140817 Judgment is Coming

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.