Jude 1:1-25

Jude 1:1 and 2:

^1:1Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James – to the called-people having been loved^1,2 in God (the) Father and having been kept² in Jesus Christ; ^.2may mercy and peace and love¹ be multiplied to you.

Jude begins this letter (epistle) by identifying himself by name: Jude (which could also be translated as Judas or Judah). Next he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working/service relationship with Jesus Christ: slave.

He was a slave belonging to Jesus Christ. He was bound to serve him. This service as a slave meant that his whole being was at-the-service-of or in-service-to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jude carried-out his service by his own freedom of will. Wherever Jude was and whatever he was doing he was to behave as a slave of Jesus Christ, not a slave serving anybody or anything else. Jude believed and obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ, and he took his instructions from him. During Biblical times, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave (bond servant) and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him. It was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave.

When Jude writes the name “Jesus Christ” he is emphasizing his obedience and service to God on a horizontal level to benefit people. A name is a word or phrase given to a person, etc, to be called and known-by, in order to designate and describe the distinguishing and distinctive constitution, character, quality, workings, etc. The name “Jesus Christ” incorporates the fullness of everything involved with him; it includes all that:

the name of "Jesus" and
the name of "Christ"

…represent and stand-for – together.

1) The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when he spoke to Joseph:

Matthew 1:21:

^.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

"Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior," and the Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship with the only true God. Jesus Christ is God's son – he is alive today! He is now at God's right-hand side, second-in-command to God his Father.

2) The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy or sanctified for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus 30:22-33; Acts 2:36, 4:27, and 10:38). The resurrected Christ continues doing God's will today.

Re-reading verses 1 and 2:

Jude 1:1 and 2:

^1:1Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James – to the called-people having been loved^1,2 in God (the) Father and having been kept² in Jesus Christ; ^.2may mercy and peace and love¹ be multiplied to you.

Jude was a “brother of James” – probably referring to James who wrote the letter of James, both of them being half-brothers of Jesus (refer to Matthew 13:55, Acts 1:14, and I Corinthians 9:5). Some scholars suggest that Jude may have been the apostle referred to in Matthew 10:3 and Acts 1:13 (also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus) but only if he was the brother of that James and not his son.

He addressed this letter to…

the called-people (the invited people, those who were issued an invitation and who have accepted it – all holy-people have believed what God has given to be believed regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore we have received the gift of holy spirit, which was first made available on the day of Pentecost; refer to Acts chapter 2 and Romans 10:8-10; we remain in the standing of being the called-people)
- having been loved and continuing loved
  - in God the Father (within the cause and sphere of action of God Who is our Father in the spirit category because we have already received the gift of holy spirit and we are now living within His realm; God is also the Father of Jesus Christ; “God” means the First, Superior or Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates what He is, His power and light)
- and having been kept and continuing kept (as an eye being kept on all of us, having us in safekeeping, and therefore we are not neglected or violated but we are watched over, taken care of, maintained, and observed)
  - in/by Jesus Christ;…

…may…

mercy
- [Mercy is giving active-relief because of withholding merited judgment; it is not bestowing punishment on one who deserves to be punished.]
and peace
- [Peace is tranquil harmony, tranquility, peaceful wholeness, without any strife or disagreement. We may think of peace as the opposite of war, the opposite of conflict, the opposite of being at odds with the other party. All of God's children are at peace with God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ because it is given to us from God and the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore all Christians should behave peaceably with one-another too.]
and love¹

…be multiplied to you (caused to be made-full, filled to fullness to all of you).

Jude’s prayerful wish or desire was that mercy, peace, and Godly-love would be multiplied to the called-people during the everyday living of their lives.

The word "love¹” or the verb "to love¹” comes from the Greek word agape which is God’s kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.

[Reference: Romans 1:3, 4 and 7, 8:30; I Corinthians 1:2 and 24, 9:5; I Peter 1:2; II Peter 1:2; James 1:1; I John 5:18 and 20.]

Verses 3 and 4:

^.3Loved-people¹, making-to-myself all earnest-diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I had a constraint to write to you encouraging to contest-on the belief having been given-over once to the holy-people, ^.4for some men entered-in-beside, the (people) having been written-beforehand² of-old into this judgment, not-reverential-people, changing the grace of our God into licentiousness and denying the only Master and our Lord – Jesus Christ.

Loved-people (beloved, truly you are loved by God and by myself with God’s kind of love)…

at the present time I am making to/for myself all earnest-diligence (every speedy application or performance, all assiduity on my part)
- to write to you about our common salvation (the safety that is common to us, the salvation that you and I and all holy-people share in common, the standing and state of being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction; all holy-people are saved now, and in the future we will receive the fullness of our salvation),
I had a constraint (a necessity, a need arising from the force or entreaty of the circumstance or situation) to write to you
- encouraging (exhorting, calling you beside me, as a concerned father or mother would call/invite their children close to them under their arms so as to help them to do what is right in the walk/behavior category)
  - to contest (the verb “to contest” means being in a place of contest where there are two opposing parties conflicting against each other in order to be the one to gain the prize at the end of the contest; the usage of athletic terminology draws attention to holy-people and the truth of being together moving in the direction of the same objective, being on the same team in the same contest, not a different one or on a different team – to contest)
  - resting upon (based on, with, for)
  - the belief having been given-over once to the holy-people (the belief that has already been handed along to the sanctified-people, saints, Christians, the people set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God, who have come into the state of corresponding to the essence of God; at one time the belief was delivered alongside or beside us; this belief is the information that God has made known to us to have confidence-in, to believe, to have faith-in, to trust with assured certainty and surety – the belief regarding the Lord Jesus Christ),
for some men entered-in-beside (a number of people went inside and alongside of us in a stealthy and subtle manner, they crept into our company surreptitiously, sneakily),
- the people who were written about previously during a period of time that has now become old, and it is still written regarding them (it has already been prophesied and written down concerning their actions and the consequences)
  - into this judgment (directed to, resulting in the pronounced decision, the sentence passed, the decision made or arrived-at issuing from the judging process as described in the following verses of this letter),
- not-reverential-people (those who are without reverential respect for the only true God, irreverent, who do not have reverence to/for Him),
- changing the grace of our God (they are altering the position of the unmerited or undeserved favor that our God bestows on us, they are putting it from its correct usage in our walk/behavior as we live our everyday lives)
  - into licentiousness (directed to debauchery)
- and denying (disowning, negating, rejecting)
  - the only Master (this word translated “Master” is the Greek word despotes and means: the sovereign lord, the absolute-master, the despot, the one who has absolute dominion, supreme authority, and unlimited power; the one who is the Master of all holy-people – this word “Master” is used to emphasize subjection whereby his slaves figuratively have their feet bound in complete subjection to him in service during everyday living)
  - and our Lord (this word translated "Lord" is the Greek word kurios and means: a master or an owner, one who has the authority or authoritative-power, the one from whom the directions and instructions are given and who is to be obeyed, the one who has the dominion over and exercises his lordship in relation to that-which his title of "Lord" is being associated; the one who is the Lord of all holy-people – this word emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of the lord’s lordship, including dominion and authority, over and relative-to his slaves, plus the respectful submission due to him by his slaves) –
    - Ø Jesus Christ.

Grace is what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's part; it includes reference to the attitude and quality of the one giving something favorable to another. Grace is not bestowed because somebody deserves a wage that is owed for something they said or did, nor because they begged so hard, nor because they forced the giver to give! Grace is bestowed because the giver wants to give by his own freedom of will to the recipient – it is completely unmerited favor from the giver to the recipient.

[Reference: Romans 6:1-4 and 17, 10:8-17, 13:13, 15:4; I Corinthians 11:23, 15:3 and 4; II Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 1:6, 2:4, 3:23-29, 5:19; Ephesians 4:19; Philippians 1:27; II Thessalonians 2:15; I Timothy 6:12; II Timothy 3:6; Titus 1:4; Hebrews 1:1-4, 12:1 and 2; I Peter 4:3; II Peter 2:1-3, 5-7 and 18-21, 3:2 and 7.]

Verses 5-7:

^.5But I deliberately-determine to remind you having known² all, that (the) Lord having saved (the) people once out-from (the) land of Egypt, destroyed the (people) not having believed the second-time; ^.6and the angels not having kept the rulership of themselves but having left-away (their) own dwelling-place, He kept² into judgment of (the) great day in perpetual bonds under thick-darkness, ^.7as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, the like manner to these (angels), having utterly-fornicated and having gone-away behind different flesh, lie-before (us as) a pointing-out of agelong fire undergoing right.

Jude continues: I purposefully-will to cause you, who are in the state of already knowing all things (perceiving or seeing all the details pertaining to the following which have come within your sphere of perception or circle of vision), to remember (to recollect, call to your minds) that…

the Lord (referring to God and emphasizing His dominion and authority over and relative-to His creations; this word is used in Greek as a translation for the Hebrew word Jehovah /Yahweh and refers to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created)
- having saved the people once out-from the land of Egypt (the word “people” here is a singular noun laos meaning: a mass or group of people collectively as one unit, one united assembly, referring to those who were descended from Israel/Jacob – at one time God made them safe by taking them out from the land of Egypt),
  - destroyed those who did not believe the second-time (on the second occasion God utterly ruined those who did not have faith, who did not trust God and His words to them; He caused the unbelievers to be completely lost away from Himself);
and the angels
- who did not keep the rulership of themselves (who did not keep an eye on their first-placed, chief or dignified-hierarchical position, who did not keep it in safekeeping, and therefore they neglected or violated it, they did not watch over, take care of, maintain, and observe the rulership that pertained and belonged to them)
- but on the contrary, who left/went away from their own dwelling-place (the habitation, inhabited-building, housing that God gave to/for them when He created this kind of spirit-being that we refer to as an “angel”; these angels caused the corruption of mankind’s genetics prior to the flood by manifesting themselves in the form of fleshy humans with super-human powers or supermen, and they produced children with female human-beings; these children were known as the “fallen-ones” in Hebrew nephilim; anyone stained by this genetic deformity could not be saved to God at any time because they did not have the same genetic make-up as the original man, Adam, that God had created),
  - He kept and continues to keep (God keeps an eye on them, watches over these angels)
  - into judgment of the great day (with a view to their receiving the consequences of God’s decision about their sin during the day which will be large with importance, quality, etc; this word “judgment” is the action of pronouncing sentence, the process of making a separating decision, the passing of judgment regarding their wrong behavior which will result in their death at the final judgment time)
  - in/by/with perpetual bonds under thick-darkness (always-existing bonds, always bound in bands, imprisoned, legally subject or in submission to the concentrated mass of intense, black or dense darkness; they have been bound and cannot travel outside of it);
as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them
- the like manner to these angels (in a similar method, mode to/with the angels who went outside of the realm of living that God had given to/for them)
  - having utterly-fornicated (these people wholly committed fornication with resulting effects from such activity; fornication physically is wrongful sexual activity/relations, but spiritually it is being intimate with the devil and the things of the devil)
  - and having gone-away behind different flesh (these people went away from where they should be and went backwards or after other flesh of a different kind/sort – not human-beings),
- lie-before us as a pointing-out (they are laid before, set in-front-of us being that-which is indicated, they are exposed, set forth or ahead of others being an example or presentation that God gave, an indication or display)
  - of agelong fire (relating to the fire that will last for an age, the limited lifetime duration of fire until what is put into the fire to-be-burned is completely burned; the word "agelong" is the Greek word aionios and may be translated “eternal” or “agelong” depending on the context, and here it refers to the unquenchable fire of God's judgment, including the lake of fire, which will come to pass in the future; everlasting or eternal in the sense of this fire never changing once it begins but will end when the time of the fire ends)
  - undergoing right (as holding out their hands underneath that-which is right and receiving justice, the required penalty which is right in the judicial sense).

An angel is a spirit-being whose office and character is one of a messenger in official service via words and/or actions. The word "angel" comes from the Greek word aggello which means to tell or deliver a message and therefore an angel could be called a "messenger." Those angels who have continued to take their instructions from the only true God are also now under the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. But those angels who have refused to take their instructions from God and have instead decided to follow the devil are known as devils (devil-spirits, demons, evil, unclean or unholy spirits). The devil (satan, the snake/serpent, etc) was once one of God's angels, but he rebelled against God wanting to take God's place and he continues attempting to do so. We should also note that the Bible shows us that no human-being was or is or will be a spirit-being angel! Refer to Hebrews chapter 1.

Sodom and Gomorrah were cities that were in existence during Abraham's lifetime, but while Abraham was living God caused Sodom and Gomorrah to be burned-up because of the evils (such as homosexuality, lesbianism, different flesh, idolatry, etc) that the people in those cities were doing against God. God first made known to Abraham, via one of His ruling angels, what would happen, and Abraham had time to ask about any righteous people still living in those cities. God, via two of His angels, had Abraham's brother's son, Lot, and his wife and two daughters rescued out from Sodom.

[Reference: Genesis chapter 6, 13:13, 18:16 – 19:29; Numbers 14:27-38; Deuteronomy 29:23; Matthew 3:12, 10:15, 18:18, 25:41; Acts 2:20; Romans 1:26-32, 8:38; I Corinthians 10:5-12, 15:24; II Corinthians 5:2; Ephesians 1:21, 3:10, 6:12; Colossians 1:16, 2:10 and 15; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Hebrews 3:7 – 4:2, 8:9; II Peter 1:12, 2:4-10 and 17; Revelation chapter 20 and 21:8.]

Verses 8-11:

^.8Yet-indeed likewise also these-people dreaming indeed stain flesh, but they reject lordship and blaspheme glories. ^.9But Michael the archangel, when throughly-judging-himself from the devil he used-to throughly-speak concerning the body of Moses, he did not dare to carry a judgment of blasphemy upon (the devil) but he said, “May (the) Lord censure you”.

^.10But these-people blaspheme as-many-things-as indeed they did not know², but as-many-things-as they well-know naturally, as wordless living-beings, they are corrupted in these-things. ^.11Woe to them because they journeyed in the way of Cain, and they were poured-out in the wandering of the compensation of Balaam, and they destroyed-themselves in the contradiction of Korah.

Emphatically indeed similarly (to what is written in verses 5-7 above) also these-people (referred to in verse 4 above)…

dreaming (seeing things in sleep, information received solely from the fleshy mind and body during sleep, and figuratively in this context as daydreaming, imagining, fantasizing because of not being based on God’s words or communications)
- indeed, on the one hand, they stain flesh (they taint, tinge, color fleshy mankind with something else that is not correct for human-beings)
  - but, on the other hand, they reject lordship (put lordship from themselves, they un-put, displace mastership or dominion)
  - and blaspheme glories (they treat glories with lack of Godly reverential respect, speaking evilly against them, calumniating the beings which are glorious, which have importance, splendor, renown, such as the true angels, the Lord Jesus Christ, and God Himself).

But Michael the archangel (the first, highest, chief, or ruling angel)…

when throughly-judging himself from the devil (while wholly distinguishing, discerning, separating himself, making his decision, differentiating himself, thoroughly judging himself to be different from the devil)
- he used-to throughly-speak (historically during a past time that is now finished Michael spent time conversing, discussing, having dialogue, speaking back-and-forth with the devil)
  - about the body of Moses (his dead body),
he did not dare (venture) to bring (bear)
- a judgment of blasphemy upon the devil (this word “judgment” is the same as verse 6 above – an action of pronouncing sentence consisting of calumniation, evil speech, treating the devil in such a manner as to behave with lack of Godly reverential-respect for the only true God while doing so)
but on the contrary, he said,
- “May the Lord censure you” (Michael’s prayerful wish or desire was that God would inflict penalty or infringement, reprimand, judge by estimating the correct honor or value due in this situation against/on the devil, which will be punishment at a future time for the offence committed by him; God buried Moses when he died via Michael, refer to Deuteronomy 34:4-6).

But these people…

blaspheme (they are presently and actively treating with lack of Godly reverential respect, speaking evilly against, calumniating)
- as many things (as much) as indeed they did not know and continue not to know (they do not perceive, see to the end of perceiving and knowing with their minds),
but as many things as they well-know naturally (as much as they can fix or set their minds upon the knowledge of, as much as they are aware of physically, by using their natural, physical capabilities),
- in comparison to wordless living-beings (living beings such as animals or birds which utter sounds that are without any meaningful account, no descriptive words, unreasonable because they do not communicate with words),
they are corrupted in these-things (they are presently in the process of being caused to decay, made into a worse state within the sphere of action of what they well-know naturally).

Woe (regret, misery, distress) to/for these people because…

they journeyed (passed or traveled through the everyday living of their lives)
- in the way/road of Cain (Cain’s purpose, progress, the manner of action or method of proceeding that Cain had during his life determining his own course of action instead of doing what God asked him to do; refer to Genesis chapter 4),
and they were poured-out (shed forth, as flowing liquid)
- in the wandering of the compensation of Balaam (the error, the action of leading astray, not staying in their rightful place relative to God’s truth; this wandering is likened to Balaam’s hire, the wage due to him for cursing God’s people, the payment in return for his actions of misleading God’s people; Balaam was supposed to speak forth God’s words being revealed to him concerning the past, present and/or future to, before, in front of the people at that time – but he was thinking of speaking something else instead of God’s words so as to receive payment, refer to Numbers chapters 22-24, and from this time onwards Balaam had no excuse as he was fully aware of God’s displeasure at that kind of wrong behavior),
and they caused themselves to be destroyed (utterly-ruined, completely lost away-from God)
- in/with/by the contradiction of Korah (Korah’s speech against Moses and God, the anti or opposing words that he spoke; Korah was of the Levitical background and was supposed to keep the instruction given to Levites by God – but he rebelled against Moses and against God; refer to Numbers chapter 16).

The word translated "devil" comes from the words: "through" and "throw" or "cast." The devil throws/casts things through people, like stabbing a person from outside through the person and out the other side with an accusation, slander, etc. The devil is the chief of the devil-spirits (demons), which are the other evil-spirits in subordination to the devil. These spirits are evil because they willingly, actively, and malignantly went against and continue to go against what the only true God says and does. God has judged them and the complete fulfillment of His judgment will come to pass at a future time. See Genesis 3:14 and 15, Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:11-19, I Peter 3:19 and 20, and Revelation chapters 12, 19 and 20, which are some of the prophecies that include information about the devil’s past, present, and future.

[Reference: Genesis chapter 4; Numbers 2:20, 3:29, chapters 16, 17, and 22-24, 26:9-11, 27:3, 31:8 and 16; Deuteronomy 13:5, 23:4 and 5, and chapter 34; I Chronicles 9:19; Joshua 13:22, 24:9; Nehemiah 13:2; Isaiah 29:7 and 8; Jeremiah 23:25, 27:9, 29:8; Daniel 10:13 and 21, 12:1; Zechariah 10:2; Micah 6:5; Matthew 23:35; Acts 11:2; I Corinthians 2:14, 3:17; Ephesians 1:19-23; Colossians 1:16, 2:18 and 19; I Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 11:4, 12:15; II Peter 2:10-17; I John 3:12; Revelation 2:14; 12:7.]

Verses 12 and 13:

^.12These are the (people) feasting-together (as) hidden-rocks in your love-gatherings¹, fearlessly shepherding themselves, waterless clouds being carried-along by winds, fruitless deteriorating trees, twice having died, having been rooted-out, ^.13wild waves of (the) sea foaming the shames of themselves, wandering stars for whom the thick-darkness of the darkness was kept² into the age.

These are the people (referred to in verses 4, 8, and 10 above) who are…

feasting-together (having a ‘good’ time with you, eating well, having much to feed on in conjunction with you)
- as hidden-rocks (submerged rocks as reefs over which the sea dashes, which are dangerous to those who come near because they may hit them and get hurt without being aware of the danger beforehand)
  - in your love-gatherings¹ (during the times when you come together evidencing Godly-love among yourselves, sharing food together, remembering the accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ),
fearlessly shepherding themselves (taking-care of and protecting themselves instead of the assembly of holy-people, and they shepherd themselves without fear of any consequences of their performance of wrong behavior),
waterless clouds (particular and distinct clouds which should be sources of water by raining but these are without water; figuratively, they disappoint people because they do not provide them with the expected help pertaining to God and His holy spirit realm)
- being carried-along by winds (being brought aside from where they are to being somewhere else by the power of the winds, moving from place to place but not providing any water),
fruitless deteriorating trees (trees during the season of ‘fall’ or ‘autumn’ without fruit, not producing anything, waning without produce),
- twice having died (they lack life to keep themselves alive plus they cannot produce any fruit),
  - having been rooted-out (uprooted, they do not receive the nourishment from the soil into which they were supposed to be rooted),
wild waves of the sea
- foaming the shames of themselves (splashing up shameful-things on top of the sea; “shame” relative to mankind refers to what is shameful and causes the feeling or emotion of disgrace and guilt bringing reproach after recognizing and being sorry for one's own performance of an improper, ignominious or dishonorable deed from God's point of view),
wandering stars (planets, comets, meteors, etc, wanderers moving or roaming around the sky among the stars fixed in their positions)
- for whom the thick-darkness (for these people the concentrated mass of intense, black or dense darkness)
- of the darkness (the area without light)
- was kept and continues kept (watched-over; these people are about to receive it)
  - into the age (for the duration of life, lifetime, for/throughout the age, referring to the specific age that will end when they are destroyed).

[Reference: Matthew 13:29 and 30, 15:30; John 4:10-14; Acts 2:42-47, 20:7-12 and 28; I Corinthians 3:5-7, 11:17-34; Ephesians 5:11; Titus 3:14; Hebrews 13:9; I Peter 5:2; II Peter 2:10-17.]

Verses 14-16:

^.14But Enoch, seventh from Adam, prophesied also to these-people saying, “Look!, (the) Lord came in His holy ten-thousands ^.15to make judgment against all and to refute every soul concerning all of their works of lack-of-reverence which they not-reverentially-performed and concerning all the hard-things which not-reverential sinners uttered-forth against Him.” ^.16These-people are murmurers, blamers, journeying according to the intense-yearnings of themselves, and their mouth utters-forth super-projections, marveling (at) faces for-the-grace of profit.

Enoch, who was the seventh generation from Adam (the original man), prophesied also to/for these-people (he spoke-forth God's words being revealed to him regarding these people referred to in verses 4, 8, 10, and 12 above) saying,

“Look (behold, see, pay attention)!,
the Lord came (referring prophetically to a future one-time occurrence when God will accomplish the following)
within the sphere of action of His holy ten-thousands (myriads of sanctified ones, including God’s spirit-being angels which are messengers in official service via words and/or actions, plus all the holy-people, the true Christians, who will at that time be together with the Lord Jesus Christ carrying-out God’s will)
- to make judgment against all (this word “judgment” is the same as verses 6 and 9 above – to perform the action of pronouncing sentence against every one of these people, passing judgment regarding their wrong behavior, which will result in their death at the final judgment time)
- and to refute every soul (“soul” refers to the life of a person’s physical body which is evidenced by breathing, their soul/breath life, what allows them to move and work, etc, living in the physical category, and figuratively referring to their beings, including their character and disposition – to prove all of them wrong, to convict and convince all/every one of them of their error)
  - about all of their works of lack-of-reverence which they not-reverentially-performed (every one of the deeds that they carried-out having the quality of not being reverential towards God, the un-reverential effects produced with/by their actions expending their energy done in a manner that was not being reverential or respectful in service towards and for Him – emphasizing the lack of reverence)
  - and about all the hard-things (harsh, as a leaf becoming hard/stiff having detached itself from the tree that was to be its source of water and nourishment to give and maintain life, the tough things) which not-reverential sinners spoke against Him (the people who are not reverential or respectful toward God and who miss the mark of God's Word, who err from what God says, spoke against Him).”

These-people are…

murmurers (people grumbling discontent, complainers),
blamers (people finding fault because of some incompleteness they claim about the portion they received, their part in life),
journeying (passing or traveling through the everyday living of their lives)
- in accordance with the intense-yearnings of themselves (in conformity and proportion to/with the strong desires attached or fixed upon certain objects, in this context referring to things other-than God and the things of God, the lusts pertaining and belonging to themselves),
and their mouth utters-forth super-projections (it speaks super bulging masses thrusting themselves out and forcing their bulk into prominent positions before people, affecting other people’s behavior adversely if left in their over-swelled position in front of people blocking their progress),
marveling at faces (being astonished and looking-on with wonder and amazement at people’s outward, visible appearances, the countenance that people present in front of their eyes, the visage given to them which would include their social status, position in the community, rank in the army, etc)
- for the grace of profit (in favor of benefit, because they want to receive advantage, for the reason or sake of profit).

[Reference: Genesis 5:18-24; I Chronicles 1:1-3; Matthew 20:11, 22:16; Luke 3:37 and 38; Romans 1:18 and 24, 9:19, 11:26; I Corinthians 10:10 and chapter 15; II Corinthians 5:12; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 4:22; Philippians 2:14; Colossians 3:5; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Thessalonians 1:5-10; II Timothy 2:16, 4:3, 6:9; Titus 2:12; Hebrews 8:8, 11:5; James 1:14 and 15; I Peter 2:11, 4:3 and 9; II Peter 2:4, 6, 10 and 18, 3:3; I John 2:16 and 17; Revelation chapter 20.]

Verses 17-19:

^.17But you, loved-people¹, must be caused-to-remember the spoken-matters, the (spoken-matters) having been said-beforehand² by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^.18because they used-to-say to you that on (the) last time there will be deriders journeying according to the intense-yearnings of themselves of the lacks-of-reverence; ^.19these are the (people) throughly-separating, soulish-people not having spirit.

But emphatically you, loved-people (beloved, truly you are loved by God and by myself with God’s kind of love, as verse 3 above)…

must be caused-to-remember (in Greek there is a definite word for “you” plus the verb meaning “you must be caused to remember” giving emphasis – you yourselves must be caused to recollect, call to your minds, be reminded of)
- the spoken-matters (the sayings or portions of the whole of God’s Word containing the specific discourses),
- emphatically and specifically the spoken-matters which were foretold to you and they have not changed (they were definitely communicated previously with words to you)
  - by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ (by/under the power, hand, or agency of the people sent-forth by our Lord Jesus Christ on a mission or specific assignment to you),
because they used-to-say (they were continuing to say during a past time, historically, repeating it on several occasions) to you that
- on the last time (during the more remote, uttermost, final or extreme span of chronological time in which we all live currently as we await the Lord’s presence)
- there will be deriders (people who play-with, mock like a child, toy-with other people)
- journeying (passing or traveling through their everyday living)
  - in accordance with the intense-yearnings (in conformity and proportion to/with the lusts, here used in the bad sense, the strong desires attached or fixed upon certain objects other-than God and the things of God)
  - that pertain and belong to them
  - of the lacks-of-reverence (this word is in the plural form emphasizing their rebellious behavior in thoughts, words, and actions – their intense yearnings have the quality of not being reverential towards God, un-reverential, not being respectful in service towards and for Him);
these presently and actively are the people throughly-separating (marking off by drawing or causing boundaries through the center of a unit thereby separating it, setting people apart/away from each other giving them limits, causing thorough divisions as limiting people within certain areas, partitioning, making complete distinctions between people who should be behaving as one united assembly),
- soulish-people (these people only have soul/breath life in their bodies which keeps them alive in the fleshy and physical category and is evidenced by breathing; their mode of operation is limited to the natural/physical realm which the devil uses to hurt holy-people; soulish people do not accept the things from the only true God)
  - not having spirit (these people do not have holy spirit-life within their bodies, because they have not believed what God has given to be believed regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ as detailed in Romans 10:9 and 10 ).

[Reference: Acts 2:42-27, 4:33, 14:1-7 and 14; Romans 1:18, 8:9, 11:26; I Corinthians 2:14, 3:10-16, 15:45-50; Galatians 1:11-19; Ephesians 2:20, 3:5, 4:11; Colossians 2:7; I Thessalonians 2:6; II Timothy 2:16; Titus 2:12; James 3:15; I Peter 1:20; II Peter 3:1-3.]

Verses 20-23:

^.20But you, loved-people¹, building yourselves on your holiest belief, praying in holy spirit, ^.21must keep yourselves in (the) love¹ of God waiting-for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ into eternal life; ^.22and indeed you must be merciful-towards those-who (are) throughly-judging-themselves, ^.23but you must save those-whom (you can save by) catching (them) away from fire, but you must be merciful-towards those-whom (you are merciful) in fear hating also the inner-garment having been spotted² from the flesh.

But emphatically you, loved-people (beloved, truly you are loved by God and by myself with God’s kind of love, as verses 3 and 17 above)…

building yourselves on (being in the process of building or edifying yourselves in the walk/behavior category on top of something, as a house is built upon its foundation whereby the rest of the building stands on top of its foundation and is supported by it – building yourselves resting or based upon)
- your holiest belief (this belief is the information that God has made known to us to have confidence-in, to believe, to have faith-in, to trust with assured certainty and surety; it is regarding the Lord Jesus Christ who is the foundation which was taught by his apostles – the belief that you have is sanctified, set-apart from what is common, defiled or unclean against God; it is the belief that corresponds to the essence of God – it is holy to the superlative degree, the most holy belief),
praying in holy spirit (communicating to/with God, speaking generally with/to God within the sphere of action of the holy spirit-life within you, the spirit of Christ in you),

…must keep yourselves (keep an eye on yourselves, have yourselves in safekeeping, and therefore not neglecting or violating but able to watch-over, take-care-of, maintain, and be observant of one-another)…

in the love¹ of God (within the cause and sphere of action of God’s love, the love that proceeds-from God Who is its source and which you can and ought to manifest)
- waiting-for (this verb literally means: to accept towards oneself, to welcome, subjectively receive, willingly accept something towards oneself – but when the thing is still future then it can be translated as "to wait-for" in the sense of willingly being ready to accept it when it will be presented to you at a future time – waiting for)
  - the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (when he will give active-relief because of withholding merited judgment towards all holy-people at the time of his coming to gather us all together with him in the air)
  - into (directed to, resulting in) eternal life;
and indeed you must be merciful (show mercy, actively not bestow merited judgment, withhold punishment even though it is deserved, and thus you must give active relief) towards
- the people who are throughly-judging-themselves (wholly distinguishing, discerning, separating themselves, making their decision, differentiating themselves, thoroughly judging themselves to be different from what God has given all people to believe regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ),
but you must save (make safety to God available during everyday living from sins and their consequences, from destruction, to)
- the people whom you can save by catching them away (you give them God’s Word so that they can change their behavior and thereby allow you to snatch and carry them away suddenly)
  - from fire (figuratively referring to the implementation of God’s righteous judgment in action causing destruction or loss of compensation for works done which are not built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ in the walk/behavior category),
but you must be merciful-towards those-whom you are merciful
- in fear (within the sphere of action of fright, being afraid at the consequences of the performance of any wrong behavior, and therefore exhibiting the awe and respect that ought to be shown towards God and the Lord Jesus Christ during your everyday living in the walk/behavior category)
- hating also the inner-garment having been spotted² from the flesh (even to the degree of having active ill-will towards the tunic worn next to the body and has been stained and continues stained from the things emanating or issuing from the flesh; figuratively referring to anything that is stained or marked by the flesh category).

The Greek word aionios may be translated “eternal” or “agelong”. In the context of verse 21, the life being referred to will not end. It is eternal, agelong, lifelong, everlasting. It lasts throughout all durations of life, all ages from the time a person receives it. This life can only be received by God's giving of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. All holy-people (Christians) have received holy spirit-life within us, which is the spirit of Christ in us; it is the deposit, token, earnest of what we will receive at a future time. This holy spirit-life will remain for the duration of God's life which will not end. The full completeness for us will come to pass when our Lord Jesus Christ will come to gather all holy-people together with him giving us new spiritual bodies, the life of which will be holy spirit-life, like the body he has already received from God, his Father and our Father, when God raised him up alive from-among the dead-people.

In verse 20, the verb translated “building on” comes from the Greek word, oikos, from which many other Greek words come. These words, which all come from the same root-word, may be translated into English as: house, to build a house, household, householders, to build, building, to dwell, dwelling, to inhabit, habitation, to edify, edification, plus many other words in the English language, but we ought to understand that when reading any one of these words they all relate to each other even though in English it is difficult to consistently use the same basic word in every rendering of it to communicate the meaning. Also, it is used figuratively referring to the action or process of building upwards and establishing.

All holy-people (Christians) are already saved from death, from being under the power of satan, to eternal life with God and our Lord Jesus Christ because we have all previously received the gift of holy spirit which is the spirit of Christ in us (Colossians 1:27) – this is what makes us holy and everything that Christ has accomplished and is today we have and are spiritually. We holy-people will receive spiritual bodies when Christ comes to gather us all together with him. Jude is teaching about the walk (behavior, conduct) category, how all holy-people ought to live our everyday lives in a safe state with/for God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Philippians 2:12-16). It is up to the freedom of our will to behave as God asks us to behave, and we should always look to God and carry-out His instructions by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Reference: Matthew 25:46; John 4:10-14; Acts 2:1-4, 13:48, 24:15; Romans 8:26 and 27, 14:23; I Corinthians 3:8-17, 5:5, 12:12-14, chapter 13, 14:4, 16:14; II Corinthians 3:3, 5:11, 6:6; Galatians 3:22- 29, 5:16 and 22-25; Ephesians 1:4 and 13, 2:18-22, 3:5, 4:2, 15 and 16, 5:2, 6:18; Philippians 1:27, 3:3; Colossians 1:27, 2:6 and 7; I Timothy 1:16, 4:12 and 16; II Timothy 1:13 and 18, 3:10; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 7:25; James 1:6, 21 and 27, 3:6, 5:20; I Peter 1:3, 12 and 17, 2:4-8 and 21, 3:2; II Peter 2:13, 3:14; I John 2:5, 4:16-18, 5:1-3; II John 1:3; Revelation 3:3-6.]

Verses 24 and 25:

^.24But to the (One) being able to keep-watch (regarding) you without-stumblingly-falling and to cause (you) to-stand down-before His glory without-blemish in exultation – ^.25to (the) only God our Savior by means of Jesus Christ our Lord (is) glory, greatness, strongness, and authority before all the age and now and into all ages, with-certainty.

Jude closes this letter by praising God. He writes:

But to the One being able (referring to God Who is able-powered, capable)…

to keep-watch regarding you (to be vigilant to watch you, keep you safe, guard you)
- without-stumblingly-falling (so that you are not tripping, messing-up in your behavior, in your conduct relative to God and the things of God)
and to cause you to stand down-before His glory (to stand firm, to set you in place in the full-sight or presence of His importance, splendor, renown)
- without-blemish in exultation (so that you are unblemished, no fault to be found because of some defect as a spot or damage in you, within elation, as though dancing, jumping, leaping a lot, springing about) –

…to the only God…

our Savior (God alone is the source, the originator of salvation for all holy-people)
- through Jesus Christ our Lord (he is the one through whom we are saved; he carried-out the action, he is the agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach the accomplishment of God providing salvation to all people and of God being the Savior of those who accept it; when Jude writes "Jesus Christ" he is emphasizing his obedience and service to God on a horizontal level to benefit people; nobody could be saved from sins and their consequences, from destruction back to God without Jesus Christ our Lord/Master)

…is…

glory (the glory belongs-to and is due-to God, He should be given the ultimate importance, splendor, renown),
greatness (majesty, the One Who is in the condition or state of being great, large in magnitude, quality, rank, importance, depth, measure, etc, the One in Whom greatness is evidenced and exemplified),
strongness (exerted force, power in effect, exerted strength),
and authority (authoritative power or right)
- before all the age (in front of, in advance of, prior to all/every duration-of-life which began for mankind when God put His gracious plan of redemption and salvation into active motion as recorded in Genesis 3:15),
- and now (at the present time, right-now)
- and into all ages (for/throughout all durations of lifetimes – not only one age or a group of ages, but emphatically for all the durations of life, the entirety, for eternity, forever),
  - with-certainty (amen, truly, surely!).

The phrase “all the age” refers to the agelong times that began in chronological motion from the day when God first spoke the promise of the coming savior, the Christ, in Genesis 3:15, and then God expelled mankind from Paradise that same day in Genesis 3:23 and 24 putting His gracious plan of redemption and salvation into active motion. These agelong times had a starting point and they will also have an ending point. They will not last forever but will end when all things will be subjected to Christ and then he gives the kingdom over to God and he also places himself in subjection to God (refer to I Corinthians 15:20-28). All the people who will receive new spiritual bodies with holy spirit-life will be together with God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ in Paradise on earth (Revelation chapters 21 and 22).

[Reference: Acts 1:7, 2:46; Romans 11:36, 16:25-27; I Corinthians 2:7; Galatians 1:5; Ephesians 1:3, 4 and 19, 3:21; Philippians 4:20; Colossians 1:11 and 22; I Timothy 1:1 and 17, 2:3, 4:10, 6:16; Titus 1:2-4, 2:10, 3:4; Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 13:21; James 3:1 and 2; I Peter 1:6-9, 4:11-13; II Peter 1:10 and 11, 3:14. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]