The day of judgment
For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly. 2 Peter 2:4-6 CSB
As we read last week, Peter wrote on how false teachers will experience God’s judgment (2 Peter 2:1-3). In the previous chapter, Peter built a case with evidence on how Christ is truly who He is, through his own eyewitness account to hundreds of years of prophecies fulfilled. In the same manner, Peter is making a case in this passage on how God’s judgment has been enacted in the past, and therefore, will be enacted in the future, one hundred percent guarantee. “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelations 20:10). From our text, Peter starts with “the angels who sinned,” those that rebelled with Satan against God. This shows that no one is free from God’s judgment, not even angels. Also, judgment will come, as seen in the statement “to be kept for judgment,” which will happen in the last days. The second story that Peter uses is when God spared Noah, his family, and two of every animal from the cataclysm of the flood (Genesis 6:5-8). During the time of Noah, mankind was wicked, falling under God’s judgment. Yet, Noah was righteous and was spared, showing that the faithful too will be spared from God’s wrath. The final story for evidence was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that were engaging in sinful behavior. God’s judgment came down via sulfur from the sky (Genesis 19:24). We see that all of this was an “example of what is coming to the ungodly,” a warning of what is to come if one were to continue in sin. The God of the Bible is a God of justice (Isaiah 30:18), fair and uncompromising of integrity (Revelation 20:12-13). He has given us two choices: to either continue in sin and fall under judgment and wrath, or to accept His Son as our Savior and experience God’s grace and mercy (Romans 5:1-7; Ephesians 2:1-10). As God protected believing Noah and his household, so He will spare believers who remain true to the teaching of Scripture. In other words, Peter’s message is designed to exhort and encourage the readers of his epistle.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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