Jude 12–13 (ESV) — 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they
feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds,
swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame;
wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved
forever.
NOTE: The imagery is
so powerful. Hidden reefs are the biggest danger to a ship nearing land. An
entire ship can be destroyed if a hidden reef is not discovered. Waterless
clouds are those morning clouds that look like rain, but then nothing
happens--they are very disappointing. Fruitless trees offer hope year after
year of a crop, and then nothing at harvest time. Wild waves of the sea crash
at the beach and tear it up, often times bringing in seaweeds and garbage.
Wandering stars are asteroids whose orbits are not in sync with the rest of the
system and will soon crash into something. Of course, Jude had something else
in mind in the last two, but those are the thoughts that the images trigger in
my mind. The point of all the pictures is that false teachers are very
dangerous. The can destroy (shipwreck) a person's faith telling stories that
sound good but have absolutely no spiritual nourishment. They are ideas that
enslave and do not bring us into a deeper understanding of our lord and savior.
Jude is saying, not just BEWARE, but RUN, these are dangerous men.
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