VERSES 12-13: These are hidden rocks [reefs] in your feasts of love, when they feast with you, fearlessly shepherding themselves: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

The false teachers are dangerous if you encounter them, says Jude, and your faith may be shipwrecked on their permissive teachings -- but the danger is deceptive, unseen, like a rocky reef in the calm sea, hidden beneath the surface.

These men masquerade fearlessly as Christian ministers, as shepherds of God’s flock -- leaders whose only concern is their own material welfare. They are in fact the ministers of Satan himself, says Paul (2 Corinthians 11:15), but that is not how they appear -- which is why Jesus warned that the false teachers to come would be cleverly disguised, like wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).

Appearances can be Deceiving

Jude also points out that their appearance may be very convincing, but it is an empty sham -- like clouds that never produce rain, that never perform their intended function. They also blow with the winds -- perhaps implying that, like many politicians, they preach whatever message they think will be popular.

Jude next likens the worthlessness of their permissive teachings to the collapsing foam and utter futility of the pounding waves of the sea.

Finally he compares them to wandering stars, possibly meaning planets or comets. Perhaps his theme of false appearances continues, because although a planet, such as Venus, appears to the naked eye to be a star, when viewed more closely through a telescope it is seen to be nothing more than a rocky sphere that simply reflects the light of the sun, in the same way as does the moon.

The Fate of the False Teachers

An alternative meaning is that the false leaders are like comets, useless accretions of ice and rocky fragments which also reflect the sun’s light as they pass by the earth -- but which are then are carried off into the depths of space.

Whatever the intention of Jude’s metaphor, the destiny of the false teachers seems frighteningly clear – the blackness of darkness for ever, a phrase which seems to imply total annihilation, the fearful mechanism of which will be explained in a moment.

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8.2 JUDGMENT

No matter how successful the pseudo-Christian leaders seem to be, says Jude, their doom, their fiery end is nigh. As was predicted long ago by the righteous Enoch, the seventh man from Adam, Jesus Christ is returning to execute judgement on all men, and on these ungodly deceivers in particular.

Charismatic Characters

Notice again, in the last line, that these men are not lay members of the Church, but leaders held in admiration – strong, persuasive personalities, impressive speakers, and widely respected for their intellectual powers and clever arguments. Notice also, however, that in devising their doctrines and deciding what is right and wrong these charismatic characters are led by their lusts.

The Day of Judgment

As we have already seen, Peter also warns of the impending day of judgment and the demise of the wicked, saying: "But the day of the Lord will come, like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire" (2 Peter 3:10) -- and with it, the wicked, whom Malachi says will become ashes beneath the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:1-3).

As we have already seen, both Jude and Peter explain that the fiery annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah was simply a graphic illustration and fearful warning of the destruction to come at the end of this present age.

These erudite leaders, however, over-educated in the futile and faithless philosophies of the world, rarely if ever mention matters such as judgment. After all, as we have seen, from their hard speeches, they have long abandoned the Bible, the inspired word of God, as their guide to either the historic past or prophetic future of the earth.