by John MacArthur
Jude 5-7
Introduction
In verses 5 through 7 of the brief, but important Epistle of Jude, we find an historical record of God judging apostasy: "I will, therefore, put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
There are many signs of the end of the age that indicate that the Lord Jesus is coming very soon. One of them, which is identified by the book of Jude, is apostasy. The word simply means "to depart or fall away." Throughout the New Testament we find that there will be a "falling away" from the Christian faith in the end times (2 Thess. 2:3). Even Jesus predicted that would happen in Matthew 24:10-12: "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold." Our Lord said that there will be a falling away in the end times. That event will occur not only within the church, but also within Israel during the Tribulation.
A. The Characteristics of Apostasy
There will be within the so-called church of Jesus Christ, a denial of the truth. In fact, the apostasy of the end times is basically a series of denials. There will be...
1. A DENIAL OF DIVINE POWER (2 Tim. 3:4-5)
Men will be "traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power of it...."
2. A DENIAL OF CHRIST (2 Pet. 2:1)
The false prophets of the apostasy will be "denying the Lord that bought them...."
3. A DENIAL OF CHRIST'S RETURN (2 Pet. 3:3-4)
"...there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
4. A DENIAL OF THE FAITH (1 Tim. 4:1)
"...in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith...."
5. A DENIAL OF SOUND DOCTRINE (2 Tim. 4:3-4)
"...the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but, after their own lusts, shall they heap to themselves [false] teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
6. A DENIAL OF THE SEPARATED LIFE (2 Tim. 3:1-2)
"...in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers...."
7. A DENIAL OF FREEDOM IN CHRISTIANITY (1 Tim. 4:3)
There will be a reversion to legalism. Some shall teach doctrines "forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving...."
8. A DENIAL OF MORALS (Jd. 18-19)
"How they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit."
9. A DENIAL OF BIBLICAL AUTHORITY (2 Tim. 3:8)
"...so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith."
Strange as it may seem, those denials are going to come within the framework of Christianity. We are well aware that many of them are already occurring in what we know as theological liberalism.
B. The Cautions Against Apostasy
In the book of Jude we find the subject of apostasy being dealt with again. It firmly warns against it in much the same way that the book of Hebrews does. In fact, of all the books I've studied, Jude reminds me more of Hebrews than any other book. Throughout the book of Hebrews, there are periodic warnings to potential apostates: people who are close to coming to Christ, but are in danger of turning their back and walking away into apostasy and damnation forever.
Jude begins his letter with a greeting in verses 1 and 2. He gives a warning in verse 3. Then in verse 4, he gives a description of apostasy. Now in verses 5 to 7, he speaks of God's attitude toward apostates. He uses three illustrations to show God's judgment of apostates: the Hebrews, the angels, and the Gentiles.
I. THE HEBREWS (v. 5)
"I will, therefore, put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not."
Here is a bit of history that all of us know about. God delivered Israel from the land of Egypt by a series of miracles, freeing them from Pharaoh's hand. The young nation entered into the wilderness, having passed through the midst of the Red Sea; its waters had rolled back and then closed upon Pharaoh's army. On the way to the Promised Land, they were granted the law of God at the foot of Mt. Sinai. However, in the process of their journey, Israel turned their backs on God, becoming apostates. Therefore, God let them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the older generation had died off so that they would not enter the Promised Land.
A. The Reason for Remembering
Jude said, "I want you to remember that story." Remembering biblical truth is an important practice. We need to recognize that everybody forgets, for with the decaying process of death is also a loss of memory. There must be a constant reminder of the Word of God. In verse 17, Jude reiterates that very idea: "But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The readers of Jude's letter had earlier apostolic teaching on the subject of apostasy. They also had the Old Testament, which recounted the history of Israel in the wilderness. They knew that from the book of Exodus. When anybody wanted to talk about the history of the Israelites, they always included the deliverance from Egypt, which was the great account of God's redemptive love. Hence, that story was most familiar to them. That is why Jude says, "I just want to remind you of two facts, even though you've known them all along: the Lord miraculously delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, and the Lord destroyed those who apostatized.
B. The Reason for Retribution
1. ITS ACCOUNT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The account of that terrible destruction is recorded in Numbers 13--14. God's mighty hand had delivered Israel, whom He guided safely across the desert to the borders of Canaan. At the door to Canaan at Kadesh-barnea, spies were sent out to spy the land before the final invasion was to take place. Ten came back and gave "an evil report of the land" (13:32): "We can't handle those people; they're huge. They're giants and we're grasshoppers!" They had what I call the "grasshopper complex." But two of them, Joshua and Caleb, came back and said, "They will be no problem; God's on our side. Let's go."
Unfortunately, the people believed the negative reports, so God said, "All right, every single person over twenty--with the exception of Joshua and Caleb--is going to die in the wilderness without entering the Promised Land, because you didn't believe Me." What an illustration! The Israelites had been delivered by miracles and set free from the land of Egypt to enter into the land that God had prepared for them in Canaan. But because of unbelief, they died in the wilderness and never entered the Promised Land. Jude is simply saying to his readers, "God deals sternly with those who turn their back on what they know is true. They had every reason to believe God, for He had proven Himself time and again.
2. ITS APPLICATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The writer of Hebrews exhorted his Jewish readers not to make the same mistake their forefathers had. Some of them were on the fence regarding their decisions about Christ. They knew the evidence about salvation. Yet they were hesitating to make a commitment, because they were threatened by persecution from their family and friends.
a. The Example
"Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit saith, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, [testing] in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers put Me to the test, proved Me, and saw My works forty years" (3:7-9). In other words, "Don't do what the children of Israel did: They were freed from the land, ready to enter into Canaan, yet they didn't believe that God could give them victory over the inhabitants of the land. They doubted the God who had parted the Red Sea. Those people continually wanted God to prove Himself." However, God had proven Himself so many times that their demand for further proof was was ridiculous. People who always look for miracles don't have great faith; they just have doubt looking for proof.
Numbers 14:22-23 records the original rebuke of God: "Because all those men who have seen My glory, and My miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice; surely they shall not see the land which I swore to give unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it." God said, "Look, I've proven Myself; that is unnecessary. Your unbelief is simply demanding more proof." Instead of believing God as they wandered in the wilderness, their hearts got harder and harder.
The phrase "the day of trial" (Heb. 3:8), refers to the entire wandering period when the Israelites tested God. As a result of that provocation, verse 11 records God saying, "So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest [Canaan]."
b. The Exhortation
Warning his Jewish brethren (not fellow Christians) against becoming apostates, the writer of Hebrews says, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end, while it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For who, when they had heard, did provoke? Did not all that came out of Egypt by Moses? But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to who swore He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us, therefore, fear lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (3:12-4:2). God cut off a whole generation, except for Joshua and Caleb and the younger generation of Israelites, because of their unbelief.
What leads people to apostatize?
An apostate is somebody who knows the truth. Maybe he has been to church, or even read the Bible. He may know the gospel but never mixes that information with faith. The fact that God destroyed apostates shows how much He hates apostasy. It's inconceivable to me that somebody could know everything there was to know about Christianity and then reject it. Nevertheless, the New Testament lists several reasons that people apostatize:
1. PERSECUTION
Some people become apostates because they're not willing to pay the price. They know what it means to be a Christian, but they're not willing be counted for Christ. That was part of the problem of those the writer of Hebrews addressed.
Matthew 24:9-12 says, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold." What makes the love of many grow cold? Persecution.
2. FALSE TEACHERS
False teachers also cause people to apostatize. One of Satan's strategies is to confuse a person who is on the verge of making a decision for Christ with false doctrine. The passage just mentioned in Matthew 24 says that "many false prophets shall rise, and deceive many....the love of many shall grow cold" (vv. 11-12).
3. TEMPTATION
Some people can't handle temptation. They get to the place where they receive the gospel intellectually, but then Satan showers them with temptation and draws them away by their lusts. (Eph. 2:2-3)
4. WORLDLINESS
Worldliness makes apostates. Second Timothy 4:10 says, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world...."
5. NEGLECT
Some people become apostates and step outside of God's grace and into His wrath simply because they neglect to make a decision. Hebrews 2:3 says, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation...?"
6. HARDENED HEARTS
There are other people who turn away because they harden their hearts as the Israelites did in the wilderness (Heb. 3:7-19).
7. RELIGION
Religion can be like a vaccination people often get to inoculate themselves against the real disease: Some people have just enough religion to immunize themselves from a full commitment to true religion. Hebrews 6:4-5 says that such people "have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come." Although their involvement in Christianity has been external, it's usually enough to pacify them.
8. FORSAKING TO ASSEMBLE
Apostasy can be caused by not assembling with Christians. That's why Hebrews 10:25 says that we Christians should not be "forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...." That appears to be a warning to potential apostates as much as it is an exhortation to Christians.
So, all of those elements are factors in leading a person to become an apostate. The Israelites fell to apostasy and God destroyed them. If you know the gospel of Jesus Christ and you turn your back without giving your heart to him, then you are an apostate. And God's attitude today isn't any different than it was then.
Jude gives a second illustration of apostasy in verse 6. However, that one comes not from the realm of men, but from the realm of...
II. THE ANGELS (v. 6)
"And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
That verse has created problems for a lot of people, because it is not easy to understand. Jude is saying that there are some apostate Israelites in history (v. 5), and there are also some apostate angels. But unlike the Israelites who left Egypt, wandered in the wilderness, and died there because of their unbelief, the angels weren't wanderers. They had their own domain and their own habitation. In fact, at one time, they were in heaven with God Himself, but they turned their back on all of that and were banished.
People often say to me, "Isn't it a terrible thing that people have to go to hell?" The fact of the matter is, if people don't want Jesus Christ, they choose to go to hell. There were angels in heaven, but they chose to leave and wound up in hell. That's essentially the same choice that a man makes. God isn't going to force a man to go to heaven who doesn't want to be there. He didn't force angels to stay when they didn't want to be there. They wanted more than they thought heaven could offer, so they joined in the prideful rebellion of Satan and were thrown out.
But what about those angels? Who are they and what is their sin?
A. Their Iniquity
1. FAILING TO MAINTAIN VIGILANCE
"And the angels who kept not their first estate..."
The Greek word for "kept" means "to guard or protect." There was a failure on the part of the angels to maintain proper vigilance. The word for "estate" refers to "rule, dignity, or domain." The angels failed to guard their first domain. Instead of sticking with the dignity and rule that God had given them and their accompanying responsibilities, the angels rebelled.
2. LEAVING THEIR HABITATION
The angels left the habitation in heaven that God had designed for them. Having deliberately turned away from that which was consistent with their nature, the angels became apostates by also turning their backs on the place that God had assigned to them.
3. COMMITTING FORNICATION
Verse 7 gives us some clues as to the specifics of their iniquity: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, [these angels] giving themselves over to fornication...." Whatever those angels did, it was the same thing that Sodom and Gomorrah did, namely, committing fornication: "going after strange flesh" (v. 7b). The angels are described in verse 6. They appear to be a likely antecedent of the word "themselves" in verse 7. Therefore, I believe that verse 7 is saying that the angels were giving themselves over to fornication.
So, what did those angels do? They didn't keep their first estate. Second, they left the normal place that their nature and design by God required of them. Third, they gave themselves over to a gross kind of sexual evil in the same way that Sodom and Gomorrah did. Do you remember what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was? The men of those cities lusted after the angels who were staying with Lot. The fallen angels in verse 6 did the same thing that Sodom and Gomorrah did, except in reverse--they lusted after humans. They entered into a terrible perversion of sex. The "strange [Gk. heteras = `different'] flesh" was of a different nature than theirs. Just as the men of Sodom lusted after the angels, so the angels lusted after human flesh and committed fornication with human women. That's why I believe that the record of Jude 6-7 gives us a clue about...
B. Their Identity
1. DETERMINED
The account involving those angels is recorded in Genesis 6:1- 4: "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old, men of renown." The following verses tell us that God destroyed almost all life on the earth because man had become so corrupt. I believe that "the sons of God" refers to fallen angels, who produced a race of mighty creatures: half demon, half man. One of the reasons God brought the flood was in order to destroy that half-breed race.
2. DEFENDED
Now some people object here. They say, "You can't have angels there in Genesis 6 because of Matthew 22:30." That verse says, "For in the resurrection they [people] neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven."
a. Their Presence on Earth
Where is it that angels don't marry? In heaven. That's the first distinction you have to make. Matthew 22:30 is limited to the holy angels, the ones in heaven. It's not saying anything about angels that had been cast out of heaven and are now on earth.
b. Their Appearance as Males
Matthew 22:30 only implies that angels cannot procreate among themselves. People will say that angels couldn't impregnate women, because they assume that angels are without sex distinction. But the Bible doesn't say that. On the contrary, whenever they took on a human body, they always took on that of a male.
The verse is only talking about the holy angels in heaven, and it merely implies that angels can't procreate among their own kind. It's not talking about the demons, and it's not saying that they can't unite with humans.
Let's go back to Jude 6, where we see three statements regarding the judgment upon the fallen angels of Genesis 6:
C. Their Incarceration
1. ITS STATEMENT
a. "...in everlasting chains..."
Those angels are being kept by God in chains. The Greek verb for keeping is tereo, which is used in the perfect tense (indicating past action with continuing results). That implies that the angels were placed in confinement by God and are still there today. Obviously, Jude 6 can't refer to all the demons (fallen angels) because many are still active. The angels that committed that terrible atrocity in Genesis 6 are still confined with escape-proof chains.
b. "...under darkness..."
This is an interesting word that only appears here and in 2 Peter 2:4 and 17. It speaks of a terrible, dense blackness.
2. ITS SUPPORT
Second Peter 2:4 describes the same incident: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Gk. Tartaros], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." Peter called that dark place "Tartarus" (the Greek netherworld). I don't know much about it other than that it is a terrible place of blackness, where those demons are eternally chained until the great judgment that will occur at the end of Christ's millennial reign. I believe that the judgment of those fallen angels will take place at the end of the thousand years, after Satan and his demons are unbound (Rev. 20:7-10). The angels who sinned in Genesis 6 have been in chains since that time. However, the chains they endure now are only a prelude to the judgment that's coming on the great day of the Lord.
So Jude says, "Remember the angels that were created to occupy a domain in God's heaven with dignity worthy of that position: They turned from their Creator, deserted their habitation, went after strange flesh, and as a result, they have been cast into awful darkness until final judgment.
3. ITS SETTING
a. 2 Peter 2:4-5
Peter gives an interesting insight into the passage in Jude: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah...." Verse 4 talks about the sin of the angels and verse 5 tells us the period of time in which it occurred--the time of Noah. I think that is very weighty in establishing that Genesis 6 records the sin of those angels.
b. 1 Peter 3:18-20
Peter gives us another insight in his first epistle: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit" (v. 18). When Christ was on the cross, His body was dead. Was His spirit dead? Of course not. What was His spirit doing then? Verse 19 tells us: "...He went and preached unto the spirits in prison." This has got to refer to the same incident that Peter talks about later in 2 Peter and that Jude talks about in his epistle. I believe that the spirits in prison are the angels that were bound because of their terrible sin. When Christ died on the cross, all of hell probably thought that the forces of evil had pulled off a victory. But it wasn't long until the spirit of Christ descended into the place where the demons were bound and proclaimed victory over them. What demons were they? Verse 20 tells us that they were the ones "who at one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah...."
c. Genesis 6:2-4, 8
"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth....But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." I believe that it is best to identify the terrible sin of apostasy among the fallen angels mentioned in Jude 6 with Genesis 6, where demonic beings cohabited with women. It is possible that they were attempting to produce a cross-breed race that could not be redeemed by the God-Man Jesus Christ. But God said, "I can't have that--I'm going to wipe them out." That is why He brought the flood and destroyed that whole generation upon the earth.
You say, "But how can you prove that the term `sons of God' refers to angels?" That term is used in Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7 to designate angels. Furthermore, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, also translates the word as "angels." Nowhere in the Old Testament is the term "sons of God" ever used for God's people except in Hosea 1:10, and there it is obvious what it means. Therefore, I believe it refers to angels.
Isn't the apostasy of the angels inconceivable to you? It is hard to believe that they could experience heaven in the presence of God and yet fall with Lucifer and then commit the terrible sin of Genesis 6!
Not only did the Israelites and those angels apostatize, but so did...
III. THE GENTILES (v. 7)
"Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these }[angels] indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (NASB).
Sodom and Gomorrah did essentially the same thing the angels did. You say, "But how could you consider Sodom and Gomorrah to be apostate? Did they ever know the truth?" You better believe it: Romans 1 says that every man has the knowledge of God and that he is without excuse. There's no reason to believe that Sodom and Gomorrah were ignorant. They rejected the truth and gave themselves over to indulging in a gross kind of sexual evil (Gr. ekporneuo) and in going after strange flesh. Genesis 19 records a bizarre story for us:
A. The Presence of the Angels
One other reason that I believe Sodom probably had information about the truth is that two angels went to the city to rescue the few righteous people in it. I'm sure that Lot and his family weren't the only righteous people who had ever lived in Sodom. "And there came two angels to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night" (vv. 1-2). Evidently, the angels didn't know what they could expect from the citizens of Sodom. Did you know that angels don't know everything? They don't have the absolute omniscience of God.
B. The Pleading of Lot
"And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleaven bread, and they did eat" (v. 3). Now that's interesting, isn't it? The angels were eating so they must have had some physical form so they could consume food.
C. The Perversion of the Crowd
"But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them" (vv. 4-5). The people of the city had seen a glimpse of glorious angels in human bodies. In that case, the word "know" doesn't mean "to get acquainted." Rather, it is used euphemistically for sexual intercourse, such as when "Cain knew his wife; and she conceived..." (Gen. 4:17). "And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly" (vv. 6-7). Lot knew what the men wanted. Hence, the word "sodomy" came to refer to homosexual relations.
D. The Persistence of the Crowd
"Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known man [virgins]; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed hard against the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men [angels] put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door" (vv. 8-11). Do you know what amazes me? Even after they were blind, those men were still determined to get inside!
E. The Punishment of the Cities
"And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? Son- in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place; for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has become great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it" (vv. 12-13).
The sin of the Sodomites was that they lusted after a different kind of being: When two angelic visitors came to visit Sodom and ultimately rescue Lot, the Sodomites tried to engage in homosexual activity with them. For that reason, God judged Sodom and Gomorrah and their sister cities by wiping them off the face of the earth.
Conclusion
God has set before us in Jude three great historic illustrations of unbelief and apostasy. God hasn't changed--His reaction to apostasy today is the same as it's always been. There is a serious warning about apostasy in Hebrews 10:29-31: "Of how much sorer [worse] punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." God was severe in what He did to Israel, to the angels, and to Sodom and Gomorrah. But, the person worthy who, knowing the truth of Jesus Christ, tramples the blood of the covenant and considers it an unholy thing, and rejects the wooing of the Spirit of God is worthy of much worse punishment.
God dealt seriously with Israel, with the angels that fell, and with Sodom and Gomorrah. But God is now dealing with apostasy more seriously than He ever has, because it is a rejection of Jesus Christ--the epitome of evil. There is nothing that ever happened in the Old Testament to compare with the severity of judgment for rejecting the revelation of Jesus Christ. God is no respecter of persons. He didn't respect His own people who were unbelieving; He destroyed them. He didn't respect His own angels who were apostate; He incarcerated them. He didn't respect the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah who knew the truth; He wiped them out. And He will not respect anyone who refuses Jesus Christ. He says through the Apostle Paul at the end of 1 Corinthians, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema..." (16:22).
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