Jude 1:12

"These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;"

Key Reflection

Jude 1:12 employs vivid imagery to describe false teachers who infiltrate Christian communities during their love feasts—communal meals symbolizing fellowship and unity in faith. The passage likens these teachers to "hidden rocky reefs," which could cause shipwreck, reflecting how they pose a dangerous threat, steering the flock into error or spiritual ruin. Additionally, Jude describes them as "clouds without water" and "autumn trees without fruit"—metaphors suggesting their insubstantiality and lack of genuine spiritual life, ultimately highlighting their deceptive nature and ultimate barrenness.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 12. These are spots. See Barnes "2 Pe 2:13". The word used by Peter, however, is not exactly the same as that used here. Peter uses the word spiloi--spiloi; Jude, spiladev--spilades. The word used by Jude means, properly, a rock by or in the sea; a cliff, etc. It may either be a rock by the sea, against which vessels may be wrecked, or a hidden rock in the sea, on which they may be stranded at an unexpected moment. See Hesychius and Pollux, as quoted by Wetstein, in loc. The idea here seems to be, not that they were spots and blemishes in their sacred feasts, but that they were like hidden rocks to the mariner.

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