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2. The correlation that Peter made between false teachers and the fallen angels was that if God punished (“not spared”) sinful angels, who were created higher, wiser, and stronger than men, how much more would he punish false teachers?

3. God shows no partiality toward sin nor toward those who pervert the truth of His Word.

4. The conditional “if” is not completed until 2Pe 2:9, after the three illustrations are given.

B. Angels Sinned

1. Who were these fallen angels, when did they sin, and how did they sin?

2. The NASB’s translation “when they sinned” is better than the KJV’s translation “that sinned.” (the aorist participle hamartêsantōn is anarthrous).

3. The passage is not reflective of the initial falling away of Satan and his angels.

a. Satan rebelled against God (Isa 14:12-14; Eze 28:11-19).

b. A third of the angels followed him in rebellion against God (Rev 12:4, 9).

c. These fallen angels are still able to roam the earth and are not imprisoned (Mat 12:28; Eph 2:2; Eph 6:12).

d. Demons themselves know about their impending doom in hell and want no part of it before their allotted time (Mat 8:28-31 cf. Luk 8:30-31).

C. Angels Cast into Hell

1. Peter refers to the fallen angels that were cast to hell, committed to pits of darkness, and reserved for judgment.

2. So when these fallen angels sinned, they were cast into hell. Here “hell” is the Greek word Tartaros.

3. Tartarus (tartaroō - hurl into Tartarus), in Greek thought, was a subterranean place lower than Hades where divine punishment was meted out. (BDAG). Tartarus was a part of Greek mythology and became the place of punishment for the Titans, who tried to defeat Zeus.

4. Peter was not sanctioning mythology, rather, he was analogizing hell. Jesus described “hell” as gehenna, where the fires are kept burning and was analogous to hell’s eternal punishment (Mat 5:22). In the same way, Peter used a popular word to analogize punishment in the deepest part of hell for the despicable act by these fallen angels.

D. Angels Committed to Darkness

1. These particular demons were committed to pits of darkness. “Committed” (paradidōmi - to hand over, deliver) is used in the book of Acts to drag a deliver the guilty to prison (Act 8:3; Act 12:4). These fallen angels were apprehended and delivered to hell.

2. “Pits” of darkness is rendered “chains” in the KJV. This difference is due to similar Greek words. “Pits” is the Greek word siros, which is a storage for grain (ex. silo). “Chains” is the Greek word seira¸ which means to be bound by a rope or chain. While this idea is closer to Jude’s use of bonds,” it is a different word (desmos - bonds, fetters, imprisonment, Jude 6). The main idea is that these demons which were in a pit or dungeon in Tartarus were also chained (cf. Jude 6).

3. It is a place of darkness (zophos), which is a place of foreboding blackness associated with doom and punishment taught by Jesus (2Pe 2:17 cf. Jude 6 cf. Mat 8:12; Mat 22:13).

E. Angels’ Judgment Reserved

1. It appears that other demons who were imprisoned in the abyss, will be freed for a short period to wreak havoc during the Tribulation (Rev 9:1-3).

2. However, these particular demons mentioned by Peter are “reserved” (têreō - guarded or held, same word in Jude 6 “kept”) for judgment.

3. These particular demons will be kept in “eternal bonds” (Jude 6) and will only be released to be judged and thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10 cf. Mat 25:41).

F. Angels Identified

1. So then who are these fallen angels and does the Scriptures give revelation regarding them?

2. Most likely these were the fallen angels of Gen 6:2. If these fallen angels were not fallen angels from Gen 6:2, then Scripture is silent about their identification and the analogy Peter was making becomes very hazy.

3. Peter’s illustrations are chronological, making the Gen 6:2 analogy consistent with Scripture.

a. The “sons of God” or fallen angels (Gen 6:2 cf. Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 cp. Psa 29:1; Psa 89:6).

b. Noah and the universal flood (Gen 7:21).

c. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:28).

4. Peter’s use of Tartarus is consistent with the Gen 6:2 analogy. This analogy most likely was the common Jewish belief for Tartarus was mentioned in the pseudepigraphal book of Enoch as the place where fallen angels were confined.

5. Peter’s description was very close to Jude’s depiction of these particular fallen angels, using the same words in several instances (“kept/reserved” - têreō; darkness, and judgment). In addition, both Peter and Jude are using the fallen angel analogy to emphasize the judgment upon false teachers (Jude 8).

6. Jude gives a little insight into what these fallen angels did that was so horrific.

a. Jude states that these fallen angels “did not keep their own domain” but “abandoned their proper abode” (Jude 6). If Gen 6:2 is what Jude had in mind, then when these demons abandoned their “proper abode” they cohabited with human women.

b. Jude uses the example of Sodom and Gomorrah to describe the “gross immorality” of going after “strange flesh” (Jude 7).

c. The gross immorality of going after “strange flesh,” means going outside the proper boundaries given by the Creator (Gen 19:5 cf. Gen 19:1, 10-11). In other words, homosexuality and lesbianism is going outside the proper boundaries given by the Creator.

d. “Strange flesh” in this context would also apply to the men of Sodom pursuing sexual relations with angels. Jude’s point was that the angels in Jude 6 “did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode” by pursuing sexual relations with the “daughters of men.” In Gen 19, the men of Sodom went after angels (“strange flesh”) and in Gen 6, fallen angels went after the daughters of men (“strange flesh”).

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. If God punished angels which were created higher, wiser, and stronger than men, how much more would he punish false teachers?

B. God is loving and compassionate, but He is also a God of truth, righteousness, and holiness. These attributes require that God punish sin, and pervert the truth of God’s Word is sin.

C. In fact, according to the analogy of Peter, perverting the truth of God’s Word is as much a sin as going after strange flesh, if not more so.

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516