BibleProject Podcast: "Final Instructions and a Soaring Doxology"

Date: February 9, 2026
Episode Theme:
A deep-dive into the closing section of the New Testament Letter of Jude (referred to as Judah), exploring its warnings, practical instructions, and concluding doxology. Hosts Tim Mackey and Jon Collins unpack Jude’s layered references to Hebrew Bible stories, Second Temple literature, and early Christian teaching, focusing on the letter’s urgent call for integrity, community strength, and steadfast hope.

Episode Overview

The discussion centers on the final instructions and doxology of the Letter of Jude, which is described as an “emergency letter” warning the early Jesus-community against destructive influences. Rather than merely focusing on "false doctrine," Jude critiques a way of life that is self-serving and disconnected from the Spirit. The episode highlights Jude’s unique use of Hebrew Bible stories, extra-biblical prophecies, and apostolic tradition to call the community toward faithfulness, mercy, and hope in God’s sustaining power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jude’s Focus: Behavior over Belief

• Jude’s approach: Instead of exclusively targeting false teachings, Jude spotlights the self-serving worldview and behaviors of problematic individuals in the community.
  • “He never highlights their teaching as such… what he highlights is the way they see the world.” — B (00:18)
• Biblical comparisons: Jude links these individuals to infamous characters and stories (the wilderness generation, rebellious angels, Cain, Balaam, Korah, Sodom and Gomorrah) to illustrate destructive patterns and divine justice.
• Ultimate concern: The main issue is moral choices leading to ruin for both the perpetrators and those influenced by them, denying the pattern of life in Jesus.

2. Reading Between the Lines ("Mirror Reading")

• Since New Testament letters respond to specific contexts, readers must infer the original problems using “mirror reading.”
  • “Reading the New Testament letters requires some form of what New Testament scholar John Barclay called mirror reading... it reflects back… the situation that Judah's writing into.” — B (05:01)

3. Layers of Biblical and Extra-Biblical Authority

• Jude draws from:
  • Hebrew Bible stories: for foundational warnings.
  • Second Temple literature (like Enoch): as extra-biblical wisdom, but distinguished from scriptural authority.
  • Apostolic teachings: representing the living witnesses of Jesus.

4. Warnings from Jesus and the Apostles

• Echoed warnings: The community is reminded that Jesus and apostles predicted that such divisive people would emerge.
  • “The genuine message about Jesus is so surprising to, like, basic human instinct and desire... Jesus and Paul and John and Judah are saying, like, listen, this is not a surprise that people like this are in your community.” — B (01:22, 18:23)
• Apostles’ definition: Those who had direct encounters with the risen Christ, encompassing the twelve and an extended circle of witnesses, crucial as custodians of authentic teaching.

5. Positive Instructions: Threefold Community Practice

(See [23:11])

• Jude’s only actionable instructions are found in verses 20–23:

  1. Build yourselves up on your most holy faith; the community is metaphorically a new temple, the meeting of heaven and earth.
     • “You're building yourselves on your most holy faith. And it's what saying is, y' all are the temple of God.” — B (27:17)
  2. Pray by means of the Holy Spirit; relying on God’s presence as guiding power.
  3. Wait for Jesus’ mercy; live in expectant hope.
  • “You are loved, so keep yourself in the love of God.” — A (23:58)

• Practical mercy: Show mercy to those wavering, rescue others as from fire, be careful when helping those deeply ensnared, especially in areas of sexual ethics, to avoid being drawn in.

  • Textual Note: Verses 22–23 have significant manuscript variation ("rebuke" vs. "show mercy" to doubters), but the theme of mercy is seen as more consistent with Jude’s message.
    • “The word mercy is a word to watch. In this whole letter, it's repeated. It's one of the most repeated words.” — B (36:03)

6. Cultural Hyperlinks: Zechariah and Beyond

• Jude borrows imagery from Zechariah 3—snatching from fire and polluted garments—which relate to restoration and caution in spiritual rescue (see [39:40–44:19]).

Memorable Quotes

• “It's much easier to domesticate Jesus and create a version of Christianity that allows me to still, like, satisfy most of my appetites… and Jesus and Paul and John and Judah were saying, like, listen, this is not a surprise that people like this are in your community.” — B (01:22, 18:23)
• “If you burnt your hand with an iron, it could make your skin become calloused and not sensitive… all their nerves and sensitivity to the difference between good and bad is gone.” — B (17:28)
• “You're building yourselves on your most holy faith. And it's what saying is, y' all are the temple of God.” — B (27:17)
• “Verbally expressing someone's greatness and power and in a form of lavish public praise. This is not native to me as a Upper West Coast American of the 21st century. I don't relate to anybody like this.” — B (57:04)
• “This is the equivalent of the final pages of the last battle in Narnia... ‘further up and further in’... this is actually not the last chapter of the story. It's rather just the first chapter is just now beginning.” — B (62:18)

Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment | Details | |----------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:05 | Judah’s main concern | Self-serving behaviors over false doctrine | | 05:01 | Mirror reading explained | Inferring the crisis from the text | | 08:34 | Prophecies cited by Jude | Enoch, then apostolic sayings | | 14:39 | Apostolic warnings and application | Tradition of vigilance and discernment | | 23:11 | Positive instructions | Build, pray, wait; keeping in the love of God | | 27:17 | Temple metaphor unpacked | Community as the holy meeting place of God | | 32:03 | Manuscript variations in Jude vv.22–23 | Importance of mercy wording and practical implications | | 39:40 | Zechariah allusion explained | Fire and polluted garments as rescue and caution | | 45:05 | Doxology introduction | The classic form and its Christian distinctiveness | | 49:11 | "Stumbling"/falling metaphor | Entrusting prevention to God | | 53:32 | Only God, through Jesus | Shema and Christian conception of God | | 55:37 | What does “to God be…” mean? | Doxology as honor, worship, and adoration | | 58:50 | "Ages" and eternal life | Biblical conception of time and fulfillment | | 62:18 | Narnia metaphor for the ages | C.S. Lewis on eternity and the unfolding story | | 64:43 | Living with an eternal perspective | Don't get myopic; the call to think "further up and in" | | 65:43 | Why Jude matters | A window into early Jewish-Christian thought and practice |

Tone & Style

• Casual, sometimes playful, but deeply thoughtful and anchored in close textual analysis
• Frequent call-backs to biblical scholarship, ancient literature, and cultural context
• Encouragement for imaginative, effortful reading: “I just love how [Jude] makes you work for it. And then when you work for it, it just comes to life more…” — A (65:31)

Notable Moments

• Textual rabbit hole (32:03): The hosts recount the wild manuscript variations in Jude 22–23, recalling cross-cultural surprises while teaching and confronting how translations can shift the sense of a passage.
• The doxology digression (45:05–53:32): A back-and-forth about how early Christians adapted classical letter endings, loaded them with new meaning, and saw themselves as both temple and priests.
• The "ages" conversation (58:50–62:18): A riff on Greek and Hebrew time concepts culminating in a joyful comparison to Narnia’s “further up and further in” image from C.S. Lewis.

Concluding Reflection

The final episode paints Jude’s epistle as both a warning and a celebration: a call to build sturdy, holy community in the face of corrupting influences, rooted not in legalism but mercy, vigilance, and confident reliance on God’s power. The soaring final doxology is not merely literary convention; it is an invitation to anchor present faithfulness within the sweeping story of ages past, present, and yet to come.

For further exploration:

• BibleProject’s Eternal Life video
• Further study on the Letter of Jude

Hosts:

• Tim Mackey (B)
• Jon Collins (A)