Jude said that these men act no differently than the animals. He called them nothing more than brute beasts. They lived following their natural instincts. They followed that which seemed normal and natural to their hu-manness and to their natural abilities and gifts. That describes how animals live by their instincts. Animals live by the natural things that God has created and planted within them and given them the ability to live in this world and in the creation of God.

Therefore, they spoke falsely. They did not know God. They spoke evil of things that they did not understand. They did not know things from God's perspective. They did not understand His will and ways. They had no in-timacy with him.

Sadly, we experience a dearth of leaders who know God. They know about God. They say that they love God. However, few men and women in positions of leadership know God and spend time with Him. False prophets and teachers do not know God. You cannot know God by osmosis. You cannot know God unless you spend time with Him in study of His word and in prayer, conversing with Him.

Jude gave a warning. He said, "These men creep in unawares. Do not follow them or listen to them. They talk about things they do not really understand, because they do not know God. They call good evil and evil good, because they really don't know the truth."

We need leaders who know God. You can tell they study His word. They do not give a brief lecture on the goodness of man or a few steps on how to cure emotional ills. No, they tell you something about God and what they have come to know about God by experience. They encourage their listeners to pursue after God in inti-mate fellowship with Him.

Finally, in a series of pictures, Jude described these false teachers as destitute of character. He gave a lengthy list of characteristics to illustrate their destitution. These vivid descriptions explain their lack of character. He started in verse 11, "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."

These three men carried out notorious acts. Cain killed his brother. Balaam attempted to prophesy against the Israelites as they traversed the wilderness toward the Promised Land. He did give counsel to Israel's enemies on how to lead God's people into immorality, which succeeded. Korah attempted to overthrow Moses, God's cho-sen leader of Israel. God judged him by causing the earth to open up and swallow Korah and his followers alive.

In addition, Jude described another character flaw, "These [people] are spots in your feasts of charity." They came to Israel's feasts, boldly appearing like Godly men. However, the literal meaning portrays them like rocks hidden under the water. They posed a danger to God's people, because, without shame, these hypocrites waited for the opportunity to cause believers to slip. Jude warned his friends of that danger.

Jude used another picture to illustrate the worthless character of these false teachers. He said, "They are like clouds without water." What good is a cloud without water? They are worthless, useless. That explains the true worth of the false leaders. Next, he depicted their worthless character by calling them trees without fruit. Obviously, a fruit tree without fruit has no value, and succumbs to the axe. Neither did these evil men have any value.

In yet another fashion, Jude represented their lack of Biblical direction and stability by two pictures in verse 13. He called them "Raging waves of the sea." The waves of the sea move in response to the wind. They move in whatever direction that the wind blows. The strength of the wind determines the ferocity of the waves. In like manner, these vile leaders varied their messages and direction upon the whims of man.

He continued in verse 13 by describing them as wandering stars. Stars have a fixed path. Here, Jude made use of a Biblical type of using stars for leaders. However, these stars wandered, following no fixed path. Thus, God's people could not follow them, because the leaders did not know their direction, one time this way, an-other time a different way. Jude's friends could not rely upon their leadership.

He closed his denunciation of their character in verses 16-19. He called them "...murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admira-tion because of advantage...mockers walking after their own ungodly lusts...not having the Spirit."

Jude categorized the false leaders of his day in the same class as these men, hypocrites, worthless, and ungodly. He gave a lengthy list of the poverty of character of the false prophets and teachers he identified. Sadly, their sinful practices exist to this day. Men and women elevate themselves or others elevate them to positions of au-thority and responsibility that fit these same descriptions.

Jude gave his warning out of love and concern for his friends and for God's honor. As he exhorted his fellow followers of Christ, I, too, urge you with this warning. Do not follow those whose character and practices coin-cide with these warnings. Do not listen to them. Do not buy their books. Do not watch them on television. Do not listen to them on the radio. Do not subscribe to their magazines and newsletters. They will mislead you. They will not lead you to God. Nor do they honor and exalt the Lord Jesus, because they do not exalt and honor Him in their own lives.

I pray that the Spirit of God will open your eyes to see the truth of God's Word as revealed in Jude's warning to his friends. God has provided it for your protection. He loves His own, those who know God and have trusted Christ and cares for them like a shepherd cares for his sheep. Heed these warnings from Scripture. Listen to the Spirit of God Who would instruct you to see and identify the false and to follow the true. I pray the Spirit of God will do that for you and lead you to fullness of joy, the rightful possession of the children of God.

Thank you, heavenly Father, for Your great love for us, which You have demonstrated in so many ways. You have preserved this letter from Jude to his friends warning them of false prophets and urging them not to follow them. He gave them clear descriptions of what they would look like and how they would act.