II Peter and Jude: Judgments Against
Why has Peter put so much thought into this matter of false teachers? Because it is the outcome of bad behavior that is at the heart of Peter’s concern about the teachings that are taught by these false teachers. It is also the reason he gives such a strong warning against such teachings. So Peter gives us some examples of the false behavior that these false teacher promote. He gives us five examples in which God’s judgment has intervened in earth’s history. They give us a glimpse of lies in store for the world at Christ’s second coming.
Keep in mind, these judgments were the result of man’s behavior and not the behavior of God. God reacted in the only way possible to preserve humanity. It is difficult to comprehend, but he acted out of love for you and I in each instances.
So, let’s look at these five examples of Judgment, these strange acts of God’s love. Verse 4 of II Peter chapter two states; “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.”
This is a reference to the angels of heaven that were deceived by Lucifer that God was an unjust God. Instead of God killing them and starting over, he cast them from heaven (see Revelation 12:3, 4). They followed the false teachings of Lucifer (Satan) and were cast out of heaven to this earth to await judgment at the time the saints are in heaven for 1000 years.
Peter continues in verse five of II Peter chapter 2 stating that the Generation of Noah was also judged. Of all the people that were on earth at the time Noah finished the ark, only eight were found righteous. The earth had become so corrupted by all the things we talked about in our last posts that God said, they do not believe I will come as a savior, they have given themselves up to all forms of corruption, then I will judge them and give unto them their reward. But for Noah and his family, who have remained just, true and faithful, I will spare, I will withhold my judgment. Because of their faithfulness I will start over.
But, Peter in the next verse bring up another group of people that suffered from the judgment of God for their actions. This would be the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. A people that were given over to their sexual immorality. Then in verse seven Peter introduces us to the ancient prophet Balaam that because of his greed sought to curse the people of God, and because he could not curse them, caused them to commit sexual immorality and worship other Gods.
Many have recognized that there is redundancy between the letter penned by Jude the brother of Christ and by Peter’s second letter. They both seem to carry on the same thought about false teachers and false teachings, emphasizes the results of those that teach and those that follow these teachings.
Some have thought Peter copied Jude and perhaps he did, but what I have found concerning scriptures is that when something is repeated twice within the same book or twice between two separate books in the Bible, it is there for us to sit up and take notice for this is something very important that heaven what us to know and to understand.
I believe God is a God of love and I believe judgement is God’s strange act of Love. I believe with all my heart that this is a teaching of the Bible. God is love, and because God is love, God cannot coexist with sin. Therefore, out of love, God must perform this strange act and judge the world. God’s reserving the right to judge angels should serve as a warning to us all that if these fallen heavenly beings are subject to judgment. Then realizing this, who are we to think that we can escape judgement when we fall to the false teachings, the teaching put forth by Satan through his false prophets and teachers.
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