Jude 1:12
Verse
Context
God’s Judgment on the Ungodly
11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Sermons







Summary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Spots in your feasts of charity - It appears that these persons, unholy and impure as they were, still continued to have outward fellowship with the Church! This is strange: but it is very likely that their power and influence in that place had swallowed up, or set aside, the power and authority of the real ministers of Christ; a very common case when worldly, time - serving men get into the Church. The feasts of charity, the αγαπαι or love feasts, of which the apostle speaks, were in use in the primitive Church till the middle of the fourth century, when, by the council of Laodicea, they were prohibited to be held in the Churches; and, having been abused, fell into disuse. In later days they have been revived, in all the purity and simplicity of the primitive institution, among the Moravians or Unitas Fratrum, and the people called Methodists. Among the ancients, the richer members of the Church made an occasional general feast, at which all the members attended, and the poor and the rich ate together. The fatherless, the widows, and the strangers were invited to these feasts, and their eating together was a proof of their love to each other; whence such entertainments were called love feasts. The love feasts were at first celebrated before the Lord's Supper; in process of time they appear to have been celebrated after it. But they were never considered as the Lord's Supper, nor any substitute for it. See, for farther information, Suicer, in his Thesaurus, under the word Αγαπη. Feeding themselves without fear - Eating, not to suffice nature, but to pamper appetite. It seems the provision was abundant, and they ate to gluttony and riot. It was this which brought the love feasts into disrepute in the Church, and was the means of their being at last wholly laid aside. This abuse is never likely to take place among the Methodists, as they only use bread and water; and of this the provision is not sufficient to afford the tenth part of a meal. Instead of αγαπαις, love feasts, απαταις, deceits, is the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus, and the Codex Ephrem, two MSS. of the highest antiquity; as also of those MSS. collated by Laurentius Valla, and of some of those in the Medicean library. This reading appears to have been introduced in order to avoid the conclusion that some might be led to draw concerning the state of the Church; it must be very corrupt, to have in its communion such corrupt men. Clouds - without water - The doctrine of God is compared to the rain, Deu 32:2, and clouds are the instruments by which the rain is distilled upon the earth. In arid or parched countries the very appearance of a cloud is delightful, because it is a token of refreshing showers; but when sudden winds arise, and disperse these clouds, the hope of the husbandman and shepherd is cut off. These false teachers are represented as clouds; they have the form and office of the teachers of righteousness, and from such appearances pure doctrine may be naturally expected: but these are clouds without water - they distil no refreshing showers, because they have none; they are carried away and about by their passions, as those light fleecy clouds are carried by the winds. See the notes on Pe2 2:17. Trees whose fruit withereth - Δενδρα φθινοπωρινα· Galled or diseased trees; for φθινοπωρον is, according to Phavorinus, νοσος φθινουσα οπωρας, a disease (in trees) which causes their fruit to wither; for although there are blossoms, and the fruit shapes or is set, the galls in the trees prevent the proper circulation of the sap, and therefore the fruit never comes to perfection. Hence the apostle immediately adds, without fruit; i.e. the fruit never comes to maturity. This metaphor expresses the same thing as the preceding. They have the appearance of ministers of the Gospel, but they have no fruit. Twice dead - First, naturally and practically dead in sin, from which they had been revived by the preaching and grace of the Gospel. Secondly, dead by backsliding or apostasy from the true faith, by which they lost the grace they had before received; and now likely to continue in that death, because plucked up from the roots, their roots of faith and love being no longer fixed in Christ Jesus. Perhaps the aorist is taken here for the future: They Shall Be plucked up from the roots - God will exterminate them from the earth.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
spots--So Pe2 2:13, Greek, "spiloi"; but here the Greek is spilades, which elsewhere, in secular writers, means rocks, namely, on which the Christian love-feasts were in danger of being shipwrecked. The oldest manuscript prefixes the article emphatically, "THE rocks." The reference to "clouds . . . winds . . . waves of the sea," accords with this image of rocks. Vulgate seems to have been misled by the similar sounding word to translate, as English Version, "spots"; compare however, Jde 1:23, which favors English Version, if the Greek will bear it. Two oldest manuscripts, by the transcriber's effort to make Jude say the same as Peter, read here "deceivings" for "love-feasts," but the weightiest manuscript and authorities support English Version reading. The love-feast accompanied the Lord's Supper (1Co. 11:17-34, end). Korah the Levite, not satisfied with his ministry, aspired to the sacrificing priesthood also: so ministers in the Lord's Supper have sought to make it a sacrifice, and themselves the sacrificing priests, usurping the function of our only Christian sacerdotal Priest, Christ Jesus. Let them beware of Korah's doom! feeding themselves--Greek, "pasturing (tending) themselves." What they look to is the pampering of themselves, not the feeding of the flock. without fear--Join these words not as English Version, but with "feast." Sacred feasts especially ought to be celebrated with fear. Feasting is not faulty in itself [BENGEL], but it needs to be accompanied with fear of forgetting God, as Job in the case of his sons' feasts. clouds--from which one would expect refreshing rains. Pe2 2:17, "wells without water." Professors without practice. carried about--The oldest manuscripts have "carried aside," that is, out of the right course (compare Eph 4:14). trees whose fruit withereth--rather, "trees of the late (or waning) autumn," namely, when there are no longer leaves or fruits on the trees [BENGEL]. without fruit--having no good fruit of knowledge and practice; sometimes used of what is positively bad. twice dead--First when they cast their leaves in autumn, and seem during winter dead, but revive again in spring; secondly, when they are "plucked up by the roots." So these apostates, once dead in unbelief, and then by profession and baptism raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, but now having become dead again by apostasy, and so hopelessly dead. There is a climax. Not only without leaves, like trees in late autumn, but without fruit: not only so, but dead twice; and to crown all, "plucked up by the roots."
John Gill Bible Commentary
These are spots in your feasts of charity,.... Or "love". The Jews speak , "of a feast of faith" (b). These here seem to be the Agapae, or love feasts, of the primitive Christians; the design of which was to maintain and promote brotherly love, from whence they took their name; and to refresh the poor saints, that they might have a full and comfortable meal now and then: their manner of keeping them was this; they began and ended them with prayer and singing; and they observed them with great temperance and frugality; and they were attended with much joy and gladness, and simplicity of heart: but were quickly abused, by judaizing Christians, as observing them in imitation of the passover; and by intemperance in eating and drinking; and by excluding the poor, for whose benefit they were chiefly designed; and by setting up separate meetings for them, and by admitting unfit persons unto them; such as here are said to be spots in them, blemishes, which brought great reproach and scandal upon them, being persons of infamous characters and conversations. The allusion is either to spots in garments, or in faces, or in sacrifices; or to a sort of earth that defiles; or else to rocks and hollow stones on shores, lakes, and rivers, which collect filth and slime; all which serve to expose and point out the persons designed. The Alexandrian copy and some others read, "these are in their own deceivings, spots", instead of as in Pe2 2:13, when they feast with you; which shows that they were among them, continued members with them, and partook with them in their solemn feasts, and were admitted to communion; and carries in it a kind of reproof to the saints, that they suffered such persons among them, and allowed them such privilege, intimacy, and familiarity with them: feeding themselves without fear; these were like the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves, and not the flock, and were very impious and impudent, open and bare faced in their iniquities, neither fearing God nor regarding man, Clouds they are, without water; they are compared to clouds for their number, being many false prophets and antichrists that were come out into the world; and for their sudden rise, having at once, and at an unawares, crept into the churches; and for the general darkness they spread over the churches, making it, by their doctrines and practices, to be a dark and cloudy day, a day of darkness, and gloominess, a day of clouds, and of thick darkness, a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy; and for the storms, factions, rents, and divisions they made; as also for their situation and height, soaring aloft, and being vainly puffed up in their fleshly mind; as well as for their sudden destruction, disappearing at once. And to clouds "without water", because destitute of the true grace of God, and of true evangelical doctrine; which, like rain, is from above, from heaven; and which, like that, refreshes, softens, and fructifies. Now these false teachers looked like clouds, that promised rain, boasted of Gospel light and knowledge, but were destitute of it, wherefore their ministry was uncomfortable and unprofitable, Carried about of winds; either of false doctrines, or of their own lusts and passions, or of Satan's temptations: trees whose fruit withereth: or "trees in autumn"; either like to them, which put forth at that season of the year, and so come to nothing; or like to trees which are bare of leaves as well as fruit, it being the time when the leaves fall from the trees; and so may be expressive of these persons casting off the leaves of an outward profession, of their going out from the churches, separating from them, and forsaking the assembling together with them, when what fruit of holiness, and good works, they seemed to have, came to nothing; and so were without fruit, either of Gospel doctrine, or of Gospel holiness and righteousness; nor did they make any true converts, but what they made were like the Pharisees, as bad, or worse than themselves; and from their unfruitfulness in all respects, it appeared that they were not in Christ the true vine, and were not sent forth by him, nor with his Gospel, and that they were destitute of the Spirit of God, Twice dead; that is, entirely, thoroughly, and really dead in trespasses and sins, notwithstanding their pretensions to religion and godliness; or the sense may be, that they were not only liable to a corporeal death, common to them with all mankind, but also to an eternal one, or to the death both of soul and body in hell. Homer calls (d) those "twice dead", that go to hell alive: or rather the sense is this, that they were dead in sin by nature, as all men are, and again having made a profession of religion, were now become dead to that profession; and so were twice dead, once as they were born, and a second time as they had apostatized: plucked up by the roots; either by separating themselves from the churches, where they had been externally planted; or by the act of the church in cutting them off, and casting them out; or by the judgment of God upon them, (b) Zohar in Exod. fol. 36. 3, 4. (d) Odyss. l. 12. lin. 22.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:12 The early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper as part of shared fellowship meals with one another.
Jude 1:12
God’s Judgment on the Ungodly
11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Jude - Mockers in Last Days
By Martin Geehan1.4K40:24Last DaysEXO 14:30ROM 7:232PE 3:3JUD 1:4JUD 1:12JUD 1:19In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of avoiding lasciviousness and denying the Lord Jesus Christ. He warns that there will be mockers who will creep into the fellowship of the church, promoting ungodly lust and sensuality. These individuals may even be preachers and theologians, spreading a new form of theology that promotes freedom in indulging in sinful desires. The preacher highlights the ongoing battle between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit, urging Christians to resist the philosophy of having a good time in the last days and instead remain faithful to God's teachings.
The Inner Man
By Hans R. Waldvogel1.2K27:54Inner ManPSA 119:176ISA 40:31MAT 7:172CO 12:9EPH 3:17HEB 10:39JUD 1:12In this sermon, the preacher shares his experience at a convention in Germany where he witnessed a crowded and lively gathering of preachers and attendees. However, he noticed that many of the preachers were not truly preaching the indwelling life of Christ, which he believes is what people's hearts truly hunger for. He references the biblical passage in Jude about clouds without water and trees that are dead, emphasizing the need for genuine spiritual nourishment. The preacher also highlights the importance of allowing God to work in our lives, even when it may be uncomfortable or challenging, in order to be strengthened with the might of Christ dwelling in our hearts.
You Will Reap What You Sow
By Erlo Stegen9351:01:38SowingGAL 6:71TI 6:172PE 2:15JUD 1:12In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of honesty and integrity in our actions. He uses the example of people who were sneaky and dishonest in taking free potatoes, warning that sin will eventually be exposed. The preacher also shares the story of a teacher who faced challenges with disobedient students, but ultimately avoided harm due to his strictness and the use of a walking stick. The sermon concludes with a reminder that God sees and knows all our actions, and we will ultimately face the consequences of our choices, even if we repent and are forgiven.
The Message of Jude
By G. Campbell Morgan0ApostasyContending for the FaithJUD 1:3JUD 1:12G. Campbell Morgan emphasizes the urgent message of Jude regarding the peril of apostasy, defining it as a moral failure rather than mere intellectual doubt. He illustrates the nature of apostasy through examples from Israel, angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, and figures like Cain, Balaam, and Korah, highlighting the consequences of turning away from faith. Morgan calls for a passionate and determined effort to contend for the faith, urging believers to build themselves up, pray, and remain in God's love while helping others in doubt. The sermon concludes with a powerful doxology, reminding the church of the importance of loyalty, caution, and confidence in defending the truth centered in Christ. Ultimately, Morgan asserts that true faith is demonstrated through a life of obedience and commitment to God's will.
Epistle 358
By George Fox0Unity in ChristTruthPSA 111:10JHN 8:32JHN 8:441CO 14:331TI 2:4HEB 13:81PE 1:233JN 1:4JUD 1:12REV 3:10George Fox emphasizes the unchanging nature of God's truth, which liberates those who embrace it and leads them to serve God and spread His message. He highlights the importance of unity, humility, and the fear of the Lord, which fosters a community that honors God and remains steadfast against disorder. Fox reassures that God's eternal power protects His people, contrasting it with the temporary nature of evil. He encourages patience and adherence to the word of God, which provides strength against worldly temptations. Ultimately, he expresses his love and desire for all to remain in the seed of life that reigns over all.
I Samuel 2:9
By Chuck Smith0Strength in GodDivine ProtectionDEU 32:351SA 2:9PSA 37:23ISA 30:21ZEC 4:6ACT 1:8ROM 8:311CO 1:27EPH 6:10JUD 1:12Chuck Smith emphasizes the themes of divine protection and strength in his sermon based on I Samuel 2:9. He explains that God keeps the feet of His saints from straying and falling through His Word and Spirit, contrasting this with the fate of the ungodly who are driven by darkness. Smith highlights that the wicked will ultimately be silenced and broken, while true strength comes not from human effort but from the Spirit of God. He encourages believers to rely on God's strength rather than their own resources, reminding them that spiritual victory cannot be achieved through physical or mental might.
Epistle 381
By George Fox0Godly ParentingModerationJOB 28:28PSA 34:11PRO 22:6ISA 5:2ISA 5:11ROM 2:231CO 10:311TI 4:41JN 2:16JUD 1:12REV 11:18George Fox emphasizes the responsibility of vintners and innkeepers to ensure that they serve alcohol only in moderation, promoting health and gratitude towards God's creations. He warns against the dangers of excessive drinking and the spiritual consequences of neglecting God's work, urging all to live soberly and in the fear of God. Additionally, he calls on Christian families to raise their children in a godly manner, avoiding worldly temptations and fostering a life that honors God, which ultimately leads to blessings for families and communities.
2 Peter 2:17
By John Gill0Spiritual DiscernmentFalse TeachersISA 66:24MAT 7:15MRK 9:442CO 11:14GAL 1:6EPH 4:141TI 4:12TI 4:32PE 2:17JUD 1:12John Gill expounds on 2 Peter 2:17, illustrating the deceptive nature of false teachers who appear promising but ultimately provide nothing of substance, likening them to dry wells and clouds without rain. He emphasizes their ability to mislead through their outward appearances and empty promises, leading many into spiritual darkness and despair. Gill warns of their eventual judgment, which is described as a mist of darkness reserved for them forever, highlighting the seriousness of their error and the consequences of their actions. The sermon serves as a cautionary reminder of the importance of discernment in faith and the dangers posed by those who distort the truth.
Epistle 236
By George Fox0PSA 2:4PSA 83:14PSA 105:34JER 9:3JER 51:25MAT 13:6JHN 6:35ACT 1:7HEB 13:81PE 2:22JUD 1:12REV 6:13George Fox preaches about the enduring power of truth and the sovereignty of God amidst trials and tribulations. He encourages believers to find strength in Christ, the bread of life and water of life, even when faced with destruction and darkness. Fox reminds his audience to rejoice in God's truth, to endure temporary hardships with faith, and to trust in the unwavering love and power of God over all challenges and adversities.
That They Cause Those Who Have Them to Be Fluent, Fervent, and Abundant, in Talking of the Things of Religion, Is No Sign
By Jonathan Edwards0PRO 25:14MAT 7:21MAT 15:82PE 2:17JUD 1:12Jonathan Edwards warns against judging the genuineness of one's faith based solely on their fluency, fervency, and abundance in talking about religion, as this can lead to both unjust condemnation and misguided confidence. Speaking passionately about religion can stem from either holy or unholy affections in the heart, with strong affections prompting individuals to speak earnestly regardless of the nature of those affections. Merely being vocal about religious matters does not necessarily indicate true grace, as false affections can often manifest more prominently in outward declarations.
Epistle 406
By George Fox0Righteous LivingUnity in ChristZEC 12:10MAT 7:15LUK 6:482CO 13:142TI 3:5HEB 12:272PE 1:171JN 1:1JUD 1:12George Fox emphasizes the importance of unity and fellowship among believers in Christ, who is the unshakeable foundation of life and salvation. He expresses gratitude for the love and unity demonstrated by the Yearly Meeting and encourages the Friends to remain steadfast against unruly spirits that lack true godliness. Fox urges the community to live in Christ's grace, answer the truth of God in all people, and maintain a holy life. He also calls for prayer and supplication for those in authority, highlighting the need for righteousness in their lives. Ultimately, he seeks to glorify God through their collective actions and faith.
2 Peter 2:13
By John Gill0Consequences of SinRighteous JudgmentPRO 14:12ISA 5:20MAT 12:36ROM 2:61CO 15:33GAL 6:71PE 4:32PE 2:13JUD 1:12REV 20:12John Gill expounds on 2 Peter 2:13, emphasizing the consequences of unrighteousness and the just punishment that awaits those who indulge in sinful pleasures without regard for future judgment. He describes the behavior of those who revel in sin openly, likening them to Sodom, and highlights their role in defiling themselves and others through their actions. Gill warns against the dangers of self-deception and the scandalous behavior of those who partake in feasts while living in sin, urging believers to recognize the seriousness of their conduct and the impact it has on the community of faith.
On the Cautions and Warnings of Scripture
By Thomas Reade0PRO 14:27MAT 7:21JHN 14:15JHN 15:51CO 10:12HEB 6:17HEB 10:261PE 1:151JN 2:3JUD 1:12Thomas Reade preaches on the importance of heeding the cautions and warnings found in the Word of God, emphasizing the need for vigilance against the subtlety of Satan, the deceitfulness of sin, and the treachery of our own hearts. The sermon highlights the necessity of relying on Jesus for strength and guidance, as apart from Him, we can do nothing. It stresses the significance of self-examination, humility, and obedience as essential components of a genuine Christian life, warning against spiritual pride and false professions of faith.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Spots in your feasts of charity - It appears that these persons, unholy and impure as they were, still continued to have outward fellowship with the Church! This is strange: but it is very likely that their power and influence in that place had swallowed up, or set aside, the power and authority of the real ministers of Christ; a very common case when worldly, time - serving men get into the Church. The feasts of charity, the αγαπαι or love feasts, of which the apostle speaks, were in use in the primitive Church till the middle of the fourth century, when, by the council of Laodicea, they were prohibited to be held in the Churches; and, having been abused, fell into disuse. In later days they have been revived, in all the purity and simplicity of the primitive institution, among the Moravians or Unitas Fratrum, and the people called Methodists. Among the ancients, the richer members of the Church made an occasional general feast, at which all the members attended, and the poor and the rich ate together. The fatherless, the widows, and the strangers were invited to these feasts, and their eating together was a proof of their love to each other; whence such entertainments were called love feasts. The love feasts were at first celebrated before the Lord's Supper; in process of time they appear to have been celebrated after it. But they were never considered as the Lord's Supper, nor any substitute for it. See, for farther information, Suicer, in his Thesaurus, under the word Αγαπη. Feeding themselves without fear - Eating, not to suffice nature, but to pamper appetite. It seems the provision was abundant, and they ate to gluttony and riot. It was this which brought the love feasts into disrepute in the Church, and was the means of their being at last wholly laid aside. This abuse is never likely to take place among the Methodists, as they only use bread and water; and of this the provision is not sufficient to afford the tenth part of a meal. Instead of αγαπαις, love feasts, απαταις, deceits, is the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus, and the Codex Ephrem, two MSS. of the highest antiquity; as also of those MSS. collated by Laurentius Valla, and of some of those in the Medicean library. This reading appears to have been introduced in order to avoid the conclusion that some might be led to draw concerning the state of the Church; it must be very corrupt, to have in its communion such corrupt men. Clouds - without water - The doctrine of God is compared to the rain, Deu 32:2, and clouds are the instruments by which the rain is distilled upon the earth. In arid or parched countries the very appearance of a cloud is delightful, because it is a token of refreshing showers; but when sudden winds arise, and disperse these clouds, the hope of the husbandman and shepherd is cut off. These false teachers are represented as clouds; they have the form and office of the teachers of righteousness, and from such appearances pure doctrine may be naturally expected: but these are clouds without water - they distil no refreshing showers, because they have none; they are carried away and about by their passions, as those light fleecy clouds are carried by the winds. See the notes on Pe2 2:17. Trees whose fruit withereth - Δενδρα φθινοπωρινα· Galled or diseased trees; for φθινοπωρον is, according to Phavorinus, νοσος φθινουσα οπωρας, a disease (in trees) which causes their fruit to wither; for although there are blossoms, and the fruit shapes or is set, the galls in the trees prevent the proper circulation of the sap, and therefore the fruit never comes to perfection. Hence the apostle immediately adds, without fruit; i.e. the fruit never comes to maturity. This metaphor expresses the same thing as the preceding. They have the appearance of ministers of the Gospel, but they have no fruit. Twice dead - First, naturally and practically dead in sin, from which they had been revived by the preaching and grace of the Gospel. Secondly, dead by backsliding or apostasy from the true faith, by which they lost the grace they had before received; and now likely to continue in that death, because plucked up from the roots, their roots of faith and love being no longer fixed in Christ Jesus. Perhaps the aorist is taken here for the future: They Shall Be plucked up from the roots - God will exterminate them from the earth.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
spots--So Pe2 2:13, Greek, "spiloi"; but here the Greek is spilades, which elsewhere, in secular writers, means rocks, namely, on which the Christian love-feasts were in danger of being shipwrecked. The oldest manuscript prefixes the article emphatically, "THE rocks." The reference to "clouds . . . winds . . . waves of the sea," accords with this image of rocks. Vulgate seems to have been misled by the similar sounding word to translate, as English Version, "spots"; compare however, Jde 1:23, which favors English Version, if the Greek will bear it. Two oldest manuscripts, by the transcriber's effort to make Jude say the same as Peter, read here "deceivings" for "love-feasts," but the weightiest manuscript and authorities support English Version reading. The love-feast accompanied the Lord's Supper (1Co. 11:17-34, end). Korah the Levite, not satisfied with his ministry, aspired to the sacrificing priesthood also: so ministers in the Lord's Supper have sought to make it a sacrifice, and themselves the sacrificing priests, usurping the function of our only Christian sacerdotal Priest, Christ Jesus. Let them beware of Korah's doom! feeding themselves--Greek, "pasturing (tending) themselves." What they look to is the pampering of themselves, not the feeding of the flock. without fear--Join these words not as English Version, but with "feast." Sacred feasts especially ought to be celebrated with fear. Feasting is not faulty in itself [BENGEL], but it needs to be accompanied with fear of forgetting God, as Job in the case of his sons' feasts. clouds--from which one would expect refreshing rains. Pe2 2:17, "wells without water." Professors without practice. carried about--The oldest manuscripts have "carried aside," that is, out of the right course (compare Eph 4:14). trees whose fruit withereth--rather, "trees of the late (or waning) autumn," namely, when there are no longer leaves or fruits on the trees [BENGEL]. without fruit--having no good fruit of knowledge and practice; sometimes used of what is positively bad. twice dead--First when they cast their leaves in autumn, and seem during winter dead, but revive again in spring; secondly, when they are "plucked up by the roots." So these apostates, once dead in unbelief, and then by profession and baptism raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, but now having become dead again by apostasy, and so hopelessly dead. There is a climax. Not only without leaves, like trees in late autumn, but without fruit: not only so, but dead twice; and to crown all, "plucked up by the roots."
John Gill Bible Commentary
These are spots in your feasts of charity,.... Or "love". The Jews speak , "of a feast of faith" (b). These here seem to be the Agapae, or love feasts, of the primitive Christians; the design of which was to maintain and promote brotherly love, from whence they took their name; and to refresh the poor saints, that they might have a full and comfortable meal now and then: their manner of keeping them was this; they began and ended them with prayer and singing; and they observed them with great temperance and frugality; and they were attended with much joy and gladness, and simplicity of heart: but were quickly abused, by judaizing Christians, as observing them in imitation of the passover; and by intemperance in eating and drinking; and by excluding the poor, for whose benefit they were chiefly designed; and by setting up separate meetings for them, and by admitting unfit persons unto them; such as here are said to be spots in them, blemishes, which brought great reproach and scandal upon them, being persons of infamous characters and conversations. The allusion is either to spots in garments, or in faces, or in sacrifices; or to a sort of earth that defiles; or else to rocks and hollow stones on shores, lakes, and rivers, which collect filth and slime; all which serve to expose and point out the persons designed. The Alexandrian copy and some others read, "these are in their own deceivings, spots", instead of as in Pe2 2:13, when they feast with you; which shows that they were among them, continued members with them, and partook with them in their solemn feasts, and were admitted to communion; and carries in it a kind of reproof to the saints, that they suffered such persons among them, and allowed them such privilege, intimacy, and familiarity with them: feeding themselves without fear; these were like the shepherds of Israel, who fed themselves, and not the flock, and were very impious and impudent, open and bare faced in their iniquities, neither fearing God nor regarding man, Clouds they are, without water; they are compared to clouds for their number, being many false prophets and antichrists that were come out into the world; and for their sudden rise, having at once, and at an unawares, crept into the churches; and for the general darkness they spread over the churches, making it, by their doctrines and practices, to be a dark and cloudy day, a day of darkness, and gloominess, a day of clouds, and of thick darkness, a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy; and for the storms, factions, rents, and divisions they made; as also for their situation and height, soaring aloft, and being vainly puffed up in their fleshly mind; as well as for their sudden destruction, disappearing at once. And to clouds "without water", because destitute of the true grace of God, and of true evangelical doctrine; which, like rain, is from above, from heaven; and which, like that, refreshes, softens, and fructifies. Now these false teachers looked like clouds, that promised rain, boasted of Gospel light and knowledge, but were destitute of it, wherefore their ministry was uncomfortable and unprofitable, Carried about of winds; either of false doctrines, or of their own lusts and passions, or of Satan's temptations: trees whose fruit withereth: or "trees in autumn"; either like to them, which put forth at that season of the year, and so come to nothing; or like to trees which are bare of leaves as well as fruit, it being the time when the leaves fall from the trees; and so may be expressive of these persons casting off the leaves of an outward profession, of their going out from the churches, separating from them, and forsaking the assembling together with them, when what fruit of holiness, and good works, they seemed to have, came to nothing; and so were without fruit, either of Gospel doctrine, or of Gospel holiness and righteousness; nor did they make any true converts, but what they made were like the Pharisees, as bad, or worse than themselves; and from their unfruitfulness in all respects, it appeared that they were not in Christ the true vine, and were not sent forth by him, nor with his Gospel, and that they were destitute of the Spirit of God, Twice dead; that is, entirely, thoroughly, and really dead in trespasses and sins, notwithstanding their pretensions to religion and godliness; or the sense may be, that they were not only liable to a corporeal death, common to them with all mankind, but also to an eternal one, or to the death both of soul and body in hell. Homer calls (d) those "twice dead", that go to hell alive: or rather the sense is this, that they were dead in sin by nature, as all men are, and again having made a profession of religion, were now become dead to that profession; and so were twice dead, once as they were born, and a second time as they had apostatized: plucked up by the roots; either by separating themselves from the churches, where they had been externally planted; or by the act of the church in cutting them off, and casting them out; or by the judgment of God upon them, (b) Zohar in Exod. fol. 36. 3, 4. (d) Odyss. l. 12. lin. 22.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:12 The early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper as part of shared fellowship meals with one another.