Peter the apostle has been
warning the church about false prophets bringing in damnable heresies
and deceiving many who would follow their pernicious ways. He stated
that these prophets would make merchandise of them and that their
judgment would be quickly forthcoming. In chapter two and verse four
Peter begins to give several examples of how judgment came upon those
who followed false ideas. We read:
For if God spared not
the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered
them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment,
The
verse begins, “For if God spared not the angels that
sinned,” As Peter gives his
examples of judgment that is sure to come, he begins with “angels
that sinned”. In verse six of
the one chapter in the book of Jude we read:
And the angels which
kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath
reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of
the great day.
And in Revelation chapter twelve and verses three and four we read:
And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his
heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of
heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before
the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as
soon as it was born.
And in
the book of Genesis in chapter six and verses one and two we read:
And
it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they
took them wives of all which they chose.
From
these verses we see that one third of the angels fell with Lucifer
when he was cast out of heaven. Those that were cast out were the
ones who left their first estate, and now they join satan in his
nefarious deeds. However, Peter does not stop his example about them
at this point.
The
verse goes on to say, “but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness,”
These “angels” are
the ones that were “cast down to hell”
which is the Greek word “tartaroo” which is “the name of the
subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the ancient Greeks
as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment for
their evil deeds; it answers to Gehenna of the Jews”. These wicked
and rebellious angels are being kept by “chains of
darkness” which are restraints
that will not allow them to be released from the blackness and
darkness within which they dwell.
Finally
the verse says, “to be reserved unto judgment,” Though
it may seem that they are not punished for their wicked rebellion for
some time, they are being “reserved”
which means “to attend to carefully, take care of, and guarded”
until their judgment day comes.
Let
us keep in mind that this is the first of Peter's example of the
judgment that will come upon false prophets. These angels who dwelt
in heaven with God at one point in their existence forfeited their
estate, and opted to rebel against Him. Their judgment in sure, and
as an example, so is the judgment of those who are false prophets. As
we think about these fallen “angels” and ponder their ways,
perhaps it will do us well to consider our own ways to be sure that
we do not fall away from the truth of Jesus Christ in any manner or
way. May the Lord Jesus and God the Father keep us in their truth as
we continue in the Word.
Next
time we will learn what God did with fallen angels, so read ahead,
and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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