Duelling with Jude v.6

v.6 “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”

We come now in our study to one of two extremely intriguing verses in the Epistle of Jude concerning angels (the other is v.9). It is also one of the hardest to fully understand!

There are two main interpretations for who these angels in verse 6 actually are. Of course, the word ‘angel’ simply means ‘messenger’, and although it is usually used in the Bible to speak of what we would consider to be actual angels (the cherubim and seraphim and so forth), the Greek word for ‘angel’ is also on occasion applied to people. An example of this would be the church leaders referred to as ‘angels’ in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.

In dealing with the same subject of false teachers, we find Peter, in his second epistle, also highlighting the fallen angels and their doom (2 Peter 2:4). Jude v.6 could very well be carrying the exact same meaning, speaking of what we simply now call angels, and it would be perhaps easiest to understand it in this way.

Unfortunately, it is not quite as simple as that! In verse 14 of Jude’s letter we find a reference to the apocryphal book of Enoch. The apocrypha are a number of books that fall between the Old and New Testaments.

In Judaism (and Roman Catholicism) these books are considered to be important spiritual books, although not quite on the level of the infallible Word of God (hence why we do not include them in our Bibles). They are good and profitable books for Christians to read, but their truths are not to be taken as infallible, or ‘gospel’ as we sometimes say.

In the book of Enoch the fall of the angels is described in some detail, where the events in Genesis 6:1-8 involving the ‘sons of God’ are understood to be describing the coming to earth of fallen, rebellious angels. Indeed, this was a popular tradition at the time Jude was written.

Though not completely impossible, it is very difficult to see these ‘sons of God’ as being actual angels. For one, it goes against what we do know about angels, e.g. they are spiritual beings not physical, and they were not created for the purpose of procreation.

It is easier to understand the ‘sons of God’ in Genesis as being the leaders of the ‘godly’ line of Seth, listed in the previous chapter in Genesis 5, who have now begun to intermarry with the ‘ungodly’ line of Cain. This would also explain the spreading of wickedness throughout the whole of humanity (excepting Noah) and fits into the narrative of Genesis 5 and 6 much more comfortably.

Coming back to Jude again, it may well have been that Jude was referencing the book of Enoch’s understanding of Genesis 6 when speaking of ‘angels’ (the prominent leaders of the 'godly' line of Seth) in Jude 6… but he also may not have. He may have been talking about what we now call 'angels', as Peter was. We just do not know.

Whichever of these two understandings of who these 'angels' mentioned in Jude 6 we would prefer to believe, however, the point that Jude is making remains the same. We might not be able to be sure of what exactly Jude was referencing but we can be quite sure of the point that he was trying to make.

Referring back to the last part of our Jude series we saw that verses five, six and seven are closely linked. They are three different ways of explaining that sinfulness is judged. The point that Jude is now making in v.6 is that pride and rebellion will be judged.

So whoever these ‘angels’ actually were, and whichever of the two interpretations is actually correct, we can be certain that they were knowledgeable of the things of God. Yet they still rebelled, they still sinned and they were judged for it.

The false teachers of Jude's time were portraying themselves as more knowledgeable than even the apostles. These false teachers were claiming to have attained to a level of understanding that the apostles had not. The false teachers taught that indulging in sinfulness and immorality was perfectly okay and this was right, so they taught, because they had understood the idea of ‘grace’ more fully than the apostles had.

Jude is teaching here that knowledge plus sin still equals judgement. It was not okay for these knowledgeable 'angels' to sin and it is not okay for us.

Knowing that our sins have all been forgiven ought to drive us to pursue greater obedience to the One who saved us, not the opposite.

Once when I was out cycling through the beautiful wilderness of North Wales, I noticed a sheep that had got its head stuck in a wire fence. Ever the hero, I got off my bike and helped the sheep to freedom. As soon as its head was free the sheep kicked out at me and ran away. “You’re welcome!” I called out as the sheep scuttled away. It could have at least given me a quick cuddle to say thank you, after all!

If Jesus has rescued me at so great a cost shall I then thank Him by running away from Him to sins that are even greater than my sins were before? That’s the question that Jude 6 puts before us.

Peter likens such people to dogs that return to their own vomit (2 Peter 2:22). A dog must be pretty stupid (and pretty gross!) to eat up its own vomit. But their stupidity is nothing to the person who thinks he can turn to Jesus and then turn back to his sin with impunity.

The ‘angels’ mentioned in Jude 6 are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgement of the great day”. The position of those people today who willingly indulge themselves in sinfulness and immorality is not much better – excepting for the wondrous truth that today is still the day of salvation, where true saving grace is yet still offered to all who come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.

However, when Jesus returns we must be clear on our understanding that this day of grace will come, everlastingly, to a close.