The Book Of Jude

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TRANSCRIPT – The Book of Jude (0815) VOICEOVER: The Key of David with Gerald Flurry GERALD FLURRY: Greetings, everyone. How often have we seen a public sex scandal? Then the man usually will get up before the TV cameras and apologize in pain, and you can see there’s a lot of suffering and agony in that; and perhaps the wife will be there with him, and you can see, in some cases, where she might age some ten to fifteen years, it seems, in perhaps a few hours—all of it very much in pain. Well, what is that pain supposed to teach us? What are we supposed to learn from that pain? If sex has the potential to cause such extreme pain, I think if we’d stop and think about it a little bit, we’d have to realize that sex also has the potential to bring exceeding joy into our lives, and a joy that would eclipse that pain when it’s at the very worst. That is the truth and that is, in fact, what your Bible does teach if you understand the potential of sex and use it the way God intended. I believe that Jude is the most urgent book in the Bible, and I think maybe you’ll see why, as I go through it; and we have a booklet on that we’ll give you that will explain that very much in detail, but quite a lot of those sins talked about in Jude are about sexual sins. Now there are many others as well, but it does seem to have a pretty strong focus on sexual sins. But sexual sins today are so common in our society—or sexual crimes, they’re called in some quarters. They are so common that oftentimes we don’t even look upon them as being wrong; and yet, what about God? What does God think about sexual sins? Now, if you look carefully at the Bible, and this is throughout the Bible, the Old and the New Testament, you’ll see that God says that illicit sex breaks up marriages, destroys marriages, destroys families, and family, of course, is the backbone of the nation, so it destroys nations. I mean, we’re talking about a problem here that, in many ways, is bigger than that of an exploding nuclear bomb. That’s how serious this problem is; and yet, how many people really do see what a serious problem it is? Notice verse 18. I want to show you that this little book of Jude is for us today of all things. Amazingly, it’s for us! In Jude’s time, that was only a small type of what it is for us today. Verse 18. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. So, here Jude was the brother of Christ, and he talks to us about “the last time.” Now, he did, for some time, as well as the other apostles, think he was talking about “the last time” was going to be in his day, but he found out later that it wasn’t. So, he was talking 1

about our time; and his, as I said, was only a type of that. The first century—you can see this in many scriptures—is a type of what happens in this last century. But notice the Greek word for “last,” where we’re talking about “the last time,” it means: “extreme or most remote.” The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible says: “...time generally which concludes everything.” And here’s what the Hebrew-Greek Key Bible Study also says: “Jude is thought to have written the book after Peter’s death (that’s about 68 to 69 A.D.) but BEFORE the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.” Then God’s people were taken to a place of safety—those that did repent. They were taken to Pella and protected. Jude was talking about a one or two-year period before the 70 A.D. Holocaust which was the worst suffering that they had ever experienced on the earth up to that time. It was that bad. Peter was the Chief Apostle, and he had been killed; and it was just then a year or two until 70 A.D., so it was a very dangerous time—a very dangerous time; and Jude was warning them—warning them—so they wouldn’t have to go through that 70 A.D. Holocaust if they would listen to him. But remember, it’s only a type of our time today. It is indeed a very strong warning for us, and God says He’ll protect his people in this end time. He will protect them. The Apostle James was killed about 62 A.D., Paul about 66 to 67 A.D., and Mark and Peter around 68 and 69 A.D. I mean, really, all of the apostles were killed with the exception of John, as far as we can tell; and John was in prison on the Isle of Patmos, and he had written the Epistles of John, and certainly he wrote the book of Revelation on the Isle of Patmos while he was in prison. So would you say it was a pretty rough time? And yet, most of the commentaries will say, “Well, Jude had a harsh view.” Well, now, that just shows how little they understand the Bible, and they ought to be careful criticizing the brother of Jesus Christ; and of course, indirectly, criticizing Christ Himself who died for their sins at that time as well, or quite a few years before that time. But it’s dangerous to speak out and speak the truth. So, are people a little too critical of the sacred scriptures? And I think we’d all have to say, “Well, yes they are.” But why was Jude so urgent? Well, because it was getting so close to 70 A.D. It was getting so close, and he was giving the most urgent message that you could imagine. I don’t think there’s a stronger warning in the Bible, and then also he was warning God’s people, as he is today, and he says in one of the scriptures I’ll get to in a moment where they were just being “pulled out of the fire” or the Revised Standard Version says he was “snatching them out of the fire”—physically and spiritually. Notice that in Verse 23. Notice that. I’ll just read it now. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. So there’s a dual meaning here—a physical and spiritual. He was just pulling them “out of the fire.” They were about to enter into a physical holocaust, but he was also talking directly to God’s own people who were turning away, and they were in danger of losing their spiritual lives and going into, let’s say, a spiritual holocaust, as it were. That is a powerful lesson for us; and if you don’t know who the nations of Israel are—and that’s who God is talking to today, primarily—two nations and you could add a third. And you can read about that in our book on The United States and Britain in Prophecy. But he

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says this is for “the last time,” and I mean people were being snatched out of the fire, just barely made it physically and perhaps spiritually as well. But only God knows about that. But the lesson is this: that God always warns. He warns us before He brings that punishment upon us, and hopes, of course, we’ll heed the warning and not have to be punished as they were in 70 A.D. Now they certainly had all kinds of warnings leading up to 70 A.D.—all kinds of them—and they killed Christ, and then they killed the apostles. What kind of a reception does God’s warning usually have? Well, the track record there is not too good. The history there is not too good, is it? Fact, it’s just downright abominably bad, and wrong too. Notice verse 7 of Jude. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, Anything goes. …are set forth for an example, An example! Note that: An example for us in this “last time.” …suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. I mean, these two cities that were so sexually perverted were just destroyed by fire from the Eternal, and He says it’s there for an example for us in “the last time,” of all things. That’s a pretty serious warning. And you know what the problem with them? They were just giving themselves over to fornication, just giving themselves over to it. Did you know that every person in Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed by fire? And he says it’s an example for us in this end time. Now that’s a pretty strong message. I’ll tell you, that’s one that does strike certain fear in my mind, and I hope yours as well. Did you know that America is the number-one exporter of pornography on this earth? If you look at the book we’ll send you on The United States and Britain in Prophecy, we’re supposed to be setting an example for the world, but what an example. But verse 7 here in Jude is a prophecy about the terrible, terrible sexual sins that we would be committing in this end time; and pornography tells it all, just tells the whole story practically—giving themselves over to fornication and every imaginable evil. Notice what it says here: “‘The Internet accounted for 2.5 billion of the adult industry’s 14 billion dollars in U.S. revenues in 2004,’ according to Ron Harris’ www.macnewsworld.com in 2005.” Now, that 14 billion is more money than they make from baseball which is, you know, a huge, huge amount of income there, but more than baseball, football, and professional basketball all put together—all of these hugely profitable sport franchises. Well, did you know that pornography makes more money than all of them? …giving themselves over to fornication… and strange flesh. Anything that goes. Anything they wanted to do, that’s what they were doing. Is God talking about us? I’m afraid He is, since we’re the

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number-one offender in pornography. Wouldn’t you say He’s talking about us in “the last time?” And that’s the time we’re living in today. Approximately 40 million people in the United States are sexually involved with the Internet. Notice this: an amazing example here of one of the greatest sex perverts and criminals of our time. Notice. Here’s what Ted Bundy said: “I wasn’t some guy hanging out in bars or a bum. I wasn’t a pervert in the sense that people look at somebody and say ‘Well, I know there’s something wrong with him.’ I was a normal person. I had good friends. I had a normal life except for this one, small but very potent and destructive segment, pornography. I kept very secret and close to myself.” That’s the infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy, talking to Dr. James Dobson hours before his execution—just hours. It says here that “…86% of the rapists…” (This is one of our articles.) “…admit to regular use of porn, and 57% admit to imitating porn scenes in committing their sex crimes. An FBI report found that 81% of serial sex murderers admitted to using pornography.” Eightyone percent! And Ted Bundy said he didn’t know “…a violent, sexual deviant in jail who wasn’t addicted to porn. In fact, in an interview shortly before his execution, he said, ‘You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me, but out there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography, and you are doing nothing about that.” Is that true? Well, if it isn’t true, I certainly don’t understand the problem. It’s so true, it’s painful; and yet, we hide from it. We hide from it, and it’s so destructive, it’s terrifying. If you don’t think so, listen to this: “Cyber-porn is not just breaking up marriages…” writes Lynn Schurr. “It can have another, even more insidious effect— keeping young people from EVER forming relationships.” (ABCNews.com, August 27 by Lynn Schurr) Now, that’s a terrible statement. You know what she’s really saying is, these young people get hooked on porn before they even know anything about dating or marriage or what a beautiful relationship that can be and having a family—the most sacred institution on this earth. They never, ever learn anything about that. They’re perverted before they even get to be adults and never learn about God’s purpose for sex. They never learn. If that isn’t a tragedy, I don’t know what tragedy is. And America, you see, we’re the number one contributor to the world with pornography. That’s our number-one export— 14 billion dollars annually made on pornography. That’s bigger than great corporations in this world. Are we about to bring eternal fire on ourselves? Is that what this is about? Why do public officials just risk everything, so much of the time, to get involved in illicit sex or pornography or whatever? Isn’t it because, usually we’ll say, well, it’s because they’re arrogant or want to get caught, or whatever, but I’ll tell you the main problem is not that at all. The main problem is addiction. They get addicted to it. It’s like heroin. It is so dangerous, and people don’t understand that. As I said, it’s more deadly than a nuclear bomb. We just don’t know it. Ted Bundy told us so. That terribly evil man told us so, and pornography had a lot to do with his evil, and how much responsibility should we take for that because we allow it to happen, or we nurture it, or we produce it, or whatever? Hey, isn’t there more responsibility than just old Ted Bundy? I think so. Why do people in high places fall because of this? Because they’re addicted, most of the time. They are addicted, and that addiction is deadly, and it’s so hard to ever come out of. It’s

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like trying to shake the drug habit of heroin or some drug like that. But it’s all prophesied in Jude 7 in the New Testament of your Bible. It’s prophesied. And now we give the whole world all this pornography and say, well, we do that because it’s free expression, and I’m telling you it’s the worst slavery you can imagine. The people that say it’s free expression don’t know what they’re talking about. And maybe they don’t care, and millions of people are getting hooked on that and destroyed by that, and marriages are being destroyed, families are being destroyed, and if you destroy the family, you destroy the nation. I think we ought to look at it closely, don’t you? Isn’t that, you see, a terrible, terrible thing when we say, well, it’s all done in the name of free expression? What an abominable view of something God created! Look, you’ll never understand the magnitude of that evil until you understand God’s master plan, the Gospel, or the good news, of the coming family of God. See, marriage is a type of our marriage to Christ. Family is a type of the God family, and as we have a marriage and we have a family, we’re trying to pattern it after our marriage to Christ and after the God family and become perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. I’ll tell you, nothing else will solve the pornography problem but that. Nothing will ever solve it but that; and we’re going to suffer until we learn that tremendous lesson. Pornography strikes at the very heart of God’s family plan—I mean right at the heart of it—and God says, “I had this divine fire come down from Heaven to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,” and that’s an example for us in the last time. How many people believe that? I mean, that’s scary prophecy, but God has to show us the pain so that we’ll learn the beauty of sex and the beauty of marriage and the beauty of family and being born into the family of God and living in God’s family forever and ruling the universe. What a future if we can learn the lesson! The Gospel is the good news—the good news. II Peter 2 and verse 14 is really just a counterpart of the Book of Jude, and it says in II Peter 2:14, Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; They’re addicted! …eyes full of adultery, [they] cannot cease. They can’t do it! They have been overwhelmed by the addiction, and they can’t shake the habit. And you go on and read there, and it said yet the leaders will promise them LIBERTY [when] they themselves are the [slaves or] servants of corruption. When they promise you liberty, they are not going to deliver you liberty. They’re going to deliver you into slavery. I mean, the fruits are out there to prove that. Two cities had to be totally destroyed—every single inhabitant totally destroyed—to teach us a lesson today; and yet, there’s a more important lesson and a more severe one aimed directly at God’s own Church because Jude is talking to them as well. Notice that in verse 5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the [Eternal], having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. So He says, “You once knew this.” (The Revised Standard Version) Again, that has to be God’s people. They once knew it. Only a tiny few even know this to begin with, the little flock. But then He says, You were once for all fully informed. And if you read Matthew 24 and 25, it says 50% of God’s people are going to lose their eternal lives; the other 50%, all of God’s people, but this other 50% goes into that fiery tribulation if they don’t

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wake up. But God wants to save us from all that. He wants to save us. He wants to protect us as He did the first century Christians. He took them to Pella, and they avoided the Holocaust. But you see, it says in verse 12, These are spots in your feasts… These false ministers. …are spots in your feasts of [love], when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; I mean, “spots” really should be like “hidden rocks.” That’s a bad translation, and see our faith can become shipwrecked, so there’s an eternal danger here, but notice after talking about this “eternal fire destroying cities,” He talks about people “twice dead”—dying the second death. That means dying eternally. I mean, if you talk about a warning, these are two of the strongest warnings in the whole Bible. Fire destroying cities, and God’s people being destroyed eternally. See verse 13, Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. You see, wandering stars, like the rebellious angels. They’ve wandered out of orbit. They’ve gotten out of that lawful orbit, and they’re just wandering all over the place like a drunk; and that’s the same way God’s people are doing in this end time for the most part—even God’s own church. They’ve gotten out of that lawful orbit of how to use sex and how to have a happy marriage, and how to have a beautiful family that brings exceeding joy beyond human understanding, and they’ve turned away from that. Turned away from it. If I have time here, I’ll just read a little of this quote: “The Hubble Space telescope has been orbiting the earth for over a decade. It is the size of a Greyhound bus, and so far the cost has been 7 billion. It is the most perfect telescope ever. Now, we can see at least 1500 different galaxies. It has been called the most important scientific discovery in history. The Hubble images are the most spectacular ever.” Did you know that’s our future? There are over 1500 different galaxies! I could go on explaining that from now on for a hundred years and we still couldn’t explain it all. But you see, they think they have now—they’re so excited—the scientists are excited, but they say they have the universe now, but they just SEE the universe. God says He’s going to GIVE it to those people who will get ready and prepare themselves through the right kind of marriage and the right kind of family to enter into the family of God. You read on down through verses 17 and 18 where it talks about these ungodly lusts and that break up the families and the marriages, and God goes on to say it’s all just so much sensuality, and there’s no spirit there. We need help. We need help from God. We need help from God’s Holy Spirit, and God goes on there to say that HE can keep you from falling away from that wonderful truth that He gives you. Only HE can do that and give you the power to come up out of the spiritual sewer, if that’s where you are; and you can come out of that, or you can stay out of it through the power of God, and that’s the only way we’ll ever stay out of it and enjoy this wonderful truth as we should.

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Until next week, this is Gerald Flurry. Goodbye, friends. VOICEOVER: Request our free booklet on Jude and our free book, The Missing Dimension in Sex. Jude has an extremely urgent message for our time today. Drawing on historical events, Jude warns of what will come upon our peoples today unless we repent and turn to God in obedience. God created marriage and family to bring the greatest joys into our lives. Yet today’s sexual practices are destroying the family and our nations. Our free book, The Missing Dimension in Sex shows how and why God created sex, marriage and family. This book will give you a God-centered view of how to have the most joy fulfillment in your marriage and sex life. Though society continues to suffer the plagues of sexual sin, you can experience the joy that comes from obeying God’s perfect law! Request Jude and The Missing Dimension in Sex. You will also be sent a free subscription to our news magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. The Trumpet continues to look at world news through the clear light of Bible prophecy, so that you can understand your world. For this in-depth analysis of current economic, political and social trends, you need the Trumpet magazine. All of our literature is free and will be sent to you with no cost or obligation. Be sure to also visit us online at thetrumpet.com for daily article updates. Request your free literature now. The preceding program and all literature were produced and sponsored by the Philadelphia Church of God. ©Philadelphia Church of God

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