Like the core of a nuclear reactor, the center of the temple complex sheltered God’s glorious presence. At key moments in Israel’s history, God’s holy glory had even appeared visibly as an aura of cloud or fire (Exod. 40:34–38; Lev. 10:1–3; Num. 9:15–23; 1 Kings 8:10–13). No one could approach the direct presence of God except authorized personnel. Like nuclear power plant workers, the priests who drew near to God had special qualifications, suits, and protocols. They had to be from the family of Aaron, the original high priest. They had to be physically unblemished, in a ceremonially pure state, and wearing their specially tailored sacred garments. They had to sacrifice physically unblemished, ceremonially pure animals as offerings. Any deviation from these standards could be lethal (see Lev. 1–10, 21–22).

God never intended this state of affairs to stay in place forever, though. All the checkpoints and checklists that kept his people at arm’s length were temporary precautions to protect sin-sick humans from his overwhelming holiness. It’s like a gourmet chef mom whose kids have deadly food allergies, so she can’t serve them her prize-winning pasta or peanut butter pie or eggplant parmesan. Someday, God intimated, my people will be able to live in my presence and see my face with no fatalities (Pss. 11:7; 17:15; 23:6; 24:3–6; 27:4, 8–9). Someday there will be no restrictions to the spread of my holy glory (Isa. 4:2–6; 11:6–10; Hab. 2:14; Zech. 14:20–21).

That’s the hope Jude holds in front of his hearers: the eager expectation that God will “make you stand unblemished”—like proper priests—“and overjoyed in his glorious presence” (v. 24). It’s a hope of sharing in God’s holiness, a hope with a foretaste even in the present as “you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” (v. 20). As this new temple rises, God’s presence indwells us even now. How can this be? What switched the Lord’s lineup from defensive to offensive? In a word: Jesus. When Christ came, the divine program shifted from stabilization of the patient to aggressive treatment. His death on the cross did what no animal sacrifice could: it supplied an effective cure for the pandemic of sin (Heb. 7–10).

Rising from the dead to the throne of heaven, he poured out his Spirit on male and female, white-collar and blue, Jew and Gentile alike, and sent them forth to carry the cure to the ends of the earth (Acts 1–2). And that cure goes just as deep as wide, killing off sin within believers as they yield to the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13; 2 Cor. 6:16–7:1; 1 Thess. 4:3–8; 5:23–24; 1 Peter 2:1–2; 1 John 2:29–3:9). As the old Anglican prayer boldly asks: “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Jude’s little letter is a field report on serious short term setbacks to that project in his neck of the woods. Yet whether or not particular Christian individuals, congregations, or generations remain true or fall away, the long-term outcome is never in doubt. In the end, the Father’s house will stand complete. No crack or blotch of sin will mar it. No hostile force will hem it in. No wear of time will tear it down. Rather, all who’ve lived by faith and hope will join the angels’ hymn of love before the Holy One:

To the only God our savior
through Jesus Christ our Lord
be glory, greatness, power, and authority
before every age and now and for all the ages.
Amen.
(Jude 25)

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This entry is an excerpt from Jerome Van Kuiken’s new book, The Judas We Never Knew. Find extended notes and further explanations on many of these points in the book. As you read it and view the videos, you’ll discover unearth the Judas behind the biblical letter of Jude—illustrating why we should care about his twenty-five-verse letter and arguing that Jude’s presence in the early church and in our Canon still matters today.

We believe this resource can help someone understand:

• Why the book of Jude is so important for the church today
• Jude’s place in the church as Jesus’s half-sibling
• What we stand to lose as believers if the book of Jude is overlooked

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