Jude

This is the twenty-first in a series of twenty-one summaries of the New Testament letters.  The twenty-first is Jude, and the outline comes from John Paul Heil:

a   May the Mercy and Love of God Be Multiplied to You, 1-4
     b   Some are Kept Under Gloom for Judgment, 5-11
     b'  Judgment of the Ungodly for Whom the Gloom Has Been Kept, 12-20
a'  Keep Yourselves in the Love of God Awaiting the Mercy of Our Lord, 21-25

The 'a' pattern links Jude's early call to contend for the faith with the later call to keep themselves in God's love.  Early on, Jude writes: "I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was entrusted to God's holy people." (3)  In the second section, Jude tells the believers to "keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." (21)

The 'b' pattern is linked by themes of darkness and judgment.  In the first section, Jude writes of angels who "did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling - these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day." (6)  In the second section, Jude writes of the ungodly people, that they are "wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." (13)