II Peter 2:4-9
Judgement & Deliverance
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1Cor.
Pray
Into
√ Last week Peter began a new direction in his letter
Chapter 2 addresses the false teachers who would bring disgrace to God’s message of Grace and to His people.
Peter began his warning by telling how we can identify a false teacher…
Hidden agenda
Destroy the faith of others
Deny the Lord Jesus
Want your money
…and tells us to…
Withdraw from them
Warn others
Pray for them
In our study this week Peter continues to deal with the false teachers and reminds us that God will bring judgement upon them and those who have followed their wicked ways.
He does so with a history lesson – thus, our opening verse in I Cor. 10:11…
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
√ The example of history
“The one thing we learn from history, is that we learn nothing from history!”
Insanity has been defined as…
“Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
The lesson from history, which Peter wants the reader to learn, is that God does judge the wicked…
…in context, the false teacher.
And, that God delivers the righteous…
…in context, those who have trusted in the Grace of God for their salvation.
Ap. Don’t ignore the warning of God – judgement is coming upon this world and those who have not trusted in Jesus will be caught unaware!
Make sure that you are ready for the Lord!
Judgement (vs. 4-6)
2Pet. 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
2Pet. 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
2Pet. 2:6 and
turning the cities of
√ The fallen angels
Peter calls our attention first to the…
“angels who sinned” – vs. 4
…but doesn’t give us much more commentary on who these angels were, or when it was that they sinned.
Some clues in scripture…
Isa.
Isa.
Isa.
Isa.
Also, many believe that Ezekiel 28:11-19 is a parallel passage to Isaiah 14.
Jude writes…
Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
So, we understand that at some point in the past Satan, along with a number of the angels (a third per Rev. 12) rebelled against God and were condemned to eternal punishment.
Peter’s point, if God did not spare angels who sinned, who are greater in power and glory than Man, then He will also judge sinful humans!
Point in case!
√ The World in Noah’s day
Peter reminds us in vs. 5 that we have a terrifying example from history of God’s judgement upon sinful people – the Flood that destroyed all of the ancient world!
Couple of points about the Flood that would be wise for us to consider.
It came suddenly
It was inescapable for the wicked
It brought total destruction
God had given the people in Noah’s day ample time to repent – 120 years! Yet, they chose to ignore God’s Grace and long-suffering and continue in their sinful ways.
Ap. Jesus said that the days before He returns to judge the world would be like the days of Noah.
Luke 17:26 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
Luke 17:27 “They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
We can look at the historical description in Genesis 6 of the people in Noah’s day and see many frightening parallels in our own day!
Ex. Noah’s Day & ours
Population explosion
People given over to the expression of wickedness
Violence
Lawlessness abounding
True-believers a minority
No one believing the warnings given by God’s people
The point? The signs are all around us that we are living at very edge of the history of Man!
The Lord has patiently endured the rebellion of Mankind while the Holy Spirit has been drawing believers into the safety of His “Ark”.
Judgement is coming –
are you ready?
√ Sodom & Gomorrah
Peter’s second example in vs.6 is God’s judgement by fire upon the twin cities of Sodom & Gomorrah, which were turned to ash!
Couple of points about the Fire that would be wise for us to consider.
It came suddenly
It was inescapable for the wicked
It brought total destruction
I find it interesting that once again Jesus used the judgement of these cities as an example, a warning, of the days immediately preceding His return and the final judgement of Mankind.
Luke 17:28 “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
Luke 17:29 “but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:30 “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
We can look at the historical description the societies of Sodom & Gomorrah in Genesis 18 & 19, as well as Jude 1:7, and see many frightening parallels in our own society!
Jude captures their sin in a verse…
Jude 1:7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Ex. Lot’s day vs. ours
A Society characterized by sexual immorality
Specifically, homosexual sin
The presence of sexual predators
The point is that when you observe a people throw off the God-given parameters for sexual expression, then you know that that people is dangerously close to God’s judgement.
Ap. Look at our own society
We lead the world in the production & purchase of pornographic material.
We are the first nation in the history of the world to enact legislation to protect and promote the public expression of homosexual sin!
We even use our taxes to support and promote the homosexual life style as “normal”.
Please understand me – I’m not suggesting that homosexual sin is any worse than heterosexual sin!
However, the Bible is very clear (Rom. 1-2) that it is a line of demarcation by which we know that a society has moved dangerously close to coming under the judgement of God.
The point? The signs are all around us that we are living at very edge of the history of Man!
Judgement is coming –
are you ready?
√ A history lesson
Note the end of vs. 6 where Peter tells us that all these examples…
Fallen angels chained in darkness
Ancient world destroyed by flood
Sodom & Gomorrah turned to ash
…are all examples to us that God does judge the wicked!
While we may not yet see His judgement upon the false teachers and the wicked in our own day…
…we should not mistake God’s long-suffering with them as proof that He will not judge them!
Ap. Don’t fool yourself!
As we have seen from history, God does judge sin and has warned us that He will yet judge the whole world one more time.
If you’re living in sin, believing that God hasn’t noticed, or worse, that God approves of you sin…
…please – repent today!
Judgement will come as it did in Noah’s day and in Lot’s…
Suddenly
Inescapably
Final
Jesus loves you enough to grant each of us time to repent. Yet, He will not always strive with you. If you are hearing His voice today don’t ignore Him!
Learn a lesson from history!
Deliverance (vs. 7-9)
2Pet. 2:7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
2Pet. 2:8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
2Pet. 2:9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
√ The righteous
Note the contrast between God’s judgement upon the wicked, and His deliverance of the righteous!
Peter’s point, and his encouragement, is that just as there are historical examples of God’s judgement on the wicked…
…so, there are also examples of His love and grace to deliver those who love Him in the day of judgement.
Important to recognize that God is perfectly just when He meets out His judgement.
The wicked are punished
The righteous are saved
Unfortunately it’s not that “clean” when people are the source of judgement.
Ex. A just war
The allies war to free Europe from the Nazi’s and to rescue the millions of people in concentration camps…
…the Nazi’s were overthrown – but millions of innocent people were killed in the conflict.
Military planners call that…
“collateral damage”
However, when God brings His judgement upon the world there is no “collateral” damage!
As Peter shows us from these examples God is well able to deliver His children from the judgement He pours out on the wicked.
Ex. The Flood and the Fire
Noah and his family lifted above the flood.
Lot and his family removed from the fire.
That is, not one righteous person experienced the wrath of God! Only the wicked were destroyed.
Ap. There’s only one escape from the coming judgement
You must move from the place of the wicked into the place of the righteous!
We do that by trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and by accepting His sacrifice on the Cross by which we are made righteous!
Like Noah who obeyed God and entered into the protection of the Ark, or Lot who was taken by the angels from Sodom…
…so you and I must enter into the protection God has made available in Christ!
Close
√ Judgement is coming
Peter points to history to show us that while God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish…
…that He has judged the wicked before and that He will bring judgement one last time upon the earth.
√ God’s coming judgement
Will be sudden
Final
Inescapable for the wicked
√ The righteous will be delivered
Like Lot who was removed before the fire fell, so Jesus has promised to remove His people from the earth before the fire falls.
“and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” – I Thess. 1:10
“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” – I Thess. 5:9-10
Are you ready?