My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2022 (7)

Question 1: In Jude 1, Enoch is quoted in verse 14 and the Assumption of Moses is alluded to in verse 9. Why does Jude reference apocryphal texts?

Answer 1: Jude 1:14-15: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”Jude 1:9: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

There is no case to answer regarding Jude quoting from Enoch and also the assumption (taking up of the body into heaven) of Moses. The body of Moses was buried on earth and was not taken up to heaven. The thought that Moses’ body was taken up to heaven is not only erroneous but ludicrous. The probable reason for not allowing the body of Moses to be found, or where he was buried to be known, was to protect Israel from the sin of idolatry of worshipping Moses, or rather his dead body! This is what is seen today in Israel. A church or a building or a sanctuary has been constructed in almost every place where a biblical event is signified including the supposed stone Isaac was offered upon.

In the case of Enoch, John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible explains clearly, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam,…This was Enoch the son of Jared; his name signifies one ‘instructed’, or ‘trained up’; as he doubtless was by his father, in the true religion, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and was one that had much communion with God; he walked with him, and was translated by him, body and soul, to heaven, and did not see death; Genesis 5:18; he is said to be ‘the seventh from Adam’; not the seventh man from him that was born into the world, for there were no doubt thousands born before him; but he was, as the Jews express it, , "the seventh generation" from him; and they have an observation, that all sevenths are always beloved by God; the seventh in lands, and the seventh in generations; Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, as it is written, Genesis 5:24; and this is said partly to distinguish him from others of the same name, and particularly from Enoch the son of Cain, the third: from Adam in his line, as this was the seventh from Adam in the line of Seth; and partly to observe the antiquity of the following prophecy of his: for it is said, he ‘prophesied of these;’ of these false teachers, and such as they; what would be their sad state and condition at the second coming of Christ to judgment: that he had a spirit of prophecy is evident from the name he gave to his son Methuselah, which signifies, ‘when he dies is the emission’, or the sending out of the waters of the flood, which came to pass the very year he did die. The Arabic writers call him Edris the prophet; and the Jews say, that he was in a higher degree than Moses or Elias; they also call him Metatron, the great scribe, a name which they sometimes give to the angel that went before the children of Israel in the wilderness, and which seems to belong to the Messiah: that Enoch wrote a prophecy, and left it behind him in writing, does not appear from hence, or elsewhere; the Jews, in some of their writings, do cite and make mention of the book of Enoch; and there is a fragment now which bears his name, but is a spurious piece, and has nothing like this prophecy in it; wherefore Jude took this not from a book called the ‘Apocalypse of Enoch’, but from tradition; this prophecy being handed down from age to age; and was in full credit with the Jews, and therefore the apostle very appropriately produces it; or rather he had it by divine inspiration, and is as follows: saying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints; by the ‘Lord’ is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ordained the Judge of quick and dead, and for which he is richly qualified, being omniscient and omnipotent, and faithful and righteous …”

Question 2: Start to see some ladies wearing tights for church activities. Is it considered modest? It is getting popular in the world, just wondering if it’s appropriate for church activities.

Answer 2: Tights are like stockings that ladies wear all over first world countries and some third world countries. Like all dressing, it is how clothes are worn. In winter time, tights are used to protect the ladies from the freezing temperatures as they wear dresses to church. If the dress is short then the tights can pose a problem of being immodest. But if the dress is long then it poses no problem.

Having a mandated dress code in church is a dangerous approach to regulate holiness. It will inevitably lead to legalism or modern day pharisaism, for who decides what constitutes “modest” dressing for both men and women when they come to church? I know of a church where the dress code is black and white only for both genders. These kinds of uniformity for schools and kindergartens or workers in factories have their advantages. But for churches, it brings unnecessary problems.

Having said this, and taking into account the kind of humid weather we have in Singapore, light clothing is usually preferred. For every believer, modesty is and will always be the guideline in our dressing and NOT the personal convenience and comfort of the worshipper before God. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20: “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

Since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, how can any believer bring shame to the Holy Spirit by dressing in a manner that is immodest where it causes others to sin and is a distraction to worship? People cannot see our inner holy self, but they see our outward holy body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. May God help us to review our dressing when we come to church every Lord’s Day. Let God be the judge of every believer’s conscience and dressing.

This applies to both genders. Both genders need to dress appropriately when they come to church for worship. Right and appropriate attire reflects the right heart and attitude before God in worship. The right attire of every individual when he comes for worship is between him and the Lord Jesus Christ. However, when the attire is immodest, then as keepers of each other’s holy witness for Christ we ought to speak to the person tactfully, gender to gender. In this way, we guard one another’s holy testimony with love and care for the glory of God and the blessing of God's people.