2 Peter 2:1-10 But
false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them
the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they
will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not
idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
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; 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); 9 then
the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous
under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially
those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Bold
and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones.
The book of Hebrews tells us
that it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. Peter,
in this second book that he has written, assures us of the power that God has
released in our lives enabling us to become partakers of the divine nature.
This is not a casual thing but rather one that requires us to make every effort
to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter assures us
that these truths are not myths. He was an eyewitness and the Scriptures
support what he saw. However, false prophets have arisen and will arise so long
as the current situation exists. But there is plenty of evidence that God will
judge them severely.
Peter tells us that there is
no category of beings that are exempt from the judgment. Not the angels, not
the world before the flood, not the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, no one is
exempt from the judgment! These reminders tell us that God will judge all
people everywhere. There have been, and will be, judgments throughout history.
Judgments on individuals and on nations have occurred and will occur until the
time of the final judgment. We need to remember…
Even
the angels were not spared. Turn with me to the little book of Jude
and listen while I read Jude 6. And
the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left
their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness
until the judgment of the great day—
We have very little
trustworthy information about this angelic rebellion mentioned in 2 Peter,
chapter 2, and the sixth verse of Jude. We do know that there were no
rebellious angels at the time of the creation. You see the angels were created
along with everything else and Genesis 1:31 tells us that God looked on his
creation and it was very good! However, in Genesis 3:1 we find Satan, in the
form of a serpent, tempting Eve to sin. What we can conclude from that is that
sometime between the creation and the fall there was a rebellion in heaven.
There seems to be an indication in Scripture that about one third of all the
angelic beings joined with Satan in his rebellion. Both Peter and Jude refer to
them being kept in chains. Throughout the Bible these rebellious angels,
otherwise known as demons, have a certain amount of freedom of movement.
They oppose and attempt to
destroy everything that God does. They use lies, deception, murder and every
other kind of activity to attempt to cause people to turn away from God and
destroy themselves. They constantly seek to blind people to the gospel and keep
them from salvation. If they cannot prevent a person from being saved they will
try to use all their resources to limit a Christian’s witness and usefulness to
the kingdom.
Don’t worry, God knows how
to limit their activity and will in the end bring them into judgment. The
angels were not spared and…
The
ancient world was judged. Turn with me to Genesis 6:5-7 and listen while I read. The Lord
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And
the Lord regretted that he had
made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So
the Lord said, “I will blot out
man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping
things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
From the creation of Adam to
the birth of Noah mankind grew consistently more and more evil. Finally, when
their iniquity was full, God set a timeframe for the end of all those in
rebellion. However, there was one man and his family who found favor in God’s
eyes. Noah and his three sons, along with their wives, were to be protected
from the judgment of God on the earth.
The writer of Hebrews tells
us that Noah, in reverent fear, prepared an ark to save his family. In doing that
he condemned the world. This seems to indicate that God would not destroy all
mankind so long as there was one who was righteous and would be destroyed along
with the evil ones. By obeying God in constructing an ark Noah separated God’s
righteous people from the rest of mankind. Noah then became the new head of a
righteous lineage that comes by faith. We are told nothing of how Noah and his
family might have felt about the situation but righteousness is not a feeling
it is a willful act of obedience. It may be that God protected Noah from having
to make the decision. Along with all the animals that God had sent to the scene
Noah and his family entered the ark and the Lord shut the door for them.
We need to remember that God
is extremely patient and hundreds, if not thousands, of years passed before God
finally destroyed the earth. God is patient with our generation also. God
judged the angels that rebelled and later condemned the ancient world by a
flood. And, during the lifetime of Abraham…
Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed. After a long period of time
these two ancient cities were judged and condemned. The Lord himself came along
with two angels to talk with Abraham, his friend, about what was going to
happen. Abraham’s nephew Lot was, by this time, living in Sodom. The two angels
went on to Sodom to carry out the destructive order.
After reading Peter’s
account, my understanding of what had happened there changed. Lot is not
described as a rebellious person, in fact, Peter refers to him as “righteous”
and describes him as having been greatly distressed by what he saw going on in
Sodom! The way I imagine it is that Lot moved his family to the well watered
plains of the Jordan so their lives could be improved. As time went by, they
moved from the grassy plain to the outskirts of the city. Observing how evil
the city was, Lot moved his family into the city in an effort to reform it.
When the two angels arrived
at Sodom they found Lot sitting in the gate. “Sitting in the gate” was a term often
used for the Council of Elders. Lot had become a reform politician in an effort
to make Sodom a better place to live. The truth is he shouldn’t have been
there. The angels warned him of what was about to happen. We find their warning
in Genesis 19:13. For we
are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has
become great before the Lord, and
the Lord has sent us to destroy
it. And then in verses
24-25 we find the result of their warning. Then
the Lord rained on Sodom and
Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord
out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the
valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
The people of Sodom and
Gomorrah were very much like people are today. They lived their lives in total
disregard of the existence of God. Lot was unable to rescue anyone from the
city because they would not believe him. He had lost his testimony for God by
joining the rest of the world. The Christian church today is in danger of the
same loss. As time goes by, the church becomes more and more like the world.
God said that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great. Their sin was
very grave! So far as we can tell, their sin was perverted sex. Our world today
is flooded with sexual sin. In fact, the practitioners of homosexuality have
imposed themselves and their beliefs on the majority. If a community doesn’t
accept same-sex marriage and open displays of homosexual activity then the
practitioners of such sin go to court to enforce their will. God is patient but
judgment will come!
The
unrighteous will be judged. Jesus told the story about a farmer who
planted his field with good seed only to have his enemy sow weed seed in among
the good seed. His disciples did not understand the story and they questioned
him. Turn with me to Matthew 13:36-43. Then
he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him,
saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He
answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The
field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are
the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is
the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just
as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the
age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will
gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and
throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the
sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Throughout history Satan has
planted his people among the good seed of God. We should have learned by now
that in the world it is impossible for us to completely separate the sons of
the kingdom from the sons of the evil one! This story is not about the church.
It’s about the world. Jesus clearly states, “The field is the world”, and it is
impossible to root out the sons of the evil one without rooting out the good
seed as well! The division between the sons of the evil one and the sons of God
will be determined in the judgment at the last time. The righteous will shine
like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The sons of the evil one will be
judged. Judgment is coming as surely as the sun rises in the morning and sets
at night!
As we look at all these
examples of judgment given by Peter hope is injected into the discussion. You
see…
God
preserved Noah and his family. Turn with me to Hebrews 11:6-7. Listen while I read. And
without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to
God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By
faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent
fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned
the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
I think it’s interesting
that verse six is interjected into the account of the men and women of faith
found in Hebrews Chapter 11. By faith Abel, by faith Enoch, and then there’s a
pause! The words, “Without faith it is impossible to please
him”, suddenly appears to remind us that it is essential that we believe
that God is and that he rewards those who seek him.
I think it is also interesting
that out of all those generations between Adam and Noah there is only Able and
Enoch to hold up as an example of faith! The human race, during that time,
descended deeper and deeper and deeper into a pit of despair and lack of faith.
So that out of the millions of people on earth only Noah found favor in the
eyes of God.
While God was in the process
of destroying unfaithful mankind he knew how to rescue Noah and his family.
Then, during the days of Abraham, the stench of Sodom and Gomorrah rose up to
heaven. The result was that God destroyed those evil cities but…
God
rescued Lot. Turn with me to Genesis 19:15-17. Look at the account of Lot’s hesitation! When a
righteous person allows themselves to be enticed by sin they will find it very
hard to quickly respond to God’s direction. Listen while I read. As
morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two
daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But
he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the
hand, the Lord being merciful to
him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And
as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or
stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
As the time grew closer for
the total destruction of the cities that had been in such a rebellion against
God, Noah hesitated! I can imagine the thoughts of the angels as they looked on
the situation. They had seen the results of rebellion against God and knew how
dangerous it was to not obey quickly! They had seen Satan and his angels
defeated and chained. Now they were about to see a human city destroyed. They
had explained to these humans what they should expect. But Lot lingered!
The angels had to actually
take these humans by the hand and drag them out the city. I do not know why
they didn’t take them all the way to safety. I assume that the angels expected
these humans to take some responsibility for their own deliverance. Had Lot
been left to his own devices he would have perished along with his sensuous
neighbors.
All of the evidence we have
seen demonstrates that judgement has often been visited on God’s creation and
His creatures. However, in the midst of all that we have seen that…
God
knows how to rescue the godly. God rescued Noah and Lot. And
of course over the years he has rescued millions more. In fact, God has a plan
for rescuing his people. Turn with me to 1
Corinthians 10:13. Listen while I read.
No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he
will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he
will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Many times in my life I have
heard people question the truth of this passage of Scripture. They will say
something like, “The Bible says that we will not be given more than we can bear.
Well, I think this is more than I can bear.” Obviously, the person saying this
is bearing the burden they have.
The kinds of temptation we
face are the same kinds that others face. We are often faithless but we need to
remember that God is faithful. He will not allow us to face more than we can
handle. It may often seem like it but we will make it. You see, this verse
tells us that “with” the temptation God provides a way of escape. I think we
are often looking away from the temptation trying to find a way of escape when
the way of escape is right there at the same place.
In fact the Bible says that
we are to “count it all joy when we face various temptations” instead we moan
and groan and survive in spite of everything. We would be a lot better off if
we recognized that the old statement about physical fitness applies to
spiritual fitness as well. That statement is, “No pain no gain!” We need to
remember that God is faithful and he will always deliver his people at the
right time in the right way.
Peter was deeply concerned
for his Christian friends. He wanted them to know for sure that they were
safely in the hands of Jesus. His warnings are very applicable today. The
church is subject to false teachers and there are many today. Greed and sexual
impurity are common in the church today. The deceivers, and the deceived, are
subject to the judgment of God. The general judgment of the end of the age is
clearly shown in Scripture but also there will be individual judgment at the
death of each person. Be assured we will answer to God for what we have done in
the flesh. Thank God that he sent His Son to bear our sins on the cross!
Remember, if we will confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins
and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Are you confessed up-to-date? Are you
ready to stand before the judgment seat of God? Today is the day to call on
Him! He will not turn you away.
All scripture quotes are
from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard
Bible Society.
