Waterless Clouds, Fruitless Trees, Jude 12, 13

God judges sin even in grace, and this is a principle that we have embedded throughout the epistle of Jude, and that is that God brings judgment for sin. That brings up another issue, which is one that underlies this entire epistle where Jude is dealing with these false teachers who have come into the congregation, and we need to be careful how we utilize terms. When we read through commentaries sometimes the word apostates is used, sometimes the word professors, and we need to clarify that. The basic point is that those who are in willing rebellion against God are going to go through some kind of judgment. It may be eternal or temporal.

We have seen examples that Jude has used. For example, in verse 11 the false teachers are compared to Cain, going the way of Cain, run greedily in the error of Balaam, perished in the rebellion of Korah. It is very likely that all three of these individuals were believers, but they were disobedient believers. But that is not the point of the comparison. The point of the comparison is that in their way they are acting as unbelievers. The way of Cain described the fact that he sought God’s approval through wrong sacrifice, wrong motivation. He was using the produce of his own works, thinking that somehow through his own efforts he could gain God’s favor. In the error of Balaam, Balaam was completely self-absorbed, he was following his own dictates, he was greedy for the financial payment offered by the king of Moab, and so he was prostituting his gift of prophecy for money. Then in the third example, in the rebellion of Korah, Korah and others were priests who rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and God brought judgment upon them and upon those who followed them in Israel.

But then we go back to another set of three examples back in verses 5-7, talking about the Israelites coming out of Egypt and they were viewed as a redeemed people. Most of them were saved, they had trusted in an Old Testament promise of salvation. The angels that came under judgment were the angels that were those who left their first estate, heaven, and assumed a human form of body so that they could procreate with human beings in order to pollute the human gene pool in an attempt to prevent the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem mankind through the seed of the woman. So the issue of believer or unbeliever doesn’t apply to the angel illustration. And then the third illustration of Sodom and Gomorrah: they were unbelievers. So from these examples that Jude has given from both believers and unbelievers, and the angels where those categories don’t apply technically, don’t apply to salvation per se but the broader principle that God will judge sin—whether that is from unbelievers or believers. All of threes illustrations indicate the exercise of God’s justice in human history.

The idea of professors versus apostates. The term apostasia is a Greek term which literally means a departure. It is sometimes used of a ship departing from a harbor and going on a trip. Other times it is used of departure from the faith, so it refers to someone who once held to sound doctrine and has left that, has departed from sound truth. So an apostate technically is someone who is a believer but who no longer believes in orthodox biblical truth. A heretic is of the same nature. A heretic (hairesis) is someone who holds to false doctrine. For example, someone who does not believe in the deity of Christ, the substitutionary death of Christ, or the Trinity. That term “heretic” could apply to a believer or an unbeliever.

There is another term, one that is often not defined well. It is the term “professors”. Someone professes to be a Christian. A professor is someone who is simply making a profession of something, or a claim to have done something, or claimed to be something. Some people would profess to be Christians. That means they would claim to be a Christian. Now that is a different claim than a claim that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. For example, you have someone who says, “I am a Christian.” Then we ask, “Well how do you say you are a Christian?” They say, “I participate in certain rituals; I am a member of a certain denomination; I have partaken of certain sacraments, and therefore because I am associated with this denomination I am a Christian.” They don’t say anything about believing in Christ for salvation or understanding the gospel: that Jesus Christ went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and we can be freely forgiven because of His death on the cross. That is a confession of being a Christian that is not true because the person doesn’t understand what it means to be a Christian.

Another person leads a great moral life and professes to be a Christian but they are not, if is a false profession. Then another person who is a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and maybe is going through a period in their life of rebellion against God, and they are living in sin and not concerned at all about spiritual things and their walk with the Lord, and they profess to be a believer. They are making a claim that on a certain day they understood that the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the eternal second person of the Trinity, He died on the cross for my sins, and I trusted in Him and Him alone for my salvation. That is a profession of belief. That indicates that that person is saved, that they are a believer.

On the other hand you may have someone who is deceptive, who has never believed in Jesus Christ and yet they make the claim that they are a believer in Jesus Christ. They have learned the language, they have adapted; they use it in order to deceive people. That is the case that we have here in Jude. They are false professors in the first category. They are emphasizing works in their message of salvation, their message of the gospel, and they are professing to also believe in Jesus and yet they are not trusting in Christ alone for their salvation; they are trusting in Christ plus works. They have a false profession to be Christians and a false profession of faith. Grace + anything = nothing.

We know that these are not believers because several times in this epistle they are described as ungodly men. For example, v. 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” That phrase “ungodly” is a phrase that is used numerous times to refer to unbelievers. In Romans chapter five we read that Christ died for the ungodly. He died for unbelievers. He didn’t die for believers or for believers alone; He died for everyone, especially believers. Jude 15, “to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” So in the repetition of the word “ungodly” we see this emphasis that they are clearly unbelievers.

In verse 12 there is a warning, an illustration, an explanation of the pronouncement of woe in verse 11. Jude 1:12 ^NASB “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; [13] wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” The claim that is made about them is that they are “hidden reefs in your love feasts.” Then that is further defined through illustrations from nature: waterless clouds, fruitless trees, destructive, and then they lead people in the wrong directions—“wandering stars.”

Verse 12 starts off again with the word “These.” These demonstrative masculine pronouns, “these,” that we have seen all refer back to the “certain men” mentioned in verse 4. Verse 8, “these men, also by dreaming,” refer back to the certain men that have crept in. Then in v. 11 the “them” refers to the same group as the “these.” All through here this demonstrative plural pronoun refers to this collection of false teachers.

Then there is a description made about them: “hidden reefs in your love feasts” (NASB), or “spots in your love feasts” (NKJV). That doesn’t communicate a whole lot to us and there is also the problem of understanding the translation here and the original Greek as well. The term “spots” comes from one of two possible Greek words. The first one, spilas, is a feminine plural noun and it meant a rock or hidden reef right back to the time of Homer. By the end of the first century AD it began to blend in with the second word spilos which also refers to blemishes or spots. The word spilos has a masculine ending. It is a masculine noun and refers to a blemish or a stain. So these two words are very similar and there is debate among scholars as to what is the actual word that is used here in this passage. Very well-known scholars and well-known dictionaries identify this word differently.

The first word, spilas, indicates a rocky hazard hidden by waves, or a hidden reef. It is below the surface; it is not seen; there is a danger there and the ships that are unprepared or are not warned can wreck on them and be destroyed before any danger is suspected. So that fits the context that these false teachers are counterfeits. They are teaching false doctrine which can wreck the spiritual life of individuals. They are claiming to proclaim the truth and because the people are not warned or do not suspect the danger they follow them into an area where there are shallow waters and shoals, and they are easily wrecked in their spiritual life.

The word spilos would indicate a blemish or a stain and this is used in several passages to indicate something that is symbolic of sin. For example, in a lamb taken for a sacrifice in the Old Testament. It was to be taken without spot or blemish. The spot of blemish would be typical or symbolic of sin.

Contextually in terms of the usage in Scripture, the word spilas is not used in the Scripture, but the other word spilos is used in two passages, one of which is a parallel to this verse in Jude. Ephesians 5:27 refers to the ultimate glorification of members of the body of Christ, and presenting the purpose of Christ’s work on the cross: “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” It is used there as a symbol for sin. And then 2 Peter 2:13, talking about these same false teachers: “suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you.” This is a parallel. So we say, this is clear because Peter is a parallel to Jude so then the meaning “spot” or “blemish” would be the correct meaning. And that is the way that some people argue. But the form of the word that is used in Jude is different from the form of the word that is used in 2 Peter. This isn’t a textual problem. Jude uses the spilas word which was commonly used in Greek literature from ancient times to simply refer to rocks, rather than spilos which refers to blemishes or sin. That makes great sense in the context of Jude. He is warning of the deceptiveness of these teachers and the consequences of their actions.

The illustrations that we see following this are illustrations that refer to the consequences of their teaching. They are non-productive, clouds without water, without trees, destructive, etc. So the translation here should be, “These are hidden reefs…”

What were the se love feasts? The term here is simply a form of the word agape, which is the feminine noun for love. It is a form that was used to describe the meal that congregations had that ended with the Lord’s table. Remember, our communion service which just has the two elements, the bread and the cup, that are the focal point of the Lord’s table. But initially they were part of the Passover meal. As the Lord Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover meal He came to the period when they would break the bread, He took that bread, broke it and assigned it new meaning: “This is my body which is given for you.” Then when they came to the third cup, known as the cup of redemption, Jesus said: “This is the blood of the new covenant which is given for you.” But those two elements came not close to each other in the Passover meal. They were separated by ten or fifteen minutes in the eating of the meal.

In the early church which was primarily Jewish in origin they brought with them this tradition of having a meal together. Many of the churches originally met in people’s homes and they would have a meal together. It became a time when they had fellowship and these became known as love feasts because it was an opportunity for people to get to know each other and to minister to one another in the context of a meal. But it was quickly distorted and abused within a pagan Greek context. Paul had to confront and rebuke the Corinthians over their abuse of the Lord’s table, and in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 he confronts them because they are abusing the agape feast as an opportunity to come together and to be gluttonous, and they over drank as well. So Paul accused them of gluttony and drunkenness and using and perverting the Lord’s table to just an opportunity to sin. By the middle to late period of the first century the observance of two elements of the Lord’s table were becoming separated from the meal itself. They would just have a covered dish meal. It was referred to as the agape or love feast, and then they would have the Lord’s table at another time.

This was an opportunity to focus on the person and the work of Jesus Christ and as the body of Christ would come together to focus on Christ there are hidden shoals, hidden reefs that are causing problems. It was in this context that these charismatic (not in the theological sense, but in the personality sense) false teachers would insert erroneous ideas to influenced the people in the wrong direction. At the love feasts they were falling prey to the influence of the false teachers who did this is a very open, brazen manner: “they feast with you without fear.” The word there is suneocheomai, which simply means to eat together; aphobos means fearlessly or boldly, or shamelessly. They weren’t even trying to so much as hide what they were doing anymore, and no one was confronting them.

One other thing that comes out regarding the character and conduct of these false teachers is the next line which says they were “caring [only] for themselves.” The NKJV uses the word “serving” which is not really a good translation. The verb is poimaino. A poimen is a shepherd; poimaino is the act of being a shepherd, to shepherd or to feed. The lexicon of Arndt and Gingrich states that it is literally to serve as a tenderer of sheep, to herd, to lead to pasture, to feed. It is used figuratively as the leadership, the governing or ruling activity of people. The role of the shepherd was to protect the sheep, to lead the sheep to good pasture for nourishment. Their primary mission was leadership of the flock to make sure that they ate healthy food. So the focal point in leadership is not just generic leadership, and it is not on serving the people; it is on feeding the people or leading the people. The indictment here is that these false teachers are leading and feeding and shepherding for their own purpose, their own pleasure, their own benefit and agenda.

It is very likely that Jude had an Old Testament passage in mind. Ezekiel chapter 34 is a confrontation by God and a condemnation of the spiritual leadership of Israel just prior to the destruction by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

Ezekiel 34:1 ^NASB “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, [2] ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Woe, shepherds of Israel [Notice the Woe. There is a woe passage in Jude: Woe to those who follow the way of Cain] who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?’” The shepherds are just concerned about taking care of themselves; they are utilizing their roles simply as a means of accumulating wealth, power and prestige to themselves.

In the past forty years there has been a big shift in the mental attitude of pastors. There have always been pastors who were out for their own aggrandizement through the church. We don’t know why some people would pick the church as a place to exploit people, but then on the other hand when we hear of the wealth that has been accumulated by some of the televangelists as they are extorting the people in the pew to accumulate this great wealth then it can be understood. The servant is worthy of his hire, as Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 5 and that he is to be paid double honor—that word is often used of a salary—and that in the estimation of God the highest calling, the highest form of employment is that of pastor. Because the pastor is doing the work of God. The reality is that a pastor who rules well and leads well, especially in a time of negative volition, is not going to have too many people in his congregation and he is probably not going to be paid very well. But the pastor who is really godly understands that and does not make an issue of those financial things; he relies on the grace of God. But today with the rise of the health and wealth gospel, with a lot of materialistic pressure on pastors, there is a shift.

“Should not the shepherds feed the flock?” The pastoral ministry is on feeding the sheep, and that has to do with providing spiritual nourishment. [3] “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat {sheep} without feeding the flock.” It is all about fleecing the flock. [4] “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened …” It is the job of the pastor to teach the Word. “… the diseased you have not healed [reference to those who are spiritually ill due to sin in the life], the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.” So from wrong motives there are wrong actions.

The result is divine discipline. Ezekiel 34:5 ^NASB “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. [6] My flock [the sheep are His] wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek {for them.} [7]  Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: [8] ‘As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but {rather} the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock’; [9] therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: [10] ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them’.” This is judgment upon the leaders in Israel. They will be removed from their positions of power and authority so that they no longer have the responsibility of leadership in the nation of Israel.

This is the backdrop for understanding the indictment in Jude of these false teachers who are hidden reefs in the agape feasts of the church, who are just leading, feeding, providing for themselves, and abusing congregations. There is a terrible reality that is not talked about much of pastoral abuse today in congregations. That is not something that indicates any spiritual growth or maturity but it just shows how spiritually sick the church is today.

The last part of Jude 12 goes on to give four illustrations from nature about the consequences, the destructiveness, of these false teachers. They are called waterless clouds, fruitless trees, wild waves (v. 13), and wandering stars. Together these four illustrations indicate the destructive consequences of false teachers. They don’t produce anything of value; no spiritual fruit is produced. This is seen in the first two images. Clouds without water focuses on the lack of nourishment for the agriculture. Remember that this is in the Middle East where the need for water is paramount. When the drought continues and there is no rain then there is no produce.

Proverbs 25:14 ^NASB “{Like} clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.”

Trees without fruit is much the same thing. They are described as being twice dead. This is because they are non-productive. Death often emphasizes dead works, unproductive works that has no spiritual quality. In this case a fruit tree that doesn’t produce is dead in that it is non-productive, and then it is dead again because it is pulled up by its roots. So they are useless in the production of food for the people.

There is a shift in the next image, and this is the image that focuses on the waves of the stormy sea. Jude 1:13 ^NASB “wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam …” These raging waves produce destruction because when you follow false teaching it leads to the destruction of one’s spiritual life. And that is something that is shameful for those who have taught false doctrine. This is an image that is sued in the Old Testament in Isaiah 57:20 ^NASB “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud.” So it is an image of destruction. “…wandering stars …” The term for stars is the normal term for stars that could refer to either stars or planets. But the word that is used for wandering is the noun planetes, which is the word from which we get our name for the planets. When we observe the starry sky at night we see that all of the stars are set in their place and they don’t move in relation to one another. But as the ancients observed the heavenly patterns they noticed that there were some—that appeared to be stars because they were bright in the heavens—that moved, and they moved through the different constellations and in relation to different stars, and it appeared that their movement was random and did not follow a set, organized direction. And so they were called wandering stars or planetes, and this simply emphasized that they did not have an ordered course. They were unreliable as guides for people. So we believe that this should not be translated stars but should be translated planets. These planets were unreliable to guide people. That is the idea of the analogy with the prophets. If you followed them you would be lost and end up in self-destruction.

In summary what this is emphasizing is the importance of doctrine, the importance of truth, the importance of dealing with error, rooting it out within our own minds and from within our own congregation, so that we are focusing and basing our lives upon the truth of God’s Word. Basing our life on anything other than the sure and certain truth of God’s Word leads to a fruitless life and to self-destruction. God’s Word must be primary.

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