Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 145 - The End Of The Ungodly Received this from a friend? Why not join Eternity Daily Bible Study? Go to https://www.aibi.ph/articles/eternity.htm to subscribe. (Jude 1:14-19 NKJV) Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, {15} "to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." {16} These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. {17} But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: {18} how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. {19} These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. In Greek mythology the ungodly were seen as doomed for defying the gods of Olympus and not giving them due honor. At the end of the Odyssey when Ulysses comes home to find all the suitors for hsi wife Penelope living in his house and devouring his goods Ulysses and his son Telemachus set to the suitors with the massive bronze bow that only Ulysses himself was powerful enough to draw and use. The suitors and suitable massacred and their bodies lay about "like fish in a net". Homer 's final comment is "thus is the fate of the ungodly". This view of ungodliness was universal in early religious literature: The apocryphal book of Wisdom says "For the ungodly and his ungodliness are both alike hateful unto God." And Sirach says 'Humble thyself greatly; for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms" and "When the ungodly curseth Satan, he curseth his own soul" and "All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction." In the Scriptures the ungodly get similar treatment: (Psalms 1:4-6 NKJV) The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. {5} Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. {6} For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (2 Peter 2:5-6 NKJV) and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; {6} and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; (2 Peter 3:7 NKJV) But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Who then are the ungodly and why does the Bible speak so harshly of them? The ungodly are the "completely unspiritual" without regard for God, or respect for heavenly things or fear of His commandments. They have an undeveloped conscience and a complete inability to hear from God or attend to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture makes no sense to them and they live impious lives, centered on self. The ungodly do not worship anything. Not Zeus, not Allah, not God, not Jesus. They are without religious regard. They mock that which is spiritually sensitive and love that which is wicked, sensual and depraved, having little thought for that which is right. Above all ungodliness is a lifestyle - of the antediluvian world, of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Antiochus Epiphanes, of the drunken suitors, and of the lawless infiltrators into the Church referred to by Jude. These are ungodly in character, deeds, methods and words: "...the ungodly among them (character) of all their ungodly deeds (deeds) which they have committed in an ungodly way (methods), and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken (words) against Him." The guiding light of the ungodly is not the Word of God but "their own ungodly lusts" a fact that is repeated twice (v. 16,18) in the short passage we are looking at today. They are characterized by sensuality (v.19) mocking (v.18), divisiveness (v.19) and the use of flattery and "great swelling words". (v.16). However they lack patience and endurance and are grumblers and complainers, that is they are fundamentally deeply negative people, without light in their souls. For the light of God is positive and joyful. Romans says that the ungodly will be given a chance to repent and can find grace and justification through faith in Christ - an extraordinary statement! (Romans 5:6 NKJV) For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God wants the ungodly to become godly and to take on the character of Jesus Christ and this transformation can be worked through the power of the gospel and the redeeming blood of Jesus. (Romans 4:5 NKJV) But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, However Jude and the Petrine epistles make clear that the ungodly are not allowed to remain that way. A prostitute or a tax-collector or a murderer can come to Christ freely - but they cannot continue in their sin. Those who mistake grace for license and continue to live ungodly lives have greatly misunderstood the gospel and it is of them that Jude writes: "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, {15} "to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Blessings in Him, John Edmiston Asian Internet Bible Institute http://www.aibi.ph/ Free Online Bible And Ministry Training This devotional may be freely forwarded to others and used for non-profit ministry purposes as long as the following copright notice is included. © Copyright John Edmiston 2003