Podcast: Play in new window | Download (23.9MB)
Judah opens his short, urgent, and intense letter by introducing himself: This letter is from Judah, a slave of Messiah Yeshua and a brother of James. He writes to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Messiah Yeshua, and he prays for them: May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. He calls the Lord’s people to defend the faith against false teachers who have infiltrated Messiah’s communities – men who twisted God’s grace into permission to sin instead of receiving it as the power to be freed from sin.
Judah warned that these teachers would face judgment just like the unbelieving generation in the wilderness, the rebellious angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Each of these groups sinned by rebelling against God’s authority through arrogance, self‑will, and living according to their own desires despite having received revelation and privilege.
Judah’s point is that the false teachers were doing the very same things and would experience God’s judgment. They were not the great spiritual leaders they claimed to be – enlightened, mature, and especially close to God – but rebels against God’s authority just like the three examples Judah had just given.
Now he tells us more about the false teachers and the things that characterize them, which enables us to recognize them. In the same way, these people – who claim authority from their dreams – live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings. But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy. He simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.) 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.
They Claim Authority From Their Dreams. Throughout the Word of God, false teachers consistently appeal to dreams, visions, mystical experiences, and private revelations in order to justify their rebellion against God. Let me be clear: God can speak through dreams. He did so with Joseph, Daniel, and Joseph, who raised Yeshua. The problem is not the possibility of God speaking through dreams. The problem is claiming divine revelation while contradicting divine truth and rejecting legitimate authority.These men were saying things like: “God showed me. God revealed this to me. I have special spiritual insight.” But their lives contradicted their alleged revelation – and that is always a warning sign. A genuine revelation from God produces the fear of God, humility, obedience and holiness. It leads a person deeper into the Word of God, not away from it.
They Live Immoral Lives: One of the clearest ways to identify false teachers is that they do not merely teach error – they live error. Things go with things. What we believe affects how we live. Teaching and behavior are connected. Bad teaching and bad character go together. Corrupt teaching produces corrupt living. When a person refuses to stay within spiritual boundaries, he will eventually refuse to stay within moral and financial boundaries.
They Defy Authority: They rejected God’s moral authority by turning grace into freedom to sin rather than freedom from sin. They rejected the teaching handed down by the apostles – truth received from Messiah Himself. These false teachers distorted that truth, not usually by outright denial, but by redefining it, softening it, twisting it, or selectively ignoring whatever was inconvenient. And they rejected correction by legitimate authorities, saying in effect: “No one can tell me what to do. I answer only to God. I don’t need correction.”
They Scoff At Supernatural Beings: The false teachers spoke carelessly, mockingly and presumptuously about spiritual realities they did not understand – referring to fallen angels and demonic powers. To understand why this is so serious, Judah gives us a striking contrast. He points to Michael the archangel – one of the mightiest beings in all of creation. When Michael was disputing with the devil over Moses’ body, even he did not speak with arrogance or contempt toward the leader of the fallen angels. He simply said: “The Lord rebuke you!”
You may be wondering – where does this account come from? It does not appear in the Hebrew scriptures. The most widely accepted explanation is that Judah is referring to a Jewish work known in his day called The Assumption of Moses. Quoting a source does not mean endorsing everything in it. Paul quoted pagan writers at times, and Judah uses this account because it effectively illustrates his point.
Judah’s point is this: Michael – one of the highest and most powerful beings in all of creation, with every reason to treat Satan with contempt – chose restraint. He wasn’t arrogant. He didn’t mock. He simply said, “This dispute is not for me to settle. The Lord is in charge and will settle it. The Lord rebuke you.” Michael understood authority, restraint and dependence on God. He knew his place in the order of things. These false teachers didn’t. They spoke casually, flippantly, and contemptuously about spiritual realities. The very beings they mocked were beings that even the greatest of angels approached with respect and restraint.
We still see this kind of counterfeit spirituality today. Some people speak about Satan and demons in a joking, arrogant, or theatrical way – shouting at demons, taunting them, and acting as though they themselves possess extraordinary spiritual authority and power. Others boast about “binding territorial spirits,” commanding high‑ranking demonic powers over cities and nations – something we never see taught or practiced by the apostles. We are not to mock the demonic realm or approach it with arrogance, or take authority over things we have not been given explicit authority over, but instead humbly submit to God, stand in obedience to His Word, and trust in His authority rather than our own.
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. The false teachers claimed special knowledge but behaved like unthinking animals. They promised success and blessing but were causing their own destruction.
The next section is a warning that these false teachers will experience the same judgment as those whose footsteps they are following. Woe to them! 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.
Woe to them! What sorrow awaits them! This is the language of the prophets – announcing judgment to those who persist in rebellion. These teachers may appear successful, influential and spiritual, but Judah tells us that God will judge them as He judged Cain, Balaam, and Korah.
Cain represents false religion – worship on man’s terms rather than God’s terms. Cain was religious. He worshiped the Lord. He brought an offering. But he refused to approach God on God’s terms, and when God rejected him and his offering, he did not humble himself or repent. He became bitter, resentful, and murdered his righteous brother. And the Lord judged him – cursing this man who loved to grow things so that he would never again be successful at it. The false teachers are like Cain. They dislike those who walk closely with God, because light exposes darkness. And like Cain, who was warned by God that sin was crouching at the door – they refuse to be corrected. And, like Cain, they will most certainly be judged.
Balaam represents corrupt spiritual leadership driven by greed. Balaam had genuine spiritual knowledge and experience. Yet he loved money more than obedience. When he could not curse Israel directly, he found another way – corrupting the people from within through moral compromise. That’s what false teachers do. They don’t attack the community from the outside. They weaken it from within, telling us that holiness is unnecessary, that God will overlook sin, that obedience is optional. And that message is profitable. People will pay a teacher who tickles their ears more readily than one who confronts their sin. A message of repentance costs. A message of compromise sells. And the Lord judged Balaam – not long after he corrupted Israel, he himself was killed.
Korah represents leaders in open rebellion against God‑appointed authority. Korah challenged Moses and Aaron, saying in effect: “Why should you lead Israel? There are others who are just as spiritual as you are.” It sounded humble and spiritual – and very democratic. He gathered 250 leaders around his rebellion. These were respected men who lent credibility to the uprising. But God’s response was swift and unmistakable. The earth opened beneath Korah and his household and swallowed them alive. Then fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who had joined his cause. The judgment was so dramatic, so total, so public that no one watching could mistake what had happened: this was God defending the authority structure He had put in place. False teachers do the same. They resist accountability, despise submission, undermine godly leadership, and gather followers around themselves. The very thing that made Korah’s movement look credible – its leaders, its widespread support – is the same thing that makes the movements of false teachers so dangerous. Influence and following are not the same as divine approval.
Cain – corrupt worship and hatred of the righteous. He was judged. Balaam – greed and moral compromise. He was judged. Korah – rebellion against God‑appointed authority. He was judged. The false teachers, and those who followed them, were doing the same things so they too will be judged.
Judah wrote this letter so we would know how to identify false teachers. Here are three questions that will help us do that.
Does their teaching lead people deeper into the Word of God, or away from it? When someone’s “revelation” lessens God’s call to holiness, excuses sin, or places their personal insight above the authority of Scripture – that is a warning sign. True spiritual insight always increases reverence for God’s Word, never diminishes it.
Does their life match their message? By their fruits you will know them. Someone may claim powerful spiritual experiences – dreams, visions, words from God. But does their life produce humility, obedience, and holiness? Or does it produce pride, moral compromise, and resistance to accountability?
Is there the fear of God in them, or boasting and mocking? False teachers are often loud, dramatic, and dismissive of things they should fear. Genuine faith is serious, humble, and deeply dependent on God.
We need discernment to recognize false teachers. And the best way to get discernment? By knowing Yeshua – really knowing Him. Not knowing about Him. Not knowing His teachings as a system of ideas. Not knowing Him as a distant figure we acknowledge on Shabbat and forget during the week. But knowing Him the way you know someone you have spent years with – someone whose voice you recognize, whose character you trust, whose presence changes how you live.
When He becomes great and wonderful to us and when we are filled with His Spirit – something changes in us. We look to Him rather than to human leaders who are not like Him.
He was not greedy. And when we are close to Him, we are not motivated by greed – because we have seen that He is enough, and we are satisfied.
He was perfectly obedient to His Father. And when we walk with Him, our rebellious tendencies begin to lose their power over us.
He was humble – genuinely, quietly, powerfully humble. And when His humility begins to influence us, our pride diminishes.
He was pure. And when we are filled with His Spirit, we find ourselves resisting our impure desires.
This is why knowing Yeshua is the best answer. False teachers fill the vacuum left when Yeshua is not truly central. When we are filled with His Spirit, there is no room for them.
So pursue Him. Read the Word of God frequently and let Him speak to you. Talk to Him – not out of religious obligation but as a conversation with Someone who is real and present. Gather with people who are genuinely trying to follow Him.
The best protection from error, lies, deception, false teaching is a genuine, ongoing, deepening experience with Messiah Yeshua. So know Him – really know Him. If we do, that will be our protection.
Let’s pray:
Father, Your Word has shown us what false teachers and false teaching look like – the arrogance, the greed, the rebellion, the contempt for Your authority. Let us be people characterized not by spiritual arrogance but by genuine holiness – not by claims, but by character. Give us the discernment to recognize corrupt teaching, the courage to defend the faith, and the humility to submit to Your Word above all else. Fill us with Your Spirit, who enables us to know the truth, live the truth, proclaim the truth, and defend the truth. Those among us – and those we care about – who have been influenced by false teachers and have wandered from You and the truth: please bring us back. Amen.