Isaac Newton was an early English scientist, and probably a “genius” before the word had been defined. He was raised in the Anglican denomination, but he held to some unorthodox views about Christ. Because of those views, I can’t say that he was a Christian in the sense of someone born of God. I know it sounds contradictory, but Isaac Newton was a “strong NOMINAL Christian.” For example, even as a scientist, he dogmatically believed in divine creation. And for that reason evolutionists, today, would call him one of their enemies. Newton is best known by laymen like us, for his “discovery” of gravity. But he also became an expert in optics, designing the reflective telescope and theories about color. In math he helped develop the principles of calculus, and the binomial theorem. And among other important, but lesser known things, were his three laws of motion.
Newton’s third law of motion basically says that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” When our kayakers on Thursday, pushed away from the shore, their boats moved in the opposite direction to the push. And when they put their paddles into the water, pulling backwards, their kayaks moved forward. The more efficiently they pulled, the more easily and quickly their boats moved through the water. When you walk, you push your foot backward against the ground. In a sense, in reaction the ground pushes you forward, allowing you to move. A rocket expels gases downward, first into the ground and then into the atmosphere. These gases push the rocket upward, propelling it into space. Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first to define and explain these principles.
Well – God’s Word tells us there is a spiritual equivalent to this physical law. It is defined throughout the Bible, but it is summarized in Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death.” God told Adam, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction guaranteed by the law of God’s own nature. When we sin, there is a guaranteed opposite reaction – judgment in the form of death. The Holy Spirit says in Ezekiel 18:4 – “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” That principle is reiterated sixteen verses later – “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” And Galatians 6:7-8 tells us – “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his FLESH shall of the flesh reap CORRUPTION; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” If someone pushes against God with sin, God pushes back with judgment. It is a law.
I confess that I don’t know all that is contained in Newton’s Third Law, so I can’t tell you if there are exceptions. But I do know something about God’s law. For example, I know that God’s third law is GOD’S law. I know that Jehovah is the sovereign God, so He can do whatever He chooses, even with His own laws. And the Lord has created a special way for the law of sin and death to be laid aside in special cases. In other words, there is a way for sinners to be spared and not eternally executed. That is a subject to which I will return later and then again this afternoon. But right now, I’d like you to focus on these statements – “God SPARED NOT the angels” – verse 4. “God SPARED NOT the old world” – verse 5. And God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ash – verse 6. Jehovah can make exceptions to any law He has created; He can SPARE whomsoever He wills. But Peter points to three groups of people whom He did NOT spare.
Those whom God spared NOT were ANGELS, PEOPLE and a pair of CITIES.
God spared not “the old world.” As I just said, I’m going to come back to the reverse of this morning’s message later. But at this point I’ll just point to Noah as our clue to the definition of this “old world” that was not spared. This is speaking of the earth which was destroyed by a world-wide flood which took place in Noah’s day.
Sir Isaac Newton would agree with me that God created the universe in six days. And when it came to this planet and the things which the Creator put here, He stepped back when it was finished and declared that everything was “good.” When the infinite God says that something is “good,” it is better than our definition of “good.” That original creation was exquisite; it was perfect in every possible way; it couldn’t be any “gooder.” But as eight generations came and went, “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”
And rest is history – God engaged a totally UNNATURAL natural disaster to destroy that wickedness. “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” For every sin there is an equal and opposite judgment. In that old world, water sprang up from the ground, joining water from the sky. Together, they made the recent floods of Texas and New Mexico look like droplets of dew. “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.”
Peter reminds us that Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness was spared. Besides Noah and his family, we are told that not one of the rest of humanity were spared. White haired grandmothers, who loved, doted on, and spoiled their grandchildren, died in the flood. Fathers who faithfully supported their families, were not spared, dying beside the really evil parents. Those days’ first responders, public servants, doctors and nurses who were dedicated to helping others, died. Dog-lovers and people who supported the animal rescue industry were not spared. It didn’t matter what good things people said of their neighbors; it didn’t matter if people were famous or infamous, the water swept them all away. Only Noah and his family were spared.
On another occasion, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, were incinerated through the wrath of the Almighty. God turned those cities into ashes, “condemning them with an overthrow, making them ignored examples.” But earlier, those communities had been showered with the blessings of Jehovah. When Lot was given the choice of living on the high plains or in the valley of the Jordan, he said, “I want Jordan and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Those cities were so well-favored that the Kings of the East – the Iraqi leaders of the day – wanted them. And despite being defeated in battle, the Lord still blessed them with deliverance and restoration.
But finally the day came when God said, “Enough!” Genesis 19 – “The LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and ALL the plain, and ALL the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. The smoke of the country went up as smoke of a furnace.” The gracious God spared Lot and his family, but He spared NOT the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Beside the old world and cities of the plain, Peter also mentions ANGELS. “God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into the chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” If this refers to an historical event, it is not something I see explained in the Bible. And I certainly don’t see any need to refer to any non-Biblical, apocryphal books like “Enoch.” We know that Lucifer induced about a third of God’s angels to take his side in rebelling against Jehovah. Most, if not all, those sinful angels are still alive and well; somewhat free to continue their support of Satan.
My conclusion is that this is not an historical event, but rather a prophetical one, Jude 6 notwithstanding. II Peter 2:4 points a finger toward things of which we read in the Book of Revelation. But Jude 6 reads, “The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, (God) hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Like Peter’s statement, Jude could read as unexplained history. But without any supporting Biblical evidence, I consider it to be prophetical. In Revelation 12 we are told about an upcoming spiritual battle in which Satan and his angels are defeated. Then in Revelation 20 – “I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” Revelation 20:7 – “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison…” Verse 10 – “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Peter tells us that some of God’s first angels – some of the most exquisite and blessed of all creatures – will not be spared from God’s wrath. Spiritual creatures with personal glory and beauty far beyond ours will not be spared their due judgment. Creatures with minds and intellect far exceeding ours, will not be spared. Angels who had previously served in the immaculate throne room of Jehovah, will no longer serve at all. Witnesses to the original creation will not be spared the destruction that will fall upon that creation.
Those whom “God spared NOT” included angels, the original creation and two important cities. Why is that?
Those whom God spared not – all SINNED against the Lord.
All three of these “not spared” examples REBELLED against Jehovah.
It is the Lord Jesus who tells us that Satan, alias Lucifer, “abode not in the truth.” He is described in Ezekiel and Isaiah, as an angel of God who made a deliberate choice to oppose the Lord. Isaiah 14 – “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” With a swing of his tail, so to speak, he drew a third of the angelic stars of God down into his domain. It was because of sin that God spared not those angels, “but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” – including the fallen king of those fallen angels.
And what brought about the judgment of the old world in the days of Noah? Again it was sin. “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
The same is true of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 13 – “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Genesis 18 – “The Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous…” “I will destroy them.” And when God’s rescue squad – His Army Rangers – visited Sodom to pull Lot and his family out of the city, they said, “We will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” Whatever other sins were rampant in Sodom, homosexuality was undeniably prominent among them. “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” – Genesis 19:24. Over and over again throughout the Word of God, the Holy Spirit describes the judgment of Sodom. And those references were with purpose, whether anyone is listening or not.
“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” For every sin there is death. America needs to hear this. The United States needs to look at the example. Jude 7 – “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.” The wages of sin is death and destruction – eternal death and hell. Not only will individual sinners be judged, so will entire communities and nations.
I have another point that I will make this afternoon, but my last point for this morning is this –
Those whom God spared not DESERVED EVERYTHING they received.
We may picture each of Peter’s illustrations and say to ourselves, “Well done, God. Sodom and Gomorrah, Satan’s angels, and a world so wicked and foolish that it rejected Noah’s sermons and object lesson, all deserved to be destroyed.” These three make perfect sense. Mass murderers and serial killers deserve to die under a hail of bullets. Homosexual rapists wasting away with HIV, deserve the death devouring them. Followers of Satan deserve Satan’s eternal fate.
While these things may be true, let’s remember the context of II Peter 2. The apostle is condemning pseudo prophets and false teachers who spread damnable heresies – verse 1. He is talking about religionists who through covetousness and feigned words, make merchandise of people too ignorant to know they are being duped – verse 2. In other words, Peter is saying popes and priests, many TV preachers and multitudes of religious writers and bloggers are in the same class as Sodomites, Satanists and sectarian cult starters like Jimmy Jones and Brigham Young. These “white-collar” sinners will not be spared their eternal judgment.
But we can’t stop there. Honesty forces me to remind you that “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Relatively speaking, you are not, as wicked as Lucifer, Nimrod, Judas or Jezebel. I’m not saying you are. But you ARE a sinner in God’s sight. And the Lord doesn’t use a sliding scale to measure and weigh the sinners before Him. As Paul was saying in a slightly different context: “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” And in our own context, Paul went on: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth (the depravity of their sin), there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good ( in God’s sight), no not one.” And “the wages of sin is death.” For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every sin there is an eternal death.
BUT… Praise the Lord… under God’s third law, there are special exemptions. God “spared not the old world, BUT HE SAVED Noah…” And God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes… “BUT HE DELIVERED just Lot.” The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”
Peter doesn’t deal, here, with how the exemptions are carried out, but elsewhere he does. For example in I Peter 3:18 he says, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…” And in I Peter 2:24 he says, speaking of Christ Jesus, “Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes we are healed.”
The law of God says that for every sin there must be a death. But then the Lord himself, has stepped in to take the body blow which the law demands fall on the sinner. The law of sin and death will not be broken. It cannot be broken. Even though we are sinners, the Creator of the law against us, has received the death on our behalf.
That, my friend, is the good news of the gospel. “Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Now, the only thing God asks of us is to receive that gift as if it was given personally to us. The false prophets and false teachers may try to tell you that you must DO something to be delivered from God’s judgment. That is one of those damnable heresies to which Peter refers. But the holy men of God spoken of in chapter one, were moved by the Holy Ghost to tell us: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Trust the Lord and you will be spared from the judgment your sins deserve. Don’t wait another dangerous day. Humbly look by faith on the Lord Jesus Christ as your substitute in death and judgment.