The Skeptics Annotated Bible (994 page)

(10)
“I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words.”

11 Beloved,
follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

(11a) “Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.” Do good. Avoid evil.

(11b)
“He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”
229 Do Christians sin?
298 Does anyone ever do anything good?

12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

14 But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

To convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken.
—
Jude 15

The author claims to be “Jude, the brother of James,” which, if true (which it wasn’t, of course), would make him the brother of Jesus, too, since “the Lord’s brother” (
Gal 1.19
) was the most famous James among believers at the time.

No one knows who wrote this epistle, but whoever it was liked to call people names. Ungodly men ordained to condemnation, filthy dreamers, defilers of the flesh, ungodly sinners, murmurers, complainers, mockers walking in their own ungodly lusts—all in just 25 verses!

Here are some highlights:

• God pre-ordained that certain “ungodly” men would deny Jesus.
  4
  
• “The Lord … destroyed them that believed not.”
  5
  
• “The angels which kept not their first estate” (The angels referred to here are the “sons of God” that had sex with human females to produce a race of giants in
  Gen 6.4
  .)
  6
  
• God sent “eternal fire” on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for “going after strange flesh.”
  7-8
  
• Michael the Archangel argued with the devil about the body of Moses.
  9
  
• Enoch, “the seventh from Adam,” prophesied that God would come with 10,000 of his saints “to execute judgment upon all.”
  14-15
  
• “To convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken.”
  15
  
• “Remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles … that they told you there should be mockers in the last time.” (The author of Jude thought he was living in “the last time.”)
  17-18
  

1
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:

(1)
“Jude, the … brother of James”
The author claims to be “Jude, the brother or James,” which means he is also claiming to be the brother of Jesus, since that was the most famous James among believers at the time ((
Gal 1.19
). He was lying, of course.

2
Mercy
unto you, and
peace, and love, be multiplied.

(2)
“Mercy … peace, and love, be multiplied.”

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

4 For
there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men
, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and
denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

(4) “There are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men … denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” God pre-ordained that certain “ungodly” men would deny Jesus.
158 Do humans have free will?