“God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
(2 Peter 2:4)
Multitudes of celestial beings, more commonly referred to as angels (“messengers” or “agents”) in Scripture, were created by God to carry out His work and do His bidding (Ps. 103:20). Initially, these angelic spirits were worshipful ministers and obedient instruments of the Almighty, as everything God made was declared by Himself as “good.”
But then Lucifer, a prominent angel whose name means “lightbearer” or “morning star,” began to covet the glory and honor due only to God. Ezekiel 28:15-17 describes his state of perfection until the point when “iniquity was found in him,” iniquity that grew out of pride in his own power and corrupted wisdom as a result of his beauty and splendor.
Isaiah 14:12-15 narrates Lucifer’s ambitious attempt to ascend above God and his subsequent fall from heaven. As a consequence, Lucifer, now known as Satan (“adversary”), and the angels who sided with him, were cast out of heaven (as depicted in Rev. 12:7-9). Their defeat by Michael and “his angels” underscores their rebellion against God’s superior authority.
Satan’s destiny, as well as that of all his demonic forces, is the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10), marking a stark contrast between the fate of rebellious angels and that of humanity. Unlike the fallen angels, God extended His grace to fallen humanity through the provision of salvation in Jesus Christ. This divine intervention provides redemption and reconciliation of man to God, a path not available to the fallen angels. William Perkins said, “They do this in their wickedness, and will exercise it as much as they can, knowingly being reserved for judgment for their sin (1 Peter 5:8; Eph. 6:12; John 8:44).”[1]
This account of fallen angels in Scripture serves as a backdrop to highlight the depth of God’s mercy toward His people. Despite mankind’s fallen nature and our subsequent tendency to stray from God, He provided us redemption through Jesus Christ. John 3:16 encapsulates this wonderful truth, declaring God’s love for the world and His offering of eternal life through belief in His Son. In this single act of divine grace, God made a distinction between the fallen angels who face eternal separation from God without hope of redemption and fallen man who has been granted access to the blessed hope of salvation and an eternal relationship with their Creator.
What a blessed truth that Christ is eternally and in every way superior to the devil and his fallen angels whom He has “delivered to chains of darkness and reserved for the day of judgment,” and that in His infinite mercy, by contrast, those fallen men He has redeemed are “justified freely by His grace!” (Rom. 3:24).
Contemplations:
- O my Soul, do not be high minded; do not presume to sin against God. Rather fear to offend him.
- At the day of judgment, Christ will descend from heaven in visible pomp and splendor inexpressible, clothed with His own glory as well as that of His Father’s, and attended with all the shining entourage of heaven. He will seat himself on a glorious white throne in the lower heavens and having summoned before Him the whole rational creation of angels, men, and devils, will judge and sentence them according to their respective characters and works.
- God has the power to leave sinners in that miserable estate to which they have plunged themselves. And justly He may do so, for in this same way He has dealt with the angels that sinned. The angels which did not keep their first estate but left their own habitation He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day. This truth should cause us all to tremble.
- Judgments are consequents of sin. Concerning the judgments recorded in Scripture, sin is always the cause behind all curses. The first judgment ever inflicted on a creature was the casting down of angels into hell. But these are expressly said to be angels that sinned. The next was on the serpent, “the great dragon” to whom the Lord said, “Because you have done this you are cursed.”
- Though fallen angels continue to tempt the saints, they can only do what God permits them to do. For greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world! (1 John 4:4).
Further References for 2 Peter 2:4:
Jude 1:6; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10; Matthew 8:29
[1] William Perkins, An Abridgement of the Whole Body of Divinity (London: W.B., 1654), 24.
