What does Jude 1:18 mean by "scoffers" in the last times? Text “...they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.’ ” (Jude 1:18) Intertextual Connections • 2 Peter 3:3—“In the last days scoffers will come, following their own evil desires.” Jude almost certainly echoes Peter, reinforcing apostolic unanimity. • Proverbs 14:9—“Fools mock at making amends for sin.” • Isaiah 5:19—People who taunted the coming judgment: “Let Him hurry… so we may see it.” • Psalm 1:1—The “seat of scoffers” contrasts with the blessed man who delights in the law. Scripture presents scoffing as the antithesis of faith: a hardened, self-exalting posture that suppresses evident truth (Romans 1:18–22). Eschatological Time-Frame (“the last time”) New Testament writers use “last days/last time” (ἐσχάτου χρόνου) for the era inaugurated by Christ’s first coming (Hebrews 1:2; Acts 2:17) and climaxing at His return. Jude therefore warns that an intensification of ridicule will characterize the church age, with a particular crescendo just prior to the Parousia (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1). Moral Profile of the Scoffers 1. Driven by “ungodly desires” (Jude 18) rather than intellectual honesty. 2. Create factions (v. 19) and counterfeit spirituality (v. 4). 3. Dismiss supernatural intervention—especially creation, judgment, and resurrection (2 Peter 3:4–7). From a behavioral-science viewpoint, the pattern mirrors cognitive dissonance avoidance: rather than adjust lifestyle to truth, the scoffer re-labels truth as foolishness. Historical Illustrations • Pre-Flood generation (Genesis 6); Noah was mocked though “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). • First-century Athenians who “sneered” at Paul when he preached resurrection (Acts 17:32). • Second-century Celsus, whose treatise ridiculed bodily resurrection—yet Origen’s rebuttal shows the church expected such mockery. • Modern iterations include naturalistic evolutionists who dismiss design despite specified complexity (e.g., information in DNA surpassing Shannon limits; cf. Meyer, Signature in the Cell, ch. 17). Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay began as a skeptic, but fieldwork verifying Luke’s accuracy reversed his stance—an empirical answer to scoffing. Archaeological and Manuscript Evidence Silencing Scoff Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q78 Jude fragment c. 50 BC) confirm Jude’s wording a century before the earliest complete codices, while the Tel Dan Stele (9th c. BC) externally corroborates the “House of David,” deflating claims that Davidic narratives are myth. Such data illustrate Romans 3:4: “Let God be true and every man a liar.” Practical Exhortation for Believers 1. Remember the prediction (Jude 17). Opposition is not a sign of failure but fulfillment of prophecy. 2. Build yourselves up in the faith (v. 20). Orthodoxy inoculates against derision. 3. Show mercy mixed with fear (vv. 22–23). Engage scoffers with gentleness, yet uphold holiness. Theological Summary “Scoffers” are prophetic signposts, not intellectual arbiters. Their presence authenticates Scripture, exposes rebellious hearts, and sets the stage for Christ’s vindication. For the believer, the correct response is steadfast faith, reasoned defense, and compassionate outreach; for the skeptic, the solemn warning is that derision will not annul the reality it mocks (Psalm 2:4–5). Conclusion Jude 1:18 defines scoffers as willful mockers birthed by lust, predicted to flourish throughout the church age and crescendo near the end. Their ridicule, far from refuting the gospel, fulfills it—inviting believers to anchor deeper in truth and inviting scoffers themselves to abandon folly before the Judge they deny steps into history once more. |
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