Kathemerinosatos

Text:  Jude 1:11-13Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam´s error for the sake of gain, and perish in Korah´s rebellion. These are blemishes on your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame<, wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved for ever

In these three verses, Jude continues with his scathing attack on the false teachers. He compares their plight to the three negative examples in the Old Testament. The first one is of Cain in Genesis 4:4-5 who killed his brother Abel. The second is of Balaam in Numbers 22-25 who chose profit over integrity. The third one is of Korah in Number 16 who rebelled against Moses. The “love feast” [„agape‟ feast] is probably a reference to a fellowship meal held in a house church. The meal would have been shared by Christians from all classes of society. Apparently, these false teachers were attending the Lord Supper fellowship meals and making a mockery out of it because of their behavior and unbelief—they also may have been promoting their false doctrines and ungodly behavior. Jude employs four metaphors to describe their behavior.

First, they are like “clouds without rain, blown along by the wind.” This is a reference to Prov. 25:14; “Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give”. Second, they are like “autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead”. In other words, although these men have had time to produce fruit they are spiritually barren. Third, they are like “wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame.” In other words, they are undisciplined and uncontrolled. Jude here references Isa. 57:20. Four, they are like “wandering stars‟ he is actually using metaphorical language to describe fallen angels. The false teachers are doomed just as surely as are the fallen angels