversations with people who were of the Jehovah's Witness of quote-unquote faith. They will tell you that Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. They will tell you that. Did you know that? How many know that already? They will say he is Michael the Archangel. Why? Because the name Michael means who is like God. So they'll say to him to you Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. And the answer to that is no he's not. Well why not? Well because when there was a disputation between Michael and the devil. I want you to notice this when there was a dispute between Michael and the devil over the body of Moses. Michael dared not render a railing accusation but rather said the Lord rebuke you. That tells us that he didn't have the authority to rebuke. He doesn't have the spiritual power to. He had to say God who has the authority he rebukes you. But when Jesus was being tempted by the devil. And the devil began to say to him things that he would give him a kingdom. And in exchange he said all these things have been delivered unto me and whom I desire I will give them to. He says all you need to do is you need to bow down and worship me and they're all yours. And I will give you a kingdom without a cross. And what is it that the Lord Jesus said get thee behind me Satan away with you Satan for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. Jesus rebuked him himself. He didn't say the Lord rebuked you. Jesus rebuked him. And so when you're speaking to Jehovah's Witness and they say that he's Michael the Archangel all you need to do is refer to Jude verse 9. When contending over the body of Moses. Michael dared not render a railing accusation. That's a King James I memorized that in King James years ago. He dared not render a railing accusation rather said the Lord rebuked you but Jesus when he was face to face being tempted by the enemy. He said get thee behind me Satan why is that because Michael was an angel but Jesus is God in the flesh. That's how that works. Jesus is God in the flesh. He rebuked him himself. Why because he has the authority to do that. And so that's something you need to keep in mind because this is how it works. And so it said Michael the Archangel in contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses. Dare not bring against him a reviling accusation but said the Lord rebuked you. But these verse 10 speak evil of whatever they do not know and whatever they know naturally like brute beasts in these things they corrupt themselves. And so they are completely ignorant of the things of God. They are spiritually blind. They follow natural instincts and they lead people astray. He says woe verse 11 woe to them for they have gone in the way of Cain have run greedily in the air of Balaam for profit and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Now remember he's saying things to these people who would be familiar with the Old Testament. And so he says they have gone verse 11 in the way of Cain. The word gone means to pursue to follow after something to become an adherent to become a disciple. They have become disciples of Cain is what he's saying. So what is the way of Cain? Cain was the first murderer and Cain was a willful rejecter of God. And so it's speaking of a religious way of life. Their walk is a moral walk. They are they are false teachers who have followed the moral lifestyle of Cain. Now what is it that marked the life of Cain rejection of God in his commands? When you look in Genesis chapter four verses three through seven the Bible tells us that Abel had brought a lamb but Cain brought the fruit of the ground. And it tells us that God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Now what was wrong with Cain's offering to the Lord? Why was Abel's accepted but Cain's was rejected? Well he was 11 four says by faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offerings and by faith he still speaks even though he's dead. Cain killed his brother Abel because his offering was of the flesh. It was not one of faith and in killing his brother Abel. Well the scripture says no murderer inherits the kingdom of God. In first John three fifteen anyone who hates his brother's a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. So what he's saying is these false prophets are distinguished by the lack of faith and the lack of love. Then he speaks of the error of Balaam who was a greedy false prophet. Remember the story of Balaam. Balaam was offered money to curse Israel but God would not allow him to. In order to make money what he did is he encouraged the Jews to violate the law of God. He knew that God had prohibited Israel from into marrying with pagans. Now there was a man by the name of Balaam and Balaam was counseled by Balaam and he said God and I'm paraphrasing God is a holy God. He doesn't allow his people to do something without him dealing with their sin. He said I have been commanded I cannot curse whom God has chosen to bless. I can't do that but see he had been offered a lot of money and he wanted to find a way to do it. So he said if you're going to have something done to them that is going to be harmful to them then introduce them to the pagan women. Because God has said they're to be separated from the pagans they're not to intermarry. And so God will judge them for that. In the book of Numbers chapter 25 verses 1 through 5. Israel was staying in a Keshavar grove. The men began to indulge in sexual immorality with more by women who invited them to the sacrifices to the gods. To people out in aid and bowed down before these gods. Israel was joined to Baal at Piyar and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. The Lord said to Moses take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord out in the sun that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. So Moses said to the judges of Israel every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal and Piyar. That's serious. What is Jude saying? Jude is saying that God is a holy God. And these people are greedy and licentious. In 2 Peter 2 verse 3 in their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they made up. In 2 Peter 2 15 they have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor who loved the wages of wickedness. And through his counsel the children of Israel were chastised by God. In 2 Peter 5 9 records that because of this sin 24,000 Israelites died. And then third verse 11 they perished in the rebellion of Korah. Now Korah, Nathan and Abram challenged Moses. They were saying why should we follow you? You're a tyrant. They accused him of exalting themselves over the assembly of the Lord. That's found in number 16. So Moses challenged these people to see who is holy. He said to them take censors, put fire and incense in it and offer this to the Lord. And then Moses told the people you need to get away distance yourself from these men. And went on to say if the earth swallows them up as well as their followers this is proof that God has chosen me. Well in number 16 32 and 33 the earth opens its mouth and swallowed them up with their households and all the men with Korah with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit. The earth closed over them and they perished from among the assembly. So the earth opened up and swallowed Korah, Nathan and Abram as well as their families and 250 self appointed priests. They also were swallowed up. So I'm telling you I'm rushing. I'm getting tired. There's so much I want to share and I have to keep myself to my notes. All right. I'll close because we're going to pick this up next time. False teachers will always be known by the fruit. In Matthew 7 15 through 20 beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. But inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. Even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. What Jude is doing is he's given examples. Examples of false teachers in the history of Israel and examples of God's judgment on sins. These examples are actually an exposing of the character of the false teachers. What is the fruit of a false teacher? They lack faith. They lack love. They're greedy. They're insubordinate. And they're unaccountable. The early church was experiencing wolves. Titus tells us there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers. You know we're going through the book of Acts and you see the history of it. But you also see woven into it introductions of false doctrines. And how Paul continues to go and minister to the places that he had planted churches. Why was he doing that? He was doing that because early on in the church's history there were false teachers creeping in and they were adding the law to the grace of God. Or they were trying to purchase the Holy Spirit so they could be some great one. And that already had entered into the church. And unfortunately in these last days we still have false teachers. False doctrine has become in some places honored as truth. There are arguments I see it all the time. There are arguments that people have where they will say well don't be a judge of this person and you need to love that person. And yet it's true we do love with the love of Christ but that doesn't mean that error isn't exposed. And Jude is dealing with that. Why is that? Here's the thing. It is very important to know that we are saved by the true preaching of the cross of Christ. You cannot add works to it. You cannot exalt false teachers. You cannot honor those who dishonor the Lord. It's not that you are hateful towards them. I'm not. What I am though is honest with them. And I will share them. I had a young man come to my house when Marie and I were newly wed. He knocked on the door and he said to me hi I'm with the Jehovah's Witnesses. And he said have you ever heard of us? And I said yes I have. I certainly have. And he says what do you think of us? I said what do I think of you? I said you're false prophets. I said and you're going to the hell that you deny. That's what I think of you. And so we had a wonderful conversation after that. But that was our introduction. Why would I do that? Because I'm an arrogant punk. I did that because I had to learn how to lovingly tell the truth. I was still a young believer but I was on fire for the truth of God because it set me free. And I didn't appreciate the fact that people were knocking on doors telling people lies in the name of Jesus Christ. So there has to be something inside of you that rises up and says this cannot be so. I want to know the Word of God well enough to be able to contend for the faith that has once for all time been delivered to the saints. Like Jude said I want to know who Jesus is. I want to know what the Word of God says. I want to be able to present it to people so that they might be set free. I want people to know there's a judgment that's coming. But God has set them free through Christ if they receive Christ as Lord and Savior. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. They can know their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And that's the kind of thing that causes people like me to want to take the Word of God apart slowly and slowly so we can have a foundation and a knowledge of how to approach the gospel and present it to others. And what was taking place was that during the time of Jude. They must not be allowed to infiltrate he's saying. And next time we get together he's going to continue identifying these false teachers in a very unflattering way. We'll see that next time.