Deluded doctors of divinity are, of course, free to believe or disbelieve whatever they will – but Jude, writing some two thousand years closer to the life and times of Jesus Christ himself, held the Old Testament scriptures in high esteem as the inspired Word of God. Accordingly, he now sets out to remind believers of specific lessons and sobering warnings to be drawn from them.

Jude begins with a stark warning that Christians can sacrifice their eternal salvation by turning back to a life of sin and sexual immorality once repented of.

The preaching of the apostles was solidly based on the Hebrew scriptures – and one of its central themes must have been the parallel between ancient Israel and the Christian Church, between physical and spiritual Israel, one of the inspired metaphors that stitch together Old and New Testament.

Perhaps this is why, after reviewing some of the experiences of the people Moses led from Egypt, the apostle Paul says: "All these things happened to them as examples; and were written down as warnings for us" (1 Corinthians 10:11). He then adds: "Wherefore let him who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall" (verse 12).

Jude reminds Christians of these same scriptures, and lessons they must have heard over and over again – pointing out that most of the Israelites who were led out of their slavery in Egypt by Moses were later destroyed by God for a lack of belief. Although they had originally set out joyfully on their journey, they never made it to the Promised Land – a bounteous land, metaphorically flowing with milk and honey, which was clearly a type of the Kingdom of God, the inheritance promised to the followers of Jesus Christ.

The specific events to which Jude refers are found in the book of Numbers, where we read that quite quickly after escaping the slavery of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, with God’s miraculous help and protection, the Israelites soon arrived at the borders of the land of Canaan – at which point a party of scouts was sent on a 40-day mission to spy out this new land (Numbers 13:1).

Although the scouts reported back that the land truly was remarkably beautiful and fruitful (Numbers 13:23), most returned in a state of discouragement – completely demoralized by the fact that some of the inhabitants of Canaan were of great stature. "We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than us" (Numbers 13:31), they said, "We saw the giants (Hebrew word – Nephilim), the sons of Anak, which come of the giants . . . and in our own sight we were as grasshoppers" (verses 32-33).

Within a few days, their abject fear of the Nephilim giants had infected the whole congregation of Israel, and with just a few exceptions, such as Joshua and Caleb, they began to grumble at Moses and Aaron – even threatening to stone them to death, and appoint new leaders who would take them back to their harsh but familiar life as slaves in Egypt (Numbers 14:1-10). What God was expecting of them was simply too much.

At this point, God spoke to Moses, using the words cited by Jude, saying: "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them" (verses 11-12).

With just a few exceptions, those who refused to believe God and wanted to turn back were made to live out their lives and die in the wilderness, and only their children were allowed to enter the land of promise.

Jude’s lesson seems to be that Christians, having been called out like the Israelites, must not lose courage and turn back to a life of sin – but must have the faith to go forward with God’s help to resist sin and confront their personal problems -- no matter how gigantic they may seem, or how feeble they themselves may feel when confronted by them.

Fully aware of the problems Jude is addressing, Paul also warns Christians against letting the false leaders lure them back into sin, saying: "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, no adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

He then continues: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God".

Sadly, having had their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus, some of these new converts eagerly embraced the counterfeit faith of the false teachers that condoned their turning back to the immoral practices they previously struggled to leave behind.

Of such people, Peter says sadly, Quote: "If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning (2 Peter 2:20).

He goes on to lament: "It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned back to his own vomit; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (verse 22).