Epistle of Jude

Click here for the previous book, John III.

CHAPTER 1

I thought (assumed) this was written by the Apostle Jude – one of the most forgettable apostles.  Nope.  The first line says, “brother of James” and the intro notes says that probably means he was Judas Christ, who is mentioned in passing in the gospels.  That he has to be noted in reference to his brother and that we know almost nothing else about him means he was probably a minor figure.

Actually, it’s almost certainly written by someone totally different, much, much later.  Early on, he says, “for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones” and that indicates the faith was handed down from earlier generation(s) of Christians. The intro notes to the chapter in my Bible note it could’ve been written around 80 AD, which might put it in the lifetime of Judas Christ, but even my Bible’s intro notes don’t sound very sold on that idea.

As for its contents, it’s standard stuff about Jesus Christ.  Not much to see here – move along.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Man – almost all my thoughts on this are on its authorship, and virtually nothing on its contents.  Jeepers – even the Minor Prophets in the Old Testaments aren’t as bad as the Minor Letters in the New Testament.

And with that, the letters portion of the New Testament ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Click here for the beginning of the next book - Revelations.