Jude 8Indeed, in the same way, these ones who are also dreamers, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.
Jude now applies his three illustrations to his readers about the rebellious exodus generation, the fallen angels, and the immoral Sodom and Gomorrah. The false teachers relied on their own dreaming, thinking, or imagination, which was distorted by their fleshly lusts. Human flesh itself is not bad. We have been created in the flesh, and Jesus came in the flesh. The flesh can become a tool for righteousness (see Romans 6:19). God’s will is for us to be sanctified in the flesh and not to let our rebellious hearts lead us into slavery to sin. However, if the flesh is controlled by our fallen, selfish nature, it can lead us away from God and cause much pain and sorrow in life. Living to please the flesh, in all its various ramifications, offers false promises of happiness and satisfaction. This emptiness may have been part of the empty thinking and deceit of the problem people Jude writes about.
The result of this fleshly pursuit is that these people also rejected authority and blasphemed. The identity of the glorious ones is difficult to determine, although the context suggests it could refer to heaven and all who are part of it. Blasphemy can be expressed as disrespecting and distorting the true meaning of something important, authoritative, or divine. Blaspheming heaven could involve distorting heaven to be all about oneself. It could include seeing angels or even God as one’s servants to do as one wishes, or believing heaven is the reward for certain “good” activities in this life. These teachers may have taught that a person can follow fleshly desires and still get into heaven. If we confess our faith in Jesus, we cannot remain in sin. To think this or to act like it is a distortion of eternal life and our hope in Jesus Christ.