Jude 1:11-12

[Hidden In Him]

The Dangers Inherent In Forsaking The Fear Of God

     When it comes to having to withstand temptations that could ultimately draw us away from God if we're not careful, the fear of the Lord becomes absolutely vital in protecting us spiritually. This is why, before he can lure men into sexual immorality and speaking hard words against Almighty God, Satan must first rid them of their fear of Him.
     Thus the importance of walking in the fear of God is made perfectly clear in passages from both the Old and New Testaments:

     He that walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he that is perverse in his ways despises Him. A wise man fears, and departs from evil. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:2, 16, 26-27)

     Therefore, beloved, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

     At this point in the letter, Jude now begins to key in on the fear of God as something the followers of Simon's heresy were not walking in, and this is ultimately what was going to lead to their demise. God commanded that men were to chose life or death, and by rejecting the fear of God these heretics were chasing the latter:

     Woe be unto them, for they were led down the path of Cain, and were dispensed with due to the waywardness of Balaam for pay, and perished in the dispute of Korah. These are blemishes in the midst of your Agapes, shepherding themselves while fearlessly feasting together among you. (Jude 1:11-12a)

     Whenever the word “Woe” is used in scripture, the suggestion is that there is great reason to fear. And whereas the saints maintained a healthy fear of God, these "blemished" sheep were doing just the opposite: They were now "shepherding themselves while fearlessly feasting among them." Like disobedient sheep, they had forsaken the straight path to go their own way and shepherd themselves instead, just as Peter also declared:

     Forsaking the straight way, they went astray, having followed in the pathway of Balaam of Bosor, who loved the reward of unrighteousness, but received a reproof of his own wickedness, the dumb donkey, having spoken in a man's voice, hindered the insanity of the prophet. (2 Peter 2:15-16)

     But rather than merely stopping at Balaam, Jude added two more names to the list of those these heretics had left the straight and narrow path to follow: Cain and Korah. And he now used past tense verbs, to suggest that because of it these heretics were already as good as dead:

     Woe be unto them, for they were led down the path of Cain, and were dispensed with due to the waywardness of Balaam for reward, and perished in the dispute of Korah. (Jude 1:11)

     As we shall see, Jude's reason for using past tense verbs here was because each of these notoriously wicked men were known from Jewish tradition to have displayed traits similar to Simon, who essentially combined all these traits into one. Thus, Jude could rightly say they were followers of Cain, Balaam and Korah, and as a result had already been condemned by God.


Parallels Between Simon Of Samaria And Cain, Balaam And Korah

     What did Simon have in common with Cain, who slew his brother Abel? Though not explained in detail, there is actually a line in the Genesis account which suggests Cain killed Abel as the result of a heated argument. According to tradition this argument ensued as a result of God receiving Abel's offering yet rejecting Cain's:

     And the Lord looked to Abel and His offering. But He did not look to Cain and His offering. And Cain grew angry, and his face became downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door, and it's desire is to have you, but you should rule over it.” And Cain talked with his brother Abel. And as they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. (Genesis 4:6-8, Masoretic)

     Why did God feel the need here to record that Cain "talked" with his brother Abel? According to Jewish tradition, this talk the two of them were having was actually a heated debate over the character of God Himself. In attempting to save face after having had his offering rejected, Cain took Abel into the field, out of ear's reach of their parents, and began trying to convince him that God was in reality lying about there being an afterlife, and that He was actually cruel and unjust in His judgments.
     As one account from the Fragmentary Targum states:

     And Cain said to Abel his brother, "Come let the two of us go out to the open filed." And it was when the two of them had gone out to the open field, Cain answered and said to Abel, "There is no judgment, and there is no Judge, and there is no other world, and there is no gift of good reward for the righteous, and no punishment for the wicked. And the world was not created in mercy and it is not governed in mercy. For what reason was your offering accepted from you with favor, but from me it was not accepted with favor?" Abel answered and said to Cain, "There is judgment, and there is a Judge, and there is another world, and there is a gift of good reward for the righteous, and punishment for the wicked. The world was created in mercy and it is governed in mercy. Because the fruits of [my] good works were better than yours, my offering was accepted from me with favor but from you it was not accepted with favor." And the two of them were arguing in the open field and Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. (Fragment Targum on Genesis 4:8 )

     According to tradition, then, Cain was the first man in history to directly attack the character of God, accusing Him of being a liar and mercilessly unjust in His judgments. As we have seen in previous studies, Simon attacked the character of God in similar fashion, likewise teaching that the God of the Jews was a self-serving tyrant, and that His threats of future judgment were all just lies and therefore not to be feared.
     As also covered in previous studies, Balaam was a soothsayer familiar with the occult arts, who turned God's own people against Him by advising Balak to seduce them into practicing sexual immorality and idolatry so as to turn their own God against them, and this was the same strategy Simon the magician and his disciples were using to seduce New Testament believers away from God and into sin: 

     To the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following... "I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:12-14)

     As for Korah, during Israel's travels through the wilderness, he was a prominent Israelite leader who tried to usurp a place of greater spiritual authority over God's people, just as Simon the Magician did during the Acts account by offering to buy the right to kay hands on believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
     The scriptural account of Korah's story is recorded in Numbers:

     Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites - Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth - became insolent, and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”
     When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will have that person come near him... You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers, and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy... Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?” (Numbers 16:1-8)

     Again, scripture records that this sin was similar to the sin committed by Simon of Samaria. In desiring a position of leadership over the congregation of God which he was not appointed to, Simon even dared to offer the apostles money to attain it:

     But Simon, having seen that the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them riches, saying, “Give me this authority as well, so that on whomsoever I may lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your riches come to ruin with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be obtained by riches. There is no part nor share for you in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness, and ask the Lord God if [this] thought of your heart may truly be forgiven you. For I perceive that you are subject to the poison of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." And having answered, Simon said, “You pray to the Lord on my behalf, that nothing which you have spoken may come upon me.” (Acts 8:9–24)


Following Those Who Walked In The Way Of Cain

     In order to properly interpret what Jude was saying here, however, it is important to understand that he was not actually comparing the followers of Simon's heresy to Cain, Balaam and Korah themselves, but to the three groups of people who all fell victims to their influence. All three of these groups eventually became God's enemies, and suffered His judgments as a result. In the case of those who were "led down the path of Cain," Jude was referring to the descendants of Seth, whom tradition records collectively turned against God in the seventh generation from Adam, and began engaging in sexual sin with the daughters of Cain. By this, it is apparent that the expression "led down the path of Cain" meant to be seduced into forsaking God for the sake of bodily pleasures. 
     The Jewish historian Josephus recorded it as follows:

     [Cain] did not accept of his punishment in order to amendment, but to increase his wickedness, for he only aimed to procure every thing that was for his own bodily pleasure… and he became a great leader of men into wicked courses.
     Now Adam... had indeed many other children, but Seth in particular… [Seth] became a virtuous man, and just as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. All these proved to be of good dispositions. They also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in a happy condition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died…
     Now this posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of the universe, and to have an entire regard to virtue, for seven generations; but in process of time they were perverted, and forsook the practices of their forefathers, and did neither pay those honors to God which were appointed them, nor had they any concern to do justice towards men. But for what degree of zeal they had formerly shown for virtue, they now showed by their actions a double degree of wickedness, whereby they made God to be their enemy. (Josephus, Antiquities, 1.1.2, 60-61, 1.3.1-2, 72-73)

     I cite numerous traditions in this set of studies because Jude clearly based his theology on Jewish traditions, not just scripture. And according to another tradition, Seth asked his descendants not to intermingle with the descendants of Cain. Yet in the seventh generation, during the time when Jared was the elder, Satan inspired Cain's descendants to gather daily at the base of the mountain where Seth's descendants lived to tempt them into sin. They engaged in drinking, music-making and lurid dancing before their eyes, so as to entice the younger members of Seth's family into coming down to join them. This plan eventually worked, for despite being warned that if they left the mountain they would not be allowed by God to return, one hundred men finally determined together to go down and interact with them, and soon were enticed into engaging in sexual immorality with their daughters:

     After this, a hundred men of the children of Seth gathered together, and said among themselves, "Come, let us go down to the children of Cain, and see what they do, and enjoy ourselves with them"… And when they looked at the daughters of Cain, at their beautiful figures, and at their hands and feet dyed with color, and tattooed in ornaments on their faces, the fire of sin was kindled in them… the daughters of Cain lusted after the sons of Seth like ravenous beasts, and [also] the sons of Seth after the daughters of Cain, until they committed abomination with them. But after they had fallen into this defilement, they returned by the way they had come, and tried to ascend the Holy Mountain. But they could not, because the stones of that mountain were of fire flashing before them, by reason of which they could not go up again. (Second Adam and Eve, 20:24, 31-33)

     In the end, nearly the entire line of Seth forsook the Lord, for God commanded Jared to warn the rest not to likewise go down and be lost but nearly all refused to listen. Eventually nearly all of his descendants descended the mountain to walk in the way of Cain except the families of Methuselah, Lamech and Noah, and this is essentially what led to the flood:

     After this another company gathered together, and they went to look after their brethren; but they perished as well as they. And so it was, company after company, until only a few of them were left. Then Jared was sickened with grief… and when they were come to him, he prayed over them and blessed them, and said unto them, "You are righteous, innocent sons. Do not go down from this holy mountain, for behold, your children and your children's children have gone down, and have estranged themselves from this holy mountain through their abominable lust and transgression of God's commandment"… Altogether, not one of our fathers or of their children remained on that holy mountain, except those three, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. For all the rest went down from the mountain and fell into sin with the children of Cain. (Second Adam and Eve, 21:1-2, 4, 22:10)


All Three of Jude's Examples Ended In Mass Genocide

     It was around the same time the descendants of Seth were being seduced into walking in the way of Cain that the angels of God accompanied with the daughters of men and began begetting giants in the earth. As a result, within just a few generations the entire planet, including the animal kingdom, had become enveloped in a culture of violence. God had no choice but to destroy all life on planet earth, and start over with Noah and his family.

     But the Lord, having seen that the wicked deeds of men were being multiplied upon the earth, and that every one was diligently intent in his heart only upon doing evil continually, became grieved that He had made man upon the earth, and thought things over. And God said, "I will erase man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even mankind together with the cattle and reptiles [and] with the flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them."
     … And water prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under the heaven… and God erased every offspring on the face of the earth, both man and beast and the reptiles and birds of the sky, and they were erased from off the earth, and Noah alone was left alive, [he] and those with him in the ark. And the water was raised over the earth for one hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 6:6-8, 7:19, 23-24 LXX)

                                                 

     So, too, did the Israelites who were seduced into committing fornication and spiritual adultery with the daughters of Moab succumb to mass destruction as a result of Balaam's influence:

     While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to engage in sexual immorality with the women of Moab, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meat and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them. (Numbers 25:1-3 NIV)

     In context, "the Lord's anger" took the form of a plague which broke out amongst the Israelites, as the rest of the passage makes clear. It was only after Zimri and Cozbi were put to death with a spear that the plague finally ended, yet not before thousands had died:

     Then an Israelite man [even] brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. (Numbers 25:6-9 NIV)

     The anger of the Lord also manifested in a plague that fell upon the Israelites during the rebellion of Korah. God miraculously executed judgment against him, Dathan and Abiram by opening up the earth and swallowing them alive into Hades. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed the 250 leaders who stood with Korah. This did not sit well with many, however, for those who died had been prominent men amongst the families of Israel.
     Thus, the scripture states:

     The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said. But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord said to Moses, “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
     Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord, and the plague has started.” So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. (Numbers 16:41-50 NIV)
 
     So, likewise, was Jude claiming that the followers of Simon's heresy would likewise suffer mass destruction when the Lord returned from Heaven, together with the angels of His power (Jude 1:14-15).


Is Teaching The Fear Of God A Sin Now?

     These were the stories through which the Israelites taught their children the fear of God. They were precisely the kind of stories David was referring to in Psalms when he said:

     Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord... The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to erase their name from the earth. (Psalm 34:11, 15-16)

     This is what scripture referred to as "training up a child in the way he should go." When he reached young adulthood and the lusts of the flesh began to tempt him, if he had been taught such things he would not depart from it because the fear of God was upon him (Proverbs 22:4-6). This tradition was passed on to the early church, for as was commanded in the Epistle of Barnabas, "From their infancy shall you teach them the fear of the Lord." (See Ante-Nicene Fathers, V.1, P.148)
     Yet increasing numbers of Christians today speak against teaching the fear of God to believers. It is supposedly unbelievers who need to fear Him. Believers need only “respect,” “revere” or “honor” Him. But this raises the question: How can unbelievers be expected to fear someone they don't even believe in? It makes no sense whatsoever. The truth is that it is believers who are to be taught the fear of God.
     Nevertheless, some in Christian leadership are now even going so far as to say that it is a "work of Satan" for anyone to teach the fear of God to believers:

     When we fear God, it puts Him in a dictatorship position in our minds. Fear is the very thing that Adam and Eve experienced once they broke fellowship with God in the garden. They knew no fear before they knew sin. So if God's plan for Adam and Eve was not for them to fear Him, then why do we believe today that God's will for us is to fear Him? It seems that it is the devil who wants God's children to fear Him, as God's plan for man was never to fear Him. (Great Bible Studies.com, The Fear Of The Lord)

     But even a glance at scripture reveals that rather than "wanting" them to fear God, Satan's was urging them to NOT fear God, but rather ignore His warnings that if they ate of the tree they would die. His words to Eve suggested God was a liar and merely trying to withhold wisdom from them for self-serving reasons:

     He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
     “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:2b-5)

     Certainly the Lord intended for them to fear Him. Why else would He station angels and a flaming sword near the tree of life to guard the way to it when He expelled them from the garden of Eden and forbid them from eating of it any longer? (Genesis 3:25)

                                                 

     If teaching the fear of God is a work of the Devil, then Jude was apparently serving Satan in teaching what he was teaching, for the thrust of this entire epistle was to teach the fear of God, and not to sinners, but to the faithful. They were the ones Jude was writing to, specifically because if they failed to continue walking in the fear of God they too were in danger of ending up like the three groups he cited. All three belonged to God, yet forsook His Lordship for various reasons, and all three ended up incurring His wrath instead of His blessings as a result.


What The Spirit Is Again Saying To The Churches

     The following end-time prophecy is a clear and unmistakable warning to believers not to turn back to sin after starting out with the Lord. The prediction is a fearful one, and unfortunately appears as if it is indeed on the way to fulfillment. Because the fear of God will not be taught, entire nations of believers will make no distinction between good and evil in their lives, and end up going to Hell for failing to truly repent of their sins.
     As Kathryn Baxter recalled from one of her visions of Hell:

     Jesus knew my thoughts and said to me again, "This is outer darkness. Remember that my Word says, 'The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Lord," I said, "You mean your servants are here?" "Yes," said Jesus, "servants that turned back after I called them. Servants who loved the world more than Me and went back to wallowing in the mire of sin. Servants that would not stand for the truth and for holiness. It is better that one never starts than to turn back after beginning to serve Me." "Believe Me," Jesus said, "if you sin, you have an advocate with the Father.  If you repent of your sins, I will be faithful to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. But if you will not repent, I will come in a time you think not, and you will be cut off with the unbelievers and cast into outer darkness."
     … And then I saw, as in a vision, angels opening seals.  Nations and kingdoms appeared to be locked beneath them. As the angels broke the seals, men and women, boys and girls marched straight into the flames. I watched in ghastly fascination, wondering if I knew any of the fallen servants of the Lord who were marching past. I could not turn my head away from the sight of souls marching into the fire, and no one was trying to stop them. I cried, "Lord, please stop them before they reach the fire!" But Jesus said, "He who has ears should hear. He who has eyes should see. My child, cry out against sin and evil. Tell my servants to be faithful and to call upon the name of the Lord. I am taking you through this awful place so that you can tell them about Hell." Jesus continued, "Some will not believe you. Some will say God is too good to send men and women to Hell. But tell them My Word is true. Tell them that the fearful and unbelieving will have their part in the Lake of Fire." (A Divine Revelation Of Hell, P.117-120)

     One of the primary jobs of those who called to be ministers of God during the end-times, therefore, is to teach the fear of God. Hell is real, and through visions and dreams the Lord Himself is now commanding that His servants warn the faithful about the dangers of starting out with God but then turning back into a life of "wallowing in the mire of sin." This statement made to her by the Lord was a clear allusion to 2 Peter 2:22, a letter originally written to warn believers about the dangers of converting over to Simon's heresy during New Testament times.




Links to sources cited:

http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/fear_of_the_lord.php