Apostasy, or departure from the truth of God, is a grave danger in the last days, as evidenced by historical and biblical examples. Jude uses the Israelites' disbelief after their deliverance from Egypt, the fallen angels' rebellion, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to illustrate the severe consequences of turning away from God's word. These examples demonstrate that apostasy, whether in teaching or living, inevitably leads to God's judgment. Therefore, believers are called to cherish, value, and hold fast to God's holy word.
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Beloved radio, friends, we greet you again in the precious and worthy name of the Lord Jesus with a thankful and grateful heart in having the privilege of bringing to your retention the word of our God. We humbly but very earnestly pray the Spirit of God will rivet to every one of you, home to your heart and conscience, God's precious truth. We turn again to the Epistle of Jude where we are studying and considering the great subject of apostasy. That is, departure from the truth of God. May I again, with no apology for my repetition, emphasize the great danger the children of God face when we live in days, as we do now, when there is a great turning away from the truth.
It was the beloved Apostle Paul that said, as he wrote in Second Timothy chapter four, regarding the danger of the last days, that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. My beloved, we are living in days when sound teaching of the word of God is very little appreciated nor even desired. It is my humble but earnest prayer, my fellow believer, listening to the words of our Bible study from day to day, that the ministry of God's word will be precious as well as desired by your heart.
We go on in the epistle of Jude, and we would like now to follow the theme that we have begun, Jude's consideration regarding the commencement of apostasy. We have already noted in verse four of our epistle, that Jude told of apostasy already existing and having crept in the early church of his days. May I repeat, you will find, whether it be Peter, whether it be Paul, whether it be any of the apostles, you will find that in their lifetime they lived long enough to see departure from the truth of God come into the early church.
So likewise Jude has declared it in our fourth verse. Now we would like to read verse five, six and seven. For as Jude writes concerning the commencement of apostasy, he brings before us three past examples of apostasy so that what he is speaking of and writing about is nothing that is new in human history. Here are the words, verse five, six, and seven. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And the angels which 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 if Solomon 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. Beloved fellow believers, and any who may not be believers, Here we have the Apostle Jude reminding us, though we may have known it before, as he states in the opening of verse five, of these three examples of turning away from God in its truth.
The first example, Jude uses in relation to the people of God, Israel. I'm sure we well know the story of God's great deliverance out of the land of Egypt. when he saved his people. He delivered them out from the bondage, the tyranny, and the oppression of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. That great, miraculous, and amazing deliverance is one of the greatest stories in the Word of God. According to the probable record, there must have been at least two and a half million to three million people. Israelites brought out of Egypt.
and led through the wilderness to go to the promised land, even the land of Canaan. God saved them out of the land of Egypt. God delivered them from all the oppression and bondage and tyranny that they had been under. It was a marvelous deliverance. There is no question of doubt that even today, as we look at the history of the world, and look yonder over the land in the Middle East and see the conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis, there we can recognize the reminder of what took place centuries ago, thousands of years ago, in the days of Moses.
And yet when Jude writes of that great deliverance, Jude has to remind us that even afterward, though delivered, though saved out of the land of Egypt, God had to destroy them that believed Not. All you need to do is read the history of that account, as it is recorded in the Word of God, whether in the book of Exodus, whether in the book of Numbers or in the book of Deuteronomy. And we well may recognize that constantly there was a disobedience and departure from in heart and life of the people murmuring and complaining and resisting the path and the Word of God.
Dear Moses, what a time he had. And many a time Moses certainly felt like giving up. And on one occasion he got so angry with the people, he disobeyed the command of God in his impetuousness, and he sacrificed the privilege of going into the land that came and with them. Though he saw it from Mount Pisgah in the distance. But now here's an example of apostasy. I don't know how many of you realize, but God told the Israelites in the wilderness that because of their disobedience, the grown men, and that would be from twenty years and upward, which approximately, according to the record in the book of Exodus, numbered six hundred thousand men.
Though six hundred thousand men would never get into the land of Canaan, they would perish in the wilderness, with the exception of two. One was Joshua, the other was Caleb, two spies who faithfully encouraged the people of God to go into the land, and they would conquer it by the grace and the help of God, even though there were giants within it. but the people and the nation refused. And as the result of their disobedience and rebellion, not only on that occasion, but again and again and again, God had to destroy. And may I point out to you, think of all practically six hundred thousand men perishing their carcasses being in the wilderness.
Now may I raise the question, does apostasy pay? Does it profit to oppose God's word? Does it bring profit to oppose the truth of God? Nay, when these people believe not, God's judgment came upon them. But then, Jude's got another example. He gives the example of angelic hosts, the angels which kept not their first estate. And may I remind my listeners, if you're not acquainted with the fact, The word of God indicates that the origin of sin was in the heart and in the being of Satan.
But when Satan, whose name was Lucifer in his original creation, when he rebelled against the throne of God and escaped to take over the throne of God, he led myriads of angels with him in rebellion. How many? We do not know. But the possibility there was a great multitude of them, when perhaps a third of the whole angelic realm were led in rebellion and departure from God's truth and God's word and God's throne. They left their own habitation, and for such they did so. He has reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.
What can we say? Men apostasy, angels apostasy, but God's judgment is inevitable. But let's look at the third example of apostasy. Even as Solomon Gomorrah, and well do we know the story of Solomon Gomorrah, and the cities around them in like manner, when they gave themselves over to fornication, and the going after strange flesh, They are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. My beloved, will you not note something? I hope you will note it, as we saw in verse four.
There are two things about apostasy. There's not only unsound teaching, but it leads to unsound living. And in the example of Solomon Gomorrah, we have the result of unsound teaching. Men turning away from God's truth. and going over into fleshly appetites and lusts and sins to such a degree that God's judgment has to come in. And the inevitable judgment of God brings them to suffer the vengeance of his own wrath. But I want you to note the expression at the end of verse seven particularly. No. It's not only temporary judgment upon the earth.
but suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Now, please let me state again, whether it be the fallen angels, or whether it be the apostate men who go into such lasciviousness and immorality as described and was known in the cities of Solomon Gamaro, though fire and brimstone poured down from heaven upon the cities of Solomon Gamaro and destroyed them, they're still left for the inhabitants of Solomon Gamara, the eternal lake of fire. Or may I say it very reverently, the ultimate doom of apostasy leads to eternal hell.
The ultimate destination for those who will not have the truth of God, rebel against it, refuse it, and deny it, and defy it, leads to ultimate eternal destruction. My beloved, please may I re-emphasize the importance of cherishing, valuing and holding fast to God's blessed and holy word. Father, bless thy word to the glory of thy name. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.