2 Peter 2:3

Christian leaders must be honest about money (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7). Paul was honest about the money that he collected for the Christians in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). He was very careful. But the greedy false teachers told lies. Then they tried to get money from the Christians.

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God told the *Jews to kill false *prophets. This was God’s judgement. The false teachers denied that God would *judge them. But God had already declared that they were guilty. And he has not forgotten. In 1 Kings 18:27, Elijah, the true *prophet, laughed at the false *prophets. He suggested that Baal, their false god, was asleep. The false teachers thought that God would not *judge them because he is asleep. They forgot that ‘God who watches over *Israel stays awake. He never sleeps’ (Psalms 121:4). One day God will destroy them.

Three examples of God’s judgement

v4 When some *angels *sinned God did not let them stay free. He threw them down into *hell. Now they are in the dark prison. They are waiting for the final judgement. v5 And God punished the ancient world and the wicked people in it. He sent a flood over all the earth. But God protected Noah and seven other people who were with him. Noah had taught people how to live in the right way. v6 God punished the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. He burnt them until they were just ashes. The fate of those cities showed what will happen to wicked people. v7 But God rescued Lot from that place. Lot was a man who lived in the right way. Lot was unhappy because the wicked people behaved in an evil way. v8 (Lot was a good man. He lived among evil people. Every day he saw and heard their wicked deeds. This made him suffer in his spirit.) v9 So the *Lord knows how to rescue good people from their troubles. And the *Lord knows how to keep the evil people until the final judgement. He will continue to punish them.

Peter showed that God punished wicked people in the past. Therefore, God would punish the wicked false teachers. Peter gave three examples from the beginning of the *Old Testament in Genesis. He refers to them in the same order as in Genesis: - 1) wicked *angels, 2) the flood, 3) the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Wicked *angels

Verse 4

Peter did not say how these *angels were wicked. Jude says that they ‘left their proper place’ (Jude verse 6). Revelation 12:7-9 says that they were proud. They opposed God. Genesis 6:1-3 shows that they also desired human women. God threw these wicked *angels into *hell. The *Greek word for ‘*hell’ is ‘Tartarus’. This word comes from old *Greek stories. It was a terrible place of punishment. *Greek gods who were wicked had to go there. God has sent the wicked *angels to a dark place of punishment. They cannot escape. They used to live with God in his *glory and light. Now they are far away from God. The final judgement will happen after Jesus has returned to this world. This may refer to Revelation 20:10.

The flood

Verse 5

God punished wicked people too. He flooded the ancient world (Genesis, Chapter s 6-8). God rescued Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives. But everyone else died. God had warned Noah that he would send a flood. Noah built the ark (a big boat) because he believed God’s warning. The wicked people had probably laughed at Noah while he built such a large boat. But Noah believed that God would *judge the world. Noah was a good man. He lived in the right way (Genesis 6:9). The people at that time could see the good way that he lived. Josephus was a man who wrote about *Jewish history. He called Noah a ‘*prophet’. This meant that Noah warned people about their wicked ways. He probably also warned people that God would *judge them. Peter referred to Noah and the flood in his first letter (1 Peter 3:20).

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

Verse 6

God completely destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, they showed what will happen to wicked people. You can read about these cities in Genesis 18:16-19.