debbie asks:
What does Jude 1:9 mean??
in my quiet time the other day i came across this verse: Jude 1:9 The Arch-angle Micheal, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn't have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, "no you don't. God will take care of you!" It left me very confused; why was satan fighting with Micheal? i couldn't even understand tbe segment about the curse, what was this passage talking about?
Matt Prine answers:
This passage os scripture is a bit difficult to understand for a couple of reasons. Primarily, the reason that vv.8-10 of Jude are difficult to understand is due to the fact that this story of Michael and the Devil going toe to toe is not in the Old Testament. Some think that this story was from a book called "Testament of Moses" which is a non-canonized book of the Bible (meaning that it is not the inspired Word of God). So as a disciple of the Word, you may not have ever even heard this story before.
Secondly, you have to read this verse in context. The whole point of the letter from Jude was to contend for the faith and to speak against false teaching and blasphemy. Specifically, the verses that complete this thought (the false teachers are blasphemers) are verses 8-10.
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively Jude vv. 8-10 from the ESV
This is what you need to gather from these verses:
- These people = False teachers. They are relying on their dreams as a means of revelation from God rather than the Word of God. They have an outward appearance of being holy by treating their body with severity. They do not like authority because it requires that they be held accountable to Truth, and they blaspheme the glorious ones.
- The key phrase here in regards to your question is that they blaspheme the glorious ones.
- Specifically, the glorious ones that Jude is speaking of are evil angels.
- This is tough to think of because we do not usually think of evil spirits as being glorious, but we must remember that glorious can simply mean grandeur, or powerful. (we must not forget that evil spirits do have power... just not as much as Jesus!)
- Jude wants to let people know that they should not presume to be the supreme rulers of these evil spirits...
- as his example, Jude uses the story of Michael and the devil...
- Michael did not announce a sentence of condemnation on the devil, but he left that to God.
- His point is that Christ is the one with exclusive power and authority. (which is what these false teachers were challenging)
- As a result, these people (the false teachers) walked in pride and arrogance... they thought that they were more powerful than these evil spirits and ultimately because of that they were destroyed.
- They were destroyed because they were foolish.
- They tried to claim Jesus' power for themselves.
This is not to say that Jesus has not given believers power over evil spirits... He has... BUT, you MUST remember where that authority came from. The false teachers were prideful and arrogant. They did not acknowledge that the power came from Christ.
That is the main idea of Jude 8-10
justwnttobeheld asks:
"I don't get along with my family. I only truly depend on the people that I deem to be trustworthy. What does the Bible say about getting along with your family?"
Matt Prine answers:
This is a good question. Family is a tough thing. We are born into our families and we don't get to choose each person that makes up our family. This being said, I think that the Lord knew exactly what He was doing when he placed you in your particular family. Romans 8:28 says that "those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." This being said, we have to realize that as believers, the Lord has placed us in certain situations with certain people so that we might come closer to Him. I think many of us, myself included miss the divine appointments that the Lord has for our lives. We see the situation that we are in and wish we were in another.... And we miss how the Lord is trying to grow us. So, along this same vein, what I would say is to start asking the Lord how he intends to use this to grow you. Is there something in your life that needs to be adjusted so that your relationship with your family can be repaired or strengthened?
There is however another side to this coin. If your family members are not Christians, then there will always be a rift that will separate you. This is not to say that you abandon your family, or neglect building relationships with them, but it means that you will not have Christian fellowship with them. The extenuating circumstance here is if your family is abusive or placing you in a situation where your health and safety is being compromised. In this circumstance, I would say that you should seek help from the church and be protected by the family of God.
I want to make one thing VERY clear. God is not a God of broken families. He does not want to see families broken apart, and when they are broken, His desire is to see them restored. Our God is a God of restoration and reconciliation. Read the story of the prodigal son. That is an amazing story of a family being restored. Also in Matthew 5, Jesus is preaching the sermon on the mount, and tells people to be reconciled to their brothers before they leave their offering at the altar.
God wants you to have good relations with your parents and siblings. A family that is devoted to the Lord is an amazing thing.
If your parents are godly people then I would say that you are blessed beyond all imagination. There are so many kids in this world who are born into families that beat them, neglect them, compromise their safety by abusing drugs and alcohol in their presence, allow them to be used by other sick and twisted individuals, among other unmentionable things.
Take a step back and observe your situation. Ask the Lord to reveal anything inside of yourself that might be breaking the fellowship that you have with your family. If your family is the breaker of fellowship, then the only thing that you can do is to love them with the love of Christ, forgive them, and try to share Jesus with them.
gatorgirl5 asks:
I was wondering if there were any particular verses or things i could read or do to make my mind more fresh, and rid it of all those sick things that fill our world today?
radiantfirst answers:
This is a good question. Here are some thoughts....
Philippians 4:8 says
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Paul says this should be the standard to what we should consume as Christians. Just because a movie is rated pg-13 and you are 13 does not mean you should see that movie and just because you are 17 does not mean you should see any rated R movie. Take the word whatever in this verse and replace it with whatever you might consider consuming whether that be movies, music, tv shows, books, etc.... Whatever music is noble, whatever music is right, whatever music is pure....you get the picture.
So being careful what media we consume is one issue but perhaps this is not the biggest issue. If you were to ask yourself what is the most noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy thing to think about, perhaps you would say Christ. The way we think about Christ is by reading or listening to God's word and putting our mind on Christ. When you decide you are going to think heavily about Christ you are putting thoughts into your mind that will push aside the thoughts of this world. Recently I have been participating in the you've got the time campaign and for me listening to large portions of scripture really helps to clear my thoughts and think about what is most important.
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