Bible Commentaries: December 23-29, 2024

Some information about the book of Jude.

• The authorship of this epistle has been attributed to two people with the name of Jude. One of these is the apostle Jude, also called Lebbaeus, and Thaddeus (Matthew 10:3; John 14:22). But there is no concrete proof that this apostle was the 'brother of James', as the writer of the epistle calls himself. In Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13, in some versions, the word 'brother' is not in the original, and would be more of an expression of general use of language. Particularly in the New Testament, the word 'son' is also commonly used without it actually being to designate a blood "son". Furthermore, if the writer of this epistle had been an apostle, he would not have considered it necessary to introduce himself as 'brother of James', nor would he have distinguished himself from the apostles, as the words of verse 17 seem to indicate. From all this it follows that the James mentioned in verse 1 was indeed the 'brother of the Lord' (Gal. 1:19; Mark 6:3), who had a distinguished work in the latter part of the apostolic age. And in this regard Judas would have been related to the brethren of the early church, and not directly related by blood to Jesus Christ (Matt. 13:55; and Mark 6:3). Judas probably belonged, then, to the number of those brethren of the Lord who were with the apostles after his ascension (Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:5).

• We have no certain information about the life of Judas. His descendants are mentioned by Eusebius. This writer relates that when the emperor Domitian ordered the death of all the descendants of David, some of the heretics accused the descendants of Judas of belonging to the family of David, since Judas was the brother, according to the flesh, of the Savior, and Jesus in turn was a descendant of that king. And then he refers to the good confession of the Christian faith, which they made in the presence of their persecutors (Eccl. Hist. iii.20). It does not seem that the Epistle was addressed to any church. According to ancient tradition, Judas worked among those peoples to the east of Judea, and from this fact some conclude that the Epistle was sent to the Christians who were in those regions. Others suppose that it was written to the Christians of Palestine. As to the date, it can be inferred from the nature of the heresies and harmful practices that are combated therein, and from the way in which the author speaks of the preaching of the apostles, showing that the epistle refers more to the past than to the present. It seems, then, to have been written in the last apostolic period, a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem, perhaps around the year 67 A.D. The relationship of this epistle with the 2nd Epistle of Peter is obvious. There is a remarkable similarity between the two epistles, both in thought and in language. The elegance of the style in the Epistle of Jude, its particular form and vigor in thought and language, and its coherence of ideas, all lead us to believe that the letter is entirely original. And, on the other hand, chapter 2 of the 2nd Epistle of Peter, where the similarity with the Epistle of Jude is revealed, seems to be different from the simple style of Peter. There are also some expressions in the Epistle of Peter which need to be compared with the parallel passages in Jude, in order to understand their meaning (2 Pet. 2:11; Jude 9). The Epistle of Jude, as a whole, seems to have been written first, and Peter, following it to some extent, uses it independently, summarizing some thoughts and adding new particulars. The special purpose of this Epistle seems to have been to warn Christians against false teachers who made all religion consist in speculative belief and outward profession, and sought to lead their disciples into insubordination and licentiousness. The letter may be divided into two parts: (i) the first treats of the punishment of false teachers (vv. 5-7), and (ii) the second, of their character in general (vv. 8-19).

Revelation 1

• The entire book of Revelation is prophetic, bringing important symbolism and typologies to the life of God's servant. The first word of the book is "Revelation". The only way to understand this book (enter into it) is through revelation. Without it, we will make the same mistakes as many today, who do not reach understanding. This is why many are afraid to read the book, because people are afraid of what they do not know. Some important teachings from verse 1, chapter 1.

Verse 1

• The purpose of the book: Revelation of Jesus Christ. To reveal who Jesus Christ is.
• To whom it was written: To the servants of God.
• The subject: To show the things which must shortly take place.
• Who is the author of the book: Jesus Christ.
• Who is the writer of the book: The Bible was written by approximately forty men, and they are called hagiographers. The book of Revelation was written by John, the apostle. The last one left of that generation that walked alongside Jesus, heard his voice, his tone of voice, felt his touch, his smell.

Verse 2

• The Witness: John was the disciple who remained at the foot of the cross until the time Jesus gave up His spirit. When the Roman soldier pierced the Lord's side with his spear, gushing out blood and water, John testified that blood had been shed. The blood of the Lamb. John is the faithful witness to the death of Jesus (John 19:34-35) and His resurrection (John 20:2-8).

Verse 3

• The book was written for a specific time: This time that John called short almost two thousand years ago refers to our days. We are the generation that lives in the time called short. How can we affirm that we live in this time called short? By the prophetic signs that have already been fulfilled or are being fulfilled in our days. In eternity, there is no chronological time, as we know it. God marks the moment in which things will happen through dispensations, judgments. This is very well described in the trumpet blasts written in this book.

Verse 4

• The letters written to the seven churches: John wrote seven letters addressed to the seven churches situated in Asia. These letters contained a word of encouragement and exhortation to each of those churches. But, in addition, the letters bring the prophecy about what would happen to the church throughout the centuries, from its formation (at Pentecost – Acts 2) until its rapture.

Verse 11 – The seven churches:

1 – Ephesus

2 – Smyrna

3 – Pergamon

4 – Thyatira

5 – Sardis

6 – Philadelphia

7 – Laodicea

• So each letter has a prophecy related to a period in which the church would live.

• The seven spirits: There is only one Holy Spirit, not seven. However, when the Bible speaks of seven spirits, it is referring to the emphasis of the Holy Spirit's operation in each of the seven phases that the church would experience.

Isaiah 11:2 prophesied concerning the seven spirits:

1 – Spirit of the Lord

2 – Spirit of wisdom

3 – Spirit of understanding

4 – Spirit of advice

5 – Spirit of fortitude

6 – Spirit of knowledge

7 – Spirit of fear

Verses 12 and 20

• The seven golden candlesticks: A candlestick is a receptacle for oil, where the fire that gives light in the darkness is placed. The seven golden candlesticks symbolize the seven churches, filled with the Holy Spirit, which have the light of the Lord in the midst of a world of darkness.

Verses 16 and 20

• The seven stars: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches – or the seven spirits.

Chapters 8 and 9 of Revelation - THE TRUMPETS.

The time it was written:

• As we have seen in the brief study of the letters to the seven churches of Asia, contrary to what many understand, the events prophesied in Revelation will not begin to happen, but were already occurring when John wrote them. John was the last of the apostolic college to die, and because the Lord had said that he would remain until He came (John 21:22-23), two mistaken conclusions were drawn among the early church. They understood that John would not die, and he did die; and they understood that Jesus would return in that generation and John would still be alive when He came. In fact, Jesus said that John would remain until He came to reveal the Apocalypse to him, and that is what happened. John, then, was living at the end of the Ephesian period, and his imprisonment was the result of the persecutions of the church in Smyrna (Revelation 1:9). Thus, following the history of the church, we realize that we are living in the last period of the church; we are living in the period of the church of Laodicea.

The time for which it was written:

• The prophecies are for a time called soon. Almost two thousand years ago, when the book was revealed to the apostle John, the Lord Jesus showed a series of things that would soon happen, and were already happening. But when He spoke of His return, He was pointing to something that would happen about two thousand years from now, and He calls this time the moment of the soon. The book has been discussed by many scholars all this time, interpreted in many ways, applied in many other ways, but a few years ago the Lord revealed the meaning of important points that the church of this last hour needs to know. To the great amazement and joy of the church, it was discovered that the time of Jesus' coming will occur very close to the days in which we live.

God's timing:

• As we have seen, in eternity there is no time as we know it. Our time is Kronos, the time that is counted as coming from chronological, chronology. This is the time of man. In eternity, time does not exist. However, the Bible uses the expression Kairos to designate a moment, and we call it God's time. When John ascended to heaven, he saw the consummation of God's entire plan, the end of all things and the moment in which Eternity with God will begin. How can we say that the rapture of the church is about to happen, when this word has been preached for so long and has not yet been fulfilled? As we explained above, in eternity time does not exist, and what John saw when he was on the island of Patmos two thousand years ago, Moses saw on Mount Horeb almost three thousand and five hundred years ago in our history. However, in eternity they were at the same moment because, disregarding the masses, time is infinite. God marks the time we live in by dispensations and judgments. We are living in the end of the dispensation of grace and we can confirm this by the prophetic signs that are being fulfilled in our days (our generation). Chapter 8 of Revelation describes three events that have already been fulfilled, and the fourth will happen simultaneously with the rapture of the church. Chapter 9 describes two other events that will occur after the rapture of the church. The seventh trumpet is described in Revelation 11:15-19. A detailed study of the trumpets is covered in our Sunday Bible School that can be accessed on the social networks of the Maranata Christian Church, and on the church's official YouTube channel. We have a fundamental role in this prophetic moment that we are living in: to speak of Jesus as Savior and the Rapture of the Church.