We’re living in a time when people talk lightly about spiritual things—especially angels—without realizing the weight Scripture places on that conversation. Jude 4–10 pulls back the curtain and shows us why our words about the unseen world matter. Angels take center stage in this passage, not for fascination, but for instruction: fallen angels judged for rebellion, holy angels honored for their authority, and Michael himself refusing to speak disrespectfully even to the devil. In this episode, we explore why believers are called to handle God-created spiritual beings with reverence, avoid the arrogance of false teachers, and keep our conversations grounded in humility, truth, and respect. Why Your Conversation About Angels Needs to be Respectful, that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

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Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This weeks call is:

Honor Heavenly Authority

Your words carry weight—so let them reflect the humility Scripture requires.

This week, make it a point to speak carefully about spiritual things. Let Jude’s warning shape your posture: honor what God honors, avoid careless conversations, and choose respect over arrogance every time.

Respect isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom.

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question:

Where have you seen the need for more humility and respect in how believers talk about spiritual things?

Share:

Share one shift you’re making in the way you speak—especially about angels, spiritual warfare, or unseen realities.

Remember:

Respect reflects Jesus. How we speak about the unseen world shapes how we walk in the seen one.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 49 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 44 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes:

• Well again, welcome.
• Let’s pray to our Father God.
• Lord we thank you today for your amazing instruction on respect for things God. Lord, we repent if we have stepped over the line with our mouths and spoken against things or God created beings that are too high us. Open up the eyes of our understanding that we might align ourselves with Kingdom values now and forever in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Angels Take Center Stage in Jude

• We are once again in the book, of Jude.

Jude 4–10 (ESV) — 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

• Now, as you read these verses or listen to them, take note of how many times angels appear.
• Let’s go through it.

Angels in Jude 6

• In verse six, the mention of angels is direct.

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling…

• What angels is Jude talking about here?
• He is talking about the Genesis six angels who fornicated with some of the women on Planet Earth.
• Now as strange as that sounds, I believe it did occur.
• The offspring of this union between divine angels and human women were the giants that we see in the Old Testament.
• You know thsi from God’s Word that angels are always male — there are no female angels or at least, we don’t have any Bible record of them being female.
• Think of the angels that are named in scripture like Michael and Gabriel — male names, right?
• So, angels are mentioned in Jude 6.

Angels in Jude 7

• Then, in verse seven, we have a reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis eighteen.
• If you read that account, you will see that angels played a key role in the destruction of those two cities.
• So, that’s Jude 7.

Angels in Jude 8

• Now in verse eight, we see that one of the seven sins of seriously deceptive soul is that they ‘blaspheme the glorious ones’.
• The term ‘glorious ones’ is a reference to angels.
• We will focus on this in depth a little later in this podcast.
• That’s angels in verse eight.

Angels in Jude 9

• Now, we come to verse nine, and we see Michael the archangel, in, an unusual behind the scenes moment, in conflict with the devil over the dead body of Moses.
• You see when Moses passed from the scene, no one knew where he died.

Deuteronomy 34:1–6 (ESV) — 1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.

• The Lord buried Moses.
• Is that wild or what?
• How would you like the Lord to do your funeral?

Psalm 116:15 (ESV) — 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

• As far as the Israelites were concerned, his body vanished into thin air.
• Now, the devil wanted Moses body to be found because he knew that the Israelites so venerated Moses that that would take his body, setup a shrine, and worship it.
• The devil wanted Israel to fall.
• He wants you to fall.
• So, four verses in a row, six, seven, eight, and nine angels take center stage in Jude’s letter.
• The question we need an answer to is why?
• Why are angels center stage in Jude’s letter?
• Hopefully at the end of this podcast, we will have that answer.

Denying Jesus

• Now in a previous podcast, we looked at how false disciples of Jesus want you to believe that they were true believers saying ‘YES’ to Jesus.
• But, what we found out is that inwardly were saying a flat ’NO.’
• These people ‘crept in [to local house churches] unnoticed’ according to Jude.
• These false disciples don’t want the Jesus followers of the first century to know their real intentions or their actual spiritual state.
• I happened to be listening to my audio Bible on my way to work one morning.
• And, this passage in Jeremiah five caught my attention because it describes false believers and their activities.

** Jeremiah 5:26–29 (ESV)** — 26 For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. 27 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; 28 they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. 29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”

• ‘Wicked men are found among my people.’
• That’s that creeping in business.
• Sure sounds like what we’ve been talking about in Jude four: For certain people have crept in unnoticed, right?
• So, deceptive people, notice what Jeremiah said about them.
• They have ‘houses full of deceit, ‘
• Deceitful people, Israel experienced them in Old Testament times.
• These kinds of people were prevelant in the New Testament as well.
• Many of the writers warned about them.
• Now, with all that history, what makes us think that these kinds of people wouldn’t be in today’s Church?
• We need to be wise as a serpent and pure as doves about these matters [Matthew 10:16].

The Consequences of Saying ‘No’ to Jesus

• Now, after referencing false believers who deny Jesus, Jude gives us the consequence of saying ‘NO’ to God.
• I mean what happens if a person denies Jesus?
• Take a listen to this.

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

• Did you hear that?
• Jesus was responsible for the children of Israel getting out of Egypt.
• Jesus did this??
• Really? Yes, He was very active in the Old Testament.

1 Corinthians 10:1–4 (ESV) — 1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

• Oh my word, Jesus was active in the Old Testament!
• Well, of course He was — Jesus is part of the Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• Of course He was there.
• How do you pull God out of anything?
• You can’t.
• The Holy Spirit was also at work in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 63:9–10 (ESV) — 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

• You may say, ‘Wow,’ I didn’t know that.’
• Well, you’re not alone.
• After all, Jesus and the Holy Spirit where not just off somewhere taking a Rip Van Winkle nap waiting for the New Testament to roll around.
• Now knowing that Jesus was active in the Old Testament, think about Exodus twelve and the Passover for a moment.

Exodus 12:1–6 (ESV) — 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

• We understand from the New Testament that the Passover lamb typified Jesus.

1 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) — 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

• So, grasp the fact that in Exodus twelve, each Israeli family takes a lamb, kills it, takes the blood and smears it on the doorposts of their home.
• The Lord told, them that if they did that, then the death angel, who was coming for all of the firstborn in Egypt, [and Israel was in Egypt] would pass over that house when he saw the blood of that lamb.
• That slain lamb signified Jesus.
• Now, Jesus is watching that whole Passover ceremony take place in person.
• Did you get it? — Jesus is looking down from heaven at all these little lambs being sacrificed all over Israel knowing that one day He would be the single lamb sacrificed for all mankind.
• What a day for Jesus.
• What a day for Israel.
• What a day for you and me.
• Is that amazing or what?
• So, here’s the story.
• Jesus delivered Israel from Egypt.
• After He delivered them, they rebelled against him ten times in the wilderness.
• That’s Numbers 14:21–22.
• Ten times God’s people said ’NO’ to Jesus.
• That’s one too many times.
• He said, ‘Go into the Promised Land’ and take it.
• They said, ’No, were not going — there are giants in the land.’
• The result?

Numbers 14:22–23 (ESV) — 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

• Vast numbers of Israelites died on the wilderness over the next forty years.
• It’s never wise to say ’No’ to Jesus.
• That’s what Jude wrote about.

Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

• The Greek word ‘destroyed’ means to kill, or bring to ruin.
• It’s the same word used in Matthew two where Herod search for Jesus to destroy him.
• That’s Matthew 2:13.
• Herod wanted to destroy Jesus.
• He wanted to kill Him.
• Can I tell you, you don’t want any part of this word, ‘destroy.’
• You don’t want to start out saying ‘YES’ to Jesus because He delivered you out some kind of situation like He did the Israelites and then turn around and say ’No’ to Him.
• You want to sat ‘YES’ to Him ALL the time.
• So in verse five, we see that judgment occurred because God’s people got out of their place of obedience to God.

Genesis Six Angels Get Out of Place

• In verse six, you see the same theme: angels who got out of their place.

6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day

• These wicked angels abandoned their ‘position of authority.’
• Those words ‘position of authority’ is one word in the Greek.
• The word means sphere of one’s official activity, rule, office. ¹
• The sin of these wicked angels was that they left their habitation, their sphere of influence and authority, and violated their sphere of influence.
• They had no right to do it.
• These angels had no right to reproduce.
• You see, angels do not have a womb for their seed since there are no female angels.
• God made X number of angels, period.
• Their numbers were never meant to increase by sexual reproduction.
• Humans have no such limitations.
• God started out with two and today, from those two, we have almost eight billion.
• So because these Genesis six angels said ‘NO’ to God’s plan and tried to execute their own plan of trying to create a new race of beings, angels mating with humans, the judgment of God fell on them.
• God locked them all up.
• This is an example for all Jesus followers.
• Find your place of authority and stay there.
• Don’t leave your God appointed place for someone else’s place.
• If God didn’t call you to be an apostle, stay out of it.
• You’re going to get yourself in trouble.
• If He didn’t call you to be a prophet, stay out of it.
• The same goes for any of the other ministry offices — evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
• And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

William Branham was a man marvelously used of God in Gifts of the Spirit. Outstanding miracles of healing occurred in his ministry. The revelation gifts of the Spirit were at an insane level in his life. A little girl in St. Louis lay dying from some unknown sickness. The church had fasted and prayed for her, but nothing happened. The best doctors tried to help her but were unable to. Tears rolled down the cheeks of Branham as he walked toward the little girl. She was skin and bones in bed. The little girl clawing at her face like an animal, she was in so much pain. Branham joined his prayer with the rest of them, but nothing happened. He finally asked for a quiet place to be alone and seek the Lord. In seeking the Lord, he would often see the answer through a vision. He would wait until the conditions were exactly as he saw in the vision, and then he would act on what he had seen. The results were always immediate when he followed this pattern. So, after a while, Branham marched confidently back to the house. He asked the father and the others, “Do you believe that I am God’s servant?” “Yes!” they cried. “Then do as I tell you, doubting nothing. ” Branham proceeded to ask for several things, then prayed for the child, according to the vision the Lord had given him. Immediately, the evil spirit left the girl, and she was healed. She lived to see a normal, healthy childhood.

• That’s marvelous!
• This place of healing and miracles was Branham’s place of authority.
• But later in his ministry, he wanted to teach.
• Teaching was not his place of authority.
• William Branham wasn’t anointed to teach.
• He tried teach and he just messed the whole thing up.
• He came up with all kinds of crazy teachings.
• Totally unscriptural.
• The Lord sent men of God to him to warn him about his teaching but he refused to listen.
• The result? William Branham died in a head on car collision too early in his ministry because he left his place of authority — He just wouldn’t listen.
• Don’t make the same mistake as William Branham.
• Don’t make the same mistake as the Genesis six angels.
• Then in Jude seven.

The Example of Sodom and Gomorrah

7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

• We know the story here.
• The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah left the proper sphere of sexual relationships.
• What sphere is that?
• I’m glad you asked.
• The proper sphere of sex is one man and one women in a marriage relationship.
• Go and read about what happened here in Genesis nineteen.

Genesis 19:1 (ESV) — 1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom…

• Notice how Lot acted toward these angels.

…When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth

• Bowing is not worship — it’s an act of respect.
• Jacob bowed before Esau seven times [Genesis 33:3] and Ruth bowed before Boaz that’s Ruth 2:10.
• There’s many examples of this kind of respect in scripture.
• This is just how respect was displayed in that region of the world.
• Remember that the Bible is an eastern book, not a western book.

Genesis 19:2 (ESV) — 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

• Mark it down, hospitality is also a form of respect.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

• That term ‘that we may know them’ is the Bibles term for sex.
• The men of the city wanted to have sex with the angels who always men.
• That’s homosexual behavior and the God’s response to that was plain and clear.
• Judgment fell on them in the form of fire and brimstone, big time.
• It was not pretty.

What Is Blaspheming Angels About?

• Okay, so now, we come to verses eight and nine.

Jude 8,9 (ESV) — Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

• The ‘glorious ones’ of verse eight are angels.
• Blaspheming them is connected to sin number six of a seriously deceptive soul, that is rejecting authority.
• The Greek word ‘blaspheme’ is the one we want to look at and, with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
• The word ‘blaspheme’ means to speak reproachfully of, to rail at, or revile.²
• ‘Blaspheming’ means to make false and malicious statements about someone in order to damage their reputation.
• It involves spreading lies with the intent to harm someone’s good name.
• Now, today, we all live in world where human beings ‘blaspheme’ one another on a regular basis.
• Politicial leaders, news people, presidents of major universities.
• It’s not right.
• It’s not God.
• Blaspheming other human beings, calling them names, wishing they were dead does not glorify God.
• Respect one another.
• It’s God’s way — it’s the right way.
• The Bible world is a world of respect.
• You know yesterday Ohio State beat Michigan in college football and I am a huge Ohio State fan.
• It’s one of the most intense rivalries in the sports world.
• Ohio States coach, Coach Day, said at the end of the game.

Win with humility.

• Don’t blaspheme men — don’t do it.
• Don’t bless God and then turn around with that same tongue and curse men.
• These are the attributes of a seriously deceived soul.

Consider the story of William Wilberforce, who fought tirelessly against the slave trade during the eighteenth century. Despite facing immense opposition, he remained respectful towards those he disagreed with. He believed that true respect comes from viewing every individual as made in the image of God. His legacy teaches us that maintaining respect in our disagreements honors God’s creation and promotes healing and understanding.

• Now, these authority rejecting, blaspheming souls spew their venom not only at human beings but at angels themselves.
• Yet, verse nine of Jude states that even Michael refused to take part in this mud slinging.
• Just like Coach Day, Michael won with humility.

Jude 9 (ESV) — But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

• If anyone deserves disrespect, you would think it would be the devil.
• But, not in God’s world.
• Respect is part of God’s domain.
• It’s part of the angelic world.
• Us human beings should get a clue.

How Do We Put This Lesson to Use?

One: Let the Word of God Set Your Tone

• Before speaking about spiritual beings—angels, demons, or spiritual warfare—pause and ask: “What does God’s Word actually say about this?” Let Jude 4–10 be your filter for humility and respect.

Two: Watch Your Words About People In Authority

• Jude ties blaspheming angels to rejecting authority.
• Take inventory of your conversations this week.
• Are your words honoring? Respectful? Aligned with God’s Kingdom posture?

Three: Stay in Your God-Given Lane

• The Genesis 6 angels fell by stepping outside their assigned domain.
• Apply this personally: stay faithful to the place God has called you.
• Serve well in your sphere of influence, and avoid roles or responsibilities God never assigned you.

Four: Practice Respect in Your Relationships

• Respect is part of God’s world.
• Build it into your world.
• Speak with honor to your spouse, your coworkers, your leaders, and those you disagree with.
• Win with humilty.
• If today’s teaching helped you see Jude’s message more clearly, explore more resources, study guides, and past episodes at emeryhorvath.com—and keep growing strong in God’s Word every single week.

Now Father God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Blood of Jesus that cleanses us and makes us whole. We thank you for it all in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

• Why Your Conversation About Angels Needs to be Respectful.
• You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

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References