“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.”

God’s Justice Will be Served Fairly

Being given a list of biblical events, my inclination was to look into the conditions of each, and how they relate to the passage as a whole.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”

I’ve noticed that we’re not given much detail about angels in the bible. The reasoning has always seemed obvious to me – we as people have an awful habit of worshiping things that are not God. It seems like if we were given an abundance of information on the angels, then many would turn their attention and praise to them instead of toward God where it belongs. I mean, John stopped during his revelation (twice if I’m remembering right) to bow and worship his angelic guide in something that seemed almost reflexive. It’s a good thing we’re not given too much information on the angels, because it seems obvious that could easily pull our focus from God. What information we are given, particularly about fallen angels does seem to show that their current and eternal condition is – well, not favorable to say the least.

I started with where their rebellion and fall is addressed in Revelation:

Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9

“And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth…” “…Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

In trying to research what I’ve always been told (that 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God and fell with Satan), this was the only supporting passage I was pointed to, that “His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven,” which I admit, when I recently read through Revelation I totally missed and took literally. I heard it asked recently if Satan could be forgiven for his crimes against God and the answer given (which makes sense to me) is that no, he can’t as he’s already been judged. We’re told here that Satan and his angels were thrown down to earth after their defeat because, “there was no longer any place for them in heaven.” As a result of their sin, they were cast from paradise, from the presence of Holy God to await judgment on earth.

Next, I pulled from the three gospel accounts of Jesus casting out the legion of demons, as each interaction shed a different insight into the condition of the fallen.

Matthew 8:28-29

“And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’”

Mark 5:2-10

“And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he was saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ And Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

Luke 8:27-31

“When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.’ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Legion,’ for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.”

Each account shows a case of violence and aggression, Mark and Luke’s gospels also show inhuman strength and severe instability manifested in the possessed person. All of this seems to be set aside by Legion with God standing before him in flesh. Matthews shows him as asking, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Showing clearly that the final judgement of the fallen is coming and they know it. Mark shows him beg, “not to send them out of the country” which reminds me of the conversation between Gabriel and Daniel in Daniel 10. Gabriel being delayed by the prince of Persia (the kings of Persia also being referenced here), being aided by Michael (who Gabriel calls a chief prince as well as Daniel’s prince), and finally stating that when he leaves that he and Michael will have to contend with the prince of Greece as well. This just reinforces for me that there is SO much going on unseen spiritually that we don’t know about and I imagine we can’t understand. I also feel like we’re not given explicit information on this because it’s not directly salvific, which everything biblically points to. It is knowledge and information beyond us that is not relevant to our mission in Christ. However what is provided does glean some interesting insight into the condition of both the fallen and those angels in the service of God. Finally in Luke we see that Legion begs Jesus “not to command them to depart into the abyss,” which sounds different from being sent from the country, but is used in the same place. It seems that whatever the specific details of being exorcised might mean for the fallen, just as they know their judgement is coming, they seem to know it’s warranted. What is coming is what was earned through sinning against God.

Matthew 12:43-45

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.’”

I feel like there’s a lot to unpack here. In part, there seems to be a literal caution against the vindictiveness of demons. There is also a prophetic warning as to the nature of the fallen world. I also see an example of progressively worsening, repetitive sin. How the “dog returns to it’s own vomit,” a verse that has resonated with me for years, that I didn’t realize until recently is actually in 2 Peter. There is a warning here against returning again and again to the misguided and blasphemous pleasures of sin just as much as there is insight into the state of the fallen.

Luke 10:17-20

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’”

At risk of falling prey to the caution I laid at the start of this, understanding or discussing the condition and nature of the fallen is interesting, but Luke 10 gave me an appropriate course correction: that’s not what it’s about. The 72 return and understandably, they’re impressed with themselves, with the power they’ve been able to flex in Jesus’s name. The first thing he says grants a proper scope for things. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” To me this reminds of the pitfalls of self-righteousness and being overly impressed with one’s own abilities, but it is also Jesus saying, “I am God, and I have witness things that your mind cannot begin to comprehend.” He confirms the power he’s given them in their mission, what they have found themselves enamored with, but then corrects them. Our joy doesn’t come from our God given ability to prevail over a broken and fallen world, what we have to rejoice over is that our “names are written in heaven.”

God’s Justice will be Served Swiftly

“… if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…”

Genesis 6:5-8

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Matthew 24:37-39

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

We’re shown in Genesis 6 that the condition of the world has caused God grief over his creation, to the point that he is going to blot out life from the earth. This could easily seem to us like painting with a broad brush, but God is very specific and targeted in the execution of his justice. There is one man who in 2 Peter is referred to as “a herald of righteousness.” Noah and his family are allowed to survive because of the favor he has found in God’s eyes. His justice is accurate and it’s fast.

We see in Matthew that the wicked world was continuing as they had, living life as they were accustomed to, willfully blind to the glory of God and indulgent in their sin – until the water started to rise. Though the conditions were vastly different then, God was not invisible to the ancient world as he is not invisible to us now. His glory and perfection are self-evident, for all with eyes to see and ears to hear. But it’s clear that there are many now that are just as they were before the flood, and the coming of the Son of Man will catch them just as unprepared as the flood did to those in Noah’s time.

“…if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)…”

Genesis 18:20-26

“Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.’ So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the Lord said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’”

Genesis 19:12-22

“Then the men said to Lot, ‘Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.’ So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ‘Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.’ But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, ‘Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.’ And Lot said to them, ‘Oh, no, my Lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!’ He said to him, ‘Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.’ Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.”

I’ve come to think of Sodom as a microcosm for the condition of the world pre-flood. In Genesis 18 Abraham pleads with God on behalf of Sodom, reducing the number of hypothetically righteous people that could be in the city until God ultimately agrees to spare the city if there are even ten righteous there – there aren’t. There’s just one (I did wonder if Lot’s wife and daughters were considered righteous as well, but given his wife ultimately defied divine instruction and was turned into a pillar of salt and the manipulative incest his daughters go on to commit [and the fact that the children born from that incest go on to establish two pagan people groups], I’m inclined to think that Lot was found righteous and loyal to God and his wife and daughters were allowed to escape due to their relation to him). By the terms of Abraham’s plea to God and His agreement concerning Sodom, Lot was fair game. There were no ten righteous to be found in the city, it was going to be destroyed. But here we see again that God does not paint with a broad brush – the city will be destroyed, but Lot is spared. God even goes so far that when Lot doesn’t show a sense of urgency to get out the city, to have his angels literally take him and his family by the hand and escort them out of Sodom. No righteousness goes unseen before God, he is swift, precise, and fair, which is ultimately the point that Peter is making.

God’s Justice will be Served by Him

“…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 32: 35-36

“Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’ For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.”

Romans 12: 18-21

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We’re told explicitly here of the precision of God’s judgement and justice, from the supporting examples of the fallen, the ancient world and the world after the flood. We’re then given a reminder through the example of the angels – justice is God’s alone. As written in Deuteronomy 32 and then referenced and expanded upon in Romans 12, the responsibility of executing judgement is not on our shoulders, which Peter tells us that the angels in their own might and power, know as well. This goes back to so much of what was in 1 Peter concerning our submission to authority, to our enemies and trusting in God’s providence and power. God’s justice is perfect, it’s precise, it’s absolute and it’s unfailing just as he is. It is not our responsibility, not our worry to attempt to execute perfect judgement, but to submit to the will of God and trust in him as Noah and Lot did and as the tormented fallen did not. We are called to acknowledge the Truth, and pour burning coals by way of love onto the heads of those who hate us. Vengeance is God’s, we need only be still.

Pastor Chris’s sermon on this text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkALsDD6H9s