Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. (Jude 8)
In Jude 8, God says that there are “filthy dreamers” alive today in these perilous times. The intent of the expression, “filthy dreamers,” is to emphasize the fact that these men have no pure thought. We are living in a filthy age, an age when filth has become commonplace and is condoned by the masses.
We have raised a biblically illiterate generation with no anchor, standard, or moral guide because they have no Bible. They are open, accessible, and willing to follow personalities, strange ideas, or almost anything.
2 Timothy 3:13 teaches that the world we live in will get worse and worse. As the world worsens, what we teach and preach from God’s Word seems more and more radical. In many places, churches are changing with the world. The world does not need an imitation of itself. If our nation is going to be helped, she will be helped by churches and families that believe the Bible and speak out the truth.
The Bible teaches that these “filthy dreamers” are guilty of three distinct things:
Defile the Flesh
Our world is filled with “filthy dreamers,” and they “defile the flesh.” God destroyed the old world with a flood because their thoughts were “only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Genesis 19:24-25 records that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone.
In human history, the last rung of the ladder is the defiling of the flesh through homosexual behavior and the condoning of it by the general public. We live in an age of so-called tolerance, which is not tolerance at all. We actually live in an age of indoctrination and anti-God ideas.
Carefully read Romans 1:21-28. The Bible says, “God gave them up,” and “God gave them over to a reprobate mind.” This is what Jude 8 is talking about. These “filthy dreamers” look at revealed truth and turn from it, and they fill their minds with everything but pleasant, pure thoughts.
We must uphold the standard of the Word of God and get God’s message out. Moral guidelines protect and save. When they are gone, destruction is certain to follow. People are destroying themselves by defiling their flesh because they do not know God’s Word.
Despise Dominion
These “filthy dreamers” want no one telling them what to do. Read Psalm 2. The unsaved world says in the face of God, “No one is going to rule over us. No one is going to be our boss.” However, this has not shaken God. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Psalm 2:4a).
We have gone through a mental revolution in our world. People do not think the way they once thought. Anarchy is the spirit of our age. Do we throw in the towel and give up? No! The world needs us now more than ever!
Speak Evil of Dignities
The word dignities means “those to whom honor is due.” These “filthy dreamers” speak evil of those who are to be honored.
The Bible says that we should honor our parents. In our day, honor for parents in the home is a disappearing thing. We should also honor the pastor and pray for him. Most importantly, we should honor God. In this age, many people joke about God as if He were a weak, feeble old man.
This is the kind of world in which we live. Let us take the right stand in the right spirit. God’s people must seek the Lord for the strength needed for the task at hand.
Background Reading for Next Week: Jude 8-9; Revelation 12:7-8; Deuteronomy 34:5-8; Revelation 13:3-4; Daniel 10:12-13; Ephesians 6:10-12; 1 John 4:1