Read Jude 1:12-16.

Matthew 25:31-32 reveals that glorious King Jesus will gather all the nations before Him to separate those who received Him from those who did not. No one will be exempt; no one will escape.

Even with the Bible’s clear teaching on the coming judgment and the need to turn from our sins and be saved, false teachers deny this reality, leading people into error and confusion. That is why Jude warns us about them with powerful pictures. He calls them “blemishes at your love feasts” (Jude 1:12). “Blemishes” is probably better translated as “a hidden reef”—a danger beneath the surface of the water. Following their selfish ambition instead of Christ and preaching a watered-down gospel to the destruction of the body of believers, false teachers seek to “feed only themselves” (v. 12).

Jude also calls them “clouds without rain, blown along by the wind” (v. 12). In other words, they are captured by every cultural trend and offer no life-giving rain. They look the part with thunder and lightning but never offer a drop—just disappointment.

Next, Jude 1:12 compares false teachers with “autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted.” In the Middle East, the people count on the autumn harvest to prepare them for winter, so if the trees don’t produce, the coming months are lean and strained. Like these worthless trees, false teachers are “twice dead” (v. 12). They will die physically and then eternally at the judgment.

Apostates “are wild waves” that bring spiritual wreckage to those who listen to their deception. They are “wandering stars” (v. 13)—not true stars that provide steady direction. Aimless and wild, false teachers move farther and farther from the Truth of God’s Word.

Jude then assures us that though false teachers may themselves deny the coming judgment, preferring a milquetoast Jesus, He will return as Judge (see Revelation 19:11). “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone” (Jude 1:14-15). Those who have denied God’s Word, delighted in their sin, and turned their backs on the Truth will tremble at the sight of the Son of God. But believers who have longed for His coming will see the signs of their Savior’s return and lift up their heads with joyful expectation (see Luke 21:28).

Prayer: Lord, may I pursue Your Truth revealed in Your Word with confidence and joyfully prepare for the day of Your return. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 1:13).

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