2Pet2:4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)� 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. - NIV
Jud1:3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
4For certain men whose condemnation was written
about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5Though you already know all this, I want to
remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed
those who did not believe. 6And the angels who did
not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home�these
he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great
Day. 7In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and
the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.
They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. 8In
the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own
bodies, reject authority and slander celestial
beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when
he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a
slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10Yet
these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what
things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals�these are the
very things that destroy them. 11Woe to them!
They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's
error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. - NIV
Jud1:12These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you
without the slightest qualm�shepherds who feed only themselves. They are
clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and
uprooted�twice dead. 13They are wild waves of
the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has
been reserved forever. 14Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with
thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to
judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have
done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken
against him." 16These
men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they
boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. 17But,
dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They
said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow
their own ungodly desires." 19These are
the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the
Spirit. - NIV
Challenge: True Life