Study in the Epistle of Jude # 37: Verse 8

by Chris McCann

EBible Fellowship (http://www.ebiblefellowship.com)

Welcome to the Electronic Bible Fellowship’s Bible study. We are currently going through the book of Jude, that one-chapter Epistle right before Revelation in the New Testament. We have spent some time looking at verse 7, where God outlined the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, we are going to move on to verse 8 of Jude, which says:

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

In order for us to understand whom God is referring to here, we have to go back and read verse 4 again. That verse says:

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier when we studied this verse, we saw that God was speaking of the unsaved individuals who had entered into the churches and congregations and had become members or taken positions of authority. They were not saved individuals; therefore, they were identified as men who creep in unaware.

This is very much related to the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30). The enemy of God sowed the tares while men slept; that is, while men were unaware—no one is aware of what is going on around them while they are sleeping. Likewise, Satan was actively sowing tares among the wheat in the church.

This is basically what verse 4 of Jude is saying. Men crept into the congregations while the true believers were unaware of what was going on. Of course, God was fully aware—nothing escapes God’s attention. He knew all along what was happening. This was part of His program, and He allowed it to take place (Isaiah 46:10-11).

It goes on in Jude to say that these ungodly men turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. We have seen that lasciviousness is listed as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5. Therefore, what this is saying is that these ungodly, unsaved men took the Gospel of grace that is found in the Bible and changed it, perverted it, and turned it into a gospel of works of the flesh. This suits man’s character. It suits his natural mind to turn that which is spiritual into something natural or some kind of work that man can do.

These ungodly men who crept into the churches unawares are the ones who are in view when we reach verse 8. Verse 8 says of them:

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh…

After discussing how these men had crept in unawares, God goes on to speak about the example of His people who were in Egypt. He speaks of how He delivered them by a great deliverance, yet afterward, destroyed many of the Jews in the wilderness due to unbelief. Then He speaks of the angels who also had a great privilege—they were in the very presence of God in Heaven. However, they left their habitation, they kept not their first estate, and God brought judgment upon them. After that, He speaks of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which we have spent some time looking at. God was detailing this because Sodom and Gomorrah are types and figures of the corporate church.

Again, just as the Jews who came out of Egypt were the people of God and had a close relationship with Him, just as the angels in Heaven were in the very Kingdom of God and had a close relationship with Him, likewise, those in the corporate church—typified by Sodom and Gomorrah—had a close relationship with God. They were the caretakers of the Oracles of God. They were the recipients of God’s wonderful blessings upon the congregations that had His Word.

Yet none of that closeness to God is able to stay off His judgment once it is evident that a people are in rebellion against Him. The Jews faced this judgment in the wilderness. The angels were cast out of Heaven. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

Following this, God continues in verse 8 of Jude:

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh…

Who are these filthy dreamers? We know that He is speaking of the unsaved people who have entered into the churches. It is very easy, especially in our present day, to enter into a church, take a seat, spend some time there, attend a few services, and get involved. After a little while, if you have any kind of natural ability in the area of accounting, if you have some intelligence, or if you have a gift of some kind, the church of our day will desire to use you.

The churches of our day really no longer have any ability to discern whether or not someone is a true child of God, because the churches have forsaken the Word of God. It is only through the Word of God that someone can gain any kind of discernment regarding another’s spiritual standing, yet, for the most part, the church has abandoned the Bible. Consequently, they are accepting any and all that enter into the churches.

These are the ones who rise to the positions of deacon and elder and pastor. They have roles of leadership in the church. They are the authorities in the churches and congregations. This is the case in our day. In a great many churches, if not all, many who are ruling are unsaved people; they do not have the Spirit of Christ within them.

I do not want to say that every single elder or pastor is an unsaved person. It is possible that there could be a saved person who is an elder or pastor, especially in some third world country where they have not yet heard or understood that God is judging His church. A saved individual could have some association with the church. However, once they do hear of God’s will, once they do hear that He is commanding His people to leave the church, the true children of God will come out and step down from their positions.

Yet, we are curious as to why God calls these unsaved people in the churches “filthy dreamers.” The word “filthy” is not in the original Greek. It is written in italics in our King James Bible because the translators have added it. The actual text says, “Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh.” The translators added the word “filthy” because it is speaking of dreamers who defile. The idea of defiling has to do with something that was pure and holy and righteous, but now is made unholy and impure and defiled. In a sense, it has become filthy. Therefore, there is a good reason as to why the translators added this word. It fits into the context of this verse. It adds a dimension that God is certainly pointing to.

God has identified these men as dreamers who defile the flesh. Why is there an emphasis upon dreamers? We know that in our present day, there is a big movement taking place in the churches in favor of charismatic leanings and supernatural occurrences. Many are seeking after “tongues.” Many are involved in dreams and visions by which they think God is opening up revelation to individuals in the church. They believe that God can speak to them through a dream or a vision. Therefore, they pay special attention to their dreams. This is certainly taking place in our day. However, this is not what God is talking about.

We know without any question that God is not currently bringing further revelation. As a matter of fact, He stopped bringing revelation after the Bible was completed. Once the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, was finished, God set up a warning. In Revelation 22:18-19, in the very last chapter of the very last book of the Bible, God said:

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

God is making a very plain statement in these verses. Now that the Bible is completed, which was done about nineteen hundred years ago in the first century AD, God makes the declaration, “Do not add unto the Words of the prophecy of this Book.” He goes on to say that anyone who does dare add to the Word of God, the Bible, shall be subject to the plagues that are written therein.

With this language, there is no question that God is saying that anyone who thinks they have had communication with God, that God has spoken to them in a dream or in a vision or in a tongue, has violated God’s commandment. If God were to break the boundary between the natural and the supernatural, if He were to communicate with man in a dream, then that would be a revelation of God.

This was the manner in which God brought His revelation to the prophets of old. In Numbers 12:6, we read this very informative verse:

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

This is how God spoke with the prophets of old; this is how He gave His revelation to Jeremiah and to Daniel and to Ezekiel and to Isaiah—they saw visions. As a matter of fact, the book of Isaiah begins with these words in verse 1:

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem…

The whole book of Isaiah is called a vision. Similarly, we read in Nahum 1:1:

…the vision of Nahum…

In Obadiah 1:1, we read:

The vision of Obadiah…

The Bible, the Word of God, was given through dreams and visions. When we read in the Bible about a vision that was given by God, then that is referring to the Word of God itself. When we read about dreams that were given by God, then that is referring to the Word of God. It is no wonder then that in Proverbs 29:18, God moved Solomon to write, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

What happened to the people in lands where the Word of God was not found? What happened to those nations that were not blessed by receiving the Gospel? What happened to the particular nations to which God in times past perhaps did not send the Gospel? They perished, because there was no vision, no Word of God.

Therefore, when God says in Revelation 22:18 that no one is to add unto His Word, this most definitely, without question, and absolutely means that no one is to receive a dream or a tongue or a vision. That was how God did add to His Word when the Bible was in formation. As God was moving prophets of old to write, He gave them dreams and visions.

Someone might then say, “But what about Acts 2? Does God not say there that He wants His people to dream dreams and so forth?” In Acts 2, we read the account of the day of Pentecost. Peter and some of the other Apostles had begun to speak in various languages, so that many Jews from different nations who were visiting Jerusalem during the feast of Pentecost could understand them. They were amazed. Some doubted and some mocked. Then Peter stands up and explains the phenomenon that was taking place. He says in verses 15-18:

For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Some would contend, “Is God not indicating here that during the New Testament Church Age, sons and daughters will prophesy?”

Let us think about what it means to prophesy. When we get right down to the root of prophecy, it has to do with declaring the Word of God. When God says, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,” He is making the statement that His people, the true believers, will declare the Word of God. His people will carry forth the Gospel into the world. The Gospel will now go into all the world as Christ commanded in Matthew 28, so that the world will be taught of the Gospel of the Bible.

It will be the sons and the daughters of Israel, the true believers, who are using their resources and their time and their money. The men will do the teaching and the preaching, and the women will do the supporting and encouraging and comforting of the men. Women will prophesy and teach other women and their children. The believers will declare the Word of God. That is the focus here. That is the emphasis of this verse as it says, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

Then it continues, “And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” What does this mean?

We remember that the Word of God is a compilation of dreams and visions. Daniel had visions, and he wrote them down. Ezekiel saw visions, and he wrote them down. John saw the vision on the island of Patmos, and he wrote it down. Joseph received dreams, and they were recorded. There were yet others who received dreams and visions as God brought His Word.

This verse is saying that now there will be an understanding. The young men shall see, shall understand, visions. They will understand the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah and how they apply to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your old men shall dream dreams. There will be a recognizing of the written Word of God, this Word that came in a dream. There will be a declaring of these dreams. In this way, the young men shall see visions and the old men shall dream dreams.

However, in no way is there a possibility of any kind that this verse could be saying that during the New Testament Church Age, the people of God would still continue to see visions and dream dreams. This is not possible. It was possible for a short while after Acts 2 was written, after this event took place on the day of Pentecost in which three thousand people were saved. It was possible that God could have given some further revelation or communication to some of His people for a few more years. It was possible that He could have brought further revelation in a dream or a vision, but only up until the point when He would finally conclude the whole Bible with the book of Revelation. When the Bible was finally completed, when Revelation 22 was penned and written down and the last verse of the Bible had been finished, the Word of God was complete.

This is God’s complete message for mankind. There is nothing further, nothing in addition. There is no lost book of the Bible; there is no need for anything else besides the Bible. We have the full and complete Word of God. We do not need to find out something additional; we do not need to have God communicate with us anymore through a dream or a vision.

What we do need is to turn our attention away from any kind of lustful desire for these exciting signs-and-wonders gospels, which are full of interesting occurrences and contain the possibility of further revelation. We have to turn our attention away from that and focus our attention towards the Bible itself. There is where we will communicate with God. There is God’s communication to man.

If we ever want God to speak to us, then we read the Bible. If we ever want to know what God is thinking or what His will for our lives is, then we read the Bible. The Bible is the place to turn to; we do not turn to anything else. There is no need to climb to the top of a mountain to seek the Words of God, for we have them within the pages of the Bible. That is where we have to be content. That is where we have to study to find the truth of what God has said.

Furthermore, if the Bible is not enough for us, if we are discontented and dissatisfied, wanting something more dramatic, desiring that God would actually thunder from Heaven with His voice towards us, thinking that the only way we will be happy is if He reveals Himself to us in a tremendous way, this indicates that we are not a child of God. If we are still seeking to add unto the Word of God, this indicates that we are not saved, and we are therefore subject to the plagues that are written therein. This is a terrible thing all by itself. To be subject to the plagues means that we are under the wrath of God and on our way to Hell where we will spend an eternity.