their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. (2:3b–10a)

God is truth.

Time and time again, the Scripture reiterates this simple yet indispensable fact (Pss. 25:10; 31:5; 57:10; 86:15; 108:4; 117:2; John 1:9, 14, 17; 3:33; 7:28; 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 John 5:6, 20; Rev. 3:7, 14; 6:10; 15:3; 19:11). The psalmist declares of Him, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You” (Ps. 89:14). The prophet Isaiah concurs: “He who is blessed in the earth will be blessed by the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth” (Isa. 65:16). And the Lord Jesus Christ, as God in human flesh, proclaims: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6a).

As the God of truth, He cannot lie. Even the wicked prophet Balaam recognized this: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19; cf. Rom. 3:4; Titus 1:2). And the author of Hebrews agrees, “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18).

Thus, when God speaks, He always speaks truth. This means that His infallible Word is perfectly without error and completely trustworthy. Put simply, the Bible—like its Author—is truth (Pss. 12:6; 19:7; 119:151, 160; cf. Neh. 8:3; Pss. 119:42, 130; Matt. 22:29; John 17:17; Acts 18:28; 20:32; Rom. 1:2; 15:4; 16:26; Eph. 5:26; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Heb. 4:12; James 1:18; 2 Peter 1:19–21). In light of this, it is not surprising that God wants His servants to proclaim and explain His Word in a truthful way (2 Cor. 4:2; 2 Tim. 2:15)—accurately and completely, with no deviation or manipulation (cf. Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:19). To do anything less is to misrepresent both the intended meaning and the inherent character of God Himself.

In stark contrast, Satan is the archliar and the father of lies (John 8:44; cf. Gen. 3:1; 2 Cor. 11:14; 2 Thess. 2:9). His primary goal, as God’s adversary, is to deceive—having “blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). In other words, Satan and his servants are antithetically opposed to God’s saving purposes; they distort the truth in order to obscure God’s message.

Of course, in the end, all of Satan’s plans will be thwarted (Rev. 20:10–15; cf. Isa. 24:21–23). After all, God is sovereign over the Evil One and his minions (cf. Job 1:12, 2:6; Luke 8:31; 22:31). And, as the God of truth, the Lord opposes all of Satan’s lying deceivers (cf. Prov. 6:16–19; 19:5, 9; Matt. 4:1–11), promising to ultimately punish them forever (cf. Rev. 21:8; 22:15).

In fact, the Bible makes it clear that God hates all lying (Prov. 6:16, 17; 12:22), especially lies about Him and His Word. James 3:1 warns that all spiritual teachers (including believers) are subject to “a stricter judgment” (a higher level of accountability before God) because of the influence they wield (cf. 1 Cor. 3:9–15). When unbelieving false teachers propagate spiritual fabrications and heresies, they are simultaneously increasing the severity of their future punishment. While destroying themselves they deceive others also—which is why God has always responded to false teaching so acutely.

As Peter continues his description of false teachers, he underscores just how serious God is about truth, and also how hostile He is toward those who distort it. The apostle has already given his readers a general portrait of false teachers (vv. 1–3a). Later in this chapter, he will enlarge that portrait, adding detailed descriptions and vivid word pictures. But first, in this section (vv. 3b–10a), he elaborates on the “swift destruction” (v. 1), or certain and imminent judgment, that God will bring on spiritual deceivers. Such judgment, guaranteed to befall every unrepentant false teacher, unfolds under three headings: the promise of judgment, the precedent for judgment, and the pattern of judgment.

THE PROMISE OF JUDGMENT

their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2:3b)

Although false teachers will not face their eternal judgment until death, their sentence was decreed by God from long ago. (The phrase from long ago translates one word, ekpalai, which simply means “from a long time.”) Throughout history, from the first pronouncement of judgment on the serpent in the Garden (Gen. 3:13–15), God has condemned all those who distort divine truth (cf. Isa. 8:19–21; 28:15; Jer. 9:6–9; 14:14–15; Zeph. 3:1–8; Rev. 21:8, 27). The expression is not idle strengthens the sobering reality of divine retribution; God’s sentence against every lying teacher is actively accumulating wrath until each perishes in hell. (See the discussion on Jude 4’s phrase “long beforehand marked out for this condemnation” in chapter 11 of this volume.)

With the words destruction is not asleep, Peter personifies eternal damnation as if it were an executioner, who remains fully awake, ready to administer God’s just sentence of condemnation on those who falsify His Word.

THE PRECEDENT FOR JUDGMENT

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), (2:4–8)

Peter continues his denouncement of false teachers by referencing three well–known accounts of divine judgment from the book of Genesis. It may have been tempting for some of Peter’s original readers to doubt whether or not the false teachers would really ever be punished. For the moment, they seemed to be flourishing—circulating their spiritual lies and basking in their popularity sensuality and wealth. So Peter reminded his readers of biblical history noting that just as God judged faithfully in the past, so He will also uphold justice in the present.

As the apostle gives an overview of three Old Testament examples, he highlights the height of God’s wrath (in the case of fallen angels), the breadth of God’s wrath (in the case of the ancient world at the time of the Flood), and the depth of God’s wrath (in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah). In other words, there are no creatures too lofty, too numerous, or too base to escape divine judgment—His vengeance will be meted out on all who oppose Him. And, as Peter points out in this passage, the false teachers of his day were no exception.

THE CASE OF THE FALLEN ANGELS

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; (2:4)

The short phrase for if introduces a conditional sentence that extends through verse 8. If, however, does not imply uncertainty here and is probably better rendered “since.” Since God did not spare the angels of heaven when they sinned against Him (nor did He provide any means for their salvation), humans who pervert His truth should not expect to escape His vengeance either. Angels, like mankind (Matt. 24:45–51; 25:14–30; Luke 12:48; 16:1–8; 19:12–27; 1 Cor. 4:2), were responsible to honor God and obey His truth. Those who rebelled were sentenced to eternal punishment.

The spiritual dynamics of how and why angels sinned remains, in many ways, a theological mystery. The highest ranking of all the angels, Lucifer, wanted to exalt himself to a position of equality with God. As depicted in the dramatic language of Revelation 12:3–9, one-third of the angels joined Lucifer’s heavenly revolt, arrogantly opposed God, and were expelled from heaven (cf. Isa. 14:12–21; Ezek. 28:12–19; Luke 10:18).

But Peter is probably not referring here to the angels who originally fell, since they were not immediately incarcerated in hell nor confined permanently to pits of darkness to await their final judgment. In fact, they are the demons who are now loose in the world, securing Satan’s unholy purposes. The apostle Paul identified them when he wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12; cf. 2:1–2; 1 Peter 5:8). When the Lord returns, the demons (along with Satan) will be bound during Christ’s millennial reign (Isa. 24:21–23; Rev. 20:1–3) and eventually cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

Cast them into hell is actually the translation of a single word, tartarōsas. The verb, used only here in the New Testament, is derived from Tartarus, which in Greek mythology identified a subterranean abyss that was even lower than Hades (hell). Tartarus came to refer to the abode of the most wicked spirits, where the worst rebels and criminals received the severest divine punishment. Much like Jesus used the term gehenna (the name for Jerusalem’s garbage dump, where fires burned continuously) to illustrate the inextinguishable torments of eternal anguish (Matt. 5:22, 29–30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5), Peter used a familiar word from popular Greek thought to designate hell. The pseudepigraphal book of 1 Enoch, a well–known work to most New Testament Jews (cf. Jude 14), also mentions Tartarus (1:9). Peter must have been confident that his readers understood exactly what he meant, since he offered them no additional explanation of the term.

Further, Peter describes this demonic incarceration by saying that God committed the fallen angels to pits of darkness. Committed (paredōken), as in Acts 8:3 and 12:4, means to turn over for imprisonment. Pits of darkness (cf. Matt. 8:12) is the best translation, even though some ancient manuscripts read “chains” (hence the King James translation). Whether the rendering is pits or “chains,” the idea is the same—it refers to loss of freedom in a place of confinement, a fate demons feared (cf. Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:31). Those who were sent there were reserved for judgment, like guilty prisoners awaiting final sentencing and execution at the last day (cf. Rev. 20:10).

But two important questions still arise from the text: To which fallen angels does this action refer? And what did they do to deserve such severe imprisonment? What Peter does not expand on, Jude does:

Those demons “did not keep their own domain,” meaning that they moved out of their proper sphere of existence and behavior—“their proper abode.” Jude 6 is a reference to the events of Genesis 6:1–4 in which certain fallen angels possessed mortal men and then cohabited with women. The egregious transgression of those demons was a clear violation of the boundaries God had set for them. Jude 7 compares their “gross immorality” to that of Sodom and Gomorrah who “went after strange flesh” (i.e., practiced homosexuality, a perversion which God wholly condemns—Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9). (For a complete discussion of Jude’s text, see the section in chapter 11 of this volume on Jude 6–7. It should be noted that Peter also referred to those same demons in his first epistle—1 Peter 3:18–20. For an extended discussion of that passage, see John MacArthur, 1 Peter, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2004], 208–16.)

Of course, Peter’s primary purpose here was not to get lost in the details of this account about fallen angels, especially since his readers were apparently already familiar with it. Instead, he used this illustration to emphasize the main thrust of his argument—namely, that God severely judges all those who oppose Him and His truth. Like those angels, rebellious false teachers will face divine wrath.

THE CASE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2:5)

Not only did God judge certain fallen angels, but He also did not spare the ancient world. In fact, He wiped out the full breadth of earth’s population by drowning all of the ungodly in the Flood. The ancient world refers to the people living at the time of the Flood, all of whom were wicked. The world was destroyed because:

God, however, preserved Noah, who was righteous, a true worshiper of God immersed in a wicked and corrupt society. Resisting the suffocating evil around him, Noah walked with God, along with his wife, his sons, and their wives, who constituted the seven others whom the Lord preserved from destruction in the ark. More than a century before the Flood actually came, God revealed to Noah His plan to send judgment:

While building the ark, Noah also labored as a preacher of righteousness, warning people of impending death and divine retribution and calling them to repent. Years earlier, Enoch had preached a similar message:

Flood translates kataklusmos, from which the English cataclysm derives. The Genesis account, along with current geological evidence, indicates that the Flood truly was cataclysmic in every sense (cf. Gen. 7:10–24). Because of man’s sinfulness, God destroyed every person and every land animal (except those in the ark), covering the entire planet with water—even the peaks of the highest mountains (Gen. 7:19–20). (For a detailed biblical and scientific examination of the Flood, see John C. Whitcomb, Jr., and Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Flood [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1961]; for a concise defense of the biblical doctrine of a worldwide flood, see Morris, Science and the Bible, rev. ed. [Chicago: Moody, 1986], chap. 3, “Science and the Flood.”)

Ungodly (cf. 2:6; 3:7; Jude 4, 15, 18), from the Greek asebeia, is the one-word characterization of ancient humanity—a term that refers to a complete lack of reverence, worship, or fear of God (cf. Matt. 24:11, 24; 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 7). The early church fathers used it to describe atheists and heretics. Like the false teachers of Peter’s time, the ungodly of Noah’s day—through their rebellious immorality—eventually brought God’s judgment upon themselves.

THE CASE OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH

and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), (2:6–8)

For his third historical illustration of divine judgment, the apostle descended to the perverted depths of Sodom and Gomorrah. At one time, they were the main cities of the Jordan plain or basin (Gen. 13:12; 14:8; Deut. 29:23), located in the Valley of Siddim or Salt Sea, near the southeast corner of the Dead Sea. Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis favorably describes the area as fertile—an ideal place for raising crops and animals (13:8–10).

Because of their gross sin, God condemned both cities to destruction. The judgment described in Genesis 19:1–28 was a small-scale parallel to the worldwide Flood (which occurred about 450 years earlier). Like Noah and his family, Lot and his daughters were the only inhabitants to escape. All of the other citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated, this time by incineration and asphyxiation rather than drowning. Genesis 19:24–25 sums up the account like this:

The word rendered destruction (katastrophē, of which the English word catastrophe is a transliteration) indicates complete overthrow and total ruin. The devastation was so thorough that it reduced those cities to nothing more than ashes. (The phrase reducing them to ashes is described by one word in the original—tephrōsas—an aorist participle from a root verb that can also be translated “covered with ashes.”) In fact, God’s judgment was so complete that the ruins remain undiscovered, and the cities’ precise location is still unknown. It is possible, but not substantiated, that they were buried under what is now mineral-dense water in the southern portion of the Dead Sea. That this destruction refers to more than physical death is clear from the parallel text in Jude 7, which says the people of those cities are “an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” Divine judgment not only buried the people’s bodies under the ashes, but it plunged their souls into eternal judgment. It is because of eternal punishment that the cities are examples, as are the angels.

Although the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah would probably have known the message of righteousness and judgment Noah preached after the Flood (as passed on by Noah and his family), they rejected it nonetheless. Instead, they chose to live in sin and perversion, most notably homosexuality (Gen. 19:4–11). More than twenty times in Scripture these cities are used as an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter (see Matt. 10:14, 15; 11:23, 24; Luke 17:28–32). God used them and their holocaust to send an unmistakable warning to future generations of rebellious sinners—namely, that depraved people cannot pursue ungodliness and also escape God’s vengeance and everlasting judgment (cf. 3:7, 10; Matt. 25:41; Rom. 1:18; 2:5, 8; Eph.5:6; 1 Thess. 2:16; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 10:26–27; Rev. 6:17).

Prior to their destruction, God revealed the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham (Gen. 18:20–21; cf. 13:13). In response, the patriarch expressed his sincere concern for any righteous people who might still be living there. He implored the Lord to withhold His judgment for their sakes (Gen. 18:23–33). The Lord was willing to spare the city if as few as ten righteous inhabitants could be found. But when even that minimum could not be met, the Lord destroyed the wicked populace.

As in the previous illustration of the Flood, Peter comforted his readers by reminding them of those who escaped punishment. During the Flood, God graciously preserved Noah and his family. In this instance, during the demolition of Sodom and Gomorrah, God rescued righteous Lot, along with his two daughters.

Those who are familiar with the Genesis account may wonder why Lot is designated as righteous no less than three times in verses 7–8. After all, when he first appears in Scripture, Lot is described as implicitly superficial, selfish, and worldly (Gen. 13:5–13). During the events of Genesis 19, he displayed unambiguous moral weakness and incredibly poor judgment when, in place of the visiting angels, he offered his daughters to the lusting Sodomites (vv. 6–8). Later, he hesitated when the angels urged him to leave the city immediately (vv. 15–22). Even after he escaped God’s wrath, he displayed shockingly sinful behavior, including drunkenness and incest (vv. 30–35).

There are, nonetheless, reasons to designate Lot as righteous (i.e., a believer). For instance, like his uncle Abraham (cf. Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3, 20–24), Lot was righteous in the sense of being a believer to whom God had credited righteousness by his faith. This did not mean that either Lot or Abraham was free from sin (see Gen. 16:1–6 for an example of Abraham’s disobedience), but they were righteous in the forensic sense. God imputed His own righteousness to them because they were true believers (cf. Ps. 24:3–5; Phil. 3:9). Thus Lot, like Abraham, is an Old Testament illustration of justification.

To be sure, Lot also showed several signs of the Holy Spirit’s work in his heart. For example, his reverence toward the holy angels who visited him provided a stark contrast to the perverted advances of his neighbors (Gen. 19:1–8). And, although he was initially hesitant to leave the city, he ultimately obeyed God’s command and even warned his sons-in-law about the impending doom (19:14). Furthermore, when he finally left, he obediently refused to look back (cf. 19:17).

Peter, then, is pointing out that Lot was righteous in heart, as is clear from the fact that he was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men. His abhorrence for the sin of those around him was a sure indicator that he was a believer (cf. Pss. 97:10; 119:7, 67–69, 77, 101, 106, 121, 123; Prov 8:13; Rom. 12:9). At times, Lot might have been materialistic and morally weak, but he did not want any part of the sensual conduct that characterized Sodom’s unprincipled culture. The term sensual (aselgeia) means “outrageous behavior,” while unprincipled (athesmos) denotes actions that are “unrestrained,” and “without lawful standards”—violating both the conviction of conscience and the commandment of God. The blatant immorality of his fellow citizens greatly oppressed Lot; the Greek word (kataponeō) conveys the idea of exhausting someone by wearing him down and deeply troubling his soul.

The depth of Lot’s dismay is found in Peter’s parenthetical statement: for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds. The word tormented (basanizō) literally means “to torture,” and demonstrates the sheer excruciation Lot experienced as he was exposed to the lewdness all around him. Peter knew his readers, living in the midst of their corrupt culture, could identify with Lot’s difficult position. Their own situations were equally soul-distressing as they witnessed the immoral excesses of the false teachers and their followers (cf. 2:18–20).

Like Noah and his family, Lot stood against the sin of his day and refused to follow the demonic doctrines and immoral practices that permeated ancient society. By recalling the account of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, Peter warns his readers of the doom that all of God’s enemies (and, specifically, false teachers) will face. But, by highlighting the salvation of Lot, the apostle simultaneously comforts the righteous, reminding them that they have nothing to fear.

THE PATTERN OF JUDGMENT

then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. (2:9–10a)

Earlier in this section (in verse 4), Peter began a lengthy conditional clause. Now, in verses 9 and 10, he provides the conclusion—if(or since) God knew whom to judge and whom to rescue in the past, then He certainly knows how to do the same in the present and the future.

Centuries before Peter’s time, Scripture established God’s pattern of judgment. The prophet Malachi wrote:

Put simply, the Lord knows how to judge the wicked while simultaneously preserving His own (cf. Matt. 13:36–43; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 5:1–5).

For Peter, then, the pattern of divine judgment is clear. First, there is comfort in the fact that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation. God knows how to save those who belong to Him; therefore they have absolutely nothing to fear (Ps. 27:1; Prov. 1:33; John 14:27; 2 Tim. 1:7; cf. Isa. 8:12). In this context, the word rendered temptation (peirasmos, which usually conveys the concept of testing) connotes the idea of an attack with intent to destroy. (See Mark 8:11; Luke 4:12; Acts 20:19; and Rev. 3:10 for other instances where peirasmos is used in this same way.) Believers, then, are called to trust in the infinite wisdom and sovereign power of their divine protector (cf. Rom. 8:28, 38–39).

God not only knows how to rescue His children but how to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. He is holding them for the day of final reckoning while continuing their punishment in the meantime. The unrighteous are like prisoners in jail who await final sentencing and transfer to their final fate. While they wait, they continue to accumulate more guilt (cf. Rom. 2:3–6). They will then face judgment at the Great White Throne, the future tribunal where God condemns all the ungodly from all the ages to eternal hell, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11–15; cf. Matt. 11:22, 24; 12:36; John 12:48; Acts 17:31).

The Lord especially targets those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Thus Peter brings the discussion full circle, again recounting the false teachers’ two primary characteristics. Like the wicked contemporaries of Noah and Lot, false teachers are slaves to sin. The Greek indicates that their lives are characterized by a continual “going after flesh in defiling lust.” They are dishonest, disrespectful, and displeasing to God—actively pursuing their sensual fantasies (as mentioned earlier in 2:2; cf. Jude 6, 7) and eagerly parading their irreverent blasphemies (cf. 2:1). Corrupt translates miasmou, meaning “pollution.” The English word miasma, meaning unpleasant and unwholesome, is derived from this term. Authority (kuriotēs) means “lordship” (cf. Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16; Jude 8), and in this context indicates that the false teachers rejected the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives. As discussed in verse 1, they superficially identified with Him but refused to live by His commands.

In keeping with God’s unmistakable promise, divine judgment will ultimately come upon all His enemies (cf. 1 Cor. 15:25–26). The historical precedent leaves no room for doubt. As in the past, God will finally destroy any who oppose Him—including the false teachers and their followers. At the same time, however, He will rescue believers from such a terrifying end. This passage thus echoes Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: