Jude 1:14 by Precept Austin Commentary

Jude 1:14 And it was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones: Proepheteusen (3SAAI) de kai toutois hebdomos apo Adam Enoch legon (PAPMSN) Idou elthen (3SAAI) kurios en hagiais muriasin autou Enoch = Ge 5:18,24; 1Chr 1:1, 2, 3; Heb 11:5,6 Behold = Dt 33:2; Job 19:25, 26, 27; Ps 50:3, 4, 5; Da 7:9,10; Zech 14:5; Mt 16:27; Mt 24:30,31; 25:31; 1Th 3:13; 2Th 1:7,8; Rev 1:7 Amplified - It was of these people, moreover, that Enoch in the seventh [generation] from Adam prophesied when he said, Behold, the Lord comes with His myriads of holy ones (ten thousands of His saints) Barclay - It was of these, too, that Enoch, who was the seventh from Adam, prophesied when he said: Behold the Lord has come with ten thousands of his holy ones, NET Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, Wuest - And there prophesied also with respect to these, the seventh from Adam, Enoch, saying, Behold, there comes the Lord with His holy myriads, to execute judgment against all and to convict all those who are destitute of a reverential awe towards go on a journey,” metaphorically, “to order one’s life.” The God, concerning all their works of impiety which they impiously performed and concerning all the harsh things which impious sinners spoke against Him. And (de kai) - Jude had already alluded to the judgment of the apostates several times (Jude 1:4, 6, 13). In Jude 1:13 Jude had just noted "the black darkness has been reserved forever" for "these men," the apostates. Now in Jude 1:14, he uses the conjunction "and" which indicates he is continuing to discuss this theme of judgment on the apostates ("it was about these men"). As Hiebert says "Jude now undergirds his attack upon these sensual intruders with an appeal to prophecy, showing that their judgment is prophetically established." The word prophesied is first in the Greek sentence, emphasizing the importance of the prophetic message. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied - In this passage, Jude quotes from the apocryphal Book of Enoch, but his use of this extra-biblical Jewish writing does not signify he considered the Book of Enoch to be on a par with the authoritative Word of God, nor that he accepted all of its content. Blum also makes the point that “the prophecy does not give any startling new information but is simply a general description of the return of the Lord in judgment (cf. Dt. 33:2; Da 7:10–14; Zech 14:5; Mt 25:31)”. The ESV Study Bible adds that "Jude is simply drawing from First Enoch another example of judgment, which means that, in at least this specific instance, First Enoch 1.9 contains truth." (For more on Jude's use of First Enoch see - The Hermeneutics of Jude and 2Peter: The Use of Ancient Jewish Traditions - Walter Dunnett) For completeness here is the original quotation in First Enoch... And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. (Chapter 1 of the Book of Enoch - see verse 9) It is notable that Jude's quotation from Enoch was the chief reason for the Book of Jude’s rejection from the Canon of the Bible for a number of years. However, by the 4th century A.D., Jude’s letter had been fully accepted by the entire church. In John MacArthur's introduction to Jude, he discusses the quotation from 1 Enoch in "Interpretative Challenges"... Because there are no doctrinal issues discussed, the challenges of this letter have to do with interpretation in the normal process of discerning the meaning of the text. Jude does quote from non-canonical, pseudepigraphal (i.e., the actual author was not the one named in its title) sources such as 1 Enoch (v. 14 - [Ed: Actually verse 9]) and the Assumption of Moses (v. 9) to support his points. Was this acceptable? Since Jude was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2Ti 3:16-note; 2Pe 1:20,21-note) and included material that was accurate and true in its affirmations, he did no differently than Paul (cf. Acts 17:28-note; 1Cor 15:33; Titus 1:12-note). (Jude Introduction) Enoch was the seventh from Adam in the line of Seth (but see NET Note below). Lawlessness had climaxed in the time of Lamech, the seventh from Adam in the line of Cain, whereas godliness climaxed in Enoch. It is interesting to note that Enoch was a contemporary of Adam for a little over 300 years and that he lived alongside the other patriarchs listed in Genesis 5 all his life. He was in a sense "raptured" about seventy years before Noah was born. Moses records... Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. 19 Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22 Then Enoch walked with God (cp Heb 11:5-note) three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God (Septuagint uses the verb euaresteo and translates it "Enoch was well-pleasing to God,"); and he was not, for God took him (Septuagint uses metatithemi = to transfer from one place to another). (Ge 5:18-24) NET Note on seventh generation is interesting - The genealogical count is inclusive, counting Adam as the first, for Enoch is really the sixth in descent from Adam (Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch). In this way, the picture of perfection/completion was retained (for the number seven is often used for perfection or completion in the Bible) starting with Adam and concluding with Enoch. The Book of Enoch, which was known to the fathers of the second century, was lost for some centuries with the exception of a few fragments, and was found entire in a copy of the Ethiopic Bible, in 1773, by Bruce. It became known to modern students through a translation from this into English by Archbishop Lawrence, in 1821. It was probably written in Hebrew. It consists of revelations purporting to have been given to Enoch and Noah, and its object is to vindicate the ways of divine providence, to set forth the retribution reserved for sinners, angelic or human, and "to repeat in every form the great principle that the world—natural, moral, and spiritual—is under the immediate government of God." Behold - Jude uses this word to cause us to focus our attention on the following prophetic pronouncement. Spurgeon says that "Behold is a word of wonder; it is intended to excite admiration. Wherever you see it hung out in Scripture, it is like an ancient sign-board, signifying that there are rich wares within, or like the hands which solid readers have observed in the margin of the older Puritanic books, drawing attention to something particularly worthy of observation." The Lord came (aorist active indicative) - Not "will come" (future tense) but "came" (past tense). And so we see that the verb came is aorist tense but in this context describes an event that is yet future. This event (His coming to execute judgment in Jude 1:15) is so certain that Jude describes it as past tense. This use of the aorist tense is referred to as proleptic aorist. Daniel B Wallace says "The aorist indicative can be used to describe an event that is not yet past as though it were already completed. This usage is not at all common, though several exegetically significant texts involve possible proleptic aorists." (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics) The Lord (kurios) is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, returning as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:11-16-note; cf Mt 16:27, 24:30, 31, 25:31, 1Th 3:13). Notice that whereas in the flood God sent rain, in the final judgment He will send His Son to personally judge the ungodly world. Recall that Peter highlighted the skepticism of non-believers in the last days regarding the Second Coming of Christ writing... Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation (Ed: Note how wrong they were -- because they had bought the lie of evolution and rejected the truth of God's Word in Genesis, they did not believe in God's past judgment of a global flood)." (2Pe 3:3-4-note) With many thousands of His holy ones - "Literally, in or among holy myriads." (cp Dt 33:2; Zech 14:5)." (Vincent's Word Studies) The preposition "in or amid, presents the coming Lord as surrounded by a vast concourse of court attendants." (Hiebert) It is interesting that the KJV translates "hagiais muriasin autou" (His holy ones) as "His saints." The Amplified Version has "His myriads of holy ones (ten thousands of His saints)." Some of the modern paraphrases translate "His holy ones" as "His angels" (GWT, ICB, NCV, TEV, CEV). Undoubtedly both groups (saints and angels) are included in our returning Lord's entourage (and dear believer you can be sure that will be in that number!) as taught by comparing Rev 17:14 (See Garland's in depth analysis of the "called and chosen and faithful") with Rev 19:14 (See note = " the armies ["His holy ones" - saints and angels] which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses"). This incredible blessed hope (not a "hope so" but a "hope sure") that believers will return with the Conquering King (along with angels - cf Mt 16:27, 25:31, 2Thes 1:6-8) riding on white horses ought to cause each of us to "keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God and keep setting our mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." (Col 3:1-note, Col 3:2-note) for "When Christ, Who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." (Col 3:4-note).

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Jude 1:14

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