Jude

It is not entirely clear when or from where Jude wrote this letter.  Since much of his letter touches upon examples of judgment on those who have rejected God’s true teaching, it seems that he would most certainly not have missed the opportunity to use the destruction of Jerusalem as an example.  Therefore, since the Fall of Jerusalem is not mentioned the letter almost surely would have been written prior to that event, which took place in AD 70.

The only other aspect of the letter that would help us determine when it was written in relation to other books of the New Testament comes from its apparent connection with 2 Peter chapter 2 (see Jude 4-18 and 2 Peter 2:1-3:4).  Either Peter is copying from Jude and continuing his warning, or Jude is copying from Peter to verify Peter’s prediction of judgment on false teachers.  Arguments have been given to support each side of the debate over the years, but ultimately no one knows for certain either way.  In any case, it’s evidence of the close relationship of these two leaders in the early church.

Jude addresses his letter “to those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jud 1).  He also refers to them as “dear friends” throughout the letter (Jud 3,17,20).  These believers could have been the same people that the apostle Peter wrote to (compare Jude 4-18 with 2 Peter 2:1-3:4) and therefore consisted of Gentile (non-Jewish) believers in Asia Minor.  However, there are numerous references to Old Testament people and events (Jud 5,7,9,11,14), so it’s also possible that the letter was primarily intended for Jewish Christians.  In any case, Jude feels compelled to write to them to protect them from false teachers who have infiltrated the church (Jud 3-4).

Jude is very clear about the purpose of his letter in the opening verses.  He has heard about false teachers threatening God’s Church, and he wants to warn his recipients about their teachings (Jud 3-4).  Jude emotionally stresses the fiery judgment that is coming upon them by using intense imagery and examples from the Old Testament (Jud 5-16).  This leaves a lasting impression upon his readers concerning the dangers of false doctrine and the importance in remaining in the truth of the gospel message.

In doing all of this, Jude does something that has caused a great amount of discussion among Bible scholars over the years: he quotes from the book of Enoch, which is not a book included in the Old Testament canon.  Because of this as well as the fact that Jude is not an apostle (Jud 17), some have spoken against the inclusion of this letter in the New Testament canon.  However, Mark and Luke were also not among Jesus’ apostles, and the apostle Paul did not have a problem quoting from writings outside the canon of Scripture to prove his arguments (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12), so we find that these arguments against Jude’s inclusion in the canon fall short.

• Jude 6
• Jude 20-21
• Jude 22-23
• Jude 24-25