ALTHOUGH the last paragraph of verse 7 has been dealt with in Jude 7 (Part 1), I have felt that that it has not been dealt with adequately, for this last paragraph speaks of God's revealed truth which has always been doubted and questioned and more so in the present. It speaks of what is known as the doctrine of eternal punishment in hell. The paragraph that needs to be considered more closely says 'They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire'.

There are three words in this paragraph which we need to look at more closely. The first is 'example'. The accounts of God's dealings with the Israelites, fallen angels and Sodom and Gomorrah are spoken of by Jude as examples of the punishment of eternal fire. By this Jude is calling us to consider carefully the truth what these three examples show us, and so cause us to take them seriously.

God gives examples in the Scriptures, and certainly by Jude in his short letter, to alert us and warn us, so that we may act in order to avoid this awful and terrible disaster. It is a sad fact that Satan blinds our perception and understanding so that people go through life regardless of eternity, and so being unprepared for it. Human life is incredibly short when we place it in the context of eternity. The Bible is quite clear that human death is not the end of consciousness, but we have an existence after physical death. Human life is ever so short compared with eternity, which is never ending. Our existence in eternity needs to be faced as to whether it will be in bliss or in suffering. We may be led by Satan and human wisdom to believe that all will be well after death, but the only place that our eternal condition is considered and described is in the Bible, which tells us there are only two existences. One is heaven and eternal happiness, and the other is hell and eternal suffering. Remembering this should call us to consider our end, and this is what Jude is calling us to do.

The next word we must face seriously in the last paragraph of verse 7 of Jude is the word 'punishment'. How we hate the idea of God punishing anyone. God is love it is said so how can God punishing be compatible with God's loving. In the examples which Jude has written about, it is clear that in each case it is revealed that God does punish everyone that lives deliberately in a way that is against his holiness. The examples speak of the permanence and awfulness of the punishment. Scripture speaks of God not delighting in the death of the wicked, but Scripture also speaks plainly that God is holy and he can't disregard his holy character.

The third word in this last paragraph of verse 7 is the word 'eternal'. When we ask what the word eternal is describing, the answer which Jude gives is 'fire'. Fire coming upon us gives incredible and terrible pain. Jude is not saying this off his own understanding. Jesus spoke of the wicked going to eternal fire, which is fire that is not quenched but still does not destroy existence in hell and so end the pain. There could not be anything so awful and terrifying as this, and what Jude is seeking to do is to cause us to consider it, so escaping from it may be sought; whereas Satan seeks to blind people to it to keep us in this terrible punishment he knows is his destination.

The Gospel of God, made known in Jesus Christ, has been revealed in the Bible. It is good news of complete deliverance from this awful end made possible by Jesus Christ. In this God's loving is declared and revealed in all its wonder and excellence. The Gospel is that God gave his only begotten and well beloved Son to satisfy all the requirements of his holiness on behalf of us who have fallen short of his holy requirements. God made Jesus take our nature, become responsible before his holiness and justice for all our sins and sinning by lay all our iniquity on him. Then Jesus, obeying the will of his Father, gave himself to suffer all the punishment of hell in the place of those who, in their need, put their whole trust and confidence in him, recognising that we who have fallen short of God's holiness have nothing we can bring to God to meet God's holy demands.

If we will let Jesus suffer the whole and complete punishment for our sins, in our place, then the word of God declares 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool' (Isaiah 1: 18). If we will not let Jesus bear our sins, then we have to suffer their punishment ourselves, and that suffering will never end because however long we suffer it can never meet God's holy requirements.