Theophylact of Ohrid, on Jude 1:3

“Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.”

“Here the apostle indicates the motivation for writing the epistle. Namely: he writes the present epistle out of concern for the salvation of the faithful, so that they in their simplicity would not be carried away by the most vile heretics; he writes in order to expose them through a description of the depraved life of the heretics and make them known to those who are unaware. The apostle Peter had already spoken about them, but the apostle Jude writes more extensively. He says that they were "designated beforehand" (v. 4), because the apostles Peter and Paul had already written that in the last times deceivers of this kind would come (2 Pet. 1:1–2, 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:1–8). Even before them, Christ Himself said: "many will come in My name and will deceive many; do not go after them" (Luke 21:8), because by calling themselves Christians, they will deceive many by this name. The apostle speaks of the followers of the most vile Nicholas, Valentinus, and Simon. For being gluttons and intemperate, they gave their teaching a fair-seeming cover in order to gain access to homes and captivate women mired in sins. Having invented certain nocturnal rites, they gave themselves over to debauchery. From this it also follows that they deny our Lord Jesus Christ. For how can those who by their impure life drive away from themselves the Teacher of all chastity not deny Him? For what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14).”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.