f God's grace who denied "our only Master and Lord, Jesus
Christ" (ver. 4). The author sees fit to remind his readers of ancient
examples of unfaithfulness and impurity, and shows that they must be
compassionate towards the wavering, and try to save the worst by a
desperate effort. It is plain that the false teachers were guilty of
gross and unnatural vice, that they were greedy, and destitute of godly
fear. They also, like the evil Christians at Corinth, brought
discredit upon the Agape (ver. 12), a social meal which the Christians
were first wont to partake of before the Eucharist, and at a later date
after the Eucharist. The licence which is rebuked by St. Jude probably
arose from a perversion of the doctrine of justification by faith which
had been taught by our Lord. Christians who had been taught that they
could be saved without observing the Jewish ceremonial law, imagined
that they could be saved without any self-discipline or self-restraint.
Many parallels to such errors have been found in modern times, the
worst example being that afforded by the Anabaptists, who arose in
Germany at the time of the Reformation. It is worth noticing that, in
spite of the untheological character of this Epistle, the writer shows
his belief in the Holy Trinity by the manner in which he refers to the
Father {269} and Jesus Christ (ver. 1) and the Holy Ghost (ver. 20).
The Epistle gives no encouragement to the theory that the first Jewish
Christians were Unitarians.

ANALYSIS

Salutation and charge to maintain "the faith" (1-4). Warnings from the
punishment of the Israelites, of the angels, of Sodom and Gomorrha
(5-7).

Railing at dignities rebuked (8-10).

Denunciation of those who imitate Cain (murder), Balaam (encouragement
of impurity), Korah (schism), and spoil the _Agape_ (11-13).

These sectaries foretold by Enoch (14-16).

And by the apostles (17-19).

Duty of edifying believers, and saving sinners (20-23).

Doxology (24, 25).

[1] Eusebius, _H. E._ iii. 20.

{270}

CHAPTER XXV

THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE

[Sidenote: The Author.]

Like the First Epistle of St. John, the Revelation has particularly
strong external evidence in its favour. About A.D. 150 Justin Martyr
speaks of it as the work of "John, one of the apostles of Christ," in
his dialogue held with Trypho, a Jew, at Ephesus, where St. John had
lived. Still earlier, Papias looked upon the book as "inspired," and
"bo