2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
Peter continues his discourse on false teaching with a series of four ‘ifs’ to help us understand the seriousness of false teaching. Before exploring each of these conditional clauses, let’s first re-familiarize ourselves with the stories Peter uses to illustrate these points. The first story is about an event that would be classically described as something that would have occurred early in Genesis, however it is not recorded there. We learn about the fall of Lucifer (becoming the devil, Satan) and his taking of one-third of the angels from sections in the Bible that on first glance look like prophets talking to a couple of kings. When you examine the text carefully you can easily see that these prophets are actually speaking to the power ‘behind’ the kings. In Isaiah he is given instruction to speak to the king of Babylon (see Isaiah 14:12-16) and in Ezekiel the prophet is talking to the king of Tyre (see Ezekiel 28:11-19) and when you add the discussion about Satan in Revelation 12:3-9, we can piece together a fairly clear picture of what happened prior to Satan visiting Adam and Eve in the garden (leading up to the fall of man in Genesis chapter three). God created Hell for the disobedient angels as a place of eternal suffering (see Matthew 25:41). The word translated here in Peter’s epistle as ‘hell’ is actually a term taken from mythology (‘tartarus’, see Chapter 19 of this commentary for discussion on afterlife terminology). It would have been widely recognized by his audience as a reference to a subterranean abyss, which is also referenced in writings attributed to Enoch (more about Enoch and the use of this word in a moment).
Many scholars argue about the concept of angels sinning. The standard definition of sinning usually entails violating God’s Law (the first five books of the Bible, remember the Law is technically more than just the Ten Commandments). If that is true, many begin to question whether these five books apply to angels as well. Rather than go into a complex argument, we can see that the Greek word translated as ‘sin’ can also refer to someone disobeying, or be a cause to wander from the truth. We know those fallen angels were certainly disobedient! The Bible does not specifically state when the fallen angels are judged, but indeed will be.
2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);
The next story Peter mentions is something a little more familiar but equally controversial, that is the story about Noah and worldwide flood. The people of the world were evil and wicked (so wicked that their thoughts were evil all the time), but Noah found favor in God’s eyes (see Genesis 6:1-8). God condemned the world, but safely brought Noah, his family, and the animals through the punishment (see Genesis 7:7 and Hebrews 11:7).
The final story used as an example by Peter is about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed these cities, but allowed Lot and his family to escape (his wife unfortunately learned a hard lesson, pun intended, see Genesis chapters 18-19).
Each of the three stories had a situation where disobedience got to the point of no return. God judged the fallen angels, the wicked world and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because they would not repent of their sins. We should never discount the seriousness or severity of sin! Just because we are forgiven does not mean we are not hurting or grieving God when we sin (see Romans 6:1-2; Ephesians 4:17-32). Plus each of these stories also has a remnant, a group of people, that God rescues, or preserves from destruction, with the exception of the fallen angels as that group of angels, along with Satan, will be thrown in the Lake of Fire for eternity (see Revelation 20:10).
Now let’s go back to Second Peter and look at each verse closely. Peter began in verse three by telling us that the rise of false prophets and teachers were no surprise to God as He knew about them from the beginning of time. That they would be completely destroyed and ultimately condemned by Him. In other words, they were not going to get away with their perversion of God’s Word. Peter illustrates this point using the three Old Testament stories we discussed above.
In verse four we see the first of the four-part conditional (those ’if’ statements), here Peter asks us to consider if God did not spare the fallen angels when they disobeyed Him and cast them into hell committing them to chains (some versions use the word ‘pits’) of blackness or gloomy darkness (Greek term ‘zophou’ often refers to the total darkness of the nether world)[1] to be kept until Judgment Day (See Jude 6-7). Peter is not implying that all of the fallen angels are currently in hell, he knows that the devil is, as he put it, “prowling around” seeking someone to devour (see 1 Peter 5:5), plus don’t forget Paul’s alarming statement about the powers of darkness existing today (see Ephesians 6:12), Peter is taking God’s Word that they will be cast into hell (see Matthew 25:41, Jude 6). God said it, so it will be, done!
The progression of Peter’s ‘logic’ begins with the first conditional: 1) If God did not spare the pre-flood world but preserved Noah, a messenger of righteousness (see Genesis 6:3) and the other seven members of his family, when God brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly (Peter will revisit this subject later in chapter three). 2) And if when God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He condemned the inhabitants (that story is used as a model of what is going to happen to the ungodly, the unbelievers, see Jude 14-16, it is interesting to note that Jude’s reference to Enoch’s writing, called by most scholars as the “Book of Enoch,” is the same work that also references ‘tartarus’ being the mythological reference to hell). 3) And now the final ‘if’, “and if He rescued righteous Lot,” allow me to stop here, this is an interesting statement. Lot and the rest of the Old Testament people were no saints! Lot chose to live near Sodom and Gomorrah (near Zoar in the Jordan Valley, see Genesis 13:10-12) and he ‘sat’ at the city gate, a location that was usually reserved for city officials (something we might call city hall today, see Genesis 18:1). So we have to ask the question, was Lot comfortable with what was going on in his city? But to his defense later when the angels were dispatched to get Lot and his family out of Sodom prior to its destruction, he was deeply concerned over his fellow citizen’s outward wickedness (see Genesis 19:1-22). The reason I bring this up is the fact that it is comforting to know that God never chooses perfect people to lead or do ministry (only God is perfect) so there is hope for you and me! Plus, whenever Old Testament heroes such as Lot, Abraham, David, etc. are mentioned later in the New Testament they are considered righteous, their sins forgiven! Now back to Peter’s story about Lot, if God rescued righteous Lot, who was greatly distressed by the lustful conduct of the wicked (see Genesis 18:20), therefore, since he lived among them every day tormenting his soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard, then the Lord knows how to rescue us from our trials and temptations. If a Christian opens a newspaper today, turns on the news, or hears about the moral decay and perversion going on in the world, we can certainly understand, and probably sympathize with how Lot felt. Note how Peter tells us that God, and God alone, can rescue us from the pressures of today.
Peter surmises that if these conditions did not persuade God to alter His judgment and punishment, then those that chose to reject the free offer of salvation through from Jesus, will not receive any leniency or reprieve from eternal condemnation.
Whenever I hear these stories and especially when I think how they are each examples of what will happen to unbelievers, I ask myself these questions: Have I become too comfortable in what is going on in the world today? Am I too involved with the world that I no longer hear God? Have I forgotten why I’m here? Did I forget God’s command to evangelize?
2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10a and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Peter continues verse nine with the statement that God will also judge the unrighteous on the Day of Judgment. They will not be forgotten nor will they find some way to get out of torment due to any legal loophole. Peter then points out a specific group that God has no tolerance for, “God is especially incensed against these ‘teachers’ who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule.” (Verse 10a, The Message)[2] Remember Jesus told us that the wicked will be judged while preserving His own people (remember the Parable of the Tares, see Matthew 13:24-30, see also Malachi 3:16-4:3). Peter next takes a closer look at the hearts of these teachers.
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[1] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Strong’s Greek No. 2217
[2] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.