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Jude 1:6-7 "And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."

 

Jude is warning that some have gained admission to the early Church who were "long ago ... designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:4). God knows how to handle these traitors, though, as Jude reminds us by pointing out that God saved the Jews from Egypt, but "afterward destroyed those who did not believe" (Jude 1:5); that He punished the rebel angels; and that He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their immorality. God is just, He will not abide by sinfulness or treachery forever. He will always protect His Church, and sometimes doing so means punishing some of her "members" who are not devoted to the faith.

 

It is interesting that Jude says the traitors were designated for this condemnation long ago. It shows how the battle between good and evil is so much bigger than our individual lives or times. Like Judas, these men have free will, they can repent, but in God's timeless omniscience, He sees that they will not. Therefore, He lets them infiltrate the Church so that He can use them as examples of His justice.

 

Notice that, although he seems to know who some of these people are, Jude does not advocate any action against them. Instead, he urges the faithful to remain so, and to be wary of these men, but to trust that God will rebuke them, reminding us that Saint Michael, in contending with the devil, did not "presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'" (Jude 1:9).

 

So even if we think we see things like this happening in the Church today, we are not to take action ourselves. We are to remain faithful, while also wary of those who seem to be perverting the faith to licentiousness or other sinfulness. We know the truth, we can live and preach it ourselves. We also know that God sees what is happening in His Church and will ultimately have justice.