Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

5:22 sons and daughters. It is worth noting that Enoch’s walk with God was not such a mystical, pietistic experience as to preclude an effective family life or a strong and vocal opposition to the apostasy and wickedness of his day (Jude 14,15).

5:24 Enoch walked. Twice Enoch’s walk with God is mentioned, and he is elsewhere (Jude 14,15) said to have been a great prophet who prophesied of God’s ultimate judgment on all ungodliness at His coming, as well as its precursive fulfillment at the coming Deluge. There are at least three apocryphal books that have been attributed to Enoch, and they may have preserved certain elements of his prophecies. However, in their present form at least, they actually date from shortly before the time of Christ and are certainly not part of the inspired Scriptures.

5:24 was not. It is not said of Enoch that he “died,” like the other antediluvian patriarchs, but only that suddenly he was no longer present on earth. The New Testament makes it plain that he “was translated that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). Elijah had a similar experience twenty-five centuries later (II Kings 2:11). Both Enoch and Elijah were prophets of judgment to come, ministering in times of deep apostasy. Enoch, as the “seventh from Adam” (Jude 14), a contemporary of ungodly Lamech (Genesis 4:18-24), prophesied midway between Adam and Abraham, when God was dealing directly with mankind in general. Elijah prophesied midway between Abraham and Christ, when God was dealing with Israel in particular. Both were translated in the physical flesh directly to heaven (not yet glorified, as at the coming rapture of the church, described in I Thessalonians 4:13-17, since Christ had not yet been glorified).

5:25 Lamech. “Lamech” probably means “conqueror.” It is interesting that Lamech and his grandfather Enoch both appear to have been named after their older relatives in the line of Cain, possibly as a gesture of family affection in hope of leading the Cainites back to God. It is also interesting that these are the only two antediluvian patriarchs in the Sethitic line who did not outlive their fathers. Furthermore, Enoch and Lamech are the only two of these patriarchs from whom have been handed down to us fragments of their prophecies (Jude 14,15; Genesis 5:29).

6:2 sons of God. The identity of these “sons of God” has been a matter of much discussion, but the obvious meaning is that they were angelic beings. This was the uniform interpretation of the ancient Jews, who translated the phrase as “angels of God” in their Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. The apocryphal books of Enoch elaborate this interpretation, which is also strongly implied by the New Testament passages (Jude 6, II Peter 2:4-6; I Peter 3:19,20). The Hebrew phrase is bene elohim, which occurs elsewhere only in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. In these three explicitly parallel usages, the contextual meaning can be nothing except that of angels. A similar phrase bar elohim, occurs in Daniel 3:25, and another, bar elim, occurs in Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 89:6. All of these also refer explicitly to angels. The intent of the writer of Genesis 6 (probably Noah) was clearly that of introducing a monstrous irruption of demonic forces on the earth, leading to universal corruption and eventual judgment.

16:1 son of Kohath. Korah wanted to be a priest, like Aaron and his sons, not appreciating the fact that the Kohathites had been given the high privilege of serving in God’s tabernacle (see Numbers 4:4-15). Dathan, Abiram and On were not Levites, but descendants of Reuben (note Numbers 26:5-9). Possibly they thought they should be leaders instead of Moses, since Reuben had been Israel’s first son. Korah was the ringleader of this rebellion, assisted by Dathan and Abiram. Both the Kohathites and Reubenites were encamped close together on the south side of the tabernacle (Numbers 2:10; 3:29), providing easy opportunity for them to discuss grievances and foment rebellion together. Somehow they also persuaded 250 others, all prominent in the assembly and possibly at least some from the other tribes (though most were probably Levites and Reubenites) to go along with them. But all these rebels soon “perished in the gainsaying of Core” (Jude 11).

22:20 God came unto Balaam. Balaam had evidently been a real prophet of the true God at one time. As is the case with many modern preachers and evangelists, however, his cupidity led him into false religion and practice. The historical reality of Balaam is attested by three writers in the New Testament (II Peter 2:15-16; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14).

4:18 his angels. The Satanic spirit here expresses his bitterness over the fate of those fallen angels who invaded the bodies of human women in the antediluvian world (Genesis 6:1-4), and were banished to the lowest hell (Greek tartarus) to await final judgment (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6).

57:20 the troubled sea. In a like metaphor, Jude compares apostate teachers in the church to “raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame” (Jude 13).

8:12 outer darkness. The ultimate destiny of the lost, even those who had the special privilege of birth in the chosen nation, is in the lake of fire. This is possibly a star far out in the outer darkness of infinite space (note also II Peter 2:17; Jude 13). Note that a star is, indeed, a vast lake of fire.