Living In Light of His Coming Doom and Deliverance 2 Peter 2:6-11

The truth:

2 peter 1:20-21 knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. NKJV

The Lie:

1. False prophets

2. False teachers

a. Secretly bring in destructive heresies

b. Many will follow their sensuality

c. The way of the truth will be maligned

d. Covetousness, greed

e. They will exploit you

f. Deceptive words

2: 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. NLT

1. God is just, there will be a price to pay for intentionally misrepresenting Him and leading people astray

a. The justice of God

b. The mercy of God

4 object lessons for us to learn from

4 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; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a [a]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 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; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (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), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from [b]temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who [c]indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority

1. 1st object lesson: Angels who sinned

a. God judged these angels by committing them into hell and to pits of darkness reserved for judgement

b. Apparently, some fallen angels are, “bound in chains”, one translation says, while others are free to roam the earth.

· God judged the angels who sinned, so no one is too high to be judged. · God judged the ancient world before the flood, so God doesn’t grade on a curve, only comparing man among other men. · God judged Sodom and Gomorrah, so even the prosperous can be judged.

i. Therefore the ungodly have no reason to think they can escape God’s judgment. Their coming judgment is certain. As Jesus said in Luke 10:10-12, for those who reject the truth “it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom.”

i. In classical Greek, this verb describes the act of holding a prisoner in Tartarus, the level of Hades where the wicked are punished. This verb only occurs here.

c. Could be the original sin against God or the sin of the sons of God described in Genesis 6:1-2

d. At some time, angelic beings had a period of choosing and testing for their destiny.

i. Man is made in the image of God, angels are not

ii. Though man is beneath the angels in dignity, Hebrews 2:6-7;

1. It is the job of angels to serve mankind

2. Hebrews 1:14 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

a. Satan and his angels resented God’s plan that would command them to serve lesser beings

3. Redeemed mankind will be lifted in honor and status above the angelic beings

4. 1 Corinthians 6:4. 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

2. 2nd Object Lesson; Noah’s world

a. 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a [a]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

b. the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). NKJV

c. Noah spent 120 years building the Ark

d. Give some details of the times of Noah;

i. Details of the Ark

ii. Up to this point, it had not rained but a vapor canopy covered the earth giving it the perfect atmospheric pressure

iii. Each day his building preached a message of repentance and coming judgement.

1. Yet the people didn’t listen. Only 8 entered the ark when it began to rain.

· God judged the angels who sinned, so no one is too high to be judged. · God judged the ancient world before the flood, so God doesn’t grade on a curve, only comparing man among other men. · God judged Sodom and Gomorrah, so even the prosperous can be judged.

i. Therefore the ungodly have no reason to think they can escape God’s judgment. Their coming judgment is certain. As Jesus said in Luke 10:10-12, for those who reject the truth “it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom.”