“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” (Jude 1:12-13)
Jude is writing the church to warn them about false teachers or apostates. Apostates are those who promote beliefs contrary to the true faith while often pretending to accept the true faith. In the above verses Jude gives us five illustrations from nature of contemporary apostates.
1. SPOTS [or “hidden rocks”] in your love feasts.
These feasts were sort of like a potluck meal which promoted fellowship and included the taking of the Lord’s supper. These self-serving apostates participated in religious functions without the fear of God (1Cor. 11:17-22, 27-30). The Greek word for “spots” can also be translated “hidden rocks” such as could endanger a ship, implying that their love feasts were in danger of being shipwrecked.
2. CLOUDS without water, carried about by the winds.
They are visible but have no real substance – no refreshing. They promise much but deliver little!
3. TREES without fruit [dead, uprooted].
They are visible but with no legitimate fruit in the fruit-bearing season – no fruit of the Spirit and no truly fruitful ministry.
4. WAVES [raging] of the sea, foaming up their own shame.
They are visible, active, noisy, dangerous, controlled by ever-changing external forces (unstable & inconsistent). The external forces bring their true shameful substance to the surface (Isa. 57:20).
5. STARS [wandering] destined for eternal judgment.
They are visible but with no clear direction and destined for eternal judgment, so don’t follow them!