Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Jude 1:12

"These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;" — Jude 1:12 (ASV)

Now, with burning eloquence, Jude piles figure upon figure (six of them in all) to describe the errorists.

(1) The false teachers are “blemishes [GK 5069] at your love feasts.” The word translated “blemishes” can also be translated “hidden rocks.” “Hidden rocks” connotes the danger of shipwreck of the faith (cf. 1 Timothy 1:19); “spots” or “blemishes” parallels 2 Peter 2:13 and connotes defilement. The “love feasts” (GK 27) were meals in which the early church ate together and observed the Lord’s Supper. “Eating with you” has the idea of sumptuous eating and is better translated “feasting with you.” “Without the slightest qualm” (lit., “without fear”; GK 925) means that the false teachers do not recognize the terror of the Lord against those who mock his Son’s death shown in the Supper (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:27–32; Hebrews 10:26–31).

(2) The false teachers are “shepherds who feed only themselves”—a figure that points to all the biblical warnings against the false shepherds who care nothing for the flock (e.g., Ezekiel 34:8).

(3) They are like clouds that promise rain but are “blown along by the wind” and are “without rain.” Consequently, the false teachers are devoid of refreshment, promise, and performance.

(4) They are like fruit trees in late autumn, long past the harvest, bearing no fruit. Furthermore, they are trees not only fruitless but also uprooted—thus “twice dead.”

(5) Next is the metaphor of the restless sea (v.13). For modern people, the sea is often a thing of beauty; to ancient people, it was a terror (cf. Isaiah 57:20; also Rev 21:1, with its promise of no more sea). The errorists are busy, restless, and untamed. Their product is like the foam or scum at the seashore.

(6) The last metaphor (“wandering stars”) is from astronomy. The reference here could be to meteors, shooting stars, comets, or planets; planets is the most likely meaning, for the ancients called them “wandering stars” because of their movements. An unpredictable star provides no guidance for navigation; so false teachers are useless and untrustworthy. Their doom is the eternal darkness that is reserved for them (cf. 2 Peter 2:4).