Jude 1:5-7
Kept for That Great Day
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5Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.
6And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
Berean Standard Bible
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Jude reminds his readers of judgments they already know. Jesus delivered His people from Egypt, but afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Sharing in that rescue did not make unbelief harmless. The people’s history of receiving help was no permission to reject the One who helped them.
The angels who abandoned their proper dwelling are kept in chains under darkness for the great day of judgment. Their former place did not put them beyond God’s authority. Jude gives this warning without inviting readers to fill out the account with details he has not supplied.
Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities provide another example. Their sexual immorality and pursuit of strange flesh meet the punishment of eternal fire. Jude points to their judgment as a warning, not as evidence that every disaster around us can be explained by a particular sin.
These examples support his warning about those who misuse grace. God’s mercy must not be treated as indifference to unbelief and rebellion. The Savior who keeps His people is also the Lord whose judgment cannot be escaped by status, past privilege or the approval of a community.
Questions
1 What happened to the unbelieving people after the deliverance from Egypt?
AnswerJesus destroyed those who did not believe. Their participation in the rescue did not make continuing unbelief safe.
2 What happened to the angels who abandoned their proper dwelling?
AnswerThey are kept in chains under darkness, bound for judgment on the great day. Their former position did not exempt them.
3 What warning do Sodom and the surrounding cities provide?
AnswerTheir sexual immorality met the punishment of eternal fire. Jude presents their judgment as an example to take seriously.
4 How do these examples answer the misuse of grace?
AnswerThey show that receiving privilege or occupying a high position does not cancel God’s judgment against unbelief and rebellion.
What This Means for Us
Do not rely on a family’s Christian history, church membership or remembered experience as a substitute for trusting the Lord now. Bring present unbelief and disobedience honestly before Him.
Let the warning lead to repentance rather than speculation about other people’s disasters. Ask the Savior to keep you faithful to Him.
Prayer
Lord, keep us from presuming on Your mercy while refusing Your word. Expose the privileges we trust instead of You. Turn us from unbelief and rebellion, and hold us faithful through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.