Overview
A short letter urging believers to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It warns against those who had crept in and turned grace into a pretext for licentiousness, citing examples of judgement from the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition, and exhorts believers to keep themselves in the love of God.
Theme Contending for the faith once for all delivered
Historical background
The author introduces himself as the brother of James (Jude 1:1) and is traditionally identified with Jude the brother of Yeshua (Mark 6:3). He cites the wilderness generation, Sodom and Gomorrah, Cain, Balaam, and Korah, and draws on traditions found in contemporary Jewish literature such as 1 Enoch. The letter overlaps considerably with 2 Peter 2.