In The Last Time Series

“You must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

“This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” [2 PETER 3:1-7].

Peter, as was also true of Jude, was not necessarily looking back to the prophetic writings that were penned before the Christ was revealed, though Peter perhaps did include them as he considered what had been written. Jude, however, restricts what he has to say to what the Apostles had said. And not all that these servants of Christ had communicated concerning the last time was provided in written form. It is likely that the Apostles had adopted a theme of the “scoffers” who would come.

Thomas Schreiner notes, “The prophecies Jude refers to are those of the apostles. By ‘apostles’ he does not refer to missionaries or messengers, though the term can bear that meaning. Rather, Jude has in mind those who served as the foundation of the church, the authoritative interpreters and witnesses of the gospel. In this group belong the Twelve, the apostle Paul, and perhaps Barnabas and James, the brother of Jesus.” [2] Warnings of false teachers was a common feature of apostolic preaching. Paul warned, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” [2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4].

Among other points of note from the information Schreiner provides is the fact that the teaching of the Apostles was prophetic in the sense that they spoke of what was coming, and how followers of the Risen Saviour were to respond to those future events. The warnings delivered were not novel speculations such as what is seen masquerading as “prophecy” commonly observed today among some sects of the Faith found on the margins, as also witnessed among numerous cults; Jude was looking at statements which were firmly grounded in the warnings Jesus had delivered during His days in the flesh.

You may recall that before any of His Apostles wrote warning of false teachers, Jesus had warned of the coming of such charlatans. During the sermon Jesus delivered from the side of a mountain, He had warned, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” [MATTHEW 7:15-23].

Looking forward to the end of this Age, Jesus warned, “Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” [MATTHEW 24:11-14].