If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to 2 Peter, chapter 3. And like last week, we’re going to look at a long set of verses–verses 4 through 10.
As you’re turning there, there is a DVD series called The American Gospel. And it takes a look at false teachings that are permeating our culture today. I just got the first two, and the third is going to be released sometime in the near future. Like The Chosen, it’s going to go to streaming first and then be released on DVD at some time.
But the series, including the upcoming streaming documentary, which will be in several parts, tackles what Peter had to say to his audience in the first part of the chapter. And I’ll just read it to you quickly.
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
I know I’ve beaten this subject to death, but beware of false prophets and false teachers. We’re being bombarded on every front–Progressive Christianity, New Apostolic Reformation, and closely associated with that is Word of Faith, also known as The Prosperity Gospel. It can be difficult to know who is who because they don’t all come out saying, “I’m this,” or “I’m that.” But as the Bible tells us, you will know them by their fruit.
And as I’ve said in the past two sermons, I’ll say it again, from Sun Tzu in The Art of War–remember this is spiritual warfare–He says, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
The same is true for the Bible. “If you know the lie and know the truth, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know the truth but not the lie [think of Adam and Eve], for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the truth nor the lie, you will succumb in every battle.” Think of those who are completely spiritually lost. I could go on with examples of that, but this isn’t my main message today.
Scripture: So let’s go to our main message, starting with verse 4.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.
That’s quite heavy, and much of the Bible is, but you see how that flows from what I just read about false teachers and false prophets. I think the reason why God puts this in the Bible so much is because he is really serious about ‘the lie.’ The Bible tells us that God is going to allow a ‘great lie’ in the End Times that could deceive even his people, but thankfully, we will have the knowledge of The Bible and the help of The Holy Spirit to help us discern the lie from the truth.
And that is kind of what I’m getting at here today, is that if we keep close to Him, His word and His Holy Spirit; if we keep on our armor of faith, He’s not going to let us fall for the devil’s trickery, and will in fact, himself rescue us.
I read this a few weeks ago when we looked at 1 Peter 5, and it’s worth repeating again.
1 Peter 5: 6-11: 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.
10 The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. 11 To him be dominion forever. Amen.
Before I get further into the main topic of today’s sermon, I’m going to sidetrack a little bit again and quickly talk about verse 4, which is quite puzzling.
It says: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…”
And it’s kind of like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought these rebellious angels became demons and are now with Satan roaming all over the earth. Aren’t they the principalities of the air that we need to armor ourselves against? Aren’t these beings the ones that possessed people in the Bible, and are still possessing people and tricking people–as I said earlier–with what the Bible describes as ‘doctrines of demons?’ Even Paul said that idols aren’t idols, but are demons.
The Book of Jude, which is only one chapter long, parallels this chapter in 2 Peter, and Jude says in verse 6, “And the 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.”
So what do we make of this? Well, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, in their book, When Critics Ask, explain it this way,
There are two basic explanations of this apparent contradiction. First, it is possible that Peter is speaking of the official and ultimate destiny of fallen angels (demons), not their actual and immediate status. That is, while they are already sentenced by God to eternal damnation, they have not yet actually started serving their term. Nonetheless, they know their time is coming (Matt. 8:29; Rev. 12:12).
Second, these passages may be speaking of two different classes of fallen angels, some already in chains (2 Peter 2:4) and the rest yet loose. Some believe Peter is referring to the “sons of God” (angels) of Genesis 6 who instigated intermarriage with women just before the Flood, since the very next verse refers to Noah (v. 5). If so, then this may account for why these particular angels are already in chains (so they cannot repeat their feat), as opposed to other demons who are loose.
Personally, I tend to think that it refers more to the second scenario because the angels who rebelled with Satan are, to the best of my knowledge, still with him. They were thrown out of Heaven and onto the earth so they could have mated with women, but if that’s the case, it still doesn’t answer who the angels in chains are.
So, the answer is that Peter and Jude do not tell us. Their audiences apparently knew back then what they meant, and so they didn’t find it necessary to explain. Anyway, I thought I’d at least attempt to tackle that quandary because if you’re anything like me, it’ll eat at you from now until next week. But the answer is that we don’t know with absolute certainty who these angels are and what specific disobedience these angels have done.
So we just have to leave it at that.
And speaking of Genesis 6, which tells the story of Noah, 2 Peter 3, verses 5-9 says, “ 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.”
So going to Genesis 6, almost the same verses, verses 5-8 say, 5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
It seems almost unthinkable, doesn’t it? That God could and would regret something? The great, all-knowing God who sees the end from the beginning? He knew it at least could come to this, and yet he made man and angels with free will anyway.
Why? Because in the scope of eternity. It will be worth it. For us and for God.
But until then, talk about a God who knows what we go through, a great high priest who has been there. You give angels and mankind free will so that they can genuinely love you and have a heartfelt relationship with you, and what happens? Practically all of them reject you. The angels who were there by your side and at your throne.
Ezekiel 28:14 says of Lucifer, “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.”
It’s easy to understand why there’s no grace for Lucifer and his angels–because of that. But look at the grace of God when it comes to human beings born with sin who can’t see or hear God. He gives us grace.
But that grace has a limit. For God, in the days of Noah, it was about 100 years. And then that old crazy Noah, building a boat on dry ground, wasn’t so crazy after all. But for those like Noah, who are under God’s grace, there is unending mercy.
Yesterday’s ‘verse of the day’ on biblegateway.com was 1 John 4:18, which reads, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
If we go one chapter before that, at the beginning of 1 John 3, we read, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
And so, because of that great love, and because we, in our free will have decided to become children of God, we have the great promise in beginning of Romans 8 which reads, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
So, we don’t just have hope because God is not a liar or because we think that God will remember us based on what we’ve been taught in Sunday School. It isn’t just a contract. We have the great promise of God to rescue us from his own judgment, that we deserve, because we have become God’s precious children and, as we read in 1 Peter, we are, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that [we] may declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
We read this parable in Luke, where Jesus says this:
8 “…suppose a woman has ten silver coins [each one worth a day’s wages] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
A few chapters before that, in Luke 12, Jesus says, “6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
We are worth more than many sparrows, or a lost coin, or a lost sheep. We are like a lost son–as Jesus also pointed out in Luke 15. For we are sons and daughters of God.
And even in spite of who we are and what we’ve done, and how we still fail God, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and rescue us–as Peter points out–as well. We are undeservingly exempt from God’s judgment.
Peter also gives us another example from Genesis, and that is Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here, Peter says that Lot was considered righteous, but when we read Genesis 19, we find out he wasn’t righteous. At least not as much as what we would expect him to be. He offered his two daughters to be gang raped.
Yet God still spared his life because even at that, God saw enough righteousness in Lot. Peter says that Lot “was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard).”
Speaking of Peter, it reminds me of when God said to Peter, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” And then Peter goes to a Gentile’s house and realizes that God makes Gentiles clean, too.
Even someone like Paul.
And no, Peter and Paul were not rescued from the evils of mankind and persecution. But they escaped the wrath of God, whereas their tormentors did not. God has the last word.
I’ve mentioned this not too long ago, but this is why I believe the rapture will happen before God’s wrath is poured out on the earth in the last days. That’s the reason for the rapture. It’s so that we can be rescued from God’s wrath. God’s wrath was already poured out upon us at the substitutionary atonement on the cross.
That’s why verses 9-10 say this: “9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.”
We all know people who need to be rescued. We all know people who are not going to be spared God’s wrath on the day of judgment. And our hearts go out to them. What can we do? At the very least, we can make a concerted effort to pray for their salvation and to be a guiding light for them in whatever ways the Lord leads.
Sometimes, it’s offering prayer, a listening ear, or sharing an encouraging Bible verse, book, song, or whatever it may be. One seed of God’s love planted at a time.
Last week, I ended by letting Peter’s words speak for themselves, and today, I’m going to leave you with this promise from Psalm 91. Read it in its entirety and let God’s word speak for itself.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
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