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From: Jude 17:20-25

It Was Predicted That False Teachers Would Appear

[17] But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ; [18] they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, follo-
wing their own ungodly passions.” [19] It is these who set up divisions, worldly
people, devoid of the Spirit.

Faith, Hope and Charity

[20] But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Ho-
ly Spirit; [21] keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Attitude Towards the Misguided

[22] And convince some, who doubt; [23] save some, by snatching them out of
the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the
flesh.

Doxology

[24] Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without
blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, [25] to the only God, our
Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority,
before all time and now and for ever.
Amen.

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Commentary:

17-19. In their initial oral teaching, the Apostles who founded the various Chris-
tian communities warned of the danger of false teachers within the Church itself
(cf. Acts 20:29f; 1 Tim, 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:1-5). These warnings can be traced back
to what Christ himself said: “False Christs and false prophets will arise and
show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect”
(Mt 24:24).

The way the writer refers to “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” does not
mean that he was not one of them. He could be referring simply to the fact that
some of them had already died. The other point about this verse is the impor-
tance it gives to Tradition (cf. note on v. 3).

“In the last time” (v. 18): in the Prophets this expression refers to the messianic
era (cf., e.g., Is 2:2; Mic 4:1), which brings to an end the long period of waiting
for the promised Redeemer and marks the start of the Kingdom of God, which
will last forever (cf. Dan 7:14, 27; Lk 1:33). The fullness of time (cf. Gal 4:4) be-
gan with the coming of Christ and will reach its zenith with his return in glory for
the Last Judgment. In the New Testament perspective, therefore, “the last time”
covers the entire period of the Christian era; it is the era of the Church. This ear-
thly phase of the Kingdom of God is characterized, by, among other things, the
presence of the “good” and the “bad” side by side (cf. Mt 13:47-48), the cockle
sown among the wheat (cf. Mt 13:24ff).

“Worldly people”: “psychikoi”, literally, “animal” or “natural” men. As in some
texts of St Paul (cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46), these are the opposite of “spiritual”
men, that is, Christians who have the Holy Spirit and are docile to him (cf. Rom
5:5; 8:14). On the other hand, those who are “devoid of the Spirit”, who is the
source of supernatural life, form judgments and make decisions under the sole
guidance of human nature wounded by original sin. Theirs is a merely earthly
wisdom (cf. Jas 3:15), a wisdom of the flesh (cf. 1 Cor 3:3).

20-21. The Christian life can be summed up as living the three theological virtues
(faith, hope and charity, accompanied by prayer), through the action of each of
the three divine Persons—the love of God the Father, the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual building is founded on faith, that is, on the truths revealed by God for
our salvation and delivered once for all to the Church (cf. v. 3). Therefore it is a
“most holy” faith—of divine origin, worthy of the highest respect, and unchangeable.
Prayer is essential for penetrating deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches
of the faith. The Christian prays “in the Holy Spirit” because, as St Paul teaches,
“you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ ...” (Rom
8:15); and “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray
as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words”
(Rom 8:26). To the love of God (the source of divine filiation in the Holy Spirit) the
Christian should respond by striving to abide in that love and constantly increase
it. Trust in God’s help and in his mercy build up our hope of ultimately seeing the
Lord face to face.

The Second Vatican Council reminds us that the faithfulness of a Christian’s life
depends on active communion with Christ: “A life like this calls for a continuous
exercise of faith, hope and charity. Only the light of faith and meditation on the
Word of God can enable us to find God everywhere and always [...]. Those with
such a faith live in the hope of the revelation of the sons of God, keeping in mind
the cross and resurrection of the Lord [...]. With the love that comes from God’s
prompting, they do good to all, especially to their brothers in the faith (cf. Gal
6:10)” (”Apostolicam Actuositatem”, 4).

22-23. The Apostle now gives some-practical advice on how to behave towards
those who have been affected by false ideas.

The Greek text can be read in various ways. According to some codices and
the Vulgate, it is referring to three categories of people — waverers; those who
have already been harmed by error but can still be recovered; and those who
persist in heresy. That is how the RSV translates it. Other codices, followed by
the New Vulgate, first give a counsel valid for dealings with everyone affected by
error and then go on to distinguish two groups—those who can still be recovered
and those who seem to be beyond help.

Christians should always show kindness to those who break with sound tea-
ching. In this way they will attract many back to the faith; but there will be others
with whom they will not succeed; in their case, particularly if their lifestyle is de-
praved, it will be necessary to be prudent (to hate “even the garment spotted by
the flesh”), in order to avoid contagion; but one should still treat them affectio-
nately and pray for them. “It is a characteristic of the perfect”, St Augustine tea-
ches, “not to hate anything in sinners other than their sins; and to love those
people themselves” (”Contra Adimantum”, XVII, 5).

24-25. The letter does not end with the usual greetings but with a solemn doxo-
logy or hymn of praise addressed to God the Father through Jesus Christ. It
may have come from a liturgical hymn.

“Only God”; this does not exclude the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit; it
is simply confessing that there is only one God (cf. In 17:3).

God reveals his power particularly in the work of our salvation. We constantly
need his grace if we are to avoid sin in this life and one day obtain the glory of
heaven. Jesus Christ is the Mediator both of our salvation and of our praise of
God. From the beginning the Church has had the custom of addressing liturgi-
cal prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.