2Pe 2:4-10 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 2Pet 2:4-10: 2:4-10 Three Old Testament examples of judgment show that God will vindicate those who remain faithful to him and will condemn those who deny him, including the false teachers (see 2:3 ). 2:4 The first example of judgment is the angels who sinned: The widespread Jewish tradition was that “the sons of God” in Gen 6:1-5 (understood as angels) had intercourse with women and were therefore judged by God at that time (see 1 Enoch 6–10; cp. 1 Pet 3:19-20 ; Jude 1:6 ). • in gloomy pits of darkness: This description of the underworld was popular in the ancient world and is probably metaphorical.

Summary for 2Pet 2:4-10: 2:4-10 ^a Three Old Testament examples of judgment show that God will vindicate those who remain faithful to him and will condemn those who deny him, including the false teachers (see 2:3 ^b). 2:4 ^c The first example of judgment is the angels who sinned: The widespread Jewish tradition was that “the sons of God” in Gen 6:1-5 ^d (understood as angels) had intercourse with women and were therefore judged by God at that time (see 1 Enoch 6–10; cp. 1 Pet 3:19-20 ^e; Jude 1:6 ^f).

• in gloomy pits of darkness: This description of the underworld was popular in the ancient world and is probably metaphorical.
2:5 ^g The second example of judgment is that God did not spare the ancient world at the time of Noah. In the flood, God destroyed all human life apart from Noah and his family (see Gen 6–8 ^h).
2:6 ⁱ The third example of judgment is that God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The people of these cities were so immoral that God rained down sulfur from heaven to destroy them (Gen 19:24 ^j). Peter focuses on the result of this action: The cities were turned into heaps of ashes.
Summary for 2Pet 2:7-8: 2:7-8 ^k Even though the Old Testament does not portray Lot as a particularly righteous man (see profile for Lot at end of chapter), he remained basically faithful to the Lord; Jewish tradition also portrays him as righteous (see Wisdom of Solomon 10:6; 19:17).
2:9 ^l the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials: As illustrated by Noah’s family (2:5 ^m) and Lot (2:7 ⁿ), the Lord is faithful to his own people. Peter’s readers needed assurance that their struggles to live godly lives in the face of false teaching and the world’s scorn would be rewarded.
2:10a ^o twisted sexual desire: The reference is to illicit sexual desire generally and possibly to homosexuality in particular (cp. reference to Sodom and Gomorrah, 2:6 ^p).

• The false teachers were so arrogant that they refused to listen to any authority but their own.
Summary for 2Pet 2:10-16: 2:10b-16 ^q This profile of the false teachers focuses more on how they were living than on what they were teaching. 2:10b ^r supernatural beings: Probably evil angels, in contrast to the angels of 2:11 ^s. It is wrong to scoff even at evil angels, because they bear the mark of their glorious origin—they have real power and pose a real threat to humans.