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Saturday, 18 July 2009

2 Peter 2:4-9

The angels sinning could refer to Genesis 6:4 where some angels are said to have intermarried with human daughters, or possibly to the rebellion in heaven. The word used for hell, Tartarus, is used only here in the Bible, and is a place of punishment. Peter seems to be influenced by the book of apocryphal book of Enoch.

Peter then refers to the flood, which seems to have been a favourite story of his as he mentions it in 1 Peter as well. He draws attention to the fact that God did not spare the ancient world, saving only a few. Sodom and Gomorrah too suffered severe judgement, yet a righteous man Lot was saved. Peter seems to have a somewhat higher opinion of Lot than is justified by the account in Genesis. Peter's use of the term "just" may have been influenced by the reference in the Book of Wisdom to Lot as the "just one".

The key point that Peter is making in all this is that God knows how to punish the wicked and how to save the righteous, even in the most unjust societies. This means that we can be confident in God and his ability to "cope" with the situations we find in our societies. Whatever the circumstances we must act in a just way, obeying and trusting God.

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