A disturbing verse for many is found in the second chapter of II Peter, verse 4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be delivered unto judgement.” I was always taught, and I find it is the teaching of the majority of Christian groups and churches, that this verse is speaking of “fallen angels”, or demons. But is it? Most often we don’t question the teachings of the majority. We assume the teaching to be correct. I believe it behooves us to read this verse in context, to put the whole chapter together, and see exactly what the Apostle Peter was saying.
Let us begin with verse one, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” Notice, Peter is telling us that there were, in times past, people who were false prophets. False prophets were and are those who give predictions that are incorrect, that do not come to pass. These individuals were among the people in times past JUST AS there were to be false teachers among us. False teachers, just like false prophets, will be teaching and predicting things that are not true, damnable heresies, Peter says. He says they will even deny the Messiah and will “bring on themselves swift destruction.”
Continuing with verse 2 Peter says, “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” Many, he says, will be taken in by those false teachers and will follow their “pernicious ways,” the way that leads to destruction. Keep in mind that Peter is still speaking of people; false prophets, false teachers and the many who follow them.
Let us go on to verse 3, “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” Peter tells us, as so commonly is the case, these false teachers try to make money and realize financial gain from those they are teaching and instructing. Adam Clarke defines “feigned words” as “counterfeit tales, false narration, pretended facts, lying miracles, fabulous legends.” What they are saying is pleasant to listen to, sounds plausible but is in truth lies. Due to this they have brought themselves under the judgement and damnation of God, a time of correction.
Now we come to verse 4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement;” As stated above, I was always taught that this is referring to “fallen angels” but is it? Does Peter jump from speaking of men, false prophets and false teachers, to talk of “fallen angels?” Well, it says “angels” doesn’t it and wasn’t it the “fallen angels” that sinned? The Greek word translated into the English word “angels” is G32 in Strong’s, aggelos or angelos. Although it is translated generally “angel” the primary definition and the valid translation used in several places is “a messenger, envoy, one who is sent.” Young’s Literal Bible translates this word in this very verse “messengers.” Let us read it thus and see if the rest of the verse makes sense. “For if God spared not the messengers (those who were sent) that sinned (transgressed God’s law), but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, ” Uh-oh! What have we here? The word translated “hell” in this verse is a Greek word found nowhere else in the entirety of the Bible. It is G5020 in Strong’s, tartaroo, from tartaros.
What does this word mean? Almost all of the scholars tell us that since it is found only this one time in the Bible we have to look elsewhere. Where we find it used is in Greek mythology. The Greeks believed Tartarus to be the “place of punishment in the lower world.” I do not believe, nor do I think most Christians would believe, that Peter is endorsing the nonsense of pagan mythology. If he did, then we would have to accept all of the absurdities that goes along with it. However, many have accepted this teaching, not knowing where it came from. We do know that it is never taught or referred to in the Old Testament or in the New Testament.
Peter does allude to the subject as though it was well-known and understood by his readers. Where is the story of individuals being cast down to Tartaros recorded? As stated above, it isn’t in the Scriptures. However, there was such a story in a book that was well known at the time of his writing, the Book of Enoch. It is from this apocryphal book that Peter seems to refer. By doing so did he sanction it as true, or did he as many writers do, use it to illustrate and enforce his statements regarding the disobedient, the unrighteous, the false prophets being kept for later judgement? I believe it is nothing more than some writers might refer to the story of “the tortoise and the hare.” They don’t actually believe the story of a race between the two but use the Aesop fable to illustrate or make a point.
Though the account in the Book of Enoch does deal with sinning angels, which the Bible doesn’t discuss at all, it seems from the context of this entire chapter (as we will see even clearer as we go on) it is men that Peter is talking about. One writer makes the following comment, “Tartaros—this word occurs only once, in 2 Peter 2:4. A little Bible investigation will reveal that the angels or messengers, God’s servants who rebelled, were Korah, Dathan and Abiram–Numbers 16:30-33. The earth opened and swallowed them up. The pit in verses 30 and 33 is Sheol in Hebrew - the GRAVE - and it is there that they await judgement.” I haven’t studied this enough to be able to say that he is correct but I do believe it is plausible. It certainly makes more sense to me than to believe Peter is speaking of “fallen angels.”
If we don’t make the assumption that most make, that Peter is speaking of fallen angels, and continue to read in context, we can understand what he is saying. He is stating that these individuals are cast away from God’s presence, literally into the earth if it does happen to be Korah, Dathan and Abiram he is referring to. He says that they were delivered “unto chains of darkness.” There was literal darkness in that pit but Strong’s tells us that darkness is used metaphorically “of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality.” A second definition states, “persons in whom darkness becomes visible and holds sway.” God and His truth is Light. The opposite is darkness.
“Chains,” as we read here, are not literal. It is rather an indication that these individuals are bound by this darkness, this blindness if you will, until, as the last part of the verse states, the time of judgement. They are “reserved,” kept for the purpose of judgement, a time of correction. Many assume judgement is a time of destruction. God’s judgement is to correct, with punishment as needed, to bring one to reconciliation.
Let us continue through this chapter and we will see even clearer that Peter has not jumped from his discussion of individual people (false prophets, etc.) to spirit beings. Verse 5, “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” Did you notice the same phrase used in verse 4, “And spared not?” Peter is still speaking of people, the old world and speaks of Noah who was righteous. He is contrasted to the ungodly, those outside of the “light” and in the “darkness.”
And, in verse 6 Peter continues speaking of people who lived and acted contrary to God and His way of life. “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”
Peter continues in verse 7 to talk about people. “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked;” The contrast continues to be between the righteous, the just, and the ungodly, those in darkness.
Continuing to speak of Lot in verse 8 Peter says, “(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)” His contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous continues.
Verse 9, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished;” Did you notice the wording in this verse, “to reserve ... unto the day of judgement,” is almost identical to what we read in verse 4, “reserved unto judgement.” Verse 9 is definitely speaking of people, as the context is making very clear, so also is verse 4.
Let us continue reading with verse 10, “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh (not spirit) in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.” Peter is still talking about people, the ungodly, the unrighteous.
Verse 11 says, “Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.” Does Peter begin speaking of spirit beings, angels? Again the word is angelos, which can be just as properly translated “messengers.” What “messengers” are greater in “power and might” than the ungodly, the unrighteous? Obviously those that are obeying and following God.
In verse 12 it is quite plain that Peter is still speaking of people. “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;” He says “these” still speaking of the ungodly and amplifying verse 11. He then refers to them as “natural brute beasts,” akin to calling them nothing but animals.
Continuing with verse 13, “And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;” Peter is still speaking of the false teachers, the ungodly.
Verse 14 through 16, “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children; Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity; the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.” Peter hasn’t varied from his theme. He is still talking of the ungodly, the unrighteous, the false prophets, the false teachers.
In verse 17 Peter starts out by saying, “These...” just as he began verse 12. The same “these.” Let us go on, “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.” In verse 12 he said “these, as natural brute beasts,” Here he says, “These are wells without water,” In both verses he is still speaking of men. Going back to verse 4 we read, “and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement.” The wording here in verse 17 is similar, “to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.” But, doesn’t “for ever” indicate for all eternity? No! The Greek is aion which is best translated age or ages. Peter is saying that these individuals have been “reserved,” kept, in a state of spiritual darkness for the age, until the age or time of judgement.
Peter keeps speaking of these individuals. Verse 18, “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.” Verse 19, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought to bondage.” He keeps right on speaking of these individuals that he first called false prophets and false teachers. Verse 20, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” He is still speaking of people. Verse 21 and 22, “For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
The entire context that Peter covers in this chapter is the unrighteous, the ungodly, the false prophet, the false teacher in contrast with the righteous. He repeatedly states in various ways that they have been placed into darkness, spiritual blindness, and kept there until the day, the time, the age of judgement. It is totally out of context to bring “fallen angels” into the discussion at all. Due to the translation given by those translating from the Greek and due to the incorrect assumptions and teachings of most of Christianity we have failed to grasp and understand what Peter was telling us.
We find an almost exact series of verses in the book of Jude. Jude is writing to those “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus, and called:,” verse 1. He says in verse 3 that it was needful for him to write unto them and exhort them “that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” In verse 4 he begins his discussion by saying, “For there are certain men...” The context is men. He continues, “crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men,...” Much as Peter wrote he is speaking of the ungodly, unrighteous men. In verse 5 he continues to speak of men, “having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.”
Now we come to verse 6, which sounds almost like Peter’s statement we just read in II Peter 2:4. “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day.” The word translated “angels” is again aggelos or angelos and can be accurately rendered “messenger.” Notice how Young’s Literal Bible translates this verse. “messengers also, those who did not keep their own principality, but did leave their proper dwelling, to a judgement of a great day, in bonds everlasting, under darkness He hath kept.” See the above explanation of chains, judgement. But, one might ask, what about the “everlasting” chains? Doesn’t that mean for all eternity? No!
The Greek word translated “everlasting” is aidios. I’d like to quote a section from a book that I would recommend that throughly discusses the subject of everlasting, eternal, forever, etc. as used in Scripture. The book is entitled “The Greek Word AION—AIONIOS, Translated Everlasting—Eternal in the HOLY BIBLE, Shown to Denote Limited Duration” and was written by John Wesley Hanson, copyrighted in 1875. Quoting from the Appendix of this book regarding the word aidios. “It is further admitted that the word is here used in the exact sense of aionios, as is seen in the succeeding verse: ‘Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.’ That is to say, the ‘aidios’ chains in verse 6 are ‘even as’ durable as the ‘aionion fire’ in verse 7. Which word modifies the other? 1. The construction of the language shows that the latter word limits the former. The aidios chains are even as the aionion fire. As if one should say ‘I have been infinitely troubled, I have been vexed for an hour,’ or ‘He is an endless talker, he can talk five hours on a stretch.’ Now while ‘infinitely’ and ‘endless’ convey the sense of unlimited, , they are both limited by what follow, as aidios, eternal, is limited by aionios, indefinitely long.” Mr. Hanson also points out that the “everlasting” chains are limited by the fact it was to last only until “a judgement of a great day.”
Just as we saw in II Peter 2, the context here continues to speak of men. Verse 6, the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. Verse 8, speaks of “filthy dreamers.” In verse 9 Jude tells us that there had been a contention between Michael and the adversary about the body of Moses and Michael dared not bring a railing accusation. He continues the thought in verse 10 by saying, “But these (the people, individuals he has been speaking about) speak evil of those things which they know not:...” Verse 11 he says they, these individuals, have gone the way of Cain, after the error of Balaam, and he says they “perished in the gainsaying of Core.” Verse 12 continues, “These..” This is the same these, the people he has been discussing throughout the whole letter. He says they are spots, clouds without water, trees without fruit and verse 13, raging waves of the sea, wandering stars. He says, “to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness (we have discussed “darkness” above) for ever. “Ever” is from the Greek aion, properly translated “age.” (See the book referenced above for a very detailed and complete discussion.) Verse 14 says that Enoch prophesied of “these,” the same these he has been discussing, unholy and unrighteous men. Verse 15 speaks of the judgement to be executed on the ungodly, the “these” he has been talking about. Verse 19 refers to verse 17 and 18 regarding the words which the apostles of Jesus had spoken regarding mockers in the last time that would walk after their own ungodly lusts. He says, verse 19, “These (the same these) be they...having not the Spirit.”
Neither Peter or Jude speak of angelic beings sinning but of unrighteous and ungodly men. Due to unfortunate translation and pagan beliefs that crept in we have been taught error regarding these passages.
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