4 For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged;
And the angels who did not keep to their kingdom but went out from the place which was theirs, he has put in eternal chains and in dark night till the great day of the judging.
Then will he say to those on the left, Go from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which is ready for the Evil One and his angels:
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the great deep and a great chain in his hand. And he took the dragon, the old snake, which is the Evil One and Satan, and put chains on him for a thousand years, And put him into the great deep, and it was shut and locked over him, so that he might put the nations in error no longer, till the thousand years were ended: after this he will be let loose for a little time.
How great is your fall from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the earth, low among the dead bodies!
And the Evil One who put them in error was sent down into the sea of ever-burning fire, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their punishment will go on day and night for ever and ever.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going out to the fight with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels made war, And they were overcome, and there was no more place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him.
Though the angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not make use of violent language against them before the Lord.
My eye will not have mercy on you, and I will have no pity: but I will send the punishment of your ways on you, and your disgusting works will be among you: and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
And they gave a loud cry, saying, What have we to do with you, you Son of God? Have you come here to give us punishment before the time?
And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers;
Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels;
Violent waves of the sea, streaming with their shame, wandering stars for whom the darkest night is kept in store for ever.
The Lord is able to keep the upright safe in the time of testing, and to keep evil-doers under punishment till the day of judging;
You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Peter 2
Commentary on 2 Peter 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
The apostle, having in the foregoing chapter exhorted them to proceed and advance in the Christian race, now comes to remove, as much as in him lay, what he could not but apprehend would hinder their complying with his exhortation. He therefore gives them fair warning of false teachers, by whom they might be in danger of being seduced. To prevent this,
2Pe 2:1-3
2Pe 2:3-6
Men are apt to think that a reprieve is the forerunner of a pardon, and that if judgment be not speedily executed it is, or will be, certainly reversed. But the apostle tells us that how successful and prosperous soever false teachers may be, and that for a time, yet their judgment lingereth not. God has determined long ago how he will deal with them. Such unbelievers, who endeavour to turn others from the faith, are condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on them. The righteous Judge will speedily take vengeance; the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. To prove this assertion, here are several examples of the righteous judgment of God, in taking vengeance on sinners, proposed to our serious consideration.
2Pe 2:7-9
When God sends destruction on the ungodly, he commands deliverance for the righteous; and, if he rain fire and brimstone on the wicked, he will cover the head of the just, and they shall be hid in the day of his anger. This we have an instance of in his preserving Lot. Here observe,
2Pe 2:10-22
The apostle's design being to warn us of, and arm us against, seducers, he now returns to discourse more particularly of them, and give us an account of their character and conduct, which abundantly justifies the righteous Judge of the world in reserving them in an especial manner for the most severe and heavy doom, as Cain is taken under special protection that he might be kept for uncommon vengeance. But why will God thus deal with these false teachers? This he shows in what follows.