Who exactly are the “glorious ones” and who is the “they” spoken about in the letter of Jude?
The brief letter of Jude was written “to called ones who are loved by God the Father and preserved for Jesus Christ,” for the express purpose of exhorting them to put up a hard fight for the faith; the reason being, because “certain men have slipped in among you who were long ago appointed to this judgment by the Scriptures.”
So, the glorious ones, of whom the ungodly men speak abusively, are the called ones —those who have been called to be in union with Jesus Christ. In other words, they are anointed with the same holy spirit as was Jesus.
Jude goes on to reveal that the men who are destined to slip into Christ’s congregation do so undetected, much like the superfine apostles who had infiltrated the Corinthian congregation in the first century. That is why they are described as rocks lurking below the waterline who feast together with the true ones. Not only that, the ungodly men are elders. More than that, they are looked to as spiritual guides, as anointed stars who provide spiritual waters of truth; however, the scripture says concerning them: “These are the rocks hidden below water at your love feasts while they feast with you, shepherds who feed themselves without fear; waterless clouds carried here and there by the wind; fruitless trees in late autumn, having died twice and having been uprooted; wild waves of the sea that cast up the foam of their own shame; stars with no set course, for which the blackest darkness stands reserved forever.”
In saying they have “died twice” Jude reveals that they have already received the immutable judgment of the second death.
The letter of Jude goes on: “Yes, the seventh one in line from Adam, Enoch, also prophesied about them when he said: “Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him.”
Regarding what ‘Enoch prophesied about them,’ Jude places “them” under God’s judgment to come. It is, therefore, evident that the letter of Jude really pertains to the Second Coming of Christ. The “certain men” must be the same as the man of lawlessness and the evil slave about whom Jesus spoke —who are to receive the same judgment as the self-feeding shepherds, which is what is signified by their weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Interestingly, Jude says that the wicked elders also “have rushed into the erroneous course of Balaam for reward.” Jesus also spoke of a symbolic Balaam who wields influence over the Pergamum congregation immediately prior to the Lord’s day —seducing them into idolatry.
In what way are the called ones glorious? At this moment in time they are not. However, as mentioned above, the letter of Jude is foretelling the things to come. Consider what Christ said in the 13th chapter of Mark regarding the developments during the conclusion. Jesus foretold: “As for you, look out for yourselves. People will hand you over to local courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues and be put on the stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them. Also, in all the nations, the good news has to be preached first. And when they are taking you to hand you over, do not be anxious beforehand about what to say; but whatever is given you in that hour, say this, for you are not the ones speaking, but the holy spirit is. Furthermore, brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father a child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.”
Have Jesus’ words been fulfilled in any measure? Have brothers betrayed brothers into death? Have parents handed their children over to be executed because they are Christians? Have children risen up to have their believing parents killed? The answer to all of the above is no. But, according to Jesus not even one ink stroke of one itty-bitty letter of his words recorded in the Bible will fail to come true. At some point in the near future during the reign of the last king Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world will be subjected to a tyranny as none have before. The object of Satan’s wrath is, of course, the heirs of the Kingdom —”the called ones,” as mentioned in Jude.
During the concluding phase, the wheat and the weeds will be sorted out —permanently separated, at least in terms of their eternal destinies. The wheat are the sons of the Kingdom, who will then shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. In other words, they will become glorious ones. The wicked and the faithless will then speak abusively of them —filling up the full measure of their sin prior to their destruction.
The fact that Jude says of them that they “have followed the path of Cain,” who, of course, murdered his brother, indicates that the phony anointed will take the lead in having the sons of the Kingdom murdered, which will only result in their instantaneous transformation into glorious spirits.