That Time Satan Fought Michael Over the Body of Moses
Jude 8 says something really weird:
“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”
This is one of Jude’s triplets. It’s talking about apostates: people who once said they are Christians, but fell away. And it gives three details about them:
They defile the flesh. They reject authority. And they blaspheme the glorious ones.
We’ll talk about what that means today, but let’s talk about why they do this. What is their basis for doing these three things? They do it by relying on their dreams. What is that referring to?
It’s referring to people who try to change the Word of God by claiming to have a dream, a vision, a divine revelation.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with getting a revelation from God, but if you do, it MUST be in line with what the Bible says. If it’s not in line with the Bible, that’s your first sign that this revelation or dream must be rejected.
But Jude warns us about people who will claim to have a dream or vision and then lead us into apostasy. It said these people pollute their own bodies; go back to our lesson on Jude 7 if you want to know what this means, it’s talking about sexual immorality.
The second thing it said is that they reject authority. The Bible tells us to respect and honor those in charge of us.
And the third thing it said was that they will speak blasphemously against spiritual beings. And to illustrate this point, let’s read
Jude 9
“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment,”
Wait wait wait. Hold up a second. The archangel Michael. Contending with the devil. Disputing about…the body of Moses- I don’t know about you, but I missed THAT Sunday School class. Where did this idea come from.
The answer is: we don’t have a story about this in the Bible.
So in verse 8, it says to reject these dreamers whose messages are not in line with the Bible. And then to illustrate this in the very next verse, it refers to a story that’s not found in the Bible.
So if you’re paying attention to what I’ve said so far, you should be pretty confused. I know I am. I find all this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. Or in this case, NOT in the Bible.
So turn to Jude, and let’s get weird.
If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com
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