The Book of Jude
by Dr. Frank J. Cuozzo

Jude 24-25, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

We walk out of the book of Jude just as we walked into it- with a note of victory! God's people are victorious. One of the tremendous truths that we must hold to in this awful hour of wickedness is the fact that we are victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ! Though at times it seems that the wicked are winning, God's people are on the victory side. Our Lord has conquered death, hell, and the grave. We are in Him, and He in us. This means that all is well with God's people.

The book of Jude is about the age of the apostates, those who look at revealed truth and turn from it. There is no evidence in the Scriptures to imply that it is possible for a Christian to become an apostate. We do not find this in the Bible, though we do find it in some men's thinking. We are born into God's family by the new birth, saved once and forever. We have everlasting life in Him. For the Christian, eternal life is not a hope for the future. It is a present possession.

Notice the expression in Jude 24, "Unto Him that is able." God is able! We are not able, but God is able. Jude 25 says,

"To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen"

There is no darkness in Jesus Christ; there is only light. Think of His radiance, glory, majesty, dominion, and power. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His "dominion" refers to His reign. It is forever. The Word of God says, "And power." This refers to His right to be praised because He alone has prevailed. The book of Jude serves as the hallway to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Throughout the book of the Revelation we move from earth to heaven, and from heaven back to earth.

When we come to the fourth chapter of the Revelation, the church has been raptured. We will be gone from this world to be with the Lord Jesus forever. The world as we know it will not cease to exist. The lost world will enter into a period referred to as the Tribulation period. The Antichrist will make his appearance.

The Bible says in the fifth chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that God is going to open a book. In that book we have represented to us all He has redeemed for His people and for this earth. In other words, God is going to unveil for us the future of the redeemed. Have you ever thought about the way things should be? If things were the way they should be, Jesus Christ would be ruling and reigning upon the earth and everyone would be doing what is right.

Is there no day coming when righteousness shall prevail in every quarter? There certainly is. We have that hope in the Lord. What a grand and glorious future we have because of what Jesus Christ has purchased for us!

Revelation 5:1-3 says,

"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon."

A number of books are mentioned in the Bible such as the Lamb's book of life and the book of our works. Here is a book unveiling the future. The Lord says a strong angel calls out and his voice is heard in every area, and in every realm, in heaven, in earth, and under the earth. He says, "Who can open the book?" In other words, "Who can bring about all the God has redeemed?" There is no answer. No man in heaven, no man in earth, and no man under the earth could answer. The Bible continues in verses 4 & 5,

"And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

In verse four weeping represents all the tears and suffering of humanity and the emptiness of every man's life if not redeemed. No wonder there is weeping. Then God speaks from heaven and says, "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed." What does He mean, "Hath prevailed?" He means that Christ cam to earth and became a man without ceasing to be God, and not just a man, but obedient to the shameful, humiliating death of the cross. What does it mean that He has prevailed? It means that He lived a sinless life; that nothing kept Him from going to Calvary to bleed and die for our sins; that He tasted death for every man. It means that He was buried in a borrowed tomb and on the third day the grave was empty because He came forth bodily alive forevermore. No wonder the Bible says that He "hath prevailed." To Him "be glory, and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen." This is the wonderful Savior that we know and love. This is our Lord Jesus Christ!

He is able! This is the message that needs to be heard in this day and hour. There is so much weakness, so much fainting, and so many people are downcast and discouraged. The message is "He is able!" This is the message we need to be preaching and the message we need to be living. Consider some of the things He is able to do.

1. He is able to Deliver.

In the sixth chapter of Daniel, Daniel was faithfully serving the Lord, and because of his faith in God he was going to be cast into the den of lions. The Bible says in Daniel 6:16-24,

"Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den."

God's word says that before the accusers of Daniel reached the bottom of the den of lions, all their bones were broken in pieces. Is God able? Ask Daniel. He would tell you that God is able to deliver. When we are up against lions that try to ensnare us, God is able to deliver us.

2. He is able to Make Grace Abound.

II Corinthians 9:8 says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you." This means that He has more than we need. For whatever we face, God's grace is able to help us in our time of need.

3. He is able to do Exceeding Abundantly Above.

Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Some people consider themselves to be big thinkers and big dreamers. The Bible says that our God is able to do more than we can even ask or think! That's because Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

4. He is Able to Subdue All Things.

Philippians 3:21 says,

"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." God's people can have a strong assurance in their hearts that all is well because the Lord is able to subdue all things under His feet. God is able.

5. He is Able to Save to the Uttermost.

Hebrews 7:25 says,

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him." The most hardened sinner that you know- God is able to save! If they'll come to Him!

6. He is Able to Keep you from Falling.

This means that we never have to worry about going to hell if we have been saved. He keeps us from falling. In John 10:27-29, Jesus Himself said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." No wonder that He is able to keep us from falling. I did not save myself. I asked the Lord to forgive my sin and by faith received Christ as my Savior. We all deserve to die and go to a devil's hell. We did not save ourselves; God saved us. Hebrews 7:25 says, "he ever liveth to make intercession for them." This means that every moment of our lives, now that we are God's children, Jesus keeps us from falling. He keeps us saved. If I sin and seek my heavenly Father's forgiveness, I don't have to worry about dying and going to hell. Philippians 1:6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." We can have confidence in Him and not in ourselves because Jesus has begun the work of salvation in us and He is able to perform it.

7. He is Able to Present You Faultless.

Can you imagine that those of us, who have been saved, are counted righteous before God each moment? There has only been one faultless person who has ever lived - Jesus Christ the Son of God. Can you imaging with all our problems and faults that the Bible says there is coming a day when God is going to present us faultless? What a day! Ephesians 5:25-27 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

We cannot get rid of the blemishes here, but God says some day all the blemishes will be gone. We will be presented as faultless! We will never fully understand with our finite limited minds what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. We believe it, but we cannot comprehend the depth of it. There is coming a day when God, our heavenly Father, will present us to Jesus Christ, our heavenly Groom, and say, "Here is the bride, faultless." Only God is able to do that! Some day we will lay this robe of flesh down and soar beyond the stars. We will say goodbye to every heartache and sorrow. Some day we will step on streets of gold and look into the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we do, we will be perfect. We will behold Him in all His glory. We will be able to do so because we will be like Him and see Him as He is. He is able! The conclusion of this epistle is "Amen." It means that these words are true and faithful. Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will come to this conclusion. The conclusion is "Amen." These solemn warnings have been set forth by God to instruct and inspire us in these perilous times. One of the titles for Christ is "the Amen." We are complete in Him. Our victory is in Him. As God's people, we can say, "Amen."

This concludes our study in the book of Jude.

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