Epistle of Jude

A short New Testament letter warning against false teachers and urging its recipients to remain faithful to the Christian faith.

New Testament: The collection of Christian scriptures comprising 27 books, including the Gospels, letters, and Revelation. Jude is one of its briefest letters.
False teacher: A person who presents teaching as religious truth while leading others away from accepted doctrine or practice. Jude portrays such figures as the immediate danger facing its recipients.
Jude (brother of Jesus): A figure identified in the New Testament as a brother of Jesus and associated with the letter bearing Jude’s name. The letter identifies its author as Jude, a brother of James.
Michael (archangel): An archangel depicted in biblical and later religious traditions as a heavenly protector and combatant. Jude recounts Michael’s dispute with the devil over Moses’ body.
Second Epistle of Peter: A New Testament letter that warns against false teachers and shares material with Jude. Its expanded treatment of themes found in Jude invites comparison of sequence and wording.
General epistles: A group of New Testament letters traditionally addressed to Christians broadly rather than to one congregation or individual. Jude is grouped with these letters in many Christian Bibles.
Apostasy: The abandonment or repudiation of a religious faith or allegiance. Jude warns that some have turned away from the faith entrusted to the community.
James (brother of Jesus): A leader of the Jerusalem church identified in the New Testament as Jesus’ brother. Jude names James to identify himself through a better-known Christian leader.
Sodom and Gomorrah: Cities in the Hebrew Bible destroyed in a narrative of divine judgment for their inhabitants’ wickedness. Jude cites their fate as an example of judgment.
First Epistle of John: A New Testament letter addressing belief in Jesus, communal love, and claims of spiritual knowledge. Unlike Jude’s focus on intruders and judgment, it counters division through tests of belief and love.

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Jude the ApostleBroader topic: Tradition connects this letter’s author to Jude the Apostle, though the identification is disputed.