And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, (Jude 14)
In our study of Jude, we come now to the great theme of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Remember that Jude deals with apostates, religious people who look at the truth and turn from it. Sometimes we wonder how long their lies and deception will go on. Will it last forever? Will wrong continue without God ever making it right? With this in mind, we come to Jude 14-15.
The Bible says, “The Lord cometh.” Oh, how we must be motivated and stirred to live for the Lord. The pressing need in the work of God is the need for revival. Revival is a new beginning of obedience to God. The coming of our Savior should stir us to get busy in God’s work.
Read 2 Peter 3:1-10. This great passage makes much of one promise: Christ’s return! God gives us this particular doctrine in the book of Jude. The Lord will use it to stir our hearts as it becomes active in our lives.
The Prophecy Concerning His Coming
Jude records that Enoch prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord. Two aspects of the Lord’s return are taught in the Bible. The first is the Rapture of the church, and the second is Christ’s revelation, His coming in judgment.
Christ will come and rapture the church out of this world before the Tribulation. In Enoch, we see a picture of this; God took him up before judgment came upon this earth. Acts 1:10-11 teaches that “this same Jesus” is certainly coming again.
Enoch’s prophecy has to do with Christ’s coming in judgment. In Genesis 5, God withheld judgment until the death of Enoch’s son, methuselah. God is longsuffering and patient now, but one day, judgment will come.
The Program of His Coming
The Bible says, “The Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints.” When we speak of the Rapture of the church, we mean that our Lord is coming for His saints. When we speak of the revelation of our Lord, we mean that the Lord is coming with His saints.
Revelation 1:19 gives us an outline for the entire book of Revelation. Chapter one deals with past things. Chapters two and three deal with present things, the church age. Chapters four through twenty-two deal with future things.
At the beginning of Revelation 4, the church is gone because Christ will rapture the church up to heaven before the seven years of Tribulation. The church comes back with Christ in Revelation 19:11-16. This is the revelation of Christ when He comes with ten thousands of His saints.
The Purpose of His Coming
The purpose of the Rapture is to receive the bride. The purpose of the revelation is for judgment. Jude 15 says, “To execute judgment upon all…” Jude uses the word “ungodly,” meaning “refusing submission to God.”
The apostates revealed to us in Jude are not necessarily boisterous God-deniers. The ungodly refusing submission to Christ are the winsome, the beautiful, the articulate, and the religious without Christ. They embody an anti-Christ philosophy. How long will they continue until God says, “Enough”? We must be sure we are saved, and we must live each day looking for and loving His appearing.
Background Reading for Next Week: Jude 16-19; 1 John 4:1; Luke 16:23-24; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Matthew 3:2-7; Romans 8:9