Our Time Explained in Jude

This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.”: Smart Christians read through the entire Bible. Many of us older Christians tend to read through the Bible on a yearly basis. After you’ve read through the Bible twenty of thirty times, details begin falling into place. You develop a way of allowing the Holy Spirit to work in ways most people miss. Anyone who has read through the Bible a few times looks at that first sentence in Jude, “this letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,” and hears the voice of the Holy Spirit telling them, “you’ve seen that before.” Some may pass that voice inside their head off as an original, self produced idea. When self comes into play, the Holy Spirit withdraws. But when you listen to the Holy Spirit, take the lead, and follow directions, the world of the Bible opens its doors. You find the answers that have been there in black and white for thousands of years. And you can’t believe your eyes. You can’t believe some theologian hasn’t found that information and why the churches haven’t told the world. That is exactly how Jude introduces his letter.

Jude 1:1-4 NLTse This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. (2) May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. (3) Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. (4) I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Bible is written with certain rules, or patterns every writer in the Bible followed. Of course we know Jesus wrote Revelation and John wrote down exactly what he was told to write. Anyone who has read through Revelation knows, John saw a vision, then that vision was explained by an angel, elder, or other being in Heaven. Based on that pattern we know when we look for explanations in Revelation, those explanations are found in other chapters in Revelation. It is that simple. If people follow any other pattern, we instantly know they are sharing a man made concept or idea.

Jude may be the easiest book in the Bible to study by simply following the general rules of Bible study, which is simply following leads and directions from the Holy Spirit. When we read the first sentence and are told to look back at a similar introduction, we follow directions and look at that introduction. Which is found in one of Paul’s books we refer to as Romans.

Romans 1:1-6 NLTse This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. (2) God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. (3) The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, (4) and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. (5) Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. (6) And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

In Romans we find links no one could have ever placed there without a lot of planning. Here we have two authors discussing the same subject. A subject they had no real knowledge of, the future. That information was given to them by the only source who could see the future and knew exactly what was going to happen. Which is why most people read the Bible. They know the Bible contains information about the future and the Bible is the only reliable source of information about the future. Deep down inside people know the Bible is the only reliable source on the future, particularly the last days. That is what draws the majority of people to the Bible. The problem is, most people don’t bother to read the Bible themselves. They prefer to take the word of people who claim to be experts on the Bible and the future. They don’t realize how the Bible has been designed to provide its own answers. All the answers. And supply those answers in a simple form everyone from every nation and every language is able to understand.

When I followed instructions, clues, and directions found in Jude, I couldn’t believe how stories in the Bible explained everything in Jude in such great detail, there was no reason to rely on any other source. When you study scripture by following simple directions found in scripture, the results should also be self explanatory with no further narrative necessary to explain the message. That is exactly what came out of this simple study on Jude. You can take the scripture as is and understand the full message. Explanations here simply explain how to look for, identify, and follow simple instructions in scripture.

As we’ve seen, the introduction, the first sentence in Jude explains what directions to follow. To verify that rule, we compare the two chapters. When we compare Jude to Romans chapter 1, we can’t help but see they both cover the same subject. They have to follow the same subject. As we can see, Paul went into far greater detail than Jude. When we combine the two stories, we see exactly how the Bible has power to magnify details on its own. The Bible never had to rely on any outside sources.

As we compare Jude to Romans chapter 1 we look for additional evidence they cover the same subject. We see parallels in the writing.

Jude: urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.

Romans: Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

I highlighted similar comments to get people started. It is a good idea to highlight key words, or in this case phrases sharing the same concept. Jude explained, God is the source of information. Paul added important details. All the information was given to us through Christ.

As we progress, we see more evidence than what we need to grasp onto and understand the message in great detail.

Jude: May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.

Romans: May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

As we expect, Paul added far greater detail. Paul also explains how to gain the confidence and power to understand scripture the way it is meant to be understood. We need faith and prayer. Some refer to that as a spiritual gift.

Romans 1:7-11 NLTse I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. (8) Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. (9) God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son. (10) One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. (11) For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.

After we see the patterns placed in Jude and gain the confidence to follow leads Christ placed in Jude, we run into very important information. A small comment in Jude is explained in unbelievable detail by Paul in Romans.

Jude: I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:18-32 NLTse But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. (19) They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. (20) For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (21) Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. (22) Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. (23) And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (24) So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. (25) They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. (26) That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. (27) And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. (28) Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. (29) Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. (30) They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. (31) They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. (32) They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

There could not be any easier study in the Bible. Key words led us directly to Romans chapter 1. Key phrases and thoughts verified the fact, Jude and Paul wrote about the same subject. Paul added details to Jude we need to gain a better understanding. In this case, at this particular moment in earth’s history, it seems Paul was writing the news for 2021. We can no longer deny, we are in a spiritual war against people who sided with demons.

Paul explained all the details we see today and exactly what the devil used to gain control over those who chose to follow him. It is all there in black and white. No one can argue with the facts that have been penned more than 2000 years ago. We have to ask ourselves, why isn’t that information taught by church leaders? Paul answerd that question. Money and self satisfaction is more important to those people than spending a few hours studying at the feet of Jesus. They prefer to make gods of themselves. We see that mentality in spending bills passed in congress where they claim they are in control of the weather, sexuality, and other attacks on the first few chapters in the Bible describing creation. We have people on the news claiming science is above God. We are told to trust in science. It is far more than evident, science has declared war against God, and we are left with a choice. Do we follow man made science or God?

After we’ve established the direct link between Jude and Romans, we can go onto other steps in Bible Study. The next step is as easy to follow as the first step. Jude and Paul made references to stories in scripture. There is one thing about apostles we need to understand. Paul lost his sight. During that time, Jesus explained the Old Testament to Paul, placing all the prophecies in the proper order. Paul went out and preached about that experience and what he learned directly from Jesus. Peter and the other disciples had a similar experience during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit explained all the prophecies about Jesus. Peter explained where those stories are found in scripture and how scripture explained all the details. After learning those details, the apostles traveled around teaching people how those stories in scripture fit together. The apostles expected people to study on their own, spending personal time to learn at Jesus’ feet, like they did. Apostles wrote about what needed to be studied, using small portions of stories in scripture and expected their students to read those stories. It is as simple as that. Which is our next step. To gain a better understanding, we look for stories Paul and Jude quoted from. We turn to those stories and read them. Nothing could be easier.

Romans 1:17 NLTse This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Hebrews 11:6 NLTse And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Once we use key words to locate scripture Paul quoted, we read the introduction to that story. In this case the chain reference used by e-Sword was a valuable tool. In most cases the chain reference in e-Sword led directly to the stories Paul and Jude quoted from. In every case the chain reference contained a number of choices. Key words Paul and Jude used identified the story they referenced. Once we find the right story, we stand in awe at the information and details added to the original thought.

Hebrews 11:2-3 NLTse Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. (3) By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

There is a reason Jude and Paul quoted particular stories in a particular order. As we go through that list of stories and read each one, we can’t help but understand exactly why that particular order was used. Especially when we find ourselves living through the experiences those authors wrote about more than 2000 years ago.

Jude 1:5 NLTse So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.

Numbers 14:20-23 NLTse Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. (21) But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, (22) not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. (23) They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.

Jude 1:6 NLTse And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.

2 Peter 2:1-8 NLTse But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. (2) Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. (3) In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. (4) For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. (5) And God did not spare the ancient world–except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. (6) Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. (7) But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. (8) Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.

Jude 1:7-8 NLTse And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. (8) In the same way, these people–who claim authority from their dreams–live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.

Genesis 18:20-21 NLTse So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. (21) I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

Genesis 19:24-29 NLTse Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. (25) He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. (26) But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. (27) Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD’s presence. (28) He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. (29) But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

Jude 1:9-10 NLTse But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) (10) But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.

Daniel 10:13-14 NLTse But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. (14) Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Daniel 10:19-21 NLTse “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.” (20) He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. (21) Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince.

Jude 1:11-13 NLTse What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion. (12) When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. (13) They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

Genesis 4:3-8 NLTse When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD. (4) Abel also brought a gift–the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift, (5) but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. (6) “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? (7) You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (8) One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Numbers 22:4-7 NLTse The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!” So Balak, king of Moab, (5) sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. (6) Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.” (7) Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him.

Numbers 25:1-5 NLTse While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. (2) These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. (3) In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD’s anger to blaze against his people. (4) The LORD issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.” (5) So Moses ordered Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”

Numbers 16:1-3 NLTse One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. (2) They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. (3) They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD’s people?”

Numbers 16:8-11 NLTse Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! (9) Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the LORD’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them? (10) Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? (11) The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”

Numbers 16:19-33 NLTse Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community, (20) and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, (21) “Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!” (22) But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?” (23) And the LORD said to Moses, (24) “Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” (25) So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel. (26) “Quick!” he told the people. “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.” (27) So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones. (28) And Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things that I have done–for I have not done them on my own. (29) If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the LORD has not sent me. (30) But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD.” (31) He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. (32) The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned. (33) So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.

Jude 1:14-16 NLTse Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones (15) to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (16) These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.

Genesis 5:22-24 NLTse After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. (23) Enoch lived 365 years, (24) walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

Jude 1:17-19 NLTse But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. (18) They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. (19) These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

We do hit bumps in the road when we study scripture. They may be unexpected turns, or leads placed in our head by the Holy Spirit. In this case I was influenced to look for a story Jesus shared with His disciples. After finding and reviewing the story Jesus told, I reviewed Jude and found, he was referring to books and information written by the apostles. Which lead to another story with more details.

Matthew 7:12-23 NLTse “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (13) “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. (14) But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. (15) “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. (16) You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? (17) A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. (18) A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. (19) So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. (20) Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (21) “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. (22) On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ (23) But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Acts 20:26-32 NLTse I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, (27) for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. (28) “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock–his church, purchased with his own blood–over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. (29) I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. (30) Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. (31) Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you–my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. (32) “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

Jude 1:20-22 NLTse But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, (21) and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. (22) And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.

Romans 15:1-8 NLTse We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. (2) We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. (3) For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” (4) Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. (5) May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. (6) Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (7) Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. (8) Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.

Titus 2:11-15 NLTse For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. (12) And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, (13) while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. (14) He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (15) You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say.

Galatians 6:1-7 NLTse Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. (2) Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (3) If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (4) Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. (5) For we are each responsible for our own conduct. (6) Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. (7) Don’t be misled–you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

Jude 1:24-25 NLTse Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. (25) All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

After reviewing the information in this study it is clear to see how scripture explains scripture. There is no reason to pull in any other sources. We review the information as the Bible and Holy Spirit present it, and we don’t need any long drawn out explanations. We know exactly what scripture is describing in our time. We also see what our role is in the last days. We are supposed to be reaching out to other people during that time. But how? Story after story remind us, only God knows the future. God communicates to this world through Jesus. We have no idea how to reach people. But Jesus does. Without Jesus and the Holy Spirit we are stuck with a host of wrong answers. The same is true with reaching people and delivering the right message. We don’t have the right messages to reach people. But Jesus does. When we decide to work with Jesus, it is a commitment. We will see unbelievable results in personal messages just like we’ve seen in this simple study. With Jesus we place ourselves in a position where the devil and all his followers cannot stop us.