JUDE - Apostates in the Natural Realm (vs 12,13)

“These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. “ In these two verses we see 5 graphic images presented to us. 1) The word ‘spots’ can also be translated as rocks, in the meaning of rocks hidden just below the surface of the sea, these are dangerous and can cause shipwreck. So the apostates are compared to them, everything looks ok but under the surface lies a danger waiting to show itself. 2) The clouds are clouds that look as if they carry rain, but do not. They pass over without giving the water that is required. They are deceitful and give no encouragement to the thirsty. They are carried on winds and are led to and fro by who is in control of them. In the case of the apostate, it is Satan who is in control of them, he leads them from place to place, they look like they could help in the growth of God’s kingdom, but provide no help, they only leave people thirsty. 3) These trees are late Autumn trees. They have no fruit, any they may have had has long ago withered and rotted. They are dead and can no longer produce any fruit due to their roots being plucked up. We all go through two deaths - a spiritual death and a physical death. The Christian first of all dies to sin and then goes through the physical death, which holds no fear. The person who is not saved, will go through the physical death first, then will go through an eternal death in Hell. 4) The sea is used in the Scriptures as a reference to the unsaved, to mankind in it’s worse base condition. In the new earth there will be no sea. The apostates are as the raging waves, showing out their shame, they cannot hide it, it will always come to the surface for all to see. 5) The wandering stars imply meteorites, they flash bright for a short time, then burn up, become ash and disappear. The Bible refers to stars as being in an orbit as ordained by their creator, but these stars are wandering on their own, away from the influence of their creator, and heading for an eternal darkness- in hell. So we have :- Hidden rocks - Unseen danger Waterless clouds - False promises Autumnal trees - Barren profession Raging waves - Wasted effort Wandering stars - Aimless course leading to an ultimate perishing These are in a specific order, showing us a process, the same downward progression as seen in verse 11. We can show a contrast of these with Christ :- Apostates Christ Hidden rocks threatening ship wreck - The rock of our Salvation (Psalm 95:1) Clouds without a blessing - He who comes with the clouds(Rev 1:7) The trees of death - The tree of Life (Rev 22:14) The restless troubled sea - He leads beside still waters (Psalm 23:2) The wandering stars in eternal darkness - The day star arises in our hearts (2Pet1:19) Contrast these with the believer in Christ - Living Stones (1 Pet 2:15) - Sources of living water (John 7:38) - Trees of righteousness (Isa 61:3) - Peace like a river (Isa 48:18) - Shine as the stars for ever (Daniel 12:13)