“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” (Jude 11)

These false teachers envy the gifts of God given to the true ministers of God. In this, they are acting like Cain when he envied God’s acceptance of his brother’s offering and not his. This envy eventually led to murder. Cain also left off worship of God. These men were forsaking the regular assembly in worship. (Hebrews 10:25)

Balaam was guilty of coveting the wealth of others. He also led many into both idolatry and adultery. Apparently, these false teachers would only teach for money. This should be a strong warning against the modern trends of commercialized evangelism!

Korah (Core) gathered 250 princes of Israel to try and wrest leadership from the hands of Moses and Aaron. Their claim was that Israel was so great a people, what right did Moses and Aaron have to rule them all? We see God’s judgment against them recorded in Numbers chapter 16 when the earth opened up in a localized earthquake and swallowed them up!

Jude’s occasion of writing this letter may be that the believers knew that these people were among them but were doing nothing about it. If this be the case, then Jude is now showing them how bad they really are and what horrible things they are doing to God’s church.

“These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (Jude 12,13)

These heretics were taking part in communion. They had no fear of God and therefore no rightful place in the Lord’s Supper. Their presence brings a shame to the image of the Church of Christ! Paul strongly warns against this practice in 1st Corinthians 11:2-29.

Calling them "clouds," Jude could mean not only their multitude but also their darkness. Yet these are without water which means they are of no benefit to anyone. A cloud without rain provides no nourishing rain and also blocks the warmth of the sun. They are carried about by every current trend in popular religion and have no true foundation. Paul instructs us that the gifts of ministry were given to the church so that we would no longer act like children and be so easily led astray (Ephesians 4:14).

They are like fruit trees that have no fruit. They are of no benefit to others and bear no signs of redemption whatsoever. Even worse, Jude says they are not only dead in their sins, they are twice dead! And they are plucked up by the roots. These heretics were so horrible that it was apparent they were not just disobedient children of God. These were truly wicked men.

They rage like waves in their personal pride and vanity. This shows they had no grace in them to go along with whatever knowledge they seemed to have. Their own words betrayed their character just as Jesus taught.

“Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” (Matthew 15:17-19)

They are called stars because they have a temporary brightness but it fades. Their wandering shows that they are unreliable stars by which to navigate. If a body in the night sky is too irregular, it is not a reliable source to find a heading. It would be like trying to navigate according to a shooting star! These people are the reason God created hell and the lake of fire. Those places are designed for the eternal punishment of the wicked among the angels and among men.