Verse 7: Just
as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as
these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited
as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Jude’s third example of the fate of the false teachers demonstrates how God will surely judge them just as He judged those of the ancient world who defied Him.
The Example of Sodom and Gomorrah—Genesis 18:16-19:29
What is meant by the opening phrase “just as” indicates that the sin of the angels in verse 6 “was of the same character as that committed by the inhabitants of the cities mentioned in verse 7.”1 That sin was indulging in gross sexual immorality. The form of the Greek word indulging, which is used only here in the New Testament, gives greater emphasis to the excessiveness of their unnatural sexual pursuit of strange flesh. This phrase “strange flesh” needs clarification. The Greek word for “strange” implies a difference of kind;2other than usual...other than should be.3 This refers specifically to the fact that fallen angels, as celestial beings, had “transgressed the limits of their own nature to invade a realm of created beings of a different nature,”4 specifically, physical earthly women.
Therefore, just as the fallen angels of verse 6 had engaged in sexual immorality with strange flesh, the occupants of Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities were engrossed in the “strange” sexual relations of lesbianism and homosexuality: women with women, men with men. And since mankind has two distinct physical forms—male and female—these deviant sexual relations violated the very nature of human beings. For mankind was not designed to engage in this type of sexual activity with a physical body different than the kind originally intended for the male and the female. Note the Scriptural evidence of this truth:
God created man [mankind] in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
And,
For this reason a man [male] shall leave his father [male] and his mother [female], and be joined to his wife [female]; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)
The Apostle Paul explains the mindset of all who reject God’s divinely established order of sexuality and engage in degenerate activities:
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:25)
The creature which Paul mentions refers to mankind—they are now worshiping and serving themselves, choosing to openly defy their Creator. In essence, they spit in His face and called His truth a lie because they value their physical enjoyment of sexual perversion over the Divine truth. This is the Biblical depiction of a decadent people. This violation of sexuality among mankind has been prevalent throughout history, as evidenced from its origin in the early chapters of Genesis. Our culture is now consumed with immorality and is determined to normalize this particular degeneracy.
The Apostle Paul continues warning the consequences of this gross sin:
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:26–27)
Scripture relates that for Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, the due penalty of their error was a horrific punishment:
Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. (Genesis 19:24–25)
The Apostle Peter tells us that this fiery judgment was not an undying fire, their destruction by brimstone and fire reduced them to ashes (2 Peter 2:6). The only ones who survived were “righteous” Lot (2:7) and his two daughters (Genesis 19:16, 30).
Jude concludes the verse with cautionary advice: that the type of judgment which God administered to Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities is designed to be a continual display to all humanity of an example of what it would be like to experience the punishment of eternal fire.
Summary
Back in the early 1970’s I had the opportunity to attend three nights of meetings held by the late evangelist Jack Van Impe (1931-2020). He was known as the “Walking Bible” because of his remarkable ability of Scripture memorization. His ministry grew over the years and included a television program, recordings and books that emphasized the study of prophecy and the end times.
On one of the nights, Van Impe spoke on the subject of the widespread sexual immorality in our country. He made a relevant parallel of the issue with that of the degeneracy of Sodom and Gomorrah. I will never forget what he proclaimed, that if God did not judge the immorality in our country, than on judgment morning He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
This is actually a statement meant to emphasize an absurdity—for God has nothing to apologize for to anyone. I believe that Van Impe knew this also, but his statement was meant to be a wake-up call to all Christians. Not meaning that all believers are guilty of this sin, but to awaken them to recognize their need to become dynamic witnesses to this lost generation within our culture. I remind you, this was the 1970’s. And as has already been mentioned, sexual immorality has been the bane of humanity as far back as Genesis 6.
So, do we shrug our shoulders to this issue because it has been around for thousands of years?
No! Because Scripture is eternally relevant, as Jude is reminding us that God will surely judge those (individuals and nations) who violate the Divine standards He instituted for His creatures. This means, by way of application, that we believers must be attentive to what is happening within our culture and speak and live His truth with the intention convincing others of the fact that God does exist and that He has revealed Himself by His Son, Jesus Christ, and His word.
Do we accomplish this by protest marches, by boycotts and ostracism? No, that is the way of arrogance and is not the Biblical approach. But instead, by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), filling ourselves with His truth and becoming His credible examples—this is how we influence our generation. It is by the changing of the hearts and minds of people so that they might realize that the normal life is a life of faith in Christ.
[1] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 11.102.
[2] Lightfoot, Joseph B. (1999). St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, p. 76.
[3] Liddell, H. G. (1996). Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., p. 320.
[4] Wuest, 16.242.
© 2023 David M. Rossi
No comments:
Post a Comment